Last year at this time, I was able to walk on the treadmill for 20 minutes at about 2.8 mph. Now I can run for more than an hour. What a great feeling. Can't wait to see what I will be able to do in another year.

What can you do that you couldn't do prior to surgery?

I can do 15 minutes on the elliptical, that's 14 more than 3 months ago. I can hike the Colorado mountains for 12 miles...twice as long as last summer. I can't wait to see where I'll be in 7 more months!

@@*Lexie*

Before surgery I was a couch potato. Now I'm up for anything. I'm a little over a year out and also excited to see what next year brings.

I celebrated my first birthday after surgery (5months out) By learning to Kayak. If I was at my higher weight I would have sunk the boat.

I now Mountain bike! I have not been on a bicycle for a long time. It brings out the kid in me again. Loving it.

Running - Completed the Turkey day 5K, Christmas YMCA 10K, Race for the cure in memory of my mom. I am looking forward to the Idaho wine run this weekend.

I don't know about you. But I feel like I have been given a second chance at life. I don't want to waste it.

Just before surgery, I started walking, then months after being banded, I started slowly working into running. But because of a permanent collapsed arch, im not allowed to run anymore. But the utter thrill of being able to run, even for a short while , was one of my greatest gifts from WLS.

I have so much more energy its amazing, my husband said to me that my "soul was smiling more" and that i have a great light around me that encourages others now...

thats more than any loose pants can do!

congrats to all of us!!!

Edited August 12, 201511 yr by jeanniereenie

I haven't been sleeved yet (hopefully soon since my last appt. is August 26th). By I have lost 47+ pounds on my supervised diet. I am able to walk 8000 steps a day which would have been impossible when I started. I can actually clean my house without getting a horrible back ache. It is the little things but I am so glad I have started on this journey and am looking forward to being "on the other side" with all of you!

There are so many things it may be hard to list them all:

I can chase my husband or grandkids around the house and actually catch them. ( my husband is not happy about this one LOL)

I can sit in an airplane seat without an extender! I have about 6/8 inches of seatbelt left over.

I can sit on the floor with my legs folded under me!

I can walk for miles both outside and on the treadmill.

I can go 30 minutes on the elliptical when before I was lucky to last 5.

I can literally run up the stairs without feeling like I am going to have a heart attack.

I can sleep without a CPap and not feel like I am suffocating in my sleep.

I can eat any food I want without getting severe reflux.

I can take my blood sugar in the morning and it is always under 90.

There are so many more things that I could like but you get the picture.... For me I just wanted to get healthy and be on this earth longer than my Mom was. She died from complications of Type 2 diabetes and obesity at the age of 66. I did not want to do that to my children, husband and grandchildren.

This is where I was Jan 2014

And a year later I was training for and did my first 5K

And I just came back from my first assault on a 14,000' mountain in CO.

Yep, a bunch has changed....and I like it. Now don't get me started on dating and relationships...that has really changed but I'll save that for the adult forums.

@@OKCPirate You are buff!! So motivating. And I hear you on the adult stuff.

@@*Lexie* wow amazing work... you should sign up for a marathon or something!!!

@@Rovobay You should too!