well, color me impressed.

alright, i realize that this may not be that great of an accomplishment to many of you who perhaps started out in size 16 jeans. but, i am in heaven today. considering i started this journey in size 30/32 elastic jeans, i was thrilled to pull on a pair of low cut size 16's WITH A ZIPPER this morning! everything is submitted to the insurance for the tt and hernia repair, so i'm hoping that goes through without a hitch (yeah, right!). i am so ready to get rid of all of this belly flab and into some size 12's or so. yay! kym

That is FANTASTIC, Kym! You had some rough days at first. I'm so glad that you are reaping rewards now! You have worked hard for this! Joy

thanks so much! it was definitely a rough start, but i think i may have the hang of it. lol

Kym, you look great, fabulous! I hear ya, girl, about the belly flab thing. Can't wait to have it lopped off! Keep us posted. Reenie

thanks!!! i can't wait either. i've got so much flab in so many places...*sigh* oh well...

Kym - CONGRATULATIONS!!!! Isn't it wonderful? I mean, really now, no more women's dept? How cool is that? I love it! You are looking so good too.....it's really so very neat - you have come a long way! I have always wanted to ask you though - you didn't have a very easy time of it to start and had a lot of issues with both your stoma I believe and also emotionally coping with the loss of a friend (food). Do you still feel that way or do you feel like you have worked through all that? How do you feel now when you want to turn to food for solace? Do you have something else you do instead? You have just continued to do so well and it seems your spirits have lifted so much since you first started out with us, I wonder how you feel inside...if it is something you would do over again or not... Dina

hey you! yeah, i'm feeling pretty good about things at this point. though, i still need the women's department for shirts just because of all the skin on my upper stomach and my arms. but, at least now i can actually buy my shirts in the women's department! at my heaviest, i had gotten to the point where i couldn't even shop at fashion bug or catherine's. i either had to order shirts online or buy tees at casual male big & tall - talk about not feeling feminine. lol to be honest with you, i still don't know if i'd do it again or not. i've heard so many people say that their only regret is that they didn't have the surgery sooner. but, i think my regret is that i couldn't do it on my own. i was always whining and moaning about how the diets just didn't work - but, that's really not the case (at least for me). it's that i didn't stick to the diets. i'm still a little disappointed in myself for ever getting that big to begin with. i don't know, really. i do have times where i really miss certain foods or really miss being able to just sit and EAT a lot of food. but, i try and keep busy and it seems to help. i've got the business thing, of course and i start a new job on monday at the factory where my husband has worked for the past 7 years (that should be interesting!), and i've got 5 indoor cats running around that keep me on my toes. i think if i could go back knowing what i know now that i could lose the weight on my own. but, that ain't happenin'. and i was really in a terrible place before surgery and had no clue how to get out of it. so, yeah...i probably would do it again. lol sorry for the novel.

Kym!! Are you kidding!?? HUGE accomplishment!!!! I was sooooo excited to get into my 16 pants!!! It feels so awesome! Congratulations it really is a big deal! I was 334 when I started and am now at 215... (just started to loose weight again) and my sizes still run large. My tops especially. (My arms and my hips) I like to hide my lower stomach.. I hate that stupid belly hang Good luck with your tummy tuck you are going to look fabulous! Tons of blessings to you!!! Elizabeth M

I am so happy for you. At my highest weight I was near 500 pounds and wore 34+ in stretch. I was overwhelmed when I could get into a 24! Celebrate those size 16's. You won't be in them long, 14's are right around the corner. You go girl!