Who Are You??? (Get to Know You)

Hey folks, this board has been near silent, so I thought this would be a good topic. I'd love to get to know those who visit this forum. Let's liven things up a bit by introducing ourselves on this thread! I'm Lithia, I am a 39-year old high school teacher. We go back to work on the first of August and school starts on the 6th. I've been married 7 years, and my hubby is wonderfully supportive of my needs postop. I am in Arizona, about 35 miles west of Phoenix, and hubby and I hope to move to Washington in a few years. Hubby is also a high school teacher. I started looking into WLS on August 1st of last year. I had to do the whole six month supervised diet, and it was one of the most difficult times of my life (not due to the diet, but due to other awful things going on in my life). I made it through and received insurance approval on Valentine's Day, and had Laproscopic RNY surgery the day after St. Patrick's Day. During my six month supervised diet I lost 57 lbs of the 196 I had to lose. Since my surgery I've been losing fairly slowly and steadily and am down to 52 lbs lost post op. I expected it to be somewhat slower, since I'd done so well on my pre-op diet. I have lost a total of 109 lbs. My current mini goal is to lose 70 lbs in my first six months post-op. I'm about 18 lbs away from that. I would REALLY like to make it to "one-derland" by my 40th birthday on November 24. But I'll settle by making it to that elusive goal by the end of this year. So... tell me about you! All the following are optional, but would love to learn about my fellow March 08 people: How old are? Married/single? How much you have/had to lose? What is your progress so far? Any goals? Where do you live? What type of surgery did you have? Anything else?

My name is Veronica. I live in Cleveland, Ohio. I am a 32 year old registered nurse. I work in the Neonatal ICU at the Cleveland Clinic. I have been a nurse for 4yrs. I've been married 11 years and have 3 wonderful kids - ages 11, 7, and 2. I started looking into weight loss surgery in October '07 after I was put on oxygen at night by my pulmonary doctor. The truth is if she hadn't referred me to the bariatric clinic I probably would not have had surgery. I went to my first seminar at the end of November and was approved for surgery by the beginning of February. I had RNY on March 31, 2008. I lost 30lbs pre-op and have lost about 45lbs post-op. I hope to lose at least another 40lbs. I'm 5'1" and started at 255lbs. I currently weigh what I weighed in college before I had any of my children. I am very happy with my success so far.

My name is Katrina, I am 46 years young, my son Adrew is almost 21. I live in Houston,Texas. I just celebrated my 10th anniversary with my husband Terry. I am a HR Manager. I started my weight loss journey almost 3 years ago. I had to have a revision to RNY due to complications from a VBG. I have lost a total of 183 pounds to date. I am finally feeling GOOD! I have learned to have patience and to listen to my body. This site has been a life line to me, I always find the answers I need and I enjoy listening to and watching everyones progress. I am 40 pounds away from my goal weight!

Hi, my name is Christi. I am 32 years old. I have been happily married for almost 11 years and have an almost 8 year old daughter. My husband has been in the Army for a little over 18 years and I have been working as a Legal Assistant in Orlando, FL for about a year now. Prior to that we lived in Minnesota for 8 years and very much to my surprise - I would move back in a heartbeat!! I started looking into surgery probably a little over 2 years ago and had it on 3/31/08. I done very well staying on the 2 week diet, but I honestly don't think I lost very much weight (and didn't even weigh myself) and have lost 70 pounds since surgery. I started out at 309 and my doctor wants me to be around 145, but I really don't know if it is possible for me to get there. I went from a sometimes tight 24 to a comfortable 18, so far! I will be thankful for anything I lose and don't really have a personal goal for myself yet. We spend a lot of our free time checking out Florida beaches and have passes to and enjoy Disney World as much as we want.

Hello Folks, My name is Tara and I am a 5th grade teacher in Beamont, Texas. My husband and I have been married for six years. We have two beautiful sons, ages 7 and 2. I really became interested in WLS after my 2 year old was born, although I have been overweight for much of my life. I attended a seminar in April 2007 and fought with my insurance company (BCBS) unil February of 2008. I had RNY in March 19, 2008 and let me tell you, my life has totally changed for the better. I did not lose any weight pre-op (346 lbs), but this past Friday, I had a checkup. My weight loss to date is 70 pounds (276 lbs). I have never felt better (that I can remember). I'm looking forward to getting to know everyone better. Tara

I'm Jennifer. I also teach. I teach HS in South Dakota. I am single, but recently had a first date. I had RNY March 6th and lost weight prior to surgery, and am now down 100lbs from my highest and a little over 70lbs since surgery. I have about 50lbs left to lose and have been working out on a fairly regular basis. Sadly!?!? school starts soon and I need to revise my exercise and eating schedule to fit my teaching and coaching schedule. I love this website and my local support group that both help me to stay on track. I have been so lucky not to have any problems since surgery and am glad they took my gallbladder while they were in there. I have always been fairly active and that has helped me to get back into the excercise routine. Good Luck to all of you and thank you for the support!

I'm 27 years old and I had my RNY 5 months ago today. I started inquiring about gastric bypass a year ago. It took me a while to start my 6 month supervised diet and I finished it in February. I had RNY the first day of spring break. I went back to work the next week 1/2 days and then by the 2nd week I was back full time, but taking it very easy. My highest weight was 325 and I was 306 day of surgery. I currently weigh 230, so about 95 lbs. total (since Jan. 2008) and about 74 total since surgery. I'm mostly happy about the loss, but wi**** was a little bit faster. I lost a lot of weight real fast, but the past 3 months I've only lost 15 lbs. I think once school starts and I'm back to work I'll lose more. I hope to be onederland by my birthday for sure (mid-December). I've been married for 3 years. to my high school sweetheart (who met me when I weighed 110, yes the man def. loves me). I'm a special education teacher at the elementary level and I just moved to Spring, Texas from Arlington, Texas. I'm living with my mom right now while my hubby is looking for work in the area. We moved here to be near family since my family lives in the area and so does his. We're hoping to have children in the next few years. I injured my knee badly at work in early Nov. I had knee surgery in Jan. and it's still hurting me, esp. now that I'm being more active with the weight loss. I'm still seeking treatment, so that part has been hard. I'm also losing hair right now, but I hope that goes away soon. Otherwise, no complications and no problems.

I spent a year and a half living in texas. I loved it. But when I met hubby, in Georgia, and we were looking to relocate, he had no desire to move to Texas. I got Arizona though, so that's a triumph.

Knee and back injuries are so awful! I think they are much worse, however, for those who carry a lot of weight. Eventually, as your knee finally gets the treatment it needs, you'll heal quicker and easier without the extra weight.

My hair loss has now tapered off. It really ended up being no big deal, but I had thick hair to begin with!

It's a pleasure to get to know you!

Hi, My name is Paula and I'm a financial aid administrator. I'm 42 years old and have been married almost 18 years. I have a 16 year old son who is driving me crazy!! Some days I want to pull my hair out!! My surgery date was March 28, 2008 and I had lapRNY. I've lost 75 lbs to date (should be more, but I re-gained the 35lbs I lost during the 6 month diet phase because it took so long for my insurance to get approved and, of course during that break was Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas!). I feel like my weight loss is really slow. I work out 3 times a week (do the eliptical for 35-45 minutes like a crazy lady -- i come out of the gym looking red faced and sweaty - but I feel great!). I know I need to add weight training -- but time is always my problem --seems there is never enough of it and always too much to do! I want to lose another 55 lbs and hope to be in 'onederland' by my birthday too (November 1st) -- but I'm not sure that will happen since it's 30 lbs away. I'm 5'8" and my surgeon says my ideal weight is 135 -- but I just can't see that ever happening -- I think I would look anorexic at that weight -so my initial goal is 175 and we'll see how I feel when I get there. It would be great if this list started to take off. I feel a little 'lost' on the main board! Thanks for asking Lady Lithia!

It's so nice to meet you! I'm starting to think that while One-der-land by my birthday is not possible, perhaps a BMI of 35 is possible (that would put me at 204 lbs). I have 22 lbs to lose to get there, and almost three months to do it in. Right now I'm in the "rapid weight loss" phase of my monthly cycle... losing anywhere from 1/2 to a full pound every time I sleep (even if it's a nap!). Sadly that phase doesn't last very long, but it's very encouraging when it happens.

I can totally relate to the trauma of having teenagers. Hubby and I just graduated one of his daughters, and we have the house to ourselves, and boy is it a relief. (she's back living with her mom)