6 months post- a lil late

Hiya May family! I appologise for being a bit late here. I had major knee surgery on 11/05/04 and it has really thrown me off course. The computer is on the second floor here at home and its a hard trip to make with a big brace on your leg. Anyway, its progressing and i'm able to get up here a little easier now. As of today, my current weight is 162, down from preop weight of 247. I've lost 85 lbs. I had to take a 10 day course of steroids for my knee as it continues to swell and that stalled my loss. I'm very pleased with my success thus far. I have about 30 more pounds to lose to reach goal. My skin resembles that of an 80 year old 50 years too soon. I'm wearing a size 10 pants and they are starting to get baggy. Everything is shrinking except for my chest. *#@%&* I really wanted them to shrink! LOL. I still see the same fat chick when looking at my reflection in the mirror. Some how my head is far behind my body. Perhaps its just fear of having it all taken away. When I hold my size 10 pants up I hear that lil voice say "theres no way you're squeezing that fat ass into those jeans". I put them on, button them, say "hmm, wow" and look in the mirror again. Still fat. Anyone else have this problem? I'm already thinking ahead to plastic surgery. Cant wait to get my wings clipped and that tummy tucked. I need a lot of work lol. Its fun to shop. I'm addicted, in fact. Its amazing how differently the store associates treat you when you're not huge. When you're big they ignore you in hopes that you'll move on to the next store. Now I can barely get a foot in the door before someone is asking if they can help me find something. It reminds me of the scene in "Pretty Woman" when Julia Roberts goes into the fancy shop to buy a ****tail dress and they treat her horribly because of how shes dressed. Any of you see the movie "Shallow Hal"? Ok i'll stop rambling now. I hope you are all enjoying wonderful success and happiness. Everyone deserves it. Thank you, Jesus, for each and every ounce i've lost, and for this incredible blessing you've given me. Hugs and kisses! Melanie

Hey Mel, nice to see ya post. Sounds like your doing wonderfully and your hardly fat might I add. But I know what your talking about. I was doing laundry Sunday and pulled some grey jeans to wash and was like whom are these. Not my daughter they are to big. Oh I said to myself they must be my family member that stayed with me for the holidays. They must have forgotten them. Mel, do you know that after I finished I looked at those size 14 and said, "Holy Cow these are mine" I forgot I purchased them. They just looked way to small to be mine. No way. Oh man how funny. Thinking about it I still can't believe it. And I am nowhere to goal so what will I do when I am in a 8 or 10. Goodness pass out I am sure. Boy life had done us good huh. Can't complain. I also need plastic surgery and am already thinking of it. I am making sure my doctors document all my rashes creams all that stuff. I don't want a denial from BCBS when my time comes. I have to have maintained my weight for 6 months first though before I can get approval though. I can't wait. Okay I am babling now. Congrats on such a wonderful success,,, NAT

Melanie, you look TERRIFIC!!! It's hard to believe you were ever obese, looking at your pictures. Your hearth looks so inviting with the Christmas decorations. I'm so glad to hear you are doing so well. I hope your recovery from knee surgery goes perfectly and that you feel great soon! Hugs, Susan

Great Job! Keep up the good work!!

You are doing great!!! Your pictures really show too! I feel the same way about my jeans. I look at them and say they won't fit, but then I go put them on, and they do fit!!! Ilook in the mirror in amazement, wondering how my fat ass got into these and zipped up. Anyway, I too started at 247, but I am down to 164, so I am about 2 pounds away from you. How do you fit into 10's? I am still at 14 maybe 12's depending on the make. I am 5'2, so maybe you are alot taller than me. Anyway, sounds like you are doing good! Good luck with the knee, and take care! Tricia

Hi Pat, Good Job!! I to am a shortie, at 5' 1" (and three quarters) , I wear everything from a 5/6 to a 8. I recently purchased two pairs of nice cords (size 5/6), the 7/8s were to big. I had to buy smaller jeans (I love the Gap Flare), size 6, I skipped the 8s from being in a 10. Depending on your body structure and how you carrie your weight will make everyone very in size. Two people might be the same height and weigh the same amount, however depending on bone structure and muscle density, you get two diffrent appearances. Cat

Hi Tricia and thanks so much for your kind words. Just wanted to answer your question about wearing a size 10. I went shopping this weekend and learned that I can actually wear a size 8 now. I'm 158 as of this morning. I'm 5'5 and my weight has always been very proportioned. I told my surgeon i'd created a new body type to go with apple and pear.... watermelon. Thats how I looked. Fat from head to toe, not just the stomach or hips. I was evenly fat all the way down. I think thats why i'm able to wear smaller sizes. I'm 27 lbs from my goal weight of 131 and most of that is in my chest and thighs lol. Thats my opinion, of course. You're doing wonderfully! Keep up the great work! God bless! Melanie

I say the same thing almost everyday when I pick up my new clothes. "That won't fit"... and usually it fits or is a little loose. At a support group last night I was told it take 2-3 YEARS to get your head to catch up to your body. 2-3 YEARS???? WOW. As far as your chest is concerned, at the support group again, one woman said this about her exact same situation. "Clearly, this is difinitive proof that God is, indeed, a man". Everyone pretty much fell of thier seats. Of course being 1 of 3 guys there, we all had eyes on us. Because we were just shaking our heads looking at each other saying "Yea, that's true". Which made people laugh even harder. Good luck healing that knee!