Hi Everyone...just checkin in....Let count our non scale blessings..

Hi my fellow July babies. Can you believe it is nearly a year since we have all had our surgeries? It seems like yesterday when we were just thinking about it, and now here it is almost a year later....and we have all ( save for a few complications) weathered the storm and if you will allow me to mix metaphors- came through the surgery with flying colors So to count our non scale blessings, I thought I would share some of the wonderfulness that has happened in my life as a result of having the surgery. ( In random order...) I can shop, cook and clean for myself, and be part of a team with my life mate that obesity had precluded me from being for the past 5 years. I can actually " run errands" not just pick and choose what one thing I am going to get accomplished for the day before I climb back in to bed. ( My bed is actually for sleeping....not laying in half the day because I can't move! ) I can fit in a movie theatre seat without feeling like they will have to summon the " jaws of life" to remove me from it. I can fasten my seat belt in the car around me without feeling like I am in a straight jacket. There is room between the steering wheel of the car, and my stomach. I can fit in a booth at a restaurant with room to spare. ( no longer have to scout out tables and chairs). I can park a decent distance from my destination in a parking lot and actually walk to where I am going without being panic stricken that I will fall over in an exhausted faint from the sheer effort it took to get me there. I can exercise if I want to ( though usually I don't, but I can, which is important). I enjoy cooking again.... Sex is better ( yea!!) Guess I should have put that at the top of the list now that I think of it. I got to throw out all of my really large " One Size Fits Japan" clothes and wear my One Size Fits Cleveland instead! I am wearing my daughters clothes that were too tight for the both of us and now she can't wear because she too lost over 100lbs by diet and exercise alone-which I think she wouldn't have been motivated to do, if I hadn't started on this journey. I don't live in constant terror that something horrible is going to happen to me if I don't do something about my weight. I got stopped the other day by a young man in a neighborhood Office Max I was at.... He asked me my name...then asked if I was married. It took me a minute then I realized... I was being HIT ON!! How cool was that???? I summoned up the courage to say... " Did you just do what I think you did". Then he said as politely as he could that he meant no harm, but that he thought I was really beautiful and to tell my husband that he was a lucky man. Now, I don't know if the guy was possessed, brain damaged or what. but the very idea that I would have been the object of someone's attention like that was very cool...and definitely not something that would have happened to me before the surgery. And at the beginning of this month, I opened the doors to my own insurance agency something I have wanted to do for a very long time, but wouldn't have considered because of my declining health. But now, I look better, I feel better, and I am optimistic about the future- even if I can't always post about my scale blessings... I am very grateful about the "non scale blessings that can't be measured by numbers alone. So my July buddies...what are your Non scale blessings??? Lets count them and be grateful. Marcy

What a magnificent post Marcy! Congratulations to you! My blessings are so many. But my favorites are: 1. Crossing my legs 2. running (I actually had to go buy running shoes last week.. and I still hate it, but I can, and do, do it!) 3. Feeling pride in my accomplishments 4. Having guys at the gym offer to spot me when I am in the free weight area... even though I don't need it (that is such a vain thing to love, but I do!) 5. Making sure I impress myself, rather than trying to impress everyone else. Have a wonderful week! Ileana 282/174.4/150

Sounds like you've had a lot of positive changes despite movement in the scale. And being hit on! That'll probably never happen to me...even if I go without my wedding ring! Here are the things that I am able to do, not in any particular order. 1) Exercise...whether I like it or not, I can do it and DO do it faithfully 2) Sit in seats...anywhere! Restaurants, movies, amusement park rides, the car, lawn chairs...and not worry about getting stuck or breaking them. 3) Walk anywhere without keeling over or heading for the nearest bench. 4) Shop, shop, shop! 5) Keep up with my daughter...now that she has to keep up with me. 6) Sex is definitely better! It's really amazing what mobility adds to your life. That has been by far the most important improvement for me, which you can see from my list...5 of the 6 things involved movement. Cheers! Pamela -102 and looking forward to the next 100

Great post, Marcy!!!!! I cannot begin to count the ways my life has been improved since surgery. I try to post when I am able to do things that I couldn't before. The number one thing is that I am still alive, and that is because of the weight loss from the surgery. Prior to surgery I was given about 6 months to live unless I got a heart/lung transplant. That is no longer a prerequisite for my susustaining life. The surgery literally saved my life. The other things are added bonuses--crossing my legs, exercising, taking a hike, fitting in resturant and movie theater seats, itting in a regular patio chair, wearing my daughter's hand me downs., having customers in our store that have not been in for a long time ask where the other woman is (meaning me) because they don't recognize me. The list is just endless. As always, I want the thank the men and women on this board for all the support, encouragement, and sharing of triumphs they have provided for the past year. Monna 389/234/150

Great post! The psychological benefits of WLS have been far greater than the physical. I no longer look to see if I'm the fattest one in the room. I'm not scared about meeting new people, or doing new things. I don't think twice when grocery shopping that people are going to look in my cart to see what I'm buying. I don't obsess about food like I used to, instead I eat in moderation. One of the best physical benefits is I can go into any store and buy what I want when I need it. If I'm out of town, and need a dressier shirt, or a pair of shorts or whatever, I can go into any store and buy what I need. I love that. I'm about 10 pounds away from comfortably borrowing my husband's shorts (size 34). Thanks Marcy Diana

Wow, what an awesome post, Marcy! I just have to say that your reason: "I got to throw out all of my really large " One Size Fits Japan" clothes and wear my One Size Fits Cleveland instead!" made me laugh out loud!! I too have many, many NSB's, among them: *the ability to cross my legs *the ability to cut and polish my own toenails *the ability to join in the Corporate Challenge in Central Park (NYC) that my work is participating in next week *my sons' showing me off *a much happier, healthier me - no more BP meds or cholestrol meds *shopping in the regular department *looking forward to doing things instead of dreading them because I was so depressed about my size *being complimented by the sales guy at Home Depot - he told me I looked just like Jamie Lee Curtis *taking shirts and pants out of the dryer and marveling that these little things belong to ME. Of course, these are only a few things that come to mind, I could go on A-L-L-L-L day!! Hugs, Nancy -112