Supportive people in your life... let's hear about 'em...

Oddly, my middle son! He's 15 and SO supportive. "Mom this is awesome, be healthy. GO work out. Make time for yourself. You're the best mom ever." He encourages me all the time. It's so sweet. Makes my heart smile.

My sister...my friends...my peeps here (Yes, I'm claiming friends from the interwebs. Elina in particular), my therapise (tehehe so I pay her? So!??)

Hey, therapists can be cheerleaders too (even if we pay them to do it, darn it! LOL)

Okay, you're giving me hope here. My son turns 12 in just under 3 weeks and I'm TERRIFED of teenagers. No, I seriously am. He's the sweetest kid in the world and I'm just in fear that he's going to be a monster kid or something in a year or two...

*bites nails*

I love focusing on the positive, Thanks!!

I will start with saying, I don't have anyone in my life who is less than supportive, yeah for me!

#1. I have to go with my husband, hands down. I love that man! He has really recognized the benefits of a healthy lifestyle through this and been my rock in changing our families eating and exercising habits with me. He is always showing me pictures to remind me how far I've come.

#2 My 11 YO son. When he looks at pictures from last year, he is puzzled and says .."Mom that doesn't even look like you anymore..." (profound from an 11yo boy). He is always making me bets and the wagers are..if he wins he chooses what type and time we exercise together or if I win I do. Somehow he always wins. OK by me, keeps me motivated.

I feel super blessed by all my friends and family who support me and could not continue without their love.

Oh, yay! The husband being on board with the changes in the family lifestyle I think are SO important because it's hard enough without them being 100% onboard. So happy!

Awwww... yeah, you know, my kids tell me they don't remember me looking like my photos from a year ago. I guess because the change is so gradual (they see me every day, anyway) that they don't really "remember". Interesting, especially because I have days when I look in the mirror and think "dayum, I'm a skinny biotch" and others I think "gah, I'm still so fat". Sigh. Sometimes I think kids kind of tell the real story, ya know? I think they REMEMBER, but their new reality overrides it somehow?

I've been blessed with supportive friends and family...even our neighbors are cheerleaders. But without a doubt, my husband tops the list.

When I needed to quit smoking, he stopped using tobacco too, so I wouldn't go through it alone.

When I needed to change how I ate, even before surgery, he changed his diet as well.

When I needed to start exercising, he started making it a "date" for us to go to the gym together several times a week.

When I needed to be on liquids, he lived on protein shakes, and ate only when he wasn't home so I wouldn't see it.

When he's on duty and gone for 24 hours, he comes home and tells me that he can see a difference, just in that short amount of time.

He met me and married me at my heaviest, and he's always said that I didn't need to do this for him, that this was all about me. And he's never let me feel anything but beautiful in his eyes.

Okay, doing shakes with you makes him a saint. No really. I hereby proclaim him Saint Mr. M.

I have to do those things things and I detest them. Maybe I can ship him mine and he can choke 'em down for me? LOL!

Sounds so great! And yes, my neighbors know and have been great too... I had one a few houses down walk up and introduce himself and catch himself "Oh wait... you're Candy... wow, Hi" *laughing* He'd been houseridden for a while ;)

My husband has been my biggest supporter by far. He is always ready with an encouraging word, eats the healthy stuff I cook and thanks me for it, and makes sure that we are active as a family. The other day after a particularly nice walk, he came up to me with tears in his eyes and thanked me for taking the initiative to get myself (and by extension, our family) living a healthy lifestyle. It was so sweet.

Most of the people in my life have been supportive, or at least have had the grace to keep quiet if they had issues.

Awwww... that really is sweet! I truly think getting the whole family involved is the key. It's why we have started the tradition on Thanksgiving morning to do the Turkey Trot here in Austin. It's just one mile through the streets of downtown, but it's a good way to start that day. We also do a 5k here and there and ride bikes and do more active things... along with the whole food changes. Sounds like you got a good one!

 It's so great to hear that everyone has such supportive people in their lives!  I think my biggest supporter would be my hubby.  He was totally on board with the whole surgery plan since I was referred to the surgeon, and also on board when I found out how long of a wait time I had ahead of me and decided to go elsewhere.  He came with me when I decided to go to Mexico for my surgery, and paid for the plane tickets with his airmiles.  While in the hospital and after I got home, he was there for me every step of the way, even feeding my horses for me when I wasn't able to (and that's big news, haha!)  

Another huge support has been my aunt.  She is the one who loaned me the money to pay for my surgery, and is always glad to hear how things are going.  I couldn't have done it without her.

My parents also support me in this.  They thought I was slightly nuts for going to Tijuana for surgery, but now that I've recovered well and have lost quite a bit of weight, they're so glad that I made this decision.  Even my father said to me one day "I'm so glad you had your surgery"  and for Dad to say something like that is huge.

I've been very open about my decision to have this surgery with just about everyone.  My friends and clients (I'm a dog groomer) have all been very supportive as well, and are always asking how things are going.  I'm so grateful to have such a wonderful group of people to support me in this :D

*laughing* We live in the suburbs so we don't have horses, but I can't imagine me doing that for anyone, I'm SO not a country girl, although we had horses when I grew up. So sweet that he made sure you got there and stayed with you the whole way.

And your Aunt... amazing! It always amazes me how family friends come together when we truly need them. xoxo