Things are moving along.

I am 1.5 months away from finishing my 6 month Dr. supervised diet. I just made an appointment with the psychologist for February 20. I chose that week so I don't have to drive into the city by myself. My GF is off that week, so it'll be a nice day together. After than, I'll do my last weigh in with the Dr. in March and then I can make my appointment with the nutritionist and the nurse at the surgeon's office. My cardiologist said that he will support the surgery if I pass all of his test at one year from my heart attack. That means I can't have surgery before June, so I have plenty of time to get everything done. I don't think I will have any problems passing the tests. I've been feeling good...heart wise any way. I've actually been dreaming about the new me. Problem is, I've never been smaller than a 14, so it's hard to visualize. Although, I'd be tickled pink to be a size 14. Something tells me I'll get smaller, so I'm running with that thought. OK....enough of my rambling. Rachelle

You're getting closer and closer Rachelle!! Sounds like you've got everything planned and timed out too - that's great. The time is going to fly by now! Steve

You know how long I've been wanting this, Steve. Can you believe I'm thinking in terms of months now? When I had my heart attack, I couldn't even think of a timeframe. I hope this doesn't bite me in the ass. Sometimes it's not good to plan too much. Rachelle

I hear you, Rachelle. I've been obese all my life (my bar mitzvah suit was bought in the "husky boys" shop). I haven't been 200 lbs since high school, nor 300 lbs since college. I have NO way to visualize what I will look like at a "normal" weight. There's no frame of reference.

Hey Randy. This has been a life long battle for me. I was a chubby baby at 6 months old and it just continued from there. Boy, do I remember shopping in the plus sizes as a kid. It was devastating to me. Felt like I was singled out, kwim? Anyway, it's great to have all of you to share my journey with and I'm delighted to share in your journeys with you. Rachelle

I know what you mean! My aunt told me over the summer that the pediatrician suggested to my mother that she feed me low calorie baby formula -that was a wow moment. I guess I that I was an overeater even BEFORE I could consciously choose to eat to make myself feel better. I have one picture of myself at age 4 where my weight looks normal to me - all the rest of my pics till now show me as overweight to MO. It is hard to have a vision without a frame of reference - like trying to climb Everest w/o a map or w/o seeing the top cuz it's behind the clouds. All the best on oiur journeys - so glad you all are with me! It makes the difference! Thanks - Chris Davitt Highest = 287 Current = 204 Goal = 170 "Ideal" = 138

Hey Christina. I didn't know they even made low cal baby formula. Geez. I think I'm going to see if I can dig up some old pics. The one I remember most is one of me in 6th grade. What age is that...10-11? I was already a porker. My bust was bigger than other girls my age because of the weight. Oh my. Just thinking about it makes me cringe. That was probably around the same time as my first official diet. Did Weigh****chers with Mom. If I can find the pics (translation, if I didn't already burn them) I'll post them. Rachelle