YOU WON'T BELIEVE THIS!

Did you know that there are 3500 calories in 1 lb of fat??? I learned that today at Curves. That means, for example someone like me that wants to lose 200 lbs, I have to lose a total of 700,000 calories. Seems impossible doesn't it. I am just so thankful for this wonderful surgery. As of today I have already lost 395,500 of the 700,000. When you start looking at it in a different light, it makes you feel so good about yourself. Just think, for every 10 lbs we lose, thats a 10lb bag of potatoes. Can you imagine carrying all that extra wt around. Its unbelievalbe! Oh well, just a little thought to leave you guys with. Have a great evening. Love to all. angie

Hey Angie! What a great thing to post...this puts things in a different perspective when you look at it like this. When I was at my folks house this past weekend, my Dad asked how far I was with my wieghtloss and when I told him, he said you need to go and find a bag of something that is that heavy and try to pick it up and see how heavy it is...well, I told him, I don't have to, I know what it is to carry that extra weight, I did! & Nancy

1-Did you eat any Easter Candy? Or what is your favorite candy at Easter before surgery or now......... Yep, I ate some and jumped right on that bloodsugar rollercoaster! 2-What did you wear to Church on Easter Sunday? I wore a very casual dress since I had nursery duty in the special needs class. The Sunday before last was my dress-up day. I wore a peach dress with white shoes. 3-What was for Dinner on Easter Sunday? Did you cook or go out to eat? We went to my parents and had ham, croissants, fried chicken, potato salad, beans, coconut cake and lemon pie. I brought the croissants. 4-Do you wear white shoes or pants before Easter? Heavens no! Didn't yo Mama teach you right? 5-What is your favorite holiday? Christmas

1-Did you eat any Easter Candy? Or what is your favorite candy at Easter before surgery or now......... Yes I ate some. The girls get a ton from school. Luckily they didn't get much from church this year. But guess what? I didn't buy any candy except some jelly beans. Usually I get chocolate, chocolate , chocolate! My favorite easter candy is the Solid bunnies with peanut butter by Palmers. Not sure if they have a real name. Maybe should have bought that...I really want one. I'm doomed! 2-What did you wear to Church on Easter Sunday? A dark blue dress with pretty pink roses, silky material, fish tails at bottom & has a short sleeve shirt/jacket? that hooks at the very top. Hard to explain. It was my Easter dress from last year. I just hate buying new things...especially since I have a date now (july 6). 3-What was for Dinner on Easter Sunday? Did you cook or go out to eat? Usually mom cooks a Turkey & Dressing dinner...YUM! But she didn't want to be tied down so she made Taco soup. At first thought I was like "yuck, taco soup for Easter lunch? but it was SO good. & I told my sister it could easily be made into a low fat version using lower fat meat & Baked tortilla chips for starters. 4-Do you wear white shoes or pants before Easter? I wear what I have. Although this year I didn't. I don't have anything white except a pair or capris. 5-What is your favorite holiday? It's a tie between Thanksgiving & Christmas.

1-Did you eat any Easter Candy? Or what is your favorite candy at Easter before surgery or now.........My before favorite was cadbury eggs or Reese's eggs. And I ate some Hershey's sugar free chocolate eggs, but man do they give you GAS!!!! 2-What did you wear to Church on Easter Sunday? I wore pjs cause I was in my recliner watching Church from First Baptist Church in Jackson. The Preacher there used to be the preacher at Clarke Venable in Decatur. 3-What was for Dinner on Easter Sunday? Did you cook or go out to eat? I cooked a baked chicken and had mine on a small salad. 4-Do you wear white shoes or pants before Easter? Just white tenny shoes. My Sissie (Shirley) would KILL me if I did worse. 5-What is your favorite holiday? Chirstmas and the 4th of July.

1. yes, i was bad, i ate a small chocolate egg .cadbury eggs were my favorite before surgery, but now i would be terrified to eat that now, its way too much sugar 2. Lavender floral dress size 24 that is WAYY to big. Im in a 18/20 now. 3.ham, chicken n dressing, corn, sweet taters, roll , butter beans, good ole soul food. I could only eat a tiny bit of it though but it was good! 4.yes 5.christmas

Angie It is great to think about weight loss in other terms than a number. I know when I look at my scale and see that I've lost 153 pounds that doesn't mean as much to me as it does to realize that that is (15) 10 lb bags of potatoes. Another thing, I can't pick up 15 bags of potatoes, but somehow my body was carrying that around. How? No wonder I felt bad all of the time. Keep on losing because you are looking and doing great! Larry

Right now I have lost 48 pounds which happens to be what my daughter weighs so I think about how heavy she is and realize it is alot.

Hey Angie, I lost a couple taters this week......Hee Hee..... Sandi

Dear Mrs. Coulter, The following letter is what I send to everyone that emails me about surgery: Can you believe it? When everyone ask me how was surgery, I say I had a great time? My doctor took excellent care of me. He had a tour guide meet my friend and me at the airport. Her name was Maria. Maria took us to us to our 5 star hotel where we stayed until morning. This hotel is absolutely wonderful! The next morning, Wednesday, July 13th, Maria took me to all of my doctor's visits. I met with every kind of doctor you can think of!!! I was checked head to toe. They gave me all of my x-rays, sonograms, ekg, paperwork to take home to my family doctor. July 14th,Thursday, was the day of surgery. Maria picked me up at the hotel and took me to the hospital. Dr. Valencia was nice. The hopital and staff were wonderful. The surgery took about 2 1/2 hours. Pre-op, op, recovery...took about four hours. It seemed like an hour to me because I was out of it. I stayed in a nice hospital room with my own personal nurse who sat by my bedside. She made sure I was not in pain. The next morning she helped me take a shower and walk the halls. Dr. Valencia checked on me three times a day. At night he stayed and talked for almost an hour. He made me feel at ease. Maria helped my friend that went with me to be comfortable. She arranged a pedicure, mainicure and massage for her while I was in surgery. She gave her a cell phone so that she could have updates on how the surgey was going. Maria and Dr. Valencia called my husband in the states and kept him informed of everything. This made my husband feel good. I got out of the hospital on Sunday Morning, July 17th. I rested Sunday and went shopping on Monday and Tuesday.On Wednesday, July 20th, Maria took us to the airport. She had a wheelchair for me. We got to bypass all the long lines because of the wheelchair. Maria made sure we were safe and sound before we she left us to get on our plane. I really developed a frienship with my doctor and tour guide. We stay in touch even today. I live where the hurricane damaged alot of property. Dr. Silva and Dr. Valencia called to see if my family needed anything. I can not imagine that happening in the US. I would rate my experience in Bogota, Colombia as a perfect 10. The country is beautiful. I want to go back and take my husband and children. When people ask me why Colombia, I say I did extensive reseach into the doctors, the hospital, and the country and they were the best. They have a 0% mortality rate. The hospital has all the latest technology for one third of the price as the US. If you have any questions, I will be glad to answer them. I asked many questions of those who went before me. Sonya Sumrall RNY 7-14-05 275/160-115 pounds in less than 9 months! P.S. If you go to www.obesityhelp.com and look up my name, I have a profile sheet that has my photo and experiences.