15 Month Update! WITH PICS! :) <3

Has been posted to my blog but for the convenience of those that are not my friends on here, I will post it here as well! If we're not friends, you should add me! & if you REALLY wanna stalk me (because I update these just about every day lol)....

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Man, how time FLIES! It's September of 2011 and I'm now one year and three months out of surgery. It's pretty unbelievable. What have I been doing since my last update? Living life. I have been on more vacations in the past year than I've been on in my entire previous (before surgery) life. My favorite place to go? The beach. :)

I'm not gonna lie, I've been having such a wonderful time that I guess you could say I've "fallen off the bandwagon". I wish I could say that I kept up the workout routine, but I haven't. I wish I could say that I'm a good girl and watch my calories, but I don't. I don't even take my medication like I should right now, and let me tell you, it shows. For the last 5 months, my weight has remained about the same. It's been as high as 240 and as low as 232, but it's constantly up & down. Right now I'm at about 238. If I sound like I'm complaining, I'm not. I've been maintaining, which is good. Of course, I would LOVE to have hit the 100s and get to my goal by now but I can honestly say that if I never lost another pound and stayed where I am now, I would NOT be disappointed. Life is good. My only complaint that I have now is the amount of loose skin I have. Every inch of my body is saggy. My arms, my forearms, my thighs, my neck, my calves, my stomach, my back, etc. EVERYTHING. I know if my skin were tighter I would look like, on the outside, the sexy vixen that I feel like, on the inside. Even after losing 206 pounds, it's hard to look at your naked body in the mirror and like it. My plan is to figure out how to tighten everything up WITHOUT plastic surgery, first. If I can avoid scarring up my body any further, I'm all for it. However, plastic surgery is an option for me. I'm definitely not mentally ready for it at this time but who knows what the next few months will bring. I'm sure getting off the last 50 lbs that I want to lose will help with that too but, like I said, I've been enjoying life so, if I never lose the last little bit, I'm content. I know what needs to be done in order to get there it's just a matter of dedicating myself to doing it.

Other tid-bits of information for you...

As a newborn, fresh out of surgery and no longer experiencing hunger, I wondered if that hunger feeling was ever gonna come back. Now at 15 months out, I can honestly tell you...it doesn't. If I keep myself busy, I can go all day without eating and not feel any REAL hunger until the next day. HOWEVER...what does come back? Head hunger. I find that I eat certain foods simply because the thought of eating them sounds nice. And it's usually foods I should be avoiding such as cookies or other carbs like bread, pizza, pasta, etc. I know I shouldn't eat those foods because there's absolutely NO nutritional value in them what-so-ever, yet, I mentally crave them. I do my best every day to stay on the track of protein and vegetables but it's hard and I do slip up from time to time. But I'm no slave to dieting, if I want a piece of pizza, I'll have one. You just have to be careful. It's VERY easy to over eat. If I could go back and do anything differently, I would stay the HELL away from carbs! They are seriously evil. I'm incorperating way more vegetables in my diet now since my taste buds have changed. I don't know if that is due to the surgery or because they say your taste buds change every ten years, but mine have changed for the better! lol I love and even crave veggies now so I hope by the next time I write an update I can tell you guys I no longer eat those refined carbs, but only time will tell.

I still drink caffeine free diet coke like it's nobody's business. I just canNOT get in to water. I can't. If I didn't drink the diet cokes, I would dehydrate. lol. I don't know what I could have done differently to avoid getting in to this habit. Before surgery, I used to chug my water with my meals. The food made the water taste better if that makes sense. Now the only time I can chug water is if I'm working out and sweating up a storm. Maybe I should get back on the workout bandwagon and I can kill two birds with one stone, huh? lol

You might find you're asking yourself, "How in the hell did she have all this success?" The key to my success has been my attitude. I did not walk in to the hospital thinking that this surgery was going to be the miracle cure-all that I needed. I looked at it as a tool to help me conquer obesity. My tool got me 206 lbs thinner on it's own, but in order for me to get the last 50 lbs off, it's up to me to work it to it's full potential. You can tap a nail through wood with a hammer all day long and it will only get so deep and stop moving. It's up to you to put your might and force behind that hammer and drive the nail completely into the wood. :)

The best advice I can offer anyone just starting their journey is to DO YOUR HOMEWORK. Research, research, research. Arm yourself with knowledge. I started my journey thinking I wanted the Lap-Band. But after reading many articles, attending free seminars at my hospital of choice, talking to people that have had surgery, and coming on this website I decided the Vertical Sleeve was going to be the best choice for me. And once you've made up your mind, stand your ground and FIGHT for what you believe in. When I had my consultation with the surgeon, he tried to persuade me to have the RNY for the simple fact that insurance covered it. I knew in my heart that I would NOT have been happy with the RNY and I stood my ground. I did not settle for anything less than what I wanted. Sure, I had to go in to debt and take out a loan to pay for my surgery but it was money well spent. For the small price of $21,000, I added DECADES to my life and enriched the quality of my life now and for many many years to come. When it comes to your life, money is no object. I've said it before and I'll say it again...I would do this all again in a heartbeat. It has been a wonderful journey. :****il my next update, friends! Stay healthy & enjoy these pictures!


Before- 444 lbs/ 7 mos.- 167 lbs lost/ 1 year- 206 lbs lost


Before- 444 lbs/ 7 mos.- 167 lbs lost/ 1 year- 206 lbs lost


I went on vacation with friends to King's Island Amusement Park.


I am pleased to say that I fit comfortably on EVERY. SINGLE. RIDE. I would look at the tiny cars on rollercoasters and think "There's no way I'll fit in there! I'm still way too big." Yet I surprised myself every single time. :)


I even rode this baby. They have one in just about every touristy town. It's known as the Slingshot. Yeah, I rode it. And the cables didn't break! lol!