Made it throught the Holidays:)

It has been 1 yr and 3 mos come the 15th. I managed to make it thru the holidays and be better for it.
I went to the gym extra during the holidays..still with my trainer and more cardio on my own (trying to up that)...must push thru to the other side you know. I bounced around between 3-5lbs but am now right back to my currently posted weight of a month or more ago. I feel really good about this. I am seeing my inches decrease as well. I feel like I have a window of opportunity to lose right now. So, I am working harder and tracking regularly. Dr Cirangle (not my surgeon) has a great guide that is very helpful for me to be more conscious of  the little BIG things I must adhere to daily. I really need that..sometimes more than others.
I know I strayed a bit at the holidays but feel GREAT  being right back on track. Never have I EVER been this successful at getting it together so quickly. Just would not be possible without VSG for sure. Simply life changing in all the best ways.
I bought a size 6 jeans today.........I use to wear a size 24 and needed a 26. UNBELIEVABLE....M-E... for real in a size 6!!! I still have to take a second glance to make sure it is me....for real.
Most people do not recognize me still in so many cases.
I have not chosen to talk about my surgery and really don't feel compelled to except that I do pray my brother will ask me one day. He is the only person I want to tell in hopes that he would consider the same option to relieve himself of this same burden. He has the same strenghth and stamina as I do and would do well. I pray this is the right step for him and he would ask.
One day.:)
My kids love to go to the gym with me and ask me every day if I am going to workout. Of course, every day  I am off I go to the gym atleast once and twice a couple of days a week. I take the weekends off...must recouperate from the week. I am CERTAIN that the exercise has put me over the top in being able to lose the inches/weight I have needed to. I have lost inches in places I KNOW it would not have been possible without exercise. I am so grateful for the best trainer. He has made all the difference in having faith in me on days I have not. He always knows when to push me a bit harder because I can do it. Amazing. God gives you what you need when you need it. 
To all of you starting and those in the midst....hang in there and keep doing the next right thing. Forge ahead and you can have very good results too. Success I believe is 80% eating and 20% exercise. If you eat you exercise and if you exericise you eat. Less in than you put out. Do what you can to make that happen..every step counts. Keep up the good work. You can do it. I did.

Congratulations on your dedication & motivation to stay on track.  You are very inspirational.

I hope you don't mind me asking, but why have you chosen not to confide in your brother but instead are waiting for him to approach you?  Could he be afraid of invading your privacy and be holding back from asking even though he is curious?  Maybe you can come up with a subtle way to get into the discussion with him since you are a living success story.

Good luck in everything you do!

~Helen~

Thank you very much:) It has been such a life "opening" experience. All the reason in the world to be the happiest chick on the planet:)

As for my sharing my story. I have had a very thoughtful journey about my life being heavy. I knew when an acquaintance of mine and I were having a conversation about about a completely different topic I was the one that asked her how she had lost weight and was keeping it off. She has known me at my heaviest. She would have never just approached me and said you need to do this or this is what I have done. Now granted he is my brother and it should be different. But I know how personal being overweight is...it kind of hurts your feelings...thus creating a "touch" of denial, helpless at the point I was...for me anyway. Even though I was very big, in my mind I literally never THOUGHT of myself REALLY in truly as THAT heavy. Yes, I know that sounds funny but I have always thought of myself as capable etc,etc. But I also knew that I was lying down at nite scared I would have a stroke or a heart attack. I knew when my acquaintance told me she had VSG....I honestly knew it was THE right thing for me. I KNEW that my problem lie in the fact that I ate TOO MUCH FOOD AND ALL THE WRONG KIND OF FOOD. I was a CARB JUNKY to the max. I have learned so much thru this process and the biggest thing is that it has been a CHANGE OF MIND. It is the 80/20 rule...mind 80 and eating 20 for me...now that I look back. I have learned that my body had really physically changed and it would take a radical new start to get anywhere near living healthier.
I guess I have gone overboard to say that a person really needs to be in the 'right place" to take in this kind of information as a serious way of hacking away at a new life or the life that we truly think of ourselves capable of but really cannot achieve physically.
I was at my "bottom" and knew this was IT for me. Atleast I was putting myself out there like it was. I really feel strongly that he needs to approach me because he is completely aware of his situation and the issues he is dealing with. We all know how many times our family members have tried to make us aware of what we are all too ACUTELY aware of but overwhelmed and find it nearly impossible to overcome and just give up.
I feel like if I just advertise to anyone who ask about my process it becomes all about my surgery and will it last?when will you gain weight back? what if it doesn't work? I want it to be about me making it be successful and if it failed it would be no different than any other diet trick any of us have ever tried and I would just be heavy again. I want to be in control and not having to justify my decision to anyone else. I have actually told a couple of people about the person I learned about it from and how successful she has been and they are **completely** not interested. These were people that I have known my whole life to be very heavy and still are. It really is kind of curious to me but like I said, each person has to be at their own "bottom" before a decision like this can be approached seriously.
I am praying that if this is the right decison for my brother that the right cir****tances will arise and it can be discussed seriously. I just want to tell my story to him and give him something to consider.  Yes, I could call, make some time available and just tell him but I truly believe you have to be in the "right" place. He hasn't even mentioned my a single word about my loss in these 15 months...NOT ONE WORD. See, he is still thinking I believe....just not ready yet.
To each his own for sharing and more power/success to those who have shared with others. I hope that more and more can have such great success. There is so much to live for.  
I would appreciate any input anyone else has about this as to how to handle this with him should the time arise.
Success to all!!!

you are so very right about people having to get to the "right place" before they are ready to make the decision for themselves, but it does not necessarily mean that they have to be in that place before they hear about the possibilities and the success of people they know who have made that decision.
I have chosen to share the surgery with literally every one around me. My co workers have all (exception of one) been extremely supportive, and also receptive to all the information that I can share with them. There is a coworker who's husband is very interested in getting the surgery, but she has stage 4 breast cancer and is considered terminal. He will not take it on while their family is going through this. I have another coworker who is about my same age, and is considering the surgery, but is trying one more diet to try and get the weight off again. As you know this always happens repeatedly. She will be ready soon. I have a niece who wants to have the surgery, but her mother (my sister) was discouraging her from doing it, but is now considering the surgery herself now. So this is a couple more people who were not in the right place at hearing about the surgery, but are aware of the possibilities, and are getting near to making the decision. I never urged any of them to get the surgery, or told anyone that they needed to have it. I just shared my journey only. The rest will happen as it happens.
For me it was an answer to prayer. I am daily grateful and humbled at the thought that it could happen to me.

Thanks so much for your insight. I will add this to my thoughts about sharing. Much success to you!

Congrats - I think its great to make getting through the holidays without blowing it as a milestone and goal and achievement. Its an issue we all face and so nice to not start the year with some "repair" work to do.

Regarding your brother, i called mine and told him I was only going to bring this up once but I would feel remis if i didn't tell him what i had done and how life changing it has been. He did decide to look into it, had vsg, and now is down nearly 140 lbs. We were both fat all our lives. Many people know nothing of this procedure so I felt like I should at least tell him about it. Glad I did. My husband also got sleeved two months ago and he and my brother compare progress on myfitnesspal.

Anyway good for you. Thanks for sharing that the holidays can be managed.     Diane