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Mica,

I'm delighted to meet you and look forward to getting to know you better over the course of our respective journies.

Wishing you continued success,

My name is Barbara. I'm 50 years old. I have been married to my DH Ben for over 30 years. We have 3 children; 27 year old twin sons; Chris and Mike and our 14 year old daughter Sarah. Chris married the most wonderful young woman this year and now Christine had joined our family.

I was a normal sized child up to the age of 7. At that point, I started to chunk up. I remember obsessing about my weight at the age of 8 and on and on... I was a chunky, chubby kid in elementary school, a fat kid in middle school and became obese in high school. By the time I married Ben, much to my distress I was well over 200 lbs and wore a size 22 wedding dress. I remained over 200 lbs for the next 30 years. Of course, I'd lose some and gain it back, and a little more... but I never was able to consistently keep my weight below 200 lbs.

In 2006 I was diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes and about the same time my dear mother was diagnosed with stage 3 kidney failure, a complication of her own Type 2 Diabetes. I decided that I was looking in the mirror as I looked at my mother and didn't like what I was seeing. Like many others that look into and undergo any type of WLS, I had tried nearly everything else. Sometimes, I'd have moderate success with initial weightloss, but no lasting success. I felt like I had to do something that would give me much better odds at shedding the weight and more importantly better odds of keeping that weight off in the long term.

I had RNY surgery through Duke WLS Center in June of 2007. My high weight was 264. My weight when I entered the program at Duke was 248. I weighed 233 when I had surgery. My lowest weight was 132 and I now weigh 139.

For me the most important thing is that my Type 2 Diabetes is resolved. My quality of life has improved immeasurabily. I wear a size 4/6 in my pants and a 6/8 in my tops/dresses.

I have some excess skin and have struggled some with my feellings about that, but that's getting better.

For me, while getting the weight off was a lot of work, maintenance has been harder for me than losing. I am working hard at retooling my thoughts and actions as they relate to food. Like a marriage, the first year is full of adjustments, but is a honeymoon. It's after the first year, when the hard work of maintenance sets in.

Thanks for taking a minute to get to know some about me. I look forward to getting to about you too!

Since Barb asked me for my two cents I'll throw in a quarter. I weigh myself everyday not as obsession but more as a gage to make sure I am still doing the right things. If my weight climbs I re-evaluate what I am eating or not doing. I am almost 3 years out now and am still within 5lbs of 219lbs after losing 241lbs overall. I try and just eat a normal diet now days but I also do eat thinks that are on the "not good" list but I also recognize there is a price to pay so Oreo turn into an extra 5 miles hiking to burn them off. WLS has taught me there is no "free lunch" in this world.I can eat anything I am willing to pay for with exercise. It may not be the perfect solution but it works for me and I am in the best health of my life and I still drink Margaritaa and enjoy all life has to offer everyday.
Good Luck,
Tim

Jennifer,

What a great, thoughtful and inspiring response! I agree that I too think about my weight much more conciously now than I ever did before. I don't think it's negative or obsessive, but I weight daily. I know that I have a 'normal' window of fluxutation, but I keep an eye on it. Before, I could go weeks, months, even years without knowing my weight. Like you, I am also much more aware of what I'm eating and while I on occasion have 'forbidden' fruits, it is generally in moderation and on occasion where before, it would have been all time... especially, now that I'm under sooooo much stress. I still gravitate towards comfort eating, but I'm working hard at and mostly succeeding at moderation... I can tell that I'm succeeding because my scales are staying where they need to.

I want you to know that you are a voice of reason in the storm for me sometimes and I truly appreciate it.

Hugs,

As we all know, we will need to change the habits of a lifetime, to ensure our longterm success. Let's inspire one another and share success habits we are putting into place.

I use a pedometer to make sure that I'm moving enough. I shoot for 10K steps a day. If it's getting later into the day and I realize the I'm off quite a bit, I take a break and go for a walk to boost my count. 10K steps equals about 4 miles walked. I find that when I'm wearing my pedometer and trying to register more steps on it, I'll park farther from the store, take the stairs, instead of the elevator, etc...

Please add your success habit to this thread.