Before & After Pictures!

Well.... I just wanted to add some pictures here to show the differences again! It seems just so strange even for me to look at these pictures! Was that really me? Really? Also... Is this really me now??? Really??
This is great motivation for me though.... I DO NOT WANT TO GO BACK TO THAT!!!!!! EVER!!!!!
So, starting weight was 323 lbs. Todays weight 159 lbs. Total loss 164 lbs!!! I now weigh less then what I lost! INCREDIBLE!!!!

I AM AT GOAL!!!!!!!!!

I have made it! I now have lost 164 pounds total!!!! I have lost 115 lbs since December 7, 2009 (9 months).... and the 164 since June of 09.
I cannot hardly take this in... I now have lost MORE than I weigh. I know I have not used any actually weights in these writings. I have not posted my beginning weight or present weight... but I am ready to share with you, as it really is amazing I feel!!!

My highest weight:
June 2009 ~ 323 lbs.

December 7, 2009 ~ Day of surgery ~ 274 lbs. (49 lbs lost)

September 8, 2010 ~ Hit goal ~ 159 lbs. (164 lbs lost)

The doctors finally set my goal at 160 pounds, (I am 5'7" tall) and on September 8, I weighed in at 159!!! I was SOOOO excited!!!

I was asked by a dear friend "Now what? Do you get to eat regular foods now that you are done?" Oh my sweetie... I am just beginning really! Yes... I have a great start, but... the journey is FAR from over! I will not be changing anything. I still eat my proteins, fruits and vegetables! The proteins & produce! The weight loss is really just leveling off on its own anyway, so don't think I'll have a problem with continuing to really lose. I am eating more calories in a day now. Somewhere around 800-900 calories a day. I really don't get hungry yet. Yes, there are times that I do feel the hunger in my tummy, but then I look at the clock and realize that I do need to eat something. But I can STILL honestly say that I am doing everything that I am suppose to... and not doing anything that I am not suppose to!!! I do realize that there are just things... foods that I cannot let back into my life, ever!!! They are not good for ANYONE... but especially me... so I want to be strong, and keep my body healthy!!! I AM WORTH IT! Only the very best nutrition is for me now!

Can you believe, that since my surgery, I have not had ANY pop, No candy, No potato chips, etc. The best part? I don't even miss them. I see those foods as complete junk! They really are so gross! They are NOT good for me... or anyone really!!!

Yes, the weight loss is awesome, being thinner feels fabulous, buying a different, more fashionable wardrobe is great... but... being healthy again... well... just hardly any words to describe it, it is WONDERFUL in every sense of the word! Just no feeling like it! To be able to breathe, walk, move, talk, etc... I don't have to worry every single time I walk into a room, Where will I sit? Will the chair hold me? Will I fit IN the chair? Will I be the biggest one in the room? Wondering what is being said about me... cuz I KNOW things ARE being said! Not caring... but oh yes, really I do care, and even though I smile, and chat along with everyone.... inside I am crying, hating myself for the way I look, the way I have let myself get to this point, and on I go!

But now... things are so different, and this is just the beginning! No I am not "done" with my program, I am LIVING my new life, every day, every meal! I have said it before, but I will say it again.....
NOTHING TASTES AS GOOD AS BEING HEALTHY FEELS!!!! NOTHING TASTES AS GOOD AS BEING THINNER FEELS AS WELL!!!!

Well, my great team.... I am going to keep this blog going as I can. I want to continue to share my journey with you. It is an ongoing process! In a way, this is going to be the testing period, to KEEP the weight off! So hopefully, by learning the ropes in these last 9 months... it has given me a firm hold, so I just need to keep my grip tight!!!

I want to say again.... your support has been grand through this all. Thank you SOOOO much! Please continue keep me in your thoughts, I need your support, I appreciate it SOOO much!
Love to each one... Eydie =)

8-20-10 Still on my journey!!!

Well... I am still losing... slowly, but surely! I hit these little plateus, but then it just starts coming off again. Yesterday I lost 1 pound, but then today I lost 3 pounds! Wow.... well... to say the least I was SO excited... I was psyched!! Now just a few left, and I will be at my goal! This is so incredible... I have lost weight through the years... quite a bit at times even, but have never come close to my goals! Now.... even though I am close to goal.... the journey is FAR from over... really it will be for the rest of my life! The true work is every single day! Maintaining a weight loss is just as important as the road down! I have full confidence that I WILL be able to do it though!!!! I have tried to understand the different things of those that have not succeeded... what happened... what went wrong... etc! I try to be such an optimistic person... but I want to learn from these things... so it doesn't happen to me! I am very involved in this program with other people too... so I think that will help me too! In helping even one other person... I am helping myself. Nutrition has become a passion for me, so I am looking forward to spending more time helping others with this as well.
So I am now at -159 lbs lost total, and -110 lbs lost in the 8 months since surgery! Wow.... just hard for even me to think about this! I really am so happy!! Incredible to feel SO healthy again!!
So my Dear Team members.... once again... thank you for your fabulous support here! It sure helps to know I have my team right here next to me.... holding my hand along the way! I love you all.... Eydie

8-8-10 Now 155 total!!!

Wow... and now that I've broken my plateau, I am losing again! Here I am 245 days out of surgery... that is 8 months! In that time I've lost 106 lbs, for a total of 155 lbs! It seems every day I am feeling better and better! I am still not eating ANYTHING that I am not suppose to! NO caffeine! NO carbination. NO sugars! Now that means I have NOT had even a SIP of pop... of any kind! NO candy! NO cakes! NO cookies! Nothing but good nutrition for me!!! I eat proteins, fruits and veggies!

How about my exercise? I am still working out as I can. I go to the gym here in town. Anytime fitness. I don't get there as much as I'd like to with the kids not doing too many activities the month of August. But... even though I am NOT looking forward to school starting on September 7th... it will be a time for scheduled routines! I will surely miss being with my kids everyday all day... but they are actually ready. So, when I drop them off at school in the morning, then my plan is to go straight to the gym from there!

Thank you again my great team!!! You're the best!! Love, Eydie

7-30-10 Still plugging away!!!

Well here I am just finishing up my 7th month out of surgery! I have hit another plateau. I have lost 102 lbs since surgery for a total of 151 lbs! I am feeling very good, so healthy, just amazing to feel alive again!

I am still exercising as I can. Going to the fitness center here in town (Anytime Fitness). I have been very slowly working my way up. I sure can tell that I have been out of shape for over 20 yrs! But.... little by little gaining muscle, and endurance! I am toning, strengthening, and building resistance! It really does feel great to be healthier.

I am still being hyper sensitive about what I eat also. I eat my proteins, fruits and vegetables! I eat no breads, no pastas! I just want to be SO careful to only put the best quality foods into my system! I want to be my very healthiest on the inside... as well as the outside!

Here is just another humorous little tid-bit. This is the first summer that the heat has not been a problem for me! In fact... I am actually freezing most of the time! I carry a sweat shirt in the van with me, and wear it many days! Also.... I end up wearing a sweatshirt here in the house too. With the A/C going for everyone else, I am just too cold, but that is just fine with me. This is the very first time the summer heat hasn't kept me at home, or seated in the van, while the others are out doing something!

It has been so fun to be able to shop now as well. I can go into a store, and just find something that catches my eye (yep, usually it's purple)! I have gone from the biggest size I could buy practically, to a basic Medium! A size 14. I can hardly believe it myself! I haven't worn a 14 since, well... don't even remember! As I lose even more, it may even end up being a 10 or 12!!! A new fun thing for me now.... buying skirts! I have worn dresses for YEARS! Now I have bought a couple of skirts... and even 2 jean skirts!!!

I am also still going to all of my surgery support groups, and the weekly dietary groups. I just want to make sure that this is front and center in my life! I just don't want to lose sight of where I am, or where I am going! Yes, I have 22 lbs yet to lose to get to my personal goal weight, but really.... that is when the test will start... keeping the weight off! This truly has to be a way of life!

Well... once again, I want to thank each one of you. Those of you who send your support, who follow me here, those of you who stop me in the stores... thank you so very much for your encouragement! It really does mean everything to me! It is very nice to know I have so many people rooting for me, cheering for me, so happy I am healthy again! Thank you!!!!

All now... until next time.... love to each in your own corners of the world!
Love... Eydie =)

More Comparison Pix

This is what one year can do. In fact... just less than one year! The bottom picture is taken June 28, 2009. This is one of my high school friends, Cheryl. We have reconnected through facebook, and I have really enjoyed our time together again. Her 2 boys are the same age as my 2 kids!
The top picture is taken this year... on June 19, 2010. Wow... when I look at these pix... I just can't hardly believe that this is really me. Was I really that big...and have I really lost this much weight????

7-3-10 151 lbs lost!!!

Well.... my Dear Family and Friends... my Team! I am still on my weight loss journey here! I can honestly say, it is going great! Yes, it is a full-time job... it has to be a constant way of life... forever front and center in my mind! I keep a food journal every single day (this is day #209 since surgery, and I am on my 4th book). I read labels, and keep track and think about every single thing that I eat!
I am feeling very good! I know so much of it is not only the fact that I've lost 151 lbs now (102 in the 6.5 months since surgery)... but because I am eating real foods! No junk is going into my body at all, and I know that helps tremendously!
I was to the doctor again on Thursday for my 6 month labs. Everything came back wonderfully!!! My blood sugar numbers, cholestrol, trigliceroids, the whole thing... everything is NORMAL!!! It is just amazing! Can hardly believe that just 7 month ago, I was in a completely different situation!!! I was taking 2 kinds of insulin, 4 times a day, my numbers on every single issue were completely out of whack!!! A few weeks before surgery, I was seeing the doctor and nutritionist, and I was actually crying because I was afraid I would die before I could have the surgery!!! I don't know if I have written that here before or not, but I know I haven't told that to very many people!!! I was SO unhealthy, and SO afraid that I wouldn't make it to surgery, to get the help that I needed! Yes, my kids and some family was afraid I would die on the table, die due to the surgery, but I knew I would die if I didn't have it!!! The surgery hasn't completely cured me... but it has given me the tools I surely needed to help myself!!! I know that the success or failure of this is up to me, and there is NO WAY, that I am going to let some kind of junk food hinder my health now!!! NOTHING tastes as good as I now feel!!!!
I am having fun with some new clothes as well. Kind of interesting, finding the kind of styles that I like. For SO many years... I haven't had any style... I have just had to wear clothes that fit, usually the basic tent type dresses! I was just lucky to find something that fit, and even luckier if I could find it in purple! :-) But now, I have been given a few things, and some are maybe a little "form-fitting" or maybe have a "waist". Seems pretty odd to me! I don't want to dress in kids stuff, or try to wear teen type clothes, but I can have fun things!! So this part of the journey has been fun and freightening at the same time!
I am enjoying part of the "giving back" now also! The clinic has called me a few times now, and I have gone to visit a couple of patients that are having trouble with their journey. Just trying to help them... motivate them... encourage them, etc! Just like all of you here have helped me in so many different ways! My team at the clinic is now encouraging me to go on-line to get my dietary technical degree? Not sure yet what that all will entail, but it is called DTR and I can do on-line schooling for that, then I can teach classes, etc. I am very excited to see where that will lead me! Right now I am attending nutrition classes every Wednesday, and then the support groups are Thursday evenings, 2 times a month. I am able to help out with the Nutrition classes, and I really enjoy that!
Well... my Dear Team.... thank you for your continued support here! I truly appreciate all of your enthusiasm along the way in my journey. Love ya all!!!
Eydie :-)