Update on me!

Hi all! I know its been awhile since I posted an update here and I've not posted to my blog on OH for even longer! LOL

At any rate, I saw my surgeon for my first follow-up appointment and she says I'm doing great. I am starting to feel more great too! I'm going back to work next week on half days for next 2 weeks and then back to the old grind.

This new lifestyle is a tremendous amount of work. I have no interest in eating at all, but I need to eat at least a 1/4 cup of something 6 times a day and drink 64 oz of fluids a day too. The combination needs to result in 70 grams of protein. This is WORK. Closest I've come on the protein so far is 60, but I average somewhere between 45 and 44 per day. I'm still on full liquids and will be until next Wed. My surgeon is thrilled though and everything I read on OH sounds like I'm doing pretty well considering. I've had no nausea troubles and folks I am LOSING!

I am now 16 days post op and I'm down... *drum roll* 25 pounds!!!! At my size it is hardly noticable, but I'm starting to feel more like my old self and thats really important.

I will say this entire experience has reminded me of how incredibly blessed I am. I could never have done this without Devon. Not only has he been physically with me at each step, but he remained at my side nearly my entire 8 day hospital stay frequently sleeping in a chair over night because I was afraid. He keeps track of all my meds ensuring that I'm not missing anything. He makes everything I put in my mouth, most of which needs to be prepared specially with protein powders. He rides me constantly about my water intake and takes me out everyday for my walks. He's wiped my butt when I was too ill to do it myself, changed bandages, cleaned up vomit... and paced the hospital floors alone and scared when the residents were I afraid I might need to go back to emergency surgery. All of this, on top of being the only fully functioning parent and driver in the house. Each kid has still managed to get to all their activities, had a home packed lunch each day, and had a complete sit down dinner each night. He was the one that cobbled together constant care for the kids and the dogs when I wound up having to stay at the hospital 5 days longer than we'd expected.

I have the very best friend and husband on the planet. I didn't think it was possible to fall more in love with him... but I sure have... that's my vym for you... he's surely one of a kind.

Thank you so much for the update! I did go to and follow your blog before surgery...soooo glad things are going so well....you are an inspiration!...and that husband of yours needs to bottle some of himself and sell it :) . You are truly blessed....and hugs to all of you!

that brought tears to my eyes. it is the biggest blessing to be loved. i am glad you are well, glad you did not have to go back into surgery.

Godbless on your future recovery.

Glad you are better.

Awww, what a great guy Devon is. :)

I am so happy for you that you are feeling better and that things are going so well. Please continue to post updates. They are very inspirational.

Marcy keep up the good work...

Glad to hear there are men like Devon around!

Hey and do not forget to drink the water! :)

Please keep us posted!

Good morning guys! Thanks for all the kind words and support. I'm munching on an egg with cheese and reading AL. Thank goodness for AL... or it would have been an even longer 2 weeks off! Dev just woke me up and made me my first egg. Its delicious!!! It is surprising to me how much my perspective has changed in such a short time. One egg looks HUGE to me rofl.

Hi Marcy /wave

I felt the admiration and love in your words. I'm so happy to hear that you're doing so well and on a promising journey. I think when we have a partner who encourages us and embraces the relationship with all their hearts then we can prevail through anything...........

Congratulations on your first 25 lb loss! That is wonderful!

Love,
Sora

OMG Marcy..that just made me cry, literally. What an wonderful husband Devon is. I'm so happy for you...((hugs))

And 25 pounds in 16 days! Holy cow!

Im just so happy and so excited for you. I can't wait a year from now to see your "after" pictures, and hear about all the changes in your life.

Rock on Marcy!

Marcy,

Devon adores you. And he was worried something would happen to you, I'm certain.

Phil would do exactly the same as Devon is doing for you for me, should the need arise. Devon may not have alot of years under his belt, but he is quite a man, nonetheless.

Glad you are happy, feeling better and having success!

Bub

Wow, 25 lbs....that's incredible, and so wonderful for you!!!:D

Perspective is key, isn't it?

God bless Devon as he has blessed you:) .

Keep us posted on the loss and recovery.

Best,
Karen

Glad to hear things are looking up and that you start feeling better again :)

And congratulations to both you and Devon, it's great that's he taking such good care of you and the familiy :D

what a wonderful update!! so happy for you marcy in all regards!!

DeeeeeVON DeeeeeVON! DeeeeeVON! Can't own ya, wanna clone ya!

Thanks for taking such good care of our Marcy and your family! Bravo, dude!

25 pounds, Marcy??? WOW! Good news! Thanks for the beautiful post. I hope you feel vindicated for all the times you thought people assumed YM Devon's age had to be "too young"!

Marce!!! I had no idea about ANY of this!!!

I am soooooooooooooooo happy for you, this is such great news. Devon is so wonderful and reading about you two really warms my heart. Please keep us posted minute by minute and I want pictures!!!

Also, sorry but I just saw a scary Oprah about people who became alcholics after having this surgery due to a "transfer of addiction"...and even my mom worked with a nurse who had this happened once she had the surgery, so please be very careful, I don't want anything happening to you...SKINNY MINNIE!!!

Love,

Em

I am glad to hear you are healing and feeling much better. There is nothing more wonderful, than the tender loving care, of one's partner when one is vulnerable. I am glad you two have each other to treasure. :)

Just thinking about you, Marcy, and wondering how you are doing!

Are you feeling well, and is the healing process happening as you'd hoped?

Give us an update when you can...we are all excited for you:D

Karen

Hi Karen (and all),

Thanks for thinking of me. I've been doing a horrible job updating my blog lol! I do somewhat better here. *hangs head in shame*

I'm happy to say that I'm feeling so much better and I am nearly back to feeling like my old self again. I am 6 weeks on Wednesday and should be cleared to return to exercise. I had joined Curves shortly before surgery and I'm looking forward to doing that again.

I'm down nearly 40 pounds now and I'm pretty proud of myself. Dev's going to take some new pics of me and I'll definately post them on my blog. I think you can see the weightloss in my face. When you are as big as I am its hard to see 40 pounds LOL!

I'm working fulltime again and I think I'm doing pretty well. I spent a lot of time in the first 3 weeks or so thinking that maybe I made a mistake, but I'm happy to report that I'm sure I did the right thing now that I'm feeling so much better.

:)

Marcy,

Are you finding more ways to get your protein?

I know, when I used to bodybuild, I became acutely aware of how many carbs we eat without thinking about it. At the time I was trying to keep my protein and carbs about equal, and THAT was work!

These days, I go low-carb when I'm trying to trim down and it's much easier now that I know what has carbs or protein, without having to look it up.

It will continue to get easier to do this, Marcy.

Give us an update when you can. :)

I'm glad to hear that you are feeling good about your decision, Marcy!


Yes, it requires a lot of discipline, doesn't it? So much for people that are overweight lacking self-discipline, huh? ;)

I am using fitday.com to track every single thing that goes in my mouth. I cannot rave enough about this free site that is journaling site for your good health. I can track every nutritional fact about everything I eat. They have most things there, but if they don't have what I'm eating no problem. I can add it as a custom food and I can customize the amount I eat too. The program will resize the nutritional information to match my portion. I *love* it!

I am trying very, very hard to get all of my protein from foods. It is hard because I can only manage between 1/4 cup to 1/2 cup of food at a sitting (roughly translates to about 2 oz of meat). I try very hard to eat 6 times a day, but it is often not possible for me to get in all 6 meals. Between the constant drinking and the frequent eating... there is just hardly enough hours in the day lol. I am supplementing my protein intake with Isopure, another product I love. This is 20 oz of protein enhanced flavored water. I get mine at GNC, but I think you can get it lots of places online. It has 40 grams of protein in it and helps meet my protein and fluid requirements, but it is expensive at $3.75 a bottle. I drink one a day right now, but now that I'm on food again... I am trying to wean off them while still keeping my protein up to at least 70 grams a day. Tough work!

I love reading about your progress. :) Continue to post updates here. You're very inspiring.

Ahhh, now I see the challenge with trying to get enough protein.

I've never heard of that water. Glad you found it and glad that it's been helpful.

And that site sounds like a great tool.

Thanks for the site reference, Marcy. Before you posted it, I had been wondering if anyone here would want to post on a food diary thread because it's supposed to be VERY motivating!

Awesome news, marcy! I applaud you for your diligence and am so happy for your success thus far. WOW 40 pounds...that's amazing.

Oh, and like SG, I try to eat low carb (diabetes runs in my family) to stay healthy, but it's hard getting the protein you need all the time. I have Isopure on my GNC shopping list now after reading your post. Thanks a ton for that info....40 grams of protein per bottle...perfect.

Happy, happy for you:D

How does the Isopure taste -- is it yummy, or kinda grody...? :D

Well everyone's tastes are different. To me it takes like gatorade and if I drink it cold I really rather like the grape frost and the rasberry. They have a ton of flavors... at least one is sure to suit.

Thanks, Marcy!

Congrats on your awesome progress!!! :D

Marcy, I was thinking about you this morning, and I hope that everything is still going well.

Did you get to go back to exercising like you were hoping?

This may be a strange question, but how much can you actually eat food wise in a day? Is it just tablespoons of food many times a day? Your weight loss is so dramatic that I was just curious. :)

Hugs to you!

Good morning Jody! Thanks for thinking of me. Yes I'm working out every day at Curves and I really like it. I am supposed to eat 1/2 cup of food 6 times a day, however, I am usually not able to get in more than 1/4 cup of food and I try very hard to do all 6 meals. Somethings are easier to do in 1/2 cup than others... full liquid stuff for example... like yogurt and cottage cheese. Anthing dense I get full fast. It is easier during the week when my time is more regimented then during the weekends. I average around 5-700 calories a day. I keep my fat and sugar intake very, very low and my fluid/protein intake up.

Yesterday I ate:

B: 1/2 cup carb freedom yogart
S: 1 low fat cheese stick
L: 1 oz salamon (cured and plain)
S: 1 oz beef jerky
D: 4 shrimp (boiled)
S: fat free cheddar on melba toast (4)

I also had my 20 oz of Isopure water and that totaled 553 calories (13 fat, 12 carb, 92 protein).

Good Lord!!!!

Darlin' I admire you more than I can say.

Each meal sounds more like what we normally would pop in the mouth on the way through the kitchen.

Are you feeling good, that's the main thing.

Great big hugs, and I'm so darn proud of you I could burst.

:confused: Well... just back from working out at Curves. I've had a weight loss stall this week and I've been concerned about it, so I posted at OH for some help. I'm working out everyday. I was thinking maybe I'm overeating... not exercising enough... I don't know. I do know that stalls are common and that I should not weigh myself daily. I can be shrinking inches and stalling on weight loss at the same time (who the heck knows how that can be, I sure don't understand it). I'm told that my calorie intake is too low for this level exercise. I was going to cut out my snacks today to see if that moved the scale, but now I'm considering trying to increase my calorie count today to see if that helps. UGH! This process is so frustrating. Devon's worried that I'm not eating enough and that I'm over-doing it. I'm worried that I did this big thing and I won't lose the weight inspite of it. :(

Not having a good day.

Marcy, I went through major life-changing weight loss 6 years ago when I was diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes. I encountered many periods when the scale just wouldn't budge. Here's what worked for me (and still does, whenever I need it)...

Eat your evening meal one hour earlier than usual and then go to bed one hour earlier than your usual bedtime. Wake up at your normal time. Enjoy that extra hour of sleep... you might find a drop on the scale in the morning. Do this trick as often as you like... it's harmless.

btw, I always weigh myself every day. It seems that I need to know the number, cuz when I don't know, then the weight inevitably begins to creep up again.

Faith

marcy...i was gonna stay outta this, as i figured you are under a doctors care for the weight loss...but i can't after your last post. 500 calories a day...is that doctor recommended?? that is starvation girl!!! 1200 a day ...and that gives me weight loss..

and the stall...you are working out. that builds muscle, which weighs more , hence the stall

marcy... please look at your calorie intake. i'm really concerned about that!

also...if the body deems you are starving it...it is going to go into survival mode, and everything you eat will be stored... body will not "care" that those few calories should have gone to repair/build/ energize somewhere else.

i keep editing more ;)
resting metabolism...marcy are you aware of your caloric need for that? that is what i shoot for to lose weight

Thanks ladies... yea I guess my calorie intake is a bit too low and it sounds like I should *not* be going to Curves everyday. I am going to try and increase my calorie intake a bit today and call my doc on Monday. I think I'm going to switch my workout cycle to Curves every other day and some kind of cardio every other day. Dev's concerned and the posts I've gotten on OH definately indicate I need to consider a change. :S

/edited to add: Hey Faith! Thank you so much for your post. It is a HUGE inspiration to me.

Marcy, I went through major life-changing weight loss 6 years ago when I was diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes.

Wow, Faith, not to hijack Marcy's thread but I read somewhere that you are a size 2/4 now? I presume you were considerably overweight to have type 2 diabetes. How are you doing now?

Marcy, I did not have surgery but I, too, am trying to go through major life-changing weight loss. I was never thin but since my long separation and divorce, I gained over 40 pounds on top of the 50 or so extra I was carrying around. And, I too, am a type 2 diabetic, well controlled, but tired of taking all that med (no insulin).

I think talking to your doctor about your caloric intake sounds like the right thing to do. I've been starting my day at the company gym doing cardio and making subtle but informed changes in my eating to achieve weight loss and improved health.

I think you're doing great, Marcy and know that you're not traveling that big weight loss road alone.

Hugs,
Bub

Well the scale did finally move. I checked with my Nut today and she's not impressed.... not impressed with the weight loss... and thinks the calorie intake is fine. She's also not impressed with Curves... its "okay" if you're severely overweight, but hardly working out on a treadmill for an hour a day. :rolleyes: Okay so I felt kinda depressed and in failure mode after talking with her. Now I just think okay whatever, she's my nutritionist... she's not the Lord. I work with people who are good at their jobs and people that are bad at their jobs... maybe she's just not a winner.

I am going to switch up my diet a bit and be more careful of carbs. I am checking with a professional weight trainer on the safety of working out daily at Curves and I'm going to pick up an exercise bike on my way home from work today and do that in the evenings. A little more cardio won't hurt me and also if it isn't safe to do Curves daily, I can substitute more bike on the alternate days.

I'm just not going to beat myself up anymore today. 43 pounds in 8 weeks is pretty darned good.

marcy...find a new nutritionist, one that will support and encourage you!
think i woulda flipped her off ;)

43 lbs in 8 weeks sounds awesome to me. You're doing great, Marcy. Don't let her get you down.

I don't post much anymore, but I read a lot and I've been watching this thread like crazy. Marcy, you are doing an incredible job and 43 pounds in 8 weeks is amazing no matter what that NUT (nut being the operative word) says. That is 5.375/week!!!! I would throw a freakin' party every week to lose that much. If I lose 2 pounds a week I'm psyched! Five pounds a week is like a dream and you are achieving that dream every week.

Do NOT let this woman get you down. You totally rock, girl!


Shan

Well the scale did finally move. I checked with my Nut today and she's not impressed.... not impressed with the weight loss... and thinks the calorie intake is fine. She's also not impressed with Curves... its "okay" if you're severely overweight, but hardly working out on a treadmill for an hour a day. :rolleyes: Okay so I felt kinda depressed and in failure mode after talking with her. Now I just think okay whatever, she's my nutritionist... she's not the Lord. I work with people who are good at their jobs and people that are bad at their jobs... maybe she's just not a winner.

I am going to switch up my diet a bit and be more careful of carbs. I am checking with a professional weight trainer on the safety of working out daily at Curves and I'm going to pick up an exercise bike on my way home from work today and do that in the evenings. A little more cardio won't hurt me and also if it isn't safe to do Curves daily, I can substitute more bike on the alternate days.

I'm just not going to beat myself up anymore today. 43 pounds in 8 weeks is pretty darned good.

So you weren't (or aren't) "severely overweight", lol? My impression was that you had a great deal of weight to lose (130 lbs or more?) What would she consider severely overweight???

Is this nutritionist part of the post op team that helps you with weight loss? Does a trainer come along with it?

Yes she is part of that team. No a trainer is not part of the package... I might have mistook her, but I think her point was its okay for me cuz I'm so fat, but it's not really a very good workout.

Yes she is part of that team. No a trainer is not part of the package... I might have mistook her, but I think her point was its okay for me cuz I'm so fat, but it's not really a very good workout.


Well, bless her sweat little pea pickin heart.





Can you get another nutritionist?

Marcy I just have to put my two cents worth...this is about lifestyle...if you are HAPPY going to curves for 30 minutes a day then you will continue to go to curves for 30 minutes a day after you have reached your goal weight which will help you keep it off for life...this isn't about a diet this is about changing your lifestyle.....what is wrong with that woman.....

and I'm sorry strictly from a health professional point of view 500 calories whether you work out everyday or not is unsustainable and not healthy....and yes muscle weighs more than fat so that could explain your stall..but girl you need more food your body thinks it is starving

its not just about calories its about headspace, and enojying life, and learning to enjoy food as a part of life

have you thought about going to weight watchers now you are well on track then you could use their healthy eating approach to life and weight loss...seriously you have done amazingly and you will do even more because you want to....some positive support, encouragement and help to learn new ways to work with food would assist you...also having realisitic goals and frameworks.....

I know you probably have this covered but are you having any counselling...it seems like you are having some negative thoughts about yourself which may be tied to your self esteem and inner issues that you might need to reframe also into positive perceptions of the new you and your inspirational journey to change your life....is that covered for you in the surgical package arrangements...

its not good for you to keep playing around with calories and all that, consistency and application will get you there, and support and positive validation...you can do this.

Well I just got up and I weighed myself... I'm down 45 pounds today! I'm pretty happy with that :D. I haven't worked out much this week. I had a terrible bout with Kidney Stones this week and have really been suffering. Thank goodness its finally passed. This is the 3rd Kidney Stone I've had since surgery so I'm starting to think it is not some freak coincidence. :rolleyes: I need to get in and see a urologist and I definately need to increase my water intake, but I am so busy (missed work with this thing) and I'm just not having much success increasing my water. I will be 2 months on Monday. So far... so good!

Marcy please see a health professional....developing renal stones is not a good sign...either you are building up too much waste byproducts which indicates your body is breaking down the wrong things like protein (which it will if you are starving it) or you have other more complicated things going on.....don't get me wrong I really really want to see you succeed but being thinner is one thing, being healthy is another....you have given a few indications from your posts that your body is not handling this as well as it might with a more balanced weight loss....over longer time frame....maybe whiterose can help me out here...is there someone overseeing the whole of your lifestyle changes not just bits and pieces....sorry but renal colic and renal stones can make you really sick and you actually don't need to go down that path when you have put in such hard work to get where you are...just looking out for you is all...

Yes I'm being followed closely by my surgeon and primary care physicians. I need to add a Urologist to the mix too.

what do they think about the renal stones, and the nutritionist's feedback

The feedback that I have gotten from my surgeon and pcp are that they feel like I'm doing great. I need more water. I haven't discussed the nut's words with them. I probably should, but I'm choosing to chalk her up to just a miserable person and moving on. In my offline life, I frequently refer to her as the "don't hate me because I'm beautiful woman". This is because during the long (nearly 10 months) process to work towards this surgery one of the initial requirements was to meet with the nut and get her sign off. She is tall, thin, gorgeous, blonde, and likely in her 30s. She is probably the same age, or very close, as me. So at any rate, I go to meet her and we're chatting and she says... "I always want to meet with the pre-ops because I want you to know that I can relate to you... even though I'm thin and beautiful and have never had a weight problem." I don't know what my face looked like but I was in complete SHOCK on the inside. I was thinking okay I didn't think I couldn't relate to you before, but NOW I'm absolutely positive that I cannot! At any rate, she's a piece of work... no doubt about it. She is unfortunately the only nut in the program so that doesn't give me a whole lot of options... but nut does pretty clearly help to describe her and not just her profession.

I am pretty sure from my own research that I need to get more calories in per day. It looks like I'll feel much better (and likely lose better too) somewhere between 800 to 1000 calories per day at this point post-op. My surgeon is just too darned cagie when I try to pin her down on exact numbers and would prefer I stick with Michele's plan. I am trying to up my calories and my water, but find it *very* hard to consume the calories needed. I just am not able to consume more than 1 oz of meat in a meal and it is so dense I feel full for a long time.

I followed up with a professional trainer and was assured that Curves is completely safe to do every day. It is a circuit and considered low impact. He did advise me to switch up my exercise more not for safety, but for maximum impact on my body. I didn't work out very much at all this week as I said before, but hopefully will feel more up to it next week.

/edited to add: Increased instances of Kidney Stones can be a side effect of the surgery and the cause can be anything from not enough fluids (remember malaborsption is a byproduct of the surgery) to not enough other required nutrients. My last lab panel came back pretty good with only a borderline potassium level.

Marcy... Curves is GREAT... I love it... I am doing a low carb diet not completely but very low carb intake but Curves imo is great for women!!
I'm glad your doing well and following up with a doctor on the process!

Marcy Curves is great it is a really excellent toning workout.

My only concern from a medical point of view is if you don't get enough nutrients yr body processes muscle to give itself energy, which can cause things like renal stones....it is a sign of a body under stress, which can also make you very fatigued as your body goes into survival mode.

Can you eat your daily intake in different forms, like high protien low fat milkshakes or just blend strawberries, low fat yoghurt and some skim milk into a shake for an energy boost. Or can you try a daily size bit of steak cut into smaller pieces and eat it throughout the day as a thai beef salad and then at dinner....

the water is essential, I just keep a bottle and fill it all day and sip it instead of tea, coffee, coke etc....it takes a while to get used to only drinking water

Have you told your surgeon what the nutritionist has been saying...her comments about working with overweight people are completely inappropriate and seem designed to make her feel better at your expense.

Anyway glad to hear you are getting there, keep us updated ok

Marcy,

Thanks for the updates. I'm sure you expect some ups and downs with this surgery, too.

I work with a woman who had lap band surgery in the early Fall I think. I don't know anything about her condition, how much she had to lose, what she's doing for exercise, nothing, lol! I do know she's in her late 50's in age and has lost 35 pounds in roughly 4-5 months.

So I think you are doing stellar! Just be persistent!

Well finally got around to taking new pics and so I changed my avatar (cropped a bit close because my bra strap was showing LOL!

I felt a little disappointed at first glance because I couldn't see a difference. Dev said I was nutz and looked a lot thinner. We looked at the before shot and well... yea I do see it! I am 49 pounds down today. Here are the 2 full shots pre surg and today. I do feel proud.

Pre-Surgery
http://images.obesityhelp.com/uploads/profile/703445/albums/5577/Picture%20002.jpg

Just Now
http://images.obesityhelp.com/uploads/profile/703445/albums/5577/Picture%20003.jpg

And if I could figure out how to put the pics in here... I'd be doing great LOL!

wow marcy you look heaps different.....all that hard work is paying off....its hard to see it ourselves but when others point it out then you know its real....way to go!!!!

Marcy....wow. You look wonderful. More than anything, you look so much healthier - your skin and everything. I am glad you feel proud!!! You don't need to get discouraged at all. I don't know what your target is, but honestly, don't worry about it too much if you are feeling healthy...it is definitely showing!

YAY!!! :D

Thanks! I am feeling inspired tonight, which is great because I had a down day yesterday.

I'm getting there. It is not a sprint. It is a marathon... slow but sure wins the race... (quoting the FABULOUS Jane from OH)

Marcy, my friend, you are shrinking!!

And you do look much healthier, I agree! I'm so happy for you. I know how hard it is to lose weight.

Hey chica, you not only have taken off pounds you have taken off years!!!
:) you look younger!!!

WOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOW

All I have to say is YOU LOOK MARVELOUS!!!!! Like a total different person! Keep up the good work!!! :)

Easy does it... :D

I can definitely tell the difference. I'm glad that you are taking the photos so that you can track your progress, because as you've already stated, sometimes you can't see the change yourself. But, the pictures tell the story.

I'm glad you're feeling better. :)

You look wonderful Marci! I agree, years younger!

Marcy you look marvelous and I no problem to see the weight loss at all!
I started dieting some mounth ago too, but I haven't managed to get fully into it again after Christmas.
I have to get a grip on myself though cause I'm gonna have a breast reduction sergery and I have to be down to 153lbs before I get it... I'm now at 182, but I did start out as 200.

marcy...you look absolutely fabulous!!! definately can see the difference, and you must feel the difference!!!

Thank you guys so much! It makes me feel good to come here and read so much support. :)

Marcy....wow. You look wonderful. More than anything, you look so much healthier - your skin and everything.

You know, that is the FIRST thing I noticed -- how much brighter your skin looks!

I'm losing, too, Marcy and I'm very excited that (once again) you and I seem to be kind of living life in tandem. I've noticed the same thing about my own skin, too.

How has your eating/water intake been? I think that's one thing that's really surprised me. That I actually drink ... wow, probably quadruple the water that I used to and that I actually (who EVER thought there'd be the day that I'd say this??) look forward to a fresh, juicy apple as much as I used to look forward to McDonald's french fries!

Maybe we can have a double Ageless Weight Loss Hot Body Reveal in June :D

Thank you guys so much! It makes me feel good to come here and read so much support. :)


Stop exercising and clean out your mailbox! :p

LOL! Sorry about that... cleaned out and ready to go :D

Go Marcy! Go Marcy! Go Marcy!

Lift your eyes up from the scale and keep your focus on eating properly, drinking plenty of fluids, and getting your curves back at Curves! The pounds will come off.

Hehe Chatters... I worked out today as a matter of fact and for the first time I felt pretty invigorated afterwards!

Marcy,

My best guy friend had that surgery, he's 6'8", and he went from 350+ to an even 200 in about a year or so. It was amazing to watch him gain confidence, strength, and uber-hotness, because he was so darned proud of himself :)

I saw your pics and put them side by side. My girls came up and asked me who they were. I said, they're a lady who's losing weight. My 8 year old says, she looks beautiful now!

You've inspired me. I dropped 30 lbs 2 springs ago, and liked where I was in terms of weight. It's crawled up since. I guess it's time:)

Hehe Chatters... I worked out today as a matter of fact and for the first time I felt pretty invigorated afterwards!

WOW, Marcy!!!! That is HUGE!!!! That's a milestone. Good for you! That's great news!!!








I envy you. And maybe that envy will turn into motivation! ;) I've already started drinking more water! And I'm trying to get into two-little-baby-step habits: 1) 30 seconds of heart pumping excercise first thing in the morning (yep, 30 seconds = 30 jumping jacks = quite a bit of pumping!!!); and 2) Never standing still: marching in place while I brush my teeth, leg lifts while the coffee's brewing, raising up on my toes while standing around waiting for my dog to stop sniffing the fire hydrant, etc. :)

Great thread...and i PM'd you. Congratulations!

Marcy what wonderful results.. You look great!!!!!! I just hope I share the same results as you someday..... I'm trying so hard to lose this weight I've put on from Dennis!!!

You are going to be my inspiration!!

You are my hero!

And I wuv you.

I've 'spoken' to Marcy thru PM's, and let her know how great she looks, and what a great thing i think she did. It takes strength.

I feel like i need to admit i need help. Like an alcoholic!

Anyhow, has anyone heard of the Vertical Sleeve Gastrectomy (VSG)? Its the surgery that i've chosen that i think will be best for me, and of course it ends up being the one that only 'a handful' of surgeons in the U.S. perform. Its relatively new here, but supposedly one of the easiest surgeries, with least complications, and less problems afterwards.

I'll keep you updated. I've been researching online for a couple weeks, and i do think i've found a surgeon that does it in Philly (PA). I live in South Jersey, so that would be no problem for me. I'm waiting to hear back from him.

I will update everyone. Wish me luck that he can help me :)

good luck jelly bean!! you will accomplish it!

marcy...hows it going???

Good luck Jellybean! I know you'll do great. Keep us posted and please feel free to contact me anytime.

Things are going well for me. I'm down 58 pounds now and I've been having all kinds of "wow" moments. Here are a few for you... When I put on pantyhose, I can lift my legs to my lap (to put them on) without picking them up with my hands (okay this may be a difficult visual for some of you... sorry). Yesterday at a meeting, without EVEN thinking, I crossed my legs... HOLY COW been a long, long time since I could do that! All of the pants and nearly all of the shirts I own are too big to wear *and* these are my skinny cloths! I can tie my shoes without lifting my legs with my hands to bring them to my lap. Now, I can just lean down and do it.

So yea I'm feeling very well. I think I am going to cancel my Curves membership and move on to World Gym or Lifestyles. It really isn't rigorous enough for me and I want to be able to do an intense workout. At World Gym or Lifestyles, I can get a private coach to work with me. They are included in the membership fee at World Gym and 3 lessons are included in Lifestyles. I'm leaning toward World Gym right now. The other nice thing is that the facilities at both places are great and I can do a really wide range of workouts there from all kinds of different cardio classes to strength training. The hours are terrific. The only bummer is that neither place is close enough to my office to do it during the work day and that is the one thing that is holding me back from making this change. I'm a little worried that I won't go as frequently if I have to fit it into the time I spend now with Devon and the kids.

I'm doing very well with protein and water. I switched from the Isopure water to New Whey protein supplements. This is a lot like the Isopure water, but it is 25 grams of protein in 2.9 oz and it is densely packed with protein.... sort of like a protein "shot". I won't lie to you ladies... it is some VILE nasty stuff, but its literally a few gulps and I'm done for the day. I take it first thing in the morning with my vitamins.

So thats all the news to print on my end...

Good luck, Jellybean!

Marcy, I'm glad that you're enjoying every sign of improvement! Good for you!