1 year Anniversary

Happy Bandiversary to us!! It has been a year since we started this journey. This past year has had its ups and downs but I do not regret my decision to have the surgery. To help put it all in perspective I give you the following:

1. The day of surgery my BMI was 47.2 which puts it in the morbidly obese category. Today my BMI is 37.2 which is in the obese category. That is a 10 point drop in one year. Amazing.
2. Since the day of surgery I have lost 58 pounds. Fantastic.
3. The day of surgery I was in a 26/28 pant. Today I am in an 18. Unbelievable.
4. I have lost 45% of my excess body fat. Awesome.

Now I will not lie to you and say that I am over the moon with the above. I would have liked to lose more but the reality is my weight will be a lifelong struggle. I got off track over the holidays and just could not get back on the horse. However, my bandiversary has sparked a renewed effort in getting that BMI down, getting under 200 pounds and continue to shrink in size. I am very happy that my band helped me to not GAIN weight during my busy season and I know I have a lot to be grateful for.

Shortly after surgery, I considered what I wanted my goal weight to be. I now realize that I may never be the weight all the charts describe. I have accepted that reality and embrace myself for who I am and where I am. I have certainly had some emotional moments this past year letting go of some of the pain I felt from being obese. I know now that I was in complete denial as to what I really looked like. I knew I was fat but never processed the truth of it. I think that has been the hardest part of this year; coming to terms with being truly honest with myself. I still have trouble looking at those old pictures but know it is essential in my journey.

On to happy thoughts. Below are my favorite non scale victories over this past year.

• By far one of the best is being able to comfortably sit in a theater seat. I have not been on a plane since my surgery but know not using the seat belt extender will be awesome as well.
• Being able to slide right into a booth seat. Before I had to work my stomach in first.
• Buying clothes in the REGULAR women's section. Not the plus size section.
• David and Ashleigh being able to hug me with their arms ALL the way around me

I want to thank all my family and friends who have supported me this past year. I love you all so much.

Loree

Phantom of the Opera

Emily and I went to see Phantom of the Opera yesteray. Don't we look FABULOUS?!?! It was great to sit in the seats and not touch the sides!! No matter how far I still have to go, moments like those remind me of how far I have come.

Until next time

Loree

Been a couple of weeks

I know it has been a couple of weeks but sometimes life just does not cooperate with the best laid plans. Over the past two weeks I have lost 2.4 pounds!! Yea me! I have been very diligent about reducing the number of times I eat out. I have not been exercising like I should but as I said, life sometimes does not cooperate. I did bike once this week and anticipate getting back into the groove of it. I do feel as though I have started to come off my plateau which is encouraging. So until next time....

Loree

Struggle

So over the past three weeks I have lost 2.2 pounds. I am happy about that but can definitely tell that I am struggling. I was on antibiotics for basically three weeks and did not work out for two due to the coughing that would ensue. This past week I have been biking which has felt good. I will continue to work on getting my exercise in every week which will help me make the right choices. I did check my chart and I have lost 44% of my excess body weight. I am so pleased with that I can hardly stand myself. So I will just keep pluggling along and one day I will get to where I want to be.

Work has been stressful these past couple of weeks as well. The other tax preparer/reviewer quit mid January so we have been working on a game plan for the spring. We have enough contract work now that I feel like things will be okay. Since I don't handle change well, even change I want, I have been somewhat manic. Friday our contract person started so I think I have finally calmed down a bit. It will be intersting to see how the season goes.

Until next time
Loree

Update

I lost .2 pounds this week. I am happy with this. I also made my goal and did all my exercising. I am already starting to get that feeling after I work out that makes me want to do more. My knee seems to be holding up pretty good. So this next week will be more of the same with me working on increasing the amount of time I spend doing My Fitness Coach.

So one reason I know my knee is holding up better is I did some retail therapy last week after an all day CPE class. I bought some new boots. While in the store they felt pretty comfy so I went for it. I knew they were higher than my current boots but it was not until several days later that I actually measured the heel. These boots are 3 inches high. Whoa, I had no idea. What really tickles me pink is that I can wear them all day and my feet or knee do not hurt!!!!! Wearing these shoes would never had crossed my mind before the surgery. It would have been too dangerous. This just rocks!!!

Another interesting thing that happened this past week is I met someone who has had the band since July of 2007. We talked and she told me how she lost 67 pounds only to have a slip and gain it all back. After talking with her I am more determined than ever to make sure
I do not get too much fluid in that band.

I am continuing to plan better and eating 4 days a week at the office during lunch.

Until next time
Loree

Interesting week

First for the good news, I lost .9 pounds this week. Now the not so good news, I went to a CPE seminar yesterday and had trouble with the lunch they provided. I had the pleasure of losing lunch in the bathroom while several other people were taking care of business. So the lesson I have learned is to always make sure I have something to snack on at those types of events.

I made my goal for the week of exercising three days. I did enjoy using the My Fitness Coach fame and should be able to keep that up.

So I am looking forward to achieving my exercise goal again this week.

Until later
Loree

Last week of the year

So this Thursday was not only the last day of the year but also weigh day. I was down a pound so I lost that one I had gained the week before. My total weight loss since surgery is 53.9 pounds. I am proud of this accomplishment and look forward to continued success in 2010.

Most people make resolutions at New Years. I have decided to set a goal/resolution for each month so I can reach those goals. For January, I resolve to exercise 3 times a week for at least 5 minutes. To accomplish this I plan on using the Wii fit I gave myself at Christmas. I will let you know how I did at the end of the month.

Until next week

Loree