4 Months Post Op

(Click pictures to enlarge, if you dare)





I'm afraid that wearing black for these pictures didn't do much to show whether I've lost anywhere.

Pictures on the left were taken 10-11-06 (weight 384). Pictures on the right were taken 2-24-07 (weight 294).

I can't believe how huge my belly still is. I don't see it when I look in the mirror. I guess we see what we want to but pictures don't lie.

-90 Pounds

Weight 294

I finally hit 90 pounds lost!!! It took me 17 weeks, 4 months + 1 week. That is incredible to me.

I'll be taking my 4 month pictures this weekend. I hate to say that I want to take my picture, but I do! I can't wait to see the results. I only hope I'm not disappointed.

What Not To Say

Weight 295 (finally! 1 pound from 90 total pounds lost)

As I lose weight I've noticed that people seem to have a hard time knowing what to say to me. Most comments border on being derogatory. Let me give an example. My grandfather saw me recently and said, "You look soooo much better! I can really notice it in your face. You have expression in it now and you didn't before."

Now, I realize that he was trying to be supportive and kind. I can't understand why people can't just say, "You're looking great." Why do they always have to give the additional put down? It's not like I don't know that I looked like crap before.

When approaching someone who has lost weight, why not ask how they are feeling? How about, "You look great. You must be feeling so good."?

Then there's the person who says something about someone they know that lost weight and now she's ugly. Why must you tell me these things? It's not like I can control my beauty. So I may end up ugly. What am I supposed to do?

My body will probably end up a saggy mess when I'm done but it's a far healthier cry from living as an obese person.

Getting Rid Of It

Weight 311

Before surgery, I had gone through all of my clothes to have some idea of what sizes I had. This has been helpful.

Yesterday, I decided to do it all over again. I took everything out of my closet and sorted it. I got rid of all of my 4X and 5X shirts.

When I was finished, I had three huge bags of clothes to donate and about 15 items to take to the consignment shop. My closet is organized by size, season, then color. I've got my crap together, lol.

I used to wear beautiful clothes since my husband was in retail. He has since left the industry and I now work in a shop so I wear jeans and t-shirts there.

Most of my 2X shirts are short sleeved. I'm kind of between a 2X and a 3X so I probably won't be able to wear the 2X's in the spring as they will be too big then (I hope).

My bottom half hasn't been losing as quickly as my top. My pant size has gone from a 36 to a 26/28 depending on cut. I wish my big butt and thighs would leave me.

A Day At The Beach

Weight 296 (still stuck!)


We took the family on a 3 hour round trip to see the frozen waves on Lake Michigan. The windchill was -1 degree.

(Click pictures to enlarge)

Lighthouse and pier

We forgot the chairs.

Maybe we need a (snow) shovel

Is this Antarctica?


Wait, Mom! Don't leave us!
(If you enlarge this picture, you can see
the snow blowing sideways.)

We found a new home.

The abominable blue snowwoman.





We missed the ice festival by one day.

The waves were frozen at least a mile out from the shore. It seemed strange to be at a place where we are usually so hot. In the summer it's not uncommon to have 90 + degree temperatures.

I know that I would never have ventured out on the ice before losing the weight I have (yes, I still have a long way to go). I'm proud of the fact that I didn't hesitate to do something so memorable with my girls.

Thanks to Cheryl for inspiring me to do this!

A Difference

Weight 296 (stuck!)

I realized that all of the pictures I've posted don't tell my entire story. I was/am huge! Here is proof. This picture of Tim and I was taken in July 2003. My weight was somewhere around 370 pounds, not even at my highest weight of 384. I think I thought if I stood sideways, I would look smaller? I don't know what I was thinking! I can hardly look at this picture.


This was taken last night (2-17-07) before a card party we attended. Tim's weight is 274 and mine is 296. I think I can finally see a diffence.

Losing It

Weight 296

This was taken last night at my daughter's concert.
This past week people have really been noticing how much weight I've lost. Normally I would just cut myself down and say that I have a long way to go. It's taken a lot to get me to the point where I can reply, "Thanks, I'm working on it."

I feel so great now when I'm walking around. I don't ever have to plan out where I'm going so as not to expend one step more than I need to. Maybe you can relate to this. You have to go to the store so you map out exactly where you need to go because you can barely make it where you need to, let alone adding any extra steps.

As of this morning, I've lost 88 pounds!!!!