(pic) 12 pounds away from 100 pounds lost!

50 pounds lost before surgery plus the 38 pounds I have lost in the 10 weeks since surgery = a happy me.

My life has changed so much in so many ways. My family is so happy. I am much happier. I am a part of life. My oldest son graduated from 5th grade last week and I was able to attend, stand for pics, walk around. It was awesome and I could tell he was happy. (At my highest weight I had to skip school events because I could not walk from the parking lot to the school door.) My husband's family is coming for a visit next month and I am busy planning away for all the things we can do once their here. My nieces are the same age as our older kids so we are planning a lot of kid friendly things like water parks etc. and I plan to be there! :) I am still going to physical therapy 3 times per week because I have to learn how to sleep in a bed again. (I was sleeping in a chair because I could not breathe and now my leg muscles are very stiff and I can't sleep in a laying down position.) I have been taking SHOWERS instead of baths. (I had to only take baths before because I could not stand long enough to take a shower.) I am still going to therapy because I need to deal with the issues that lead me to a binge eating disorder. I am so glad I used the tool of weight loss surgery to help control the health part of my life. Since I had the sleeve, I have only about 10% of my stomach left which is shaped in the form of a banana. The stretchy part of my stomach was removed so if I take even one bite more than I should it hurts. (I have only done that once. I didn't eat more than my measured portion, but I didn't yet know the signs of being full.) Also, the stomach is the part that produces the chemical that tells your brain you are hungry so without it I NEVER feel like eating. I still eat because I am all about doing what my Dr says and I follow the guidelines 100%. Once my physical therapist clears me, I will get a personal trainer. I can't believe I am actually looking forward to working out. :) When I first did this my recovery was so hard I was regretting it every minute. I was in so much pain, I was starving (the chemical had not left my body yet) and I was expecting to wake up from surgery and feel "fixed." I now know that all of that is part of the process and I am glad I am passed that stage. I feel ready for all the fun things coming up in our lives. I don't know if anyone will get this post, but in case someone does, I just want to give you an update and send out a thank you for caring.