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So I went to a Christmas party last night.. at the home of friends we see regularly so saw lots of people who have seen me recently but more that havent seen me since this party last year. While its fun to hear and oh so flattering... the accolaids were almost embarrassing.... I was like.... isnt there something else to talk about besides my weight loss? But then this morning I did my customary morning ritual on the scale and I weighed in at 159!!! I do not EVER remember in my life being in the 150s... I am in shock and no one is awake yet in my house so I had to rush on to tell you.... Holy #%#%... who would woulda thunk it? Maybe 150 isnt a pipe dream.... Happy Sunday!

I can't believe it's my turn to post that I'm going under the knife in 1 day! What a road it's been so far! I'm working today, but getting off a little early so I can go home and start preparing for tomorrow's big events. I chatted with my 3 and 5 year olds yesterday, explaining that Mommy would be gone for a couple of days, but that it would be a fun time because they'd get extra time with Grandma and Grandpa, which is always an easy sell! I survived the liquid diet-- and actually it was a pretty good experience. I feel like I got to "break up" with food a little before the surgery. Plus, it's a good preparation for what things will be like in the weeks after surgery. I know some surgeons have patients go liquid for as little as 3 days, but I think the two weeks really helped me get in the right place mentally before the surgery. Oh, and I dropped about 7 pounds during the pre-op liquid diet. That was a nice jump start. I really surprised that I'm not more nervous. Honestly, I keep having this horrible feeling that something is going to happen at the last minute that will prevent me from having surgery! That's my fear after all this time, and all this work. Other than that, I know I'm doing the right thing. Maybe that's the upside of this process taking almost 2 years for me. I'm so incredibly mentally and emotionally ready for this. Bring it on! So, I plan on posting as soon as I feel up to it after surgery. Mine is the last one of the day (3pm) so I'm not sure if I'll be up to it Tuesday evening, but I'm going to try for Wednesday! So here goes! I wish all of you who have procedures this week, good luck!

i often get asked how do you stay so focused and positive. The answer easy, I look in the mirror every morning and I love what I see, I stand on the scales and I love what I see, I get to go shopping and wear pretty much anything I want! So I ask Why would I not stay focused and positive when this process has worked so well for me? Has it been easy NO!!! but what is worth achieving with out hard work and dedication? I will tell you something that has helped me and that is my positive outlook and commitment to this process. I have learned from both my positive experiences and my negative experiences. I have learned that I am far from perfect and can learn from everyone, even the ones who are struggling. I am just Polly Anna enough to believe that anything worth achieving is worth working hard for and I also believe that most people are good. Now I have been burnt a couple of times in my life but this does not prevent me from still believing in people. So I share with you this morning some positive affirmations for a healthy happy weight loss journey. I write them on my mirror, I post them in my office and on my refrigerator and share them with my friends. This is my trick for staying focused and realizing my dream of a thinner, healthier me. A list of positive Affirmations for Weight Loss I achieve my weight loss goals Losing weight comes naturally to me I choose nourishing, healthy foods I think before eating I drink lots of water Losing weight is fun Healthy foods taste better I am motivated by both successes and failures I accept and love my body as it is, and work to make it better I love challenges and embrace them I lose weight systematically and I keep it off permanently I am losing weight I exercise because it makes me feel good I respect my body and treat it with respect I do everything I need to do to achieve my healthy weight I am encouraged by every success I am motivated by every shortfall Losing weight and I are one I dissolve all blocks to reaching a healthy weight I forgive myself I learn from my mistakes I fill all physical appetites in physically healthy ways I am aware of my eating habits and how they affect my weight I am willing to change my eating habits and I do so easily I build lean muscle and I lose fat I enjoy the process of reaching a healthy weight I see myself at my healthy weight and I achieve it I have non-stop daily determination to reach my healthy weight I like long walks It is easy for me to stay on my plan to obtain my healthy weight I picture myself at my perfect weight I have a positive attitude about what I eat, how I eat, and when I eat My body burns fat like a furnace Developing healthy eating habits becomes easier each day I stay on a healthy eating plan and maintain my healthy weight easily Each day, I automatically and successfully get healthier and healthier Happy Sunday all and wishing you continued success to achieving your goals!

Monday December 10 11:30am 11 Days Before Surgery Day I decided to start this blog to document this entire life changing experience. And if it will help others contemplating this survery or already in the process that will be great too. I probably should have started the blog months ago because my process began in August. I'll just give a brief overview.... I began looking into Gastric Sleeve in July when I realized I was never going to be happy unless I lost weight and I was never going to lead a full life unless I lost weight. I've dieted my entire life, with some success but mostly disappointment. I did manage to lose 160 pounds 11 years ago (doing low carb) --- at that point I was still 200 pounds but I was very happy. I was a size 16, which for me was a huge accomplishment. I managed to keep the 160lbs off for about 5 years. I was then diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis and Thyroid Cancer in the same month. I had my thyroid removed and had radiation. It seemed to get harder and harder to keep the weight off, although I have still followed a mostly low carb lifestyle. It was so demoralizing. I have slowly regained 60 pounds back over the 6 years. I tried Weight Watchers, thinking that my body was so used to low carb that it needed something different. I GAINED weight on WW. I went back to low carb -- no success. I was despondent. I'm thankful I've still managed to keep the other 100 pounds off but I really believe I was on the road to gaining it all back. I came to the conclusion that I MUST do something drastic, NOW. I'm 49, with Multiple Sclerosis and Lupus and I want to make the most of my life NOW because I do not know what the future holds. Like I said, I started looking into this in July 2012. By the end of July my mind was pretty much made up. I was going to do this! I had my first appointment with my surgeon August 16 and that is when my journey "officially" began. Aetna required a 3 month medically supervised diet program, which I completed in November. So here I am, finally! 11 days before my surgery. I don't have an official diet to follow before surgery... my doc just said "don't gain". However I have been supplementing meals with protein shakes for a while. I finally found a couple protein powders that are actually GOOD and that I ENJOY! Nectar Chocolate Truffle and About Time Birthday Cake. Both are high quality whey protein isolate. I haven't lost any weight though but he said that is ok. And I do plan on having a few Last Meals with my hubby. He is a little bummed out that I won't be able to go out and eat for a while ( he is not overweight). I'm excited and apprehensive at the same time. I know I will miss real food. I'm a native New Orleanian --- food is basically a religion here and it really is a huge part of normal life. EVERYTHING revolves around food. I wonder if I'll ever be able to eat normal things ( of course in much smaller portions)......but deep down I know that this is what I NEED to do.....

Hello Lap Banders, ​I have said before I am computer challenged, or I would re post an article. On Yahoo just now I read that a waiter in CA named a table of 3 women on their check, Fat Girls. How awful is that?? Do they call me and my over weight husband the 2 fatties. Have a great Hanukkah to all who celebrate.

I haven't posted in a hot minute, but I have a good reason for that. I have been TDY in Everett for the last week on 12 hour days. It takes a lot of you... and week has kinda blurred together. But I go home on Monday (tomorrow). Which I'm pretty happy about. Ty is also here TDY too and on the same schedule and that adds to the stress and draining feeling. Don't get me wrong, I love that boy, but it's a lot to be around eachother at every waking moment. So, on Thursday, November 28th, I started my supervised diet, so hopefully surgery will happen in the begining of March. So right now my goal for the month is to start eating more protien at breakfast and to start getting 30 minutes of excerise 2 days a week. It's all about small changes to make a big lifestyle change. My next appointment is Decmeber 20th. I got my camera! So stay tuned for my vlog! I'll let ya know! Time for bed, work in the morning! Yippy. Night!

So I went to a seminar back in May that first introduced me to wls. Of all the things I heard the biggest challenge I felt was going to be the pop thing. You know...the part where you can't really have it anymore. At the time my habit was 4-8 cans a day which I've had for the past 15-20 years (I'm 30). I knew if I couldn't kick that habit I wouldn't ever be able to have the surgery. I mean I knew this was just one of many new rules we have to live by but if I couldn't do this then none of the other stuff mattered. The day of the seminar was the last day for 7 months. Over Thanksgiving I've tried pop again half scared, half curious about my reaction to it since I was so addicted to the stuff. The circumstance came about when there wasn't any water to be had at the party. Well they had water, but it was horrible tasting water and I couldn't drink it. I had half a can of pop. I've since also had a couple tastes of moscato di asti and couple more tastes of pop when there's been no alternative. The result is unexpectedly happy. I don't really like too much of it. The bubbles are too much and it burns going down and then I get all burpy. I can't help but laugh about it since I really thought I'd have something like an alcoholics reaction to their favorite drink, one taste and that would be the end of sobriety for a while. I can't believe I really prefer water but I do. The reverse osmosis machine at our house is wonderfully helpful since it gets a lot of the funny tastes out of our well water. It's been well worth the price. i'm preop but I do believe this is an nsv!