RJ'S/beginning

Awesome lady......you are amazing!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Amazing girl.....just keep swimming and maybe and hopefully...2014 will be your year for great things!!!!!!!!!!!

Such a big difference...WOW..Congrats girl!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Never expect to ever get over that hun...but dealing with it and putting it in its proper place will make you better and stronger...i hope for you that the pain lessons a lot.....You were a victim...You were innocent...And him well he was and still is a very disturbed person and a monster who deserves your feelings of disdain .....I understand! I really do!!!!

I will let go of all the physical pain that I have endured so far over my choice to have WLS I will deal with the new onsets of complications with fortitude and hopefully grace through 2014. I will handle those who are not supporting me in a way that brings positive results to me. I will leave behind the 182 lbs. that I lost mostly in 2013. I will not let myself believe that nothing has changed for me in a positive way. I will let go of those that made me feel that I was not worth their time..( so called friends ) I will not let food rule me, I worked on that in 2013 but I will conquer it in 2014. I will not fear the smaller sizes anymore... I will finish to goal and beyond.

It has happened again......A lady told one of my friends that I was too thin and needed to stop this insanity before I had to go to a special clinic for people with eating disorders....What???????? No one ever told me that they were worried about my health or anything else when I was obese...( hate that word ), part may be because how do you bring it up or talk to someone about it..but still...People are having no problem telling me or my family that I am too small... I don't think I was ever too small in my life...I don't think there is a chance of it happening any time soon..... This lady was complaining that her size 16 pants were getting too tight...My friend told her that in a couple weeks she could have mine as I seem to change sizes so fast... She laughed her head off..That's when this woman said I was way to thin for my height...hello..198 is not thin...dah!!!!!!!!!

Ah, don't you think that is just too sad.....It is an issue for me as well with some like the lady I mentioned in my first post....To be so pathetic to need someone smaller then yourself to make your world spin.....Get a life people!!!! eh

I think you are too kind..but that is probably your nature. I however have not told anyone of these people what I did to myself..They see it as a result of 5 months almost dying in the hospital....Yes I almost died and none of them came to see me...But they want to get a look at the results of the situation...Or decide that I am too small now, stop it you know....I am trying to figure out which is best....Giving them the evil stare down...Which I am told by my hubby could bring down the iceberg that took down the Titanic....Or simply punch them in the face!!!!!!!!!!! We will see which one works best for me in 2014.....Thank you for your sweet ideas. hun!

You as well HUN!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I think a lot like you..although I did name my sleeve I do not spend a lot of time worrying about caloric intake or what I am going to eat this day....I am hoping for the day that I no longer think of it all as it has consumed my life for 3 decades+. It appears to be working because I weigh myself rarely and so have never worried about stalls, too many calories, too little you know what I mean....... To me it is exchanging one addiction for another...I will always be conscious of my choices when I do eat...But no logging it down no obsessing over it....No worrying about the 5 food groups... I need food to replenish my body...Not my life..And so for me it is always at a distance..Not like before when I thought about it continuously...Been there done that!!!!

Your amazing.......Even with all that lipstick you still lost 100 lbs..... congrats hun!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I was wondering about your progress.....ouch...sorry you are having such a hard recovery.....I will keep in mind the Protein aspect of this and hopefully when it is my turn I can be as brave as you are..... I was glad to see 2012 gone and also glad to see 2013 gone too!!!!!!!!!!!!!!Keep us updated please!!!!!!!!!!!

Look at it this way...Follow your nuts rules but remember this: Protein first, then veggies, then fruit and last but not least carbs.. Protein is the back bone of weight loss and now more then ever there are researchers out there that are really putting the car-bosh on carbs. Me I eat them, but I always strive to put the protein in first...Carbs can be sliders for us and have the ability to fill us up fast without the dense feeling of being full....

I love all the good stuff RJ posts! Happy New Year! 2014 is looking good, I'm ready! I feel honored that you both feel that way....There is a big journey a head of all of us here and we need to hold on tight " cause it is going to be a bumpy ride." A good one but bumpy!!!!!!!!!!!

I remember coming home from my honeymoon in good ole 1977 and riding along on a blistering chilly day...We were driving home in a snow storm and I was not worried about anything...We laughed and talked and then he pulled into this little out of the way book store....I had never seen anything like it, it was nestled in pine trees and made to look like a cabin. He wanted me to see it and maybe I might find a book to buy and it could be a good memory for me like it was for him.... As I walked through the store I saw a lot of old books, ripped books, used books and even new books....It was quite the place....It looked like it was fresh out of " Little House on the Prairies. " It gave me the feeling like the stage coach was about to pull in to get fresh horses and supper..lol I found a section of cook books and thought well sure I can use one of those......So I picked up a Betty Crocker cook book...It was awesome. The nicest cook book I ever saw....I took it to my hubby and he beamed with pleasure that I found a book no matter what book it was in this quaint book store.. He bought it for me and when I got it to the car I took it out of the bag and started to stroke it and then opened it to pies......All of a sudden I felt this pressure in my chest and stomach...I all of a sudden realized that I was responsible for keeping this man a live.....I had to make sure that every day he got his 5 food groups in or his health might wane...... I was nineteen and really scared of everything but that was the one thing I focused on.......the first meal I made when we did finally get home was a huge pot of spaghetti and meatballs...He came home from work and his jaw hit the floor. He told me that we could never eat that much before it went bad...I told him I figured it would last us a week and there was meat, veggies, cheese, grain, tomatoes..You know stuffed with all 5 food groups................I have no idea why this struck me with such terror but it did......Now the reason I am telling you all this tail is because it happened to me again.. A few months ago when I left the hospital and they told me I was on my own....A feeling of doom and desperation enveloped me and even though the 5 food groups were not an issue... I still had to think of making sure hubby did not lose any weight ( he lost 25 lbs when I was in the hospital ) But now I had rules to follow, so much Protein , so much Water, watch the carbs and eat veggies and fruit where they fit in.... I thought that's it, I am going to end up killing myself over this..How will I know what to eat, when to eat, how to eat it. How long before and after is water intake and abstinence. It was 1977 all over again!....This weighed very heavy on my mind... I have OCD so it might be that it was so bad because of my problem... I took it seriously to do the right thing when I discovered my part in looking after myself..... So I do understand these questions people ask on this forum regarding food and water and all the rest....We think we did the hardest thing by having the surgery..But then you realize that it is up to you to make the changes..To fix your brain. To learn how to eat properly and nutritionally. To exercise and learn to love who you are every day as you proceed along this path to a new you... To except the new you with open arms and contentment, building a new life out of the ashes of the old and hopefully keeping your other parts of life somewhat in tact... Love yourself, learn to except yourself, and get a life....My new worries are these just written......... There will always be something to weigh down my mind....But not extra weight. ( hopefully )

http://www.youtube.com/embed/xKy2lLNQYrI?rel=0 Enjoy!!!!!!!!!!!!LOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOL

Never thought of those 5 food groups hun...I think maybe I did switch to them a few years after I had kids...They just never worked out for me you know!!!! All the best for you to and that darling hubby of yours...Look after him kido!!!!!!!!!!!

Have you seen Gerard yet?????????? Tomorrow is a new beginning to a new year that will make our ties stronger and our lives longer.....Watch the alcoholic intakes everyone!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

5'10" I used to be that height..Then as the years past and they do..I got a herniated disc and lost 2 inches...I loved being the tallest of everyone I knew..( women ) ..Now at least with some weight off I feel taller again...lol

LMAO! Yes, and I hear there is a small meteor flying towards the Earth. I am more than positive that it will hit RJ, while she's driving in her car, going 75 miles per hour, under a bridge while the train is going over it above her. RJ hun, bless your heart. Give it time, this too shall pass. *hugs* (I know you're not a hugger but that makes me want to hug you more! lol) I think you now owe me 2 hugs..Hmmmmmm I hope your good for it someday..... And you better be good at it too...lol

Yup it's true. I got the official information today...I am in the middle of menopause..When the hell did that happen..Last I heard I was pre-menopausal. Oh boy, waiting now to hear that I have a brain tumor or something like that..What is left I ask? As Arney says " it is not a brain tumor."

No downin my love Madam.....He is wonderbar to me!!!!!!! Ryan always looks a little stunned to me...lol

I thought you were as cute as a bug in a rug......You must be short though..you look quite compact! Come on Madam give us a real look at you...k!!!!!!!!!!!

Sorry! just found this thread...Congrats Madam on your visible success of now just being ah over weight..Funny that we can say that here and Celebrate it eh!!!! Your looking awesome girl......I loved the old days when I could have a stout....Haven't had any for years... Meds you know! Sorry about the ankle. ouch!!!!! Your doing great and it shows!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I have my pic on my drivers licence and pass port...both were taken when I was 380...Even my costco card has one of those pictures on it.....Everyone always asks me for other ID and I hand then the other cards with my picture on it....I think it is hilarious!!!!!!!!! They really don't know whether to believe that is me or not...They will have to wait for renewals...Because I'm not paying for a retake