mngreeneyes

@@gowalking and @@Inner Surfer Girl I have nothing against being an admin. I've been doing it off and on for about 12 years. I was a teacher in my previous life and when I left teaching, I was in a bad place emotionally so I took what I could get and I knew I could be good at. While I was being an admin at a different university than where I work now, I earned my masters degree. I still don't feel like I am really doing anything with it. Unfortunately, now that I've been an admin, its hard to get out of being and admin, especially within the University. The job I am applying for includes a very tailored training program on how to do face to face fundraising, which is the part I am unsure of right now. I have an informational meeting with the HR recruiter on Monday, and I have a long weekend to prep for the meeting and rework my resume to be more fundraising centric. Thanks for the encouragement. I plan to own this. I am so ready! pam

Great Job! Remarkable progress! Keep it up! pam

Congrats! I am about 20 lbs from onederland. I suppose I should start thinking about my "prize". One thing that became apparent this morning is that by the time I hit onederland I am going to need to buy some new jeans. I just got into my smallest "skinny" jeans - size 18 -- no W!!! These jeans have to be about 10 years old and from the shape they are in, I didn't wear them very long. I am taking a load of clothing to the consignment store this weekend so I may have to check out the smaller size jean selection - IN THE MISSES SECTION!!! By the time I reach onederland I may need to get 14s. You know, I've been looking at new swimsuits as the one I have is starting to get big. I think that will be my celebration. I will have to pay retail for a suit since that's not something I want to wear used. Kind of like underwear! Besides, I am training for a triathlon so that suit is kind of necessary. They frown on nekkid at the rec center! Congrats again. Can't wait to hear what you what you choose! pam

HUGS! It will get better. Exercise is a great help to depression. I also know that it can be one of the hardest things to do when depressed, but it will help and all those crazy endorphins are lots of fun once they get flowing. I am single, never married, but I know well the challenges of depression. Keep your head up and keep moving forward. pam

Way to go! I am about 20 lbs. behind you, but its within sight! Keep up the good work! pam

Great article. Got me thinking of my job search as possibly a place I need to look more closely at the questions at the end. I am an admin asst with a masters degree. It is a job that requires a high school diploma. I work in a fundraising department and have more education in fundraising than many of the fundraisers I support. My masters degree is in Nonprofit Management. This job, however mundane, is safe. I don't have to challenge myself much to be "amazing" at it. I think I have found a job that will move me into a more logical, given my education, career path, but I am terrified that I will fail or hate it. Good thing I am going to my therapist this afternoon! Got new things to talk about! pam

What a powerful article! I distinctly remember the day I KNEW I was fat. I was six and the pediatrician put me on a VERY strict diet because I weighed 60 pounds. Over the course of the next month I lost 1/3 of my body weight. The irony is, I don't remember being thinner. I don't even think I have any photos that I could say were from that time. I have a photo from when I was about 14 and weighed about 125. I was actually pretty thin, but I had curves at 14 so I knew I was fat. Now I look at that photo and think about how great I look in it and wish I could be that size again. I think this was about the time I developed my self-deprecating sense of humor as armor against the pull up bar and other parts of the Presidential Fitness Test. I have been dieting for 38 of my 44 years. I never developed anorexia or bulimia, but I have long suspected I had some type of disordered eating because of the age I started dieting and the crap it all did to my self image. HUGS to all who have bad memories of those PE classes. pam

WOW! Great job!

I did the Polar Dash on January 1, 2016. April 9th, 2016 Goldy's Run 5K University of Minnesota June 4, 2016 Lola's Half Marathon 5k Waconia, MN August 6, 2016 Minnesota Half Marathon 5k St. Paul, MN August 14, 2016 YWCA Women's Triathlon - Super Sprint Lake Nokomis, Minneapolis, MN September 10th, 2016 Mill City Suds Run 5k Minneapolis, MN September 25, 2016 Women Run the Cities 5k Minnehaha Park, Minneapolis, MN December 10, 2016 (my 45th birthday!) Reindeer Run 5k Lake Calhoun, Minneapolis, MN I'm sure I will pick up one or two more along the way. My running partner and I run for the shirts and the bling so we'll see what catches our eyes! pam

A week or so ago, a coworker who hadn't been around much lately stopped in to say hi. He all of a sudden blurted out, "you've lost weight!" I laughed and he said "I shouldn't have said that. Sorry". I told him about the surgery and we had a long chat. He was the first person who I know had no idea about surgery who has commented. I had lost 55 lbs at that point. Now I am at 63 pounds and when I saw a bunch of family and friends this weekend who knew about surgery and I hadn't seen since before surgery, they couldn't stop commenting on how great I look now. My sis-in-law has been taking photos of my journey for me and we did our 3.5 month photo on Saturday. I look off my tshirt and had a black tank top underneath and she just gasped! I didn't get to see the photo but I assume its obvious. pam

Well, I did it! I finally did it! I signed up for my first triathlon! Walking/running, biking and swimming have always been my favorite activities, mostly because I didn't have to be overly coordinated to be successful. (I played volleyball, basketball, softball, etc. as a kid, but was terrible.) Because I like all three activities, I have many times thought I would like to try a tri, but knew I wasn't ready for a full tri. One of the women in my WLS support group asked me to try a super-sprint tri with her in August. So today I bit the bullet and paid the fee and I am signed up! For those like me who don't know, a super sprint tri is 200 yards swimming, 7.5 miles biking, and 1 mile run. I figure that should be enough to wear me out but good! I start swimming tonight. Right now 200 yards is quite a ways, but add in open Water and I don't think I'd have a chance. I am a slow but very competent swimmer so the chance of drowning is probably minimal, at least by race time in August. I am hoping with time to train that I might even be able to be competitive! By the time of the race, I will be just under 9 months post-op and will have RUN 3 5Ks. I start serious training after my next 5K on April 9th, but I start swimming again tonight - need to see what I can do to build some endurance already. Anyone else out there done a triathlon? Words of wisdom? Wish me luck! pam

There are a bunch of free training plans at http://www.beginnertriathlete.com/%C2'> I am doing a mini or super sprint length. Yours sounds like a sprint length tri. I already found a sprint length tri for next summer (2017) that I want to train for! Good luck and keep me posted on how it is going. My sis-in-law is thinking about doing the tri this summer with me, but she is really scared of the swimming too. Her son is a swimmer and he says he will train her. He's 9! pam

Hi Pammieanne, I am an admin at a university. I had my surgery one week before Thanksgiving. I took a full two weeks off. When I went back, I ended up working a few half days/partial days because I would just hit a wall and feel like I needed to go home while I could still drive myself. I only live about 20 minutes from work. I would then go home and sleep for several hours. It took about a week before I was able to work full days without being completely wiped out at the end of the day. pam

COngrats on your success! Keep up the hard work! pam

My NUT actually suggested chili because it has double meat. It also worked well in the puree phase. pureed chili still tastes like chili. That is not true of all things. pam

I live in St. Paul and had surgery at Fairview Southdale. I go to support groups both at Southdale and at the U of M. pam

Good for you for taking control of this part of your life. It is a lifestyle change. I am only 3.5 months into the change, but already can so amazing changes to my life. I have/had many of your same fears before my surgery. I had never had more than stitches when I was about 5 until the day I had my WLS surgery. I was so terrified of the post-op pain that I gave up my MUCH beloved Diet Coke addiction in July before my November surgery so I wouldn't have to deal with caffeine withdrawal too! I did the old "prepare for the worst, hope for the best" routine. I knew all of what could happen and tried to put a positive spin on all possible outcomes before I checked in to the hospital. As it turned out, I had almost no problems/complications from the surgery and I healed very quickly. I also was fairly active before surgery and started walking within a few hours of waking up from surgery. Again, I was so afraid of the gas pain that as soon as I was fully awake I was begging the nurses to let me walk! I am a planner and had planned out ahead of time my exercise goals. I walked my first 5k (3.1 miles) less than a month after surgery and walked another on New Year's Day. I will run my first 5K on April 9th and do a super sprint triathlon in August. I know you have mobility issues that I don't have (I decided to have surgery when I started to have issues with my knees- those issues are gone already), but you can still have a plan. Join a gym with a pool and start working out in the Water. Water walking/jogging, water aerobics, etc. are amazing ways to move without as much pain on your joints and can be solitary or group activities. Bike riding is another option that puts less stress on the knees, although I am not sure how it would be on your hip. As for gaining the weight back, I am still a newbie and can't speak about maintenance, but I believe in the plan. Low carb, drinking water, no food with drinks, eat slower, lots of Protein. If I start to gain, I know that going straight back to the plan should help get things under control. On the eat slower front, I highly recommend the app Eat Slower. I know I found it for my iPhone and not sure about other platforms. When I was first working on learning to eat slower, I used the app and when I catch myself not being mindful when I eat, I pull it out again. It tells you when you can take a bite! It times out 90 seconds between bites. Good luck with your upcoming surgery. Keep us posted on how it goes. You will find the people here are really great at empathy and advice. pam

I had a pretty major Diet Coke habit. I even have a Diet coke iPhone cover, a Diet Coke shower curtain, and a Diet Coke can and bottle collection from all over the world. I have given up Diet Coke so many times only to start back up again. I had my last Diet Coke on July 31st, 2015. The thought of going through surgery recovery and caffeine withdrawal at the same time scared the crap out of me and I started weaning myself off Diet Coke the day I decided to get surgery. It took me nearly a month to wean myself off, but it was worth it. I dont' miss it. I also have signed myself up for a super sprint Triathlon. I've always thought it would be fun, but until I had surgery it never seemed like a possibility. I haven't completed this one yet, but when I do, I am pretty sure I will cry happy tears and then sign up for a longer one in the future! pam

I attend two support groups a month. One with my surgeon/hospital and one at another hospital near my work. It has a two fold purpose. One I get the support and suggestions I need and also accountability. It also gives me an opportunity to answer questions for newbies and support veterans as we continue to work our tool. pam

I have a hand-me-down trek mountain bike. I added a gel cover to the seat which is wider. I also suggest padded bike shorts if you are going to ride any distances. They are a wonderful help. I used to buy Men's XXL because they were big enough. I might actually fit into women's sizes now! pam

Congrats. I have already started the clear out. I have two boxes overflowing with items I need to take to the consignment store next week. I have cleared out most of my sweaters and all the winter stuff that doesn't fit. I discovered yesterday that I now fit into the shorts that were too small but I was saving for someday so I may actually start summer with clothes that fit! I am going to need to hit the sales soon for workout clothes as even those are getting rather tent like! Next big purchase, new smaller underwear and bras. Its been put off for as long as I can! pam

I have found that books on tape can be great motivators for exercise. The first time I did the Couch 2 5K, more than 10 years ago, I would check out books on tape of Nevada Barr mysteries and only listen to them while i was running on the treadmill. I wanted to know what was going to happen next which really kept me motivated to workout. I was VERY diligent about not letting myself listen unless I was working out so it was a special treat when I worked out. I have since read Nevada Barr's books numerous time, so now I listen to other mystery authors instead. Its very helpful especially on longer runs. pam

Who you tell is entirely up to you. I have heard several great answers to nosey questions. The least confrontational was something like, I've been eating carefully and working out a lot. I am sure you will hear lots of great lines from the boards. I had someone who I haven't told about my surgery tell me the other day that I was shrinking before her eyes. I simply responded thank you. She didn't ask any questions, but it was kind of a pregnant pause after my thank you, but I wasn't going to tell her anything more. She may know, my department leaks like a sieve, but I know that I didn't tell her. I'll take the compliment and leave it at that. pam

Wow! What an inspirational story. Congrats! The customs officer is too sweet! Have fun at the new job! pam

I have been pretty normal over the years. Nothing too extreme except maybe Atkins. The craziest thing I let someone talk me into though was Topamax. My psychiatrist who was managing my depression meds decided I needed to lose weight so, without telling me any of the possible side effects, put me on Topamax. I lost weight but mostly because I had to force myself to eat because everything taste like dirt. It also made me druggy and sleepy and almost helped me lose my job all in the 2-3 weeks I was on it! I refused to continue to take it, although she really tried to get me to stay on it. It was an off label use for the med and was likely illegal. I felt like a guinea pig. It wasn't until I was in the throws of the side effects that I did a google search and found out about the drug. I never went back to her again. pam PS I know that they still use Topamax as a weight management drug and I wish anyone who is on it the best, but it messed me up bad and the dr. wouldn't believe me when I told her how bad the symptoms were.