less-of-me

My One year wont be until the 29th of may. To date though I have lost 93 pounds and completly changed my lifestyle. I love running marathons and Hiking mountain trails. I feel like the girl I was before I got married and had kids! This journey has been a blessing to me. I would do it again in a heart beat. I am also excited that I will have my Tummy Tuck in 11 days! Very nervouse but excited! I cant wait till I am healed from it and running my next marathon in Disneyland September 6th! Keep Up the great work everyone. On a personal note John and Ann I look up to you for inspiration. You are truely amazing, uplifting people! You 2 have been a big part of my journey (as im sure others). Through the ups and downs of this journey coming on the banditos site always pushes me to a new level. So THANK YOU!

well Thank you Ann, Gaye, and sarah...I need support and Prayers! I am doing better today since my husband got home last night. My daughter has also calmed down...she doesn't understand what cancer means but she is stressing over surgery. I actually stressed out more friday with some drama with one of our employee that I lost all appitite for the rest of the weekend. I lost 2 pounds over the weekend, so overall I have officially lost 90 pounds! I cant say it enough but you guys are a great support grooup and i appriciate all of you and the help throughout this last year! I will keep u updated!

still the same weight this week. Thank goodness because I ate a few sweets while stressing out. My 7 year old daughter, they beleive may have skin cancer. She has surgery june 1st, and my husband is on his first guys vacation EVER, they planned it months ago. so a lot of emotions and stress (plus a lot more I wont get into)! I just pray for my daughter because that is all I can do. I feel as if im on a rollercoaster fine one minute crying the next... Anyways no weight loss is better than a gain!

Ann yes it is very frustrating! I feel like I am doing everything right but getting very discouraged. I run myself ragged and still the pounds dont want to leave! Well, hopefully we can have a break through and get rid of the last bit of pounds!

well, I am back to bouncing up and down the same 3 pounds. I feel like I need a little fill but I will wait till after my surgery next month because I hear your stomach can swell after surgery. I will hang in there and keep working out like crazy. I am just frustrated this last 17 pounds is holding on for dear life!!! Oh and for the last couple weeks by early afternoon I have no energy and I mean so bad that I crash for an hour or 2 before I can even function again. I think I need to start taking vitamins....I know I should have been on them from the start. I had my pharmacy order some chewable adult vitamins and I took my first one today....I REALLY hope it helps! Enjoy your weekend everyone!

yay...finally I see a loss on the scale. I have been workingout like a mad women. Between running a couple miles every night and doing strength training I have finally lost 3 pounds this week! I have lost inches and gained a lot of muscle but I was getting discouraged not seeing the scale move! I am just wanting to get close to goal before my tummy tuck on may 17th! good luck to all of you this week on losing more weight!

Reneek let me know how your consult goes! Im now moving too very excited about my surgery. I have been stepping up my exercise to insaine lately. everynight I run at least 2 miles and then do the Jillian micheals 30 day shred. I wanted to lose an additional 20 pounds before surgery but the scale has not moved...but I have gone down another dress size and I now have major muscle in all my body( more firm a lot less flab..lol)! I have my pre op consult the 20th of this month so I will get a more detailed lowdown of what to expect! Hope you get all the info that you need/want at your consult.

Oh yeah and my PS is Dr. Lillie in scottsdale. Check him out they are amazing and so nice over there!

Running has really helped my legs. I dont have any problems with skin there, but a lot with my stomach. I really want to do the san diego marathon but with this I wont beable to run for 2 months! But instead I will do the one in Disneyland, and then I have one in december in Vegas, and the full marathon here in january!

mamadot you and your friend look amazing! you have slimmed down so much!!!! congrats and keep up the great work!!!

Let me start off by saying I never would have imagined I would want to...or even in that matter try to run a 1/2 marathon (13.1 miles)! BUT I am happy and very proud to say that I did. I ran 12 1/2 miles without walking and then needed a little slow down for a minute so I could sprint the last bit. My finishing time for the Arizonas PF Chang rock N roll 1/2 marathon was 2 hours and 42 minutes flat!!!!!! It was such an amazing and emotional journey that I had to share it with all of you. I just feel that the mayo banditos can truely relate to the ups and downs that weight plays in your life, and that being able to run 13.1 miles is such an accomplishment! I just thankyou all for being there to share these moments with! please post your amazing accomplishments here (ones you never dreamed you could do, but are doing now)! p.s. if the picture comes up im the tall red head

Thankyou for all the encouragements! You all are wonderful! I feel great after this last marathon and I am working on my speed for the San Diego marathon! I do not have a natural gift for running it is a struggle every time I run but I tell myself I can push myself to new hights! Thats what this journey has taught me, I need to change my life and push myself out of my comfort zone so that I never go back to the person I was 9 months ago! Knowing I have a race coming up keeps me running and working out which in turn losing weight. But the hard thing lately is that the scale is going down so slowly but that is because I have gained a lot of muscle. I have dropped several pant sizes but I seem to more focus on the number on the scale (silly I know)! But running has been a release for me and a the marathons dreams that were always going to be unattainable untill I made a real change not only with this "tool" but with what I did with my body itself! Sorry I guess I started rambling but the point is thankyou for all the encouraging words...this group is the best!

Well I wanted to update my marathon status. I ran another 1/2 marathon on saturday the 6th of march. This one was a bigger challenge then the last one. In the first 6 miles there was an elevation increase of 1000 ft! wow did that ever burn!. I ran the whole 13.1 miles. My time was 3 min slower then the last one I did in january but considering I was running up hill I am very happy. I completed it in 2 hours and 45 min! my next one is in san diego june 6th! hoipefully my time will be much better!

Mine have definatly shrunk. I went from a 42I to now a 38DDD after losing 84 pounds. I know I will lose more because now I probably have a cup size of excess skin! Hope I wont lose them completely...lol

Well I wasn't able to post on friday, but I did weigh in. I lost 3 pounds! yay...after weeks of no loss but tons of working out! I probably wont show loss this week due to I have to try to find thing high in carbs that im able to actually eat this week! I have my next 1/2 marathon on saturday and your body needs extra carbs all week to prepare to store a little energy! But hopefully after running 13.1 miles I will lose at least a pounds! Hope everyone has a great week!

I some times have pain in my shoulder blade that runs around and up my neck. I have been told that it is from a nerve that wraps around where the band is and continues to the back and neck. Minbe usually hurts for 3 reasones 1- when I am really hungry 2-when I over eat or get stuck 3-or when I drink water too fast. Not sure if this is the pain you are having but it sounds similar to mine. Hope this helps. Keep up the awesome work!

Ann you are an amazing inspiration to us all! You look gorgous and deserve that big smile on your face! Being healthy agrees with you! keep up that beautiful smile and hope fully I will get to the 100 pound club soon!

Ann I envy you for being right there at the 100 pounds loss mark! you are remarkable! I really need to find better options for food! my problem is i am a little too tight and cant eat chicken or fish unless its fried and coated in sauce! I just cant afford the time or money to drive out of town to get a little unfill. I know i know before you all tell me...! but I will work hard this week to find other food options! hope everyone has an amazing week!!

well...I havent lost any weight this week. It doesnt help that I just got back from 5 days at DisneyLand. its my T.O.M. today and I havent been able to run for 2 weeks because i have been having a lot of pain in my knee. Hopefully this week it will pick up again. I have to start back running today becasue my next 1/2 marathon (13.1 miles) is in 2 weeks! I still have a ways to go and like everyone else it seems to be slow!!!! But I look back on my food choices and I know deep down I could be making a few smarter choices! I will make that this weeks goal! hope everyone else has a good week with the scale.

As of yesterday I was down 2 lbs this week! Hope next week is just as good!

wow...u look much younger now! congrats!

Thank you Ann! I am officially addicted to running! I am signed up to do another 1/2 marathon March 5th, and then Im doing one in San Diego June 6th, them Las Vegas December 5th,... and the January 16 2011 I will be doing the FULL MARATHON (26.2 Miles)! This is definatly helping with weightloss. I moved into wonderland the day after the race and lost another pound last week. I think I would have lost a lot more but I have gained a lot of muscle in my legs!!! I just challenge everyone to find an activity you love persue it with all your heart and you will see great rewards on the scale!!!

Im very excited for you Mamadot! 5K (3 mile run) is amazing! Im sure you will do fantastic, especially if you are like me and never dreamed of doing this before! But I can't even describe the feeling you get once you have accomplished it! Make sure and let me know how you do! I will be rooting you on!!!! Keep up the great work!

Thank you Ann! I can't believe you are so close to goal! You are amazing!

the first one is from christmas 2008 and the other is new years eve! Denverlee