I'm shocked!!!!

Current mood: shocked

So as promised, I have posted a picture of myself in the skirt that I was wearing in my "heaviest" picture. I am totally shocked and proud of myself. I NEVER thought I could feel this good. I remember being at that weight and everything hurt. My back hurt, my lungs hurt, most of all my heart hurt because I hated being that weight. I couldn't and wouldn't go out and be active and I think about my life now and I can't imagine being back there.

There is a 89 lb difference between these pictures, but it honestly feels like a 300 lb difference. I can't even imagine what life will be like in 90 more lbs. I feel so good right now that its hard for me to consider that I will feel even better. In response to me being so shocked at the difference that my weight has made I've decided to start posting recipies. I have started a subscription to Cooking Light, which is the BEST cooking magazine ever. And I'm happy to post the recipies that we try as well as the recipies that we have from weight watchers. Lisa still lives (and will always live) a weight watchers lifestyle, so we will continue to post from the weight watchers point of view.

I desparately hope that someday anyone that wants this surgery will be able to get it. After the same long process that I went through, because I think that gives you appreciation for what it means to get the surgery. I can't tell you how many slightly overweight people have been like - I wonder if I could get that surgery. I feel that they are trying to cheat, after all I worked really hard on weight watchers for a really long time to get to the point where I needed to try something drastic. Weight Watchers works - Lisa lost 80 lbs, its just a lifestyle change and a forever "diet". I'll step down from my soap box. I decided to post a slideshow of the 2 pictures to make it easier to see side by sides. Enjoy

What a treat!

Current mood: full
So today Lisa and I went bike riding, and unfortunately my basketball shorts were in the wash, so I went into our guest bedroom and started to look to see if I had any other shorts. Low-and-behold, I found the skort that I was wearing in the "heaviest" picture. So I plan to take a pictures of me in them now, it's shocking how big they are on my especially considering how tight they were in that picture (I had a hard time breathing when I would sit down).

Lisa said that she would take a picture of me, but it will probably be tomorrow, since I am so exhausted from our ride today. There have been a lot of treats in my life this weekend. On Friday we went to Fry Electronics (a whole nother blog could be created on it's weirdness) and I finally got a fondue pot. It is electric and super cute. So Saturday and Sunday night we had cheese fondue. I am excited to try broth fondues, so if you have any good recipies please email me. Also on our ride today we found TONS of free fruit. The trail we rode on had blackberries (not all that surprising), apples and plums. So Lisa and I got treats as we rode. Next weekend we are going to go blackberry picking and hopefully we'll make jam or syrup or a pie. I'll keep you updated. Next weekend will be busy with dentists appointments, oil changes for the cars, a sunday school teacher meeting and a high holiday prep class. So I doubt I'll get a chance to check in. Hope all is going well.

58 lbs lighter and back from Vacation

Current mood: exhausted

So I hate it when you get done writing this awesome blog and myspace loses it!!! I'll try to recreate the awesomness that I wrote and then it got lost.

I think that when you go on vacation you should get an extra 2 days to recover from your vacation. While our vacation was fantastic I am totally exhausted from it. We went camping in the high Sierras of California. What a beautiful place. Lisa and I took so many pictures just because everything is picture perfect. It was so pretty there that hiking wasn't so bad. Besure to check out the pictures on myspace or on my website http://www.geocities.com/cruzngrly.

The altitude was an interesting change. I had never been in high altitude. You are supposed to relax for the first 24 hours (72 if you are Lisa) so that your cells can adjust to the lack of oxygen. I wasn't really affected by the altitude until the last full day we were there and we took about a 4-5 mile hike. It's hard work to hike when you can't get oxygen. My weightloss made a huge difference (I think). It was amazing to me how much more energy I had. I wore a pair of jeans on the last day that I haven't really worn since surgery, I could hold them out a good 8-9 inches away from my body. It is shocking to me since they used to be so tight they would hurt after wearing them awhile. I have 2 skirts that are close to goodbye time. Unfortunately I haven't found anything to replace them yet. I have been shopping a lot at Goodwill and BarginWorld. We have found some great clothes. I have gone from a 3-4X to a 1x/xtra large. Sometimes I am still shocked that I've lost that much weight.

I finally updated my pictures with the picture of me at my heaviest. I still can't believe that was me, I don't even recognize myself in that picture. I am still working on protien consumption. My large intake of milk is where the bulk of my protein comes from. I have started to lose a great deal of hair (I think the last few pounds lost have all been from hair loss; J/K). I have talked to the doctor and I am taking large amounts of folic acid and biotin. Hopefully I will see the effects of being on these supplements soon. It's a good thing that I started out with thick hair!!

I'll write more later, right now I HAVE to go to bed because I am exhausted!!