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I just read the post I wrote almost 3 years ago.  I was happy and amazed at how the weight loss was going, and also in the changes in my life and physical mobility.

Three years ago I weighed 196lbs.  I wanted to get down to 175, but to date I haven't seen that weight yet.  The lowest I got was 186 and I wasn't there for long.  I seemed to bounce between 187 to 189 for a long time.  Slowly, in 2009/2010 I've creeped back up to 193 to 196.

I weighed myself this morning and I'm at 199.8.  That is only 2 ounces away from 200.  The dreaded number I never wanted to see on my scale again.

I'm not looking at this as a failure, but an opportunity to evaluate what I am doing to cause this gain.  Thankfully it is a small gain still, but if I don't address it now it will become a problem.

My biggest problem is the fact that I like to eat.  I enjoy food and while I think I am still eating heatlhy 80% of the time, I'm really not.  I call myself a carboholic and I really need to step away from it or else it is going to be my doom.

I also drink Diet Sunkist daily.  I average about 24 oz a day, and very little water.  I can also eat small amounts of candy with no problem.

I feel like I used to feel about eating before surgery.  I like food.  I want food.  I eat food.  I had no self-control before and I am fighting to find it now.

I want that number 200 on the scale to scare me.  I am going to quit playing with my diet and my health and try to get back on track.  I know that the holidays are coming and if I'm not careful I could have another 10lb gain when it's all said and done.

My plan is to begin reducing the amount of carbs I eat.  I will begin by concentrating on more veggies like celery sticks, salad, cucumbers, etc.  I will only eat whole wheat bread and only one serving a day.  I will pay attention to portions as well, and try and stay away from chocolate.

I also plan to drink more water and less diet soda.

Most importantly I need to exercise.  Working 10 hours days makes it difficult, but I can at least take a walk on  my breaks or lunch.

I hope to check back on this blog in a couple of months and report that I lost the 10lbs and not that I gained 10 more.

I wrote this more for me to see where I am, but if it encourages anyone else that is good.







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This time last year I was one miserable morbidly obese person.  I didn't like myself a whole lot.  I didn't like the way I looked and I was feeling pretty hopeless.

I was still doing my 6 month supervised diet to qualify for WLS through my insurance company Aetna, and still not even sure if I was going to go through with the surgery.  (I was afraid of dying on the table).

My weight of 338 pounds was making me breathless, less mobile, and when I grocery shopped I would sit down as often as possible just to make it through.  I had a pattern--go down these two aisles, then sit and rest.  Go two more aisles, sit and rest.  It took me longer than normal due to the sitting and resting. 

Driving my car I had the seat pushed back as far as it would go so I could fit my girth behind the wheel, and yet it still touch my belly when I drove.  The seat belt was pulled as far as it would go so I could drive safely.  Getting out of the car was difficult also.  My legs and knees were painful from arthritis and carrying all this weight around, so before I could get out of the car I had to put my one foot on the ground and pull myself using the steering wheel to give me leverage.  I am surprised it didn't break with the continued pressure of using it to pull me up and out.

So many sad things about that time in my life; even these word do not convey how absolutely miserable I really was.  I felt as though I was dying a slow death from my obesity and all the co-morbidities that came along with it.  I had sleep apnea, high blood pressure, depression, hypothyroidism, Type II diabetes.  I considered each one another nail in my coffin.

All this gloom and doom are past me now.  Here I am 9 months from surgery on December 13th, and I have to date lost 142 pounds.  I currently weigh 196 pounds.  Sleep apnea is gone.  Type II diabetes is gone.  High blood pressure is gone.

I am an active gym member, and I love my life right now.

I can walk, dance, get in and out of my car with ease, and of course grocey shopping is now a breeze.

When I pass by a mirror I have to wonder who that much slimmer woman is passing by.  I have gone from wearing very tight 26/28 clothes to an almost normal size 16.

I would like to lose more of course, but I said many times if I just get below 200 I don't care what I weigh as long as I never see that number again.  Realistically though I would like to get down to 175 for now, and possibly 160 in the future, just so I can get far enough away from 200 to never see it again.

I'm actually anxious to reach my one year mark so I can see what I've really accomplished in that year.  I hope my weight is closer to 180 by March 2008.

I am to the point now where the weight loss has slowed down dramatically, but that is okay with me, as long as the numbers do go down, even if it takes a few weeks to move.

The close of this year will never be like any other year of my life.  This is the year (2007)  that I was brave enough to face my fear of surgery to find the me that has been hiding behind layers of fat.  This is the year of my greatest happiness and accomplishment to say I have finally succeeded in losing a significant amount of weight and for once I may see it stay off forever.

This is the year that I wake up every day truly humbled and honored to be alive another day to enjoy this wonderful new life that my excellent surgeon Dr. Lord gave me by having the skill to perform a successful and complication free outcome.

2007 is the year that Susan Mitchell came alive for the first time in a long time.

I went to the gym last night and after 30 minutes of aerobic exercise I went to weigh on the scale.  I like their scale because it matches my doctor's scale.

The last time I weighed which was about 2 weeks ago I was at 200.2...so close, but not quite there  yet.

Imagine my happiness when I stepped on the scale and the numbers read 198.0.  I was so excited I could hardly stand it.

From the day I had surgery almost nine months ago I thought, one day I will be below 200.  It seemed so unreal to imagine myself going from 338.5 to below 200, but with the surgery I thought it might be possible.

Thankfully it is possible......I just did it.

Now I want to get far enough away from 200 so that number never shows itself again on my scale.  My next short term goal is to see 175.  It will probably take a while since the weight loss has slowed down, but that is okay.  I will get there.

Well, well.  It is hard to beleive I am at month 8.  The weight loss has slowed down, but that is okay as long as I am not gaining and continuing to lose even if it is taking longer to lose a pound or two.

I am currently at 201 pounds, and can't wait to see the number 1-something on the scale.   

I have been going to the gym, but not as consistently as I would like.  I have to work a late week every 5 weeks which interfers, and then I went and got a staph infection (Cellulitis) which my doctor advised to not go to the gym.

I am all better now, and have gotten back into my gym routine, but I've only just started going back after being away for a week and a half.

I am now wearing a size 18 in pants, and a large in tops.  The thing is though, that i am rapidly running out of clothes to wear.  All my clothes were size 26/28, some 22/24's and a few 20's.  Now they are all too big in the legs and butt, and a little loose in the waist.  My biggest area on my body is my stomach.  It is smaller than it was, but it's still there.  I probably have 30 pounds hanging off my gut right now.  LOL

I feel so much better about myself.  My clothes look better on me.  I feel almost like I'm normal.  Meaning when I walk into a room full of people I don't feel like all eyes are on the "fat" girl.  I can blend in, is how I see it.

Yes,  the scale still says 201, but I have people who think I weigh around 160...which is funny to me.  I do have a lot of muscle; which is completely genetic.  I'm glad I do because I've always been able to get away with weighing more than I look.  My mom and daughter are the same way....so it can be a plus.

I hope the next time I post I can say I am in "onderland".  That is my main goal right now.

Well I am in my 7th month since RNY back in March 07.

I am pleased with my results so far and probably need to update my picture since the one I have displayed is about 30 pounds ago.

I am currently down to 210 and recently joined a gym.  I have been doing cardio and circuit training for about 3 weeks now.  So far it is going well, and it helped me move down another 4 pounds, but right now I am stuck again, but it's all good.  As long as the scale keeps moving down I am happy even it if takes awhile.

I do look forward to getting below 200 and I know i will in time.

My labs came back  okay with the exception of iron.  I am working to get that up....I was at 39 and the low range is 40.  All others lab work was fine.

I am really enjoying this new life I have.  Shopping is fun again, I like taking pictures of myself, and being around people more than I once did.  

I have found my sense of humor and confidence.  So far it's been a great ride.

Here it is September 17th and I am just 6 months out from surgery.  It has been a fantastic 6 months.

From my highest weight I am down 123 lbs.  Some of that weight was lost prior to surgery and on the liquid diet before, but I am counting every pound since I lost it.

This past weekend I went shopping and tried on a pair of Misses size 18 pants and they fit.  It is hard to believe 6 months ago I was wearing a 26/28 size pants and only in elastic waist and here I am able to wear an 18 that zips and snaps.  Wonderful feeling.

I am only 15 pounds away from being in Onderland....and that is my major goal right now.

As far as exercising I haven't really been good about it.  I didn't like it before and don't find it any easier now to get into a routine.  I am really hit and miss on it, and I need to change that.

I was lying on the couch last night and lifted my arm to scratch and the flesh hanging down caught my attention....wow my skin is really sagging......but it is to be expected when you lose so fast.  Another reason I need to exercise.

I am not sure if plastics are in my future or not........the only saggy spot I see right now is arms and inner thighs.....my belly is still kind of there so not seeing any issues yet, but sure it is just around the corner.

I can say at this point I am glad I took this step.

I am a week shy of my 5 month mark, and I am so pleased to say I have lost 101 lbs total.  This is 84 since surgery date, and 17 pounds pre-op, but I count them all....so 101 pounds from my highest weight of 338lbs.

The transformation so far is amazing.  I am now able to wear some Womens tops in an 18/20 occassionally a 16W and some XL.  My pants went from 26/28 to a 22W and some 20W depending on style and cut.  My shoe size went from a 9 to 9.5 wide to an 8 in some styles, and 8.5.

I will admit my boobs are a little deflated, my arms are kind of flabby on the bottom side, my legs are good, and my tummy is still a little big, but much smaller than it was.

I see the biggest difference in my shoulders and face.  It is amazing how much better I look and feel.  I used to avoid mirrors as much as possible, now I don't mind if I pass one and see my reflection.  

It is also fun to have family members tell me how much different I look, but it's not only looks it is also people telling me how much happier I seem.

I can honestly say I do feel happier, and I like myself so much better.  I even have days when I feel attractive too.  That is a big change for me.

Others have said it before, and I will say it again...this is the best thing I ever did for me.

Here I am at 4 months out.  I am still so surprised and pleased with the changes I see happening to me.

Since surgery I have lost 97 lbs.  17 of that was during the liquid diet phase, but hey, I still lost it.

I was in a tight 26/28 at 338 lbs. and was really getting concerned with how I was going to find clothes to fit me without going to internet shopping.  I was sick of elastic waist clothes and big stretchy shirts.  Looking back I didn't realize just how very miserable I was carrying that weight.  I mean I was miserable, but in hindsight I see it more clearly.

In all honesty, at 338 lbs. I was depressed, felt like I was dying a slow death, my knees were aching, my back hurt, and I was suffering from several co-morbidities; high blood pressure, sleep apnea, Type II diabetes.

Here I am 4 months later and I am wearing size 22 pants, top sizes vary from 20 or 1x to 18/20 at times.  My feet have even shrunk.  I've gone from a size 9.5 wide to a regular size 8 in most shoes.

I feel so much better physically and about myself in general.  My self-esteem is better, and most of my aches and pains are gone.

I know as I continue to lose it is only going to get better and better.  Right now I am 41 lbs away from seeing 200 and that is my next goal.

I feel like once I reach 199 I will truly know this has been a great success.  I mean it is a success now, but I want to be below 200.

At this moment in my life having this surgery was worth it.  I have a full understanding that things in my life my change, but I am so happy for each and every moment I have right now, and anyway I could get in my car and be involved in an accident.  It is just a chance I take, but to have my life back is so totally worth it.

This is so freaking great.....I am actually wearing clothes that have been sitting in my closet forever.  I'm even in a pair of pants that zip and snap......I've been wearing elastic for so long, to me this is amazing.

I am loving all the changes I am seeing and I am excited to see many more.

Initially I regretted having the surgery because it seemed so hard and I missed food, but the reward of becoming healthy far outweighs those moments of mourning.  It is no longer important whether I eat a piece of cake or down 4 mexi-melts.   My perspective has changed, and I am so very glad.

I have been tracking my weight from my highest which was 338 at my first consult.  I had surgery on March 13th, and prior had lost 17 lbs by dieting and 7 day liquid prior to surgery.  As of right now I am down 73 lbs.  I weigh 265 lbs.  

I will say that I am fascinated with my own body right now.  Even though I am still very obese, I see the changes from a 330+ woman to the one I am now.  My wrists are smaller, my belly is smaller, my legs even.  The most dramatic change is my face, neck and collar bone area.  Even though my bones aren't showing yet, I see the potential.

Initally I regretted having this surgery, but now I am so excited and happy that I did it.  

I just returned from seeing my daughter in Oklahoma, and even walked down a small mountainside with her...something I would not have done at 300+ lbs.  

I can honestly say that life is good, and I am looking forward to seeing even more changes come about in the very near future.