I weighed in this morning at 304.6! To most that would be nothing to jump up and down about, but to me....it is a MAJOR accomplishment. I am down 65.2 pounds since my VSG on June 24, 2014 and down 99 pounds from my all time high weight of 403.6. I am a HAPPY girl! in 4.6 pounds I will no longer have a 3 as the starting number for my weight and for that I am grateful. It has been over 10 years since I was under 300 pounds.

After I see 299 on the scale I want to see 292. I had lost weight many years ago and remember how great I felt at 292, after that my next major goal will be to see 230. For me 230 is significant as the beginning of my weight awareness, at 17 I was 230 pounds and it was the first time that I went on a "diet" to make a change. I made it down to about 190 if my memory serves and then began the WL roller coaster I have been on for over 30 years.

I can finally say that I am glad I had my VSG. With EVERY day I am gaining so much more confidence and freedom. My hemoglobin is improving, I don't know what the new number is yet, I am due for a re-check next week. I do know that it got down to 7 (6 is transfusion level) a few weeks ago. I thought the extreme fatigue was from surgery and I ignored it. Do not do that friends, if your body is telling you something, listen. I was stubborn and was putting myself in danger. My doctors put me on Feragon an Iron supplement 3 x's daily and I take it with Vitamin C, which helps the iron absorb better.

I also finally dealt with my crazy heavy menstrual cycles. We discovered a large fibroid in April and my PCP suggested we watch it for a while and see what happened. Well, the monthly flow finally became too much and I finally saw an ob/gyn specialist September 29th and she put me on progesterone to try and control my flow. 3 weeks in we increased my dosage from 5 mg to 10 mg. Hopefully it works, otherwise I will go to an injection every 3 months called Lupron (I hope I spelled that right) and that should stop my flow completely or diminish it to a very small amount. The downside to this medication is that it may bring menopausal symptoms like hot and cold flashes. So I am hopeful that this works and the injections are not necessary. I have enough going on getting used to my new tummy and way of eating, I do not want to add hot flashes to the mix! lol!

Last night I had a major NSV, I went to a gallery unveiling for a painting. I had to park about 2 blocks away and there was standing room only at this event. The old version of me would not have been able to walk that 2 blocks without being completely out of breath, sweating and in dire need to sit down. The old Lynn would have not even attempted it and went home. Not only did I manage to walk without discomfort, I was able to breathe comfortably! Once inside there were not many seats available, so I STOOD for over an hour and talked to people with no back pain, sweating or discomfort of any kind...AND I did it wearing high heels! The only reason I left after an hour was because my feet hurt from standing in the heels, not because my back was burning or I was having difficulty breathing and talking at the same time. Talk about a game changer, I look forward to what I gain when the next 25 pounds are gone! I am hopeful to hit 299 by November 15th of this year and to end 2014 75 pounds lighter! I actually for the first time in a long time BELIEVE I can do it! I am so looking forward to enjoying my holiday season of shopping, spending time with family and friends, parties and healthier living!