Most recent photo of me!

WOW! Things are really going my way! I really am enjoying a whole new life! I am now down 44 pounds and I feel fantastic! I am now able to exercise (besides walking) so went to"Soul Grooves" tonight! I have to say it was sooooo much easier minus those 44 pounds! I got a new job on Monday. I will be a pre-K teacher for Kindercare and I am really looking forward to using my creative juices. Desk jobs are just not my thing! Plus I am going from 30 hours to 40 hours and increasing my pay by over $3 per hour! My last day at Mackin will be April 2nd and I start at Kindercare April 5th. I also decided to look into moving to Eagan, where I will be working and move Nick to a new school district, maybe some of his school issues will disappear! Everything is looking up and I feel better about my life than I have in a really long time! This surgery truly was the start of a brand new life (:

I hit 40 pounds today and was so elated! I felt like I could be like Valerie Bertenelli the spokesperson for Jenny Craig, she talks about loosing her 40 pounds is like 4 1o pound bags of potatoes! I can relate! I feel so much lighter and am excited to watch my transformation. Yesterday a guy I've had a crush in for years noticed the difference and it made me feel great! My clothes are starting to look like the "Saggy Baggy Elephant" may need to get some new duds soon!

This week has been interesting to say the least. I went back to work which was good for my brain, 4 weeks off from work made me a little stir crazy to say the least. My body was maybe not quite as ready as I thought however. My job is pretty physical, handling books all day, and some of them are quite heavy. Needless to say by the time I got home each night I was pretty spent. I have continued to slowly loose weight. I am now down 36 lbs and feeling pretty excited about that! A couple of setbacks this week though. I am supposed to be trying a new food every day, so Thursday night,I made 2 oz of chicken (which I have eaten before successfully) and I added some Honey Terayaki sauce. After 2 bites I knew things were not going well, I had a bad pain and felt horrible, well, it all came up!!! I was so freaked out about it that I skipped my Trivia night! UGH! That was my first experience with puking! Not something I'd like to repeat, however last night I was eating egg salad and again bad pain, threw up! Not sure what's going on... I am hoping there's not a leak in the pouch. Will see what happens today.
I have been walking for 30 -45 minutes, but walking on the treadmill is sooo boring to me! I will be ready to hit the 6 week mark so I can return to my water aerobic class and my dance classes! I need variety in my exercise routine or I will quit doing it! Looking forward to next week as I will be helping out with Expressions! new production. I need something to do in the evenings rather than sitting in front of the TV watching American Idol which in my opinion sucks this year!

Went back to work yesterday. I really thought it would be a piece of cake, not so much. My job is pretty physical and I am sore. 4 weeks off and a major surgery has made me weak! Glad to be back though! Mentally I was going stir crazy. The weight has not been dropping off as quickly now, in fact it's barely moved in the last several days. ): I am also having troubles with constipation. Don't know if that is normal. I take so many vitamins I'm wondering if that is affecting me. In the past I've never been able to take vitamins cause I get all bound up. I know you love hearing about that little tidbit of information, but hey I'm trying to keep it real, and document everything that happens on this journey. My clothes are looser and I have to keep pulling my pants up so that's a good thing!

So today I'm done 31.5 pounds, which is great but it seems to be coming off slower now. Don't get me wrong I feel FANTASTIC. 31 pounds is a huge accomplishment, but wouldn't 30 more be GREAT?! I know I need to be patient but I wish it would drop faster! I keep thinking, am I eating too much again, is that why it's not coming off as fast? Should I walk more? Patience is not a strong suit I admit! I don't know what is normal so I'm not sure if I should still be loosing 10 pounds a week. Ugh! Then I think... it's probably normal that it slows down once you start eating solid foods!Perhaps I'm just thinking too much and I should just go with the flow and relish in my accomplishments thus far!

I have hit 30 lbs down and am feeling great. Clothes are looser, and things are looking better! I am ready to get back to work and resume a normal life. I am eating soft foods, adding a new food each day. I really miss pizza, but no bread, rice, pasta, beans, foods with seeds or nuts for 3 months! (Sigh). I am so glad I did this!!!