What an amazing journey the last 4 years has been. My weight has been basically stable for over 2 years I never imagined I would be successful at losing weight, and however hard that was to conceive I never thought I would be able to keep the weight off. Now my struggle is with worrying about regaining weight. It is a constant battle.

I am still amazed by the difference in my life. Losing weight has given me back my health and made doing things so much easier. The journey of the last four years is not measured just in pounds. There are so many other measures such as:

• my diabetes being under control. This is the number one, most important result of my weight loss!
• I can move with ease
• I can run. One of my life-long dreams was to run in the NYC Marathon. I fulfilled this dream in 10/07. I have developed a love of running!
• Instead of making plans to meet friends for food, I make plans with them to workout together.
• I don't have to worry about fitting into plane seats. It still is striking to me how much easier traveling is now. It is great not to have to worry about sitting in the middle seat, or having the stamina to walk through the airport.
• I can have a jar of chocolates on my desk for people who come to my office and not be tempted to have any. In fact I don't even notice they are there most of the time. In the past I would have eaten them all myself.
• I don't worry about presenting in front of a group of people because I'm concerned they will be focused on my weight instead of what I am saying.

As important as all my successes and WOW moments are, it is also important to me that I remember the pain. I don't want to forget how miserable I was, as I believe it helps me not to allow myself to go back there. I know it could be all too easy to slip back into old habits. It is easier to eat now, and I can eat more than I've been able to. I have to watch that I don't allow myself to start picking up bad habits along the way.

I am so grateful for my surgery and the tool it gave me to fight the battle with obesity. This past year has been difficult and I know if I didn't have the surgery I would have gained 50 pounds over the last few months! The surgery and years of new habits have given me the ability to get through this without gaining weight. It is still difficult not to have food to turn to sometimes, but the benefits out weigh the struggle by far.

There are so many people to thank for their support thoughout this journey, but I have to give special mention my amazingly supportive husband, Rodney.

Here are a couple of recent pictures:

With the Alabama mascot, Big Al:

With Sam:

Rodney and I took off 3/10, the day of my follow-up appointment with Dr. Pomp. We have taken off each time I have my follow ups; it is a celebration of sorts for us. My appointment was uneventful as everything has been going well and there are no issues with my blood work. It is basically a time to be thankful for how well everything has gone to date with my surgery. I couldn't be happier with my decision to have gastric bypass surgery. It has made such a difference in my life from eliminating my diabetes to making it possible to climb a flight of stairs without being completely out of breath!

Recently I was interviewd for an article for US News on my gastric bypass surgery and diabetes. It was very exciting to share my story in the article. Diabetes was one of the primary reasons I decided to have gastric bypass surgery. The article discusses that gastric bypass surgery might help more than those who wouldn't qualify for surgery based on BMI alone. It states, "Because research suggests that one form of weight-loss or "bariatric" surgery--gastric bypass--offers health benefits beyond simply cutting the pounds, medical practitioners and patients are increasingly seeing surgery not as a last resort but as a really good option, as well as an avenue to learn more about the mechanisms behind the disease." Now they are thinking that gastric bypass surgery might be beneficial even for those who aren't morbidly obese. How tremendous it would be to find a way to help people with diabetes to avoid some of the horrible complications! This really hit home for me and Rodney because you have to wonder if Rodney's Dad might not have suffered so much if the gastric bypass surgery had been an option for him to help control his diabetes.

Here is a link to the article:

Weight Loss Surgery to Treat Diabetes

What an amazing journey the last 3 years has been. I've lost 150 pounds and I've kept it off 16 months. For the last 16 months my weight has been fairly stable. I don't think I've ever maintained a weight for such a long period of time. I worried whether or not the surgery would work for me, I was sure I would be the one person who wouldn't lose weight. So, that wasn't true. Now my struggle is with worrying about regaining weight. It is a constant battle.

Now that I am three years out from surgery, it is so much easier to eat. I can understand how easy it is to gain weight. While I can't eat large quantities at one time, I could certainly graze my way through the day. This is why I would emphasize the importance of developing good habits in the early days after surgery.

The success of the last three years is not measured just in pounds. There are so many other measures such as:

• my diabetes being under control. This is the number one, most important result of my weight loss!
• I can move with ease
• I can run. I ran in the NYC Marathon a month ago, fulfilling a dream I had for a long time.
• I don't have to worry about fitting into plane seats. Just this week I traveled to Texas for a class. Coming home I had to sit in the middle seat. Now, I would still prefer not to sit in the middle, but I didn't have to worry about fitting or being able to get out of the row when the person on the inside needs to get up.
• Taking dance lessons.
• Taking the stairs, just because I can.

As important as all my successes and WOW moments are, it is also important to me that I remember the pain. I don't want to forget how miserable I was, as I believe it helps me not to allow myself to go back there. I know it could be all too easy to slip back into old habits. It is easier to eat now, and I can eat more than I've been able to. I have to watch that I don't allow myself to start picking up bad habits along the way.

There are so many people to thank for their support thoughout this journey, but I have to give special mention my amazingly supportive husband, Rodney.

Here is a recent pic of me, my marthon medal :) and my dear hubby:

It is 104 days until the NYC marathon. My training program started last week. I am started my training a little slower than I hoped due to an ITB injury causing incredible pain in my hip. I started physical therapy 7/7; it has made a big difference. Today I was able to run about 4.5 miles. I ran around the reservoir in Central Park and after each lap (1.57 miles) I stopped to stretch. It felt so good to get out there running again!

Today I had a strong reminder that my little tummy rules. Why would I think I can eat like I did pre-surgery? You would think after 27 months that I would know better.:) But no, I decide I should have a bagel for a mid-afternoon snack. One of my co-workers brought in bagels today, so when I hit my mid-afternoon slump my mind wandered over to bagel-land. I went to check to see if there were any bagels left, and to my delight (or so I thought) there were. So, I had my bagel. Shortly after I exercised the common sense not to finish the whole thing I get hit like a ton of bricks in the middle of my chest. It sucks, and I wonder why I don't learn from past mistakes. Thankfully, I don't do that very often.

The upside is that there is a forced control on my eating. It is good to know that it is there and working for me. Thankfully, I don't push the envelope often because it is a horrible feeling.

It is almost 27 months since my gastric bypass and 6 months since my lower body lift. I thought it was time for a new set of comparison photos - I can't believe the difference!