Weigh In #10

265

That puts me at 59 pounds lost since I had surgery and 73 pounds down from the largest I've ever been.  It is bizarre to think about that much extra weight being on my body now.  I can barely hold my kids up for brief periods of time before I am simply too tired.  How did I even function when I was that large?  I did a lot of sitting and not a lot of living life.  Not a lot of playing with my children unless it was a nice sedentary activity.  Not a lot of adventure with my wife unless we could drive there and sit and enjoy it.  Life is so much better already because I don't feel on the brink of collapse when I am up and about. 

265 is a special number to me though.  My wedding was June 29, 2002.  I was barely 22 years old.  I am almost 31 now.  When I got married though, I tipped the scales at 265.  I remember because it was four years after I finished high school and I'd put on 40 pounds since I graduated.  That means that I now at my lowest weight in 8 years and 8 months.  

I went and had my band filled again this week.  I am glad because I almost doubled the amount of fluid that it contained.  The doctor said that normally she'd talk about what I'm doing and give advice about where I can improve to help my progress, but she didn't need to.  She told me, "I don't want to know what you're doing.  Whatever it is, it is working and you should just keep going."  That made me feel good.  59 pounds in 3 1/2 months feel great!

Weigh In #9

I realize I am so bad at posting updates to this blog.  I honestly expected this to be a pretty exciting adventure where I could post all the cool experiences I've been having.  So far, it has been pretty boring.  Last Friday, I weighed myself again and lost 2 pounds for the week.  I am able to eat an incredible amount of food though, and I'm worried that I don't have the will to limit myself.  Sandra's been super helpful at cooking dinners at home so we eat out less, but we both find that we are wanting snacks at night.  It's not a problem for Sandra who never gains or loses weight, but I feel like I am hitting a wall with my weight loss.  I still don't know how much it costs to have my band filled, so I'm worried about going so often.

I am reading a book for a discussion being held on campus this month.  It is called Such a Pretty Face: Being Fat in America, and although it is 30 years old, it is amazingly relevant to weight issues today.  Once I finish it, I will post the review here and on my other blog.  The discussion is supposed to be the last full week of February and is part of Body Image Awareness Week.  I'm hoping I can bring some unique perspective to the discussion as a male who struggles with weight, has had weight loss surgery and also experiencing two small children old enough to start recognizing that people are viewed differently based on appearance.  I'll let you know how it goes.