A sign?

I just learned that Charlie's Steakhouse in Pflugerville is going out of business after 40 years. I have literally been eating there my entire life. Growing up, it was pretty much the only place to eat in our sleepy little town. I have vivid memories of everyone turning to look at you as you entered the dark restaurant. I used to hate that. Later, they added windows and I remember not liking them at first because it changed the ambiance. The bathroom has been the same since they opened - the uneven floor, the retro flower prints on the walls and the icky reusable towel hand dryer thing that goes around and around in a circle and I never understood how it was clean just by rotating it through the wall unit. Many of the waitresses have worked there for 20 or 30 years and know you by name.

I haven't been in awhile, for obvious reasons, but it was one of the last places I ate prior to surgery. Best Chicken Fried Steak ever. I'll also remember the Broiled Catfish platter, the vegetable beef soup that grandpa used to order with mostly juice so he could soak his bread in it, the enchilada plate with extra onions my mom would order, the hamburger steak (omg, yum), and the lunch or dinner specials that came with pudding for dessert. Most of all, I'll remember that they had the best iced tea anywhere, served in the smallest glasses. And the crackers they served with hot sauce. I will be sad when they close their doors...there are a lot of fond memories of eating there with my grandparents and the rest of my family.

I laughed at my first thought: "Geez, I lose 60 pounds and it forces them out of business!" I guess this is just one more sign that I am leaving my old life behind and moving on to a new, healthier one, right?

Just call me Sally O'Malley

"I'm 50! FIVE-OH! And I like to kick, stretch and kick!"

Unlike Sally O'Malley, though, I'm not 50 years old just yet. But I have now officially hit the 50 pounds lost mark since surgery three months ago! And if you count the 9 pounds before surgery that I lost, that's almost 60! Holy cow. I think it hit me today -- I am halfway to my goal of losing at least 100 pounds! That makes me wanna kick, stretch and kick! And I couldn't do all that 50 pounds ago! :)

Size 16 purple dress

So here I am, wearing a size 16 dress at the wedding of my friends Julie & Eric. I still can't believe it was a size 16. We got a full body shot of me, but since I am usually the photographer, I have no clue how to pose myself in pictures. And let's just say it is not flattering. I still have a goofy grin on my face in this one (I also can't smile normally in pics for some reason), I can live with sharing it. :)

Sweet 16...a different 16

You're not imagining things, I've posted this photo before, back when I had lost 16 pounds. As of today, I am now down 47 pounds! So close to the big 5-0! :) So why repost the Sweet 16 pic? Because I bought a dress for a wedding this weekend in a...get this...SIZE 16! I'm still in shock and convinced that because I bought it at Ross it was mismarked. But I tried on two more 16s and they fit too! Holy cow. I haven't worn a size 16 since I was 16 years old! I'm still wearing 18s and 20s during the week, but some of them are getting too big. Very exciting, but also hard to dress for work!

Another observation: people are nicer to me now that I've lost weight. I know some of this is just because they are happy for me and see my new confidence, but it's more than that. More on this later. I find it disturbing and don't want to concentrate on negative thoughts right now. I want to celebrate my size 16 dress! I'll post photos from the wedding.

42

Nope, it's not a dominoes game...it's the number of pounds I've lost in 10 weeks! Will blog more soon! Thanks for your support!

Not a Magic Pill

NPR did a story today on weight loss surgery, check it out: http://www.npr.org/2011/10/01/140803898/surgery-not-a-magic-pill-for-obese-patients?sc=fb&cc=fp.

Yep, this is what I've been saying. This surgery was not a magic pill. I still struggle and the journey hasn't always been easy. But I will say this. This morning I had to get up early and deliver flyers to a neighborhood for work. I walked for the better part of two hours. Before surgery, I would have been dripping with sweat and would have been COMPLETELY exhausted afterwards. Except for needing coffee, I was just fine after I finished my route today. And I probably mentioned this before, but my carpal tunnel seems to have disappeared, my knees and feet already feel better and I'm pretty sure my sleep apnea is disappearing too. I still snore, but apparently not as loudly. I know I'm sleeping better. Fortunately, I have not had any of the complications some of the folks in the story have and I hope that continues. My doctor told me that she has two sleeve patients who are always nauseous and getting sick and she thinks it's because they don't eat enough protein. I'm obsessed with protein. She thinks this is why I hardly ever get sick. I've really only gotten sick about 5 times or so...and it's usually because I ate one bite too many. I hope the good luck continues!

Weight loss update: 38 pounds down!

Smoke Signals

So for the last couple of weeks, I have been smelling/tasting "smoke" and couldn't figure out why. It's almost like I've been at a bar or tried to eat an ashtray at times. And I don't smoke or hang around people who smoke. It freaked me out at first because we're in an extreme drought in Central Texas and have had massive wildfires, so I walked around checking for fires for a few days.

Finally, I googled it...the most likely reasons are acid reflux and/or anemia. Apparently people who experience rapid weight loss experience this kind of reflux...instead of the usual reflux symptoms. Or they don't absorb nutrients as well and that causes a lack of iron, hence the anemia. I'll be asking my doctor about this for sure! There are also some scary things that people suggested, like brain tumors, MS, seizure disorders, stroke, migraine, etc. But then I found this post and decided I like this explanation the best:

Post Date: 3/17/10 4:57 am
Some American Indian tribes believe that when you smell smoke and nothing is burning it is because spirits from your family are close to you.  Sounds kind of comforting to me.

Maybe mom and dad are just sending me smoke signals, letting me know they're with me on this journey. The smoke smell had to be dad's idea. I do think of him every time I smell cigarette smoke. Good one, daddy.