Paying it forward...

     Hey Y'all, thanks for reading.  I am thinking this is gonna be a fairly short post, not a whole lot to report this week.

I am in the choir at the church April and I attend.  The last few years they have done a special men's choir for Father's Day.  I have been in it the last two years.  This year the dress code for the services was a single color button down shirt and jeans.  I love being put in a position to have to buy new clothes and this was one of those times.  I had to get a new shirt because I had long since shrunk out of all my button down shirts.  I know I still have a long way to go but compared to what I used to look like in dressier shirts I gotta admit I looked pretty good.  The men's choir at church along with bar-b-ques with the family made for a really great first Father's Day for me.

Saturday morning I took part in the panel of patients who had already had the surgery at Dr. Snyder's info seminar for those considering surgery.  There were seven of us, I was the second most recent surgery and I was still the largest among the group but I also had by far the highest starting weight among them.  It was fun to be there, show off a little bit to the staff, remember when I had been there sitting in the audience (A day I remember VERY clearly).  It was neat to hear some of Dr Snyder's updated stats a year later.  The national average for deaths per surgery for gastric bypass is around 1 in 200, Dr Snyder's current rate is 1 out of 3800 (that one was actually not due to surgery but happened within his six week statistical window so he still counts it).

It was also neat hearing the testimonial of the others on the panel.  They all got pretty good reactions, especially those that brought pants that were now way too big to show off.  I think I got the strongest reaction though just because my situation be somewhat unique with becoming a parent 3 months after having the surgery.

I told them about me researching and considering surgery for over ten years but how stuff just seemed to get in the way or didn't work out.  We all have lives and sometimes they can be complicated but that shouldn't deter them from going thru with the surgery and if I can get thru it with 2 huge life changes so close together then they most likely could handle the surgery and whatever else life decided to send their way.

So this week I am down to 294 pounds, another 4 pounds this week (4 pounds a week seems to be sort of the norm for me it seems).  That makes my total 121 pounds lost, which of course means more comparison pictures.  I continue to be amazed when I look at the pictures and can see the changes that even 20 pounds can make.

And of course I couldn't post new pictures here without posting some of my Son Evren.  Hope y'all enjoy.
That about does it for this week.  Thanks for reading and of course thanks for the thoughts, prayers and support.

The plateau that almost was...

Hi y’all.  Sorry I didn’t get a post up last week, I was really tired and somewhat frustrated (more on that later) and it didn’t get done.

I put on a little fashion show for my wife the other day... no, not that kind of fashion show.  I decided it  was time to go through a lot of my clothes and clean out anything that didn't fit. I let my wife have the final say on "Should (it) stay or should (it) go?" (one of the best song by The Clash) I am getting to the point where my closet is noticeably emptier. Now if I could just remember to actually take the huge pile of discarded clothes to the thrift store, the pile is almost as tall as my wife.  I am also experiencing an interesting phenomenon of looking at clothes, having a mental ruler in my head of how big my clothes are supposed to appear, thinking to myself this will never fit, trying it on anyway and having it fit me perfectly. 

For a few decades I have been in a mindset of knowing I wanted to lose weight but until now it hasn’t truly happened but because I knew I wanted to I would save clothes that became too small for me but were still in good shape.  Some eventually got tossed as I would move or do some spring cleaning but I still ended up with some smaller clothes to work back in to my wardrobe.  I am now fitting into some clothes I haven’t worn since college (I graduated in 2000).  Granted, some of which I don’t really want to wear now due to changes in fashion and taste but some still look good and/or current.


As I mentioned, one of the reasons I didn't post last week was frustration, my weight last week was 302 pounds, if you are keeping track that means I didn't loose anything last week and I really thought I had hit another of the dreaded plateaus.  I know they are just a part of the process and that eventually I will hit another one but even knowing this it is still really frustrating when they happen.


The good news is that it doesn't appear to be a plateau, just a bad week.  I think it was just my body adjusting to the huge change our family is going through, my wife thinks it's because I have been cheating more recently.  Actually, I am sure both are factors, my wife is right and I asked her to help me out getting back in the groove by holding me accountable and calling me on it if I try and cheat.


This week I am down to 298 pounds (UNDER 300, YAY!!!) I now have less than a hundred pounds to go.  Assuming all goes well I should pas 295 this week so I should have some new pictures next week (I'll have some new pics of Evren too, what can I say I'm a proud papa).


This journey I am on really got started July 7th of last year when I went to Dr Snyder's information seminar.  This weekend, 3 weeks short of a year I get to go again but this time as a participant in the panel of those who have had the surgery.  I am really excited about this, as you know I am really passionate about this and I can't wait to share my story with more people.  I am sure I will talk about this more in next weeks post.


That brings me to the other update I almost always give and that is my son Evren.  I can't put into word how much I am loving being a parent.  Yes I am tired but it is so worth it.  He is finally gaining weight at a decent rate and as of last week was up to 6lb, 8 oz, still tiny but up a nearly a pound in 9 days.  I love  being able to see changes in him (physically and behaviorally) on a daily basis.  Yesterday I noticed that it seemed like he was able to focus better and track better with his eyes, the way he was using them just seemed different.  I have Been told that as far as parents of newborns go we are actually pretty lucky because we are able to feed him before bed, he will sleep for 4 or 5 hours, and go right back down for another  4 hours after feeding and changing.


I think that about does it for this week.  Thanks for reading, and as always thanks for the thoughts, prayers, support and encouragement, they really do mean a lot.