One man reaching..

Christmas pictures coming soon

So today the Bittners and I hit the gym. It felt so good! I was able to burn some frustration off and it made me feel much better. The weights burned and I really pushed until I was close to muscle failure. Now I was amazed when I got on one of the machines and couldn't believe that I fit into it. Yeah! I believe there would have been no way I could have fit into it before. Also i saw someone I used to work with and she had no idea who I was until Jerm said my name out loud. At that point she said hello and acknowledged she didn't notice me because I had lost so much weight. It is funny because I can now hide directly in front of people.

So the new year is almost here and I will most likely not post until the 1st. We are having a few people over at our house. It is funny to look back at what I would have been doing 10 years ago. I have to say though that I truly have no regrets in my choices in life. I get to ring in the new year knowing I have done the best I can.

BTW Christmas was good and I had a good time. The kids loved their presents and it was nice to see the family. It would have been very nice to see the Long Island contingency but hopefully a upcoming holiday could be the time to see them. They did have fun though and they are safe and healthy.

Until next time,
Night

How is everybody? I have been good. Yesterday Kara and I did most of our Christmas shopping completed. The best thing was we were able to do it as a family except for the time we were getting the kids presents. So today I went and picked up Kara's presents from me and the boys. I hope she likes them but we will see.

Tonight I was talking to my friend and neighbor who just had surgery in October, I have spoken about him plenty of times, and he seems to be doing well and excited about his journey. Also his wife brought me over some very good sugar free cookies over the weekend. They were excellent and his wife and him have found many good recipes that fit within our diet guidelines.

I am tired so untill tomorrow,
Night

My father would have been 61 years old today. I do miss him and I hope to be half the father he was. I know he is looking down on us from heaven and watching over us but I do miss him so much.

Today we went as a family to a Holiday Party put on by a surgeon Kara works with. We had a blast and it was a great family experience. They had fun things for the kids such as Santa, balloon animals, a magic performer, wax molding of hands, a kid special buffet and then they had a tons of great food and a lot of fun such as professional pictures and stuff for everyone. It was a great party but the best part of it was we were able to go to a very nice party and it was for the whole family. The kids loved it and ran around like crazy, and so did some adults that were there. A funny thing was that people who had treated me at the hospital during my surgery and Kara's friends were so amazed by the change that has taken place in my weight. It makes me happy because It reminds me of the health benefits that I am receiving from the changes.

When we got home I took Jackson out for a walk and just loved the snow that has fallen over then last few days. It makes everything so beautiful and really makes you understand how lucky we are to have the lives we have been given. It really made me so thankful for the decision I made to have my surgery.

Until Tomorrow,
Night

So getting back into this and adding the new blog I decided to match out the formats. We will see how it goes. So today I worked for a while and took a long lunch to hang with the family but went back in and worked late so I never got to the gym. I am going to go tomorrow with or without my friends. I just feel so blah without getting there but at the same time it is so hard to get myself there without motivation from others. Now when i get there I feel great and love every minute of it. But for sure I am going tomorrow.

So Christmas is coming and we need to get stuff done. We have not done much shopping but we will complete it in time, we kinda have to. But I have given myself the best present ever and that is this surgery. I am in such a great place in life and and only going forward. I know look forward to coaching my children in sports when they get older and being active with them. I am happy and thank the lord for all I have been given.

Until Tomorrow,
Night

So today I added a new blog to the blog family of Scott today. It is a blog that will track my weight training and cardio information. I have not worked out like I should so I was hoping that tracking it on line and have to answer to people about it will help motivate me to make sure I am at the gym as much as I need to be. We will see how it works out. I will post more tonight or tomorrow but until then I am going to set up everything on the new blog. the address is workingoutwithharmon@blogspot.com. See you soon.

I am so tired so I am going to bed but I will catch up tomorrow. Are we going to the gym?

YO YO YO I am taking this post back to the old school, so grab your License to Ill cassette and get ready for some ill shit. No but seriously I had a blast today and felt like a kid again when sliding down a 30 foot slide with the boys, climbing up a tower of hay and watching robot chickens sing, it was a great day and reminded me why I love my life so much. These are the things that would have been so much harder to do just a few months ago, so it makes me love the journey I have gone through. It is also cool because I have so many good memories with my family when i was younger so I am glad my sons are having them now. I do miss the way my life was back then but I do know that if anything was different my life won't be where it is today.


So today we went and had breakfast with Santa and then went and got our Christmas tree. We bundled up the kids and we went to Stokeys and found our tree, cut it down and dragged it with the help of Kaidan. All he wanted to do was get it home and decorate it so we ended up getting it lit and standing, not in that order. Tomorrow will be the trimming day. We also had Hot chocolate and sweets and hung out. It was a blast all around. We had so much fun and it was such a blast to spend time with the ones I love and having memories that will last forever. I am a lucky man.


So during evening I had felt bad that I have not exercised so I took the dog out and walked for about an hour. It was a great walk that allowed me to stop by and see my neighbor who had the surgery in October. Damn man he looks great and looks so much younger. It drove me to walk for extra time. Not because I am trying to compete with him but because I see the difference in him and it was inspiring to me.

Well until tomorrow,
Night

I have been itching to do it and so tonight I did. I shaved the head again. Now I haven't done it in some time growing a nice little mane, at least for me it was. The back story to it all is I shaved my head from march 2006 to August 2008. My wife and better half loved the bald look on me and was worried when I told her I was going to grow it back. Now as I have started to grow it back she has complained because she likes me now with just a bit of stubble on the head and none on the face. But over the last few weeks I have been dying to shave it again. So i did. What do you all think? Answer the poll question.


So during this whole adventure I have been looking for support. I have found it on a website i frequent which is for the most part a message board. There are people from all over the world on the site but mostly from the states. I have even found a decent amount of people from the rochester ny area on the site. I had not been on the site much for a bit in November and found myself missing it and needing the support it gives. Know that other people are going through the same thing you are is a big help and getting advice and support from people who are living the same experience is huge. Now my neighbor, who i have talked about before, and I talked this week and we decided to go to the next support group together. He had his surgery in October and is doing excellent (60 plus pounds) but he is feeling that he needs the extra support from the group also. So January will the first time for both of us. We're virgin's. lol!


So my fluid intake has not been staler lately and I am seeing that on the scale. Now it could be a bunch of different things but when i am successfully pushing my fluids I have less intake of carbs and see better results on the scales. I need to keep pushing them as I have in the last few days. Also I need to get my ass to the gym at least four times a week. I have not been doing that and I really need to to get to where I want to be. I see weight storing in my thighs and my belly and I want to lose it in those areas badly. Hopefully me putting this into writing will get me to go more 4 times a week. Also if my friends would go with me it would be better. AND Now that Kara is working 3 12's we can go as a family with our friends! How does that sound? (pointed question)

Now since i am Making my comeback to the blog, i am going to promise to post at least 5 times a week. With the snow falling, the Christmas tree coming and everything else going on I need the support from the blog.

Untill Tomorrow,
Night

Well I have not posted in a while and I am back. I sound like an addict that shows up when he needs something. I am now down 112 pounds total and I feel so much better. Keeping up with the boys, working, building my shelves, everything i do I feel so much better. I do have to say that I have missed the support I received from writing in my blog. Just knowing that someone may be reading it keeps me going and amped up about striving to do the best i can. I do have a lot of catching up to do but i am not moving on it tonight because I am so tired.

Until Tomorrow,
Night

What no love for the dog and cat? Well we had a nice Thanksgiving and i hope all of yours were nice also. I found that I am much more of an extrovert then I ever thought. I really did like sitting around with everyone and catching up and shooting the breeze. As for the eating thing I realized that I am following my meals to closly with liquids. It has not made for an enjoyable experience. Twice in the last week had it hit me and I felt like crap. So last night we went out with family for Dinner and I really made sure to not follow my food with liquids to quickly and it worked well. I guess it is a bit of a reality check. I got comfortable and was eating to quick. But I did weight myself today to see how the last two days have treated me and I am now down to 333! Not to shabby, I LOST WEIGHT OVER THE HOLIDAY! That is the first time ever for such an event. Now on the flip I drank 2 glasses of wine last night before dinner and I have felt it twice so far today. The sugar from the wine makes me dump (which is a technical term). Now I did weight myself before those experiences today so I didn't cheat on my weight. Woo Hoo


The Christmas lights are complete. I will have to post a pic when I get them but I did feel like Clark Griswold while putting them up. I was waiting to fall off the roof but it never happened. I am wondering what it is going to look like and how bright it will be since I have never had 16 strands of LED lights on the front of my house. I am betting it will be an experience. I hoping it will be Classssssy! heh

Until tomorrow, I am proud of you Chris.
Night

So I first want to write that I am so thankful for my family, friends, health and everything else. The weight loss has made me so thankful every day for the new life I have come into. Everything is easier, from playing with my kids to doing daily things. I love my life and everyone in it and am thankful for everything God has blessed me with. I am a very lucky man.



HAPPY TURKEY DAY, GOBBLE GOBBLE GOBBLE. So I have been having some apprehensions about thanksgiving dinner but they stopped last night when my friend said that would suck that I would be able to eat much tomorrow. And at that point and time I realized that I have no need to be worried because my relationship with food is totally different now a days. Like I have said before i used to live to eat now I am like the general public and eat to live. I understand I can only eat a little bit and I make sure to savor the taste and eat only foods I find worth it. Those foods are my fruits, proteins and healthy snacks. I am looking forward to squash and not the desserts so i believe that is an improvement.

Until tomorrow,
Night

So I am down 101 pounds. It boggles my mind that since August 22nd I am down 87 pounds. Kara believes I am anorexic but i have been eating and getting in the proper nutrition. I am loving my new life weight so much less. My time spent with my children and wife is so much better and rewarding. I don't wake up every morning with back pain and I wake up with a better outlook on life. Also I find my sleep so much better and I feel so much more rested when I wake up. I took for granted what I had for so many years and now I really understand how lucky I am and how well I have it. I wish my mother would understand that.

Until tomorrow,
Night

So Al I am going to say is 101. I lied, I have lost 101 pounds total!!! That is the equivalent of the chick in the picture. I can not believe that 8 months ago I was living with all that extra weight. I would not want to carry that girl around all the time. That is what i was doing though. Well short post for tonight. I WILL post Sunday night.

So I am not pushing my liquids like I should be. It is not a difficult thing to do but I have been slowing over the last few weeks. So last night when I packed my lunch for today I packed about 60 ounces of liquids and I did drink them all throughout the day. Now this is also piggy backed by my protein consumption. I have really been trying to keep it up. One of my problems is my breakfast are usually not protein filled, which is a problem, big time. I need to make sure to give myself enough time in the morning to have a good protein rich meal. Today I was up at 6:15 and it has made my attitude about the day so much better, not to mention I was not rushing to get out of the door (always a positive). I am going to continue trying to get up early and see how it treats me.


So I have not been posting much lately because I am trying to juggle work, home and everything else. It is hard for me to get myself motivated to write when all i want to do is sleep by the time I usually write my post. I will try to be better because I find blogging to be therapeutic for me, sad I know. On a high note, work is going well still and I really do enjoy it. The people, the position and the individuals have made it a nice few weeks so far.


So on Saturday I had to go to AAA driving school. When I arrived everyone was already there and I wasn't nervous or self conscious walking into the room with everyone looking at me. I thought that was a nice change in my life. Also when I got into the desk I noticed it was a small desk. I am so glad I am 95 pounds down now because I would not have fit in it before. I fit into it without issue and was comfortable without fat spilling over which would have also happened before the weight loss. Another nice little wow.


So tomorrow is gym day with the Bittners. They are coming over to the Eastside Y and we are going to work out there. I am hoping that the getting up earlier in the morning will also help me to get to the gym before work. I really need to be there consistently. I owe it to myself to do my best losing weight in the window of opportunity I have. I have talked the talk now I need to walk the walk.

Until tomorrow,
Night

So today was weight in day and I have dropped 3 pounds which equals 1.36077711 kilograms to make my grand total 95 pounds down. Now I have to say I knew the weight loss was slowing but I know I am not helping it in any way not working out as much as I need to. I am going to try and get to the gym tomorrow night and then again the following day also. Ok, Kaidan woke up so i am done for the night. Tomorrow night should be a long post because I have a ton I want to write about.

Night

So my long awaited trip back to the gym went well. I did cardio and a little bit of weights. The high point to the night was most def watching Kaidan climb up and over the very large inflatable. He did so well and it was a blast seeing him smile because he did it. This is defiantly a driving point for me to get there at least 3 times a week if not 4. We will see. Another bonus out of it was I got to hang out with friends, and as some of you know I do not have many of them. But the small group i have are a great pack.

Driving school on Saturday. My new job is sending me to driving school because of my driving record back in the day. So tomorrow I get to spend 6 hours at triple A and re learn all the stuff I know. You know I do not understand it. You hit one pedestrian and everyone thinks you are a danger out on the road. LMAO


So today when i went to work I grabbed a backpack of mine that has a laptop sleeve. I really thing I need to have good protect on my work computer because I do not want to break one. But the WOW thing happened later in the day. As I was getting ready to leave work I put the back pack on and went to buckle the waist band for some odd reason. I could not believe to see how big the strap was set for. The waist band barely fit around my waist before and now the band at that setting is too big for the biggest part of my torso. Hell yeah that felt good. Well it is 2 am so i am going to go to bed.

Until Tomorrow,
Night

So on Monday I weighed in and I was down 5 pounds which equals 2.26796185 kilograms. I can not complain about weighting 246 down 92 pounds total and 78 pounds down from the day I arrived home from the hospital (Aug 22 2008). I am feeling great and can not believe it. I even made my PCP amazed by my progress and even made him laugh hard when I saw him on Monday. I had to have a med changed and during our conversation and talking about the side effects, which neither of us though was a negative. But now we changed the med and will see what happens. The funny thing is the new med has a side effect of weight loss. Lets see if that changes any of the weight in.


So after I got out of work on Monday I went and got some new work clothes that fit me. I have to say after wearing clothes that were huge on me I see the difference even more now when I am wearing clothes that fit. A XL shirt and 38 inch waist pants. In the words of Kaidan; "I love it!" I can not completely realize how much my life has changed except when I look back at old post and then i truly understand how much I have changed in this whole experience. My eating habits, my outlook, my interactions in life. I will say this again, Besides getting married and having my buetiful sons this was the best decision of my life.

TV So this weekend My uncle David and myself installed our bedroom tv into the living room. It was a whole day project but it turned out awesome. The picture above is what it looked like as we were running the lines and the bottom picture is what it looks like completed. Now I just have to deal with the old tv in our bedroom.




Until tomorrow night, I will post because I have to work late and I want to give you some inside details of the workings of my mind, and I am going to the gym tomorrow, Go team super awesome wolf squadron!
Night.

This was supposed to be posted last night, opps:
So the last three days have been good. Well my abscess has deflated and work is going well. I am excited to get past the training aspect of it and start getting my feet wet. The work is the same as my old job but guidelines and way things are done are different and will keep me on my toes for a while I bet. I am trying to figure out the balancing two houses. I have done it before successfully but not for more then a few months. I think it will be easier here because of the support level i believe is there. I have also found many positives to this agency. I believe they are what makes this agency a great agency to work for, but it is a bit preliminary to say. Also everyone I have met seems very cool.

On to today's info.


So I have been thinking about my confidence level for a bit tonight. Now thinking back I have seen my level rise so much. I have not worried about feeling like the elephant in the room and have not worried about sweating and becoming nervous when doing things out in public or in my house. I wrote a while ago about how I have felt like that all the time before but over the last two weeks I have not even thought about it. I guess being back at work and not worrying about what people think of my size made me think about it. It could also be that I my random mind stumbled upon the thought tonight and I was amazed thinking how the stress from that is gone. YEAH!! At least some stress is gone.

Until tomorrow,
Night.

So my first day on the job went better then this guys. My activities were filling out a bunch of paperwork and then I watched a ton of videos that I have seen before. It comes with the territory and I am just glad to be working again. First impression went well and I really believe I am going to love working for this agency. Now I have to say i felt very comfortable and confident interacting with new people with my 87 pound weight loss. I hope that continues while keeping me grounded. More info to come.


6 pounds = 2.72155422 kilograms and that is what the rims weights in the picture. So today was weight in day and I came in at 251. That is a 6 pound drop in a week and I can not complain about that. Now I am hoping that i can continue that for a bit longer, especially with the holidays coming up. What I have read said you will lose the majority of weight in the first 6 months and I am planning on dropping as much as possible. My goal at this time is 199 but i do not know if that is where I will end up. The most important things is I am healthy and able to live a longer life to see my children grow up.


So when i woke up this morning I felt some discomfort in my mouth. I believed it was a canker sore but then in the evening I looked at it again and noticed it was most likely not a canker sore. I call my dentist and he told me it is most likely an abscess and that he wants me to come in first thing tomorrow morning so he can check it out and get me some antibiotics for it. Now hopefully he will be able to drain it also so the pain will go away and my face will not have a deformity. I like my new face with so much less weight on it. The other issue is I do not know what time I am wanted at the new job because the HR rep had to leave before she could tell me today. I know that I have a meeting at 9 so I will make sure to be there before that and I will call her at 8 tomorrow to see what she has for me.

Well until tomorrow,
Night

So Halloween was fun. The kids got a kick out of the first house then Cooper melted down. Kaidan made it through the night without issue and had a blast, I think he liked running around with his uncles and aunt the most. Followed second by eating goodies at Vicki and Larry's. Cooper was so cute wearing his Dalmatian costume, the best part was his little tail. I could not believe he even left his hood on all night.


Until I got the call today from the HR rep from my new job I was afraid something would come up and take the opportunity away. There is no reason why to think that but I have been looking for three months and did not receive an offer yet. So when I got the call today I was told my orientation was going to be at 9 a.m. on Monday. Yippie back to the real world. I really as excited but I bet you could tell that by my repeated ramblings about the job. The ramblings could also be my nerves. We will see.


So tomorrow is Labors of Love. Labors of Love is a charity event put on by my church and coordinated by my mother in law and another woman from our church. My mother in law puts so much time into this event and it shows by the outcome and the money donated to the recipient. There is a craft sale, and a fabulous lunch that serves food prepared and donated by members of the church and a few outside companies. Today Kara and I helped do set up for the event. Now we have done this before but let me tell you today was so much easier then ever before. The loss of weight made the whole time so much easier and allowed for me to do more. During the day i spoke to a few people and I was talking about my weight loss and this incredible journey. They seemed really receptive and they continued to compliment me on how good I look. I even opened up and shared the story to them about the booth thoughts I wrote about a couple of days ago at the Coal Tower. That was a huge thing for me because sharing in this blog is easy because it is my thoughts, I have the computer to hide behind and I do not know who is reading it. Doing it in person is different because I am opening up to someone and seeing their reaction and have nothing to hide behind. It was just another note on how I am changing through my weight loss. So if you have a chance stop out and browse or at least have an awesome lunch it is from 9:30 to 4 tomorrow.

Until Tomorrow,
Night.

So my wedding ring is way to big and I can not wear it anymore without risking losing it. It was a cool wow. I feel like a pregnant woman because I am going to buy an interim ring to wear until I start to level off my weight. I am going to do so because I do not want to have my wedding ring resized twice in six months. I know the meaning behind the ring is the most important but I never want to lose the ring Kara gave me on our wedding day.


So here are the pumpkins Kaidan and I carved. I am so excited about trick or treating with Cooper and Kaidan tomorrow and seeing them all dressed up. I just hope Kara is feeling better. I know how much she will hate it if she is still feeling under the weather tomorrow.

Well until tomorrow night, I will post pics of the kids trick or treating.
Night

Welcome to the new look of the blog. Hope you like it.

Night

So today I had to get my finger prints done for my new job and my drug test. Per state regulations all employees in my field have to have a criminal background test done. The finger printing was easy for me but then came the drug test. That test was a little difficult for me. The reason: peeing on demand is not so easy anymore for me. The reason is I can not just slam fluids and be prepped for the test. I can only take in about 8 to 10 ounces of fluid an hour so i have to start prepping a few hours ahead of time. My appointment was for three o'clock and when I arrived I only gave a sample that was too small. So she gave me 30 minutes and when i came back I was able to give a quality sample. I was happy because now I do not have to go back tomorrow morning.


Just a few more lazy days before I start working. Now really my days are not really lazy with 2 boys under the age of 3. The reason I say lazy days is because I do not have the responsibility of a job currently. I am somewhat stressed about going to back to work but I am really really excited about it and I am getting organized for it. Today we were able to figure day care issues so I will not have any stress about that during work and Kara is now going to work 4 10 hour days so we do not have to worry about day care on Wednesday. A positive.


Today I went and saw a friend of mine who I saw on Friday. He told me that I look smaller today then I did on Friday and stated it was in my face so wasn't attributed to my clothes I was wearing. Another cool thing was when we ate breakfast out this morning (I had 2 eggs and some fruit) but I was worried about the size of the booth and when I got into it there was so much extra room in the booth, for a moment I was reverting back to the way things were when I was 338 pounds. So after I had thought about that wow I realized I am really living the mantra, eat to live not live to eat. Some of the proof is when going out to eat, my menu selection is different. I am looking for the healthy foods on the menu and not sausage gravy or corned beef hash. I used to think about going out to eat as a great thing but nowadays I would rather eat my meals at home because eating out just seems like a waste now a days. I have made many changes of late and am loving it. I was even having a conversation with my friend tonight about diets and healthy eating and I didn't feel like a poser because I am living what i am talking to him about.

Well have a great day.
Night

So today I got a job offer after 3 months of looking. It is a Program manager position with another agency in Rochester. This is pending my OMRDD approval and my license check. So hopefully I will be starting work at the start of next week. I am very much looking forward to getting back to real life. I am somewhat nervous about going back to work though because it has been 3 months since I have worked. I will keep you updated on what happens. I am excited though! Now the only difficult part is figuring out day care. It will all fall in place I am sure.


I am going to make Monday's my weight in days. I decided today to stop weighing myself everyday and make Monday's the day. I picked Monday's because I hope weighing myself after the weekend will help me keep any weekend cravings at bay. Also I hope that it will push me to do long weekend workouts so that they may turn the scale down a bit also. We will see hoe this plan works out and we will also see how many times I weight myself before Monday. Good Luck to me.

Talk to you tomorrow!

Night

So it has been a few days since I have posted and I am down 2 pounds. Now with the addition of the new diet I have not pushed the liquids as much as I should be but as of today I am back on the fluid horse. It has been difficult coming up with variety as I have started this phase but I have been eating well. There is a ton of variety I can have but when I think of having a meal the ideas seem to escape me. That is why I need to stay with planning the meals ahead of time and not making them on the fly. One nice thing is I am not having cravings for unhealthy foods. I have a bowl of cut pineapple and cucumbers in the fridge so when I am picking at food, it is on fruits and veggies. We even have ice cream and cookies in the house but I have not wanted any of it, not even a taste.


A nice wow this weekend is my belt doesn't fit me anymore. When I started this journey I was at the edge of having to buy a new one, it was tight and at the last holes. Now I still have to buy a new belt but because it is to big and since I have no ass I need one to hold my pants up. As for the ass comment many people have told me that I do not have one anymore. One friend even told me in a joke saying I had a fat ass and now I have none. This is another one of the nice problems to have.


So the big deal on Sunday was all about carving pumpkins with Kaidan. We carved two of them, the ones he calls mommy and daddy pumpkins(the big ones we have. It was such a cool thing to do because it has been years since I have done this. They both came out fairly well and Kaidan and I had a blast doing it.

I also got to the gym this weekend and had a great workout. I am looking forward to going tomorrow.

Night.

So I was released into the regular eating world. I able to get some foods that I haven't had in ages such as a fiber one bar and a few pretzels. I know the pretzels were not the greatest thing to have but I only had 2 of the small ones. So to accuratly track my new found intake I started a new food journal. I will track every thing that goes into my mouth will be tracked even if it does not make me happy to have to write it. I believe that will help keep me on the right path. We will see. Well have a great night. I will write more tomorrow night.

Night

Now this was my before pic, 79 pounds heavier then I am today.


The front View


The side View


I am feeling pretty good and now down a total of 79 pounds. It boggles my mind!!! Looking at my old picture, there are only a few because I hated myself in pictures, I am amazed by the loss. And then by mistake I put a pair of my old jeans that were tight before on today and they were huge on me. I couldn't believe that my thighs were so big that they filled up the legs. I must have been very good at lying to myself because I never believed I was that big. I knew I was fat but not that fat. Bad camera angles, poor fitting clothes but never was I as big as the pictures showed me. Well I was WAY wrong. Which is a another driving force in me not wanting to ever gain the weight back.

So tomorrow I am going to the surgeon's office and being set free on a regular diet. I am wondering what else they are going to say to me. I know there has to be something else. But I believe I am prepared for the next crucial step. I have food ready, now I just have to find out about the calories information. We will see what they have to say.

Well untill tomorrow have a beautiful life.
Night

Well i just want to notify all that Kaidan's surgery went well and he was even eating pizza tonight so he is getting by just fine. We were back in our house by 10:30 am. He is a resilient one, He never missed a step today. Kaidan was so brave and calm before the surgery in pre-op, he never got scared or started freaking out. I was so proud of him because I now Kara and I were like ducks on the water. We never showed to him we were nervous but under the surface our minds were racing. He even recovered quickly, which is one of the reasons we were home so early. Tonight he was even running around the grocery store with me playing like we were a train and race cars(while shopping, we don't just go and hang out at Wegmans). It was so cool just running and playing for the whole time and not worrying about sweating.



I also will have new pics of me taken tomorrow but here is one from the hospital today of Kaidan and I. Yes I know I need to shave. The smile on Kaidan's face was there because this was taken before the surgery. The last pictures I had done was 2 weeks ago and I had an extra 12 pounds on me. We will see what they have to offer the eyes.




As for my weight loss I am down another pound today which brings the total to 77 pounds gone forever. I am even into xl shirts and jackets with out any problem. Tonight i had to find an old xl fleece to wear to the store because all my jackets are way to big for me. Loving It! I still have a long way to go but this is a great feeling. When we were at Wegmans tonight I even bought food for my next step into the regular diet, which starts on Friday. There is now a lot of produce and healthy food at the Harmon household. I know that prepping the food is going to be an area where I have to be on top of so tomorrow I will be cutting up a lot of food and planning my first few days so I eat the right amount of food and get started on a good foot.

Well today I counted my blessings and am truely happy with my life.

Night.

So we arrived home late last night and it was very nice to be home. We all went to bed pretty quickly and slept later then usual this morning. When I weighted myself this morning I had only dropped 2 pounds since Friday. I was disappointed but I have to understand it is still two pounds which is great but I guess I had unrealistic goals. I also have to realize that I did drink some wine this weekend (not part of my approved diet), 3 glasses on Saturday night and 2 glasses on Sunday night so maybe that didn't help. The 3 glasses of wine I drank on Saturday were at dinner with Kara. We went to a restaurant that she loves in Lancaster. It was awesome. I had these scallops with sweet potatoes and an apple cider reduction, absolutely amazing!(another reason) Kara had a grilled Cesar and some excellent risotto. Now granted I was able to eat only 3 scallops but they rocked! But really at the restaurant I felt much better because I have lost so much weight so far. I didn't feel as if I was the elephant in the room vacuuming up my plate and five feet away from table because of my gut. A positive.




On Saturday in PA I decided to go hiking(photo from my hike). I hiked an area in the Mt Gretna area called Governor Dick. Kara and I talked about taking Kaidan up the trail with me and I decided to check it out first and if all went well i would bring Kaidan the next day. On the way up I went the difficult trails (I thought they were all the same, wrong). The whole time I was thinking that there is no way Kaidan can make it up. But on the way back down I found the easy trail. It was a nice stone laid trail that Kaidan could make it up. The next day we never made it to Gov Dick because we had a ton of other things going on so I took a three to four mile walk around Manheim. It was good cardio work so I couldn't complain and i loved every minute of it. It reminded me how much I do love the outdoors and that i need to get back out there and work my butt off because it makes my outlook on life so much better. When i was younger I would ride my mountain bike on single track, i would hike and play sports outside with people and it was so much fun and great exercise. I need to push that more.








Tomorrow morning Kaidan is having surgery on his lip. They are doing a lip revision which is a small surgery but it is surgery. It makes you think about how important your loved ones are to you and that even the smalls things make you worry so much. At times I want to protest the all the surgery's because it is purely cosmetic and does not change any functionality for his life but then I think and realize it will most likely make his life easier during the difficult times at school, and sometimes he does bit the excess and it does hurt him. Please say a prayer for him though. I love you bubbala(Kaidan) and munch(Cooper).



I lost 14 pounds from May 08 to my surgery on August 20th. From August 22nd to September 19th I lost 34 pounds. From September 20th to October 21st I lost 28 pounds. The total weight loss is 76 pounds to date. It is crazy to me that earlier this year I was carrying around the equivalent to this black lab in every move a made, getting up, walking, playing with my sons. It makes me feel very stupid for being so nervous about the surgery. The surgery is helping me become so much healthier and like I stated so many times before it will hopefully lead to a longer and better life.

I love my life and am so very lucky to have what I have. Count your blessings no matter how bad life gets and never forget what you have.

Night

So tomorrow is the first trip since surgery. I am looking forward to it but I am a little nervous. Test time! I am definitely excited about the trip and looking forward to hanging in PA for a weekend and seeing family but as I have said before I am worried about the food intake during travel and when I am there. We will see how it goes. The worst that can happen would is I will not eat by my diet guidlines and that would suck but I do not believe that will happen.

well if I can find a computer I will post but most likely I will not be able to.

Night