[maryavan]

Well, I'm almost to 50 lbs gone! I went to gyn this week, which is where my last official weigh in was in Dec 2006. I went from 344 to 299 on their scale. My scale at home has me down another 2 lbs since I went to dr's office. I like the home scale better since it has me 4-5 lighter than the dr's

The nurse couldn't believe the blood pressure reading she got. In Dec (taken several times) it was in 150-160s over 90-100s. She took my b/p. I waited for her to record my numbers w/ excitement. But she didn't write anything down. She just sat there.
"What was it?", I asked.
She shook her head like she took a bad reading, "I got 120/74."
I'm smiling really big. "That would be right on track. A little high actually for me now. But w/in my range."

Most of the time it is around 115-118/68 at the stores. I even had a 108/64.

My dr was very impressed w/ the weight loss and the blood pressure drop.

That hour of walking every day is paying off!

[MissyChrissy]

CONGRATULATIONS! I am SO HAPPY for you. Your hard work is paying off. That blood pressure is something to be really proud of too.

I take blood pressure screenings at work and just one word of caution-the machines that are generally found in drug stores are not considered very reliable. One, they're unsupervised & goodness knows who plays with them all day. Plus, it's questionable about how often they are calibrated. Where I work, we have one machine one (similar to the drug store brand) and one hospital grade. They are BOTH calibrated every week, and read within a few points of each other.

But-back to you-GREAT JOB!

[maryavan]

Multiple machines at different stores and different types of machines are all giving me similar readings. Its not just one machine that gives me good readings. At these machines dh's bp is right in line w/ what the dr's office gets. At the one I use the most, I watched my bp steadily drop over the months.

I still haven't had anyone recognize any weight loss on me w/o being told first. I thought for sure one of my garage sale regulars would notice last week. None did. I was going to give $5 off to the first who noticed. $5 saved for me -. Then I went to church business meeting today (w/ folks I see several times a year) . I thought for sure someone would notice something. I didn't say a word. I'm seeing the difference which is most important.

I had a bonus surprise today. I could get my wedding ring on! It was tight but it did slide on all the way down. Considering I'm still 70 lbs from my wedding weight (which is below my goal), I wasn't expecting it to fit yet. I'm not wearing it again yet b/c it was just a tad too tight for safety--if I had water weight gain my finger might change color . But it won't be long till I can hopefully... DH was thrilled--that was great. We'd thought about buying another ring in recent months. Glad we didn't. I hope I don't lose it. That would be my luck!

[MissyChrissy]

As long as you're comparing your bp's, then you'll be ok. I didn't know if you were only relying on one machine or not.

As for people noticing, I'm sure they are, but maybe they're afraid to say anything in case you haven't lost weight. I know I've done that...reserved comment in case it was simply the clothes they were wearing that day. I didn't want to put my foot in my mouth.

You have every right to be proud. It's quite an accomplishment. I'm struggling with 20 pounds-and look at you! Way to go!!!! My hat's off to you...I know it's not easy.

[maryavan]

55lbs gone now! Loss was slower this month, just 5 lbs. I'm happy w/ 5 lbs though. With all the extra stress I've been under and bad weather, I"m glad that I didn't gain weight!

[MissyChrissy]

Sometimes, the lower you go in your weight, the speed of loss does slow down. People who weigh more will lose pounds much faster than those who weigh 30-50 lbs (or more) less. So it may not have had anything to do with what you did (or didn't do) but just physics at work.

Don't give up...you're doing so very, very well and really have every right to be shouting from the rooftops. Seriously, I'd be telling everyone, "Hi! I've lost 55 lbs!" Great job!!!! You're really inspiring.

[Klarka]

Well done! you have done really fantastic job, and helped your health A LOT!

[MiaCamille]

Good for you you're doing awesome keep up the good work!

[For little Elza]

This is encouraging... thanks for sharing your success

[LeanyBean]

HUZZAH! Good on you! I hope to drop many years of unwanted excess baby weight next year. I currently weigh in at 215 but I do have 6 more months of baby weight to gain this pregnancy and delivering in mid January in Northern Iowa makes it way too cold to go outside for exercise. I may have to get creative.