Re: Re: magic moments

[Guest guest]

Thanks! Diane Duenas wrote: Congrats !!!We started at the same weight...315.> Hello everyone:> > My third re-birthday is coming up on June 3rd. I have to work, so I > won't celebrate except for doing a 10-mile run in the evening after > work. I'll run from Pier 39 to the Golden Gate bridge, across the > bridge and back, returning to Pier 39. I'll remember that 3 years > earlier, I was in the hospital, taking my first steps post-op around > the hospital ward

with a foley catheter in place (an indwelling > catheter used for draining urine from the bladder and having an > inflatable part at the bladder end that allows the tube to be kept in > place for variable time periods). Wow, I don't miss that at all.> > Anyway, Dave and I went out to dinner last weekend at Fog City Diner > in San Francisco, and when it came time to be seated, the hostess lead > us to a tiny, tiny booth.> > Just before we'd been seated, I witnessed a large woman squeeze into a > booth with lots of difficulty. I could see her sitting there with her > boobs on the table, and her body wedged in the booth with her stomach > being pinched by the edge of the table. I recognized oh-too-well that > uncomfortable look on her face, the embarrassment, the discomfort, the > pain of being morbidly obese. And as I had on so

many occasions, she > was trying to hide her discomfort, but to me it was plain as day.> > As I approached our booth and saw the space between the back of the > seat and the table, for the first time in ages, I thought, "Oh My God! > I'm not gonna fit in there!" I paused in a moment of fear and dread. > But as I slid into the booth, I smiled because not only did I fit, but > there were at least 4 inches of clearance between me and the table.> > I wonder what was up with me? Had I momentarily forgotten that I'd > lost 153 lbs? Did the sight of that unfortunate woman bring all the > pain back to the surface?> > It's amazing how free I feel since losing that weight. I went to a > men's retreat the weekend before last (for the men in my church) and a > friend named said that I was the "belle of the ball." I

don't > know if I agree with that, but I had a great time; a tall, handsome > (everyone including me tells him he looks like Gere), funny > man gave me endless attention and shoulder rubs. said that no > one paid any attention to him, and I have to admit that twice I heard > him being described as the "big guy with the loud mouth." ( is > a jokester in a loud way... and not everyone likes his "loud mouth.") > I remember being on the outside like that. And I have to admit that > the normal weighted guys tended to hang out together, and the larger > guys were also seemingly (self-?) segregated. During all of the > sessions, I was lucky to have one guy or another massaging my > shoulders, and I in turn was massaging quite a few shoulders myself.> > Sometimes I travel so easily in the world of the normal

weighted. > Other times, it's still a shock. At church on Sunday, a very nice, > handsome man actually picked me up. I was commenting on how different > his point of view is at 6'4" (I'm 5'8"). Then he put his arms around > me, lifted me up and said, "See. This is what you're missing." There > was a time when my ex joked that he'd need a forklift to lift me > across the threashold. I still feel that way sometimes. When Art > lifted me, I said, "Don't hurt yourself." And he said, "But you're so > light. You weigh next to nothing." Me? It's very strange, but since > I've lost the weight, this is the 4th or 5th time that a guy has > lifted me up like that. It amazes me. And it's really fun!> > OK, I'm rambling... but for those of you struggling to lose the 10%, > keep up the good

work, and don't give up on you. For me, this journey > has been full of surprises, magic moments and "uplifting" > experiences...figuratively and literally.> > Francisco> -153 lbs and maintaining for 1 year, 7 months > > > > > > > > > >