Body Transformed
A Journey of Surgical Weight Loss

Giving Thanks - 83 Pounds Lighter
November 26, 2004

Weight: 194 pounds
Loss: 83 pounds

Yesterday was Thanksgiving Day in America, and what a strange Thanksgiving day it was for me. Traditionally, for most of us, Thanksgiving is all about the food. Sure, we watch football and spend time with relatives, but "turkey day" in our family has always kicked off a winter holiday eating frenzy that lasts through New Years Day. For me, those days are over. Surprisingly, I'm not depressed over it. In fact, it's kind of liberating!

I love to cook. I like it all - the planning, shopping, chopping, prep-work, baking, serving and watching my family enjoy the fruits of my labor. I don't have to eat, eat, eat to enjoy the dinner. It is somewhat of a surprise to me that I'm not feeling deprived by not being able to eat sweets. Maybe I've just lost the craving after not having eaten anything sugary or rich for so many months. It feels to me a bit like giving up cigarettes as I did 20 years ago - the longer I go without it, the less it bothers me.

And so I stuffed and roasted the turkey, whipped the potatoes, candied the yams, whisked the gravy and baked the pies. The kids roamed in and out of the kitchen "helping" me prepare the big meal. I found myself popping an olive in my mouth and realized that I'd have to be careful with tasting or I'd have no room left in my "pouch" for turkey!

As I sat around the table with my family, each of us expressing gratitude for the bounty in our lives, I couldn't help comparing this Thanksgiving Day to others in my past. I feel balanced. I feel healthy. I feel incredibly lucky to live in a time when medical science can help people to live long, fulfilling lives rather than dying young and missing out on so much. I've been given a second chance, and I won't waste this opportunity.

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Making the Decision

07/14/01: Making the Decision

08/23/01: Leaving Bill

09/18/01: No Job

09/20/01: Just That Quick

The Family and Friends Plan

09/19/02: Why Not Me?

12/26/02: Comparisons

03/22/03: Jumping on the Bandwagon

05/20/03: How I Met Ed

08/18/03: The Big Squeeze

11/06/03: New Body, New Husband

Seeking Approval

02/04/04: Time to Get Approved

03/12/04: Journey Begins

04/26/04: I'm Approved

06/13/04: Pre-Op Testing

06/20/04: In the Waiting Line

Making the Cut

07/10/04: Saying Goodbye

07/11/04: Sleepless Night

07/15/04: The Surgery

Strange Changes

07/22/04: Yummy Water

07/30/04: Smaller Tummy

08/16/04: 37 Pounds Down

09/07/04: My First 50 Pounds

10/31/04: Different Food, Same Love

New Body Countdown

11/07/04: 67 Down and Counting

11/12/04: Melting Away - 73 down

11/20/04: Breaking 200

11/26/04: Giving Thanks - 83 pounds

Holiday Madness

12/08/04: Slowing Down

12/15/04: Fortune 100, and Counting

12/27/04: Weight GAIN?

Quiet Rewards

01/06/05: Jeans Older Than My Kids

01/19/05: No Lap, But I'll Take the Luxury

01/28/05: A Most Unusual Revelation

02/07/05: Body and Sole

02/14/05: Flowers in the Mirror

Ready for Summer

03/31/05: Batwings and Tummy-Tucks

A New Life

12/15/05: Finally