This is great!!! Thank you!

Denise - just read your story, all I can say is WOW, I'm crying you have had an incredible journey.

Denise, you did a wonderful job on your speech! Your story is one that many can relate too. Thank you for sharing.

LOL

I play Roller Derby! We practice 4.5 hours a week, plus there's an optional 2 hour speed skating practice we can attend, but I seem to be getting there only once a month lately. I'm also supposed to be lifting weights in the afternoon/evening, but I think being out in the heat all day just drains me too much.

Girl did you say Roller Derby? lol I know I cant get my weak butt out there! Lol... U go girl with the Roller Derby :carrot:

Awww, thank you! :hug:

Thank you. :hug: I was crying too. I read it to my husband on Friday first, and couldn't stop crying through the whole thing. And I shouldn't say crying... I was hysterical. Last night, I made it with only 1 slight moment of tears. No stopping, just a little tears when talking about my son. But "it is what it is" as my Dad would say... and I made it. I wish I was there in person to give you a hug, but here is one in spirit :hug: No more need for tears!

Wow! You look amazing -doesn't even look like the same person!

Denise, I read your story, and I got a lump in my throat and tears in my eyes! It was beautiful, thank you for opening up like that. I can really relate to some of what you said - I grew up in a small community in Alaska, and I was taller, and therefore always larger, then the other girls. I hated basketball, but they made me play on the team because I was the tallest girl in the school. They teased me and called me 'amazon'. My best friend was stick thin, and I thought she was beautiful. I couldn't see the beauty in my curves. Anyway, deep stuff, you definitely have me thinking more now then I ever have about how I got here, about my relationship with food... thank you!!!!

Hi Bonnie! Welcome back - we missed you too! And I'm so excited to hear about your water park adventure! That's an awesome NSV!

Thank you, thank you, thank you. I've missed your posts so much! Tomorrow morning is my pre-stabilization apt. I showed houses to a client yesterday who was on MRC and gained it all back. Her and her husband was shocked and excited to see me, but very concerned. Just hearing them verbalize my biggest fear - gaining the weight back - really threw me. I'm sure others would agree with me, it's so important to hear from those of you who made it to the other side and still keep it off. I know I can do this, I know it, I know it. Time to get back to the classes - that's what they are there for! And, my dear friend, you have inspired me to run a 5k! I've never run before, but I'm going to start training.

That's me. I mix the chocolate meal replacement shake with Diet Cherry Cola instead of water - use the whole can. Throw in the ice to the consistency you like. Sometimes I put in a lot of ice and eat it with a spoon - my mock ice cream!

Another one I have fallen in love with is raspberry lemonade. Mix the diet red raspberry with lemon HNS and ice in the blender. I got this one from our center and it's very refreshing on a hot day.

Today I had a freaky MRC-related accident. It goes like this: I'm startlingly close to being a size 16, but I gave up and gave most of my clothes that size to the local mission several months ago. While I was in Target this afternoon, I decided to browse their racks, knowing that the summer clothes were on clearance and that summer is still going to be around for a while down here. As I was leaving the dressing room with my selection, I realized something was floating around in my shoe...perhaps one of those plastic size numbers? Nope. I realized this too late as a searing pain bore into the lower arch/heal area of my left foot. Not only did the pain stop me in my tracks, but I had to catch myself on the clothing counter. I gingerly took my shoe off, expecting a pool of blood, only to find a mangled, blackened, disgusting, straight pin buried halfway in my foot.

What does this have to do with MRC, you might ask? Well, clearly if I weren't losing weight so fast I wouldn't have been shopping for new clothes! Okay, so it is only tangentially related, but I live alone, most of my classmates are out of town, and I spent the afternoon in the minor emergency clinic getting a tetanus shot. My foot is unbelievably sore and so is my arm from the shot. I had to share the drama with someone.

Denise-Your speech is amazing. There is someone in my life I'm trying to figure out how to tactfully share it with--I really think it would speak to her in a powerful and life-changing way. Bless you for sharing!

:rofl:stuckingradschool Ok I'm not laughing at your pain, but something about the way you wrote that just made me laugh! I love how you can make the best of a bad situation, hope you feel better! Have a great day, and hope you recover from the offending pin!