Thursday, March 5th, 2009: 97 Pounds!!

Well, it's not quite the 100 we'd hoped for, but this will do quite well. Erica's next-size-down pants were too big, do you believe it? Now we need to go digging for the NEXT size down. She's doing great, feeling wonderful, and this Saturday will finally get on the exercise bike for a light workout.

More news: she doesn't use the shower chair in the shower any more. Just amazing. Absolutely amazing!!

We go back to Dr. Powell next week and we know he will be so pleased. Us? We're so jazzed we can't stand it!

Wednesday, March 4th, 2009: Sorry About That

I know, I know, I promised pictures and all kinds of stuff LAST week. Suffice to say every time we thought about the scale or the pictures it was too late, i.e., Erica was eating or the camera battery was dead.

Mea culpa.

Tomorrow for sure. I promise. I really do. Really. I do. Honest.

Friday, February 27th, 2009: A Minor Hitch in the Get-Along

Nothing serious, honest. We just forgot the weigh-in for two days in a row. I promise we'll update tomorrow.

Erica is continuing to do well, though. When I was away in Honolulu for a few days, she was able to shower and get dressed by herself, which is a major accomplishment. She was even able to tie her running shoes without help, and that's saying something.

Thursday, February 19th, 2009: 91 Pounds Lost!

I am so happy to tell you that Erica is just nine pounds shy of losing 100 pounds! It's almost unbelievable how much she's lost just since last November. It's getting easier for her to walk (some folks have commented that she's now standing straighter), and we've had the lifts removed from all her Birkenstocks.

She's still learning about how much food is enough (we've found it varies according to type and texture) and misses her coffee, but that'll all come soon. She's also found Viactiv vitamins and calcium chews and is taking them to supplement her food intake.

Yow! 100 pounds on the horizon!! Maybe next week??

Friday, February 13th, 2009: 85 Pounds Down!

Good morning, and happy Friday the 13th! Erica is only 15 pounds shy of 100 pounds lost, and that should be soon. And no, we haven't unearthed the skinnier slacks yet, but we really need to get busy before we get embarrassed. We'll probably do that over this long weekend.

I've gotten the stationary bike out and she should be starting on that sometime this weekend as well, which will accelerate the weight loss. We'll need to start slowly and make allowances for that arthritic left hip, but things should work out fine.

We also go back to Todd the orthotics guy today. I forgot to blog that we went to him this past Tuesday, and, although we hate to admit it, he was right; Erica doesn't need that one-inch lift any more! He took out the instep from her New Balance running shoe, traced it, and made an orthotic from it. We'll go pick it up today. And the good news is that the device will fit in her Birkenstocks as well. Speaking of them, I took them back to Milano Shoe Repair on Wednesday and asked them to remove the lift. I'll pick them up this coming Wednesday.

The interesting part about not needing the lift any more is that Erica is now free of the shoulder pain that happened when she was leaning on her walker. I guess her whole body was out of balance and is now, with the weight loss, slowly realigning itself. It's just an amazing process, with new things revealed almost every day.

Thursday, February 5th, 2009: 80 Pounds!

Erica, pound-wise, has lost a small child. We continue to be amazed at the changes going on and can only imagine the next few months.

Meanwhile, we are still struggling with the shoe issue. She did buy a great pair of running shoes the other day, and is doing pretty well with them, but we had to scramble for a pair of Birkenstocks that didn't have a lift on them for her to wear to work. She is going to call Dr. Laster and speak to him about whether Todd the orthotics guy is right about her not needing any lifts or whether he should have worked with what the doctor told him (i.e., a five-eighths-inch lift, not an inch lift). We weren't very impressed with him and will see him next Tuesday about this whole thing.

Saturday, January 31st, 2009: 79 Pounds Lost!

Sorry this is late, but we've had company (Erica's niece Bonnie is here from New Jersey), and we've been showing her the sights of Pasadena.

Anyhow, Erica has now lost 79 pounds and it's really beginning to show. It's so much easier for her to get around and her clothes are fitting so much better, and no, we haven't dug out the "skinnier" clothes yet. But we will.

We went to a shoe store in Pasadena yesterday and got her some new New Balance running shoes. It seems that Todd the orthotics guy might be right about her not needing any lifts at all. She's really comfortable with her new shoes and is walking just fine. Go figure!