When I started my “diet” almost seven years ago, it wasn’t about the weight but about my health. That was the difference between this weight loss attempt and all the other diets I did previously. I never made a serious attempt that stuck until the lifestyle change I made.

When I think of how bad I ate over 7 years ago, I think in amazement how far I came since them. I would think nothing of chowing down on several Egg McMuffins or several burgers at McDonald’s. Today... I have no cravings for such foods.

I got this shirt from Dr. Mondo the other day. I am set to be on his show again in a few weeks.

I think this is an awesome shirt. I'm sure all of us struggle with at least a few of the items listed in it. Formerly obese people like myself still struggle with some of these items.

It's been a few weeks since I updated about my abdominoplasty. It is now 6 weeks post op and I am feeling great! I feel back to normal and back to working out. However, it feels as if I'm a beginner, despite making significant gains for months.

I know I will rebuild the muscle, but I feel like I lost so much by not working out. I have the sagginess in my arms again so I need to build up. My goal is to get back to where I was pre-surgery by January.

After three weeks, I'm realizing how much I miss working out. The first week or so, I thought of it as a much needed vacation from the daily grind. Now I worry about losing muscle mass.

I still have one drain in and that's part of the reason I haven't gone to the gm yet. I hate the thought of working out with a drain. The drain will supposedly be taken out on Saturday. It was originally going to come out this past Tuesday but the fluid output ended up increasing again. The output needs to be at a certain threshold before it can safely be removed. This way, I can avoid fluid buildup in the belly.

It's been over 2 weeks since my abdominoplasty. I can honestly say, I haven't been in any pain from it. I especially love sharing that I never took one pain killer, not one! It's not very common to not have any pain killers but I didn't need them. I did opt for a local anesthetic called Exparel to offer additional comfort after the procedure, but after that wore off, I was feeling OK.

I seem to be healing well. It takes time but I'm taking care of my wounds. I'm not doing any exercise yet, aside from doing some shopping or walking the dog. It will be great to workout again though. My only fear is that I might lose some muscle mass. Hopefully it's not too much muscle. I also hope it doesn't take me too long to get back into my workout routine... but only when the doctor says it's time.