Thanksgiving Update !

Well, here I am again!

A day late and a dollar short. Sorry about the lack of blog enteries lately. It's been really hectic around the O'Neal house. I'm just glad football is over. The downside to that is...I have 1 week to get all the DVD's and Calendars ready for the banquet. One of these days, I'm gonna learn to say NO!!!!!


We had a great day at my parents house on Thanksgiving. I really have to give my mom and dad a lot of credit! They have been my biggest cheerleaders during this weight loss journey. I truly believe we all need that!


It was also an oppurtunity to get together with my sister and brother and theor respective families! Where has the time gone? It seems like yesterday that my sister got married, and now she tells me she and Jim have been married for 27 years! What's up with that!


Anyway, when Beth, Melissa and I get together, we take a pic, just to journal the progress we have made. Below is a progression since last Christmas.














Oh yeah, in the first picture I was at 315 pounds (my highest was 365). In the last picture I am at 189 pounds! My lowest since about 4th grade!


I'll be posting more pictures later today. We are getting ready to g to Church, and then I'm taking RJ to the movies. This will give Beth a little time to herself. We are going to see "4 Christmases".


I will say this...next year at Thanksgiving, I'm going shopping! I have spent the last 3 days painting our living room! YUCK! More to come...

An emotional update!

Well guys, it's that time of the month when I try to update you on what is happening with the weight loss!

At the moment, I am at 210 pounds, only 15 pounds from my goal! Yeah!!!! I have gone from a size 54 inch waist, to a 36 inch waist ! Amazing, I have lost 1 1/2 feet from my waist alone! For shirts size, I have shrunk out of a 4x shirt to a lg/med. Now, this is where the emotional part of the story comes in.

Last week at church, one of our dear ladies brought me a shirt. Now, she brings me clothes about once a month. I don't know if she sees how baggy my clothing is becoming, or she has brought these for her husband and grandchildren and they don't like them. Personally she tells me its the latter! Well, this shirt she brought last week was a large. Out of respect for her, I
took the shirt thinking, "I'll never be able to wear that!"

Well, I tired the shirt on yesterday, and Beth said it was big. So, I told RJ to go and get me one of his medium polos. Guess what, it fit! My loving wife looked at me at this point and aksed why I was teary eyed? I said, "I never wanted this to happen".

I wanted this surgery for one reason...my health! At my heaviest, I was havibng trouble breathing, getting out of bed, sleeping all night, high blood pressure, yada, yada, yada. The list could go on, but I believe you understand. The surgery was to better my health, not to make me smaller than my son! I feel like he would be devastated to know he was wearing larger size clothing than his father! Kinda like children are suppose to outlive their parents, not the other way around!

Now I know RJ is not as heavy as I am, but he has the potential of becoming just like I was. I don't want that for him. So, Beth and I are going to make a better effort at helping him not be the fat kid in school. We have a way to go, but we are going to do our best!

Oh yeah, the shirt I am wearing in the picture, is the one Miss Bobbie gave me. When looking at it, I guess it is a little large on me. Oh well, off to raid RJ clothes for church!

4 Month Update!

Can you believe it's been 4 months since surgery? I can't! I just had my check up with my Doc, and everything is great! In fact, all my lab work came back perfect! My high blood pressure has dropped to a normal range. That's the first time I can remember that happening on a regular basis! My acid reflux, which I have had for over 25 years, has gone bye bye! I could just go on and on, but I won't!

God has blessed me beyond reason! I'm not questioning it, I'm just amazed! guys, I wnat to Thank You for all the prayers. Without God, my family and friends, I would not be where I am right now! So gee...Thanks!

From this...362 pounds!

To this...227 pounds!

A progression of sorts...

Feb. 2007

Dec. 2007

Mar. 2008

2 Month Update

Well, yesterday was my 2 month surgervesary. What a ride it has been. I'm finally feeling normal again, which is a good thing.

People ask me all the time what kind of diet am I on? Or do I have to eat anything special? The answer is simple, I can eat the same things that you eat. Do I? Probably not. I try to stay away from sweets, or items with to many carbs. I will have the occasional sugar free treat, but only in moderation. Since surgery, I have had only a couple of pieces of bread. I usually try to stay with chicken or fish as a meat. Now this last weekend, we made a small pork roast ans made BBQ using KC Masterpiece low carb sauce. So, I can eat anything I want.

Energy wise, Superman is flying high! His cape is flapping in the breeze, along with the extra skin I have found. UGH! But that is a side effect I knew would happen. I have lost a total of 106 pounds since Feb of 2007, and 46 pounds since surgery. Not to shabby!

Well thats all folks! Have a great day!

Superman's cape is back in action!

Well the cape is out of the closet! Yes folks, Superman is flying high and feeling like a new man. The pain in my side is almost gone, I am doing well with my weight loss, and of course...God is good!


I went to my Doctor the other day for my 4 week check up. Since surgery (12/18/07), I have lost a total of 35 pounds. Whoo Hooo! All together in one years time, I have lost 93 pounds from my highest weight of 362 pounds. This morning I was at 268 pounds. My Body Mass Index is down 12 points. From a high of 46.5 (extremely obese) to 34.5 (obese). so things are going fantastic.

These pictures of RJ and I were taken last February at a work retreat in Pickett State Park. When I first looked at these pics, I was embarrassed. Embarrassed that I had let myself get to that point. I'm happy to say that RJ is doing well also. He is exercising twice a week at the YMCA with a personal trainer (his grandfather). He also has lost right around 40 pounds since those pictures were taken.

The other 2 pictures are my 1 month pics. We have found through Beth's surgery that is a great idea to track your progress through pics. so this was my first month's pics. These were taken on Sunday 1/6/07 and I weighed 273

I hope this post finds each and everyone of you well, and that you have a great and wonderful weekend!