W. Scott Pennington, MD

I am dealing with a lot of health issues and have been dealing with weight my entire life. I've tried every weight loss program, diet pill, fad diet there is and nothing has been successful. I am now turning 50 this year and I refuse to go one more year feeling and looking like a blob. I am scheduled for surgery on September 22. I weight 230 but my frame is small so I should be around 125. I have degenerative disc disease in my low back and I take heavy narcotics for pain. I also have a bladder disease that I hope to get rid of after I have cosmetic surgery to remove breast implants (which will be scheduled after I lose weight). So my goal is to get off all the meds and prolong my lifespan. It will be wonderful to exercise again, wear cute clothes and not feel so tired all the time. I am super excited to go on this journey and I joined this site for the support you ladies generously give.

Updated on 6 Sep 2016:
I can't believe that I start my 2 week diet tomorrow. Am I actually saying goodbye to my favorite drink - Coke? I will miss you terribly! I can't believe I am doing this but I know it is the right thing to do. Also I go in today to meet with the nutritionist and psychologist and order my food for the two week diet. I wish it would hurry up and get here. The anticipation and then the regret is sometimes too much.

Updated on 20 Sep 2016:
Tomorrow I go on all liquid diet and drink the magnesium citrate, fun! At least I get to leave work early which will kick off 12 days of time off I am taking. I am believing for a easy recovery period and downtime. I'm not anxious at all. More curious about the new me and how I will look 100 lbs lighter. I've never been skinny, ever.... And yes, I do want to be skinny. I want to live the remaining years of my life as a waif. Seriously, I am doing this for #1-health and getting out of all the risk categories. I am beyond tired of having no energy or motivation to do anything. I've actually been moving around more these last few weeks than I can remember. It kind of reminds me of nesting...like when I had my children. The anticipation of bringing home a child except I'll be bringing home a new pouch! I've been reading a lot about clean eating and I'm definitely going the organic route. I figure if I gotta be picky about what goes in my pouch than I might as well put good things in there. I haven't stayed on my pre-diet too good. The first three days I lost 5 lbs. But then I started thinking about these dishes and desserts that I would not eat anymore so I fudged a little.

Updated on 11 Oct 2016:
I had my surgery on 9/22 and I went to my 3 week post-op appointment and I'm in phase 3 (soft foods) and still have 4 weeks before I can exercise and no eating restrictions. I won't tell you that surgery and recovery was easy. It was so hard. You are still hungry but cannot eat. It is the strangest experience I have ever had. I know that I will be thankful that I did it but right now I am trying to get my hunger under control. I know this is a mental issue I have with food, not being able to eat so I find myself grazing. I've lost 20 lbs in 3 weeks which was a lot of sweat and tears. I am in a stall and haven't lost any in about 5 days but I know that will pass. I am down to a size 16. I haven't bought any new clothes yet and I won't until I am falling out of the size 16. I hope that I have a successful weight loss journey. My goal is to lose at least 50 lbs by the end of the year. I know that is very aggressive but I've got to get away from carbs and focus on protein and low-cal. I've only gotten sick once but did not vomit, only felt nausea and total misery. I have a terrible habit of getting home from work and gorging on snacks and I ate too much. Too much these days is a small, small amount of food. This is definitely hard to eat small amounts.

Updated on 26 Oct 2016:
I feel really good. I have hit a plateau for the last two weeks maybe a pound came off. Trying to get in all my water and protein which is hard. I eat 5 bites and I am done. Areas I need to work on: drinking while eating and coming home from work and wanting to scarf.....I've learned the hard way doing both of these.... You will dump.....afterwards I start over thinking today I am going to do better and now I start dreading breakfast lunch and dinner time. My mind says, its not so much fun eating anymore. I do hope this changes. My goal is to lose another 25 lbs by year end.

Updated on 12 Jan 2017:
Hello everyone. I am just checking in to let you all know that I have lost 55 pounds since September 21. My energy level is off the charts. I am in a size 12 to 14 depending on the brand names. What is amazing is that I don't have as much excess skin as I thought I would have and I don't exercise like I should. I do not go by any strict dieting protocol. I eat pretty much what my husband cooks but just a small bowl (6 or 7 bites and I am full). I have only overate a hand full of times and still then I didn't vomit, only felt terrible nausea. There aren't any foods that do not agree with my pouch but fried foods are too hard on me. I can only eat a bite or two. I love popcorn with cheddar cheese. I can eat more of that than anything else.My nemesis is eating too fast. That is how I overeat and get nauseated. I added a few more pics but I need to add some before pics so you can see the dramatic difference.