Body image changes after WLS

My surgery was 8/10/09. I lost 26 pounds on Medifast before surgery (from end of May 09 to Aug. 10th) and weighed 220 on surgery date. It took approx.9 mos. to get to 135, then I kept losing from May 2010 to current date down to 125, then 120, then 118, then 116. I was at 113 when I got a stomach bug, but gained back 3 pounds. This is where I hover. I hit stalls along the way, too, but the loss continued. Now, as I say, I have to remember to eat to maintain and not lose more. I could easily slip down to 112 or 110 if I'm not careful. People who are normal size but heavier than you, and some who are obese, will tell you that you're TOO THIN. Remember that their POV is skewed to the heavier side and your POV will be "I'm not thin enough." I saw myself as FAT when I was FAT. There was no denying I was fat; I had trouble looking in the mirror at all. Now I'm thin, no denying that, but I like looking in the mirror. I look sometimes and think "you're too thin" as my face looks gaunt (hey, I'm 61, so the weight came off differently now than it would when I was 31) so yes, I've lost the "pad" in my face. That can be fixtured with plastic surgery and I'll get to that once we get moved and settled in our new home coming up. With surgery, I'd look put back together and more in my late 40s because I basically have good skin. This is a process of transformation and nobody's process will be the same. Go for what you want and what makes you happy. If you get a little thin, you can always gain some back if you eat all the time (every 2 hours), and supplement with some high calorie foods. I like this weight and prefer to just fix the cosmetic things I can. I can dress in high fashion (couture) sizing which is NOT vanity sized by any means, wear skinny jeans, high heels, rocker chic, etc., in other words, I can dress any way I want to within reason, and still look THIN with clothes on, in the mirror, in photos. My normal sized friends are very jealous, and that's fine with me. My heavy friends think I'm anorexic; that's fine too. It's my process and I have the clothes, shoes and bags to prove it.

How long have you been at goal, or rather, since you hit your original goal? How long did it take for you to get there? How much weight did you have to lose to get there? You say you didn't exercise, so how did you eat? I guess I'm wanting to live a bit vicariously by hearing from a person who has achieved goal, since I am experiencing a horrible stall/gain pattern that is really putting me down in the dumps.

Source: Body image changes after WLS