gowalking

I love reading these types of posts. Congratulations Carmen. By the way, you are already at goal. You are living your life and that's the real goal...not the number of pounds lost. Great job!!

It exploits the suffering of others under the guise of entertainment. Why else would they make the contestants remove their clothing? It's a sad commentary on just how voyeristic we are (can anyone say trainwreck) and more importantly....the lengths people will go to just to lose weight. How can you say that WLS is extreme but working out 24/7...and on TV no less, is not extreme? WLS will become accepted when it is shown to be successful as a long term solution. Losing weight is far from challenging. Keeping it off is another story.

Make an appointment with the bariatric doctor and the nutritionist and start over. You can do it and find the success you want. Good luck!!

Yay!

This fear is not the least bit silly. I see a therapist to help with feeling like I don't know who I am now that I don't recognize myself. I am physically more comfortable in this small body but psychologically not. I'm not the only one either. There are others on this site who get professional help. Some people love hearing that they are hardly recognizable anymore but there are also plenty of people like me who don't like hearing that. Yes, I know it means I look so much better than I did before but it also comes with a host of other issues. Don't hesitate to ask questions no matter how silly they may sound. I guarantee you that someone on this site can relate to anything you are thinking.

Hi Ivona. First of all, congratulations for making this decision. You sound like a wise woman for someone still so young. All I can do is give you my experience. I am also a big carb lover. Sugar not as much, but I have a sweet tooth and struggle at times. For me, it was more of a psychological struggle rather than a physical one. Oh sure....the liquid diet is tough. I won't lie about that. And yes, I had headaches, nausea, hunger, and was miserable. The only thing I can say is that it it temporary and once you are eating mushies, it's much better. I've also been very fortunate in that I've had no issues with my band and have lost weight fairly consistently. Looking back, it's all worth it as I've improved my health dramatically along with all the other positive changes that comes with losing almost 150 lbs. Good luck to you and please keep us posted on your status.

Isn't our 'new normal' terrific?

Welcome to the other side Kesha and Zoe. What an amazing journey you are both on. I wish I could give you a glimpse into the future so you can know how wonderful things will be a year from now. I'm coming up to almost two years banded and I cannot believe how my life has changed. Things are not perfect...nothing in this world is perfect. But I've gone from morbidly obese and constant joint pain that was threatening to put me in a wheelchair to walking without a cane anymore, swimming, biking, dating, buying cute new clothes, feeling normal, fitting in a restaurant booth, an airplane seat, a chair with arms...I could go on and on. I'm really excited for both of you...and all the newbies who are on this site. Congrats to all.

Congrats Jessy. You will be amazed at how fast these six months go by. And I really do think that the time it takes is good in that you get used to thinking differently about food and food related issues/concerns/triggers. By the time April rolls around, you will be ready for the changes to come. FYI...I was supposed to be banded in October of 2012 and was all set mentally and otherwise. Then Hurricane Sandy hit and the hospital was badly damaged and my surgery didn't happen until January of 2013. I'm sure you can imagine how upsetting that was and yet, nearly two years later, it means nothing. Just one of many blips on the radar. Just keep your head down, do what you need to do, and all will be well.

Well last night's session was a tough one. We started talking about self respect, self worth...all the things I don't feel I deserve for one reason or another. I talk the talk but don't walk the walk. I let people take advantage of me because I just feel that I'm never good enough, pretty enough, thin enough...blah blah blah. I feel awful this morning. I look totally different, but inside, I'm still the same wounded soul. In my zeal to not be or feel entitled, I let myself be used. I have to learn to stand up for myself. Not an easy thing to do when you grew up in a house where you felt invisible and left out all the time. God...I have so much work to do in order to become that confident person I look like, but do not feel like. The weight has some part to play in this, but not all. It was just an outward sign of some of my issues. Now that the weight is gone, I have nothing to hide behind and have to really face these demons. This is hard....

You look so great!! What a transformation. And you look ten years younger. No kidding.

Hang in there....this is the hardest part. And congrats on the 35 lbs. down. That's fantastic.

So...what would you do or say if you had the interaction I just had? I was at the pool for my exercise class and had to put on the float belt because we were going to exercise in the deep end. The instructor knows that I don't like to do exercises in the deep Water because I can't stay stable. She told me the belt isn't tight enough so tonight she tells me to come to her and she'll put it on me so I know how tight it should be. So she puts in on me and while she's making it tight, she says the problem is that I'm too thin and she can't make the belt tight enough. Then she offhandedly laughs and says I need to fatten up a bit. It took all my willpower to not admit how heavy I used to be. I felt like I had to tell her so she would know that I wasn't a thin person. And the irony of someone telling me I needed to put on a few literally stunned me. I just don't know how to handle this type of interaction. I'm so damn uncomfortable with people thinking I'm thin when I know that the fat girl lurks just below the surface. Oh dear...this journey is all about two steps forward and one step back. I'm so glad I have this forum to be able to write this stuff and try to get it out of my system. I don't know what I'd do without it and all of you.

When I was still on the liquid diet just after surgery, my dad said something so juvenile that I couldn't believe it. He was relishing in telling me that he, mom and sis were having a delicious eggplant parm dinner. I heard my sister admonish my dad for being such a d**k. I vowed to 'get even' once I lost the weight, but as JaGo says, the need to get even goes away the smaller and happier you get/feel. I'm chalking my dad's stupid comment up to a bad day because now he tells me all the time how proud he is of my accomplishments. He's not just talking about the weight loss, but all the improvements I've made. If you think a talk with this person will help, go for it. Otherwise, just focus on you and your needs and you'll be surprised how 'revenge' will not matter much as you reach for your goals. Good luck and keep us posted.

Oh very interesting question Meggs. I agree that it probably depends on the person posting and whether or not they are OK with this weight loss 'interruption' or aggravated by it. The only thing I ever post is for those who are worried, I tell them it's normal and the weight will start to come off again as long as they are doing what they are supposed to. Other than that, I don't comment as I've been very fortunate to not have gone through a prolonged stall or plateau. If my weight didn't change over a couple or three weeks, I didn't consider it a stall. I never went months as others have with no weight loss. As I said, I've been very lucky with the weight loss part of it. I hope to be just as lucky with the maintenance part.

Speaking of jeans...when I was in size 16/18ish, I'd buy them really tight in the tummy to try to make it look like I wasn't as big as I was. Of course this was just denial. I'm all of five feet tall so wearing a size that big didn't fool anyone except me. Once I was in size 20 and larger, I just ignored it completely because I was so very large. But I noticed yesterday slipping into my size 6 jeans, that they were a little loose so I thought I needed to buy a smaller size but when I looked at myself in the mirror, I realized my midsection is so small now that the jeans don't have to be tight anymore because there's alot less to try to hide. In fact, the backside and legs sections are alot worse than the tummy/midsection. That's where the jeans are really looking saggy. I guess everything is a NSV when you've lost what's tantamount to a whole other human being.

Sweetie...most of us had/have so much to lose that we didn't notice...or anyone else for that matter till we were down 50 lbs. or more. 26 lbs. is a great start but you are just beginning and like you said, Rome wasn't built in a day...or 12 days. It will come, believe me. Start learning now how to take a compliment because they'll be coming fast and furious soon enough. I'm coming up to my two year bandiversary and still can't figure out how I dropped a whole person. I never lost more than three pounds in a single week, and most of the time, I lost less that two lbs. a week and yet here I am, a shadow of my former self. The hard part is being the smallest person in the room now and yet still feeling like the biggest. With time and the help of the therapist, I hope one day to see the same thing everyone else does.

I feel your pain sweetheart. I suspect most of us do. JustWatchMe is right. Treat yourself like a queen because you are one. I don't mean someone who feels entitled, I mean someone who is sweet and thoughtful and fragile. We hide so much of ourselves behind our size and when we are finally free of the weight, we seem to rise to the top. I struggle with this new size for sure. I'm very small now and not used to it. But it is a struggle I work on all the time and each day I get a little bit better. I am very excited for you as you begin this amazing journey. Keep us posted and stick around for as long as you need or want to. There is tremendous support on this site and we will help you every step of the way.

What a success and inspiration you are my friend. And I don't mean that lightly. You have been a great support for me especially as our journeys and insights are very similar. The focus is not on the pounds lost or clothing size, but on how we are reclaiming our lives instead of just sitting on the sidelines. Giving you a virtual hug today but can't wait to one day give you a real hug. Congrats on your bandiversary.

Yeah....I realize this is an important test. I can be flip about it because nothing of consequence was found.

I'm not offended but I am still uncomfortable being called skinny, or thin, or small. It's my issue..no one else's. And most people don't think saying you are skinny is offensive the way saying someone is heavy can be.

I see a therapist because of my issues. Nothing to be ashamed of if you need to see someone. You don't want to have any problems with your health by getting too thin because you can't see in your head, what you look like. To me, obesity is just the other side of the coin when people are diagnosed with anorexia. It's the inability to see the reality of what one looks like whether it's too big or too small. Good luck dear and please think about it. I know it's helped me even though I still struggle.

...is what I weigh this morning. I had the procedure yesterday and the prep was awful as many of you probably know. I didn't weigh myself yesterday...just felt too miserable to care but after having some food last night and a good night's sleep, I got on the scale a few moments ago just to see a number I'll never see again and sure enough, I weigh 114 1/2 lbs. I know that won't last, but it's fun to see none the less.

Hi Mikee...glad to see you're doing well. ..and you are because even if the weight isn't coming off as quick as you like, you're still going to the pool and doing the best you can right now. Kudos for you.

Congratulations. You look terrific.