IcanMakeit

I'm really wanting plastics, too. It's disappointing to finally be thin, but not be able to really appreciate it because of the prodigious amount of loose skin on my abdomen.
But on a more positive note, my husband and I just took a long twilight walk (well I walked, he used his mobility scooter) and both of us were amazed that I could walk so much further and so much faster than last year. I'm no longer 60 going on 82. I'm now feeling like 61 going on 45.

Good for you! This post was timely for me. My husband's arthritis frequently keeps him from joining me on my walks, and when he does come, he's kind of slow for me. So for the last two days, after our evening walk, I let him go home and I walk by myself for another half hour or so. This is a breakthrough for me because I have been too timid to wander too far in the evening by myself. But just like you, I find that I enjoy the alone time.

There but for the grace of life and a lot of hard work go I........
It's so easy to judge and be righteous and push some else to the bottom of the heap. The harder way is to try to understand and relate.
Maybe we can choose to remember that we all reached a point where we would do ANYTHING not to feel the pain of being obese. And my guess is that for all of us we tried many times and many ways to lose weight before we were successful. Even with success, every day I know that I can fall off the wagon and once more be humbled, pick my self up and try again.
For me food obsession and addiction is always waiting for me. My mind can always try to fool me into taking that bite of something that starts the downward spiral.
This blog is a way for us to remember that we were once there too. Let's be honest.....we could be there again!

I don't know how long ago you were curvy and happy about how you looked at that weight. But if it's been decades ago, don't plan on looking exactly like you did when you reach your old "happy curvy" weight again.
Also, it seems clear from reading here longer than a year that the maintenance calorie budget varies dramatically from person to person. That seems to be a function of our genders, ages, exercise and activity levels, how little we ate (for how long) to lose all our excess weight, and the degree to which long-time obesity screwed up our metabolism by lowering it significantly below what seems "normal."
To your specific question ... I'm 69 years old, 5'5", and set my goal weight at 150. That was 85 pounds below my starting weight of 235. In the last few months I've lost another 5 pounds, putting me at 145 (actually, this morning I was 144, but when I dip below 145 I eat more to get back above that).
I don't want to lose ANY more weight than this. I'm wearing sizes 10s (loose) and 8s, but for now I'm not buying a lot of size 8s. I would be happy anywhere between 145-155.
My advice would be not to get too invested in the fiction that you can predict everything about how your WLS journey will go or how you will reach your goal. You may have to change your mind and your tactics and even your goal. Reaching goal (by which I mean REALLY reaching it) is new country for some of us. And for those who've weighed this little before, the neighborhood has changed a lot since we were last here.
Best to you.

I have a lot of empathy for the people who haven't quite internalized the fact that in order to be successful, their lifestyles have to totally change. I was in their shoes early in the process. Even though I had read and researched and met with a nutritionist, I still, in the back of my head, thought I could keep doing things my way. It wasn't that I didn't have the facts. It just took me a while to accept them. So my head doesn't explode when I read those kinds of posts. I believe that these people can come to terms with their new way of life and be successful, especially when we, who understand what they are feeling, give them the benefit of our experience.

Yep. It happened to me when a friend was asking me how it felt after losing so much weight. She commented that no matter what she did, she couldn't get below 160. And I thought to myself, "Wait... I weigh less than 160...how can that be?" I look at her, and she looks to be a perfectly normal weight (we're the same height) but when I look at myself most times, I still see the overweight person I was. Personally, I think it's all the extra skin that's clouding my view in the mirror. <shrugs>

@@highdesertblue
Your doctor may be a great surgeon, but he is definitely not a great coach. In his eagerness to encourage you to exercise, he only succeeded in depressing you and belittling your quite stellar accomplishment. Forget him. Try to add a little more activity every day and before you know it, you'll be walking and moving with less pain (and less effort). Losing weight does wonders for your mobility. Keep the faith. With daily practice, you will soon get to the point where you can move without drama.

I'm so sorry to hear about your husband's diagnosis. I can't imagine how hard it must be to face such a serious illness. I hope all the prayers and good wishes that I, and many others on this site are sending you lift you up at least a little bit and help you stay hopeful.

I have a lot of empathy for the people who haven't quite internalized the fact that in order to be successful, their lifestyles have to totally change. I was in their shoes early in the process. Even though I had read and researched and met with a nutritionist, I still, in the back of my head, thought I could keep doing things my way. It wasn't that I didn't have the facts. It just took me a while to accept them. So my head doesn't explode when I read those kinds of posts. I believe that these people can come to terms with their new way of life and be successful, especially when we, who understand what they are feeling, give them the benefit of our experience.

When I go out to eat I have no emotional response or judgement about what others eat. While the thread wasn't really targeted at anyone and certainly was not overly harsh...over the years I have read so many posts of the newly thin being disgusted by big eaters and obesity....so my comment isnt really about THIS thread just a cumulative response to the general topic of "oh my I can't believe how much OTHER people eat" now that I have been "saved" by LES.
I think a country western song sums it up for me...I have enough going on to keep my own house in order...
"Biscuits"
Taking down your neighbor won't take you any higher
I burned my own damn finger pokin' someone else's fire
I've never gotten taller makin' someone else feel small
If you ain't got nothin' nice to say don't say nothin' at all
Just hoe your own row and raise your own babies
Smoke your own smoke and grow your own daisies
Mend your own fences and own your own crazy
Mind your own biscuits and life will be gravy
Mind your own biscuits and life will be gravy
Nobody's perfect, we've all lost and we've all lied
Most of us have cheated, the rest of us have tried
The holiest of holies even slip from time to time
We've all got dirty laundry hangin' on the line
So hoe your own row and raise your own babies
Smoke your own smoke and grow your own daisies
Mend your own fences and own your own crazy
Mind your own biscuits and life will be gravy
Mind your own biscuits and life will be gravy
Pourin' salt in my sugar won't make yours any sweeter
Pissin' in my yard ain't gonna make yours any greener
And I wouldn't know about the rocks in your shoes
So I'll just do me and honey you can just do you
So hoe your own row and raise your own babies
Smoke your own smoke and grow your own daisies
Mend your own fences and own your own crazy
Mind your own biscuits and life will be gravy
Mind your own biscuits and life will be gravy

I don't know if this qualifies as an NSV, but I ate popcorn last weekend and did not try to overeat it, nor did it lead me to start craving other slider foods. (Popcorn is one of the foods that I abused most often when I was obese.) I think if I keep dangerous treats to a minimum, I can learn to eat them occasionally and responsibly.

@@MichiganChic Thanks for the feedback. Yup going back to my Stage III diet plan and going to see the nutritionist and tweak my eating which is all I can do at this point. I'm done stressing about goals as apparently my expectations were too high. I've gotten it out, said my piece and am going focus more high Protein and make the necessary adjustments, where the scales lands is where it lands. I'm done agonizing over this.

I am glad you want to move forward. Accept where you are and do that. It is what it is, and being pissed and feeling like you got a raw deal just won't change it. What that will do is make it HARDER than it already is. Remember, you are preaching to the choir here. We ALL got the same raw deal.
Anyone who had WLS knows how hard it is to lose weight. We all know what it's like to be in your shoes. We really do. I am still so shocked that I need to eat 800-900 calories a day to lose, yet others here post the exact same thing. It's our lot in life. Some of us lose super slow even doing that. It explains how we got so fat. It's damn hard work, and it's never ending.
I totally get that you want it to happen quickly. We all did. And it was not quick enough for most of us. I always thought it would be easier to stay on track as a thin person. Imagine my surprise to learn that it is not!
You are among friends here. We do hear you, and want you to hear us.

What a boob.... Here, give him this article to read - I especially liek the part where Doctors are giving BAD advice.
http://www.thelancet.com/journals/landia/article/PIIS2213-8587%2815%2900009-1/abstract
And secondly... get a new GI doc. I have a GREAT one.

I would have said something like.....you mean like the other 10 times I have lost 60 pounds by myself and gained it back?
At least this gives me a fighting chance and by the way...thanks for your support.

I have a lot of empathy for the people who haven't quite internalized the fact that in order to be successful, their lifestyles have to totally change. I was in their shoes early in the process. Even though I had read and researched and met with a nutritionist, I still, in the back of my head, thought I could keep doing things my way. It wasn't that I didn't have the facts. It just took me a while to accept them. So my head doesn't explode when I read those kinds of posts. I believe that these people can come to terms with their new way of life and be successful, especially when we, who understand what they are feeling, give them the benefit of our experience.

We are all so different. I appreciate the taste of beef much more than I did before. Now, in maintenance, I occasionally enjoy "Protein style*" burgers from In and Out. Especially when I get them with lots of pickles. *At In and Out Burger, Protein style means wrapped in lettuce, no bun.

I have a lot of empathy for the people who haven't quite internalized the fact that in order to be successful, their lifestyles have to totally change. I was in their shoes early in the process. Even though I had read and researched and met with a nutritionist, I still, in the back of my head, thought I could keep doing things my way. It wasn't that I didn't have the facts. It just took me a while to accept them. So my head doesn't explode when I read those kinds of posts. I believe that these people can come to terms with their new way of life and be successful, especially when we, who understand what they are feeling, give them the benefit of our experience.

I have a lot of empathy for the people who haven't quite internalized the fact that in order to be successful, their lifestyles have to totally change. I was in their shoes early in the process. Even though I had read and researched and met with a nutritionist, I still, in the back of my head, thought I could keep doing things my way. It wasn't that I didn't have the facts. It just took me a while to accept them. So my head doesn't explode when I read those kinds of posts. I believe that these people can come to terms with their new way of life and be successful, especially when we, who understand what they are feeling, give them the benefit of our experience.

I have come to believe that tracking is the real key to long term success. The people who track are able to spot problems and patterns right away and adjust accordingly. If you don't know what you've been doing, you can't easily correct it. In the past, I would put my head in the sand and just hope for the magic fairies to take care of everything for me. That didn't work so well.

I have come to believe that tracking is the real key to long term success. The people who track are able to spot problems and patterns right away and adjust accordingly. If you don't know what you've been doing, you can't easily correct it. In the past, I would put my head in the sand and just hope for the magic fairies to take care of everything for me. That didn't work so well.

Hmm. I don't really know because I keep my meat/fish servings at 3-4 ozs. I could probably fit a bit more, but I like my vegetables too much. I'd much rather have veggies than more meat.
The problem with the way I'm doing things is that I'm still (at just over one year out from surgery) relying on Protein shakes/bars to make my quota every day. I should try eating a bit more dense Protein at a sitting and see how I feel.

Final weight: 107. I've gone too low, but I think I've finally hit the bottom. On the next challenge, I'll work on adding a few more healthy calories without going overboard.

I have added more fruit into my diet and eat about 150 calories more per day, but my weight is still dropping slowly. I am now at the very low end of normal and have been told by my doctor to stop losing. You'd think that would be easy. I have dieted and regained so much in the past and I have vowed that this time I would maintain my weight loss, so I am trying to remain careful about adding foods. I don't want to get back into the habit of eating without thinking, but I don't want to end up with a BMI of less than 19! I hope I can get this figured out.