Banded April 25, 2011

Starting weight: 250lbs.

Current weight: 175lbs. Down 75lbs.

Although I have lost 75lbs. and I def am in smaller clothes, I dont ever really feel like I look "thin." Don't get me wrong, I know I have lost alot and I def look like I have but people say I look skinny skinny and believe me I dont. I guess this is the mental block some bansters go through. I currently weigh 175.. my personal goal would be 150. I tell people I have about 25-30 to go and they look and tell me I am crazy.... should I listen to them and stop and just maintain or should I keep going and actually be the skinny person I have never been?? My husband said I shouldnt lose anymore and just focus on toning up. We workout hardcore so I am very athletic built. I am just confused what I should do.

It's so hard to get our heads to see an accurate picture of our own bodies. For me it was the opposite - I never really understood just how fat I was until I started losing and then saw photos of myself. Now I can match my long held image of myself with clothes that fit a person of that size!

Should you stop losing? Really, that is a personal decision. I am aiming to get under 100kg and then let my body decide where it is most comfortable and healthy. I don't think I can ever be the 70kg that BMI charts recommend for a woman of my height. I think I will be most comfortable, and therefore most able to maintain, somewhere in the high 80s.

Meantime, enjoy those compliments. You've earned them!

I think you look great! Seeing your weightloss really inspires me, and encourages me that getting banded this week is the right thing to do. I think that you should do what you want to do! If you are being healthy and working out, then keep on losing! What ever makes you feel good Great job so far and thats for being an inspiration!

I say keep losing until YOU are happy, that is what counts. About 10 years ago I went on weight watchers and in total lost about 30 pounds (at that time, that was all I needed to lose)...once I had gotten down 15 pounds people told me I didn't need to lose weight, and why was I dieting? I told them because I am trying to get to my goal weight. You have to get to where you can be happy, all the people in the world can tell you how wonderful you look and how skinny you are, but until you reach your goal...I say keep going! BTW congratulations!

Side Note-Dieting is a way of life, 10 years later and I found myself 113 pounds heavier than I was at my "goal weight." This time I will get it off, and keep it off.

Banded April 25, 2011

Starting weight: 250lbs.

Current weight: 175lbs. Down 75lbs.

Although I have lost 75lbs. and I def am in smaller clothes, I dont ever really feel like I look "thin." Don't get me wrong, I know I have lost alot and I def look like I have but people say I look skinny skinny and believe me I dont. I guess this is the mental block some bansters go through. I currently weigh 175.. my personal goal would be 150. I tell people I have about 25-30 to go and they look and tell me I am crazy.... should I listen to them and stop and just maintain or should I keep going and actually be the skinny person I have never been?? My husband said I shouldnt lose anymore and just focus on toning up. We workout hardcore so I am very athletic built. I am just confused what I should do.

I understand exactly how you feel. With exercise I made it down to 167, I knew I felt good and clothes were smaller but my brain still thought I was heavy. I gained it back and now here I am 254 lbs and I getting the lapband. I do love to workout, with diet and working out I would lose 2-3 a week but couldn't keep it off if I stopped dieting and excerising. I am hoping that with this tool I will be able to get rid of it once and for all. I am hoping that I am as successful as you are. My goal is to be 135-140lbs. I am 2 inches shorter then you. 25 more pounds is not going to make you sickly thin...you are going to look amazing. In fact I bet the "recommended" weight for your height is less than 150lbs. Just keep in mind you are losing so rapidly but eventually your brain will follow suit and you will realize how greatly perfect you are and look. CONGRATS & THANKS for the inspiration!

These people have never seen you thin, so they have no imagination and can't vision it. I tell people that my excess weight is evenly distributed over my 5'7" bOdy and that's why I don't look like I still have 25 to 30 pounds to go. If you stop now and regret it later, it will be a lot harder to get started losing again. Follow your heart and have the body you want.

1Thank you all so much. My doctor said at the beginning that I should be 130-135lbs considering my height.. I have never been that weight before so why not try and get there right? My last appointment he asked me where I thought I would be happy, I told him 150. He said that I would be good at 150.. my thinking is the same as you guys.. people only know me as a heavier person.. so I want to try and lose as much as I can to fit nicely in a size 8. right now I am in a 12. Thank you all again and good luck with your journeys! I know this was the best choice for me and I absolutely love my lap band!

Definitely will be nice to wear a single digit size!!!

I am still no banded...did you find fairly easy to lose the weight? Also was it mentally hard for you to not be able to eat certain things? Just wondering...

I have my days with the band, I love it but sometimes I would really love to eat something I def can not eat since being banded. I have had 3 fills and I think I am where I need to be. It is hard to not want to eat certain things especially after eating whatever I wanted before. My. new favorite quote, "Eat to live, not live to eat." So very true. I still struggle when it comes to how fast to eat or smaller bites, sometimes it is hard but I pay for it and it makes me sick to my stomach. I am still learning and I hear it takes time. I believe temptation will always linger there for me cuz I have always loved food, I am getting there and getting a stronger will power than I ever thought possible. I did find it fairly easy to lose having the band. I workout like a crazy person doing kettlebells and crossfit. I did notice that the weeks i consumed more protein, mostly shakes, the more weight that week I would lose.

Don't let anyone tell you how much you should or should not lose. That is entirely up to you. You are the one who has to live in that body and it should be exactly what YOU think it should be. You'll know when you get there. I've had people telling me for a long time that I'm getting too skinny. I think they're all either nuts or jealous. I'm still 174 pounds, size 12 with BMI over 25. Even my surgeon said that I looked good and didn't need to lose any more. That was 20 pounds ago. I still want to lose another 15 or so. And I will!!

How soon could you start working out after the surgery?

I can tell you from experience that getting below " obese" is wonderful and people will say you're thin and dont need to lose anymore. But going the whole way makes you realise how much better you can look and feel - beyond your wildest dreams. It can be hard to see where it will come from, but it is there and you will love your beautifuk bones (yes, some of them are actually meant to show!) and the muscle tone you didnt even know you had. You cant tone fat, it will lways hide your muscle! Go the whole way. Your pic looks great and we are all different but at five foot ten i was pretty flabby and just plain large at 175, i much prefer how i look and feel and how i can truly wear anything (without strangling it all in spanx) at 140

I would like to avoid further surgery so I am going to workout like crazy and hopefully tone my muscle to avoid skin issues later.

Last year I was able to lose 40 lbs in 2-3 months with just working out, medifast, lots of sacrifice & hard work. But I gained it all back I have lost more in the past and with the working out, my skin was still ok but I never reached my lowest goal. I am hoping that with the band, diet and exercise I will lose fairly quickly. I just want to make it to my goal and stay there for good If you don't mind sharing, how is your skin? I intend on working out but after gaining and losing a few times and 2 kids I am worried that I will be sagging everywhere. Do you find that the working out is helping? Thanks!

I have my days with the band, I love it but sometimes I would really love to eat something I def can not eat since being banded. I have had 3 fills and I think I am where I need to be. It is hard to not want to eat certain things especially after eating whatever I wanted before. My. new favorite quote, "Eat to live, not live to eat." So very true. I still struggle when it comes to how fast to eat or smaller bites, sometimes it is hard but I pay for it and it makes me sick to my stomach. I am still learning and I hear it takes time. I believe temptation will always linger there for me cuz I have always loved food, I am getting there and getting a stronger will power than I ever thought possible. I did find it fairly easy to lose having the band. I workout like a crazy person doing kettlebells and crossfit. I did notice that the weeks i consumed more Protein, mostly shakes, the more weight that week I would lose.

I think that is just most people's reaction to someone who has lost a lot of weight. I spent time with extended family last weekend, and they were very excited about how much I had lost and how "skinny" I am. I was still the biggest person in the room.

At my height, I have to get to 155 pounds just to have a "normal" BMI. So that is my goal. After all we've been through, why wouldn't we want to get to a normal, healthy weight? Maybe you should just smile, say "thanks", and keep doing what you are doing.

I agree that you should do what YOU want. There will always be naysayers and other people will always offer their unsolictited opinions, but in the end, they are just that, opinions, and should not affect your desires for yourself. Congrats on the weight loss and yes, although you do look great now, just think about how it will feel to be in what is considered normal bmi! That is my goal no matter what anyone says to me.

I know what you are talking about. I lost the weight and I do see it, but I don't. So, I can't band my Brain ya no ? So I am going with the numbers I see in the size of cloths, the NSV's that happen through my journey, (LIKE TODAY WAS THE FIRST TIME I CROSSED MY LEGS IN YEARS !) Giving my cloths to someone else that needs them as I lose weight, looking forward to onderland, and every now and then, a glance in a Full Length Mirror, and I find myself saying Dam Shirley, your starting to look better. That's the critic in me, never good enough for me, So I still keep working on this for life.

Someday I might look in the Mirror, and see that skinny person, but I guess I will just keep working at it, and have to wait and see.

So don't let it get you down, cause your not alone at all.

Shirley.