It's important to keep the eyes on the prize...that's what everyone says as you are struggling through liquids, eating food a baby may turn down, forgoing your coworkers bday cake, ignoring adult libations and gooey treats at parties...the list is endless but if you are in the losing stage you are sacrificing a lot to reach your goal.

So instead of focusing on what you are missing, giving up, losing out on..... I thought it would be fun to tell you what I have gained since getting to goal. If you are there or if you have something you cannot wait to do, see, experience once you get there ...Please feel free to add to my list...

I love wearing jeans... I love it better that they are a size 8....Who knew they are so comfy when they aren't digging into your skin?

I love that there is always a strong selection of smalls on the sale rack and in consignment stores

I love not having to eyeball a chair wondering if it will hold me

I love being in my queen size bed and realizing in fact we don't need a king like we once thought.

I love fitting in the bathtub comfortably

I love knowing I don't have to worry about who will sit next to me in a plane, train, bus... I am smaller enough....

I love not sweating when I put out the trash or walk up ten steps

I love not to have to worry if "this makes me look fat"

I love that I have not one but 2 pairs of whit capris and pants... Yup I said white..... Lol

I love that my BP is normal.

What do you or what do you think you will love about making it to goal?

well said and very well put

Yup, agreed, very well said!

Floridays, thank you so much for your post... I am having my surgery on Tuesday the 15th.. I have had sleepless nights lately trying to decide if this is the best thing for me.. reading negative posts and seeing the multitude of issues and problems people have had with their bands, I am still convinced that I have come to the right decision.. I want to walk to my mailbox and back (approx 1/2 mile one way) , I want to ride my horse again wtihout him giving me a dirty look..(lol),, I want to buy regular clothes and not all elastic waistands,,I want to have pockets in my pants again.. worrying about what will fit me has been a constant problem for years.. I buy more clothes trying to find something that might actually look good on me.. the list is long.. however the most important thing I have to do is get my health back .. I don't want to die from a diabetes related illness, possibly lose my eyesight, legs or have heart failure, kidney failure, etc. I have grandchildren that I want to attend their graduations, weddings and birth of my great grandchildren.. so I will eat baby food,, or whatever I have to but I am going to do whatever it takes to get to my goal....I am 66 and have some good years ahead if I do this now....

This is a great post, I want to be able to walk without pain, walk more and buy clothes a the regular size stores....lol

I cannot wait to be able to wear pretty shoes. The ones that are not wide or stretched out from the swelling of my feet throughout the day. Right now I carry an extra pair of wide shoes for the afternoon as by 3 pm I can no longer feel my toes.

I can't wait to be considered for projects at work and not overlooked due to some people not being comfortable traveling with "the big girl". Yes I know this is discrimination, but hard to prove unless caught on audio or video.

I can't wait for my father to stop saying how thin and pretty I used to be every time we talk on the phone or he comes to visit.

Above all I cannot wait to be healthy in my old age and being an active participant in the lives of my children and grandchildren. I love my life and I just want to live it.

Healthy!!!! To walk into the gym...husband was getting a drink and when he saw me across the gym I was at a board, he thought I was a trainer lol!!!! That made me feel good. To walk into a regular size clothing store is heaven! To not wear wide shoes anymore, to be able to move freely in a bath tub, to be confident when a man looks at you in acknowledgement you exist, blood pressure down, muscle tone more defined, I climb stairs to get healthier, I can do many loads of laundry without huffing and puffing. I am happier and getting just pounds to goal. Bandsters it can be done!!!!

What I've already gained is energy. Having lost about 34 lbs in total and having no sugar or caffeine in my system I feel "leveled off". I sleep better and have more energy in general.

Range of motion - I was having issues just reaching around my back or bending down to put on socks or shoes...not anymore!

Not constantly obsessing over food because I'm just not that hungry.

Getting back into some of the clothes I haven't fit into for a year.

Compliments - although I haven't lost a ton what I did lose is noticeable...apparently because people have remarked that I'm looking good.

Confidence - I'm already standing taller and feeling so much better about myself. I didn't have low self esteem but I wasn't happy with how much I weighed and I carried myself that way.

So many wonderful things to come too!