This occured to me this weekend. I don't know why. But at 311 pounds I am feeling so much better than at 345. I hav a lot less pain, I think my feet are shrinking, I am much less tired, my skin is better, etc. But if you had asked me about all these things the last time I weighed 311, my answers woul dhave been different. I would have talked about how miserable I was and how much pain I was in and how my feet were expanding.

I weighed the same then as I do now, but why do I feel so much better? I think it has to do something with begin on the way down and not on the way up. Body chemicals are different somehow and the exercise has helped a lot.

It's a dumb thought...

not a dumb thought at all. i was just thinking the same thing. i am now back down to where i was 4 months ago and i was thinking how self perception is everything. 4 months ago i couldn't believe i was this big, was going up in sizes, and feeling miserable. fast forward... i have never been so pleased to weigh 210!! crazy but true. i think your right we know the difference of when were on our way up and when were on our way down.

That's not a dumb thought at all - I was desperate when I hit this weight on the way up. It was the fattest I have ever been. But now it's far from the fattest I've ever been and I feel sooooooo much better in every way than I did just prior to being banded.

It does help to remember that I'm still fat though, lol, I have a tendency now to wear smaller clothes and I'm sure I dont look as good as I think I do.

I would guess that the change in your diet is helping you feel a lot better. The absence of sugars and flours really do help the body function better.

Plus, going down always feels better than going up.

its not a dumb thought at all, you were use to the pain of being heavier then 311 so now that 311 feels pretty good, just wait until your down to 250 then 200 and then...onederland!

When I get down to a "safe" weight, I need to have a total knee replacement. My orthopedic surgeon told me that for each pound of weight lost there is a 3 pound reduction of pressure on weight bearing joints (hips, knees, etc) so with every pound lost, you WILL feel better.

Wow - that is so true with joints. My fingers used to hurt so much all the time and my hips would kill me! I was also starting to have knee problems which is one reason I was so alarmed at my weight. Now things are much better. I also have less extra fluid hanging around which really helped with my pain, too.

You know what the other thing is. Thinner is thinner. We are all used to lugging around our big bodies and whether you weigh 350 and go to 300 or you weigh 120 and go to 70 -- 50 pounds gone....right? I think it's the relative difference that we feel. I know what everyone is talking about though. I am now at the weight where I said I would do something "drastic" if I passed it (ie bypass or stop eating). In other workds it was the ULTIMATE worst weight I would allow. Now I feel like a million bucks at this weight! I'm even proud of it and announce it on line! Totally bizarre!