I have reached a major goal and have to share. The scale read 169 lbs yesterday. My surgery was on April 13, amost 8 months ago. That's 71 lbs LOST!!!!! I feel younger and even sexy, now! (Sexy as a grandmother CAN feel!) I'm wearing size 14/16; used to wear 3x. Yeah, I have some saggy skin, but it's not that bad. It seems to be getting tighter and I'm sure exercise helps.

My health has been great. I was one of the lucky ones with no real problems with the gastric sleeve surgery. I feel more confident and love being able to shop for clothes that still look like they'd NEVER fit me...but DO! My mental image of myself has not caught up with my new body size. I'm still amazed when I catch my reflection in a mirror, or feel my rib or hip bones! I'm physically able to do work as hard as I did 15 years ago. My lower back hasn't gone out since surgery, I'm off my CPAP machine, and I sleep better at night.

I do happy dances all the time now! I'm within 30 lbs of being at a weight that I think will be ideal for me. 30 lbs!!!!!! That seems like child's play to lose now! And I know I can keep it off. The greatest benefit for me has been the utter lack of hunger pangs. I do have to deal with "appetite", but I put effort into curbing that and try to exercise to counter the bad calories I do eat.

Anyway, fellow sleevers, LIFE IS GOOD!

Hi Breezy, you are doing amazing!!! I haven't been on lately, have been enjoying those grands. I seem to be holding steady with a 65 lb loss but I'm in a size 12 and hubby says I look great. I am so glad I had the sleeve! Hope you keep doing your happy dances..hugs!

Thanks! I miss the old format. I didn't even see your reply until today. Probably need to check my options (which I just found last week!). The grandchildren are another plus to this weight loss. I have more "lap" that they can sit on, I can run with them and get down on the floor easier; I can get UP off the floor easier , and I'm not entirely exhausted when they go home!!!! I'm teaching them to find their own personal happy dances, too.

I think when I'm a size 12 I'll be pretty close to where I need to be.

Thanks for the hugs!

Hey Breezy! Congratulations on being so close to goal! It's funny how it seems to take a while for us to get to goal as the pounds come off but when you periodically look back every couple of months or so, you realize that you're constantly progressing toward goal. It's been an interesting journey. I've been a little complacent lately and need to kick it back into gear. But my sleeve isn't letting me get too out of hand, thank goodness. This little caveat totally validates me getting this done in the first place. I NEED the help.

I'm looking forward to getting within 30 pounds of goal. I can hear the excitement in your voice when reading about you getting close to goal and it's encouraging to those of us who have a little further to go. Keep up the great work!

Hi Mary! I know what you mean. I was never impatient or discouraged with my weight loss because it was steadily downhill. I'm one of the ones that weigh every morning without a stitch on. I got used to the little fluctuations of a pound up, then down. I would focus on the lowest weight I reached, exercised, ate right, and watched the scale until I maintained that weight for several days, then I would Celebrate that pound lost! I let myself get complacent when I broke the 70 lbs lost goal, but now I'm ready to reach for 80 lbs lost.

My daughter-in-law mentioned to me yesterday that she noticed that I've made a mental change....I no longer focus on food as a "main activity". That is totally the sleeve. I still love to taste dishes, but I'm satisfied with such tiny portions. I don't even miss being able to gorge. At least that's the way I think of it when I see other people eat "normal" portions. They look HUGE to me now and I find myself saying to myself, "Don't they realize how many calories is in all that?" How funny is that? It's also funny when I realize that my granddaughters eat more than I do!

breezy, I'm barely two months out and I'm noticing I do the same thing already when I look at someone else's plate while eating. I've been to a restaurant several times - and of course I can only barely eat a quarter (if that) of what they fill my plate. It hardly looks touched... then I look around and everyone is just eating so much!! I'm just amazed, because that used to be me. I'm very humbled.

Thanks for sharing, great job. Congrats.

I have reached a major goal and have to share. The scale read 169 lbs yesterday. My surgery was on April 13, amost 8 months ago. That's 71 lbs LOST!!!!! I feel younger and even sexy, now! (Sexy as a grandmother CAN feel!) I'm wearing size 14/16; used to wear 3x. Yeah, I have some saggy skin, but it's not that bad. It seems to be getting tighter and I'm sure exercise helps.

My health has been great. I was one of the lucky ones with no real problems with the gastric sleeve surgery. I feel more confident and love being able to shop for clothes that still look like they'd NEVER fit me...but DO! My mental image of myself has not caught up with my new body size. I'm still amazed when I catch my reflection in a mirror, or feel my rib or hip bones! I'm physically able to do work as hard as I did 15 years ago. My lower back hasn't gone out since surgery, I'm off my CPAP machine, and I sleep better at night.

Congratulations! You go girl, you will reach your goal soon.