As I near the end of my Weight Loss Journey...

[MINI-Me 196]

Thanks Mini! OK whew good to know.Today I went to the 6's and there was a tiny petite gal in the 4's it kinda blew my mind cuz I'm big boned and I was wearing my wedge shoes which puts me at about 5'9ish...I seriously felt like a giant walking towards her, I just do NOT belong in 4's LOL!..I really like the size I'm at. AND I do NOT want to end up in jrs. with the low rise type bottoms LOL! SO UNCOMFORTABLE plus I will have muffin tops for daaaaays LOL!

I so know what you mean about the Juniors. After having children and being obese, my body is no way made for junior clothes. Whoever thought I would be concerned about clothes being small enough for me in the Misses Section???

[Heatherr 149]

I am SOOOO VERY HAPPY for you! That is sooo awesome!

Weight is really just a number anyway. If you feel good, look good and like yourself! Who gives a rat's ass what that stupid scale says! I am proud of you for being able to say that you are happy with you regardless of that number! Don't ever let it define you!!

Hugs,

Kelly

^^^^This

[LilMissDiva Irene 3,281]

S, you know I'm already realizing I'm going to be one of the ones that will have a hard time stopping losing. I simply get very sick when eating any kind of junk food. I had some cake last night and have been nursing my sleeve ever since. I feel retchid!

I absolutely cannot eat things that would likely help keep me from continuing to lose weight. I'm looking at myself every single day and seeing bones I never knew existed. I'm even starting to admit I look skinny... I never ever thought that would happen!!

I at least wanted to try to slow it down but for some reason it seems like it's picking up steam. I've even slowed down on my workouts... that might be the only way to really stop the losses eventually. That actually breaks my heart!!! Most likely I'll have to give up the marathon cardio sessions and just start doing toning so I'm not looking too rail thin. It's ok, I'm sure we will all get used to the new us eventually.

I know it's mentioned here a million times that our bodies are just going to stop losing (VSG especially) when it's good and ready. I did know this prior to surgery by some posts but it didn't seem all too common. Now as I've been reading up more and been around longer it seems much more common than I'd originally noticed. I mean in the overall I guess that's not a bad thing really. I'm just going to become who I've always was meant to be.

[Tiffykins 672]

Hi Tiffykins,

This post actually scares me...I'm really really content with my size right now and do not want to lose anymore. I've already had to wash some of my 6's in hot Water and dry on high to shrink them, and it's worked.

So far, so good for me though (knock on wood). I bounce from 148 to 150 and back to 148 since hitting goal on May 25, 2010. Do you think I'm good as far as not losing anymore? Fingers crossed for now...

I honestly think my body wasn't happy at 150lbs. I'm only 5'2" tall so even at 125-130, I'm riding the mid to high range on the BMI scale, at my goal weight of 150lbs, I was still overweight. I fought hard to get into maintenance, I had to add foods that I had previously avoided in my strict losing phase. I also went through gallbladder surgery right in the middle of getting into maintenance which in turn forced me to cut out full fat foods such as avocados, Peanut Butter, nuts, full fat salad dressings etc etc. So, I honestly believe that led to me dropping pounds. BUT, the biggest change was my body composition and inches lost.

At 150lbs, I was wearing a size 8/9(some 7s, or 6s), boobs were a solid 34/36C , at 125lbs I wear a size 2 and wear a tiny 32B bra. So, fat redistributed, skin rebounded, I even can wear a size 0 from the Gap so things change in maintenance, skin rebounds, skin changes, fat redistributes, and body composition continued to change for me. And, I was not working out. So, I was not doing anything to encourage losing.

I also want to add that I was perfectly 100% content at my goal weight. I did struggle at first with bouncing on the scale, but I had to accept it is what it is, and stop beating myself over it.

The changes I saw brought a lot of realization that I'm really happy that I waited on plastic surgery. Not only that, I knew that I would be getting pregnant so I kind of wanted the extra fat store and skin to get me through the pregnancy, and then worry about fixing the physical stuff I hate after delivery.

There's a few other maintainers on OH that struggled with maintenance, and then there are others that experiences mirror Mini's so it's very individualized.

Not to scare anyone either, but gaining weight is not all that hard with the sleeve. I had a gain over the holidays, was instructed to gain for conception purposes, and others have reported a gain(usually 10-15% of their total loss) at 2-4 years out. I kind of like having this "cushion" of being below goal so in the event I have a gain, I can fall back to losing regimen and get below goal again.

[M2G 1,836]

Wow, what an amazing place to be in...what a WONDERFUL amazing place to be! And to be done with the "diet" mentality is so great.

There is a whole lot of this journey that involves listening to our 'inner' voice and trusting ourselves. It is a huge leap of faith because even having surgery does NOT guarantee that we will lose our weight OR keep it off. There is no absolutes when it comes to this. We are very much in the drivers seat, and yes we are blessed to have a forever tool (I love that, FOREVER TOOL) because our stomachs are permanently smaller, but the decisions every bite, every day are what affect our outcome. And we also need to listen to that inner voice when it comes to our body image, BMI charts be damned. You know how you feel on a daily basis, the BMI chart is a "guideline" and is not a one size fits all deal.

I say all of this because I know you have used your tool wisely to get where you are and I know you will continue to do so in maintenance!

Congratulations, this is indeed the right place to post about this part of your journey. :bounce:

[Tiffykins 672]

S, you know I'm already realizing I'm going to be one of the ones that will have a hard time stopping losing. I simply get very sick when eating any kind of junk food. I had some cake last night and have been nursing my sleeve ever since. I feel retchid!

I absolutely cannot eat things that would likely help keep me from continuing to lose weight. I'm looking at myself every single day and seeing bones I never knew existed. I'm even starting to admit I look skinny... I never ever thought that would happen!!

I at least wanted to try to slow it down but for some reason it seems like it's picking up steam. I've even slowed down on my workouts... that might be the only way to really stop the losses eventually. That actually breaks my heart!!! Most likely I'll have to give up the marathon cardio sessions and just start doing toning so I'm not looking too rail thin. It's ok, I'm sure we will all get used to the new us eventually.

I know it's mentioned here a million times that our bodies are just going to stop losing (VSG especially) when it's good and ready. I did know this prior to surgery by some posts but it didn't seem all too common. Now as I've been reading up more and been around longer it seems much more common than I'd originally noticed. I mean in the overall I guess that's not a bad thing really. I'm just going to become who I've always was meant to be.

I had to add 100% juice for added calories, and completely stop cardio, and my body did the same thing. I was adding calories and still dropping weight and inches. It's very frustrating, and others have accused me of "bragging" and being a "b*tch" because I fell below goal, and that losing was "easy". Hell it was easy, too easy to lose weight, but you know what really hurts is when you see bones protruding from your skin without hunching over, or when veins are showing through your skin and people area genuinely concerned because you're still losing weight. There was nothing fun about force feeding myself chunks of avocados, or eating heaping spoonfuls of Peanut Butter to get my losing stop. That is NOT fun, nor is it what I thought it was going to be like in maintenance. I had "friends" calling me names like "bobble head minnie", or "broomstick betty" because I was "too thin". I also got the lovely chronically inflamed tailbone, skin tissues on my tailbone, and being labeled as underweight and being accused of having an eating disorder is very disheartening, and no one knows that battle until they've been there.

It is NOT FUN, it is not easy, and it's very draining mentally. There is no way to say it, there is no way to explain it until you go through it, and then it's just overwhelming.

[Sarah E. S. 6]

SO happy for you! I can't wait til I'm there as well!! You are such an inspiration!! <3 <3 <3

[LilMissDiva Irene 3,281]

I had to add 100% juice for added calories, and completely stop cardio, and my body did the same thing. I was adding calories and still dropping weight and inches. It's very frustrating, and others have accused me of "bragging" and being a "b*tch" because I fell below goal, and that losing was "easy". Hell it was easy, too easy to lose weight, but you know what really hurts is when you see bones protruding from your skin without hunching over, or when veins are showing through your skin and people area genuinely concerned because you're still losing weight. There was nothing fun about force feeding myself chunks of avocados, or eating heaping spoonfuls of Peanut Butter to get my losing stop. That is NOT fun, nor is it what I thought it was going to be like in maintenance. I had "friends" calling me names like "bobble head minnie", or "broomstick betty" because I was "too thin". I also got the lovely chronically inflamed tailbone, skin tissues on my tailbone, and being labeled as underweight and being accused of having an eating disorder is very disheartening, and no one knows that battle until they've been there.

It is NOT FUN, it is not easy, and it's very draining mentally. There is no way to say it, there is no way to explain it until you go through it, and then it's just overwhelming.

Thank you! And I'm just beginning... Yes, I'm already starting to get the comments. Sometimes I take it with a grain of salt, sometimes I think about them later and it does bother me. I've also been having the sensitive tailbone issue for a little while now. Oh yes and the peanut butter... OMG!! I do like it, but to actually HAVE TO EAT IT just so I don't lose weight?? Well that just takes all the fun out of it. I really don't care for Avo's so I'm good with that. I will add in some fruit juices, so thanks for the tip! I'm starting to find out I'm very limited on what I can and can't eat. So all suggestions are welcomed! Thanks so much that you are here to lend some!!!

I also realize that yes, I'm seriously going to have to tone down the workouts. I'm down to 4X per week now and I can still see the inches are melting off A LOT!!! I just dumped all my 14's because they got ridiculously big on me and only 2 weeks later I'm going to have to do the same to my 12's. I was wearing a pair on the 4th and my cousin told me I really need smaller pants because the ones I had on were way too big... I guess my 10's will be out the door soon too, so I've held off on any shopping recently. The smaller sizes seem to last much less time than the bigger ones.

You did have an excellent point though in your reply to S... no matter where I end up at least I'll have some wiggle room. That does make me feel somewhat better!!

[Lakelady 2]

What a great post! And am I seeing correctly that you lost 140 lbs in 10 months!? Absolutely incredible. I predict you will keep loosing at a slow rate even with carbs because you know not to suck down sliders and you know not to stop moving. I'm really impressed that you can be an inch taller than me and wear the same size clothes! At that weight I was busting out of 16s!

[LilMissDiva Irene 3,281]

What a great post! And am I seeing correctly that you lost 140 lbs in 10 months!? Absolutely incredible. I predict you will keep loosing at a slow rate even with carbs because you know not to suck down sliders and you know not to stop moving. I'm really impressed that you can be an inch taller than me and wear the same size clothes! At that weight I was busting out of 16s!

No I lost the first 50 pre op, but regardless I don't think I did too bad.

[NJMOMof2 17]

You are very muscular and toned because you wear that same sizes as me and I am 162 pounds. All that exercise has paid off. You have a lot to be proud of Irene!

I originally had my goal weight at 140, and I upped it to 150. I have 12 more pounds to go, and it is sure true what they last about the last 20. It's been tough. I only lose weight if I get the the gym!!

You look fab!

Nina

[MRSKOUBiK 27]

You go girl!

You're such an inspiration.

[sleeve 4 me 910]

I honestly think my body wasn't happy at 150lbs. I'm only 5'2" tall so even at 125-130, I'm riding the mid to high range on the BMI scale, at my goal weight of 150lbs, I was still overweight. I fought hard to get into maintenance, I had to add foods that I had previously avoided in my strict losing phase. I also went through gallbladder surgery right in the middle of getting into maintenance which in turn forced me to cut out full fat foods such as avocados, Peanut Butter, nuts, full fat salad dressings etc etc. So, I honestly believe that led to me dropping pounds. BUT, the biggest change was my body composition and inches lost.

At 150lbs, I was wearing a size 8/9(some 7s, or 6s), boobs were a solid 34/36C , at 125lbs I wear a size 2 and wear a tiny 32B bra. So, fat redistributed, skin rebounded, I even can wear a size 0 from the Gap so things change in maintenance, skin rebounds, skin changes, fat redistributes, and body composition continued to change for me. And, I was not working out. So, I was not doing anything to encourage losing.

I also want to add that I was perfectly 100% content at my goal weight. I did struggle at first with bouncing on the scale, but I had to accept it is what it is, and stop beating myself over it.

The changes I saw brought a lot of realization that I'm really happy that I waited on plastic surgery. Not only that, I knew that I would be getting pregnant so I kind of wanted the extra fat store and skin to get me through the pregnancy, and then worry about fixing the physical stuff I hate after delivery.

There's a few other maintainers on OH that struggled with maintenance, and then there are others that experiences mirror Mini's so it's very individualized.

Not to scare anyone either, but gaining weight is not all that hard with the sleeve. I had a gain over the holidays, was instructed to gain for conception purposes, and others have reported a gain(usually 10-15% of their total loss) at 2-4 years out. I kind of like having this "cushion" of being below goal so in the event I have a gain, I can fall back to losing regimen and get below goal again.

Thanks Tiffykins! NO ONE understands until you've been there! Thanks for sharing! You are awesome!