WOW, VST family, I have been waiting a week to post! Last Tuesday, I got on the scale and was so excited to see 199 for the first time since grad school (more than 25 years ago). I couldn't post because the site was down--talk about your frustrating moments. Then I had an out-of-state job that included a lot of physical exercise and a fairly limited menu--I ate very little for four days and had long working days (I'm a musician, and this was a conducting gig that involved many hours of rehearsal a day for a couple of days).

Imagine my surprise and JOY to jump on the scale this morning and see 196!!!! I thought my losing was kind of over; last month, I had slowed to a 5-pound loss in that month, and I was sort of expecting that maybe this month I'd lose 3 or 4, but nope--with the combination of seriously increased exercise and limited food intake, I am in Onderland and only 1 pound away from achieving a normal BMI for my height (which is 6'2").

So now, I have lost 110 pounds in 9 months and I am THRILLED. I've got 1 pound to go to get to "normal," and 6 pounds until GOAL, which I AM going to achieve soon.

YAY SLEEVIE!!!!!!!

Thanks, everyone! I still have more to go--just going to take it one step at a time!

Congratulations. What a wonderful feeling.

Wow! That is so great!! Love to hear success stories!! Keep up the good work you're almost there.

MeginNOLA, I am so excited for you! I love seeing the posts that announce Onderland. Great job!

Yeah Yeah Yeah!!! That is wonderful. Great Job.

MeginNola,

That is fantastic! I know what it's like to see 100 ANYTHING having being fat for so very long. Girl, did you do your victory dance? It is a victory just to know that you are now officially on your way "down" to where you want to be!

I stay, step out of the shade...into the sun...and do your dance! You've earned it.

Yay!!! WTG!!!

Your goal is 190? How do you feel? I am 5'10" and 197 as of today I was thinking a goal of 160. I still see a lot of weight that could come off. Do you feel super thin or just right? Do you want to lose more than 190? 180 was the goal set by my Doctor, but I have been 182 and still could lose so I said 160. I am ok with anywhere between 160 and 180, but I do want to be thin thin (size 8 or lower) for once in my life. Because we are tall I believe our skin is slightly in a better position than a shorter person...how is yours. At 197 I can see that it is loose, but not deflated like I see in other pictures. I am still far from goal, but I can't see 40 more pounds really making that big of a difference when it comes to skin. Let me know Congrats! I haven't even started working out yet.

Hey June13sleever: My "goal" of 190 is kind of an arbitrary number selected by me because I remember being 190 at some point in my thinner past. :-) My surgeon didn't set a goal for me; my dietician's goal was 212, which would still have left me in the "overweight" category. My sleeve journey has been sort of different from others', I think, in that I don't actually actively try to lose--I mean, I don't feel like I'm dieting, I'm certainly not working out (which I'm in the process of changing)--I just sort of eat what my sleeve will tolerate, trying to follow the "Protein first" rule, take my Vitamins, and live life. So honestly, 190 is just a number, and I'm pretty sure I'll go lower than that, but I'm not doing anything special or trying to hurry to get there. At this point, I'm much smaller than I have been in 30 years (currently wearing loose size 14's, down from tight 26/28's).

So I'm not sure what my final, maintenance weight is going to be--right this second, I'm 1 pound away from a "normal" BMI for my height (6'2"). I feel pretty sure there's more weight that can come off--I can see it around my thighs and belly. I'm hopeful that starting an exercise program will help me get those areas more toned. I would like to wear size 10/12, which I think is possible/probable by summer--and I want to wear that size simply because of the clothing options it opens. :-) I don't really care what eventual weight I end up with or what size--I know I'm healthier and I'm going to live longer and have a better quality of life, even if I don't lose another pound or another inch from right now--so anything that goes away after this point is lagniappe, as we say around here--a little unexpected something extra.

My skin is okay. I'm 49, so it hasn't bounced back like a 20-year-old's, but my face/neck are okay. My upper thighs look like they have melted. My belly, eh, not my favorite, but not horrible; I'm not going to be wearing any bikinis, LOL. Underarms are sort of loose but not horrid--and I do a lot of upper body work for work, so I suspect those will tighten up as I go. Overall, can't complain, especially with clothes on. :-)

In my entire life...with the exception of the early years I have always worn a shirt or shorts when I went swimming. I do look back and think I wasn't that big so why did I feel so horrible about myself and my body. I guess my family and other school children played a part in my overall lack of self esteem. I was 180 in high school and my skin was fine so I really don't understand why I always wanted to cover up. I believe those moments as a child helped me to get even bigger as an adult. Wherever this journey takes me and whatever I need to do to feel like a swim suit model or at least happy in a one piece I am going to do. Then I want to go to a nasty public water park (oh the germs) and be ok with walking around without any sort of cover up - just sun screen I feel at that point I will free myself of all the years of self hatred. I just wasn't sure what you were seeing from a loose skin perspective as I have read on many plastic surgeon's blogs that in some cases they have to do lipo first before they even start the skin removal process. I feel just like you when it comes to the not really trying and I do really need to work on getting in shape. I have not worked out one bit! Baby steps I guess! Thanks for sharing with me. I like to hear from tall women because we don't go down in sizes like our shorter counterparts or at least as fast. I am somewhere between a 12 and 14 depending on the designer. I couldn't even fit in a 2x shirt from wal-mart. Sizes are so crazy!