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Are you happier now that you are thinner?



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http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rachel-ohuiginn/i-am-happier-heavier_b_4413458.html?ncid=edlinkusaolp00000009

Interesting perspective. My only observation is that I am not as anxious over gaining my weight back or about reaching goal, the LB has created a new "normal" for me.

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I am very happy that I am now off of my diabetic meds, high blood pressure and cholesterol too.. I am happy that I can wear normal clothes and shop with my girls without pooping out.. Happy that I can ride my horses and enjoy going out to dinner without panic setting in... I had the best Thanksgiving and Christmas I have had in many years.. did not worry or stress about how much weight I would gain and pretty much ate what I wanted .. Hope everyone is ready for another great year.

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http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rachel-ohuiginn/i-am-happier-heavier_b_4413458.html?ncid=edlinkusaolp00000009

Interesting perspective. My only observation is that I am not as anxious over gaining my weight back or about reaching goal, the LB has created a new "normal" for me.

Same here I have developed a new normal thanks to my band but as I get closer to goal I do worry about history repeating itself with my gaining the weight back. Although my band does not allow me to over eat like used when I was pre-op I do still think about it.

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I don't worry about gaining weight back, I worry if I will ever lose the 40-50 more that i would like. My doctor is thrilled with where I am now. I know the band will not let me get overweight again.

Not having to take so many prescriptions a day, DONE! with that part of my life is worth it.

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Happiness is something that your size does not dictate. I have been big I have been small I have been bigger and smaller still.

When I was young and at my thinnest I wasn't happy. Not with myself, my body or my life. I was a bit lost about what happiness was and what it meant to me. So I took some time in my life to figure it out and find out what it meant for ME to be happy.

As I got older and older still. I got heavier, and thinner and then heavier again. None of those sizes made me any happier then the size I was or was going to be. None of those things dictated what I would enjoy and what I would not enjoy.

Happiness is a subjective thing. Some of us go on a 12 hour flight and find that the seat is too tight, and we need a seat belt extender and we are miserable the entire time. I just ask for the extender right up front buckle up hunker down and get ready to deplane in Hawaii! I don't make the flight miserable. I don't think Oh I am so fat that going to the bathroom is going to be a feat. If I have to go I graciously say pardon me to the person next to me. Nature calls and I shuffle the side step to the lavatory and take care of business. SURE all those things are a little more pleasurable when you don't need to squeeze your frame into places that were not created to accommodate such a frame, but i never let it bring me down or rob me of my happiness.

Today I am happy. I was happy the day I got married at my heaviest weight ever! That was one of the happiest days of my life and I never weighed more then I did then, and today I am just as happy with my life and myself. I have chosen to have lapband surgery to make the quality of my life that much better. To be healthy as well as happy, and I can report that things are right on schedule in that department!

If your not happy today, give yourself some love and ask yourself why your not happy? What does true happiness mean to you?

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"Yes".

Measured in a variety of ways:

1) no longer being the biggest person in the room;

2) no longer being invisible to sales clerks;

3) no longer limited to shopping only at "Large and Fat Guy Store";

4) no longer having my knees/ankle/eyeballs explode if I have to tie my shoe;

There's a huge number of daily activities that I just couldn't do when I was 373/345/325 etc.

Just 'feeling good' now really is plenty to keep me happier than in my preOp days.

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http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rachel-ohuiginn/i-am-happier-heavier_b_4413458.html?ncid=edlinkusaolp00000009

Interesting perspective. My only observation is that I am not as anxious over gaining my weight back or about reaching goal, the LB has created a new "normal" for me.

I think being 'thinner' gives you a better self esteem and that in itself will make you happy. When you feel good about yourself and have a positive outlook on life that bring happiness....however -- being thin or having a lot of money does not automatically makes someone happy.....happiness comes from within regardless if we are obese or broke....

But being thin and having money surely helps put a smile on ones' face :D

Edited by NaNa

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The fact she did not allow herself to be photographed full body makes me doubt her "I'm totally happy with my weight" statement. Fat-acceptance subscribers are usually women still in their youthful years who have not yet felt the perfect storm of what obesity can do, and are not yet showing the markers of carrying all that extra weight: high blood pressure, high cholesterol, bad knees and ankles, aching back, PCOS, etc. It's easy to say "I love being fat" when your weight has not yet showed you what it can do to you.

I can't blame them for stopping the diet/binge cycle. Traditional dieting is doomed to failure, except in rare instances, and it is a dreary and depressing task to always be battling hunger and deprivation.

Thankfully I chose the lapband to help me do what I couldn't do by myself.

Am I happier at a lower weight today than I was last year at this time?

HELL YES. No question about it.

Happier, more mobile, certifiably healthier, wearing clothes I only dreamed I could wear a year ago, seeking ways to incorporate movement into each day, brave, fierce, self-confident and just all around in a good mood all the time.

I would not change places with that writer for a million bucks.

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I always been a happy person. When people ask me if I am happy about my weight loss I tell them it all about me being more healthier now.

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I've always been a happy person, but the band has given me even more confidence and I look and feel so much better that I can say "yes" I am happier now that I am thinner. Without a doubt.

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More I read that article the more it sounds to me like she is trying to convince herself that she is happy.

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I read the article. She's full of it. She's not happy being fat, no one is - if they are honest with themselves.

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    • LeighaTR

      I am new here today... and only two weeks out from my sleeve surgery on the 23rd. I am amazed I have kept my calories down to 467 today so far... that leaves me almost 750 left for dinner and maybe a snack. This is going to be tough for two weeks... but I have to believe I can do it!
      · 0 replies
      1. This update has no replies.
    • Doughgurl

      Hey everyone. I'm new here so I thought I should introduce myself. I am 53y/o and am scheduled for Gastric Bypass on June 25th, 2025. I'm located in San Antonio, Texas. I will be having my surgery in Tiajuana Mexico. I've wanted this for years, but I always had insurance where bariatric procedures were excluded. Finally I am able to afford to pay out of pocket.  I can't wait to get started, and I hope I'm prepared for the initial period of "hell". I know what I have signed up for, but I'm sure the good to come will out way the temporary period of discomfort and feelings of regret. I'd love to find people to talk to who have been through the same procedure or experience before. So I look forward to meeting you all. Hope you have a great week!
      · 2 replies
      1. Selina333

        I'm so happy for you! You are about to change your life. I was so glad to get the sleeve done in Dec. I didn't have feelings of regret overall. And I'm down almost 60 lbs. I do feel a little sad at restaurants. I can barely eat half a kid's meal. I get adults meals often because kid ones don't have the same offerings at times. Then I feel obligated to eat on that until it's gone and that can be days. So the restaurant thing isn't great for me. All the rest is fine by me! I love feeling full with very little. I do wish I could drink when eating. And will sip at the end. Just a strong habit to stop. But I'm working on it! You will do fine! Just keep focused on your desire to be different. Not better or worse. But different. I am happy both ways but my low back doesn't like me that heavy. So I listened (also my feet!). LOL! Update us on your journey! I'm not far from you. I'm in Houston. Good luck and I hope it all goes smoothly! Would love to see pics of the town you go to for this. I've never been there. Neat you will be traveling for this! Enjoy the journey. Take it one day at a time. Sometimes a few hours at a time. Follow all recommendations as best you can. 💗

      2. Doughgurl

        Thank you so much for your well wishes. I am hoping that everything goes easy for me as well. We don't eat out much as it is, so it wont be too bad in that department. Thankfully. Also, I hear you regarding your back and feet!! I'd like to add knees to the list. Killing me as we speak! I'm only 5' so the weight has to go. Too short to carry all this weight. Menopause really did a doosey on me. (😶lol) My daughter also lives in Houston. with her Husband and my 5 grand-littles. I grew up in Beaumont, so I know Houston well, I will be sure to keep in touch and update you on my journey. I may need some advice in the future, or just motivation. Thank You so much for reaching out, I was hoping to connect with someone in the community. I really appreciate it. 💜

    • Alisa_S

      On day 4 of the 2 week liquid pre-op diet. Surgery scheduled for June 11th.
      Soooo I am coming to a realization
      of something and I'm not sure what to do about it. For years the only thing I've enjoyed is eating. We rarely do anything or go anywhere and if we do it always includes food. Family comes over? Big family dinner! Go camping? Food! Take a short ride or trip? Food! Holiday? Food! Go out of town for a Dr appointment? Food! When we go to a new town we don't look for any attractions, we look for restaurants we haven't been to. Heck, I look forward to getting off work because that means it's almost supper time. Now that I'm drinking these pre-op shakes for breakfast, lunch, and supper I have nothing to look forward to.  And once I have surgery on June 11th it'll be more of the same shakes. Even after pureed stage, soft food stage, and finally regular food stage, it's going to be a drastic change for the rest of my life. I'm giving up the one thing that really brings me joy. Eating. How do you cope with that? What do you do to fill that void? Wow. Now I'm sad.
      · 1 reply
      1. LeighaTR

        I hope your surgery on Wednesday goes well. You will be able to do all sorts of new things as you find your new normal after surgery. I don't know this from experience yet, but I am seeing a lot of positive things from people who have had it done. Best of luck!

    • Alisa_S

      On day 4 of the 2 week liquid pre-op diet. Surgery scheduled for June 11th.
      Soooo I am coming to a realization
      of something and I'm not sure what to do about it. For years the only thing I've enjoyed is eating. We rarely do anything or go anywhere and if we do it always includes food. Family comes over? Big family dinner! Go camping? Food! Take a short ride or trip? Food! Holiday? Food! Go out of town for a Dr appointment? Food! When we go to a new town we don't look for any attractions, we look for restaurants we haven't been to. Heck, I look forward to getting off work because that means it's almost supper time. Now that I'm drinking these pre-op shakes for breakfast, lunch, and supper I have nothing to look forward to.  And once I have surgery on June 11th it'll be more of the same shakes. Even after pureed stage, soft food stage, and finally regular food stage, it's going to be a drastic change for the rest of my life. I'm giving up the one thing that really brings me joy. Eating. How do you cope with that? What do you do to fill that void? Wow. Now I'm sad.
      · 1 reply
      1. summerseeker

        Life as a big person had limited my life to what I knew I could manage to do each day. That was eat. I hadn't anything else to look forward to. So my eating choices were the best I could dream up. I planned the cooking in managable lots in my head and filled my day with and around it.

        Now I have a whole new big, bigger, biggest, best days ever. I am out there with those skinny people doing stuff i could never have dreamt of. Food is now an after thought. It doesn't consume my day. I still enjoy the good home cooked food but I eat smaller portions. I leave food on my plate when I am full. I can no longer hear my mother's voice saying eat it all up, ther are starving children in Africa who would want that!

        I still cook for family feasts, I love cooking. I still do holidays but I have changed from the All inclusive drinking and eating everything everyday kind to Self catering accommodation. This gives me the choice of cooking or eating out as I choose. I rarely drink anymore as I usually travel alone now and I feel I need to keep aware of my surroundings.

        I don't know at what point my life expanded, was it when I lost 100 pounds? Was it when I left my walking stick at home ? Was it when I said yes to an outing instead of finding an excuse to stay home ? i look back at my last five years and wonder how loosing weight has made such a difference. Be ready to amaze yourself.

        BTW, the liquid diet sucks, one more day and you are over the worst. You can do it.

    • CaseyP1011

      Officially here for a long time, not just a good time💪
      · 0 replies
      1. This update has no replies.
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