I saw my surgeon today for a routine visit & weigh-in. I went in expecting to still be above my goal but, much to my surprise, I weighed in at 154 lbs! My goal when I started this journey was to reach 155 lbs, putting me at a normal weight for my height and a normal BMI. I was shocked to realize that I met that goal TODAY!!! Needless to say, I'm ecstatic! Now that I'm there, I've decided I still have a little bit more that I want to lose(not much, maybe 5 or 10 lbs) but I'm still celebrating this HUGE milestone in my journey as I can now say that I am no longer overweight, much less morbidly obese!!! Wow!!!! I thought this day would NEVER come and now, 8 months post-op, here I am!

Can you share your B & A photos and what inspired you? What hurdles you had in your journey?

I am scheduled in late October 2014 for my sleeve. Stories like yours are so wonderful and meaningful!

I haven't done before/after pics yet. I'm having a difficult time finding any from before. I am the master of avoiding the camera. Actually, that's not true. The camera is always in MY hands and has been for years so there are plenty of pics of everyone except me, which is how I've always wanted it. I will do my best to dig some up and post them soon though.

Hurdles. Wow. Well, I guess if I start from the beginning of my journey to where I am now, the first hurdle was just getting the time off work to have surgery. I had everything scheduled, completed my liquid diet and then received a phone call from my employer the day before my scheduled surgery date telling me that my FMLA had been denied. Long story but I ended up having to reschedule my surgery for 5 wks later which meant I had to go through that whole liquid diet thing all over again. I am proud to say that I now laugh in the face of the liquid diet!hahaha...It's sad to say but I actually reached a point where I liked the convenience of being on a liquid diet. I didn't have to figure out what/where I was going to eat. The only question was which flavor of slimfast!lol

Once I finally had my surgery, things have gone pretty smooth for me for the most part. I had a lot of nausea for about 5 days but I figure that's probably somewhat normal. Once that finally settled down, I felt pretty good. I've had a few stalls along the way but nothing that's lasted more than about 3 wks. I just work hard at making the right choices each and every day and, if I make a bad choice, I don't use that as an excuse to fall completely off the wagon. I just pick myself right back up and start over immediately. I view my band as a tool. It wasn't meant to "fix" me. It was meant to "help" me fix myself. I control the quality of the food I eat and my band controls the quantity. I still struggle with head hunger though. That one is hard to conquer and I'm not sure I will ever conquer it completely.

I also started exercising. I work out at the gym at least 3 times a week and I run 3-4 times a week. I am addicted to running! Unfortunately, I'm suffering from an injury right now and can't run but I'm determined to get back to it very soon! In the meantime, I'm still doing other exercises.

Some of the biggest hurdles for me have been emotional/psychological ones. My family wasn't very accepting of the idea of surgery at first and it took some time to get them to understand why I was doing it. They eventually came around and were/are very supportive. The last few months have been tough with them because they're used to the big fluffy girl so, once I started getting close to a normal weight, they started worrying about my health and kept insisting that I stop losing. I couldn't get them to understand that I was still overweight. That seems to be settling down some now though.

The hard part right now is that everyone tells me how wonderful I look and how thin I am and I just don't see it. I look in the mirror and still see the same fat girl that's always been there. And that image makes me want to lose more weight. I am still hoping to lose about another 5-10 lbs. I think that's probably realistic for my height. However, when I look in the mirror, I see someone who needs to lose a lot more than that. This actually worries me because I'm afraid of becoming that person that went from one extreme to the other. I don't know how you change it though. I guess your brain just has to have time to catch up to the rest of your body. I do still see my surgeon monthly though and he does a lot of counseling at each visit so I'm sure he'll keep me in check and make sure I don't lose so much that it's unhealthy.

Best of luck to you on your journey! You'll be sharing your success story sooner than you think!

Congrats to you..... I can't wait to say one day that I'm at goal. I hope you celebrated by doing something special for yourself?

Yes, I went out and bought the North Face Osito jacket that I've always wanted! I know that sounds crazy but I've always wanted one of those jackets but was always too big for them. So now that I can fit into that stuff, I went and bought one! I'm also planning to treat myself to a massage and a shopping trip really soon!

The hard part right now is that everyone tells me how wonderful I look and how thin I am and I just don't see it. I look in the mirror and still see the same fat girl that's always been there. And that image makes me want to lose more weight. I am still hoping to lose about another 5-10 lbs. I think that's probably realistic for my height. However, when I look in the mirror, I see someone who needs to lose a lot more than that. This actually worries me because I'm afraid of becoming that person that went from one extreme to the other. I don't know how you change it though. I guess your brain just has to have time to catch up to the rest of your body. I do still see my surgeon monthly though and he does a lot of counseling at each visit so I'm sure he'll keep me in check and make sure I don't lose so much that it's unhealthy.

Same here countrysweet. My sister got annoyed with me because I kept asking for pictures to be taken from our weekend in Florida and my SIL told her that if I wanted to take pictures, I deserved to because of how hard I worked and how good I looked. That's a nice thing to say, but it's not why I have my picture taken these days. I do it because I need to start to recognize the smaller me. I also see the fat girl in my head though I am finally starting to recognize the new me. It's not been easy though and I see a therapist to help with my body image issues.

It's understandable when one has lost half their pre-band weight. There are some pics of me at my heaviest. I look at them and then look at current pictures to try to get comfortable with my new body. It's still a work in progress but I'm hoping sooner or later, I accept my new reality.

If you have trouble with this, don't hesitate to discuss it with a professional. Even if you can't find before pics, put up current pics so we can see how beautiful you are. Congrats on your success!

Wow ! You're amazing !! Congratulations ! Share your secrets please !!!

Thank you! I don't really have any secrets. I spent a lot of time on this board prior to my surgery just trying to educate myself on what to expect and how to handle things. This board is a great source of information. The veteran members on this board always have great advice. A few things that have helped me though are following the simple rules such as

*Protein first. ALWAYS. If I'm still hungry after eating my protein, then I eat some veggies.

*Avoid sliders. ALWAYS.

*Make good choices. The band doesn't do all of the work for you. It is a tool to help control the quantity of food but it won't stop you from eating garbage. One of the veterans on this board always says "Until the band is properly adjusted, it's just another diet". I read that statement a few months before I was banded and it stuck with me. It did take me awhile to reach the green zone but, until then, I ate as if I were on a diet. I made good food choices and I weighed and measured everything. Some might not agree with that but it worked for me.

*Exercise. I work out at the gym and I run. I never dreamed I'd be a runner but it's addicting. I love it. You don't have to run though. Just find some sort of exercise that you enjoy. If you don't enjoy it, you won't continue to do it for very long.

*Last, but certainly not least..In fact, this is probably the most important part and the key to my success...Frequent visits with my surgeon. In the beginning, I saw him every 2 weeks. Then every 3 weeks. And I still see him every 4 weeks. I would recommend him to anyone. He sits down with me at each visit, goes over everything I've been eating and advises me on how to improve my diet for optimal results as well as health/wellness. He talks to me about exercise habits. He cares about his patients as people. He takes the time to find out what's going on in life and how you're doing emotionally and psychologically and then tries to help you navigate those areas of life as well. He understands that, in order for his patients to be successful, he has to treat the WHOLE person, not just the physical so his approach is a much more holistic one which involves not only treating the physical being but also the emotional and psychological parts as well. He has been banded himself so he truly understands what we, as lap-band patients, are going through.

@, I like my surgeon but I never see him anymore. Just my nurse for fills. I suppose if I had a problem I could get an appointment with him directly but I haven't seen him since April.

@, I like my surgeon but I never see him anymore. Just my nurse for fills. I suppose if I had a problem I could get an appointment with him directly but I haven't seen him since April.

Unfortunately, I think a lot of surgeons use NP's & PA's for this purpose. They aren't concerned with treating the whole patient. Rather, they want to do the surgery and then never really have to see the patient again. I suppose this is okay IF you have the support of a dietician and access to a support group and/or a counselor of some sort.

For me, the regular visits are a source of accountability for me. I always knew he would ask me what/ how much I'd been eating and I used that to my advantage. I know people who are not totally honest about their eating habits but I have always been completely honest with him. If I eat cake, I tell him. That way, I keep it in my head that everything I consume, I must admit to him on weigh-in day. This keeps me accountable for the choices I make. It also helps him advise me about how to make better choices in the future and how to live with my band without feeling like I'm being denied the things I love. A good dietician could provide the same services I suppose but I like that he is interested enough in my success that he is willing to take the time do that himself.

The other part of it is the emotional/psychological support. As WLS patients, we experience many ups and downs along the way, some are expected, some catch us by surprise. For instance, we all start out expecting to lose a ton of weight really fast. We've heard of others that did it so we expect it to be our miracle too. Unfortunately, not everyone experiences rapid weight loss and if you happen to be that person that loses more slowly than others, it can be devastating unless you have someone who can help you understand why and help you learn to cope with being a slower loser. No matter who you are, stalls happen somewhere along the way and can be difficult to deal with. Women, in particular, tend to have issues with self image. None of us expect that to happen but it does. Weight loss can also cause issues in the relationships we have with our spouses as well as other friends and family. It helps to have someone else who understands all of these issues and can help you navigate through them as they come up. Again, support groups help because you get to socialize with others who've had the same or similar experiences and professional counseling can also help. But again, I love that my surgeon is so interested in the success and happiness of his patients that he takes the time to help us himself. He is a blessing to many!

That's not to say that a person can't have the same success if their surgeon isn't like mine. You can. You just have to seek out your own sources of dietary support as well as emotional/psychological support to help you learn to cope with your new lifestyle and relationships.

Congratulations!!! That is so exciting!!!

Whoo hoo Countrysweet! I know you feel amazing. I am so happy for you.