There's a fantastic thread here on what folks will NOT miss about being fat. It's an incredible collection of so many things I'd been dealing with leading up to the surgery, and continues to be a great read: http://www.bariatricpal.com/topic/319355-what-is-everyone-not-going-to-miss-after-sleeve/

So here's a twist... is there anything you'll miss about being fat? I'm not trying to spark a riot or anything, but we all change so much in this process, I thought a look in the other direction might be interesting...

I'll go first: at 6' 4" I'm "big" no matter what my weight is. But at 475 highest weight, I was a force to be reckoned with. I recall an incident in traffic once where the car in front of me was braking hard, and rather erratically. I made a decision to put more space between us, but I made it a split second too late, because he braked hard again and I almost rear-ended him. This time he stopped, slammed it in Park and jumped out of his car to yell at me. So I got out of mine, and tried to say something... but he got one look at me, and walked quickly back to his car and sped off.

I'm a gentle giant, but it was kind of funny that I was deemed too big to mess with. Soon I'll be far less large, and the basketball jokes from my teen years will resume.

I used to be able to lay in bed, prop my kindle on my belly and it was the perfect reading height for reading...lol. That tummy is gone so now I use a pillow...

I miss the excess sweating, heavy breathing after climbing the stairs and the chub rub. Most of all, the chub rub.

Nope can't say I miss one thing!. And I have even found the upside to having a double mastectomy! I didn't need a breast lift! They are done already!

Well I'm going to have to find another part of my anatomy to focus my internal wrath on for 24/7, once the fat is no longer in the equation. I'm thinking those grand Tetons of mine have been evading detection pretty well so far, but after I lose the weight they're going to be a pretty big blip on the unsatisfied radar. And I'm fairly confident they're already twitchy about the research I've started on breast reduction.

And darn it, I'm going to have to find another super power once I lose that cloak of invisibility that my fat shield inspires in most people who can't seem to see me in order to hold the elevator, or make direct eye contact.

Such is the burden we bear.

Edited February 9, 201511 yr by The Candidate

I will miss having something to blames my insecurities on. I've always been confident but sometimes that falters...it's always been because I was having a fat day. Which as a woman I'm entitled to even if I get down to a size 2! But now I'm going to have one less thing to blame.

Is this seriously a topic????...Oy vey!

Like I said, not trying to incite a riot; just a different way of asking the same question. My grandfather taught me that "if you look at the same thing a few different ways, you might not SEE the same thing."

I think the responses thus far have been candid, insightful, and inspiring.

Edited February 9, 201511 yr by aSleeveStory

Mostly though I would give up all of that all over again to be where I am now.

Thats a fantastic way of looking at it! I feel the same way.

Thanks to all who've indulged my backward way at looking at it.

At the end of the day we're all here for a better life. I'm so thankful for my journey thus far, and all of the benefits I've already picked up in such a short period of time.

Even if I do find something else to miss about being fat down the road... rest assured I too would give it up in a heartbeat to be where I am today... let alone where I'll be a few months from now.

This board, some folks in the YouTube community, and a few blogs have really helped me tremendously.

Edited February 9, 201511 yr by aSleeveStory

Don't miss being fat but don't like the excess skin... Also I do have to actually watch what I eat and it would be easy, in my opinion, to put the weight back on. For instance, drinking Starbucks. I sometimes miss (and I mean rarely) being able to eat anything and everything because I wasn't concerned with weight. I don't know if this is coming across the way I mean for it to, but I sometimes wish I could eat more because it tastes good but I physically cannot. But I wouldn't go back for anything!

Well I'm going to have to find another part of my anatomy to focus my internal wrath on for 24/7, once the fat is no longer in the equation. I'm thinking those grand Tetons of mine have been evading detection pretty well so far, but after I lose the weight they're going to be a pretty big blip on the unsatisfied radar. And I'm fairly confident they're already twitchy about the research I've started on breast reduction.

And darn it, I'm going to have to find another super power once I lose that cloak of invisibility that my fat shield inspires in most people who can't seem to see me in order to hold the elevator, or make direct eye contact.

Such is the burden we bear.

I have NO idea what you said. But yeah, that.

I sometimes miss (and I mean rarely) being able to eat anything and everything because I wasn't concerned with weight.

So what's weird? I am the exact opposite. When I was fat, I worried about every morsel of food even when I was eating with reckless abandon and then the guilt followed. I was always on Atkins of WWs or South Beach so food was always the forbidden fruit.

Now, since my sleeve, I can eat anything and everything without a second thought because I can limit myself to a taste or two. I don't have a hard time stopping, I don't limit fat, I can't tolerate bread/pasta/rice well, so that's not even a desire. It's SO freeing.

I do not miss the fat BUT one thing that I am finding is that I don't care for some of the "attention" I get from the guys. It's been a long time and at first it's flattering but after a while it's tiring.

I think it's fair to say that if a person is fat for a really long time, they might have difficulty adjusting to being thin. I've never been a thin person and I suspect that adjusting to being smaller might be a challenge for me. I admire people who have no difficulties in that process but for me, getting attention even after just losing 25 pounds through dieting has been slightly awkward. Someday, I might miss that being fat keeps away a lot of unwanted male attention. I take public transportation a lot and I'd rather not have to deal with that.

My first reaction was an adamant "hell no!" - but thanks @@aSleeveStory, for making me think it out. Just this morning I realized that it now takes me a good deal longer to get dressed because my standard has risen from "good enough to get out the door and not look horrible " to "gosh I look good!" The latter certainly takes more time and thoughtfulness, even though I have far fewer clothes – and this morning I was wishing I had that extra time--DEFINITELY not wishing it enough to go back there – ever!!

Great reflective topic.