My new mantra.

Recently a recovering alcoholic said to me:

"I may always be an alcoholic but I will NOT die a drunk."

It really moved me and inspired me.

Now I say to myself many times a day:

"I may always have a lifelong decease of obesity BUT I WILL NOT die obese!"

For my age (64) and new weight charts according to age, I have about 60 pounds to go until I am at at normal weight.

God willing......giving me time to be a successful WLS patient---- I WILL NOT DIE OBESE!

One day at a time!

I am so grateful I have this opportunity to be at healthy weight enjoying each moment I have left on this beautiful planet.

Best wishes to all of you!

Nope, you absolutely will not if you work that sleeve the way it's intended! Great post!

That's pretty much how I felt a year ago pre-op. I was determined to finally lick this monkey on my back. Now, nearly 9 months post-op, I'm below goal and feeling astonishingly normal. And I'm not even close to finishing all the changes in my life I want and need to make. My goal now is to become stronger and stronger.

BTW, it's never too late to change your life. I'm 69 years old.

@@VSGAnn2014

How did you determine your goal weight? And did you try to go below goal or did it just happen?

My surgeon has said to let my body tell me what is the best weight to maintain with the assumption it i near a healthy weight considering my age.

Just wondering how you did it. Thanks

I am 63. I feel like my sleeve has added another 20 years to my life. Maybe I can even stretch this to Celebrate 98 years like my grandma. I am not afraid to die because I know there is nothing we can do to stop the circle of life. But I just don't want to go yet. I want to watch my grandchildren grow up.

For me, I feel I do have an age factor at work in my WLS.

Now, in my 60's, this is a last change to live a full healthy life.

In my younger years I was too willing to test the limits of eating the wrong foods for some kind of temporary "high" or satisfaction.

Today I know I don't have many more changes to get this right. It supports me NOT to take that first bite and playing around on the slippery slope of eating the wrong foods and the inevitable downward spiral of addiction to the wrong foods and self hate.

Some people can just eat one bite. I might be able to have one bite, and maybe a second. But at some point it has always got me into trouble.

I WILL NOT DIE OBESE! I'm halfway there. 59 down, 60 to go.

@@VSGAnn2014

How did you determine your goal weight? And did you try to go below goal or did it just happen?

My surgeon has said to let my body tell me what is the best weight to maintain with the assumption it i near a healthy weight considering my age.

Just wondering how you did it. Thanks

I chose 150 pounds (I'm 5'5" tall and 69 years old) on my own -- my surgeon and those on his team have never suggested a specific goal for me. I liked 150 because it was a nice round number, is a little higher than I used to feel great at and look great at in my 20s and 30s, and I wanted a little more flesh on my bones so if I fall down and hit the deck I can bounce and won't break any bones.

I figured I'd wind up losing a little more than 150 (I was right -- have already lost 2 extra pounds) and finally hit the "normal weight" range again. But I don't care about BMI so much as I do about feeling good and looking good.

And at my age I thought I might need some extra lbs to avoid looking haggard. So far I look great.

At this weight / height / age I am wearing mostly 10s, a few 9/10s, and in the designer sections of department stores the sales ladies promise me I could wear 8s. I haven't bought any of those yet. Mostly, I've been buying clothes (10s, mediums) in high-end consignment clothing stores. I've found some amazing buys there!

Hope that helps.

P.S. I also don't want to worry for the rest of my life about eating a very small amount. For example, if my goal were 130 pounds, I bet I would have to eat a few hundred calories less a day to maintain my weight. I would like to have more variety in my menus than I fear I could have at 1200-1300 daily for the rest of my life. I want to be healthy and normal-sized, but I also want to enjoy all foods and live a joyful life (not saying I want to pig out or be irresponsible at all!).

@@VSGAnn2014

Did you have a hard time getting to your goal? Did the weight loss slow down for you?

I agree, I don't want to have a weight where I fight everyday to keep it there. That's where what my Doc said made sense. Find a weight were I can eat reasonable 1200 calories or about and maintain a weight. It's different for everyone. I got down to 165 before and even at 5.3 I felt and looked good.

@@VSGAnn2014

Did you have a hard time getting to your goal? Did the weight loss slow down for you?

I agree, I don't want to have a weight where I fight everyday to keep it there. That's where what my Doc said made sense. Find a weight were I can eat reasonable 1200 calories or about and maintain a weight. It's different for everyone. I got down to 165 before and even at 5.3 I felt and looked good.

Hi, @@bewell ...

I had a textbook, easy time getting to goal. And yes, my weight loss did slow down. But I knew from watching others that it would. It's only logical why that happened: Toward the end, I already weighed so much less, and I was gradually, on purpose eating more calories each day.

Here's how my monthly weight losses looked:

Pre-op - lost 20 lbs (on first my own diet and then my surgeon's pre-op diet)

Month 1: -10 lbs

Month 2: -12 lbs

Month 3: -9 lbs

Month 4: -11 lbs

Month 5: -7 lbs

Month 6: -5 lbs

Month 7: -6 lbs

Month 8: -4 lbs

Month 9: -4 lbs

Total lost = 87 pounds