There are several of you that I admire the pic that shows up every time you post. I thought about mentioning names, but I don't want to exclude anyone and by mentioning the included, you sadly create the excluded... so I am NOT doing that right now. I truly enjoy so many of your avatars... tell me about them! For those of you that don't have something - why NOT???

mine: I have been on this site for YEARS, but my pictures have changed. My current one is of me from the backside riding my horse taken summer 2014... a glorious summer on many dimensions.

I recognize that I am a middle aged woman, with some less than perfect attributes... yet I love that pic. I love that day. I love that I am an anon 50 YO cowgirl in this picture! If you knew this particular horse and her challenges (she really really hates Water crossings. She is way bigger than me. Do the math.) you would love this moment in the river too.

NEXT???

I don't have one because I don't know how to create one! Lol. Any suggestions?

@@CowgirlJane

Where are these less than perfect attributes you mention. You are beautiful inside and out.

My avatar is usually a corset. I just seem to change photos of different colors for the seasons. Why a corset? I have not had a waist for many years. Its just a simple reminder that I am in a new more approachable package. I was surprised to find I had a waist under all my weight.

Mine is a not-so-subtle reference to Alice in Wonderland. I chose it because of a few things:

--Alice makes her second trip to Wonderland through the Looking Glass. She has been there before, knows of it's strangeness, but continues through because she knows, from experience, she can have a wonderful adventure, even though she may encounter hardships.

Our journey through the gastric sleeve process is similar - we know that it will be hard, but we power through knowing that overall, it will be worth it.

--The poem in this book is first called "Haddocks Eyes" by the White Knight, though it comes to have other names. It's a parody of Wordsworth's poem Resolution and Independence where Wordsworth meets a man, lowly in stature, that teaches him that hardships are to be approached with patience and acceptance. The poem in Alice in the Looking Glass makes parody of Wordsworth's solemn realization - poking fun at the serious Wordsworth.

We should also approach life like this...with seriousness but also the willingness to poke fun at ourselves to keep things from getting too overwhelming.

I don't have one because I don't know how to create one! Lol. Any suggestions?

Figured it out! I pick Marilyn because she was one of the first beauty icons, and sister wasn't a size 0, but more a 12/14. She's an awesome reminder that it's society who views have changed, and frankly don't matter. ????

I am also an equestrian, and this is the biggest reason why I had my surgery. I love that my horse will get to carry less of me .

Mine is of a butterfly I photographed on vacation a couple years ago. It reminds me of how as I progress through this path after surgery that I will be a beautiful person who once hid inside the cocoon before shedding it and revealing the person I truly am.

Mine is of a butterfly I photographed on vacation a couple years ago. It reminds me of how as I progress through this path after surgery that I will be a beautiful person who once hid inside the cocoon before shedding it and revealing the person I truly am.

Thanks for sharing! I was wondering if others with a butterfly had rationale similar to mine. Hope you fly like the beautiful butterly you are.

I chose a butterfly because (forgive my overgeneralization) most caterpillars eat and eat for their whole lives until they are ready to go into their chrysalis or cocoon. After their metamorphasis, they come out as a butterfly. I have spent my life eating and eating - eating to deal with my childhood trauma, eating to soothe, eating to Celebrate.

About 5 weeks ago now I decided I have eaten enough, had VSG and went into my chrysalis. I spent the last three weeks after surgery re-learning to take care of myself with Water, Vitamins and Protein and journaling to try and heal the past that led me to eat so much. Now, I am re-engaging in life with my new skills and tools. While I have a long journey ahead of me and much more weight to lose, for the first time in my life I feel more like a butterfly than a caterpillar. Thank you to everyone on this site for your sharing and wisdom - it has been and will continue to be very helpful.

Me and my partner in crime, Kindle. Yes, that's right, my user name is in honor of my horse. Thanks to VSG, she has 100 pounds less on her back every weekend.

If you look close at the picture you can see I'm splattered in mud. We had just come through an "incident" involving 4 horses, a dilapidated wooden bridge and a deep bog. It was also the first day with my new saddle I had to get because my skinny new butt was way too small for the old one.

I don't have an avatar because every time I go to settings to add one, my app crashes.

My first pic was of me and my newborn niece. That was Memorial Day, 2014. I had my VSG on September 23, 2014. My new pic is of me at Walt Disney World on March 12, 2015, down 93 pounds. I had such a great day. I was able to keep up with my husband and son all day long! On a previous trip in 2013, I had to rent a scooter to spend the day in the parks. My knees just wouldn't let me walk all that way. Someone said I looked happy and relaxed in this pic, so this is the one I chose to be my new avatar. I am now down 104 lbs. and I can't believe it. I have 55 more to go to my goal and I actually think I can get there!

Me and my partner in crime, Kindle. Yes, that's right, my user name is in honor of my horse. Thanks to VSG, she has 100 pounds less on her back every weekend.

If you look close at the picture you can see I'm splattered in mud. We had just come through an "incident" involving 4 horses, a dilapidated wooden bridge and a deep bog. It was also the first day with my new saddle I had to get because my skinny new butt was way too small for the old one.

One of my horses is named Mambo- hence hb.mambo!

Mine is pretty basic, it's me. This was taken July 2014 while riding a cable car in San Francisco. I really liked the picture and it felt great to be back in CA; my childhood home state.