As I read through the posts I have realized, in more ways than one, I am an anomaly. It appears that the majority of the board have battled obesity their entire lives. I became obese in 2010 at the age of 46. A combination of overeating, menopause, and medications ballooned me from 130 to 218 in 5 years. This also contributed to my comorbidities as I could feel my body collapsing under its own weight.

Are there any more of the nouveau fat here and what was your weight loss experience after the sleeve? Are we any different?

Nope, I'm not nouveau fat.

But that big change must have been freaky for you.

Not so much freaky as frightening since my health tanked so rapidly...but we are all on the way back together and that is the important thing!

I've not had problems with my weight until after menopause. Then put on 10, 15, 25. Then the scary health problems started, the high blood pressure which wasn't coming down even on medicine. I could barely function. Now I've got my energy and my health back after VSG surgery in May 2015. Can't wait to see if my cardiologist is going to take me off meds at the next visit! There about 30 more pounds left to lose but I've really gotten my money's worth from the health benefits alone!

I'm sort of in the middle, I was a normal/little overweight up until 25, i'm 32 now, and morbidly obese, (i'm pre op but only one week to go!) So while it's only been 7 years for me i don't remember what it was like to be 'normal sized at all'.

Mentally I've been fat all my life, i remember being self conscious at age 5 about how fat my legs were, so to myself I've always been fat, i'm a self fulfilling prophecy I guess.

I look back at pics from my early twenties and think ugh! there was nothing wrong with you you looked great! - yet i didn't see it at the time.

So I have no memory of being normal sized only photographs that I can look back on and realise what i didn't see then.