So tonight I went to my nephews football game, after the game I took all of my nieces and nephews (except one) to dinner. There were nine of us and we sat in a big booth, I ended up in the middle, not a huge problem at the beginning of the night since I slowly moved over as more joined. Leaving was awful... Getting out of the booth after eating was tough, almost too much. After dropping them off at home I drove home and cried. I just want to be normal.

Me too, what is normal?

I made a point of using the word "healthy" rather than "normal" during my WLS journey.

@ladylkyba......exactly, what is normal?

@soxgirl....is your surgery scheduled? You will be on your way to "healthy" afterwards and your only tears will be tears of joy and amazement at your new self!

My husband and I went on an anniversary trip last weekend. We went to a place called Rock City. It is a beautiful rock garden tourist attraction ad there is a formation called Fat Man's squeeze. I was able to walk through it without turning sideways. 6 months ago I would not have fit. I guess that is "feeling normal" for me.

I certainly can relate.

Being "normal" was a key aspiration for me. While i may not be able to define it, I knew it when i saw it. It remains a powerful motivation for me in maintenance. Yes, I use the scale, health indicators, etc but just knowing that I will fit in any chair, any store will carry my size, I am no longer invisible to strangers and nobody ever gives me a "look" while I am eating.

Thank you guys so much!!! Healthy is a better term, I am scheduled for surgery Oct 16th in just 13 days!!! I just can't wait!!!

Thank you guys so much!!! Healthy is a better term, I am scheduled for surgery Oct 16th in just 13 days!!! I just can't wait!!!

You have got this !!!!

Your desire to get where you want to be will motivate you to be strict and successful. You'll reap the rewards every day of your life.

I hate the booths in restaurants, too.

Hearing my wife and don tell the greater to make sure we get a table not a booth makes me cringe and get more motivated to get my arse into "booth size" shape.

Best of luck.....right there with you on the surgery date, too.

I can't wait to be able to go to a theme park and not have to wonder if I'm going to be able to ride or not.

I saw a dad today have to get off of a ride because the lap bar wouldn't go down and my heart broke for him.

Thank all of you for the encouragement and support. I had a relative tonight tell me, why would you do this now, are you trying to attract younger men? Are you having a midlife crisis? You're not going to be pretty just because you lose weight. Ummm I am not trying to attract anyone, I am just trying to be healthy before it's too late. Why are people so negative? ????

Edited October 4, 201510 yr by Soxgirl

Just do you! Forget the negative words you might hear; some people just don't get it. You are doing an amazing thing to better yourself.

I can't wait for the day I don't have to look up weight restrictions or what kind of chairs are at a restaurant.

Can't wait! (30 days away until the beginning!)

My husband and I went on an anniversary trip last weekend. We went to a place called Rock City. It is a beautiful rock garden tourist attraction ad there is a formation called Fat Man's squeeze. I was able to walk through it without turning sideways. 6 months ago I would not have fit. I guess that is "feeling normal" for me.

My sister lives in Chattanooga and I have never seen Rock City because I knew it would require a lot of walking. Thanks to your reminder I just added another item to my bucket list: to See Rock City!

It's great! We did Ruby Falls, the aquarium, and a riverboat cruise one day. I walked over 20,000 steps all while wearing my 18 pound baby! The next day we did rock city, the zoo, and some fun little shops downtown.

It's great! We did Ruby Falls, the aquarium, and a riverboat cruise one day. I walked over 20,000 steps all while wearing my 18 pound baby! The next day we did rock city, the zoo, and some fun little shops downtown.

AWESOME!

What a lifestyle change, eh?!

Thank all of you for the encouragement and support. I had a relative tonight tell me, why would you do this now, are you trying to attract younger men? Are you having a midlife crisis? You're not going to be pretty just because you lose weight. Ummm I am not trying to attract anyone, I am just trying to be healthy before it's too late. Why are people so negative? ????

Wow! That is terrible! Guess what? You WILL attract younger men ( haha and enjoy every minute of it!) and be your very prettiest and healthiest self! Sounds like that's a big threat to this relative!

I haven't told anyone yet- not planning on it either. I can always tell later if I choose. But I was quite astounded to get an "attitude" from my gynecologist (granted m, she's on the holistic side). She basically made me feel like "just bite the bullet, and do it the "healthy" way. have you no self control? I was really surprised but my regular doctor is the one who referred me and he's very supportive.