I can't begin to tell you guys how excited I am to finally be under 200 pounds. When I met my husband in 1996 I weighed 150 pounds. 19 years into the marriage I found myself at 267. (At one point I weighed a whopping 298 but was able to lose 30 of it on my own and keep it off). I suffer from PCOS and not only was it hard to deal with my weight issues, but the side effects made it nearly impossible for me to ever really feel like a woman. The androgynous side effects of PCOS were an absolute killer for me. I'm a Greek girl and my given name is Kleopatra, so to walk into a room and tell people my name was often hard for me to do, my self esteem has not been very high for most of my life. I worked on that for years and have been in therapy for at least the last 3. When I finally came to terms with myself for who I am and not what I look like, I thought it might be time for me to seriously think about having weight loss surgery. I needed to make sure that I didn't allow the surgery to dictate my worth or my value. My self esteem is not mandated by what the scale says. I'm a good person, daughter, mother, friend, employee, and that matters more than anything. Today, as I write this, I am 2 months post surgery and down a total of 68 pounds. I went from a size 20W to a 14. I am more active with my kids and not nearly in as much pain as I was before. The PCOS is still there, but the side effects aren't nearly as bad. I actually feel pretty great about myself. The biggest change I've noticed is that I've had an easier time making friends lately. Where I was always so shy before and just wanted to hang out at home, now, when I get invites to go out with friends after work, etc, I say yes. Life seems fuller, busier, and more robust. I wish I would've had the courage to be more outgoing when I was bigger, but you know what? It's never too late and I'm taking full advantage now. Here's not not putting life on hold. Here's to taking chances. And here's to finally, putting ourselves first, even if it's just for a moment.

I hope you guys are having a fantastic day and that you all take a moment to Celebrate the little things. I'm off to celebrate with a Protein shake :-)

Happy for you. It's a big deal, isn't it?

feel great about myself. taking chances. putting ourselves first

@@nikisa

welcome to onederland

nice to see you!!

the above are three wonderful NSV's

enjoy them - they are a big part of your new life

pre and post op down 68 lbs

party dance party dance

keep up the great work

mentally and physically

kathy

congrats

Fabulous, congratulations!!!

Wonderful! You GO Girl! ????

So happy for you????

Congratulations! Do something nice for yourself to celebrate: flowers, a pedicure, a new lipstick - or all of the above!

Wonderful onederland! Congratulations on on your weight loss and even more so, your NSV's!

Thank you, everyone! I celebrated with a trip to Sephora and a new dress lol. :-)

Well done !

Enjoy your new life.

"Life seems fuller, busier, and more robust. I wish I would've had the courage to be more outgoing when I was bigger, but you know what? It's never too late and I'm taking full advantage now. Here's not not putting life on hold. Here's to taking chances. And here's to finally, putting ourselves first, even if it's just for a moment."

Bamsucka !!!!!!

​There it is........the payoff. You have put into words the exact thing I've been experiencing. Feels fan-freaking-tastic, too.

Congratulations!! I know exactly how you feel - it's so amazing to be able to say "yes" to everything and to feel great participating in life! I feel like I am no longer on the sidelines watching. I am able to play with my kids, do what I love (bike long and hard, downhill ski, go to amusement parks, go swimming etc) and just be more present in everything that I do because I am no longer uncomfortable with the way my body moves. I feel light physically and emotionally and it is such a great feeling!

Congrats again!!