Happy Holidays - Funny Photo NSV
I hope everyone’s enjoying this holiday season. In the spirit of the holidays, I had to share this amazing photo NSV with you all.
To date, I’m about 14 months post op, and I’ve lost 120lbs, which is about 85% of my excess weight. It’s been a positive journey, and I am very thankful for my continued improved health throughout the process. While I realize that losing 120lbs in a year is kinda crazy, I actually really never realized how different I loo****il today.
Today, a good friend of mine finally uploaded a boatload of pictures of our adventures in grad school (2008-2010). I was at my absolute heaviest during my grad school days (turns out, ramen noodles are bad for you). Regardless, school was a ton of fun, so I was excited to browse through the pictures and reminisce.
This was the first pic that I clicked on, and I died laughing. Admittedly, it’s not a great pic…. It was taken in a beer tent in Germany on my 28th birthday, and it turns out that drinking 4 liters of beer in the rain doesn’t really do a whole lot for your overall appearance. I’m also busting out some pretty sweet dance moves as well.
However, the thing that really, really shocked me was how completely different I look – I actually had to do a double-take to recognize myself. I’m not sure about all of you, but I actually often don’t think I “look” that much different now than I did when I started. Yeah, I’ve lost a ton of weight, and I’m a boatload healthier, but I still really “feel” like the same person (maybe just enhanced now). Yeah, sure, I’m now shopping for size 12s instead of size 26s, but I always at least thought I looked the same in the face, etc.
I don’t mean this in a negative way – I was very lucky to be raised by a strong, confident mama who taught me that I was always beautiful, so I’ve always had a positive body image; I felt beautiful at 300 lbs, and I’ll feel beautiful wherever I end this journey. However, I guess when I look in the mirror everyday, the changes are so tiny, I haven’t realized how much my overall appearance has changed. It was a great Christmas present to see this photo today, and to realize how far I’ve come in such a short time.
Wishing you all a happy holiday season, and I hope you all take a moment to congratulate and thank yourselves this holiday for all the steps you’ve taken thus far to move towards a healthier you. Happy Holidays!
5'9", 31 year-old female pescetarian VSGer! /// Surgery by Dr. Steven Clark on 14-Oct-2012.
