ObesityHelp

One thing I forgot to mention was the bone chilling cold I feel now, I have never felt so cold in my life, I remember seeing other people comment on this but I really did not think it would happen to me, ME who did not wear a coat a lot in these Ohio winters, but now I'm wearing sweaters if it gets below 72 it is crazy but it really is very real, I guess I lost my insulation, lol. Soo  don't pack away those sweaters for the spring, you may need them and they are hard to find in the summer, This is just something I had never mentioned before. and I want to have a record of every step of my progress, trust me I would not take back all that insulation again.  NO I can wear sweaters, and I like them!

Well  I am not quite 2 years out and I can say I finally feel WHOLE, I feel like myself I feel wonderful And Im so happy.

Dr Choban and Mt Carmel Hospital did a wonderful job, Dr was right I have gained back about 5 pounds from my lowest  but Ive been the same for the last 3 months, I stay right at 154 and 155, I have  not changed anything, i cant eat the volume of food some say they eat but then I'm not trying either, I eat till I'm full and stop..... had some real problems with giving myself permission to leave food on my plate, that was hard for me, I was taught that you eat what you put on your plate.....and I still put too much on mine, but I'm getting better

I'm a lot more active and LOVE to be outside cant wait till summer gets here.

Sometimes when I review my earlier post, I have to resist the urge to delete some of them, some are painful for me to read, but they are honest and are important parts of this process, I don't think I was prepared for the mental part and certainly did not realize how much of me had been consumed by my weight, BUT IM BACK it really did take a full year and a half, you would think that getting rid of the weight would be the hard part but for me the mental healing was more of a chore.

I have not had plastics and I dont know if I will, the extra skin has gotten better my arms and tummy are not as bad as I thought it would be, if I was younger it might bother me more but I'm 52 and have an amazing husband. who supports me, it doesn't bother him, So who knows. there are a few things that do bother me, my legs, where I carried most of my weight, still looks like a loose pair of PJs and my breast are a total loss, my face and neck have gotten some better too, so I still have not ruled it out yet.

So if you are still on the fence about having a VSG....... find a good Dr and GO FOR IT!!!, you are worth it, yes it does take some work but the rewards are worth it Im thankful that I found this sight for support and a wonderful Dr. things really did fall in to place for me and I'm soooo thankful

hang in there regardless of where you are in the process, you have OH and you will be fine,

Hugs to you all!!.........Connie

Am still not even a little bit sorry that I took this journey, every day I see more changes in myself and not all good, I find I don't have the patience I once had , I'm less tolerant of people, I don't like it, I have to really work on it, I notice what other people eat and it amazes me the volume of food they eat, This is not me, really where is all this coming from? I don't voice it but its a good thing no one can read my thoughts. what am I going to do? I don't want to be like this, it was not that long ago that I was there, and I remember how hard it was, so why cant I  see that, I have no right to feel better than anyone, I was fortunate to be able to have this surgery, and I know not everyone can, please tell me this is just another thing I need to work through, I didn't realize how much of myself was defined by  my weight and now I don't even know who I am, just when I'm starting to reconize my reflection, I don't know who I am inside, I hope I'm not the only one who has went through this, and I hope it gets better, maybe if I choose to see positives it will begin to come back to me, I refuse to be " that skinny bit** "I remember people like that and I refuse to be one of them.

I guess I'm still a work in progress, but I wont give up in my quest to reclaim my life... I will be whole again someday!.

I am finally at goal, well a little below, but I am there!!!! and I couldn't be happier, having this surgery has given me my life back,  Ill post new pictures soon! my total weight loss from my highest weight is 147.8lbs almost half my body weight!! its kind of embarrassing to admit I was that big but I was, my mind has caught up with myself I can recognize myself again, And I am learning to love myself, the loose skin has gotten some better my arms and legs are probably the worse.... my tummy I can live with and my boobs are a total loss I am still not ruling out plastics in the future......we will see. Guess Ill move on over to the maintenance board now, thanks to everyone for your help along the way, just KEEP ON KEEPIN ON!!

yes I'm still going, I was sure I was done, but nope I think my body needed time to catch up, Im now 2.2lbs away from goal wooohoooo I couldn't be happier, I had forgotten what it felt like to feel so alive and to move with such ease. I have not changed a thing I'm still eating basically the same as I was, still not able to eat over 1/2 cup of dense protein at a time if I'm eating salad I can eat about a cup at a time, but I'm happy and I'm almost half the women I used to be and Im better for it. I do notice that I'm cold more now so I'm not looking forward to these Ohio winters, think that's the loss of insulation lol. but I can put on more clothes and even though I enjoy sitting in the bath tub, I don't have the cushion under my bottom that I had,my butt is bony, I'm not use to feeling all these bones, but thats a WONDERFUL problem to have, if you are thinking about this surgery, just do it. after about the first month I have not been sorry. at about 15 months out my brain still thinks I'm fat I still do a double take when I see my reflection, and I still try on clothes first that are 3 sizes too big. and I don't know if Ill ever get use to being called skinny. but I'm SOOOOOO happy.

Hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving, this year the turkey is the ONLY thing I'll be stuffing. goog luck to you all!.................Connie