This is has been an awesome beginning to my new life...

I wake up every morning and feel so blessed. Having WLS was one of the best decisions I have ever made. I feel amazing. I walk past mirrors in the store, and I don't recognize myself. Lol. I have lost 72 lbs (that includes my pre-op phase)... just to say that out loud is like WOW. My family and friends have been so supportive. My amazing boyfriend, of 9 years, encourages me every day and tells me how proud he is of my success. He compliments me and has taken on my healthier eating habits too and lost 30 lbs himself.

I teetered back and forth with whether to have surgery or not, and I am so grateful for the advice and encouragement I received from members on this site. All of you are amazing.

Has it been an easy journey... NO. There have been bumps in the road. When I woke up after surgery and couldn't stop vomitting for 24 hrs, did I think what the hell did I just do? Yes, I did. Did I over eat after surgery, yes I did. The pain I felt after over eating made me never want to do that again. Do I always make the right food choices, no I don't. The difference now is that I am in control of my eating. I can have one or two bites of something and walk away... I no longer have to eat all of it. If there was a piece of pie in front of me prior to surgery, I was going to eat that whole piece of pie and maybe 1 or 2 more pieces. Now I think of it like this... I eat to taste food. I eat slowly, I chew my food and savor the flavors. I listen to my body and stop eating when I feel satisfied. I struggle with this sometimes because my body is telling me that I'm full and my mind is saying you ate such a little bit of food... there is no way you are full. 

There have been so many milestones and NSV (I think that's the abbreviation):

1. I travel for work and I always worried about getting on the plane. I had to use a seatbelt extender and I always dreaded the look from the person sitting next to me. I am happy to say that I no longer need an extender and I no longer get the look.

2. I was a size 24 prior to beginning my journey. I can now fit into a size 16 and a 19 in the juniors section. Yay!!! It is so hard to not want to shop, shop, shop.

3. Pizza was my weakness and now I don't like it all.

4. I never ate fish prior to surgery... now I crave it.

5. My boyfriend can wrap his arms all the way around me :)

6. I was in New York on business for the 4th of July and my family came out to visit. We went to the fireworks, and when we got off the subway there were so many people waiting for the elevator. The subway attendant said that if you didn't want to wait for the elevator then you can take the stairs but it was 8 flights. I told my family there is no way I can climb 8 flights of stairs. They told me I could do it. I tried and I made it up those 8 flights with no problem.

7. I can walk for miles and I don't feel like I am going to die. I would walk 2 miles to the movies in NYC and 2 miles home. I also walked 1 mile to work and 1 mile home every day.

I am so excited for this year to fly by and I can't wait to reach Onederland.

I hope everyone has a wonderful day :)

You're doing GREAT!  So nice to read about all the wonderful NSVs you've experienced as well as the support you are getting from your family and boyfriend.  

First let. me congratulate you on allyoyr success!!!! You are awesome! Next let me say what a joy it was to read your post. It was very positive and uplifting. I just had my rny surgery yesterday and yes it still seems a bit surreal. It has been a long journey to get here. 

Like you said this site is a wonderful resource for support. I don't have much support, I do have a very great friend! But this site really is a life saver and reading posts like yours serves as a motivator,

Again GREAT job and keep up the progress.  *hugs*  

Thanks. Good luck to you on your journey. It really is one of best things I have ever done for myself.

*hugs*

You are awesome be proud of yourself

Thanks you for sharing all your joy! I am 5 weeks out and sometimes get bogged down in just making sure the stuff gets done, that I forget to celebrate the journey. My 6 week from anniversary date is Wednesday and I am hoping to hit the 50lb pre and post-op mark.  So encouraging. Thanks