frustrated

I had surgery on July 12th. Im down 90 lbs. Im feeling so much better physically but then I look in a mirror and I still see a fat person. Dont get me wrong. I am still a fat person and thats the problem. So many ppl I have met on here loose 100 lbs and they are at goal. I know I shouldnt let this get to me....but a good friend of mine has lost the same amt of wt and is now in a size 12 and Im in a 26/28. Its been really hard to keep a positive attitude. Do any of you have any suggestions on keeping a positive mental attitude??? For us its a much longer haul than for others. I usually have about 2 down days a week. Im very grateful for this surgery/tool and it is helping me...I dont mean to sound ungrateful. Just looking for a some ideas.

I know how you feel. I lost 123 lbs prior to surgery and 34 lbs since surgery on 8/14, and I'm still wearing the same size clothes! Granted, they are a bit loose, but not falling off loose. In addition, I thought that once I started to lose weight, I'd be physically back to my old self right away. Last time I weighed what I weigh now, I was 100% mobile and healthy. My mobility is slowly improving and my doctor says I need to be patient and not expect to be 100% perfect right away. I see now that I was totally prepared for all of the diet and lifestyle changes that come with WLS, but I didn't have a realistic picture of how much farther I still have to go in my journey. Not sure I have any suggestions on how to keep a positive attitude. I try not to think too much about the hard stuff and instead focus on the good stuff. Kix

Wow, Congrats on that pre surgery wt loss. I could never had done that all on my own. Also, Thank you for sharing, its good to know someone else shares in my frustations and Im not all alone. I dont know your situation but before surgery I couldnt walk on a treadmil or hardly move and I had my dr order some physical therapy in a pool. Where I went they had a pool with a treadmill in the bottom of it. The water takes your wt off of your joints. I could actually run in the water and I could barely walk on land. Then after my surgery I was able to progress till today I could walk one mile on my treadmill. Takes me 20 min to do it...but 4 months ago I couldnt do 2 min on a treadmill. I wish u all the best. Mariah

I understand how you feel. It seems like I have so much weight to lose and it's frustrating at times. At over a month out it seems like I haven't lost anything. I'll find out on Monday and I hope I don't get too discouraged. I'm trying so hard to be positive and have a good attitude about all this. But I've been sick for over a week and I feel like nothing is going right. I know this will pass but I just wi**** would hurry up and pass.

Mariah, Let me first start off saying that you have already had a great start. I remember felling like that too. It is sometimes difficult when you see others almost at goal and you still may have a ways to go. That type of feeling just made me a little disgusted at myself. However I had to remind my self that everyone's journey is different. Just remember we did not gain the weight that we started off at over a 3,6,9 month period. It took years for us to reach the size that we were. So, it will take a few months to come off. Every month it will start getting easier. I am falling in love with myself more and more all the time.(I'm not conceited though) For me sometimes for meI just go back and read my jounal when I started and revel in all of the accomplishments that I ahve made thus far. And I have a list of goals that I am going to achieve. Kwheen

That's why this board is so good. Unlike the main board, we all have more than a 100 pounds to lose. I have lost 152 and am still in size 20 petite pants and have 57 pounds to lose. Being 5'2" adds to the problem. But I look good now. I feel feminine. Hopefully you will see a smaller person soon. When I had lost 100 pounds I was not the huge woman I started out as, but I was still a big girl. It didn't take but about twenty more pounds before I felt normal, before I felt I fit in. Take lots of comparison pictures. Check out my progress on my profile and you will see what I mean. Don't get discouraged. You have accomplished a lot and should be very proud. Also wear clothes that fit well, it is a big help. Many hugs, Loris

I understand what you are saying, yet you have come so far! I often say if I was 2 people, we would both be over weight. Hang in there, and yes, I love this board also... I have been approved as of Friday for the surgery and am now waiting on my date. I am glad I found this board. I find myself getting depressed lately, I found this quote that helped me, so I would like to share it. All changes, even the most longed for, have their melancholy; for what we leave behind us is a part of ourselves; we must die to one life before we can enter another. - Anatole France Each pound is a step to our new life,and since this is a life change, as long as we are moving in the right direction, its all good. Personally, I have lost weight before, but my "head" stayed fat, I am hoping that this new life will bring it all together. God bless,sounds liike you are on a wonderful trip!

Just a few weeks ago I posted something very similar on my profile. After loosing like 80 lbs I still had 160 lbs to loose just to wt 160 lbs. So after loosing 80 lbs I was still the size of 2 ppl....and u are probably right that would still be 2 overweight ppl. I am 5'11 so I figure with my height I can pull off 160 and not look fat...Only time will tell. I dont know if I can ever remember being that wt....Not anytime in the last two decades for sure. I wish u all the best on your surgery.. Its an amazing process. For me I thought the waiting game was over when I finally got to the day of my surgery...but let me tell u. After surgery the waiting is just starting. U will be waiting and waiting to get to goal. It was the best thing I ever did. I only wish I had done it sooner before my wt got so out of control and I missed out on so much of life. Mariah

Mariah - I understand completely! I had surgery in Nov 2005 and am down 150ish pounds. Everyone in my surgery month group is so much closer to goal than I am. They're all talking about being a size 8 and all their WOW moments, and I'm larger than some of them were BEFORE they had surgery. It messes with my head constantly. I try to just focus on my own moments. The other day I put on a pair of jeans that were way too small on me before surgery -- now I can slip in and out of them without even unbuttoning them - they are much too big for me. I get frustrated because my one year anniversary is coming up and I'm still waiting to do so many of the things I wanted to do. My weight loss is very slow now (even at 1000 calories a day and a regular exercise routine), and I still have soooo far to go. It's frustrating.

I can so relate to that. One girl in my group only started out at 210 lbs and she said yesterday shes almost to her goal after only 4 months. I started out at almost 400. Ive lost 90 lbs and Im not even below 300 yet... I feel like when everyone says how much wt have u lost and I tell them they look at me like My God how fat were u....and If I say I havent weighted lately or that I only wt in at my drs office so Im waiting on my next appt. I dont think they believe that either. errrrrrrrr Mariah