Are we ever truly happy??

So I reached my goal this week, I was a light weight so down 76 pounds and now weighing 157, I am 5'4" and 56 years old.  My life is better in so many ways, fewer meds, better endurance, peace of mind, happiness but I still see the "fat girl" in the mirror and the muffin top and the jiggly belly.  I will never be a runner or a heavy duty weight lifter, my joints won't take it anymore but I have decided to change my goal to 145--another 12 pounds which I think should be doable.

I will say that my brain might be catching up a little with my weight loss 'cause i looked in the mirror the other day and thought to myself "I never realized my nose was that big"......must be accepting the loss in my face.

I'll give this a whirl, thanks for all the continued encouragement

 

Laurie

Hi Laurie.  Congratulations on reaching your goal (or, first goal)! 

I'm not at goal yet.  I don't think I even have a goal set, to be honest - I almost feel like I'll jinx myself if I set a goal!  I've tentatively set my first goal at 188, which will take me out of the "obese" BMI, and then I'll see where it goes from there.  But I'm actually pretty happy right now, strangely enough.  I have the jigglies starting in the arms, and definitely have the muffin top, but I just feel so great and look so much better than before that even if I never lost another pound, I think I'd still like myself pretty well the way I am, having such a recent memory of how I was before surgery.  (Which doesn't mean I don't want to lose more - I definitely do!)

I don't see a fat girl in the mirror anymore, which is weird because I still am obese at 5' 6.5" and 215 lbs.  Every time I catch a glimpse of myself in a mirror or other reflective surface like a window, I'm pleasantly shocked at the silhouette.  Yes, I have the flabby bits and I'm not skinny, but for some reason, I don't mind them.  (And I'm also enjoying the magic of shapewear to rein in the muffin top a bit...haha.)  And I've been having so much fun with make-up over the past few months that I don't mind that the double-chin isn't completely gone yet (and probably never will be since the skin will likely sag more and get jowly, the more I lose).

I'll never be a runner either.  I'm okay with that.  I want to find physical activity that I really enjoy and be able to do it.  Maybe that will be riding a bike, or paddling a canoe or kayak.  We'll see.

I hope you start to "see it" soon when you look in the mirror.  :)  I'm betting you look fabulous!

I don't think I'll ever see myself the way others see me now. It's easy around those people that knew me when I was obese because they knew what I used to look like and therefore now that the initial "wow you look amazing" has worn off nothing is said either way.

Just last night i went to the casino and had to show my ID. The guy went on and on about how great I looked. It made me so uncomfortable because although I'm happy to talk to people about what I did and what I have to do for the rest of my life (when I told him I have to track everything I eat he was like "oh there is no magic solution.") I still see myself as obese.

I'm also very happy that I don't have to deal with the dating scene now either. I don't want to sound egotistical but I would go crazy any time I'd get a compliment because my response would be "yeah but I didn't always look this way."

This surgery is more a mind game then anything else.

 

*high fives* Awesome!!!!

This is not uncommon.



I think deep down we often have the expectation that our bodies will be a normal thin (I.e. no saggy skin, bumpies and lumps etc). I'm not any younger or less wrinkly because I'm thinner. Lol.



Losing weight, i was and still am far more critical of my body than when I was 290 lbs.



Dawn

Body image for many of us remains a constant struggle. I am still often amazed when I look in the mirror and the image I see back is thin.

The surgery helps with losing the weight. The mind games have to be worked on