is it ok to be content?

just wondering if and when is anyone else content? here is my short story, december 2010 i was 295, my highest ever was 309, had been at the 295 for like as long as i can remember, had made contact with surgeon and had bypass on april 4th 2011, had lost 20 pounds before surgery...the scaled moved along rather nicely, with no major stalls, i had gone out of state for 3.5 months at my 2 month post op mark.... came home on september 6th ish and was 201...now since then i have been doing the weight loss 2 step shuffle...up and down and back and forth..but i am now some what holding at the 190 mark.....every once in a while brief second, i think i saw that on the scale i see the 189...but so far nothing lower than that...
i am very happy with the weight loss i have obtained....i wear a size 16 now..started out in 24/26 and i have some med/large shirts...

is it ok to be content here? i have been following the plan, some days i get a cheat in or two..but i pretty much follow the rules 90% of the t ime....i have a treadmill, i try to get on and do 1.5 miles a day..some days fine, some days not so fine...i do attend a line dance class 3 days a week for 1.5-2 hours each day, plus i dance and practice the dances at home...the pool is now open and just about ready to get in it....so then will be adding my pool exercises along with the line dancing....
i have a bad left knee, and very bad back (herniated disc) that was the main reason for the surgeyr to get the weight off my back as they were wanting to do surgery on the back...NOT SO MUCH!!!
i have to be realisitc here, i am not going to join a gym, done have the money, and the thought of going and working on the machines with others...not so much..that is why i have a treadmill at home..., i am not going to be running any marathons or sky diving or doing any major hiking of the mountains and things like that....im just a 50 old granny that loves to hang out with my kids and grandkids and hubby....we did get a metel dectector so am looking forward to doing that with hubby..
i am fine with where i am if i dont loose anymore weight, i am fine if i loose some more...surgeons made suggestion that he thought i could get to 150, i am 5'3 but then told another gal a friend of mine that is taller than i am that he thougth she could get down to 130...so that did not make much sense to me,  i have not had a single problem at all with the surgery, not once thrown up, had only a couple of very minor stuck episodes, if i can call them that...just did not feel too well after i ate, had a little pain and my nose kept running so i had to blow several times...but i have not dumped even once....the main problem i have is constipation...i am off all my diabetes medicine, high blood pressure, high cholestral medicines...and have been off all of them since a week of surgery..was taken off the diabetes while in the hospital after surgery..
is it wrong to be content? i look pretty ok in clothes, i have alot of clothes now, that were given to me, i look pretty ok mostly while nakey even to my own eye...hubby is quite taken...i still have the girls 42DD still after loosing 105 pounds...they are just headed south, they have been for many years now....i do have some sagging skin, but its pretty ok at this point...if i were to loose another 40 pounds i dont think i would feel that way about the skin and nakey body....there is no way i will be going under the knife for plastics....i would maybe, maybe, maybe consider a breast reduction as i do have some pain in the shoulers since the girls are just so large...that runs in the family.....
but i am content where i am at as of now...i will be fine here, i will be fine with maybe 10 pounds more gone..i would love to be a run way model too, but i have to be realistic here....its not gonna happen. ha ha...i have not really changed much with what i am doing since september and have only lost 11 pounds since then..i know our bodies will find where they want to be....i think this is where i am at...i have met my goals for this surgery, i wanted weight off, i wanted off my diabetics medicines and not to have to poke my fingers anymore...i have met those goals..i did not have a goal weight in mind to be honest or a size to get into....i can get all stressed out about not being smaller, i can stress out about having to go to the gym and the amount of calories i eat and burn....and it can consume my life if i were to allow it...the food plan my surgeons office has me on is...
4-6 oz of protein and 2-4 oz of fruit or vegge 3 times a day and 2 protein snacks... they never really stressed calories...i keep my snacks as some times i have had low blood surger and those are not fun...but that was early out, and not so much now....

so i am pretty content where i am at now, not going to change what i am doing, i enjoy my food  when i eat, get very satisified with the variety...i am moving way more than i ever did for the last 15 years or more...or should i get stressed out and try to get the last 40 pounds off since the weight charts (which i think is alot of bunk) still says that i am obese?
i have no idea if my body is done loosing, i am at just the year mark post op....but it does just seem a little funny that i have kinda came to a halt....but loosing, but kind of maintaining i guess....
so sorry this turned out so very long..didnt intend for that to happen..
thanks guys
debby

 It's ok to be content in ANY life situation you are in. Sometimes we feel, by virtue of the fact that we have had surgery, we must strive for a certain amount of weight lost and that it's imprudent to show contentment until we get to that point.

Hogwash! You are allowed to be happy with you each and every day. If, for you, this is a true lifestyle change, all contentment really means is that you don't torture yourself about your weight (or stress about it at the very least). But in changing your lifestyle you know you need activity each day, you know you need water, vitamins and protein. So if you've changed your LIFESTYLE, what do you envision changing besides your mentality?

I will say there is a point where you decide to stop going at it QUITE so hard. I do that now. I don't go to the gym every day. I get activity every day, but some days that's just a nice long walk to clear my head. I still strength train. I am training for my first 5k, so my activity more revolves around my interests over wanting or needing a certain caloric burn.

But other than that life is very similar to when I was trying to lose weight. I still strive to make good food decisions. I still follow the rules of WLS. 

 The surgery takes off about 100 pounds.  Normally at about 30 months there is a bounceback gain of 20 or so pounds.  Trying to get off more than 100 pounds is possible, but requires effort, especially for a woman.  If being content means that you are continuing with your diet and exercise program and accepting that there will be no more weight loss and probable 20 pound gain, then being content is fine.

If being content means a lot more cheating and a lot less exercise, then it is not such a good idea.  You are still in the honeymoon phase of weight loss surgery.  It gets much harder after the second year.  The smartest thing you could do now is take advantage of the surgery honeymoon period and try to get off another 20 pounds.  

That will give you a cushion for bounceback gain and you will be so thankful that you did not get content too quickly.

 White Dove, there is no set amount of weight a person can expect to lose from WLS. I lost 155. I know folks who have lost upwards of 300 lbs (and much of that in the first 18 mos.). It really does depend on too many factors to simply say the surgery takes off 100 lbs.

Most surgeons will tell you surgery will take off 50-80% of your excess body weight. Getting to 100% of your excess body weight, as you pointed out, takes some work. 

I have to agree with Nik.  There is no set amount someone will lose.  I've lost over 150.  I know people who have lost about 50.  There is an average percentage that people will lose - but that's all it is - just an average.

Whether you lose 150, 100, 50... it's not just up to the surgery.  There is a significant amount of "other" that goes into this as well.  That other includes diet and exercise, which - SURPRISE - are still just as important post op as it was pre-op.  I WORK hard for my weight loss and have to keep working even harder to maintain it.

I'm not sure where you got the 100 pounds number from.  Statistically, people lose about 80% of their excess weight, which could be 100 pounds, could be more, could be less (I'm getting that number from the website of Dr. Charles Callery, bariatric surgeon).

Dr. Callery also reports that a "bounce back" of 15% of a person's excess weight is common.

I'm a woman, and it actually didn't take any more effort for me to get the last 50 pounds off than it took to get the first 100 off.

I spent more than 10 years researching before I had surgery. I followed people who ate just like before only less, those who followed strict diet and exercise plans and those who kind of did some of both.

Most lost about 100 pounds. After that the diet and exercise people lost more weight and did better maintaining. I do not know anyone who did not bounce back by end of year 3.

I do know people *****gained every pound. The ones who maintained did it by working at it.

 I'm sure if you look across the spectrum of WLS patients, you'll find that their weight loss tends to follow a pattern of percentage of excess body weight lost. But even if you choose not to do that, you have three people who posted that they lost more than 100 lbs. with no more or less effort AFTER the 100 lb. mark tha before.

I posted mostly because I don't want newbies to think that number is based on anything but your opinion. Because it simply isn't 100% accurate. But we weren't challenging how much you looked into your own surgery. I am sure you researched a lot and WAY more than I did. 

From your post, you seem to be conflicted.  Is it ok to be content? Of course it is. The questions you should be asking your self are...
1. are all my co mobilities gone?
2. does my weight limit me, with activities I can do with my grands, or anything else?
3. Is this weight healthy for my heart?
If you are satisfied with the answers to these questions then you should be content. No matter what 100 lbs lost no matter the method is something to be proud of and you are better off becasue of it. 

Good Luck! and Congratulations on your accomplishments!!!!

You can absolutely be content at any size, weight, whatever.  And it's perfectly OK!  Contentment with oneself is an important part of a journey.  Content is satisfaction without wanting more.  But you can still achieve more while still being content...

HOWEVER, what you don't want to become is complacent.  Complacency got me to almost 300 pounds.  Complacency signifies a level of comfort where one does not realize danger or defect.  In some case contentment leads to complacency - you add a few more carbs here, another small cheat there...

So be content and happy with what you have achieved, you've done great!  But keep that awareness, and don't let yourself think that that is all you can and will achieve.  You still have a lot of magic left in your tool and you probably will lose more while being content- and can lose a lot more after that with some hard work.

Isn't it great to feel so much better after losing weight?!?