So hard to believe

Good morning my North American OH Peeps!

I got up & weighed myself this morning....

I am finally at 175!

My goal weight! I had my RNY January 4th, 2017. I am at almost 7 months out!

This journey has been amazing!

I have to admit that I never ever thought it would be so easy. Giving up NSAIDs has been the only struggle. I have chronic arthritic joint & back pain. Losing the weight has not changed that. I was an Advil/Motrin/Naproxen junky.... I found such amazing relief. Tylenol just isn't a great pain reliever.

A bit of a struggle with constipation early on & that resolved thanks to some great advice here.

Giving up alcohol, starches, everything white, junk food was surprisingly easy.

I thought that I would never ever be able to eat without drinking at the same time but that has become second nature.

I have to admit that I feel awesome both physically and psychologically. The positive feedback has been amazing! My friends have said that I am like a different person. I am much happier. I look younger and have more energy. I must admit that I have a skip in my step.

What is most important in this journey is that I am healthier. I had a CT for history of kidney stones & I was surprised to see that for the first time in 25 years that I don't have a fatty liver.

I am wearing a size 10-12 (large). I am in awe of that human being in the mirror. I see the changes and I am amazed at the success this tool has given me.

I only wish I had done it years ago!

My goal now is to become more active. I have started cycling 10 km every morning.

I would love to continue the weight loss to a new goal weight of 165 lbs. but my physician believes that it may not be a healthy weight for me.

So.... for now.... I am going to try and continue being more active & eating clean.

I truly believe that everything in life happens for a reason. I believe that this is my second chance at being happy and healthy again.

The sky is the limit.

Thank you so much to each & every one of you for your ongoing support.

I measure most of my success as a result of the advice that I received here.

Take care

Sandra

Mahalo

Congratulations!

I think though- that you should keep going to the goal weight you are comfortable with. From what I've seen, most centres are pretty conservative in their weight loss approcah

Congrats on your wonderful accomplishment!

Congrats!

Congrats! You have really worked hard!

Ceci

Congratulations!!!

If you are thinking about losing more, then go for it! It's not like we don't know how to gain weight if you don't like yourself thinner

You've done a great job!

OMG Pammieanne!

You are too funny! I truly was laughing out loud!

I must say my former self does have a history of weight gain, but she is gone.

There's a new gal in town!

Beware... that former girl is still around...

She's just been out of town...

At 6 months my former girl was gone too... now my brain tries to reincarnate her on a regular basis

Plus, at only 6 months out... you will have to actually work NOT to lose more weight.

Don't be afraid if you dip a bit lower... according to the VETS around here, the battle doesn't even get hard until year 3... and that part scares the hell out of me.

Congratulations, Sandra! I totally still have a skip in my step almost four years later - the amount of energy I have, and the lack of knee pain, and just the joy of being a healthy weight and moving around world as a "normal sized" person continues to be a joy.

I'm not sure how tall you are, but I recommend you blow past your doctor's goal and keep going. Many people (it's not INEVITABLE but it's common) gain 10 or 20 lbs bounce back in year 3. The malabsorption is gone, the compliments wane, your "new" body isn't new anymore, old habits can creep in...girl, just keep going. None of us got morbidly obese to the point we needed surgery because we can control our eating. So I vote you go as low as you can. Don't start adding things in because you're in maintenance. Over time, your calories in will equal your calories burned and you will stay at that weight. But I think you can still, at seven months out and a size large, continue on and blow your doctor's goal. Just my two cents!

I am thrilled you have this second chance at being happy and healthy! I too, have never regretted my RNY for one single second!

Congratulations on your progress/success!!

Regarding your back pain, have you tried a lidocaine patch yet? My father has experienced great relief with it for his painfully arthritic lower back. He wears a patch everyday, 12 hours on and 12 hours off. It's made a huge difference with pain relief and without the GI risks of painkillers (NSAIDs or narcotics).