it took them a LONG time

At the beginning of Dec. 2010, I weighed 351 lbs. I started worked hard at losing prior to my VSG and dropped 59 by my July 28/11 surgery date when I weighed 292. I now weigh 247 for a total loss of 104 lbs in less than one year. Oh which I must say I am rather proud!
What surprised me was that it was just in the last couple of weeks that people at work started to comment on my weight loss.... I mean it took more than 100 lbs. before anyone really noticed! I guess that's a reminder of how "normal" people look at the obese... they don't really see us in some ways. They just see FAT and there isn't a sliding scale on that.
Oh well, the good thing is that my loss is currently 'on pause' and has barely moved a pound in over three weeks which is highly frustrating but with a whole bunch of people suddenly commenting on my weight loss, at least it helps keep me motivated.
I know the loss will start again and I'm trying to cheer myself by thinking that perhaps since I've been doing so much more exercise in the past five or six weeks, it could be that I'm just building up muscle now and that's fooling the scale... oh well, whatever helps keep us sane eh??
Lynn

Congrats on the big loss!  People are just funny.  They notice the strangest things about us at the strangest times.  I know I was disappointed when one of my co-workers hadn't said anything but just last week she followed me down the hall and said "wow you've really lost weight"  I'll take delayed gratification.  Instant gratification got me to where I was.  keep up with the exercise.  You are doing great.

Thanks Kim,
Yeah we all have to just keep working it don't we.
Funny thing is, a couple of the people who commented to me also did so after following me down the hall... lol... guess my caboose used to really be something!

Congrats on the awesome total loss!  That is such a great achievement!

I have lost 69 pounds now and pretty much everyone comments on it (I was a lightweight starting out).  But today, I saw someone that I don't see often and he couldn't figure out what was different about me.  He kept asking about my hairstyle change (there hasn't been one).  So, some folks just see it differently (or are too scared to make a comment about the weight).

69... good for you... it is a good feeling as it goes, isn't it?
And yes, I think some people are a little scared to comment. One woman asked was I losing weight intentionally and when I said yes she congratulated me. She said she had friends who got very sick and started losing lots of weight so she's always concerned about whether it's something intentional or a health issue.I hadn't even thought of that. As a lifelong chubby, to me weight loss is ALWAYS intentional...lol... but as we get older, I can see where other scenarios might also occur.
ANd of course some people are brought up never to make comments about other people's looks so it probably seems rude to comment on weight loss.
Lynn

Congratulations on your loss; that's AWESOME! What a difference a year makes!

Yes, I can hardly believe it's a whole year since I started on this. I can still remember contacting the clinic in Mexico where I originally planned to do this due to the long wait lists here. I got their pre-surgical diet via email and went out to buy the first scale I'd owned in decades.
Today I got on and it said 244.4.... SUCH a long way down from my starting point. It only makes me sad that so many years went by when the weight only went up, but things are different now and from now on!
Lynn

Wow, I never thought about Mexico having a long wait list. When I think about the 10 yrs it took for me to make this decision and come out of my own pocket . . .

Now, it is worth everything in the world to me and I am so glad I made this decision! I don't dwell on it but it is so weird to remember the weight struggles and continual increases and how now the scale just continues to go down, down, down.

I love my sleeve and like you, this will be PERMANENT loss because I refuse to go back!

I should clarify. The long wait was not for Mexico. It was for Canada. I had waited more than two years here in Canada (BC) and was then told it would be at least another two years. I was 56 and not sure how much longer I could wait due to health issues including pre-diabetes and some cholesterol problems (had to have an angioplasty and a stent put into a major artery) so, although I had no money, I looked into Mexico. I was prepared to go down there in Jan. 2010 but saw another bariatric surgeon in BC who said he could do the surgery by June so I decided not to do Mexico (thus saving $10,000) and had my surgery here in Canada in July. It was during that Dec-July time that I lost my first 60 lbs and have now lost about 45 more since the surgery.
Like you, I feel this is for good. I have found the tool that works with me to make the weight go away. Not as fast as some, but it is going and I'm grateful for every pound that goes and I will NEVER let it come back.
If I'd had to go into debt for Mexico I would have done it though. And it would have been worth it. This is the best thing I have ever done for my body!
Keep on rockin your sleeve and enjoying the success.... yippee!
Lynn

PS by the way, you are doing great! You must be starting to really feel better. Keep up the good work!