One of those 'will I ever reach my goal weight' after my almost 1yr follow up

I met with my surgeon today. I am 11 months 1 week post op. I only called him last week asking for a re-fill on my PPI RX that I forgot to get back in July. ( I hardly take my PPI now since I don't feel heartburn,  but apparently he said its required to take it 1x a day for 2 years?) 

Aside from my slump of sadness which I will explain in a minute, my appointment went AMAZING. He said I am right where I should be this far out: -110lbs down! He is so impressed with me and my overall being, that he asked me to be a speaker at his seminar next week and also do a testimonial. He recently moved to a different area and is now associated with 3 different hospitals than when I first became his patient. I am so happy for him and his success! ANYWAY, I was thrilled he asked me to do this! Of course I said yes. I am so happy with my life right now and I encourage ANYONE who is thinking about WLS- especially VSG!

Now my slumpness: He told me that even though I am 199 (my scale at home is 197) my 'ideal weight' could be around 155-170 depending. I am a short just under 5'3. I do not want to be text book weight of about 120lbs. NOW the issue? He said I have at LEAST10lbs (or more) of flabby loose skin weight from my thighs, wings, and abdomen. F.M.L. How would I reach 'goal' if I have this extra skin?

I asked him about weight training and cardio and he said that it will help but not enough to truly get rid of this extra 'weight' in skin. UGH. I know it was bound to happen, I know its there- hello I see it daily. But hearing it from him just put it into reality I guess. I know majority of us go through it. Some said that because I am young my skin will go back blah blah however, what will my skin go back to?? I have always been fat. I wasnt a former thinner person who gained too much weight and had WLS. I was a fatty people LOL. So, its just something I have to get over OR make go away. He unofficially told me to start documenting with my Primary any type of rashes and irritations in certain parts of the body. Noted and will start that in a few months once my insurance switches over (Unless this obama care screws me: we'll see) 

Just wanted to share and vent a tad. =)

A lot of non-PS (and even some plastic surgeons) over estimate how much the excess skin weighs. Id be shocked if your stomach skin weighed 10 lbs (unless there is fat there too which you can lose) - skin is very light and doesnt weigh much. I lost over 200 lbs at the time of my plastic surgery and from my whole body (arms, stomach, thighs) my surgeon removed 8 lbs. Most people who just do TT - their skin weighs ~2 lbs or so.(obviously varies though).

In order to NOT drive yourself crazy, throw those thoughts about "how can I reach goal" out of your mind...focus on reaching your goal. If you find yourself 10 lbs from that goal, and you look at your whole body and say " i dont have any fat left that I want to lose" then you can call yourself at goal. But if you get caught up in the "what ifs..." - that never ends well for anyone.

Congrats on your success and being asked to speak!! Thats pretty freaking amazing!

OMG thank you for that response. I thought my head was going to pop off the other day when I read either on this site or in a Facebook group when someone said "I figure I've probably got 25-30 lbs of extra skin on me... so I've adjusted my goal" or something like. WTF! If that's how we're doing this then screw it! I've got 50 lbs of extra skin on me... DONE! haha

LOL it was a tad upsetting and to me I was like crap, even if I get down aother 25lbs it gets me to 172lbs that means i could have an extra 10lbs of skin over my entire body which is preventing me from getting to say 160 or so. I didnt want it to drive me nuts. I seriously bet I have 8-10 lbs of skin on my body though, I would post pictures buuuuuut I wont. . . yet. Maybe when I get off these extra possibly 25lbs or more so it wont be anytime soon.

Well it isnt my stomach alone, its my stomach flabs, upper and lower, my wings are horrible, and my thighs are disgusting (to me lol) so combined theres a lot. So I guess mine wont be more than 10lbs combined but it looks like it. I will always have the flab, but I think its also a wake up call to not just stick to cardio at the gym- Thanks to Keith I have saved some pretty kick ass work outs saved on my phone. I gotta get back to them as well. It was just a tad downer yesterday thats all.

Thank you =) I am nervous but excited to speak for him!

Congratulations on your speaking engagement! Look at it this way, your doc is so proud of what you've accomplished that he wants you to share your success with others to help motivate them.  This is a good thing! This is a reinforcement of all the good things that you've been doing for the last year. Be PROUD of that....on the flip side, no, you are not at your personal goal yet, but who the heck cares? Are you still vigilant? Are you still losing? Are you still on plan? If the answer is yes, then sweetie, it's a marathon, not a sprint. Just keep after it one day at a time and you will get there. It doesn't really matter how long it takes, just that you arrive. (((Hugs)))

Deb

Thank you!! He is proud of me and so am I. I may not be the 'best' patient out there when it comes to always following the 'plan and rules' however I am still down -110lbs. I am so happy with my life right now and where I am at, even at 197lbs. I havent been this weight since middle school, and I will be 26 next month. So yes, I am proud and happy of how far I have come in the past 11 months, but my journey is for the rest of my life, its amazing! It's refreshing to hear from others that its OKAY to not reach goal in x amount of time. I know its how it is, but hearing it from others helps. Thank you!!!!