peaceout

As many others have stated, I was fooling myself by thinking that I wasn't as obese as I actually was. But, now that the weight is coming off, I find myself doing little things that prove I really was aware of it before, even if I couldn't admit it to myself. A few examples: I'm always checking out seats/chairs/booths to see if they'll hold me. I turn sideways when passing people in narrow hallways so that they have enough room to get by. I always stand in the back of a group photo. As soon as I sit down on a couch or chair I pull a pillow into my lap to cover my belly. My husband brought the hallway thing to my attention the other day at the movies. He says, "You know there were at least 2 feet between you and that lady, right?" Nope, I thought I was about to bump into her!

Congrats! If you've still got 5 weeks to go, you're definitely going to be prepared for those 13 miles. Good luck with the rest of your training!

166 today. Hope everyone has a good week!

167.0 today-no change.

Congrats! It really is amazing how much your life can change over the course of a few months!

I went on a cruise in January and I was 6 months post-op. Like the previous posters have said, eating really was a non-issue! I liked that there was always some sort of buffet going on, because on my plan I am supposed to eat 5-6 times daily. So for the mid-morning and mid-afternoon times where the main dining wasn't open, it was easy to go get some chicken, fish, or shrimp from a buffet. For the dining room meals, I never had anyone comment on my eating patterns. I think they're used to picky eaters, as well as the people who will eat enough for 3+ people, so nothing seems all that weird to them! My tip: Make use of that gym and the walking/jogging track and any other activities that you can! And for the excursions, pick the walking/hiking/kayaking/etc. ones. It really was a whole new type of vacation for me, actually welcoming the more physical activities instead of dreading them. Enjoy your cruise. I'm a semi-frequent cruiser, and this most recent one was my favorite because I looked better, felt better, and was in total control of myself. I certainly splurged a little (dessert here and there, my first alcoholic beverages since surgery), but still came back and lost 1 pound that week! It was amazing.

Welcome! I think it's completely normal to feel a little overwhelmed and have lots of thoughts swirling around in your mind right before surgery. Especially for those who don't have to do the 6-month or longer insurance requirements, things can move along at a crazy pace. Your fears/concerns are legitimate, but keep looking around on here and I think you'll see that while there certainly are people who have complications, most of them say they'd have the surgery again in a heartbeat. And you've got lots of success stories from vets who prove that unlike things they'd tried previously, they are doing well at the maintenance thing this time around. Good luck with your surgery. I wish you nothing but the best!

167.0 today.

Congrats on a terrific NSV. That's awesome!

Congrats on hitting that big milestone! You're doing awesome!

I only took one full week off of work. I had my surgery on a Friday so I had a full week plus an extra weekend, but I had a pretty easy recovery and was ready to go back. I don't have a terribly strenuous job, though. Good luck to you!

168.5 today. *Happy dance* I can't remember the last time I was in the 160's. Maybe middle school?

Starting weight: 170 Goal Weight: 165

171 for me. On to the Easter challenge, hopefully with more success! Thanks again for doing this challenge.

Thanks for doing another challenge- I'm going to try to actually hit my goal for once! I'll post stats next week!

172.0 today. Not going to make my goal, but at least the scale is still going down.

172.5 today. Thanks!

Another vote for black and white! You look amazing.

173.5 today. I better pick up the pace!

What timing! I just got back from a 7-day cruise yesterday, at 6 months post-op. I was worried about the food too, but was so relieved to find out it was no big deal at all. I wasn't perfect. I ate some things that I wouldn't normally, but instead of heaping platefuls, I'd take a small portion and wouldn't even finish it. Breakfast was pretty easy given all the eggs, meats, cottage cheese, fruit, etc. lunch and dinner were more difficult because a lot of items were fried, but I could always find something. I actually liked the fact that there was constantly food available, because it made it easy for me to get some Protein in me every 3 hours without standing out. I had good intentions of going to the gym, but I only made it twice. The rest of the days, I did laps on the walking track. I made sure to get my heart pumping, but I just wanted to be outside as much as possible! Something to work on for next time, I suppose. Sorry to ramble, but long story short, don't worry yourself about it too much. The options are there; you could eat 100% to plan without much difficulty with the normal food they provide. But if you do decide that you want to splurge a little because it's vacation, what better place to do it than somewhere where you're not cooking, cleaning, or having to worry about the leftovers?

174.5 today.

I had my surgery last June at age 28. I was morbidly obese but otherwise free of any other health issues. I was only "out of commission" for about 5 days. Surgery was on a Friday, out of the hospital Saturday, driving (so off pain meds for 24 hours) by Wednesday, back at work the following Monday. While people certainly can have a more difficult recovery, I don't think my case is unusual. I think that having this surgery can only help the other aspects of your life, as well. As much as we want to think it isn't true, people do judge based on appearances, and that includes potential employers. And travel is much, much easier without carrying around all the extra weight. Good luck with whatever path you choose, and feel free to message me if you have any other questions about my recovery, surgery process, etc.

@@momfromjersey22 Things have started to slow down for me recently, but I'm typically still losing 0.5-1 pound per week. It's certainly not as thrilling as seeing those bigger losses at the beginning, but it's still amazing to me that I've lost 80+ pounds over the past year. Are you noticing a slowdown? When was your surgery. I was 6/26/15

Thanks for taking this over! My starting weight is 175.5 and my goal weight is 169.

175.5 today- so close to my darn goal! Thanks again Steph for putting this together and I hope everyone has a wonderful New Year! Bring on 2016!