janesays

Before I had my surgery almost two years ago, I made a list of all the goals I had. Of those 20 or so things, I only have about 3 of my original left (I've added a few more now!) One that I recently crossed off last weekend: feeling confident in a swimsuit in Vegas! So here are some before and after pics of me. I've been maintaining between 140 and 150 for about 9 months now, and Vegas was a good way to Celebrate :thumbup:

BIG nsv for me a few days ago! my best friend from high school was in town visiting me and needed to borrow a pair of jeans. she has always been tiny to me (calls herself a size 2, but shes probably more a comfortable size 4)... before my surgery, she asked what size i wanted to be ultimately and i said i thought i didnt want to be as small as her, that i didnt think i would look good at her size. i said i would probably want to be a size 8 comfortably, and possibly a size 6 if i ever got to that point. well, a week or so ago, i actually bought my first pair of size 4 jeans (not too tight to button either, they actually fit me just perfectly! crazy i know!) so i let her try them on and... lo and behold... they fit her! she actually had to struggle a little bit to get them over her calves since they are express' ultra skinny jeans. MIND BLOWING! i don't see myself as the same size as she is, and i suppose it will take me a long time to see my body the way the rest of the world sees it, but... when i see pictures of us together now, we really are the same size! it sounds so vain but i never realized how much this would mean to me...

I think this is the first time I have ever really posted a before/after picture in here. I don't know why I have felt uncomfortable posting, but so many people have told me individually that my weight loss has inspired them -- so I just want to help as many people as possible to see that there is a healthy person, a skinny girl (dare I say it? -- a SEXY woman!) inside of them as well. I remember the night before my surgery, when I was in a hotel room with my mom, and I was showing her other people's before and after pictures. It really helped to calm both of our nerves, and to make me realize that if so many others can be successful, then I can too. I had my surgery in November 2009 at 241lbs (though at my heaviest I weighed 261lbs.) I have been consistent with my weightloss, and when a bump in the road came along in May -- my band was too tight at 7cc/10cc and I was completely unfilled -- I decided to hire a personal trainer. My trainer quickly became one of my closest friends that summer; he taught me how to take control of my body and is the reason why I have continued my success after I moved in August. (I have since added some Fluid back into my band -- about 4cc/10cc -- to help me control the occasional craving.) Just over a year past my surgery, I have surpassed my original goal of 165lbs (into the "normal bmi" range) and am just about to break the 150 barrier. I would have been happy maintaining at 160-165, of course, but I just gave my mom all of my size 10 jeans and have officially moved down to a comfy size 6! Never in a million years did I think it could happen, but the perfectionist in me realized that just being healthy wasn't enough -- I want to look DAMN good! I mean, come on... I'm 21 years old, after all... I've gotta get some dates every now and then :smile2: So here you go -- a front, a side, and a back comparison of me -- from a size 18/20 to a size 6!

I totally forgot about this challenge the past few months! even though I've still been totally aware of my diet and exercise. Wanted to check back and see what goal I had made now that it's the new year and.... I surpassed the one I made for myself! This just made my night :smile2: Name********Starting Weight*****Current*******Goal******To go 1RockinMom.........254............220.........145.......75 Alleycia...........255............220.........152.......68 ALuv82.............280.5..........259.........200......59 AmethystJade.......231.8..........212.........150......62.0 Babe...............308............267.........199.......68 Bellaperdente......196............173.........150.......23 Bklyn1984..........317............217.........165.......52 Bostongurl.........190............186.........133.......53 Brandy.............198............181.........166.......15 Cappy..............240............223.5.......130......93.5 Chocolate_Snaps....244............216.........175.......41 CubsGirl17.........147............135.........130.......5 Clarebear08........192............166.........160.......6 Donna113...........183............172.5.......126......46.5 dublingirl.........224............209.........145.......64 Ebonie.............307............298.8.......200......98.8 EmmaWang...........241............195.........140.......55 FalloutGirl........282............278.........165.......112 FeliciaLevy75......200............194.........140.......54 FlordiaPete........413............350.........300.......50 GratefulHeart......226............187.........135.......52 GuyMontag..........325............276.........200.......76 health4life........279............239.........150.......89 inri09.............287............254.........185.......69 janesays...........225............158.........160.......-2 jtejada............249............201.........170.......31 kaninag............210............200.........170.......30 kimaly.............194............179.........160.......19 Lindar172..........246............218.6.......150......68.4 Linksmom...........234............234.........145.......89 LocomotiveEngineer.311............311.........220.......91 Long2BThin.........216............178.........169........9 lotzasunshine......270............240.........199.......41 Loveislovely.......216............170.........165.......5 ltgordon...........284.8..........229.4.......185......44.4 lucyavery..........205............205.........140.......65 Mair...............231............222.........140.......83 Mamanmidwife.......264............260.........200.......60 mdgarcia31665......220............220.........165.......55 MissNilsa..........180............180.........132.......48 nicolerose.........365............288.........258.......30 Pink...............230............152.........145........7 Rhea2d.............283............233.........185.......58 Sandra267..........220............220.........165.......55 Sistergrl25........359............232.........170.......62 Snow...............227............167.........141.......26 stacy73............285............214.........160.......54 Tabithan...........240............240.........200.......40 Tuger..............217............178.........130.......48 Under200...........242............199.........155.......44 vzghj3.............202............202.........150.......52 Wendy_Wo...........242............218.........142.......76 WOWOX7.............173............147.........125.......22 Zoom-Zoom..........229............201.........135.......66

drew and angie you both look AWESOME!

Erin Marie-- I used to cut the tags out of my clothes for the same reason! definitely don't do that anymore... lol congrats on your incredible weight loss so far!

i started working at a new office about 6 weeks ago, so everyone there has never known me as the fat girl. and because i work for a magazine publisher, our floor of maybe 100 people is about 75% women (a good number of whom are very pretty, skinny and fashionable), so the guys that work there flirt, all day long. its not really a big deal, its mostly a younger group (in their mid-twenties) so its a fun atmosphere, but its weird to be included in that group of "hot girls" that these guys hit on. sooo i have a related NSV to this that i feel really horrible telling anyone else, i even feel a little weird telling you guys! but i know most of you (girls at least) completely agree with me that you've secretly wanted this one.... well: of all of the guys at our work, theres really only one that many of the girls actually flirt back with. i can see why, by normal standards, hes very attractive -- tall, athletic, confident --though this isnt really my type so i dont flirt with him. hes still a fun guy though, so i think of him as a nice work friend. but last night a big group of us went to a bar after work and in front of all these girls who were trying to get his attention, this one guy kept on talking to me -- and at the end of the night asked for my number in front of some of the other girls! (and-- stupid me, i actually gave it to him because i didnt believe that he was actually trying to pick up me and not these other gorgeous women that were so obviously flirting with him.... but i figured it out later that night when he sent me a booty text! HA!) soooooo yeah, sorry for this long story, but this is a big nsv for me-- I TURNED DOWN A "HOT GUY"! this is the biggest confidence booster! i feel so horrible saying this one out loud after all of those years of being rejected, but i dont feel so bad, because i assume this guy hasnt gotten turned down very often. and i am only saying it to you guys because otherwise its really embarrassing and i dont think other people would understand why its a big deal... that this guy chose to pick ME up and not the other gorgeous girls.... wow!