How many vets are actually AT goal and staying there?

[feedyoureye 3,087]

Its working great for me... Im 60 as well... never got to goal.... have lost half of my regain in the last two weeks.

http://www.verticalsleevetalk.com/topic/83317-the-52-diet/

also "want to get to goal?" thread has some posts about it.

[Georgia 2,908]

I am completely freaking out.

My regain is about 15 lbs and no matter what I do' date=' it won't come off. I'm not grazing. I am eating right. I can't exercise as much as I used to. I used to go to the gym almost 7 days a week. I can't go on the weekends anymore. My life is completely different now than it was 4 years ago.

I'm 60 years old and it seems like like my metabolism has come to a complete stand still. Some days I wake up and weigh myself and I've gained 2 lbs and I was totally on track the day before. It's like I have to live on salad to keep the regain at 10 lbs.

None of my clothes fit. I hate this. I've been dieting my entire life other than the first few months post op, when the weight was falling off and I had no desire to eat.[/quote']

Go to 5:2 forum under Vets. I was right in your shoes as were many of us Vets. Found something working for us. Good luck!

[Escape_Pod 358]

I've been lurking on this thread, but I guess I'm going to be brave and step into the fray.

I'll start by admitting I have serious eating issues. About a year before I had surgery, I felt so out of control with binge eating, and helpless to do anything about it, that I sought professional help. It was an interesting process, but one that helped me with insight (why), rather than with strategies (so, now what?).

When I decided to pursue WLS, I did so with the clear understanding that it was not going to be a fix for my eating issues, just a tool to help me manage the physical hunger. The first 6 months or so post-op felt fairly easy, and I surpassed my surgeon's goal, I became an avid runner, and completely changed both what and how I eat, with every intention of making those changes permanent. But carbs and sugar began to creep back into my diet, and it took me another 6 months to lose 14.5 of the last 15 pounds to get to my personal goal.

I suspect I could have been one of those people who struggles a bit to quit losing, if I'd stuck to eating what I'd planned, but I'm struggling again with binge eating, and as of this morning I'm about 23 pounds from my personal goal (I hate to admit it,but I've been quite a bit higher than this).

I've tried CBT, and I read everything I can get my hands on dealing with emotional eating, sugar addiction, etc. I haven't made it to an OA meeting yet, but I know where and when the nearest meeting is, and I'm seriously considering it.

Does this mean I don't "have any 'smarts' at all", since I regained quite a bit?

...Ouch....

I frequently see discussions about regain that comment "sure, if you're sucking down milkshakes and ice cream all day you can regain", and "you can eat around the sleeve if you're determined to", the implication being that those of us who don't maintain well are stupid, or stubbornly choose this path. I understand the fear of regain, and the desire to feel "safe", to think "I'm too smart to do that, so I'll be ok". But I'm a confident, well-educated woman, with a graduate degree and a good career in an intellectual field. And I'm very self-aware of my eating issues. I get on the scale every single morning, even knowing I wasn't going to be happy about the number I'd see there. Yes, I was scared about regaining. Yes, I knew I needed to address those few pounds before they became more. But I haven't got this figured out yet, and some days my old habits win. I'd venture to say that a good percentage of us have work to do on the mental/emotional side of this journey, and I feel a bit lost on that path.

Still, I have no regrets about having chose surgery. I'm out hiking every weekend I can be, up at 5am to head out in the mountains with the birds and the squirrels (I'm a grouchy hiker with hermit tendencies, so I gotta hit that trail before the chatty groups show up!) I'm much happier, and more confident in my body, even with the regain. I can't fit into all the skinny clothes in my closet, but I still believe it's possible to get there, and I'm not giving up. And, I'm pretty proud of the 80+ pounds I haven't regained, and I know without a doubt that without surgery, I'd probably weigh even more than I did pre-op.

[clk 3,519]

My regain is about 15 lbs and no matter what I do, it won't come off.

Okay, another vote to try 5:2 from me. You've struggled for a long time with those stubborn pounds and with staying at goal. Me, too! Well, not with staying at goal...but we all know I scooted my goal up because I just couldn't get smaller! I did a detox starting last Friday and fasted. I was making myself cuckoo over food and the scale so I put the scale away. I hadn't intended to start 5:2 yet but honestly? I had already done the two fast days so I went ahead and tracked my food and kept my calories under control and was watching what I was eating.

I'm not sure if it's that I finally stopped dieting or if not looking at the scale did it, or even if just not stressing out and talking to my husband about the crap bugging my brain lately...but my pants were loose this morning so I did weigh and HOLY FREAKING SH*T I am down 9 pounds. Yeah, you heard me - I'm back at my pre-pregnancy weight and it only took 4 days.

Now yeah, PdxMan can hop on here and tell me it was my glycogen stores and he's probably right, but lemme tell you - I'd been watching what I eat like a hawk for 2.5 months before sliding off track two weeks ago. I have no idea what's going on, but there is nothing to stop you from giving it a shot.

And the reason I finally tried it was that after really looking into it, this is how I was maintaining so easily before I had my daughter. Without realizing it, I was pretty much doing 6:1 and it was absolutely effortless to maintain.

Join us and give it a shot. Nobody wants to diet forever, that's for sure. I'm actually going to stay on 5:2 and see how far I can go with this. I still intend to stay off the scale and not weigh daily for right now, but this plan clearly does something that works.

I frequently see discussions about regain that comment "sure, if you're sucking down milkshakes and ice cream all day you can regain", and "you can eat around the sleeve if you're determined to", the implication being that those of us who don't maintain well are stupid, or stubbornly choose this path. I understand the fear of regain, and the desire to feel "safe", to think "I'm too smart to do that, so I'll be ok".

Thank you for posting this. I have definitely been guilty of phrasing things this way. It is SO easy to be cocky when you're not hungry and eating isn't of interest. Until my recent struggles I really felt that it was a clear-cut and simple choice and of course I would never make those choices.

But the reality for me is that I do not have to be hungry to eat. I've spent my life eating for a myriad of reasons and you know what? I enjoy it. I like food. I love to cook, I love to bake and I get pretty darn excited about my KAF catalog showing up. I mean, I order cookbooks for fun and I read them cover to cover like books! Food and I? We have a serious relationship. A pretty dysfunctional one at times, but it's there all the same.

We're smart people. But we're also human. We've also found a method to deal with things that involves food. And our emotions about food have got to be pretty darn similar to a drug addict's feelings about their drug of choice. We don't get to walk away from that just because we have sleeves and just because we can get to goal.

I may not have to diet forever. But I will most assuredly have to watch myself for the rest of my life when it comes to food. I am only lately really, truly grasping the meaning of that. The quote about treating the primary symptom? Yeah, that's exactly right. Because the rest of it - everything that helped make me fat - is not ever, ever going away. Oh sure, some of it can be dealt with and shelved but I doubt many of us ever get rid of all of it. If it were so simple, WLS would be 100% effective at ridding us of 100% of the weight 100% of the time. And that's definitely not the case.

Hop back up on the wagon with us. Give 5:2 a shot if you need a jump start. I can't give you any different coping mechanisms than I've posted elsewhere. You have to find that thing that works for you to stop, or at least stay in charge.

Best of luck - I think it's easy for us to beat ourselves up over not being perfect. Here we have this great tool to help us, but we still find ourselves struggling. Well, the issue was never in our stomachs in the first place, so removing them only does so much!

~Cheri

[Supersweetums 1,164]

I've been lurking on this thread, but I guess I'm going to be brave and step into the fray.

I'll start by admitting I have serious eating issues. About a year before I had surgery, I felt so out of control with binge eating, and helpless to do anything about it, that I sought professional help. It was an interesting process, but one that helped me with insight (why), rather than with strategies (so, now what?).

When I decided to pursue WLS, I did so with the clear understanding that it was not going to be a fix for my eating issues, just a tool to help me manage the physical hunger. The first 6 months or so post-op felt fairly easy, and I surpassed my surgeon's goal, I became an avid runner, and completely changed both what and how I eat, with every intention of making those changes permanent. But carbs and sugar began to creep back into my diet, and it took me another 6 months to lose 14.5 of the last 15 pounds to get to my personal goal.

I suspect I could have been one of those people who struggles a bit to quit losing, if I'd stuck to eating what I'd planned, but I'm struggling again with binge eating, and as of this morning I'm about 23 pounds from my personal goal (I hate to admit it,but I've been quite a bit higher than this).

I've tried CBT, and I read everything I can get my hands on dealing with emotional eating, sugar addiction, etc. I haven't made it to an OA meeting yet, but I know where and when the nearest meeting is, and I'm seriously considering it.

Does this mean I don't "have any 'smarts' at all", since I regained quite a bit?

...Ouch....

I frequently see discussions about regain that comment "sure, if you're sucking down milkshakes and ice cream all day you can regain", and "you can eat around the sleeve if you're determined to", the implication being that those of us who don't maintain well are stupid, or stubbornly choose this path. I understand the fear of regain, and the desire to feel "safe", to think "I'm too smart to do that, so I'll be ok". But I'm a confident, well-educated woman, with a graduate degree and a good career in an intellectual field. And I'm very self-aware of my eating issues. I get on the scale every single morning, even knowing I wasn't going to be happy about the number I'd see there. Yes, I was scared about regaining. Yes, I knew I needed to address those few pounds before they became more. But I haven't got this figured out yet, and some days my old habits win. I'd venture to say that a good percentage of us have work to do on the mental/emotional side of this journey, and I feel a bit lost on that path.

Still, I have no regrets about having chose surgery. I'm out hiking every weekend I can be, up at 5am to head out in the mountains with the birds and the squirrels (I'm a grouchy hiker with hermit tendencies, so I gotta hit that trail before the chatty groups show up!) I'm much happier, and more confident in my body, even with the regain. I can't fit into all the skinny clothes in my closet, but I still believe it's possible to get there, and I'm not giving up. And, I'm pretty proud of the 80+ pounds I haven't regained, and I know without a doubt that without surgery, I'd probably weigh even more than I did pre-op.

Thank you for being brave enough to post this. I had posted some stats earlier in the thread about regain. And the other thing from one of the articles that was also important was that EVERYONE has 100% convictions...they will not be the one that regains any weight. The truth is, it is not that hard to put the weight on, and it has nothing to do with drinking milkshakes all day. I think the people that tend to say those things are very narrow-minded and not that far out from surgery. I would honestly say the first 2 years are dare I say the "easiest". The easiest in the sense that people lose a lot of the weight they wanted to lose and can maintain. After that, it gets more difficult. Like Cheri said, we are human and life happens. We enjoy food just like almost every other person on the planet.

I also do not have a great relationship with food and I am trying to deal with it day by day. It is a lifelong commitment. It might mean re-evaluating every once and a while, changing goals, and making things work for you. And I don't think that anyone that has any amount of regain is a failure. Like you said, everyone should be proud of the weight that we have kept off!

[Ms skinniness 3,003]

I am completely freaking out.

My regain is about 15 lbs and no matter what I do, it won't come off. I'm not grazing. I am eating right. I can't exercise as much as I used to. I used to go to the gym almost 7 days a week. I can't go on the weekends anymore. My life is completely different now than it was 4 years ago.

I'm 60 years old and it seems like like my metabolism has come to a complete stand still. Some days I wake up and weigh myself and I've gained 2 lbs and I was totally on track the day before. It's like I have to live on salad to keep the regain at 10 lbs.

None of my clothes fit. I hate this. I've been dieting my entire life other than the first few months post op, when the weight was falling off and I had no desire to eat.

This scares the pants off me........I just want to maintain where I'm at today.....I just did a fast day of 600 calories and my scale went down 2 lbs for today. I'll wait until tomorrow to see if it stays off....I'm going to start practicing being thankful for where I'm at today..... Thank you for sharing this...

[ProudGrammy 8,322]

Proud granny, one thing to note. STAY AT GOAL. it is not easy to re lose those pounds asana will testify here.

Hi Georgia

you are right, that it must be hard to lose weight that you/anyone gains

i only mentioned to OP that gaining 10-15 lbs like she did, wasn't "that" bad trying to make HER feel better

but no way, will i follow those footsteps!!!!

absolutely, positively, irrevocably, no doubt about it -----

NOOOOO intentions on regaining any weight (fluctuations of a couple lbs don't count)

repeating - no weight gain - going back to the devil

been there, done that - never again

from my lips to God's ears!!!!

maybe my over emphasis (per my DH) on not regaining et al is to reassure myself

but for whatever reason - stands true

best 4 letter word???

GOAL!!!

kathy

[feedyoureye 3,087]

I've been lurking on this thread, but I guess I'm going to be brave and step into the fray. I'll start by admitting I have serious eating issues. About a year before I had surgery, I felt so out of control with binge eating, and helpless to do anything about it, that I sought professional help. It was an interesting process, but one that helped me with insight (why), rather than with strategies (so, now what?). When I decided to pursue WLS, I did so with the clear understanding that it was not going to be a fix for my eating issues, just a tool to help me manage the physical hunger. The first 6 months or so post-op felt fairly easy, and I surpassed my surgeon's goal, I became an avid runner, and completely changed both what and how I eat, with every intention of making those changes permanent. But carbs and sugar began to creep back into my diet, and it took me another 6 months to lose 14.5 of the last 15 pounds to get to my personal goal. I suspect I could have been one of those people who struggles a bit to quit losing, if I'd stuck to eating what I'd planned, but I'm struggling again with binge eating, and as of this morning I'm about 23 pounds from my personal goal (I hate to admit it,but I've been quite a bit higher than this). I've tried CBT, and I read everything I can get my hands on dealing with emotional eating, sugar addiction, etc. I haven't made it to an OA meeting yet, but I know where and when the nearest meeting is, and I'm seriously considering it. Does this mean I don't "have any 'smarts' at all", since I regained quite a bit? ...Ouch.... I frequently see discussions about regain that comment "sure, if you're sucking down milkshakes and ice cream all day you can regain", and "you can eat around the sleeve if you're determined to", the implication being that those of us who don't maintain well are stupid, or stubbornly choose this path. I understand the fear of regain, and the desire to feel "safe", to think "I'm too smart to do that, so I'll be ok". But I'm a confident, well-educated woman, with a graduate degree and a good career in an intellectual field. And I'm very self-aware of my eating issues. I get on the scale every single morning, even knowing I wasn't going to be happy about the number I'd see there. Yes, I was scared about regaining. Yes, I knew I needed to address those few pounds before they became more. But I haven't got this figured out yet, and some days my old habits win. I'd venture to say that a good percentage of us have work to do on the mental/emotional side of this journey, and I feel a bit lost on that path. Still, I have no regrets about having chose surgery. I'm out hiking every weekend I can be, up at 5am to head out in the mountains with the birds and the squirrels (I'm a grouchy hiker with hermit tendencies, so I gotta hit that trail before the chatty groups show up!) I'm much happier, and more confident in my body, even with the regain. I can't fit into all the skinny clothes in my closet, but I still believe it's possible to get there, and I'm not giving up. And, I'm pretty proud of the 80+ pounds I haven't regained, and I know without a doubt that without surgery, I'd probably weigh even more than I did pre-op.

Thanks for posting this. This kind of frank and revealing post sets a stage for success, not failure. This group of later stage VSG'rs are a force to be reckoned with. If there is a way or 100 ways to get to goal and maintain, they won't be found by being shy and fearful. Don't forget to enjoy life, and do come join us here on the Vets forum. Losts of great support and mature problem solving.

[Butterthebean 8,146]

Back when I first joined this forum, I don't recall seeing so many posts by vets who were struggling....and I thought I was really looking. Did I have rose colored glasses on? Part of it has got to be the creation of the vets forum. I think it gives up a great place to talk about these things.

I've had some struggles too, and I can see that the natural reaction to that is to slink away from the forums. When you spend months thinking you have all the answers....then suddenly you get within sight of the finish line, and you have no answers. It's frustrating and humbling.

Things are turning back in my favor now thankfully, but it's scary seeing how easy they can go awry. Mustering up a higher, permanent level of diligence is necessary for me. Abstaining from certain things keeps me stronger. Some thing's in moderation lead to loss of control. But I think it's great that we can all come here and talk about it.

[feedyoureye 3,087]

Back when I first joined this forum, I don't recall seeing so many posts by vets who were struggling....and I thought I was really looking. Did I have rose colored glasses on? Part of it has got to be the creation of the vets forum. I think it gives up a great place to talk about these things.

There were not as many around... the sleeve was still new 3 years ago when I came here. There were barely any 3 year studies yet(and they said that people would keep off 57% after three years average...), and many insurance companies would not do the surgery because it was still experimental. At my hospital, all the literature was for RNY or the lapband. There had not been many sleeves done before mine (I asked one of the head of departments surgery assistant, and he said he was involved in 4 VSG at that point) This is a major University teaching hospital with lots of research going on.... ) I think this newness, lack of insurance funding, and people slinking into the background if they had problems fed into the look of "This 25 pounds is gone forever" posts all over the place. More people with the surgery, more time has passed... and here we are. My doc did warn me of this early on. I really did not want to believe him. I am different (I hope I hope). There ya go. I'm sure there are perhaps lots of people just living life after surgery, who don't have this regain problem... but maybe not..... just don't know. When I went in for my last check up at the Bariatric office, my nurse was surprised I liked the surgery, she said half the people that had it complained allot about not liking it and wished they had gotten RNY. I did not ask what they did not like....My Doc actually thought I had asked for RNY and I had to set him straight. This is an evolving journey for sure.

[Georgia 2,908]

Back when I first joined this forum' date=' I don't recall seeing so many posts by vets who were struggling....and I thought I was really looking. Did I have rose colored glasses on? Part of it has got to be the creation of the vets forum. I think it gives up a great place to talk about these things.

I've had some struggles too, and I can see that the natural reaction to that is to slink away from the forums. When you spend months thinking you have all the answers....then suddenly you get within sight of the finish line, and you have no answers. It's frustrating and humbling.

Things are turning back in my favor now thankfully, but it's scary seeing how easy they can go awry. Mustering up a higher, permanent level of diligence is necessary for me. Abstaining from certain things keeps me stronger. Some thing's in moderation lead to loss of control. But I think it's great that we can all come here and talk about it.[/quote']

Yes, Butterbean, (which I love BTW), I agree. May have been because sleeve was somewhat rare early on and now such a huge amount of people having it some. But I believe, also, that's its because some felt like they were failures and SHOULD have been able to do it by themselves. I'm glad to know that there is "community" now. Sort of the "Lean on Me" ????method.

I know for me I always come away feeling stronger and more determined as I gain strength from others and hopefully, I help somebody else also.

[Escape_Pod 358]

Butterthebean, like you, I'm finding with some things abstinence is preferable to moderation for me. I've done a TON of thinking about this, because a lot of folks feel like "denying" yourself is just setting yourself up for a binge when you're a binge eater. On the other hand, keeping to high Protein low carb gets SO much easier for me a few days into it that it's become clear to me that the "eating carbs makes you crave more" phenomenon is a large part (but not all) of my struggle. They key for me is frank self-evaluation to recognize when I'm feeling "deprived", a bit of rationalization to realize that going without X (Cookies ... cake ... whatever) forever is NOT impossible, and creativity to find alternatives that satisfy my cravings and taste buds without waking the sugar monster. It's definitely a process, and I've got a long way to go I think before I'll have it figured out and feel more stable.

Georgia, I love your phrase, the "lean on me" method,and I guess I'd like to do a bit of leaning. Since this is such an experienced, smart group of folks, I'd like to ask you all a question. We all talk about how the surgery isn't a magic wand, and you've still got to do the mental / emotional work to deal with your reasons for overeating. What I'd like to know is, what did that mean for you? What did "doing the work" look like? I feel like I'm stuck in a few bad habit ruts, and I know they're bad habits, I'm just at a loss as to how to make progress overcoming them. For example, I know I'm a stress eater, and I have my batch of strategies - deep breathing, getting up for a brief walk, thinking it through, asking myself whether I'm really hungry, drinking something, chewing gum. .. but I still find myself failing over and over and caving in to the bad habit. Is it just a matter of "persistance in resistance"? Any other tips? I feel like I've gotten to the bottom of why I overeat, but I'm d**ned if that helps me in the least to stop doing it!

[feedyoureye 3,087]

Sometimes I don't care if I eat the cake. I'll have seconds, Ill take the rest of the cake home and eat it the next day. I will even say to myself "Are you sure you want to eat the cake? Do you see that you are in that mood where it doesn't matter the consequences? And I still eat the cake. The things I do to try to keep this from happening are: Write down everything I eat, including 2 pieces of cake. I try to make up the calories the same day, and If I cant, I try to make them up the next day. Sometimes I take a long walk. I try to look and see whats up. Eating carbs for a while and having a carb attack? Try to really feel how rotten it makes me feel physically, while feeling rotten, throw out leftovers or give them away, Have some go-to substitute desert that is closer to plan, sugar free in the wings. I write down what I am going to eat for the day, at least some kind of an outline that can be tweaked if needed. I am following the 5:2 right now, and that seems to minimize the dastardly carb cravings. I have spent quite a bit of time thinking about what I love to do, and what I would love to learn... I have taken up several activities I can be passionate about... that include body awareness, exercise/movement, art, self expression, skill development that I love (dancing, nature walks, photography, bird watching....) When I do these things I change WHO I AM. In a healthy way... my mind is on something new, that doesn't rely on the food drug to be enjoyable and rewarding. I have met people who may not even know I was ever fat. They think I'm sporty and involved with the world around me. This IS the new me I am building. I think that from this new me, I might stand a better chance to act in a way that will help maintain better health....and I have the sleeve, and you guys. This helps too!

[clk 3,519]

Like Butterthebean, I also feel like I looked for struggling posts before. But I know that while there are more now, I think that I also didn't want to see the negative side before. So I'd quickly browse those posts and think "Well, that won't be me" and move along. The vets that were here when I was researching are mostly gone, with the exception of Oregondaisy. I think part of why you see so many people sharing is the plain awesomeness of the group we have hanging around. Okay, more likely it's that we 1) have a place of our own to vent that stuff. I mean, where would you do it before the vet board? Would you charge into the general discussion area and throw it out there? Probably not. Also, 2) People are staying active here on the forums for more than nine months. I think the real struggles for most folks are more than a year post op. The norm before was about nine months, come back to post a one year hooray me! post and disappear again. Only a small handful of people were the vets "in charge" of answering all those questions and giving support all over the forums. For them, it was surely exhausting and probably made it doubly difficult to realistically post about struggles. And I know for a fact that two of them, in particular, spent a huge amount of time answering personal PMs for people. It gets draining and it's also hard to admit (while cheerleading and leading the way for others) that you're struggling, too.

Just my opinion, but I have lots of those.

As for the rest - I cannot do the abstinence thing. We are all different. For me, that instantly makes whatever I'm avoiding the thing I want most in the world. I put myself in a position where I must summon a mountain of willpower to stay away. I know this because it's how I lived as a diabetic. Abstain, abstain, abstain, BINGE, guilt, weight gain, guilt, abstain, abstain, abstain, BINGE, repeat until you're 120 pounds overweight and positively miserable, and oh yeah, your blood sugars are a disaster, too. So if it wasn't bad that your mind feels like crap from this cycle, your body does, too.

But some people really, really have to stay away entirely. I think for me, the enemy isn't the food. Sure, I limit my "exposure" to the issue so to say by keeping some things out of the house, especially when I'm feeling bad. But for me the real issue is mindfulness.

If I think about what I eat, I have no problems. So my issue isn't obsessing about food - I only do that when it's forbidden. It's in my head. If I think about what I plan to eat that day, if I have a plan, I'm fine. If I just sit around and eat or join in with my friends at a restaurant and have everything they're having, without thinking about it or logging my food first, I have a problem.

And when I'm stressed or emotional or whatever I'm less likely to put myself first and plan my food out. It's when I "wing it" for dinner that I run into frying homemade pizza rolls rather than roasting some chicken breasts.

So for me, and my very organized and in charge personality, I need planning and mindfulness to stay on top. It's different for everyone, though.

I think that those with the real triggers are the ones that have the toughest struggle. Abstaining is hard and one little slip for those people can mean sliding down the whole darn slope.

I feel like I went crazy off the rails last week. When, in fact, I didn't track my food for roughly ten days and spent about a week eating whatever I wanted. I gained one pound. For me, that's a big deal. For other people, that can be part of every month, you know? That makes it a totally different place to be coming from and I think it also means you need a different approach.

I think that's why 5:2 is working for a lot of the vets lately. No abstaining, a little less stress and pressure about food choices. It's not a free pass but I dunno. I feel like I can breathe more easily and be more forgiving of myself.

And yeah...I'm putting the scale away (no, I really am this time, my husband hid it from me again!) but I'm down another pound today. Make that ten pounds, five days on 5:2 and I'm two pounds away from usual goal weight window and one pound under my pre-pregnancy weight. Today is day six and I feel like I didn't just shed weight I shed a load off my mind. I don't know if the fast did it or what but I feel less foggy and unhappy.

~Cheri

[Georgia 2,908]

I think you hit the nail on the head, FYE! Once the initial, "oohs and aahs" are over from friends/family and the real life begins we former "fatties" tend to forget that we did this to build a BETTER, HEALTHIER life! Beginning to THINK normally may never happen completely since we spent so many years using food as our friend, enemy, counselor, partner in crime, and whatever else you allowed it to be!

And i heard someone yesterday - totally different venue, never been large - say, " Even though I was a size six now and was a size eight, NOW size two is where I WANT to be! Yep! Never settling can be good and it can become our worst enemy.

As FYE said, we have to find ways to build a new life around things other than food. At the very "mature" age of 59 1/2, that can be easier said than done but the Georgia I am today sure wants to go and do and live and love and enjoy life to the fullest!