I'm trying to come to terms with the idea that...

[Indigo1991 1,612]

Well said, LL!

I just booked a flight for my son and I to go abroad - and I booked a middle seat. I have never willingly sat in the middle but come June, I will. Why?

Because I fit in the seat. Inside it. I am nowhere near the sides. Even my arms are within the seat. No one who comes to sit next to me will look disappointed or disgusted at sitting next to me. I won't get all sweaty and hot from sitting with my arms pressed as close to my body as I can get them (which usually meant squeezing my boobs too!)

Woo hoo, go sleeve!

[Dorian 683]

Congrats! I can relate to some as well and it's an awesome feeling! It's nice to read a positive post!

[Arts137 1,811]

Ah Lipstick, you are a dear!

I am fat, no matter what I weigh. I have a fat brain.

But I am in control!

[Band2Sleever 78]

I am no longer looking around to see if I am the biggest person in the room because I'm not. Ever. Not even in Zumba.

... I'm now just a regular sized fit mom (with some loose skin)

I love this post Lipstick Lady. So inspiring! I too am looking forward to being the regular-sized mom, not the wide-and-wobbly mom.

I used to love taking my children swimming (when I was a normal weight wi the the band), now I felel so self-conscious I can't bear to go, except occasionally and all the time looking and seeing that I am the fattest and wobbliest. This makes me sad.

[Band2Sleever 78]

Because I fit in the seat. Inside it. I am nowhere near the sides. Even my arms are within the seat. No one who comes to sit next to me will look disappointed or disgusted at sitting next to me. I won't get all sweaty and hot from sitting with my arms pressed as close to my body as I can get them (which usually meant squeezing my boobs too!)

So true. I am looking forward to being uncomfortably comfortable in an airplane seat. Right now when I fly I feel squashed up against the sides of the seat. And, I can feel my belly bulging forward and can't get comfortable at all.

Then there's eating the disgusting airplane food. I am looking forward to having a sleeve and saying in to all the processed carby junk food as well.

[LipstickLady 25,682]

Ah Lipstick, you are a dear!

I am fat, no matter what I weigh. I have a fat brain.

But I am in control!

That's why I said on the OUTSIDE. Ha! xxxooo

[thinndskies 52]

I'm not fat (on the outside) any more! I'm not skinny by any means, but I'm not fat. I weigh 157 pounds which is still far too much for my 5.3 frame, but I wear size medium tops and size 8 pants, which is officially smaller than the average American woman.

I am no longer shopping in the women's section.

I am no longer wearing the largest size in the ladies' department.

I pick up clothes in consignment shops and often have to reject them for being too big. ( WTF?!?!?!)

I fit in bathroom stalls and dressing rooms with room to spare.

I can walk through turnstiles/bus aisles/theatre rows front ways instead of turning sideways and sucking it in.

I no longer stress when some jackhole parks too close to my minivan when I can barely open my car door to squeeze in.

Every seatbelt fits.

I can put my handbag in my seat with me instead of on a different chair.

I can sit in a booth without my tummy and/or boobs smooshing up against the table.

People don't mind sitting next to me at the movies or in tight restaurants.

More people make eye contact/open doors/smile/initiate conversation with me than ever before.

I am no longer looking around to see if I am the biggest person in the room because I'm not. Ever. Not even in Zumba.

I can wear my leggings home from the gym and stop at the store without caring if I run I to anyone I know.

I could go on forever. I'm still a fat girl on the inside so this whole thing is very surreal. It's just finally starting to set in that after 20 years of being obese, I'm now just a regular sized fit mom (with some loose skin) who can do anything I fracking want to do because I gifted myself with the least easy "easy way out" I could have ever chosen to do.

Love love love. Love.

So happy for you Lipstick Lady! Your successes are great.

I've lost 92 lbs since my surgery 10/15/13 and I feel the same way. It's so wonderful. I still have about 90 more lbs to lose, but with my 5'8" height I look thinner than I am. I can walk without back pain and fast too!!! I am so grateful that Bariatric Surgery works. I avoided it for the past 10 years thinking it was 'the easy way out." I now realize that for someone who was 180 lbs overweight, it is probably the 'only' option since my metabolism was really messed up due to yo-yo dieting. So happy with my decision.

[McButterpants 2,846]

Mr. McButterpants and I had a conversation the other day about what I call The Fat Girl Syndrome. I told him I cannot imagine I will ever get to the point where I don't feel like the Fat Girl anymore - that's been me since I was 17 years old...the Funny Fat girl. (I seriously had a dream that night that the clerk at the grocery store referred to me as "the Big Girl" - I woke up pissed off!!!!!)

I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror of a bathroom this morning - I didn't recognize the person as me; I took a double take and realized it was me! My body has changed in so many ways. Even my face sometimes - I don't recognize that person looking back at me. I still get an anxious feeling when pulling on my jeans - prior to surgery, I'd have to lay down on the bed to get them zipped. I'm down 3 sizes and my jeans are loose, but I still feel like the Fat Girl pulling on my jeans.

I flew on a plane recently and I felt that same nervousness as before - I don't want to slap someone in the face with my ass as I walk by them in the aisle. I could feel my heart race as I sat down and prepared to buckle the seat belt - OMG how many times did I worry I was going to need an extender. Here I am 60 pounds lighter, I fit in the seat and no risk of needing an extender, yet I'm still worried about it.

I know our perceptions of ourselves has to change - my perception of myself has been shaped over 20 years...I'm only 4 months into my journey (I count the month before surgery in that timeframe). I'm starting to like what I see in the mirror. I slather lotion on my body every day - I avoided looking at and touching my own body before. I can talk to people easier and I see their reaction to me is different as well - perhaps I don't have that "go screw yourself" look on my face anymore. I wear makeup and do my hair - I try to look nice every day.

[jacileggs 402]

Love this.

[7 Bites_Jen 479]

So well put!!

[Patsypatrice 44]

I love what you wrote and it is inspiring me. My surgery isthis coming Wednesday the 26th and I am excited and scared. I have had a wieght problem since I was 14 and have been on every diet known and did lose weight but always put it back on plus more after 6 months. I weigh 40 pounds more now than I did pregnant with my biggest 9 pound plus baby!!! Am looking forward to a permanant weight loss journey with lots of support and encouragement from this site.Pat

[angiem1973 11]

I can't wait to stop being the "fat mom" - Love all the reasons you listed. I'm looking forward to chaperoning the kiddo's band trips and being able to stand without being exhausted.

[CrazyJaney 775]

I can't wait to stop being the "fat mom" - Love all the reasons you listed. I'm looking forward to chaperoning the kiddo's band trips and being able to stand without being exhausted.

From one Band Mom to the Next - AMEN! I was at my worst last fall. I won't be to goal this coming fall, but I'm gonna feel so much less self conscious, have less pain, walk to and from the band buses without feeling like I'm gonna die, I'll fit into the bus seats. I'm looking very forward to those things. I hate being the fat mom too!

[yoyo81 46]

I love this! I'm 3 months post op and about 50lbs lighter. My shape has changed and I'm starting to notice the little things....

[gourmetone 394]

For the first time at my husbands fiftieth birthday I wasn't the biggest woman in the room, and it felt fantastic