Hard time imagining myself small

[TracyBar 132]

I had the lap band years ago, lost a lot of weight, got down to a 22-23 BMI.... and even then i couldn't imagine myself small!! It took a good 2 years for my brain to realise i was slim! Even when people comment that i was tiny, i didn't believe i was truly that slim.

I remember just before i was sleeved, i saw this girl with a really nice body who was a similar build to mine , i had said to my friend, i would love one day to get that slim, my friend said... uh, you were thinner than her!

So even when my brain caught up, obviously i still thought i was bigger than i was.

Hi AussieGirl - what happened with the lap band? You had sleeve surgery so just wondering why the band didn't work?

I had the lap band and it failed after a few years, it kept playing up, everything would get stuck, even Water.. i started getting really bad pain near the port site.. i had port replacement and a band change and it was still causing issues, so i asked them to take it out... i couldn't live with the pain any longer as well as starving because nothing would stay down.

I waited 12 months.. and during that time i gained weight, even though i was eating well and exercising, i had my metabolism tested and because of the complications i had reset my metabolism to a low point, so the doctor suggested that i get the sleeve to enable me to stay at that lower rate without being hungry... basically i can not go above 800 calories for life without gaining.

It sucks.. and i might never get back down to my original weight... but i am finally losing... i am a slow loser, but i am hoping ill get there eventually.

This is why i always advise people to increase their calories and not to starve themselves, because it can really screw up your metabolism.

That sucks - I keep hearing of people on here having to get revisions to sleeve. I don't think I could deal with the lapband, simply because of the maintenance on it, and the port. Then again, the sleeve is permanent - no going back. I'm about 90% there when it comes to getting used to that idea - I too am a slow loser. Always was and in fact the ONLY way in my life that I could keep my weight down at all, was to work out 6-7 days a week, most days 2+ hours at high intensity, and eat 1200-1400 calories, even with all that exercise. If I stopped for a day or two for some reason - lbs were coming back on - that quickly. And once you marry and have kids, there just is not the time to maintain that kind of rigorous schedule obviously. I could eat better than I do, eat regularly cause I don't, diet AGAIN - but I just will not go through that again and then gain it all back again +extra. So I've put on more weight. Maybe it was you in here that said to keep increasing your calories after the sleeve to a point where you can top off at 1200-1400 cals per day? Otherwise you're stuck at low cals forever. It's encouraging to hear that you're losing again though!

[Healthy_life2 8,322]

@@campingdiva

You are normal. My biggest celebration was reading the scale at 199 pounds.

It's exciting pre op to think what will it be like being at goal weight. It's hard to imagine if you have been over weight most of your life.

Just for fun. Here is a site. It will give you an idea of what your weight loss result may be

http://modelmydiet.com/

Congrats on you surgery date. Keep us posted

[campingdiva 41]

Thanks!! I'll check it out. I'm definitely excited!!

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[NeedaBreak4Me 1,755]

@@TracyBar

Yes it probably was me.

When losing weight it is important to slowly build and adjust your calories as you get closer to goal.

The aim is to increase it as you lose weight to enable you to maintain at a reasonable amount, this way your metabolism functions properly when you are further out.

Reality is that we need calories to function, our organs need a surprisingly large amount just for basic function.

Having them low long-term can cause a number of health issues because of this.

I was the same as you, i could eat like a rabbit and exercise like an athlete only to lose a couple of pounds. What i have learnt is that i was doing things in extreme, and the body doesn't like that.

I found the key is to eat well majority of the time and to keep exercise moderate, 3-5 days, 3 days of higher intensity (actual work out, cardio, resistance training, weight training) & 2 days low intensity (long walks, swim at the beach, bike ride or other social type exercise that gets you off your bum).

The more moderate approach worked much better, my body didn't panic and wasn't over exerted and wasn't stressed at the fact i was over exercising.

Edited August 20, 2016 by AussieGirl81

[TracyBar 132]

@@campingdiva

You are normal. My biggest celebration was reading the scale at 199 pounds.

It's exciting pre op to think what will it be like being at goal weight. It's hard to imagine if you have been over weight most of your life.

Just for fun. Here is a site. It will give you an idea of what your weight loss result may be

http://modelmydiet.com/

Congrats on you surgery date. Keep us posted

that site is pretty cool :-)

[highfunctioningfatman 2,675]

I imagined myself reasonably small most of my life but in reality I never have been. It's not hard to imagine but it is hard to get there.

[wlssuccess 46]

@@TracyBar

Yes it probably was me.

When losing weight it is important to slowly build and adjust your calories as you get closer to goal.

The aim is to increase it as you lose weight to enable you to maintain at a reasonable amount, this way your metabolism functions properly when you are further out.

Reality is that we need calories to function, our organs need a surprisingly large amount just for basic function.

Having them low long-term can cause a number of health issues because of this.

I was the same as you, i could eat like a rabbit and exercise like an athlete only to lose a couple of pounds. What i have learnt is that i was doing things in extreme, and the body doesn't like that.

I found the key is to eat well majority of the time and to keep exercise moderate, 3-5 days, 3 days of higher intensity (actual work out, cardio, resistance training, weight training) & 2 days low intensity (long walks, swim at the beach, bike ride or other social type exercise that gets you off your bum).

The more moderate approach worked much better, my body didn't panic and wasn't over exerted and wasn't stressed at the fact i was over exercising.

Everything u said is totally spot on!!! Everyone should read this post. Thanks for sharing such great info!!

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[SoExcited101 190]

I'm just ready to not struggle with clothes and being healthier for my kids! I can't wait to get under 200 pounds either, I get sleeved 8 22 16

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[pattib 4]

Im kinda in reverse i weigh 272 but in the mirror think i look good. But the scale says scary number so im confused of what im going to experience..

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[sw87 3]

@@SoExcited101 same surgery date! Sleeved tomorrow at 1:30pm!

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[Alex Brecher 10,502]

@@campingdiva,

If you can’t imagine yourself thin, I guess you’re going to have to get thin in real life so you can see what you look like! Just kidding. It’s totally normal not to be able to imagine yourself thin. You haven’t been at your goal weight in recent history, so it would be impossible to know what you’d look like if you lost a bunch of weight. The neat thing about surgery is that you’ll enjoy seeing your new body the entire time as you get smaller and smaller, until one day you’re there, at goal weight!

@, which long-term health issues are you thinking of from having a low-calorie diet long-term? Just curious!

[NeedaBreak4Me 1,755]

I should probably clarify what i mean by long term, 12 months is relatively safe, beyond that being at extremely low calories can cause the following:

Fatigue

Anemia

Cardiovascular issues

Gallbladder issues

Increased cortisol

Ferility issues

Psychological

Vitamin deficiency

Loss of muscle mass

Malnutrition

Reactive hypoglycemia

I know some of these are resolved with weight loss, but they can also be brought on by having extremely low calories for years.

[WLSResources/ClothingExch 3,444]

. I can't imagine myself weighing under 200 lbs! Did anyone else have issues with this? Tell me I'm normal lol

Do you really want to waste your mind and time thinking about it? It's going to happen, ready or not.

Are you normal? I have no clue. Can you imagine yourself wearing a smaller tent size? (Hey, it's your screen name.)

You'll be fine.

[campingdiva 41]

. I can't imagine myself weighing under 200 lbs! Did anyone else have issues with this? Tell me I'm normal lol

Do you really want to waste your mind and time thinking about it? It's going to happen, ready or not.

Are you normal? I have no clue. Can you imagine yourself wearing a smaller tent size? (Hey, it's your screen name.)

You'll be fine.

I'm not really wasting anything. Just can't wrap my mind around it. And I camp in a camper

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[WLSResources/ClothingExch 3,444]

I'm not really wasting anything. Just can't wrap my mind around it. And I camp in a camper

Hence, the "diva" part. Now I see.

All is cool. When the time comes, you'll use up less mindwidth to wrap around it. Have a great time all along the way.