140 lbs!?!?!?!

[KelinTx 1]

I have always just focused on 10 pound incriments. Was not so overwhelming to look at it that way for me!

[kathystrick 3]

I may be in the minority here. My expectation is not to be thin, but to not be as morbidly obese as when I was banded.

Same here. I have no desire to be as thin as the charts say I "should" be, but just to be more healthy.

***And before it even starts, this point has been debated here a hundred times. Nothing derogatory has been said about those who do choose to reach their "healthy BMI". It is just not the choice we all make, for whatever reason. PLEASE leave it at that for a change!!! Our decision is not yours to understand anymore than yours is ours.

[kathystrick 3]

You are so right Kathy! I think most of us have always focused on the LARGE numbers and not on the smaller "within reach" ones. I'm learning so much by reading this forum. Even though I'm still waiting for authorization just to get to the surgeon, I'm learning to appreciate every small step that I make on this long journey. One of the most useful things I've learned is to think of the band as a tool rather than the end all and be all that will solve all of my problems. I've been obese and severely obese for well over 20 years and changing my mindset is #1 for me right now. I tried not to obsess with the Healthnet authorization over the weekend, but now that I'm back at work, I'm freaking out again! Thanks for all of your great advice Kathy, keep it up!

Thank you for the kind words.:thumbup: You are on the right track for sure dealing with the head issues first. I took the same approach, and even though I am still pre-op, I find I am not nearly as longing for food as I feared I would be. There are other coping tools available, we all have just never learned them.:tongue_smilie:

I am setting 30 pound goals for myself right now. Thirty pounds is still a lot of weight, but seems so much more reasonable than the big numbers. Hey! I am already 1/3 of the way to the first one! But only 1/16 of the way to my final goal. I think saying it the first way looks a lot more encouraging. :biggrin2:

Good luck to you!!

[Mom2_4 0]

To get to my ideal weight, I will have had to have lost 170 pounds. Seems very overwhelming but the band is an awesome tool. Nothing like being on a diet and deciding to stop, because you can't.

I had surgery just over 2 months ago and the first almost 50 are gone! I get on these highs from so many NSVs that it doesn't feel so overwhelming any more.

Try not to get caught up in the numbers and enjoy the ride!

[miss meliss 0]

Congrats Melanie!! Nearly 50 pounds in 2 months,wow!!

[Daisalana 33]

I had 150lbish to lose total.

The hardest part I had to come to terms with, is that lap-band was not a 'quick' weight loss. They tell you that going into it, and I'm an impatient person and think.. if I'm getting surgery, I want to be skinny next week!!

However, what ended up happening, is an initial quick drop, and I was into 200 lbs. That was a huge milestone for me! Just to be back in the 200's, every diet I had tried in the past 1.5 years prior, I couldn't stick with anything long enough. The lowest weight I remember being since 15 was 260lbs, when I did Atkins and lost quite a bit of weight. When I hit 250lbs, was another huge milestone, and when I officially got out of 'morbid' obesity.

So it ends up, the milestones are enough celebration to keep me from obsessing about the time it's taken. I still have 50lbs to go and slowed down and anxious about it, but hitting 220's excited me all over again since I was stuck in 230's for a month or so. 210's will be the same.. and when I get to the 100's, I'll just be beside myself.

[EricaLyn 0]

To be the weight that the "charts" say I should be, which is 140 lbs for my 5'4" frame, is a goal I'm not ever going to try to meet. If I were 140 lbs I'd be a stick figure. I'm large boned, broad back, long limbed and will be content at 170 lbs.

My nutritionist even said that my goal of 170 lbs was a far reach for me. She thought a more reasonable weight loss goal was around 200 lbs. I was floored!

She told me that even just getting a few pounds off does wonder for our bodies, health and state of mind.

I'm setting mini-goals for myself because the overall goal in and of itself is too much to carry every day.

I have a picture of me when I finally got down to 210 lbs (about 10 years ago). I was a Misses size 12 and I looked awesome!! To look at me, I didn't look 210 lbs - I looked 150 lbs. The more I'm on this journey the more I'm realizing that the number on the scale doesn't matter all that much. It's how I look, how I feel and whether or not I'm off my prescriptions (HBP, Thyroid and Diabetes).

Hang in there! Take it one day at a time. :glare:

[Rubyjade 2]

Yes I have done it and YES YOU CAN DO IT!!!

I have lost 140 and still weigh 220. I don't look at the big picture, I can't or I would lose heart.

I am 140lbs lighter and probably 10,000 times happier. Yes I weigh 220 but am I happy? YOU BETCHA!! I know I still have 60 to go to reach my goal of 200lbs lost but I refuse to look at how far I have to go, I keep looking at how far I have come and how that number keeps getting bigger!!

Trust me, you will feel this too.

:glare: