Vets, do u still feel like a fat person?

[redfawx09]

Weird question I know...I was just wondering for those who have had the sleeve and lost the weight...in your head are you still the fat person afraid of being picked last on the team (proverbially or not) or does your entire mindset change? Ive always been the fat girl, always picked last for sports, always the slowest runner etc. I just wonder if even when I'm healthy and skinny if I will feel that way or if the confindence boost changes you...thoughts?

[ThisIs4Me]

This is a good question, I would also like 2 know

[JustWantToBeHealthyAgain]

I too am curious. I haven't been fat my whole life (I was lean until I was 11...) but I want to go back to how it used to be. I remember having a flat stomach and being confident. I want that again.

[incredibleshrnkngshirly]

Well, I'm one of the older sleevers on here I guess...I can only tell you the changes I have gone through on my journey. At first I went through what I call the honeymoon stage...it was wonderful...weight just falling off, sometimes five pounds a week! Then it started to slow down and I missed just being able to eat...good tasting food and nowhere to put it...( believe me, if you try, it's gonna come right back up). So I had my anger stage where the little kid in me came out and threw tantrums cuz I couldn't eat all I wanted! Then, I settled down and decided to just go with it...no exercise, not measuring the food or keeping a diary..that's the other guys thing isn't it? So, here I am two years and four months later....I was twenty pounds from goal and now I am thirty....yep....I gained ten pounds from last October...I don't even mess with the ticker anymore. Now I'm having to portion my food, eat off saucers, and wait for that full feeling to begin....means to stop....I'm walking every day now and I'm still in the game....it's for the rest of my life. Your feelings do change....we have to accept that we did this and now we have a mind set to attend to....we can do this! That's my journey...I hope I helped some..

[Truffles]

Sometimes I feel like I am still the "fat mom" and other times I don't. I do have to say, though, that those times are getting fewer, but they are still there. The hardest part of this, for me, has been the mind games I play on myself. *sigh*

[OOOWEEBABY!]

Thirteen months after surgery and weighing 112 pounds less, I am finally seeing myself through pretty much normal eyes. When I compare myself to the average woman who is going on 58, I look pretty darn good.

Yes, I still have twenty-two more pounds to go for my goal, but I am very happy with myself. The weight is slowly but surely coming o off. Finally, I am choosing the right sized clothes in the stores. This comes after months of picking out things that were too big. Yes. Life is good.

[kaygee]

I'm only 3 months and 43-ish lbs in and I still feel like the same person. I know my clothes fit better and looser but they're the clothes I fit into 3 years ago. See, I was heavy for about a 10 years and then 2 years ago I gained even more weight. So right now I'm about the same weight I was from about 2000- 2010. I need to drop a bit more and and then see how I feel. On the good side, I no longer have a muffin top when wearing my jeans.

[Rose69]

I wasn't always fat. I gained a massive amount of weight with and after my third pregnancy 11 years ago. When I look in the mirror I see a skinny person and love what she's accomplished. But when I see a pair of size 2/4 jeans on my bed I think to myself, who's jeans are these! Are they my teen daughter's! They are mine! I know and see that I'm thin but still have a hard time seeing that I fit into tiny clothes! Love my decision to get the sleeve!

[AmyM]

I am curious how I will feel about my body when I reach my goal. I have never been thin. I have always been that thick girl in school. I referred to it as "baby fat" until I was 15ish. I truly think I am beautiful. I am very confident and have a good self-esteem. I hate seeing myself in pictures because that is just a reminder that I am not as beautiful as I think I am. I am afraid I will look melted or have horribly excess skin. My husband loves me for me. Not because of my body. I think I am going to not think of myself as fat as the weight comes off. I don't see myself that way now (except when I step on the scale or see a photo. My mirror is a half mirror so I do not see my body after I am dressed and ready for work.) All I know is, this will be a tremendous journey.

[incredibleshrnkngshirly]

I think it's very important that we love ourselves first, hard to do sometimes, but I think we focus too much on the numbers...weight number, height number, bra size, (sorry guys), and clothing numbers....I have a dream of weighing a certain number. I don't know if or when I will get there. As the time has passed with this new way of life for me, it's been a learning curve. To this day I am still trying to beat the Food Demon that tells me "I just need a little something!" It took a long time to figure out that this new sleeve was NOT GOING TO DESTROY THE FOOD ADDICTION it is just a tool to help me fight it. I will have to learn every day to fight my way around the ever strengthening mind games of head hunger verses real need for food. I'm just so happy that I'm not alone...we don't know each other all that well, but I don't think it's an accident that we all just migrated together either...God put us all together to help one another....I'm praying for all of us!

[Mem]

Fat is a mindset. I am about 10 lbs. from goal and still see myself as a big girl. More importantly than the weight is my diabetes is in remission and I' m on half blood pressure meds. My BMI is down from 40 to 26. I am happy with myself but probably will never see a thin person in the mirror. God Bless...Mem

[incredibleshrnkngshirly]

I think we worry too much about seeing that skinny person. If we are healthy,taking less meds, good blood pressure and being more active than before, then I think we are well on our way to a better self esteem. Too much emphasis is put on our bodies being skinny. Healthy bodies are the most important thing and I'm still trying to get that in my head. I know some folks are out there saying right now..."yep, that's what all fat chicks say!" Well, yes, I still consider myself a fat chick. I would love to be taller, slimmer, more better looking...but I have what the good Lord gave me and I'm going to be happy with my better health. If the smaller, cuter Shirley comes out, I probably won't smack her back inside...we will see...;-)

[LtWeight]

I wasn't always fat either, only in the last 11 or 12 years so I kind of have the opposite going on. I think I'm a regular size and then I look in the mirror or at a picture and think, who the heck is that? LOL! It's getting better now, I've lost quite a bit and I'm closer to a much healthier weight for my height. So glad you all are here to share the journey.

[kosiecat]

Thanks for this story, Shirley. I am two years and three months later. I made it to goal and now have put ten pounds back on. It's a struggle to remember to watch what I put in this little tummy. And to remember to exercise. Every day. But the sleeve has become my best friend. I went through all the emotional ride, too and then we had to get back to the basics. It is a tool to help me for the rest of my life. Keep up the good fight!!

[kosiecat]

I am two years and three months past surgery. I still find myself in the plus section of the stores. Nothing fits there, but I can't seem to wrap my head around it. I love all my little clothes. They are smaller than the tents I used to wear. And my girls love to help me shop for clothes that are not too old for me. People tell me I now look 'normal'. And younger. The obese person in the mirror is no longer looking back at me. However, I see the loose skin. My hubby tells me he doesn't see it. I don't allow him to wear his glasses on in the bedroom. LOL To answer your question...yes, I still think I'm the big person in the room. The largest person in my family. The person that can't squeeze past the group of people, or between things. I still get startled by my reflection in the window. "oh, there's someone I know...oh...that's me..." It's still nice to realize that I was successful.