Question for some people

Laura- It's all a numbers game at this stage - I think. If I look at the "medical" suggested weights for my height, I should fall within 115-151 lbs. That's a huge range - 40 lbs to play with?! I'm at 142 today, wearing size 8-10 bottoms (would be smaller actually if my belly skin wasn't so obvious) and 6-8 tops (have no breasts left at all) If I got down to 115, I'd be skin and bones. There's nothing left to me beyond the excess wrinkly skin/fat in my belly, upper thighs & upper arms. At 151 I felt "frumpy" (my choice of words, it's not what other people thought though, it's in my head ..) At 142, I feel slightly better and much more normal, actually think I could remain this exact weight if I could remove the excess skin. I don't know how much weight the skin/fat adds, but it may be all that I've got left to "lose"... I'm not as worried about it anymore... like I was. As for losing - we may all potentially keep losing until our bodies choose to stop... you may keep going for six months, or more! -Beth HW- 313 SW- 198 CW- 142 GW- 130

Well, someone was reading my mind!!!! I am stuck too and have "only" lost 96 pounds! I do get discouraged sometimes because I haven't hit that century mark. My doc didn't give me an official goal weight but said that I would probably be really comfortable at 150. My personal goal is 136 and that would put me in the normal range. At 176 I am still "overweight" but not obese any longer. I feel really really good but would like to lose at least to 145 or 150. I am wearing 10's and can squeeze into an 8 but not publicly. What will I wear at 145-150 a 6 or 4? That's too hard to believe. I remember being 17 years old and wearing a 13 junior and feeling fat then! I look at pictures back then and I looked pretty good! Anyway, I hope that it keeps coming off even if it is slow. I am in better shape than I have been in probably 30 years so that is a definate advantage. Good luck to all Tina M R 272/176/136 (maybe)

This question and others in the responses have been on my mind lately as well... I am 5'7 and VERY heavily boned....regular bracelets don't fit, etc....even when I am thin....also, as my husband calls it, I have T&A...no matter how thin.... At this point, I am at 177, a solid size 10...now, I remember about 12 yrs ago when I was a REAL size 10...I was MUCH thinner than I am now....I have come to the conclusion that the sizes are bigger than they were just 10-12 years ago.... My personal goal is between 150-160...I look good there....actually thin, but can only imagine what size I will be wearing at that weight.... My weight loss has slowed to a trickle also...Everyone said the closer to goal the harder it is...truth in advertising there... Anyway, I find myself confused about sizing and weight....what used to be is no more....on my way up, at 177, I was in a 12 or 14.... oh well, I will wear my 10's and enjoy it!! cheers to all, RAE

Laura, You've gotten alot of good responses so I'm just going to chime in with everyone else. First of all, though my doc didn't set a goal weight for me I set my own of about 150-155lbs. I figured that would put me in a comfortable size 8 and would be a good healthy weight for a somewhat larger framed woman 5'6". I was fortunate that for the first 9 months or so the weight just fell off of me, no matter what I ate. Not to say that I ate total crap but I wasn't as observant of getting huge amounts of protein as some and didn't drink enough water, nor did I do really regular exercise - just became more active than I used to be in general. Clear as mud, right? LOL From surgery to the beginning of December I lost from 279 to 175-ish...from a size 22/24 to a comfy size 12. That's been alot to wrap my mind around - I would still feel fat but can fit into spaces that seem waaaay too small for me. In pictures I think that I look "normal" not really fat or thin. By the charts I'm still considered overweight. Would I like to get down to 150? Yep - but I have to say that I'm really grateful for having more energy, wearing normal clothes (size M or L off the rack depending on the cut), being able to ride amusement park rides, take a plane flight, and get to that seat around the back of the table. Ironically, I've just become pregnant (I'm six weeks along) and since I'm more concerned about my baby than I would ever be about myself I've been tracking my food intake really carefully and have upped my protein and lowered my junky carbs. Since I know that I just don't eat as much as I used to I'm making pretty much every bite count. (Why couldn't I do this for myself? Why the self-control now? Maybe time to start seeing that therapist again, huh?) Would you believe that I've lost almost 5 lbs in the last two weeks? I'm not trying to lose weight, I'm even eating an average of 1800 cals per day (and able to get down more at one time than before) but my body is still chosing to lose. Instead of 45-50 g of protein per day now I'm eating 90+, big difference!!I guess that just goes to show me! Of course, I plan to talk to my OB - once the darn referral comes in - about checking my blood work and keeping a close eye on the baby. What I hear is that the little parasites tend to get what they need and it's my body that stands to lose out if I don't eat right. I expect that soon the scales will start going the other way but it's just funny that I can still lose weight - just start really eating the way that I'm supposed to. :/ You are doing great. Be a little easier on yourself. But if you really want to lose more weight you might want to take a really close look at what you are eating, how you are exercising and see if you can't crank up the protein and get a little more exercise and see if that jumpstarts anything? Take care! Aylene lap RNY 4/13/04 278.8/165.5/150ish eventually mom to Simon 10/98, Matthew 5/02 and baby#3 due 12/18/05