Any ideas????

Ok, my one year anniversary is almost here (August 4th!) I am doing very well - I'm down 135 pounds from 347 to 212. I feel great, I'm doing more than ever but I do have a problem. I seem to move through space still so hesitantly. Part of the reason is because of my knee pain. I got a new bike and was hoping to be able to jomp on it and take off but my knee hurts too bad to pedal very hard and it doesn't bend very well. Even when I walk, I am so careful. When I was 347, I was scared I would fall, trip or do something else equally painful or embarrasing. Now that I am thinner, I still tend to walk oh-so-carefully and can't seem to just let myself go. Does this make sense to anyone????? Has anyone experienced this? What did you do? I have more energy and want to GO! I want to dance. I want to run! But the years I spent as a fat person seems to be overriding my attempts. Any ideas? Suzie

I know exactly how you feel. When we were out on a trip recently, I was chasing the boys around. DH laughed at me because I couldn't catch them. He told me that I was still running like a fat person. Over time, I tried several thing to shake the feeling and let go. I could feel that I wasn't really running. But, I couldn't figure out how to get the new feeling. Then 2 days ago, my oldest was running his mouth. So, out to the street we went. I picked out a point we would race to and told him to call it off. You know, 1, 2, and go on 3. Well, he called 1, 2 and went. Cheater! So, I took off. About half way, something clicked. And, to make a long story short, I kicked his butt. I can't say what will help you out. But, for me it was pride and a little bit of anger. If you want, I will send him your way to **** you off. Hat

I am still pre op so I dont have any right to give advice. However I have heard of this sort of thing before and I have wondered if taking dance lessons where you can watch yourself move in a mirror might not help not just visual reinforcement that you are no longer fat but to help you develop a whole new way of moving that is graceful and.......thin.

Ooo, what an interesting idea. I'll skip the details, but for the first 6 weeks of my new job, I was surounded by mirrors a lot. Every time I got up, I got a good look at myself. And, that was several times a day. It really helped me to see my new self and come to terms with it. I also got to see myself move a lot. I didn't really think about it, but I wonder how it affected me. Hat