What is it like to be skinny???
…Well maybe not “skinny" but healthy??? I’ve never been thin before in my life. Fortunately aside from a couple incidents I haven’t delt with the whole lake of self confidence and the invisible, but CLEARLY visible feeling when I enter the room. I remember not having a lot of friends in my school years, but there were a few close ones. By the time I was 18 I had been at my “old permanent" weight of 275 for 6 years already (and held that weight for 4 more years, up until a 100 lb gain 2 years ago) and I had learned to “fake" my self confidence. I wasn’t happy with my body, but I wouldn’t show anyone else that. I fixed up my make up and hair and figured out how to make the “skinny girl outfits" out of the “granny" clothes that were offered in the plus size department.
Anyhow, I know I will feel better and I know I will (god willing) live longer. Along with all the other pros of being at a healthy weight. I guess I’m not really asking “What is it like to be skinny?" I’m wondering if anyone else had this feeling before WLS.
I also think- This is not going to happen for me. Not as though I’m setting my self up to fail, but more like- All my 26 years and nothing I did took off nearly half of the weight I need, hope or expect, to loose after my surgery.
Don't dig your grave with your own knife and fork.
Believe it or not, I have been skinny several times in my life. I did not stay skinny for long. The last time it happened I began dieting in 2002 and by mid 2003 I had lost 250 pounds. It felt WONDERFUL. Just amazing. My body worked. I was so giddy that I could walk for miles and miles. I embarrassed a friend once while we were checking into a hotel in NYC because I kept spinning in circles just because I could. Stupid thing to do, I know, but ...
There's just a feeling of lightness and an absence of pain and being able to move that is exhilarating. And, you are treated differently. When I am fat, which is almost all of my life, I can walk into a department store and, for the most part I am, at best, ignored by store clerks, at worst I am sneered at. When I am thin, I am greeted kindly and offered lots of help.
The hardest part for me, though, of losing the weight on my own was always gaining it, and more, back. The feeling of not being able to stay thin, of losing that wonderful feeling was what I imagine dying must feel like. It is heartbreaking and I never, ever want to feel that pain again.
Too many other differences to type out. You'll see soon enough. Good luck on your journey.
There's just a feeling of lightness and an absence of pain and being able to move that is exhilarating. And, you are treated differently. When I am fat, which is almost all of my life, I can walk into a department store and, for the most part I am, at best, ignored by store clerks, at worst I am sneered at. When I am thin, I am greeted kindly and offered lots of help.
The hardest part for me, though, of losing the weight on my own was always gaining it, and more, back. The feeling of not being able to stay thin, of losing that wonderful feeling was what I imagine dying must feel like. It is heartbreaking and I never, ever want to feel that pain again.
Too many other differences to type out. You'll see soon enough. Good luck on your journey.
Hi there,
Congrats on your upcoming surgery date :)
I've never been skinny. I'm not even remotely close to skinny now either. In July of last year I weighed 380 pounds. Today I weighed in at 260.8. So my perspective may not be what you're looking for here, but thought I'd share anyway.
Quite simply? I never knew how just how much pain my body was in until I no longer was. Does that make sense? My "norm" pre-op was:
-Aching feet (almost all of the time)
-Body soreness just from the weight
-Difficulty breathing after very light movement
-Constant sweating/overheating
-Tiredness - always feeling like a nap sounded good
-Coming home from work exhausted and looking forward to an evening of eating yummy food while watching TV, sitting at my computer, or reading. All housework or other "to do's" waited until the weekend when I could summon up the energy.
And now? All of that? It's gone. I have so much energy and feel so much freedom in my body. Whereas I couldn't walk the parking lot without being winded pre-op, I can now walk 4 miles. Whereas before I craved craved craved high fat foods, these days I find myself drooling for strawberries and pineapple. Whereas before I was in a very tight 32W/4-5X, now I'm in a 22/1X.
I am absolutely still in the honeymoon period and I realize life didn't magically get perfect. I've had some emotional hurdles and am grateful for an awesome therapist who is helping me through. I know someday the cravings for junk will likely come back and I'll have to be extra diligent. But right now, in this moment? I feel absolutely amazing and so very grateful. I never thought at ~260 lbs I could still be so overweight and feel this good.
Best wishes to you... post here often, it's a great group that hangs out on this board.
Congrats on your upcoming surgery date :)
I've never been skinny. I'm not even remotely close to skinny now either. In July of last year I weighed 380 pounds. Today I weighed in at 260.8. So my perspective may not be what you're looking for here, but thought I'd share anyway.
Quite simply? I never knew how just how much pain my body was in until I no longer was. Does that make sense? My "norm" pre-op was:
-Aching feet (almost all of the time)
-Body soreness just from the weight
-Difficulty breathing after very light movement
-Constant sweating/overheating
-Tiredness - always feeling like a nap sounded good
-Coming home from work exhausted and looking forward to an evening of eating yummy food while watching TV, sitting at my computer, or reading. All housework or other "to do's" waited until the weekend when I could summon up the energy.
And now? All of that? It's gone. I have so much energy and feel so much freedom in my body. Whereas I couldn't walk the parking lot without being winded pre-op, I can now walk 4 miles. Whereas before I craved craved craved high fat foods, these days I find myself drooling for strawberries and pineapple. Whereas before I was in a very tight 32W/4-5X, now I'm in a 22/1X.
I am absolutely still in the honeymoon period and I realize life didn't magically get perfect. I've had some emotional hurdles and am grateful for an awesome therapist who is helping me through. I know someday the cravings for junk will likely come back and I'll have to be extra diligent. But right now, in this moment? I feel absolutely amazing and so very grateful. I never thought at ~260 lbs I could still be so overweight and feel this good.
Best wishes to you... post here often, it's a great group that hangs out on this board.
Highest: 380 / Surgery Day: 344 / Current: 203.8 / Goal: ~180 / Total Loss: 176.2
http://www.sangriasisters.com
http://www.sangriasisters.com
At 250 right now, I'm at my low adult weight. So, I can't talk about how it is to be skinny. I will say that I get treated better now than I did when I was 388. Some shop people go out of their way to be helpful. But --- GRRRR --- there are still others that almost run away (lookin' at you Big 5 staff!
).
HOWEVER, I'm posting to congratulate you on taking this step now-- while you're relatively young. When I was your age, I just woke up, went to work, ate, came home, ate, went to bed. No life at all. No physical pain unless I actually did something. Lots of mental anguish about what I did to myself. But that went away when I ate the next brownie.
I didn't have my surgery until I was 39. I wasted a lot of years. I'm so glad you're making such a positive change right now.
You're gonna do great!!!
). HOWEVER, I'm posting to congratulate you on taking this step now-- while you're relatively young. When I was your age, I just woke up, went to work, ate, came home, ate, went to bed. No life at all. No physical pain unless I actually did something. Lots of mental anguish about what I did to myself. But that went away when I ate the next brownie.
I didn't have my surgery until I was 39. I wasted a lot of years. I'm so glad you're making such a positive change right now.
You're gonna do great!!!
One food makes you larger, and one food makes you small...
Feeling healthy is an amazing contrast to how I felt when I was morbidly obese. God, how I hate that phrase: morbidly obese. But it fit me because I felt close to death a lot of the time: exhausted, painful throughout most of my body, suffering from hypertension and sleep apnea...
I have changed so much since then, both physically and mentally. I still battle my food demons on an almost daily basis, but it's easier and I beat them more than they beat me--which makes a HUGE difference in my confidence level.
Physically, my body fat percentage is 19% now versus 54% when I started my journey. At my heaviest, I had enough stored energy (fat) to live off of for 441 days without eating anything else. Now I have just enough to survive for 65 days.
It's a weird way of looking at it, but it ties in to my compulsive over-eater's NEED for food. By figuring out how long I could actually do without, it helps me to shake off that desire because I can logically tell myself, "Nonsense. You don't need that Twinkie--you could live for two months on your stored body fat alone." Strange, huh? LOL!
Anyhoo, my surgery was the tool I needed to see that I COULD actually lose the weight--that my body was not my enemy, but my partner, and that discovering the balance between eating, daily activity, and what my body needed and could tolerate was the key to long-term weight loss success.
It's one day at a time--and maintenance is for life. I still keep my diet journal, I track my running and other exercise, I plot out my goals--even if they are small ones, like going from doing 20 push-ups in a row to 25. It makes a difference, and it helps me to maintain this healthy body that I have fought so hard for!
I have changed so much since then, both physically and mentally. I still battle my food demons on an almost daily basis, but it's easier and I beat them more than they beat me--which makes a HUGE difference in my confidence level.
Physically, my body fat percentage is 19% now versus 54% when I started my journey. At my heaviest, I had enough stored energy (fat) to live off of for 441 days without eating anything else. Now I have just enough to survive for 65 days.
It's a weird way of looking at it, but it ties in to my compulsive over-eater's NEED for food. By figuring out how long I could actually do without, it helps me to shake off that desire because I can logically tell myself, "Nonsense. You don't need that Twinkie--you could live for two months on your stored body fat alone." Strange, huh? LOL!
Anyhoo, my surgery was the tool I needed to see that I COULD actually lose the weight--that my body was not my enemy, but my partner, and that discovering the balance between eating, daily activity, and what my body needed and could tolerate was the key to long-term weight loss success.
It's one day at a time--and maintenance is for life. I still keep my diet journal, I track my running and other exercise, I plot out my goals--even if they are small ones, like going from doing 20 push-ups in a row to 25. It makes a difference, and it helps me to maintain this healthy body that I have fought so hard for!
"Fall down 7 times--STAND UP 8!"
I really can appreciate how you feel. I have been overweight since I started having a period at 10 yrs old. I lost weight in college and weighed 175 for about 3 yrs. I felt wonderful. Unfortunately, it was short-lived. I gained weight steadily until I met my ex-husband and was about 280 when I met him. I lost weight soon after I met him--down to about 230. Then I got pregnant and I gained all that weight back and more. Since then my weight has steadily increased until last Nov. I had wanted WLS for years but couldn't afford it. My highest weight was 408.
I have lost 70 lbs and am now smaller than I have been in the last 15 years. Already I feel better and have less pain. I, too, wonder if this will continue to happen for me.
I also have some apprehension about being a normal weight. My weight has kept me "invisible" for years. Nobody pays any attention to the fat girl. I got lots of attention at 175 and am starting to get attention again even at 330. Hopefully I will learn to adapt and enjoy the attention.
Good luck to you and just keep "faking it" till its for real.
I have lost 70 lbs and am now smaller than I have been in the last 15 years. Already I feel better and have less pain. I, too, wonder if this will continue to happen for me.
I also have some apprehension about being a normal weight. My weight has kept me "invisible" for years. Nobody pays any attention to the fat girl. I got lots of attention at 175 and am starting to get attention again even at 330. Hopefully I will learn to adapt and enjoy the attention.
Good luck to you and just keep "faking it" till its for real.
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