Never in a million years did I think I'd run/want to run. In fact, I've said here, often, that if chased by a bear, I'd rather have been eaten if it was the choice of that or running away :P

But then my partner and my bff got into running. I started going to races with my partner as his ride and to hold his stuff during his races. I found that I really liked the race community. It was so welcoming. Even pre-WLS when I was at my highest weight people were LOVELY to me, would ask me if I was doing the race when I was at packet pickup with my partner, etc. It was amazing. I think it's an amazing community because no one is competing against you - everyone is just competing against their own selves so it's almost a cooperative "we're all in this together" experience.

I had been walking (and pre-op I'd ellipticalled) for my cardio exercise, but slowly I added in running. I used the Zombies Run 5k Training Plan to do interval training. And I was shocked to find that I enjoyed it! I believe I started running when I was around 260lb. I'm still slow and plodding, but I'm okay with that. :)

The other side of the coin of my exercise is fitness classes. Primarily pilates, tai chi, and yoga. I haven't really created any goals for pilates or tai chi, but I've had yoga goals (which I realize is completely contrary to the spirit of yoga) which are things like "attain shoulder stand this year" and "attain crow pose." The shoulder stand year, oh my go**** was a pose in my post-run stretching sequence and I really, really wanted to be able to do it. I worked, and worked, and finally I was able to get my legs up and WOW. I felt like a rock goddess :D What a rush to finally be able to get my body into a pose I'd been working toward for so long!

I haven't succeeded at crow pose yet, but I'll get there eventually :)

Thanks, IF! You're so sweet.

So.. I have a story to tell. Once upon a time, when I started this whole journey, I found myself really wondering about people and their goals. People would claim that they'd lost some percent of their excess weight but it would be based on their goal and their goal was whatever goal the surgeon had given them and we all know that surgeons tend to be happy with us SMO folk just getting into the overweight range, or losing 100 pounds, or whatever other arbitrary number they're happy with.

I got thinking about what "excess weight" really was and learned that it was everything in excess of "ideal weight" but then what the hell is "ideal weight" which led me to a website with a buy of different ideal weight metrics and formula. So I plugged my numbers in, looked through all the formula and their theories, and decided that, at 5'4", my ideal weight was 120. And 120 has always been this super secret totally unattainable goal weight number. Like the "choirs of angels would sing if I ever reached this, I never will, and that's okay" sort of number. (For some people having an unattainable goal would be BAD, for me it's okay. I've got other goals too on the way!)

Sorry, this is long.

Then my plan, once I realized that, yes, I would want plastic surgery, was "reach my goal weight, stay there for a year to let things adjust, and then start the plastic surgery process." I was so naive.

At the beginning of my second year post-op, my dad's cancer moved to his brain, he had brain surgery, and my weight loss stopped. I decided that, hey, 120 is really aggressive and I doubt I'll be able to reach that with the excess mass of extra skin anyway, so let's revise my "start the plastics process goal" to 150.

And then there was my dad's death and college and the realization that I really wanted to start working in my field in 2018, so I decided that I'd do plastics after finishing my AA in mid-2017 so that I'd be all recovered and ready to start working in 2018. This meant that the day of plastic surgery I weighed 166. Clearly nowhere near my ideal goal of 120 and not really super close to my plastics goal of 150 either!

Now I'm three weeks post-op and I'm down 14 pounds since surgery. Let me tell you all, I am SO glad that I did not wait until I reached 120 to have plastics since I would be very unhealthy right now. My body would have had no internal stores to cannibalize for recovery!! Trying to recover from this while actually being underweight? That would be hellish! I'm only 7 pounds away from my next goal of "normal BMI" and I still have two surgeries left. I'm starting to feel like I made the right choice of plastics timing for my body, not just for my schedule. I'm also sort of kind of starting to feel like maybe 120 isn't out of the question after all....

And that's my story. :)

HW: 319
LW: 160.0
TW: 152.7

Next goal: 145 - normal BMI (and I caveat this with "yes, I know BMI is for populations and not individuals but whatever, it's still the thing doctors use so that's why it's on my goal list)

Congrats Gwen!

That's so awesome. Lots of exciting things happening for you recently!

158.3 - I have officially lost half of my original weight.

I love that line - pick a lane brain LOL

I am post surgery as well, nothing as fun as plastic surgery or at least fun in the idea that something exciting is going to be happening afterwards. I am post rotator cuff surgery wearing the instrument of torture a brace for six weeks.

Have been having a hard time eating solid food sometimes which honestly I think it's part of the braces problem because I got a 4 inch piece of metal circling my rib cage and my diaphragm.

I went into the surgery at the low-end of my maintenance range, and I'm just trying to maintain which is not that easy after surgery - eating a lot of protein and eating more carbs and calories than normal.

Highest ever: 420+ pounds

Surgeons consult: 383 pounds

Day of surgery: 164 pounds, little less than two weeks ago

This week: 161 pounds, equal to my lowest weight ever.