Daily Post--7/6/08

I don't seem to have that problem. Even at 183, however, I still have people telling me to stop losing. What the hell do they know?

I'm a Mental Health Counselor and I used to work on an Eating Disorders Unit. It was kind of a weird experience for me. All of my patients were Anorexic or Bulemic and here was me at 240 plus pounds. I was hired by the Program Director not just because of my professional skills but also because of the fact that I was the size I was and I was healthy (for the most part) active, and happy with myself. At that point in my life I knew nothing about WLS and resigned myself to being the healthiest fat person I could be. The most valuable thing I learned from watching these poor people go through Hell was not to get married to a number (I have to weigh this much or my life won't be good) and also NEVER to let myself be defined by the image in the mirror. The subject of goal weight came up during my psych eval and the shrink was impressed with the fact that I didn't want a goal weight. I wanted to see where this journey takes me and what feels healthy for me. I only picked the 145 in my profile because the program wanted me to pick a number and that is the highest number I can be and still have a healthy BMI. So, maybe it will end up being less. We'll see. Yes, I'm enjoying the new shape of me. Yes, I'm very happy I did this and would do it again in a heartbeat. But, I'm still me, at 251 or at 165.5. I'm still me. Don't lose yourself in the process.

Just head hunger (like the other poster)... I really think it's a disorder though! Sheryl

I haven't been, but I have noticed that my best friend who also had the surgery doesn't always eat enough. She still has that mentality that if she eats she'll gain weight. Then she complains that she's not losing fast enough. I told her that if she gets in the protein goal set by our but, she will find herself losing a little faster because her body will know it's okay to let go and not go into starvation mode.