What's the best thing about "your" weight loss journey?

The 1 thing is being able to make it threw the work day without pain. I am a plumber and work on custom homes that are somtimes 5 stories tall and going up and down those staires all day used to kill my knees. Some days I would pray to god to help me finish the day. I  had to act like it didnt bother me because I wouldt want poeple to think I couldnt do the work anymore because of my wieght. Now I out work anyone at my shop and I run those stairs all day then go to the gym for a hour and a half after work. Thank god for this RNY

That's Amazing!

What the best thing to come from my weight loss journey? We all talk about those FART (FANTASTIC, AWESOME, REMARKABLE, TREMENDOUS) moments - those things that absolutely blow our minds, achieving things that were not possible before.  This journey is absolutely amazing.  The fact that life as we know it is completely turned upside down, our coping mechanisms are taken away and our insides are rearranged - and we celebrate it...now that in itself is amazing. For me, it's NOT all those things that I have done...riding the coaster, running the 10K, shopping off the rack, fitting in the airline seat, sitting in the booth, seeing my "willie".  For me, the best thing about my journey is all those things I've not done but CAN - skydiving, riding my bike in the MS150 mile ride, walking along the beach with my shirt off, white water rafting, finally beating that 20 something year old in a sprint on the final lap. What's the best thing about this journey?   It's not what life "is" - it's what life "can be" -  it's having the ability to make the impossible possible. Cards Fan "STEP OFF THE SIDELINES AND GET IN THE GAME!"

Interesting prespective! Good luck on those things that you can, but haven't done. Especially skydiving, YIKES!!! Ronnie

I wish I could contribute also but I did call my insurance company today and they said my case is under medical review and will be until May 30 when a decision will be rendered.  I don't think they can say no since they're paying out the wazoo for my oxygen things, all  my medicines, and eventual treatments! But what I look forward in doing once again is: Shopping at the second hand clothing stores with my brother and dad.  riding roller coasters with my kids.  normal stares rather than OMG stares.  able to squeeze down the aisle with minimal problems.  sleeping with a mask.  playing with my kids and dogs.  fly fishing the great missouri streams.  normal shoes.  ascending a tree stand without the feeling of death overcoming me.  being able to go up a ladder.  building a high deck and roofing my barn.  bicycling, lifting without the OMG will he be able to get out of the seat!  put diabetes 2 off another 10 or 20 years.  a 4 cyl car and trade my fat car (tahoe).  seeing willie.  etc etc etc. 

I like reading about these things!

The only thing that insurance companies care about is money. Right now, they are calculating their investment, so to speak. They are figuring out if it's more cost effective to let you have the surgery, or just pay for the O2, and other meds. My bet is that it's more cost effective to let you have WLS. It's kind of like settling out of court, a big payment now and they're done. Don't let them get you down! Ronnie

Hi Ronnie and guys, I agree, this is a good question! I'm eager to read more posts on this--and I apologize in advance for my own wordy, wordy contribution. But you've tapped a nerve of positivity, Ronnie, and I'm going to indulge it. For me, so many things are already great, and I'm not even a year out. At 226 (from a pre-op weight of 341),  candidates for the best are: I've been able to cut my BP meds in half (and I have had high BP for 40-odd years, since I was a teen). I sleep better (apnea gone). My GERD is probably gone (but I'm hesitant to cut out the Prilose****il I'm in the 100s). My energy is way up. The weight training is beginning to actually show (shadows of definition, at least), and I can buy clothes at places other than Porky Man's Emporkium). These and other things are all wonderful, but I think the very best thing to come from my WLS so far has to be a brand new, unexpected release of tension. Having spent most of my life fat and the last 20+ years super-morbidly obese, I just got used to being wary of strangers, friends, relatives (will they mock, give me "the look," you know what I mean, brothers), used to being wary of furniture (will the center hold?, will I fit?), used to wearing unflattering clothes, used to dreading clothes shopping, and on, and on, and on. This sounds like a paradox, but I managed to get "comfortable being uncomfortable"--or so I would gave sworn prior to WLS. But lo and behold, after WLS, I did not merely lose physical weight, I lost spiritual, psychological, and social weight as well. I seem to travel about with less baggage, without a huge chip on my shoulder. It is so great to feel "normal" even though I'm still technically 50-70 lbs overweight. At this size, I do not stand out because of my weight. Leonard Cohen has song titled "Light as a Breeze." I sometimes feel as I'm light as a breeze. I'm not, really, but I've been given a new lease on a much fuller life. So to sum a far too wordy post, the best thing for me is a sense of release, hope, and gratitude. I hope we all find our own full measures of serenity and freedom from our old demons. Thanks, brothers, for posting. You're each a big part of what's best for me.

Doug, The greatest thing about not holding grudges is WE win. I don't hold anything against anyone who thought about me in a negative way before surgery. I do take compliments "with a grain of salt" from those people though. But I just keep any underlying negative feelings at bay.  Ronnie

For me it's the hundreds of chicks that I still can't seem to pick up. Scott

Try picking up the ones that weigh between 110-125...I have a much easier time with those than the ones who weigh more than that...I try and try, but just can't seem to get them off the ground.