Could use your honest input on this. A bit long.

Elina...

I think you look fabulous and share so much of your WL knowledge with others on this journey..that I honesty think of you as a role model and an inspiration.  I think you look perfect at your size...and more importantly you feel great!!  I have never seem you bigger but I can say that I just can't imagine you heavy.  It is like you are meant to be this size...you know what I mean?
I get the Mom thing...I always placed great importance on what my Mom's opinion was.  She passed away 3 years ago and what I wouldn't give to have those opinions again!!!
   I really think you look great at this size.  I admire the fact that you really stay on top of things and when you are a few lbs ahead really change things...I think we should all do that so we never again get to our old selves again!  I think this behavior keeps us accountable of us!

Keep up the great work...you are fabulous!!

OX
Patty

Patty, hugs to you and thank you for the kind words.  It took me a day or so to figure this one out.  I couldn't tell at first if this was about my weight, my body image or something else.  Well, it's clear to me now that it's the something else.  No one in the whole world would have made me question this, but my mother could.  I am so sorry to hear that you lost your Mother three years ego.  This is one of my greatest fears in life.  Outliving her seems like it would be one of the greatest losses in my life.  Our relationship is complex, like all mother daughter relationships are, but it is one of the greatest sources of love and strength in my life.  She is my mother, but she is also my very best friend in the world.  The time we share is priceless and I am truly grateful that she is still young and I hope we will go shopping together as little old ladies when she is 100 and I am 80 years old.  I bet we will still talk about the same topics and tell the same old jokes and bring up the same old family myths and traditions.  That would be my greatest hope.

 Valley Fair has a lot of high end shops that all sell very tiny tiny clothes… A shopping trip may be in order!

I shop at Valley Fair all the time, but maybe I just need to look at some of the stores you are talking about, help, which stores do you mean?  Maybe I am just sleep walking past them because I could never find anything there, but now they would be perfect.

Frisco,

Let's (and by "let's" I mean "you" :-) ) organize an OH shopping spree in Tokyo and Hong Kong for us all! Please? Let's go! At 5'8", I'm not sure I'm "there" size-wise but HOW fun would that be??

Lizanne

P.S. I made it all the way to China once, only to have to turn around and come back the next day because my husband's passport was stolen (long story) and I've been itching to get back to Asia ever since!

L.

 
The thought of this makes my head spin !!!

Jimbo............Help !!!!!!!!!

This could get expensive !!!!

I guess the food wouldn't be that much !!!

frisco

Well I think you've figured out the dynamics of this for yourself, but I need to chime in here. 

6 pounds.  So what?  It's only 6 pounds you would have to gain.  Right?   Think about it this way.  How LONG did it take you to lose that last 6 pounds?!  THAT's an issue.  We can easily and very quickly gain 6 pounds, but losing it is a different story. 

You look wonderful and I don't think you should do anything different, except enjoy your relationship with your mom and be thankful you still have her.  I still have my mom too and I dread the day I lose her or Dad. 

My aunt told me I was looking "haggard". WTH!?!  I knew going in that I would have wrinkles that I didn't have before.  I was prepared for that.  I admit that sometimes, it kind of bothers me, because I DO look older.  But I did this for my health.  If I was vane, I never would have gotten SMO in the first place. 

I don't think I'll get lower than I am right now in a size 12.  I'm ok with that. I started in a 28/30.   I really think I would look horrible any smaller.   Not everyone agrees with me on that, but I'm the one who needs to feel comfortable in my body.  You do too.  WE have to feel comfortable where we are.  We can't let others dictate what is right for us!

On another note, I was sooooo love to meet all you Californians some day.  You rock!

Wanda, if you are ever anywhere near Northern California and would like to drop by, just let me know and I would love to host a get together for you.

You are right, the most important thing is to be comfortable in your own skin no matter what weight you chose.  It took me a few days to unpack why this had such an impact on me, but I get it now.  I love my Mom and we spend a few days a week doing something together.  She is a wonderful Mother and Grandmother. I just had to figure out where her opinion ended and my opinion began, we are that close.  But I have it now.  I am so grateful for this site as I can use it as a living journal.  I put my thoughts down, often when they are still in disarray, and over time and with some help, I feel stronger and more in touch with what really matters.  There are so many wonderful and caring and thoughtful people here, it is way more fun to go through my life journey with you guys in it.

I admit I didn't I didn't read everyone's responses so hopefully this isn't too repetitive.

Your mom may not be motivated by jealousy but the "you're too thin, you are eating too much" game is very common and that's exactly what it is... a mind game. If someone says contradictory stuff to you in the space of a day and all of it is negative, then I think it's safe to ignore them no matter what they are saying.

I think we moms do this because we worry. So we get hypercritical of what our kids do and say. You'd think we'd cut it out when our kids got to be adults with kids of their own, but we don't.