Question:
I am one yr out and having a HARD TIME!!

On July 28th 2009 i will have one yr . I am having a hard time. I see that others have lost alot of weight but i am i on target . I was 344lbs I weight 202lbs as of wednesday. Read all about " the New skinny person goes out to shop for clothes and how it is a lot of fun. Its not for me I have been FAT all my life and yes i have lost alot of weight but i am still a heavy person I dont want to be FAT again but when i go to the store I find myself going to the big Girl section and standing there going what do i wear how do i cover the hanging skin my size is not there or hare to find. I think about food more then i did before i am grazing and eating bad stuff. Why am I doing this to myself i dont want to go back but I dont know how to move forward with this body help!!    — tjcofield (posted on July 25, 2009)

July 25, 2009
That's 70 to 80oz of liquid sorry about the os 'lol'
   — matigian

July 25, 2009
Hi Trevette. First let me say congratulations. You have lost 124 lbs in one year and that is so great. you are definately on track. You are doing a lot of great things. I wont give you a lot of advice here but the one thing I think you ought to do before you start slipping, I can hear the desparation in your words. GO TO SUPPORT GROUPS!!! Wherever you had your WLS find out when they have support groups and go!! You need face to face help from others that have been through what you have. This site is great but you seem to need more. At 202 pounds you are still in the big girl category so you will be shopping there for awhile. Chin up. You are only 1 year out and still have a long way (the rest of your life) to go. Good Luck!!!P.S.I will be so glad to get to 202!!
   — sallie H.

July 25, 2009
I too am one year out (7 / 21). I have lost only 94 lbs so far, was hoping for 100 by now. BUT I am keeping my chin up. You have done great with the weight loss! You have come so far! Part of what may be causing you difficulty, is the excess skin. Many get discouraged by that. Don't! it is all a process. there are great support "products" you can buy to help you hide it. Also try different stores. I know I cannot afford JC Penny and Sears typically, but I get some awesome deals on the clearance racks at those stores. Also check into a local clothing exchange. It also is not unusual at about this time (a year or so out) to regain your appetite, and also the thrill starts to wear off as the weight loss slows, etc. We start to push the limits and try new things that we shouldn't have or begin to get careless with our grazing. BUT you can't let it continue. This is one of the times that you can make or break the success of your wls journey. Don't break it! You went through too much and have come much too far to allow that! Try to pinpoint what is triggering you grazing. Is it boredom? Lack of support? Etc... When you get the urge to graze, and you know you shouldn't be eating, find an alternate activity, such as reading, coming to this site and posting or reading, reaching out to a friend for support, going for a walk, a nice hot bubble bath, crafting....anything safe, and non food related. Soon, you will get distracted from your desire to graze. Remember where you were, and where you are now. Remember how excited you were to begin this journey & why, and embrace those memories. Use them as a tool to keep you on track. AND ABSOLUTELY DO reach out for all the support you can get in person and here. This new lifestyle is not always an easy process to go through, but you can do it! Please feel free to contact me (pm) anytime I can help encourage you and support you as you go through this rough time. Hugs to you.
   — Patrece S.

July 25, 2009
Hi Trevette. Don't get too discouraged. We all have lapses. Just don't let them become habits. I am 13 months out and did meet my goal early and still haven't stopped losing weight. thats my fight and I won't bore youwith it, but I think, and this is just my opinion, that you should seek counseling..whether from where you had the psych eval done, or just with your nutritionist, or the surgeons nurse. And yes, find a support group. You are not alone in this fight. We all have our problems that led to our weight issues, and we needed to fix those issues to be able to be successful with this journey. I hope I am making sense! lol I will keep you in prayer and hope that you will find what is needed to make you a success, and happy! P.S. at 124 loss I think you are a success! Just work on keeping the good habits and the rest of the weight will work itself out. Not all of us lose the 100% of overweightness we carry. My Dr told me to look to lose about 70% of the extra weigth I carried. Best of luck ! hugs, Kim
   — gpcmist

July 26, 2009
YOU CAN DO THIS AND WIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! There's one thing that you need to remember: We didn't put this weight on oveernight and it's not going to come off overnight. Losing 202 lbs. in 1 year is a lot of weight to lose so fast. You can't compare yourself to others. There is nobody exactly like you. You're right, you don't want to go back to what you were. You've worked to hard to get to this point. Does your hospital have support groups for people who've had wls. Would you go somewhere like Weight Watchers or somewhere else to help with the rest of your weight off? The only reason I'm suggesting WW is that I'm pre-op(my surgery is 8/26/09-tentatively) and doing WW to help get the weight off that the doctor wants me to lose. For me, and I'm speaking just for me, it's helping me be accountable for what I eat. I have to get on the scale every week to make sure I'm not doing anything outragious.
   — Kathleen W.

July 27, 2009
I know just how you feel. I am one year out and I don't know my body size any more. I use to walk in the store and pick up something and know it would fit. Now I have to ty on many things to find something that works. You have done a wodnerful thing losing 124lb. Now you must mentally adjust to the new you. The hard part is that you are still changing. Try on clothes. You will find the ones that work best. Take your time and try on things you think will be too small you may be surprised. About the food. I think about food a lot now. It is funny how much I still miss junk food after all this time. I needed to sit down with a counselor and discuss why I was trying to undo all the good work. I found some of my triggers and am back on track. Go to a support group or work with a counselor but you will need some help to adjust to who you are now.
   — trible