Question:
What does it feel like, physically, to be a normal size?
This question is for post-ops who have reached their goal or near to goal. Also for at goal persons who have had the excess skin removed. I have never been slim and wonder what it feels like, what kind of things do you notice. I have heard about fitting into booths, theatre seats, tying up your shoes, those sort of things. But what I really want to know is what does your body feel like, can you feel your lightness, do you feel small. After being so big for so long, I can't even imagine what having a smaller body will feel like. I have no concept. I am having surgery to shrink myself and to be able to do more physically but I have no idea what my shrunken body might feel like. I hope some of you post wls and post reconstructive surgery understand what I am asking here. I have not seen this question asked before so I'm asking now. Your comments and observations are greatly appreciated, no one else could ever answer this like you guys can :) — mary ann T. (posted on March 17, 2003)
March 17, 2003
When I didnt have to "push" myself off the sofa to get up was my
first feeling of being "light".
— DEBBIE C.
March 17, 2003
It's amazing!!!! I feel so light. Everything in life is easier. From
tying your shoes to running to catch your kids. I run up stairs taking two
at a time without ever even getting out of breath. My husband can now pick
me up and throw me over his shoulder. I think I feel it more than I see
it. When I see myself in the mirror or in a picture it looks like a
stranger to me. But I feel like a kid again! All of the aches and pains
have disappeared. I have so much energy now it is impossible for me to sit
still. I am always doing something.
— Linda A.
March 17, 2003
I am 6 monhs out and down about -112lbs, I am not at goal, I weigh 218lbs,
but so far the weirdest part of the way I feel normal, is that when I lay
down on my side at night I can feel bones, I run my hand across my
shoulders and feel bones, I look down at my arms and see bones!!! I am sure
you are catching on. I workout 4 days a week, and this is also giving me
muscle definition, I love this surgery!!! ( :
— Vicki M F.
March 17, 2003
I think that the first thing I noticed is that I don't mind walking, I mean
I really enjoy it now! I can't get enough of it. Before I lost my weight I
would plan my day so that I would only have to go up & down the stairs
in my house a couple of times, it was just so painful and exhausting to do
so. Now I don't care if I have to go up and down 1000 times in a day,
doesn't bother me a bit! And I haven't yet stopped being amazed at how far
I can walk and not get tired, I stop walking now because I'm out of time,
not because I'm out of breath!
— Tambi B.
March 17, 2003
What does it feel like to go from a size 24 to a size 12? I'll tell you. It
feels AWESOME!!! I used to be 260 pounds. Now I am 100 pounds down weighing
in at 160. I am now active and my confidence has thrived!I no longer have
to shop in Lane Bryant. Though I still want to lose another 15 pounds to
reach a personal goal, I have my BMI under 25 rendering me in a
"normal" weight range. I have never been happier and you will be
too.
— Bunnie
March 17, 2003
It feels great going from a size 24 to a size 4!!! It's wonderful to not
have to worry about fitting in a booth, chair, ride at an amusement park,
etc. And with the excess skin removed, I fell downright HOT!!
— Patty H.
March 17, 2003
It feels great going from a size 24 to a size 4!!! It's wonderful to not
have to worry about fitting in a booth, chair, ride at an amusement park,
etc. And with the excess skin removed, I fell downright HOT!!
— Patty H.
March 17, 2003
It feels great going from a size 24 to a size 4!!! It's wonderful to not
have to worry about fitting in a booth, chair, ride at an amusement park,
etc. And with the excess skin removed, I fell downright HOT!!
— Patty H.
March 17, 2003
This is not an answer to the question, just a comment about the question-
what a great one it was. I am also pre-op and will be having LAP RNY on
4/03- after reading what the others wrote- I am SO EXCITED- I can't wait to
feel like the previous posters described. WOW!!
— Jan S.
March 17, 2003
It feels great to buy clothes in a regular store. My husband laughs because
I still go to the extra large sizes, when it's not necessary any more.
Crossing my legs, or sitting with a purse in my chair next to me are the
little things that make me smile. I have lost 90lbs, I weigh 158. I would
like to lose about 12 more. I wouldn't bo back to the old me for anything.
— kay G.
March 17, 2003
Well, you have lots less to worry about: You don't worry that you will be
the biggest person in the room, or that you won't be able to squeeze
between the chairs in a restaurant. Or that you won't fit in a the back
seat or seatbelt of a friend's car. Or that you will not be able to make it
up the stairs. I used to pass up those tight parking spaces because I knew
I would never be able to squeeze out of the partially open door. Now I
think, "I can make it!" I feel like I could walk forever and
ever. I out-walk and out-shop everybody else now. I can see my muscles. And
some of my bones! I finally look at clothes and think, "I can wear
that!" and sometimes even, "That is WAAY to big for me!" I
am not afraid to try new things, like fencing and kickboxing and running. I
am rarely sick. I rarely hurt. I need less sleep. I obsess less on food. I
can jump rope without causing a seismic event. I go horseback riding
without causing bodily harm to the poor horse. I can be a good role model
to my daughter. I am not afraid to wear fashionable clothes, hair, and
makeup. I don't have that "Michelin Man" feeling when I wear
clothes: even tight ones! I can smile, as now the fat in my cheeks is not
there to prevent the corners of my mouth from rising. I can place the palms
of both hands on the ground when I stretch forward and grab my toes in a
seated stretch. This definitely wasn't a cure-all and I still have my
"fat" days, but I think it makes a big difference in how I see
myself and how others see me. It has given me a lot more freedom than I had
with my fat body.
— ctyst
March 17, 2003
I am 8 months post-op and down 97 pounds. 275 lbs.-178 lbs. Size 24 to a
12 How I feel in one word FREE!!!!
— perpetualuv
March 17, 2003
I'm not at goal yet, but I'm 115 lbs lighter and can not remember being
this weight in my adult life. I feel great. I'm still finding little
surprise everyday. I could repeat everything that each person hear has
said, but I won't. My biggest "revelation" of my new size was
seeing a picture my husband and I took recently. I cried because we
actually looked like we fit together (he has always been handsome and at a
fit weight). In fact it stills overwhelms me. This whole experience has
taken our marriage to such a higher level. I had never talked to my husband
about my weight problem, until I started thinking about this surgery. It
hurt too much to talk about it. Since going through this we talk about
everything.
— Cheryl S.
March 17, 2003
Well, you will still be baffled by clothing sizes, but, "Hey, this
must be mislabeled, there's no WAY a PROPERLY-marked size 24 is this tight
on me!" gives way to, "Hey, this must be mislabeled, there's no
way I wear a size 8 (guffaw)." You will bump into stuff less, as you
find yourself needlessly trying to "brace for impact" for hips
that never come *near* the stuff they used to graze, smack hard up against,
or just plain get *stuck in* before. You will groan less getting in and
out of chairs, booths, cars, whatever. You won't have to huff and puff
when you walk everywhere (or try to hide the fact that you're huffing and
puffing), and you won't dread or avoid walking, 'cause your step is
actually kinda *springy-er*. You do feel lighter, because you are. You
*will* catch a view of yourself in a store window or mirror and seriously
wonder who the heck that is, before you figure it out. Eventually I think
most of us do start to feel small (or small-er), even if we have a hard
time seeing it.
— Suzy C.
March 17, 2003
It's ... strange. That's what it is. Yesterday I hauled a bunch of
clothes out of storage that I wore when I was 17 years old (32 now) and
tried them on. They fit. I stood looking in the full length mirror
thinking ... this is not how I looked in high school, is it? Today I'm
wearing a pair of jeans that I bought in Paris when I was 17. They didn't
fit when I bought them. They were too tight!! They're a little out of
style, but I've NEVER been able to wear them before. I love the
strangeness of it, though. It's a good thing. To walk past a mirror and
not cringe but instead have to do a double-take because you don't recognize
yourself. It's the best kind of strange! =)
— KelBurt
March 17, 2003
It feels great, awesome, terrific, wonderful, fantastic, thrilling (to name
a few adjectives). I started out at a size 28. I am now a size 8. I no
longer feel self-conscious of my size or my weight, or the poor-fitting
clothes, or my butt being too big for a chair. <p>But I guess the
biggest thrill to me is being free from the fear and obsession of food. I
no longer think about food constantly. I can eat anything I want--just not
much at one time. All the foods I've considered taboo my whole life are now
no longer restricted. Thus, they have lost their allure because I can have
them any time. A little goes a long way and I don't even think about the
chips, the girl scout cookies, and the candy in the cupboard. I used to not
be able to stand having them in the house because I couldn't keep away from
them. Now, I don't even think about them unless the kids have some. I
sometimes grab a few just because I can, but I don't want to consume the
whole bag. Total Freedom from dieting, from food, from obsessions!
Something I have prayed for my whole life. <p> I had the duodenal
switch (DS) and it has been the best thing I ever did for myself. I have
been at goal for a couple months now.
— artistmama
March 17, 2003
Great question and some great answers! I am within 8 pounds of goal,
having gone from a size 22 to a 10-12. Freedom is a great way to describe
it- happy is another great descriptive word. You do feel lighter, you don't
have to hold on going up stairs anymore, and no more bumping into
everything and everyone in the aisles of stores. In the beginning, I would
stumble alot as I was used to hauling a heavier weight around, and when I
got up from a seat, being much lighter, its almost like you have to catch
yourself-you don't need as much energy to move. Looking at yourself in a
mirror (clothed, that is-haven't had skin removal yet!) is a miracle. I
like what I see in the mirror! And clothes...wow, to look at colors like
pink and yellow instead of all black. The mental energy is so different
too. Instead of entering a room and wondering if people are staring at me
because I am fat, now they look at me and I am free to think, hmm, they
like my outfit. I get compliments now on how nice I look instead of people
avoiding eye contact with the fat person. I could go on forever. It has
simply changed my life for the better. I like to tell people that for the
first time, I am in control of food instead of food controlling me.
— Cindy R.
March 17, 2003
I can't even begin to describe it, although I certainly don't see myself as
thin as I am (I'm a size 8). Plastic surgery helped tremendously. I think
that 7.5 pounds of skin they removed made as big a difference to me as the
145 pounds I lost after RNY. Before PS, I was still hiding the
rolls/disfigurement of the hanging skin. After a LBL and mastopexy, I
finally felt the weight loss and felt like I looked good. I also found this
really cool site that compared your weight and age with others and told you
how many people weighed more than you. I entered my weight (and I weigh
about 25 pounds more than I look) and found out the I'm smaller than
something like 60 - 70% of women my age. After ALWAYS being the biggest
person anywhere I went, this just blows me away!
— mom2jtx3
March 17, 2003
I actually feel "light", now. Before, when I would try to run,
everything felt so heavy to move, and I couldn't run. Now, I actually feel
light and my legs move and I can run. Pieces of my body don't rub together
when I move. My thighs don't touch inside, and my butt cheeks don't touch
in back, when I walk. It feels so strange, almost like pieces of me are
missing (Which I guess is literally true.... my thighs and butt cheeks are
half the size they used to be...) The best feeling is when I see myself
in the mirror or a glass window and I am not ashamed anymore. In fact, I
even kind of like what I see. That was a monumental shock to me.
— Kathy J.
March 22, 2003
Oh, being a normal weight is WONDERFUL!!! I can best describe it as
feeling like superwoman. I can actually lift my whole body with my arms,
which is so awesome. That is a credit to doing a lot of weight lifting
when I was heavy. I had no skin issues, so I can't help you there. But it
IS really great to be able to run without my knees feeling like they're
going to explode and my thighs rubbing together to the point of giving me a
rash. :)
— Brittany C.
Click Here to Return