Question:
WELL, I CRIED IN THE DRESSING ROOM YESTERDAY...

Because I FINALLY made it to my goal of wearing a size 8...but here's the deal. After the initial excitement, I am still not satisfied. I recall feeling a lot thinner back in 1988 (the last time I was this "small"). I still have lumps and bumps and hanging arms...Arragh! I don't want to be one of those women who always moans about her body...but will I ever get there? PS The good news is that I have joined a gym and am LOVING it!    — rebeccamayhew (posted on August 18, 2003)

August 17, 2003
You are NOT the same person that you were in 1988. I don't mean to be harsh but there is going to be some aging. Yes you will get toner. I know regular women who would kill to be a size 8 flapping and all. Congrats on the gym and focus on the positive and remember - progress - not perfection. Our bodies will never be perfect. I apologize if this offends you.
   — snicklefritz

August 17, 2003
Don't we wish we could take our bodies back 10 plus years! Congratulations on weight loss and joining a gym. Hon, unless you started exercising from the beginning with your surgery you will have lumps/bumps/hanging skin. You sure would have been toning muscles as you lost weight. Also, depending on how much weight you had to loose, that will make a "Big" difference. But, I'm sure you know that. Is your goal to be at a healthy weight or is to be thinner? A size 8 is small to me! lol This procedure helps with the weight loss, as a tool, but it's up to you/plastic surgeon to get body back in shape. We can't expect miracles, just because we had surgery. It would be nice to loose the weight, be healthy and be toned like a teenager, but "It Ain't Gonna Happen" Not without help from other professionals. AS we grow older our bodies change/weight shifts. We could loose and get back to that weight, but it may still not look and feel the same. lol Good Luck! Lap/2/11/03~~~~250/160/140
   — Hazel S.

August 17, 2003
I can sooooo relate. I also have just gotten into a size 8 and am 5 lbs from my goal weight. I feel the same way and it does bother me that I just can't be satisfied. I do think that over time we will be. I think it is just the mind thing, at least fro me I still see a fat girl in the mirror although I know that a 'fat' girl doesn't wear a size 8. I also thought I be in a smaller size at this weight. I am 5'3" and weight 130. Hang in there. Good luck with the gym :) shan 9/25/02 253/130/125
   — Shanchel

August 18, 2003
At 130 pounds, a size 8 sounds fantastic to me. When I was younger and weighed 130-135 (at 5'4"), I still wore a Jr. size 13. Try not to stress too much - like a previous posted stated, you're 15 years older now and gravity takes it's toll on all of us. Almost all of us are going to have lumps, bumps, and hanging skin - it's the price we pay for making the decision to get healthy:) Good Luck.
   — Carolyn M.

August 18, 2003
I am 142 and wear a size 6 petite, sometimes an 8 sometimes a 4 depending on the designer. I went shopping with a fellow WLS buddy recently and almost #%$^&& a brick when the size 6 petites fit me comfortably and I look "tiny." I think because we have carried around an extra 110 + pound person all these years we have more muscle under all the flab, perhaps that's why I am fitting in a size 6 when I would normally be a size 10 at this weight. My goal is 125 and I imagine I could be wearing a size 4, which to me seem unfathomable...but I look back to a year ago and remember saying to myself, "I would do anything just to get below 200 pounds." Keep things in perspective. The gym will most definitely help tone you up.
   — missmollyk

August 18, 2003
Rebecca, congrats on the size 8! You looked great last time I saw you a few months ago. So, ya lost more?! Need I remind you that last time you were that small was 15 years ago? That was when nature kept things in place naturally. Gravity and age and our being obese have worked to create the lumps and bumps and hanging skin. No amount of working out at the gym will eliminate that, though it will do wonders for your energy, and underlying muscle tone, not to mention burn more calories so that you can eat more (my goal!). Hope to see you at a support group meeting soon...
   — Cindy R.

August 20, 2003
hmmm... well, I wish I had a nickle for every dressing room I've cried in -- did it a couple of times this weekend and in Banan Republic yesterday -- cause I actually didn't bother to buy the four things I tried on, even though they fit. As to not being satisfied, I can related -- at about 200 pounds now, and when I was 372 I thought.. 200 would be JUST fine for me... well, its no longer fine and neither is the 170 I thought I might live with, now I want to be thinner. Size 8 sounds scary to me, but wow.. really GREAT! Congrats.. if I see you crying, I'll cry with you.
   — Lisa C.