[ripatsfan]

Good Evening Everyone,
My name is Jeff and I had Gastric Bypass Surgery on November 30th. I have lost 43 pounds to date.
My personal goal is to lose 100 pounds and to be physically fit.
I have a long journey ahead of me and I am just looking for others that are in my position.
Monday I will start to work out (cardio and circuit training to begin with).
I am starting to feel better about myself but I still have those inner demeans telling me how fat I am all of the time. I would like to feel comfortable at some point in my own skin.

Well, that's it for now...hope to hear from some of you!

Jeff

[Nell]

Hello Jeff and welcome to the group, this is a great place for support and encouragement. Congrats on your surgery and the weight you have lost so far. You are doing great!! Keep it up!!

[Lblackmon]

Hi Jeff, Glad to see you join the group. I am awaiting my surgery in February, and this group is great and you can learn so much and by you already going through the surgery your post can help us that have the surgery just around the corner! Best of luck and wish you the best!

[Perfesser]

Jeff, those inner demons have been a topic of frequent discussioni here over the years. Self-image is one of the last things WLS addresses. I'm four years out, and sometimes still I pick up a pair of pants and think "no way these are going to fit!", and they always do!!

Eight weeks and you're 40% of the way to goal! It took me about 7 months to lose 100 pounds. We lose faster than the ladies. Your rapid weight loss phase won't be too long, but the journey stretches on for life (or however long you want to be healthy!) Truly this is a very long journey, but it is sooo worth it!! It basically gave me my life back!

How many years did you spend training yourself with "fat reflexes"? You just can't flip a switch and untrain your mind. It'll take quite a while. In the meantime, believe the compliments you're starting to get. Don't argue with them, just accept what they say graciously and thank them. Some day you'll see it, too!

Welcome to the family!! I can always use another guy around here for reinforcements!

CT

[Mamakarne]

Welcome Jeff. Congratulations on your weight loss. I agree with the Perfesser, say thank you and just let them build your self-image right back up again. A few weeks before my surgery I had all of my hair cut off. I get compliments all the time from people I don't see often and they say it's my hair. I just giggle. Yeah, it had nothing to do with the fact that I lost 70 pounds...it's just a really great haircut!

[Carol Jo B.]

Welcome. You are doing a great job and need to give yourself credit. It is hard to turn our minds away from the self-loathing that being obese has subjected us to. You will get there, though. You deserve it.

[DocSanae]

Welcome to the board, thank you for joining us.
Congratulations on your wonderful weight loss.
(((((HUGS))))) May your journey go well.

[Tricia Igo]

welcome to the site!! congrats on the loss so far - I'm sure you'll find the site to be very supportive.

[MotoCO]

Hello Jeff from Rhode Island!

I am from Colorado...worlds away! But I am sure our struggle is much the same. I had my surgery on August 30th. I am currently at 72 lbs lost. I feel sooo much better. I have to tell you that when I am at the grocery store I do something a bit odd...and people probably see but I don't care! I grab 10 lb bags of potatoes in the amount I have lost so I can "feel" it. I can see progress on my body but it is different to actually pick it up. Can you imagine picking up 4 10 lb bags of potatoes and carrying them around all day, every day? Think the of the strain on your knees alone!

I have been "thin" most of my life but have struggled with weight loss issues or I don't know how to say it but I have struggled with this stuff since high school. I was always very athletic and became beyond sedentary. But now I can easily walk 3 miles on my treadmill. I pop up stairs like they are nothing were I dreaded them before (and I live in a 2 story house!!).

You have gotten over the hump (with the surgery) and the rest will come with just doing the right things and getting moving. You will feel so much better.

In 30 days I will be doing something I have always wanted to do....zip line! I always felt too huge to do it. I might have been able to but just felt too big to do it. But, I am gonna do it and no one is gonna stop me! I am going to fly!

You should make yourself a goal that you want to do or something that you have always wanted to do. And then get yourself in a position to do it. In July there is a 5k with an obstacle course that I am doing with a friend. I cannot quite run yet but I am starting to get close. But I will post that photo of me and the finish line sometime in July!

Rememeber at the very least, the absolute minimum you are healthier! You have taken over 40 lbs of strain off your heart and off your joints. I certainly don't know everything and there are some darn wonderful people on here. I feel lucky to have found them. And every one of us have had those darn demons on our back. But every pound we lose, every goal we make, every dream we achieve those darn demons slide off and can't hold on to us forever! You and I and the newer people on here take comfort in the people that have kept the weight off and there is long term success for us. We only have to embrace the journey.