80 Pounds!

I know I still owe you a running post, but I am going to skip that today to bring you the following news:

I

HAVE

LOST

POUNDS!!!

 

80 pounds! I can’t believe it. A little under 8 months ago I was in the hotel room, near the hospital where I was having surgery the next day, trying to fall asleep but my mind kept spinning with all the possibilities. What would the next 18 months be like? What would I look like in 3 months, 4 months, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, etc… Maybe in my most optimistic thoughts did I end up losing 80 pounds before the end of July, but I never really thought that this would happen.

So as of today I am

• 3 pounds from a BMI under 32 – My insurance health coordinator’s goal
• 15 pounds from a BMI under 30 – My surgeon’s goal
• 20 pounds from 175 – My goal

These numbers are amazing to me, but being so close to my goal has emphasized one thing for me – I have more than 20 pounds to lose. This is ok and honestly what I expected to find once I got closer to my goals. I am still going to use my body fat goal as my ultimate sign of success, but unless I lose all 20 pounds in fat I am going to have extra work to do.

The strange part about where I am now is that I am basically just a smaller version of myself before. Ok. I am sure you are thinking “Obviously, Tracy”, but hear me out. For the last 40-50 pounds I have shrunk very proportionally (well except my chest). My arms, legs, stomach, hips have stayed exactly the same shape just smaller. I have the same bumps, creases, curves and whatever that I had 50 pounds ago. Nothing has smoothed out or looks skinnier. 

This is a great thing when you think of skin. I have bat wings, but they are not getting larger as I lose the fat. My panniculus is still there, but instead of getting looser as I lose weight it looks exactly the same. Basically instead of deflating like some people have described I am just shrinking. Which is great. Absolutely wonderful.

Except for the mental part. It appears that nothing is getting smaller. On a day to day basis I don’t see a difference. My arms, legs, and stomach all look exactly the same. I hear you guys talking about seeing air between your thighs – nope not me. How about those of you with your skinny calves or defined chins – nope not me again. Even in my latest pictures you can see very little difference. I love the smaller me, but I would love to notice something that shouts skinnier.

Thankfully, in today’s pictures my lovely collar bones came out to play. I rarely see them, but when I do I just love how skinny they make me feel. Also, today’s pictures mark another big milestone – size 14 jeans and a LARGE shirt. No W’s and no X’s. Wooohooo!! Now I am just started to fit into the random 14 and large, but I love it. It is my real conformation that I actually look different.

 

I LOVE today’s picture. The difference between where I am now and where I started is just crazy. My waist, hips, and face – Wow! Plus those collar bone’s are just awesome. Looking at this picture makes me feel skinny!

 

 

Now that I have found my tri-pod I am going to have to start being more consistant with my pictures because the different cameras, positions and zooms make it harder to compare each month. Although it is pretty easy to see the last picture is showing great progress. I LOVE my band!

 

On a final note – I have my 8 month check up in the next couple weeks (next week or the week after – can’t remember). I lost my restriction last week, but I am thinking of asking for unfill. I have been suffering from a bad sore throat for a week now and I think it is from my GERD. I haven’t had symptoms since surgery, but a sore throat was a something I used to get from it. I don’t want to lose my band and the resurgence of this symptom is a little concerning. I figure I could handle one month of no restriction to let every thing heal much more than I could handle getting it taken out. I have no idea what I would do if that happened!! But I am not going to worry about it right now. The doc will know the best way to handle this which is why he gets paid the big bucks, right?

 

As for now I am going to continue celebrating my 80 pounds, focus on enjoying the moment and push forward towards my next goal.