I'm Not Special

And I'd like to thank you all for making me feel this way.

In the 5 plus months since my surgery I've lost almost 90 pounds, I've lost over 100 since I started this whole process.  I've only had the foamies / slimies twice (dang broccoli).  My bloodwork has been fine, I feel pretty good most of the time.  I am able to run and am preparing for a 5k.  I usually get 10,000 steps a day.  My calories are usually within 600 - 700, protein is good, water goes down fine, I've had a few stalls but it's all evened out in the end.  

With all that being said, I got a little ****y.  I got a little ahead of myself.  The vets have said that if you eat carbs. you'll want more carbs.  If you eat ice cream, it'll slide right through.  If you aren't vigilant, you can let old habits sneak back in.  I started pinching while I cooked.  I snuck a bite off of a dessert plate.  I had a little piece of bread to go with my chili.  I decided to take a day off from running since I was doing so well.  The whole time, I thought that it's been such smooth sailing all the things the vets warned us about won't happen to me, I'M SPECIAL.  

The little pinches turned into a forkful, a bite off the dessert plate turned into a few forkfuls, a little piece of bread ALMOST  turned into the whole dinner roll.  Then I realized, that I was justifying my behavior, I wasn't logging EVERY bite into MFP.  One day off from running turned into 3 days off from running.  I was starting to get comfortable with my new size and the compliments and the fact that I was feeling GREAT.  It hit me last night....I'M NOT SPECIAL.  The vets warned us - nicely, sternly, lovingly and with brass knuckles that we can't stop in our fight against obesity.  It's too soon for me to drop the ball.  I was lucky that my bad behaviors didn't turn into a gain  or even a stall.  But I have to remember that no one plans to regain, it's a slow sneaky process and because of OH, I have the support and the tools to recognize when I'm going off track and that i need to get my stuff together. 

I really appreciate the fact that the OH posters have been here to remind me that I'm not special and that although our paths are different we are all still in the same battle and that we all have to be diligent all the time.  Thank you guys!

Good for you for recognizing where you were heading. You nipped it in the bud - good job!

Thanks. Would not have been nearly as successful w/o this forum.

I am here to tell you that you are special.  Most people just gain the weight back and do not have the "aha" moment you describe. The fact that you had it early, well, that makes you special.  Now that you know that you are special, and outlier is what they call me, you know what you need to do to stay the outlier.  Don't mess this up, don't become ordinary, stay special. 

Thanks - on so many levels!

You know where you went off the tracks and have taken the steps to right yourself!  

You can do this.  Your post is very inspirational, thank you for sharing your journey.

Thanks so much for your post!  It's like lots of things -- people just don't believe that gains, etc. will happen to them!  It's constant!  Now that I'm almost 11 months out -- it's a constant battle for me!

I guess the easy part is over. Now the rubber meets the road!

Wow...am I ever glad I clicked on your post. I am exactly 5 months out today and down 95 pounds...and have made some of the same slips you mentioned. Last week a friend's husband told me I must be done losing the weight as I look fantastic just the way I am now and that did a big number on my head.

Let the 1/2 bagel trickle in a couple of times, skipped the Zumba and missed a night logging my food onto MFP....a slippery slope to say the least.

Yes...we're human but the stuff I have been reading from the vets is what helped me get to the place I am now so I don't want to continue down the hill!

It never ceases to amaze me how just what I needed to hear or read seems to come up just in the nick of time.

Thanks for posting and helping to clear the fog out of my brain!

Cheers...

We will be some of the success stories!