coops

WOW... fella, you are one strong guy!! I was in hospital for 5 days. I had my surgery in the morning and slept all the way through that day and most of the next... I am in awe here...!! On the handy tip thing, I agree with Pdxman... do not use the scale as the only form of measuring success... sure it is good to see the bloody thing move, but when/if it doesn't, look for other areas of success. Also take your measurements before surgery, this another brillant way to visually see how smaller you are getting! I've lost nearly 4 foot...lol =]

Fair play GT... you got it sorted there with the running... I like the way you think. How did you go from treadmill to the real world? I can jog on a treadmill from 30-50 mins when I was doing it reg back last year - before my back/groin went - but for some stupid reason, I can't transfer that to the outside world as much as I want to! I've even imagined myself jogging a long the route that I set myself to do! Do I just have to GET THE HELL OUT THERE AND DO IT!!!??? xx

I love that phrase... 'feed the beast' that is genius is that! Funny, same friend popped in today, by chance, no warning. I'm at home, in a pair of combat shorts and a tightish tee-shirt... looking quite trim in a 'not trying' kinda way...lol... you know what I mean! Anyway, when I opened the door she looked me up and down and for a moment there was like an awkward pause. She was cklearly taken a back as when she sees me I am usually in baggy training gear! That was a fine moment for me! x Oh, and I defo smaller than that beast now...lol...

GT... how did you take the first step? was it just a case of saying 'balls to this' and just doing it?! I really want to but for some reason something in my stupid head is stopping me... grrrr! x

I agree... you do look younger... and is that the same cardy? Hmm? Need a smaller one me thinks...lol Great job so far, keep up the good work! Get some full body shots done (not to share if you don't want to) but I promise you that it is a great visual when you are getting smaller. I hated getting photographed too but I did and I am please that I now have the comparisions!! =]

WOW... you show 'em how to do it! What an achievement! I bet you are feeling on to of the world! Congratulations... x

Hiya Bellatrix... I'm a Uk sleever... just over the boarder in sunny Wales! I'm 21mths out now and loving the new me! Any questions fire away... and good luck for the 24th! x

Cookies... that is a great picture... thank you! Doesn't it put things into perspective. Yea, I've been exercising since 6weeks post op and I vary what I do. My main 'fix' is boxing. I mostly go twice a week to a womans' session where we shadow what the men do just lower reps/times. We start with skipping and floor work, then we go on the bags/pad and end with circuit training of some description. It is hard and I love it... been going for over a year now! i also walk a fair bit ranging from 2.5 miles to 4 miles. I do a kettle bell fat burn curcuit and I used to go to the gym where I would jog on the treadmill for 30-50 mins... I intend to start this up again in the near future - I've stopped due to working hours and my back/groin started giving me problems, so now, I do what I can around that but still get a good level of training done. Sometimes I have to take a break, but it is never longer than 10-14 days and then I still walk. I know I have a good amount of muscle - I can actually see it now under the fat! If there was less fat on my tummy I am sure I would have a six pack...lol!! My hubby regularly comments on the muscles in my calves and thighs... saying he wants them! I think my calf muscles are horrible and over defined but I suppose they are better than 'cankles'! I've always loved exercising... and I still do! Even if I never lose another pound I won't stop doing my fitness!! =]

Hello all! Just a little background for those who don't know me... I was sleeved in July 2010 and I've lost 73lb so far. I am still fighting my way to goal but over the last 6mths I have watched the scale bounce around the same 5lb... not getting lower that 164 and not staying there either. Lowest is 165 as per my ticker. I think it is fair to say, that I am definately in a stall! Regardless of what I do my body doesn't want to release the last bit of fat left on me... and it around my middle... YUK! I really have tried all the tricks under the sun, and I know there will be peeps thinking that if this is true I should be getting results. Well it is true. My cals are around 1000-1200 daily (90-95% of the time) sometimes a little lower and sometimes a little higher. I am still in calorie 'deficit' as on line calculators suggested my BMR is around 1600-1700 cals a day. I still have great restriction and all in all I am in a very good place right now - this has taken me a long time to get to by the way! So, I've been thinking a lot about my goal... whether to change it and call myself 'done' and move into maintance or whether to continue fighting the good fight. I do realise that there isn't that much fat left... in a perfect world I suppose I should be able to shift another 20lb or so but I am quickly realising that life isn't perfect! I am peri menopausal and have been for over a year. I am back on HRT and wondering if this is effecting the scale; hormones are one thing that I really can't work out. On to my observations... and this is the bit that is confusing me. A little back track - life before morbildy obese Coops was a healthy and fit one. At my 'best' I weighed between 140 - 147lbs and wore a UK 12-14 depending on cut and make. Not too shabby. I didn't 'look' my weight. I was really fit and exercised everyday without fail and loved it. I was a traditional pear shape and some tops a UK10 would fit me. Ok, today I weigh 165 (20lbs heavier) and I wear the same size UK14 top and bottom, including jeans... I know it is the same as my wedding dress fits me now and I weighed 147lb on the day I got married 18yrs ago. What's all that about... how does that even happen? 20lbs difference, same size, same person??? I know that our body changes shape as we get older... and I certainly an apple shape now. I also realise that I have a lot of muscle as I still train as hard as I can and vary what I do from walking my dog for 2.5 miles to boxing and bits inbetween. My biggest wonder is this - as I sit in this weight stall, my body seems to be changing shape. Since Oct I have dropped a size! I 'seem' to be getting smaller (and loving that) but no change in weight. To me this seems weird. I am starting to think, that my body is taking another period of readjustment before it sheds more fat... like it has to get used to this weight to realise that it is ok and isn't going to starve or anything silly like that. Or is this just me and wishful thinking... as there are days (not weeks or months now) that I long to be at my 'goal weight'! I still feel the weight I am is too heavy?! has anyone else thought along these lines? Experienced a similar story? Ideas, opinions, thoughts are welcome... Sorry it is soooo long!

Hey Suzannesh, thanks for this information... at 20mths out I still struggle to get my water in; not so much due to restriction now, but forgetfulness. Great idea about having water with you... I do this in work all the time and sip at it all day. But at home... well, that is another story! I must get this habit sorted too! =]

Now this is wht=at I am talking about.. and it has only just occured to me that the number on the scale, although useful, isn't the only way to measure success.... nice image!

Carly, you have a great attitude and one which will determine your success! Good for you for staying positive when it is so easy to let those negative thoughts get the better of you! Good work... hang in there cos that pesky scale will move... you will give it NO choice!

Hey Dorrie... what an awful situation... but I am pleased to hear that you are ok, and yea, lesson learnt eh? I haven't been dehydrated to that degree but I know when I am getting there as I start to get a headache. This is a great warning sign for me and after a few decent gulps and 10-20 mins the headache subsides. If it is still there I just keep on drinking. I really do struggle with my Water intake and have done from the beginning... not the actual physical drinking of water but remembering to drink it between meals. After a meal and for over an hour I am too full to drink! It is something that I am working on now though... Sip, sip, sip my lovely...

Hey! I'm a slow loser too... I am not sure there is a magic formula that will get the scale moving faster - well, not for me anyway. BUT, a lot of others shake things up a bit and see great results. Try adding more carbs, cals - then lowering them... drink more water and if are not exercising do some! If you are change what you are doing! Our bodies just get used to doing stuff and stay there... might work, certainly worth a try! Good luck =]

I would rather die than be morbidly obese again ...lol!

GT... you've made my day! I am in awe! I just don't have the courage to jog outside... and I so wish I did! I am working on the mental aspect to do it but it is taking a long time! To run with a personal trainer, keep up and TALK is fan-bloody-tastic!! Good job my lovely! I am also impressed that you are recoginising the positive changes that you've made to yourself... the NSV has more than one level my friend! x

Sharon, What a great post and an awesome reminder that we are the leader of our own destiny. Mostly my glass is half full, there are times where I feel it is completely empty... but they are few and far between these days. A positive mental attitude is really important, not just with the sleeve, but I feel in life in general. My hubby always says that I can find positive out of negative and to an extent I do... Thanks for posting this - perception is very subjective!

Foxbins you're way too kind... you call me an inspiration, my hubby says it is bloodymindedness..lol... but yea, I refuse to give up! As far as I am concerned there is absolutely no time limit to losing weight with or without the sleeve. But yes, after 6mths or so it is a lot harder. But that is o, you gott keep your eye on the prize right? And this is the bit that I find amusing(?) I haven't lost a pound since Oct... but I have gone from a tight UK16 to a loose UK14... so work that out. It has recently dawwned on me that it isn't just the numbers on the scale that determines success...I haven't been a size 14 for over 20yrs, yet I weight heavier now than I did then... it is how we feel that also makes the difference. That doesn't mean I don't want to see the magice numbers of 15? but it does mean that I don't beat myself up and put myself down. Just do what works for you and it will all make sense in the long run! =]

I know it is frustrating when that pesky scales doesn't move very quickly... believe me I am the Queen of Slow...lol! I am 20+mths out and still not at goal... do I want to be there... hell yea! Am I getting stressed about it... not any more. I am fitter and healthier now than I have been for the best part of 20years. My point? Don't just measure your success by numbers. Look at other factors too... think about how your clothes are fittng; how you are working out more and making improvements to your overall strength and fitness level; how you are looking; how you are feeling. These things, to me, are now more important than numbers. Don't get me wrong, the slow route can sometimes be painful and annoying... especially if you start to compare yourself to others, which I did and I did it often. This was a bad move for me as I got to a dark place and I convinced myself that I was doing something wrong or that I wasn't good enough. I set loads of personal goals and didn't make many of them. I stopped all that nonsense and started to compare myself just to ME! That was a real eye-opener. I then realised that I was a success, that I was doing things right and that my body will do what the hell it wants to when it wants to regardless of how I fuel it. Now, that didn't give me license to go mad with sugar and sweets; I just do what I can, eat good wholesome food and wait for my body to realise that it is healthy and to release some more fat. That is my logical side, which I see most days now - yesterday however, I was a raging rat bad who was full of hormones and agnst...lol!! Keep doing what you are doing... you will see results and believe me they are worth the wait. Remember the scenic route is the most beautiful way to go... =]

Pookeyism, Wow, what a stressful and emotional several months you've had! And well done to you for coming through this time... your story so heart breaking but I feel underneath it love and respect that you have in your family and in yourself. May you long continue to be a strong and brave lady who faces things with grace.

Congratulations... wishing you the best for you big day and I hope the wedding goes well too...lol =]

I agree with the others, you look amazing! I hope you don't mine me saying but you look a lot younger too... congrats! =]

No flaming from me either... we all have to do what is right for us - as an individual. You have basically echoed what my surgeon told me over two years ago... the sleeve is a tool for quantity control; it stops over eating and you have to make good food choices. Once I was post op he said, 3 meals a day, eat Protein first then veggies. The reason that I wanted the sleeve is because it allows me to be 'normal' in so much as that if I WANT a treat, then I will have it, but I am very aware of what, how and when I eat now. That has made a huge difference. And because at 20+mths out, I still have good restriction I am also aware of good foods and how important they are.

Haha... I know... but they would probably be too small now...heheheee... I gave them to a friend who was actually pregnant!! I did have one little moment of glory though; we were talking about my school prom that is coming up in July and that I will probably need a new dress. This friend kindly offered to lend me one of hers, 'Oh I have loads of dressed in size 16s that you could wear' (as a footnote I am a UK14...lol)... another friend - there were three of us in this conversation - chimed in; 'Not sure if your stuff will fit her now... have you seen how SMALL she is...' *insert me blushing.* The friend replied 'oh, yea, I know she is tiny now, I've probably got 14s and 12s that would fit'. I didn't say a word... x

Interesting.... might just give this a lil go...lol... thanks for the tip! I love coffee!!