bilka

Almost ready to leave...We have about 28°F here in Torino, we are freezing and I can't wait to have at least 15°C above 0°! It's gonna be great and I am so excited! I have one more question: what's the ice hockey team of Miami? My little nephew plays this sport and I would love to bring him back some t-shirts and other ice hockey related stuff, but my knowledge of sport is below 0 and I should look it up before I get there so that I now what and where I am looking for!

C'è un burger king anche a qualche chilometro da torino (la mia città) però non voglio guidare per andare a mangiare! E' troppo anche per me! (it's just a conversation over BK locations and it's nice to have someone speaking my language, yeah!)

My date is Febraury 8th, so I do think too that 2011 will be great, especially after all these years of struggle and frustration! Congratulations on your 26 pounds anyway, I am sure you can reach the 400 before March!

Oh, that's great then!

Can't you take anti-inflammatories? spray for the throat? Ibuprofen? Hot milk with a dash of rum and honey? Gargle with water and vinaigre?

:rose: good luck!!!

I am a terrible, terrible person! The surgeon told me not to gain any more kgs before surgery but I am evil and I have made a list of all the things I am going to eat before surgery! No way I am not going to gain weight! It includes a meal at a fast food (it's funny, I live a 1-million-people city and we only have few Mc Donald's, no other types of fast-foods. Milan and Rome have a couple of Burger King as well and that's about it), a big steak with gravy and salad and a regular panna cotta. I guess for fast food and steak I will wait for my holiday in Florida in January, they are not really worth it here... Terrible, terrible person!

I can't wait for Christmas 2011 (a little premature right now, I know!), where I'll be sleeved and my life will be so different! This was my last Christmas as a big girl... I had been sick for a week, I could barely speak and had the great idea to go clubbing on the 25th, which made me sicker and took away my voice completely. The food wasn't a problem (we have a very small family with no cooking skills) but the alcohol on the night of the 25th! We stayed out all night (I am 30 but I really act like a teenage girl sometimes), like at the old times where nobody had a bf/gf, I talked to everyone at the club and people were telling me how funny I was... Well, I'd be seriously worried if I couldn't be fun after 5 gin&tonics (and here we do not measure the quantity of alcohol for a cocktail, the barman just makes your glass full. It's really worth the 5 euros!)!!! But all I could think about was: this is the last time I go dancing this large. No more Christmas parties like this. No more fat&fun girl...

Always great to read success stories like yours, especially for us who haven't been sleeved yet and still have doubts! Congratulations!

I totally agree that You are getting extra help. My fiancè is not that enthusiastic either, my sister's got a killing instct towards me and my mother just said OK. Whatever. I guess food accompanied all of us here during our lives. I have the best memories of sweets after my father abused me, food as a treat when something went wrong, food to celebrate, food to cry, food to meet people, food as a way to get to know different cultures,.. I could go on and on. I have the same fear: what am I going to do then? Well, my life is more than just food. I am worth more. And so are you. This is "just" an extra tool to help us to reach our goal, not a magic wound, you'll have to deal with so many things! It is not a shortcut! You'll be doing everything else on your own, this is why you should be proud of yourself for doing it. Do not be ashamed. Please! I am not telling poeple either because they would think I have taken a shortcut too, which I won't. It's up to you. I don't mean to be rude, but why don't you see someone who can help you? I recently found psychoterapist who is great and understanding and is helping me a lot. I am also attending an OA group in my city. It really helped me talking to people who went through the same experiences... And, if it can help, I also go from totally excited and completely scared, sometimes within the same hour! I read on this website that many people felt the same and that helped me think that it is normal...

Thank you so much. I guess when I stop being a food-addict I'll probably be a verticalsleevetalk-addict! Thank you for the support. I have the feeling things are getting better. My sister was ok at the phoe this morning. Yesterday I told her that I want to do the surgery and I am gonna need her and my fiancè's support. I also told her that I am not palnning to travel abroad for long again (from 2005 and 2008 I spent 3 years working abroad without coming back) because I love her kids too much and can't leave them alone. I guess that helped too. And again thank you for your support. I know that only people who went through the same can understand and I finally found a place where I can be myself...

February 8th, in Athens, Greece!

I am not getting angry. It's MY life, MY body, MY health. I am going to be selfish and won't care about people. Not this time. My sister is now insisting that I go on a diet. I said I can't afford this yo-yo again. I can't through that crap again, not physically nor psychologically. She said that that's life. She NEVER eats carbs and she always skips lunch. She says that we just have to suffer. She said that if I go on a diet I can skip the surgery. She told me that we should talk (which means I listen to her and agree to everything she says), that we should involve a friend of hers in our conversation because she is a great friend and a good listener. :whatchutalkingabout ??? I am so not involving anyone else in my choice! I know I am right. I have no doubts about my choice. I guess I'll just have to try to expalin myself one more time...

OMG! I just looked at the website of Lane Bryant! Im gonna spend all my money there I still have a couple of months as a big girl, I should enjoy them :devil_smile:! And they also sell swimsuits!!!

Brilliant!!!:thumbup1: Thank you!

I have another question... I read the list you made about the things you should take with you to the hospital. I saw things like gas strips, which are amazing really, and heating pads. We probably have the second here, but we do not have the strips: in which shops can I buy them once I am in the USA? My surgery will be at the beginning of January, so it'll be a good time to start shopping a bit. I also need a decent pj (I normally sleep in my fiancè's old military t-shirts) and a soft bra. What kind of shops offer these items (I am sure you too have chains of shops called the same everywhere)? If I know names I can find the closest ones to my hotel and buy all I need! Thank you!

What about... "Everything is illuminated"?

Thank you!:cheer2:

I received it as a private message too and... What can I say? THANK YOU SO MUCH! :hug: It's really great, we'll have many things to do now on the Keys! I am so happy!!! I am quite (very?) girly, even though we normally take our historical visiting trips in summer with his brothers or my sister and her kids. In January we go on holiday on our owns and we want to relax, enjoy the nature and get spoiled. Everything you told us perfectly suits the type of holiday we are organising! If you (or anyone else) need suggestions for Italy... Well, I'll try to do the same (even though I am not sure I will be able to be this accurate!)!

I am glad everything went well. And it's good to see that other people went through the same experience as you did and can give you some advice... It's good to say "I know it's "normal", other people I talked to felt the same". How was the weekend, anyway?

Thanks!!! I sent her a PM!

Yes yes yes! It will be!

Last September my fiancè and I bought our tickets to Miami we'll leave Italy ont eh 1st January and will stay in Florida for 2 weeks. We have already booked all the hotels and a car. I was thinking: who can better tell me anything interesting about the place, than people who actually live there have there there or just live in the US?! I am going to be in Miami for about 4-5 days altogether, 2 days in the Everglades, one day on Marathon Isle and the rest on Key West. What things should I definitely do? What reataurants (I won't be sleeved till February... :angel_smile:) ? What shops (I wear now a size 18/20 and need a swimsuit for keywest)? I love accessorizes,shoes, body shops, massages, make up, books, anything girlie, basically! And what should I definitely see, apart from Hemingway's museum and bar, the turtles hospital and swimming with the dolphins? I am SO excited!!! :Dancing_wub: It's my first time in Florida and only the second time in the US! Any suggestion is really welcome!!!

Girlfriends can be so mean. This is why I am not telling them about my surgery. They are probably used to you as the "fat friend" (I really don't mean to be rude, I am talking about MY experience), the one they'll always look better compared to, and will have to deal with the change. You'll be one of them, probably much hotter than them because you are more self conscious and have struggled with a lot of things in your life, which made you stronger. Do not worry about them. Let them talk. They are just scared and envious. I am sure they'll find another topic to get silly about soon enough. And let them do their own research, you have much better things to do than listen to them!

Congratulations on you quitting smoking! It really is great! :musical_note: You can save all the money now in order to buy new clothes after surgery! :thumbs_up: I am going to get sleeved one week after you, on the 8th February and I can't wait!:nod: