Aussiegirl

Hi All again It is great to see you all doing so well. It so good to come in hear and see such posts, size 16s, going into overweight range...we are all rocking our sleeves.So many positive changes to Celebrate this silly season. Just to add my 2c worth to the weight right post surgery. It is also common that bloating and all the fluids they put in you in hospital add to your weight. I came home 3 kgs heavier than I was pre-surgery after 3 days in hospital, however these and more came off pretty quickly in the next week or so. This week my trainer asked me to keep a food diary, I laughed him, such a silly time to do a food diary especially since most my calories are liquid calories. But it is good to keep me in check, so far given the amount of parties and eatting being done, I am surprised to see I have lost another 1.5kgs especially since I am not even remotely trying. It is so nice to go into the new year not worrying about getting the weight off and the burden of it all...not sure what my new years resolutions will be this year. I have also started dating...we'll see if anything comes out of it, but atleast I am confident enough to get out there and meet guys now.

Keloff, the sleeve can be a strange mistress on what it can accept foodwise. Somedays it can be super tolerant and others days a complete pain in the butt I notice tho (close your eyes guys or skip to the next paragraph) at that time of month i can eat a significant amount more than usual. Also crackers generally crunch down to nothing. At a year and a bit the amount my stomach can handle is significantly more, I need to be more aware of what I am eatting. I am not whether it has stretched but the capacity is more. Swift Kate, Yay!!!! Keep us updated how you go. I am sure you will do great and put that band behind you

Lila, thanks, it can get painful but not consistently just comes in bouts. I kinda expected it to happen so not so surprised by it. My body took a huge hit over the last year...the hair failling out and now gallstones are just kinda part of the process. Besides you can barely see my original incisions now, so will need some new scars (*joke*) Mimz, hope it all went well for you today.

Lila, it is quite common. It is empty looking for food..I still get it sometimes. In other news, guess I have moved into the next phase, have been diagnosed with gallstones and will be getting my gallbladder removed the first week of Jan, could not face missing out on Christmas events Apparently gallstones are quite common with people who lost significant amounts of weight quickly, so I guess it was only a matter of time. One way to loose another 100gms or so

Thanks The challenge is now that I have done it to maintain it...which is actually harder than I thought it was going to be, before I had a goal, a direction so to speak. Now it is like driving on a long highway, sometimes you want to vere off or are too tired, trying to watch that old habits dont sneak back in too much. Congrats on thinking about having the baby, that is a big step, even if it is not the first. But you may as well try ...nothing ventured nothing gained so to speak...good luck Lila, looking good. I think it was 4 months before people noticed and felt i guess comfortable enough to say something or tell me how good/different I was looking...they will figure it out soon enough And as the guys said before, the smaller the size the less distance between them..took me forever to get out of my 26'ers., then they started getting closer together. Tip - Buy like a few specific pieces that fit at each sizeand rotate in/out the other stuff, so you dont always feel like your clothes are always too big...even if it was my favourite purchase..$8 kmart jeans. I never bought things that werent on sale or less than $10..otherwise my clothes bill would have been a big a my once food bill lol

Thanks Dean Coming from a size 26/28 a 12/14 is awesome...I always wanted to more Marilyn-esque than Kate Moss...and now I am

Welcome Deb and Dean, good luck for your surgeries. Ozeedonkee, glad you are recovering well. Lila, look at you all back at work. remember one day at a time and listen to your body regarding fatigue, I think it is pretty normal to have fatigue when you return to work. Shell, you look awesome in the new pic I have decided to take some time out from trying to looose weight, tho realistically I have probably have been for the last 2 months. I am sitting around 78-79kgs and feel comfortable at this weight for now, this puts me in 28 BMI, and nice and curvy, size 12 bottoms and 14 tops. I am curvy and happy I may choose to try loose the last 5 kgs I want, tho most of the excess will then be skin. I am looking to maintaiin now and definitely stay under 80kgs

OMG that just made me almost spit out my drink hilarious...and just a slight bit frightening lol. So glad to hear you cleared to go back to work, i would have gone stir crazy. Just be ware of exhaustion, i had it my first week back to work, where i was fatigued by the end of the day. Good luck!!

Oh the Christmas parties have begun....help lol. I have been asked to share my story at my department Christmas party. I am a little concerned about this but also look forward to sharing the story and also dispelling some of the rumours and assumptions on how I have done this. Some people are quite concerned to talk to me, or stare like I have grown 2 heads. It will be interesting, I will share the video with you guys once it is done

Sue, you are looking great, I hope you are also feeling great. Give yourself some credit for the hard work and changes you have had to make over the last few months. Your body will get there. Kelloff, great to hear from you, sounds like you are doing great. Got to love a Christmas season. Last year I was 2-3 months post op when Christmas came around with all the fun events. I remember having 3 course meals, and eatting like 2-3 bites of each meal, having them spaced out meant I got to enjoy a bit of each. I was able to enjoy the season without over indulging by listening to my stomach which I am sure I had done My christmas food list was turkey, pork crackling and pudding. I am sure it will be similar this year with prawns added in. Oh and a few glasses of bubbles

It is weird how our sleeves are. Some days mine is really tolerant and can fit in what feels like so much food and other days it is bird sized meals. As a female there are specific days that my stomach seems to be regular size again, but most the time the food is slider food I am consuming, so more goes in. With relation to the binging and loosing weight, often our bodies do that , i think there is an article on this site about that, it is fairly normal for dieting as well. Our bodies often go into starvation mode as they call it and then we eat more calories than normal and all of a sudden it is like woohoo I dont need to hold onto every calorie consumed and we loose weight....no to say we should binge eat all the time, that is for me atleast how I got into this situation in the first place. Just my 2c

You probably ate too much too quickly. It could be dumping but it is less common on our surgery. I cant say i have ever really dumped. I have had this on a number of occasions, it aint fun, eat time cause I either ate too much or too quickly. It usually subsides in about 1/2 an hour. If it is due to eatting too much, your body is just working jard to process and should relieve itself once enough has been processed. Each time I kick myself for doing what I know I should not. If it continues for longer then definitely check in with a doctor.

Probably a bit late but all the best ozeedonkee, see you on the flip side. Look forward to hearing about a successful surgery

Kelli, that is great to hear. I hope she continues to recover Lila, so good to hear you are doing well. I am sure no one envies you your journey. How great is it to have cheese and crackers...it becomes the simple pleasures. They are still one of my favourite Snacks. We are getting such a big group of aussies now, it is so good to see. I am back home in Aus, recovering from the last minute back injury thanks to my new found love of zip lining...I love doing all these adventure things that previously my weight prevented me from doing. I am moving into the maintenance phase now, after loosing 72kgs now I am ready to just maintain for a while. While potentially there is another 3-4kgs i could loose, I figure if they come off, it will be a by product rather than an effort. I am noticing that I am able to eat even more now, and it feels like alot. Still comparisons to other people with normal stomachs it is smaller, but to me it feels like a lot. For example for lunch I just had 3/4 of a wholemeal chicken salad sandwich. I am more aware of what I am putting in my mouth, as I can eat alot more of the bad foods now, for example cake, popcorn, chips. I have not been able to stomach chocolate too much since surgery and that seems to have stayed the same, but cake is still a weakness. Good luck to everyone with their upcoming surgeries, look forward to hearing your journey.

Lissa, it is great to be able to inspire others... You look fantastic and happy by the way!!!

Thanks Kelli You look amazing by the way..congratulations Scotty, stick with it, you will be back to normal fod before you know it, tho I know it is hard to take being on such a restricted diet. Just remember not to push it too far, your body is healing. Welcome Deb. Good luck for your surgery...we are all here to help, and between the lot of us, we have seen alot of what happens with this surgery...good, bad and indifferent. I noticed a question about whether the gurgling goes away...i still get the gurgling sounds occasionally, often i can put it down to drinking too close to eatting but sometimes they start up on their own for no apparent reason, they can be so embarassing. Puppyphat, wish i could say something to help, but i have not been able to throw up since the surgery, i dry reach and have som bile sometimes but actually throwing up. You are right to ask for help even demand it, tho at 3 months the stomach should be healed. Keep talking to your surgeon..i hope everything will sort itself out.

Kayargh, you just reminded me of a funny story. I was coming through passport control on the way back into the country on the weekend. The guy at the counter asked me if I was wearing contacts cause i looked difference...I was like, um no but maybe the 70 kgs I lost could be the reason...just a throught...who knew all it took to loose weight was wearing coloured contacts. Good to see you all are still going strong on the journey. I have been waiting for the hairloss comments to start. I started loosing about the 4 month mark til probably the 9 month mark. I had a lot of hair to begin with but is really thin now. I now have alot of regrowth coming back in which is now like 7 or 8 cms long...so really thick hair on top but thin on the bottom. I am not sure that there is anyway to stop it, it is frustrating as hell but your bodies way of expressing what you have put it through. Puppyphat, eek a month or two off work for the fever is no fun, hope you will be OK. I am back in Aus, slightly injured but trying to work in some exercise that wont upset my back which is a new injury thanks to my vacation...guess it is back to walking for a little while. It is good to be back to my routine and able to eat fairly well. Everyone is commenting on how good I look, which I think is due to all the new clothes, and that they have not seen me for a while....feels good.

Jessielyn, mums have that ability dont they

Thanks Kimberly. Yes many many times. It is just part if the body adjusting. I would get to a certain weight and my body would be all like, this hasn't happened below, what do I do, so I guess it maintained until it felt ready and then would just jump again, sometimes like 5 pounds at a time. I believe it is a pretty normal process..you just need to keep doing what you are doing.

Nessa, I have been thinking the same thing...not sure whether it is the old biological clock is tick ticking or what. As I have said I the Aussie thread, I am the one year post op. somewhat near "goal" not that I really had one in numbers but wanted a balanced life and am pretty much there. I am now looking at what the next steps in life will be. Do I still want the perfect story, hell yes, But if that is not in the cards then, why should I miss out on family. I am meeting guys now and flirting etc, but still not finding the one or a one. I am not going to settle for just anyone, if you know what I mean,just to have a family. I have decided to give the universe a timeline, often putting these things out there, make it somehow happen. But if it doesn't happen I am looking a ivf which will cost a fortune, and medicare don rebate for singles, only couples. But ivf does not guarantee you will get a child. My brother and sister in law did ivf and yes someone was on their side as I now have 3 beautiful nephews ( one 4 yr old and 8 month old twins) and it canbe a heartbreaking process, they and we the family went through 3 yrs of heartbreak before my first miracle nephew came along. My best advise is be in the best place you can be emotionally, physically, with confidence before you make any decision. Families come in all shapes and sizes. Just my 2 c...sorry I ramble a bit sometimes,I hope it makes sense.

Hey how are the September sleeves doing? I am guessing we probably don't come back here as much now a days....life moves on so to speak . I am doing great, I remember pre-op being so worried at what life would be like post op,as much of my life centered around food. God if I only knew that all that worry was not worth it. Life feels so normal now. I have been traveling for 2 months now, so my at home reality is a bit skewed...but at home my day almost always includes a work out, it helps me get through the day, ESP at work. I am lucky my work fully endorses a healthy lifestyle and has its own gym on site, complete with teainers. We are all encouraged to use it, so will usually go around 10,meetings permitting and will not be the only one there. My confidence level has taken a huge step forward. Something clicked like 3 weeks ago and now I seem to be just oozing it more. I go out now and seem to always have someone flirting with me which is nice, well nice for the ego. I am waiting to see how this may translate in my home environment. I am doing things now that I never thought I would and have found i am an adrenaline junkie...or danger prone as my friend called me, I seem to also injure myself doing these endeavors, but just think how much worse any of them would be if I still carried the extra weight. On the numbers side, I think I am somewhere around 160 pounds lost, I haven't weighed in a while so it may be more or less,I am thinking less at the moment. I will weigh when I get home and assess the damage that 2.5monhs of traveling and having fun has done...tho my clothes all feel the same. I have gone from a 26/28 clothing to anything from a 10/12/14 depending on the make. I now own a piece of clothing from almost every designer....yet still love my $2 cut offs. Hope you are all doing well...feel free to share your stories

Lila, good to see you home and posting. I remember that feeling and still get it when I eat too much or too fast. Try not to put too much pressure on yourself in regards to Protein....main thing is to focus on getting fluids in to avoid dehydration. and make sure you have some Vitamin supplements. It does get easiest, we all try to follow all the rules so closely but we should also listen to our bodies. I did not do the shakes either, ick ick but did put a non flavoured protein mix in Soups etc. I would say congrats about the weight loss but I know it didn't come easy......in a few months you wont know yourself Oh and yes the head hunger is horrible initially....I was a food porn addict for sure. The calipos and icy poles are absolute saviours...also try low sugar cordiAl in Water, water often feels heavy...still happens occasionally

Sorry missed this one....I hope you will. It is still something I am working on too...but feel like a few weeks back I took a huge step in that direction....like something just clicked... I wish that for you too.

Hi all, wow you all have been busy. Shell, just remember all the work out pain will be worth it...it will definitely help with definition...keep at it. I find now when I am exercising I have so much more energy for my days. Traveling I haven't had as much opportunity to work out, always running from one place to anther so to speak, and I am noticing that I feel more sluggish without the constant endorphine hit. Kayaragh, man what a f'in bastard of a thing to say...excuse my language, people who say things like that annoy me. I tend to take things to heart so I can only imagine how that would have hurt. In saying that, I don't believe anyone in here would believe that of you. You and none of us need people in our lives like that. On the men thing, while I am not entirely single by choice anymore, I do believe that their are good guys out there. I am surrounded by men at this point in my life, all who love me in their own way, for one reason or another just not romantically. Since I have been traveling there are 3 or 4 guys (outside my family) that are in touch with me almost daily. All bar one of these guys knew me before, and have never really ever said a word or cared, but have all been part of my support system for the last year and a bit, and sometimes I think they are prouder of me than I am Now I just hope that their is someone out there for the new me...if not i am starting to look at other options, to have what I want the most at the moment, a family. The universe now has a deadline to get me the traditional style thing, otherwise like everything else in my life I will do it my way. Kelliv, great new pic. You may still see fat for a while, the best thing I can say, as much as you may hate it is take photos every few weeks, you will see a change. It is a visual reminder of what we don't see everyday. My mom would take photos every time I went home to visit and I hated it but now I see the value....it is dramatic. She has Iron her wall in her study. Scotty, not long now, i hope it will all go well. Stick with it....opti is the hardest purely because it is so monotonously boring taste and flavor wise. Puppyphta, you look amazing!!! Lila, I hope you are recovering ok...my thoughts are with you that you are able to get back on your feet so to speak. Just over a week and I am headed home. I did what was probably my last adventure thing for the trip yesterday..however had an accident on the last zip line and went back and head first into the platform at the end of the zipline...ouch that hurt like nothing else. But I am lucky and I wonder how much worse it would have been if i weighed anymore than I did. Just ended up eitha beat up back, lump on my head and a still neck. I wanted to go parasailing tommorow but am not sure will see how the muscles pull up... I have soo much clothes I am bringing back frm the states, a lot of it work clothes as I did not have anything remotely summery to wear...now I have soon much choice....going to be a fashion diva. I now have clothes that fit me from every possible designer out there...I even bought a Ralph Lauren swimsuit which to my surprise fit me...and is sexy as hell. I love outlet stores ....it seems that is where all the Aussie tourists go lol

Hi all, Stopping back by...I will be back in the land of Aus in 2 weeks so will probably be around a bit more. It has been a long trip trust me. You are all doin so amazingly well and should be proud of yourselves. The first few months are incredibly hard to get food. As many of you have noted, minced food is he best. I remember my dietician said not to have steak/ red meat etc til 6 months as the stomach wasn't able to handle it....however chicken was ok from like 2 months if I remember correctly, I seemed to under eat for a long time. The key for me with meat, even fish was to make sure it was consumed with some kind of sauce or gravy. Welcome to all the newbies dropping in. It is a great community here for information and support if and when you want it. I appear to be the veteran of the group...being now almost 13 months post op. life and food are pretty normal, new normal. Sometimes I consumer, what feels like a a lot to me now, sometimes a couple of bites and I am ill. There are still some foods I can no stomach, more they make me feel ick, chocolate and cakes...occasionally I try them and they are ok, if I have only 2 or 3 bites, like half a small cupcake..chocolate I barely even look at now and it was my go to thing. Yes you do go back eating bad things...your can even drink, well I do. Those of you thinking of the sleeve I obviously endorse it, it was the right choice for my life. But it does come with its ups and downs. I encourage everyone looking at it to assess the surgery and the life after seriously. It does change your life and you have to be ready for that. I am happy to field any questions. As for my trip, I am continuing to have an awesome trip, doing as many things I was restricted from doing because of my weight...it seems I am a bit of an adrenaline junkie lol...the 2 hardest things have been the food, so hard to get good nutritious food, they love their french fries. And also the being on the road on my own, which is good and bad, I sometimes just need to talk..some poor strangers have heard my life story. Luckily with the food I am staying in a serviced apartment in Orlando for the next few days so plan on cooking/preparing my own food, last night, i made a leanBBQ burger patty and a beautiful salad...tonight is chicken, with this BBQ sauce I learnt to make...hopefully it is tasty. I am also learning how to use my body, which sounds like an odd statement. Let me try and explain. I have been single, pretty much my whole life, brief flings and one it's oh so complicated to my name basically. So I have been going out, on my own which is odd, and meeting guys, I am not specifically to hook up with anyone, but it is about knowing that I am attractive to the opposite sex. Each night i have gone out, so far I have had at least 2 or 3 offers to take me home. It is good for the ego, even tho the majority I would not go home with lol. I guess what I am saying is that i am learning to feel sexy and open in my body. For years I was wearing an additional 73kgs of f'you to the world, which was my protection/hiding and so ppl weren't threatened by me, I don't have that anymore. Just on a funny note, I weighed my self on the scales in this hotel this morning, first time in 3 weeks, and according to them I weighed 55kgs, that is a 22kg loss in 3 weeks...and no I have not been lost in the desert....I am fairly safely assuming hat he are wrong, I never even plan on being 55kgs..but it amused me.