Aussiegirl

Good luck sconatsam!! Queenslanders stay safe!!!

Akmys I envy you getting to see the northern lights all winter, they look truly stunning. It is pretty natural to be anxious about the changes. Especially as we all seem to focus so much of our lives around eatting, everytime there is an event there is food involved. Yes you wont be able to chug Water like a sailor with a cheap beer. But you do get used to different drinking and eatting styles. Fluids especially go down pretty quickly, while I still wouldnt say I could chug anything (at 16months post op) I can still consume alot of liquid at once. Yes you will eat less but you will also enjoy what you eat more. The initial stages will be hard, I am not going to lie, getting used to drinking again and eatting, as well as the stages. But your body wont crave the amount of food it once did. Once you start of even puree's start eatting with a small spoon (teaspoon), helps you feel like you are eatting more. And chew chew chew. Initially you will be just sip sipping the liquids. The nutritionist and doctor will/should tell you this. I also eat off side plate as well now, it is mind trick for me, I am still finishing a plate. But as you recover and get further away from your op date things get better, easy. You get used to a new normal. I think by 3 months I was feeling pretty normal. By 6 months it was just life, I didnt feel the difference. The only time I am really aware now of my smaller stomach is when I am out at restaurants but have also found ways to get around that, share a meal, order apetisers only etc. Hope I dont seem too preachy

Welcome and all the best on your journey. You will find much useful information here BTW I love Alaska, one day I want to see more of it. I hope to one day get there to see the Aura Borealis

Probably not, it was quite a few years ago..cant remember if it was due to an illness or what, but definitely pre-sleeve

Paul, I hadnt thought about it before but that is true, atleast in my profile as well. I have the whole series of photos of my transition, thanks to my mum, who just had to take a full length photo of me everytime she saw me...but even now I dont like to see them. Before it was all about my "pretty face"

Wow sometimes I do know things Yea he was a rock icon for Australia in the 80's, he also lost alot of weight at one time, not sure how *shrug*

sconatsam...fingers crossed that they will be able to do your surgery. HAPPY AUSTRALIA DAY ALL!! Where ever you are, hope you have a great day!!

Cookieez I love it!! Such a good mock up of the accents. I agree the westie accents are the worst, and I am originally from the west. Butterthebean, I may be wrong but I think that is Angry Anderson (someone feel free to correct me if I am wrong), given he was quite famous back in the 80's, it is not inconcievable that he would have been in Mad Max. Love the philosopy, livinglifeout. That is definitely the way I am living now, spent 10 weeks travelling doing all the thiungs I was physically limited to do, ziplining, rafting, horse riding, tubing, riding rollercoasters.... Katie, whats next for you sounds awesome

SwiftKate, glad I could make you smile And even happier that you are feeling better today

Agree lol...but I dont need to test drive the cars I am not interested in just because they are available lol

Deano, hahahahahaha i didnt mean go any further that way, like i wasnt going to ask him to coffee in front of either my mother or best friend as I would never hear the end of it. Sue/Kelli, woww that is quick. I am thinking nowadays that it will happen like that for me. I am old enough to know and recognise what I want and need...your stories sound romantic SwiftKate, just a question (sorry if it is personal) but there is no chance that you could be pregnant is there? The nause doesnt sound good. I am just asking cause sometimes we blame the sleeve for other reason we get sick. But I do hope it gets better. I will you know whether anything progresses with the neighbour, tho broken ankle and all so far I have one maybe two date this weekend...I am trying all the frogs out lol.....and Deano before you go there, I am not actually trying them all out....just meeting and having a drink lol

Thanks Sue, so scary but better than regret not doing it, besides its not bad to get to know your neighbours.

Scotty I echo what the others have said, definitely speak to a nutritionist. I would also see your GP and do blood work, see if you are low on things like B12 and Iron which help with energy levels. I know I had B12 issues and got the shot/s and started to feel better. I also started out eatting toast for breakky, which left me with a queasy feeling...now I have greek yoghurt and some Cereal or muesli. When I felt ill in the morning it made the rest of the day just feel off. Good luck and i hope you are able to get it sorted soon. SwiftKate, hope you are doing better. From memory the runs were part of the first few weeks purely because of the liquid diet, things are a bit freer...for me it did get better after moving to more solid food. Today has been one of those days were I realise how much things have changed for me since the surgery, confidence wise. I am actually shocked/surprised this happened. Long story short cause of the ankle I have been home more frequently and last week ran into this really (seems really nice guy) in my lift and we had some chats. Anyway I was always with some carer so it didnt go any further. But I didnt know what apartment he lived in, just his floor. So I wrote a note and put it in all the apartments on his floor, saying you know would you like to have a coffee or something. Did this Sunday and really didnt think anything would come of it...anyway today I got a text message from him wanting to know if I wanted to get lunch with him. Which was sad cause I was actually at work so couldnt, anyway we have agreed to try another day.... But if nothing comes of it, fine, but 1. I had the confidence to put myself out there 2. I was engaging enough (broken ankle and all) that he remembered me and was interested enough to get in touch. Maybe this ankle thing was for the best......Sorry I was just so excited it happened I had to share

Thank you all for your responses. Good to know on the most part I am not alone. While I am still planning for anything and enjoying most parts of being "skinny", theere is this underlying feeling of listlessness (great work desertmom)...like I need to be driving to a goal. I have also been goal oriented and am happy in my career and where I am and now happy with my body (enough, sure the excess skin could go but ya know...whatever). The only part of my life that is not complete is my love life and that is not something that I can make happen through, yes I can and am doiing the online dating and meeting new people but you cant make a connection happen. Anyway til then I will and do enjoy the good parts.

Deano, the bubble inevitably bursts lol..I think I went about 8 months without any cravings and then they came back. Definitely not as bad as before and in different way but they are there now. It is weird tho if I think about having a meal now (ie breakky, lunch, dinner) my body always craves stuff that is good for me, lean protein, veggies...burgers and fries etc barely come to mind. But snacks are where my body has lil moments of wanting the junky stuff.

Hey Sue, looks like we were answering Seths question at the same time I have the same/similar, pre-surgery I had the sweet tooth, if asked me back then what was my favourite food I would have said chocolate. Post surgery if I have more than one bite (like a bite sized chocolate I am feeling ill), cakes etc I can still eat (rightly or wrongly). But now when I get cravings it is salty stuff I crave life corn chips, pop corn, crackers, chips and cheese. Pre surgery I could take or leave these things as such.

Hi Seth and welcome to the group. This is one question that concerned me the most prior to my surgery. I was scared that things would never be the same again. I initially started out thinking that I didnt want anything permanant. Through the process of investigation of the options I found that it was the best option for me. I dont say t hat the sleeve is the best choice for everyone, we all have different needs and wants in life. What i do know all the fears I had pre-surgery about what life would like after surgery and things never being the same again were wasted energy. Post surgery, yes I eat less, the only time I really notice that now is when I am eatting out but I have developed ways of dealiing with this, either share a meal with friends or order an entree for myself. I can eat pretty much the same things that I did pre-surgery, however generally now my body craves good stuff that I can derive more engery from rather than junk food. I am in maintenance and yes I still eat junk on occasion. I still drink alcohol, maybe a bit slower but doesnt really feel like it. I guess what I am trying to say is that while it is a permanant measure I dont feel like it is an impact to my life now. Life isnt the same for me but in every way it is better, cause I took control of my life. For me my eatting/weight was defining me, it doesnt now. Just my 2 c from 16 months out.... Welcome sconatsam!! Way to go Lila!! Way to go!! *insert cheerleader singsongy thing here*...double digits here you come..I know how much of a landmark in the process is. You are seriously rocking your sleeve. Swiftkate, hopefully all is still going well with your recover

I am 16/17 months out and am the same. Regular periods every 24 days lasting about 3 days (some months really heavy sometimes really weak). I still have facial hair but it is less and takes longer to come back. Have lost over 170 pounds and feel a whole lot better about everything.

SwiftKate, not sure how long the driving took. I am pretty sure by 2 weeks you are ok. Have they taken the bandages off? I would think it would be OK to swim, if you are worried you could put the waterproof bandages on before swimming. Good luck with the barbie. I would go with the feeling queasy after the op and see if people notice. Most people dont notince.

Kelli, reading through the posts I was going to suggest that maybe you are even under eatting which can also cause stalls. But I see you have already got there. Sometimes to mix up a stall, I would allow myself a day or two of cheat food, or change up the exercise routine. Your body tends to get into a rythm and sometimes you need to shake it up to move a stall along. You are doing awesome tho, give it time it will change. Puppyphat, so sorry to hear you are back in the hospital. I hope you can recover quickly enough.My thoughts are with you. SwiftKate, hope you are continuing to recover well from your surgery Kalimom, you will be going to the hottest part of the country eh. We welcome you back..if you find your way in Sydney, feel free to look us up. KellBell, welcome, hope we can be of help your journey. There are some great helpful people in here Hi to everyone else!!! As for me, after 2 weeks sitting on my butt and generally feeling bad for myself (eatting badly) I get my cast off tommorow and hope to be able to get back into some exercise regime again...bring on the moon boot. And thankfully it to date hasnt had too much impact on my weight (ie didnt put any on woohoo)

Ya'll have accents but I like em I love the Southern accent and the texan cowboy the best hehe

OTR I wish that was true Spent 10 weeks in Sept/Oct last year travelling the US, bit of attention not too much. Will be back in Feb in New Orleans for Mardi Gras, and then NYC. Lets hope there is more attention then I do like the US and the accents over there too

All my life I have wanted to be fit, healthy and relatively good looking. 36 years on wanting it and not knowing how to get it or achieve it. Then I made it...I lost about 170 pounds, I wear a size 10-12 (my happy curvy size). So whats next? I have had this goal for so long, and then it became a reality. I spent last year working every inch of the sleeve and my body to get here and I did it!!! But now I dont know what is next? The world really is my oyster, but I am having a hard time figuring out what I want...does anyone else wonder where to now?

I love this forum.. The emotional side of the transformation is the hardest. I saw a girl I have been working with for 10 years for the first time in a year (she has been on maternity leave) and she was actually in tears seeing me. She has seen the pictures on Facebook and the like but hadnt actually seen me. I dont think I ever really had any concept of how big I was, until I see pictures. Same as now I dont see how small I have become. My journey has been well document, one of my friends even made a video/documentary of the changes. Everyone seems to find me inspirational. I struggle to feel that about myself. I felt like it was a necessity for my life, I wanted to be happier. While I struggle to understand the skinny me, the fat me hoped that being skinny would solve all my problems. I struggle with that, as it doesnt. I am the same person just in a more socially acceptable body. I used my weight to hide who I was, it was my excuse cause I was scared to let people see the real me. Now I dont have that shield around me and it is hard to letpeople see me, the real me. I thought it would be easier to attract the opposite sex, seriously I thought I would be in a relationship by now, but nope, it is probably easier to have a random hook up but to find someone real just aint that easy apparently no matter what size you are...Letting someone love me is the last step in my journey...

I am almost 16 months out and lost 170 pounds. Yes I do still see the fat girl in the mirror, mainly due to the excess skin. I am hoping to get it removed and then see a better person in the mirror. Clothed I feel normal but without clothes I see the "fat". I do know that the size of clothes I am buying are small..but takes a while for the brain to catch up. I dont get mad cause I cant eat as much, really dont miss the quantity. No more than normal on the mood swings Energy levels are generally alot higher..especially when I am working out as well