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What brands of liquid and chewable multi-vitamins have you found in Australia that are good to take after gastric sleeve? What about sublingual vitamin B12? I've looked in Coles and Priceline but havent found anything that can fully dissolve in my mouth or is liquid. What are you guys taking? Where do you buy it? Thanks!!

You are soo right about this whole needing validation thing from the scale. I had never thought about it that way before. I'm in the week 3 stall right now as well. I've felt very frustrated. But I've lost 45 pounds and I'm successfully doing a couch to 5K program. My clothes are becoming more loose. My skin is glowing. Why don't these things make me content enough? What's the point in being 120 pounds lighter (my weight loss goal) if you don't drop clothing sizes or gain levels of fitness? I also find (along with my obsession with the scale) that I'm just feeling like I just want the weight loss phase to be over so this life transition can be over. I broke up with my boyfriend a few months before I had surgery and am delaying dating because I worry about it being awkward as my body changes so rapidly. I guess I'm just frustrated with myself because I can't live in the moment and enjoy my body and how great it is now in the middle of the weight loss process. Instead I still am saying to myself it's ok to not live your life fully until you've hit goal. I feel like this is somehow tied to the whole scale obsession thing. I think I've just got to stop weighing myself and focus on living my life and enjoying the present. Thank you guys for your post!!! It has made me realize how normal my emotional response to the stall has been!!

Feeling scared is normal. Just stick to all the surgeon's rules they are to protect you from complications. There is a risk associated with surgery/having the sleeve but the majority of people don't have problems. I'm about to revise to the sleeve from the band. I had problems with the band but I don't regret having that surgery the 60 pounds I lost improved my health and life in ways that make it worth facing the risks associated with surgery. If anything I wish I had just gotten the sleeve in the first place. I was feeling scared before I started the preop diet for the sleeve 2 weeks ago and started using this CBT for weightloss workbook that was really helpful. They recommend doing an excercise where you compare the cost/benefits in the short and long term of losing weight via surgery versus staying the same. They they say to rate what you list from 0 to 100 by how important the item is to you. After I did I realised there are more costs to staying the same then having surgery even when facing potential complications. Also, all the things I really value are long term benefits of having surgery. It made me feel more confident in my decision because I know that doing the surgery is the best way for me to obtain certain things in life that are extremely important to me.

I really like your post! I agree I'm focusing this year on establishing healthy eating habits as a new lifestyle so that I don't have as many issues with weight regain 2-3 years out. Part of it I think has to be being strict with yourself. What other rules do you have for yourself that have really helped keep you on track? Thank!!!

I wish I had been told to clear my schedule as much as possible and focus on myself and the beginning of this amazing journey. The first few days were hard for me as well but I'm almost done with the preop diet and have found it to be quite empowering. I've somehow stuck with it and have been exercising and have lost a lot more weight then I thought I could. It's really instilled in me a sense of accomplishment and I've believed for the first time that i have what it takes to make it to goal. This feeling comes with compliance to the diet and facing and overcoming the anguish/suffering it entails.

BTW-I asked my instructor about back pain today she said it's probably due to not contracting the stomach and thighs and not pushing the hips forward while back bending. I tried it and no pain issues this class. How did I not notice I wasn't contracting my stomach muscles this whole time!!! We had a silent class today=amazing!! The lights are dim and the instructor also did the positions with us and barely spoke except to occasionally say change when we were in positions not facing the mirror. I feel so relaxed and zen and I don't have the most relaxed of personalities! This hot yoga is soo addicting...

The only type of hot yoga I've done is Bikram but I am also finding that my back is sore after yesterdays class. It was my 5th class in a row. I think it's do to a combination of limited flexibility and pushing to hard to increase the flexibility in class and then maybe to a lesser extent lacking core strength. I usually don't get a sore back however the past few days my back flexibility has really improved so I've pushed it even harder on backward bends and am noticing the soreness. I could be that i'm pushing past my current flexibility or/and when I do that I compromise correct posture. I also have noticed that at first my major muscle groups would be quite sore and now it's minor muscle groups that are sore that don't normally get sore because I've gotten stronger overall and as I've increased my flexibility I've been able to start to engage muscles that I may not work out normally. If I was in your position I'd probably make an effort to try to only push to my maximum comfortable flexibly and no more in backward or forward bending postures for a few classes then when the soreness stopped start pushing harder again to improve flexibility. I'd also try to focus on making sure I'm doing the posture correctly instead of pushing past my physically limitations to improve quickly. I think it's daily practice with slow and stead improvements that leads to being a contortionist not practicing once or twice a week and pushing past your max like you can on cardio equipment doing HIT. I'm probably going to tell my instructor today my back is hurting (at my bra line) can you come and checkout/correct my postures today during class.

I went to Bikram today for the first time in a year and three days into the preop diet. The plan was to just stay in the room. I managed to get through the whole class and enjoy it for the most part. There are a few poses I can't do just because of the bulk of my body (thighs and boobs mostly) or limited flexibility but I tried the best I could and felt like I got a good workout. It is really hard but when I left I felt mentally strong and very relaxed. I'm going to try to go every day until I start Clear liquids 2 or 3 days before my surgery on April 15th. I wish I had started sooner....I guess I just felt too insecure about my size to go. How silly!!! I'm going to ask my surgeon about when I can start doing it post op I'm guessing he'll say something around 7 weeks as well. The class really can be done at any size for weight loss. I'm a size 22 I was the largest person in this class by far but when I was practicing in the USA there was a very large man in my class maybe around 450 he used bands some but he does ok. Anyway I left feeling like wow if my body can do THAT now (as in survive the class strong and only sitting out a few poses) what will it be able to do in 6 months from now.... What a journey this whole sleeve thing is! Happy hot yoga-ing!!! Congrats on your weight loss!! One to two pounds IS something to Celebrate. You're 40 pounds from goal it will easily come off with Bikram and healthy food choices....and bikram will probably really sculpt you!! Hopefully it will also help with the loose skin thing....

Preop diet is pretty standard. Some doctors vary the length of time depending on your starting weight. Mine is a protien shake/meal replacement for breakfast and one for lunch and lean protein plus salad for dinner. I use the optifast products for my meal replacements. The only issue I have is at times I'm dizzy/faint or just feel low energy. I'm usually fine if I increase my water intake. Also not hungry much but when I am I take fiber tablets which help me feel full.

Sounds like you didn't have too much trouble with hydration which is great! You waited 3 months after your surgery to start? How soon after surgery do you think I can start? I was assuming when the doctor says I can start lifting weights but I don't know with hot yoga there's also the whole hydration thing......Have you stuck with it these past two weeks? I'm having surgery in two weeks and am going to bikram right now. I feel like I need it to mentally prepare for surgery.

I was not assuming that you did I was referring to the transition from whatever your lifestyle and eating was before.

Not common but it does happen. My revision to sleeve will be my third surgery (band in, band out were the first two) it's never happened to me. Tell your anesthesiologist about your prior experience and how you really don't want it to happen again and they can slightly increase the doses of what they give you. May be even better if you request your operative notes from the last surgery and show it to the anesthesiologist during the consult so they can see what meds/doses didn't work for you. They'd also need your weight when you had the last procedure. Anyway, that's what I would do. Good luck.

I'm also getting sleeved by Dr. Garcia through ready4change on April 15th 2013. I was supposed to go a month ago but had to change my date because of career commitments. I assume we'll be seeing each other there!

How has the transition to sleeve been for you? You look great!

I'm scheduled for surgery in about two weeks with Dr. Garcia. I'm just feeling really overwhelmed right now. Apprehensive about the procedure and it's risks, worried about having low energy during the transition phase, worried I wont lose the weight I need to lose etc. I had a lap band in from 2008-2010 and had a lot of problems with it and had to have it taken out. It was a really difficult time for me and I'm sure that it's that experience that is contributing to my current feelings. I've also been trying to lose 20 pounds before surgery so I started the preop diet 4 weeks out and then two days ago (I've lost 15 pounds so far) decided to eat a few normal things before I start the mandatory preop diet in a few days. Part of why I stopped was this overwhelming feel plus dizziness and low energy. Obviously once you have surgery you can never take a break from it. I also have a lot going on professionally but it will always be like this ( probably just get worse) which is why I've decided to just go ahead with the surgery now. A major concern I have is that the surgery will negatively impact my career life as I adjust the first few months post operative. I'm just wondering if anyone else is having these feelings and if so how do you deal with it? Or for those of you who've already had surgery is there anything you know now that you wish you'd know then that would have not only silenced these fears but made you excited for the procedure and the first 3-6 months following it when you are learning to live with the sleeve?

Thanks for your comments! You are all right about us having so much to gain from the surgery. Hopefully I to can adapt in a months time! It is hard to be positive at times about an area of your life you've struggled with for so long. I've been overweight since childhood. But maybe a big part of the mental emotional side of things is envisioning your skinny self and believing in your innate ability to achieve a "normal" weight.

Really!? I'm sure we'll be seeing each other while we are there. I'll be coming from Australia. I'm a revision from the band. It slipped in 2010 and I had it taken out. I'd only had it in for a year and a half and had lost about 50% of my excess weight. Now I'm revising to the sleeve because I've regained the weight I lost. I didn't keep the band because I had a lot of problems with it and really didn't like the amount of follow up that was needed to maintain the medical device. In my case, I was having to go to the doctor every 3-6 weeks either for an adjustment or complications. I'm excited about the sleeve. I think it will be a better solution for me then the band was I'm just a little nervous that I will again be that small percentage of people that end up with a complication. I should add that my band was put in by a doctor at Brigham and Women's in Boston, MA and taken out in Brisbane, Australia. The sleeve revision will be my first time with Dr. Garcia.

I'm going to Dr. F Garcia on March 4th. Coordinated with Alma. Good luck to everyone!