Indigo1991

I eat out two or three times a week - I am four months out - and I do it because it is an important part of my life. It's the social aspect of doing it that matters to me nowadays, spending time with friends and family and having fun. In the past, it was all about the food. I still enjoy the little I eat but I always get my own plate - I can't do the eating off other people's plate thing, lol. I make better choices since my sleeve, I don't see a meal out as a reward any more or an excuse just to eat and eat until I am stuffed. OP, please don't give up on going out just because of the amount you can eat. It is still enjoyable just different!

Only lost 40lbs, lol??? You have done really well to keep losing if you have been dehydrated... 40lbs is pretty good by anyone's reckoning. Hope you are feeling better and thanks for passing on this info - dehydration is our enemy!!!

Janacreid, what's happening is ur body adjusting to major surgery and a new "normal". Best way to think of your progress is that u r at the top of a very long flight of stairs. You go down a few, then pause for breath and stand on a step, then set off again. That's what ur body will do throughout ur weight loss - it will drop in weight and inches, stop and gather itself, then drop again. Some pauses will be longer than other but u will progress. Hope that helps! Only one other piece of advice - step away from the scales. Don't swap a food addiction for a weighing addiction. Once a week is more than enough :-)))) Good luck!

Should we just call you Frank now, lol???

Stick with what ur doc advises and don't add anything remotely solid this stage. Ur stomach is swollen and still numb at 5 days out. I agree u can feel empty but acid can mimic hunger so get that checked out. I was allowed milk from day 1 so I added fortified milk to my soup to get additional Protein but also to keep my tummy filled for longer... Might help... But in the great scheme of things, u need to hang in because this phase will pass quicker than it may feel like now - and it will be worth it in the end :-)))))) We have to work with our sleeves, initially takes a bit of time to get that right. Good luck, it does get easier and better, I promise.

Be kinder to urself, find the solid foods u can eat and don't stress about what u can't eat at this stage. Ur tastes will change - I couldn't eat eggs 8 weeks out but am fine with them now. Try something new every couple of days and u will know within one bite if u like it and it likes u, lol. Best advice I got was to chew, chew a bit more and when u don't think there's anything more to chew - chew again! I eat off a small plate and cut everything into small pieces before doing the chewing thing and have had few probs getting solid food in. So relax, take a step back from telling urself what u can't do and start to find foods that u can eat. At 8 weeks I didn't have a huge menu of things to eat, but don't worry about that. Protein and Water are ur priorities, anything else is a bonus :-) Hang in there, this too shall pass...

Omg, I can only say "wow" to those pics!!!! Congratulations on your success, you and your sleeve make quite a team... I haven't lost anything like the amount u have, but I have dropped my BMI by 10 points and transformed my health, my life and my future by being sleeved. I don't regret a day since 26 April although it was tough in the very early days :-) But, like you, I have done exactly as asked and stuck to my Dr's advice re protein, water and exercise - as a result, never been sick and have learned to make good food choices that have paid off. Thanks for continuing to speak out. Attitude and state of mind play a huge part for each of us in our weight loss. Have said it on here before but whatever problems life hands us, it's for us alone to decide how to respond to them. I choose to be positive and I choose not to let others negativity impact on me. Not always easy but soooo worth it - and very liberating not to have to carry the burden of cr*p that others have tried to put on to me in the past, which didn't help previous attempts to lose weight and keep it off. Keep up the great work :-)))))

Ps you already have a great weight loss!!!

I lost last week after a month stall (started at two and a half months) and then again this week. I upped my fluids and my Protein rather than go back to liquids (I never used shakes at any stage as I wanted to be able to eat rather than rely on drinking my protein) so I added in two protein Snacks mid morning and mid afternoon and it appears to have worked. Check out your protein and Water intake and step up your exercise a bit, give it a couple of weeks and see what happens... but don't despair, this happens and this too will pass...

Im14Fun, it is a thought but think your genes play a part in the elasticity of your skin as does age. I am 52 next week and was discussing my goal weight with my nut - he said that as you get closer to your target, the older you are, what happens to your face and neck does come into play... So although I know what weight I would like to be, he said I might want to stop two or three pounds before then if I felt I was losing my face. I am happy with how I look, no loose skin or droopy bits. But as ProudGrammy says, I would rather be a bit wrinkly than fat! Can deal with that.... Anyhoo, you look too young to worry about looking old :-)))))

Congratulations! So inspiring to read ur story and the very real way u are dealing with ur "new" way of living. In the great scheme of things, the gym will be a pushover after everything u have achieved. Well maybe not, lol, but I bet if u tackle it with the same attitude u have ur wls, u will be back on here telling us that the last 12lbs have gone :-)))) Good luck in ur recovery from the tt, hope it goes well x

Think you will be getting the picture - we all had pretty grim early days, but it does get better :-) Hormones will also be kicking in so if you get a bit weepy or experience some buyers remorse (as in what the heck have I done???), it will pass... Every day gets a bit better, stick with what you are told to do in relation to drinking, eating (eventually) and exercising and you won't go too far wrong. Don't worry too much in the first week or so about Protein, Water is your priority. But lots of support on here, we are all on the same road just at different points :-))))

Great idea - thanks! :-)

Stalled at 2.5 months, just ended at 3.5 months... It happens, hang in there, as Ms AntiBand says, don't sweat it, stick to the protein, water and exercise and the scales will shift. Keep an eye on your inches too cos even if the scale stays still, your body is likely to be changing shape. Good luck....

Glad I made you smile - and thanks for all the likes :-) At the start of this year, I was 223lbs but got to surgery at the end of April weighing 207. I was told surgery would help me lose 3st 10lbs and the rest would be up to me. I am now only 3lbs off that first target but in the real world I have 18 lbs to go - who would have thought it after 22 years of being fat... 83lbs seemed impossible. To complicate things, am having a breast reduction and the surgeon wants me to leave him with 7lbs to work with as he thinks that's what I will lose with the reduction. So, all things taken into account, I have about 11 lbs to go... The singing bowls worked their magic and have calmed me - but in my head, the happy dance carries on. Hope everyone else moves on towards their goals too :-)))

Just back from getting weighed and, after no weight loss since the second week in July, have dropped another 6lbs. Woohoo..... am doing the happy dance round the room!!!! 49lbs off (plus 16 lbs I lost in the weeks to pre-op making a total of 65lbs), 18 to go. Am soooo excited... and I just bought a pair of jeans in an US8 / UK12. Need to calm down now as I am off to a meditation session involving Tibetan singing bowls. Need a few more laps of the room before I go or I will be vibrating more than the bowls.... :-)))))))

Lol, let me tell you, it is very do-able and very therapeutic :-)))))

TwinsMama, thank you! My mindset has changed so much since the start of the year. I have always been "glass half full" person but my health issues, my weight and my life in general were turning me into someone I didn't recognise, including heading for clinical depression. Taking charge of my life by recognising that I am the sum total of the decisions and choices I make - if there is a bad situation its no one else's fault how that turns put for me, irrespective of what others might say or do, it's how I respond that matters - was the turning point. I matter, I am worthy of a good life and happiness, something I had never truly believed. On the back of that, I cut my ex out of my life (after 32 years), signed up for the surgery, decided to sell my 15 year old business, stopped doing all the things I did out of duty and started doing things that gave me joy and pleasure - and I have never been so calm, content and happy. Yes, I still have bumps in the road but I deal with them and move on. My health is transformed and I am in charge of my life for the first time in years - and for 51, I look pretty amazing, even though I say it myself!!!! Still got a way to go, but my insecurities are waning as I begin to respect myself again - and like myself. That's why I am so positive.... Thanks for noticing :-))))

You don't want loose stools, you want them soft. Whatever you do, stop the laxatives while at this early stage of your sleeve - all they do is slow your body and then you need to take more laxatives to get the same results. Check with your doc, but most don't like us to take laxatives at all. You need to drink all your Water cos thats what softens stools and add something like Benefiber to make sure you do go even while on liquids and purees. But above all, go get the haemorrhoids fixed. That's the real problem and if it is that painful, go to the doc. But laxatives are not the answer....

Kimmy1813, I promise u it will pass, life will get better... I felt exactly the way u r describing but from that low point, I started heading back up. Am almost 4 months out and wouldn't change a minute of what I've gone through. No regrets - but once u get through the first two weeks, it does get better :-)))))

My latest trick with my son is to give him what I am eating ... and he's loving it! So am I, less waste and easier to make one bigger meal than two different ones. No biscuits or cookies for him, he gets a protein bar. They aren't cheap but I'm not spending money on the usual stuff he would choose to eat. So it's working for us, no more conversations about where my crackers and low fat cheese went ...

I only had nausea when I wasn't fuelled up enough to train. Trainer said my blood sugar was dropping too low, so I was drinking glucose drink prior to training to raise it before working out and Protein shake immediately after. Not sure how this will work with the sleeve.... 5-6 days a week training over 6 months takes a toll on your body unless you are alternating between cardio and weights. I was only allowed to train on alternate days to help my body get time to rest and recuperate. Might be time to ease back on daily training for a while, shake up your body but allow it time to gather itself.

You are not whining, so don't beat yourself up. And you're not alone, we are all here listening and sympathising. Many of us have been where you are... Day 4 post op and I cried all day. Hormones all over the place, tired because I wasn't getting enough food or Water in and experiencing buyers remorse - what the hell had I done to myself??? Woke up on day 5 feeling more rested and just generally better and the corner was turned. Who knows why but you have just been through a major surgery so strange things happen. It's an emotional time - but all of this will pass, you will start to feel better, healthier and you will lose weight. Keeping up with your kids will get easier :-)))) So chin up, it's very early days, focus on doing what you can with your liquids and remember - u r most definitely not alone! Good luck, keep us updated....

Ha ha ha ha! Love it - could apply it to everything else in my life too

Cheri, love ur rant and ur posts on this - couldn't agree more! I am exactly the same person I was before. Just because some people now actually see me doesn't mean I will do cartwheels of joy amd gratitude in response to any crumb of "praise". (I mean in response to backhanded compliments rather than the genuine comments from friends) Instead, I am more likely to stand back and reappraise the person who says the dumb thing... Couple of particular favourites in last two weeks friend's partner said to her: "I never noticed before but Jacqui's an attractive girl - was she always like that???" and my friend passed this on! Then another " friend" who said to me: "you have such a pretty face, maybe you shouldn't lose any more weight in case it gets too thin". And ur point caller is????? Too thin for what???? So which is it? I was ugly and invisible when fat or am I going to be ugly and thin? Lol, you couldn't make it up! But you know what, whilst I am the same person I always was, I now exercise my right to say feck 'em., their opinions are of no value or consequence to me any more. Might be I have changed a bit after all ha ha ha!!!!