jenpez

Hi Anna, I am on the Gold Coast. The first thing I did was get a referral to a surgeon from my GP. My GP actually did a lot of research for me about types of Weight Loss Surgery and the best surgeon for me. Otherwise there is a weight loss surgery centre here where you don't need a referral but you do usually have to go to seminars and whatnot.
The next thing I did was down load every book I could find onto my iPad so that when I went to the surgeon I knew what to ask and was fairly well educated about the surgery. I also watched some clips on YouTube. You can search gastric sleeve and hundreds come up. The next thing I did was join this forum. I have met some other Sleevers recently and really learned a lot from them, I found them through this forum. I also have quite a few favourites on this forum, some in Australia, some in the UK and a lot in the USA. Good luck. Hopefully some Melbournites will find your post and help with actual people to see!
You will see that your story is similar to lots of other people and we all care and empathise with you
Jen.

It occurred to me that not many people who have no problems really tell their story and that people doing their research may need to hear some success stories. I am a lurker, I read some of the posts on some of the threads some of the time!
In May 2013 I weighed my heaviest ever at 234lbs. I have spent my life and a small fortune going to various diet groups, mainly weight watchers, but also others that provide food etc. I have also done every diet imaginable. I cannot remember ever feeling thin, I remember my first "diet" at about 7 years of age. My parents were fat and are both now dead from Type 2 diabetes related illnesses, I could see the writing on the wall.
In June 2013 I was diagnosed with fibromyalgia, I had terrible pain in my knees from arthritis and decided I had to do something drastic. I had never heard of Grehlin, or leptin or gut biomes. So I started some serious research into weight loss surgery and so did my GP (PCP). He found me a surgeon and on August 7th 2013 I had my Sleeve surgery.
In the first 12 months after surgery I travelled to Houston for 2 weeks, to New Zealand for a week to the UK for Christmas, to Sydney (Australia) for a long weekend, to India, Israel and Jordan, and then back to the UK for 5 weeks to visit my grandchildren. While in India I turned 60 and on that day I weighed 60.6 Kg (133.8lbs) I don't usually travel this much it just happened to be the year.
Despite all of the travelling and having to find the right food to eat I managed to just continually lose the weight, no stalls, no complications just round about a kilogram each week.
Of course I lost some hair, I expected to. However because I had done a lot of research I was not overly concerned and It is all growing back quite well.
Some of the things I did along the way are:- I tracked every meal every day on MFP. I walked every day, not a lot, just enough to make me feel good and exercise my dog. I only weighed myself once each week. I tried my best to get the right amount of Protein and Fluid in but it was really about 9 months before I could actually manage to do this. I was, and still am religious about not eating and drinking at the same time, or drinking my nutrients, the only nutrients I drink is my once a day skinny Cappuccino which is my morning snack and gives me 7gm of Protein. I stopped the Protein shakes at about 6 weeks post op mainly because they are carb loaded and they don't meet my no drinking nutrients guide lines. I took, and still take, Vitamin 'gummies' on most days. My blood levels have been great and I am sure this helps.
Now I am 14months post op I have weighed between 54 and 55kg (120-123lbs) for the last couple of months. I now no longer track on MFP because I pretty much eat the same or similar things each day. I still walk and have even been known to make a mad dash across a park to catch the dog! I have added some low GI things to stop myself from continuing to lose, mainly nuts and also things like 'low fat' instead of 'no fat' yoghurt and the occasional piece of 'fat' cheese, and I mean occasional, not daily or even weekly. I get about 60 - 70gms of protein each day and the rest of my diet is low GI, I eat fruit and small amounts of veggies and some bread and sweet potato, really a normal diet. I don't add or have any sugar apart form those that occur naturally in fruit and veggies. I can eat about 3/4 cup of food in one meal if it has dense protein and about a cup if not.
My butt must have been HUUUUUGE because I now have so much skin that when I sit, I sit on layers and folds of skin and it is very uncomfortable. So on November 17th I am having a butt lift and blephoroplasty (eyelid lift).
This is the best thing I have ever done in my life. I have a wonderful and supportive husband and family. I tell people if they ask sometimes and sometimes I don't. I don't really care what they think, part of the freedom of being 60!
There have been a lot of people on this forum along the way who have come and gone who helped without even knowing and I sincerely thank them. I have never been this skinny in my life and I love it!

It occurred to me that not many people who have no problems really tell their story and that people doing their research may need to hear some success stories. I am a lurker, I read some of the posts on some of the threads some of the time!
In May 2013 I weighed my heaviest ever at 234lbs. I have spent my life and a small fortune going to various diet groups, mainly weight watchers, but also others that provide food etc. I have also done every diet imaginable. I cannot remember ever feeling thin, I remember my first "diet" at about 7 years of age. My parents were fat and are both now dead from Type 2 diabetes related illnesses, I could see the writing on the wall.
In June 2013 I was diagnosed with fibromyalgia, I had terrible pain in my knees from arthritis and decided I had to do something drastic. I had never heard of Grehlin, or leptin or gut biomes. So I started some serious research into weight loss surgery and so did my GP (PCP). He found me a surgeon and on August 7th 2013 I had my Sleeve surgery.
In the first 12 months after surgery I travelled to Houston for 2 weeks, to New Zealand for a week to the UK for Christmas, to Sydney (Australia) for a long weekend, to India, Israel and Jordan, and then back to the UK for 5 weeks to visit my grandchildren. While in India I turned 60 and on that day I weighed 60.6 Kg (133.8lbs) I don't usually travel this much it just happened to be the year.
Despite all of the travelling and having to find the right food to eat I managed to just continually lose the weight, no stalls, no complications just round about a kilogram each week.
Of course I lost some hair, I expected to. However because I had done a lot of research I was not overly concerned and It is all growing back quite well.
Some of the things I did along the way are:- I tracked every meal every day on MFP. I walked every day, not a lot, just enough to make me feel good and exercise my dog. I only weighed myself once each week. I tried my best to get the right amount of Protein and Fluid in but it was really about 9 months before I could actually manage to do this. I was, and still am religious about not eating and drinking at the same time, or drinking my nutrients, the only nutrients I drink is my once a day skinny Cappuccino which is my morning snack and gives me 7gm of Protein. I stopped the Protein shakes at about 6 weeks post op mainly because they are carb loaded and they don't meet my no drinking nutrients guide lines. I took, and still take, Vitamin 'gummies' on most days. My blood levels have been great and I am sure this helps.
Now I am 14months post op I have weighed between 54 and 55kg (120-123lbs) for the last couple of months. I now no longer track on MFP because I pretty much eat the same or similar things each day. I still walk and have even been known to make a mad dash across a park to catch the dog! I have added some low GI things to stop myself from continuing to lose, mainly nuts and also things like 'low fat' instead of 'no fat' yoghurt and the occasional piece of 'fat' cheese, and I mean occasional, not daily or even weekly. I get about 60 - 70gms of protein each day and the rest of my diet is low GI, I eat fruit and small amounts of veggies and some bread and sweet potato, really a normal diet. I don't add or have any sugar apart form those that occur naturally in fruit and veggies. I can eat about 3/4 cup of food in one meal if it has dense protein and about a cup if not.
My butt must have been HUUUUUGE because I now have so much skin that when I sit, I sit on layers and folds of skin and it is very uncomfortable. So on November 17th I am having a butt lift and blephoroplasty (eyelid lift).
This is the best thing I have ever done in my life. I have a wonderful and supportive husband and family. I tell people if they ask sometimes and sometimes I don't. I don't really care what they think, part of the freedom of being 60!
There have been a lot of people on this forum along the way who have come and gone who helped without even knowing and I sincerely thank them. I have never been this skinny in my life and I love it!

It occurred to me that not many people who have no problems really tell their story and that people doing their research may need to hear some success stories. I am a lurker, I read some of the posts on some of the threads some of the time!
In May 2013 I weighed my heaviest ever at 234lbs. I have spent my life and a small fortune going to various diet groups, mainly weight watchers, but also others that provide food etc. I have also done every diet imaginable. I cannot remember ever feeling thin, I remember my first "diet" at about 7 years of age. My parents were fat and are both now dead from Type 2 diabetes related illnesses, I could see the writing on the wall.
In June 2013 I was diagnosed with fibromyalgia, I had terrible pain in my knees from arthritis and decided I had to do something drastic. I had never heard of Grehlin, or leptin or gut biomes. So I started some serious research into weight loss surgery and so did my GP (PCP). He found me a surgeon and on August 7th 2013 I had my Sleeve surgery.
In the first 12 months after surgery I travelled to Houston for 2 weeks, to New Zealand for a week to the UK for Christmas, to Sydney (Australia) for a long weekend, to India, Israel and Jordan, and then back to the UK for 5 weeks to visit my grandchildren. While in India I turned 60 and on that day I weighed 60.6 Kg (133.8lbs) I don't usually travel this much it just happened to be the year.
Despite all of the travelling and having to find the right food to eat I managed to just continually lose the weight, no stalls, no complications just round about a kilogram each week.
Of course I lost some hair, I expected to. However because I had done a lot of research I was not overly concerned and It is all growing back quite well.
Some of the things I did along the way are:- I tracked every meal every day on MFP. I walked every day, not a lot, just enough to make me feel good and exercise my dog. I only weighed myself once each week. I tried my best to get the right amount of Protein and Fluid in but it was really about 9 months before I could actually manage to do this. I was, and still am religious about not eating and drinking at the same time, or drinking my nutrients, the only nutrients I drink is my once a day skinny Cappuccino which is my morning snack and gives me 7gm of Protein. I stopped the Protein shakes at about 6 weeks post op mainly because they are carb loaded and they don't meet my no drinking nutrients guide lines. I took, and still take, Vitamin 'gummies' on most days. My blood levels have been great and I am sure this helps.
Now I am 14months post op I have weighed between 54 and 55kg (120-123lbs) for the last couple of months. I now no longer track on MFP because I pretty much eat the same or similar things each day. I still walk and have even been known to make a mad dash across a park to catch the dog! I have added some low GI things to stop myself from continuing to lose, mainly nuts and also things like 'low fat' instead of 'no fat' yoghurt and the occasional piece of 'fat' cheese, and I mean occasional, not daily or even weekly. I get about 60 - 70gms of protein each day and the rest of my diet is low GI, I eat fruit and small amounts of veggies and some bread and sweet potato, really a normal diet. I don't add or have any sugar apart form those that occur naturally in fruit and veggies. I can eat about 3/4 cup of food in one meal if it has dense protein and about a cup if not.
My butt must have been HUUUUUGE because I now have so much skin that when I sit, I sit on layers and folds of skin and it is very uncomfortable. So on November 17th I am having a butt lift and blephoroplasty (eyelid lift).
This is the best thing I have ever done in my life. I have a wonderful and supportive husband and family. I tell people if they ask sometimes and sometimes I don't. I don't really care what they think, part of the freedom of being 60!
There have been a lot of people on this forum along the way who have come and gone who helped without even knowing and I sincerely thank them. I have never been this skinny in my life and I love it!

I am 5'6" or 167cm. No body ever gave me a goal weight. Everyone just supported my weight loss on the way down. I have been around 55kg since the middle of July so I guess I have stopped losing and this can be my goal. I am quite happy being this weight.

Jenpez, Thank you thank you for such an inspiring story. I am 59 an going in 3 months for the sleeve surgery. Your story sounds much like mine and I too want to go into my 60's healthy and fit. Thanks for sharing.........I am so inspired.

What a great bio! Congrats on your success and your butt lift, nothing can stop you now!

Thank you for the good positive story! I love the journey & success you have shared!

Thank you! That was very helpful and encouraging. It helped me solve my stalling problem.

That thrills me to pieces. Thank you so much. I am hoping and praying that my fibro goes away or drastically changes, too. I miss working out!

No more fibromyalgia since surgery and my surgeon never wants me to have ibuprofen again! I have once had some arthritis after a very long walk over rough ground but relieved with paracetamol.

Very encouraging. At 9 1/2 months, I have to reboot myself every day to keep from falling into a deep blue funk. I appreciate you sharing your story.

It occurred to me that not many people who have no problems really tell their story and that people doing their research may need to hear some success stories. I am a lurker, I read some of the posts on some of the threads some of the time!
In May 2013 I weighed my heaviest ever at 234lbs. I have spent my life and a small fortune going to various diet groups, mainly weight watchers, but also others that provide food etc. I have also done every diet imaginable. I cannot remember ever feeling thin, I remember my first "diet" at about 7 years of age. My parents were fat and are both now dead from Type 2 diabetes related illnesses, I could see the writing on the wall.
In June 2013 I was diagnosed with fibromyalgia, I had terrible pain in my knees from arthritis and decided I had to do something drastic. I had never heard of Grehlin, or leptin or gut biomes. So I started some serious research into weight loss surgery and so did my GP (PCP). He found me a surgeon and on August 7th 2013 I had my Sleeve surgery.
In the first 12 months after surgery I travelled to Houston for 2 weeks, to New Zealand for a week to the UK for Christmas, to Sydney (Australia) for a long weekend, to India, Israel and Jordan, and then back to the UK for 5 weeks to visit my grandchildren. While in India I turned 60 and on that day I weighed 60.6 Kg (133.8lbs) I don't usually travel this much it just happened to be the year.
Despite all of the travelling and having to find the right food to eat I managed to just continually lose the weight, no stalls, no complications just round about a kilogram each week.
Of course I lost some hair, I expected to. However because I had done a lot of research I was not overly concerned and It is all growing back quite well.
Some of the things I did along the way are:- I tracked every meal every day on MFP. I walked every day, not a lot, just enough to make me feel good and exercise my dog. I only weighed myself once each week. I tried my best to get the right amount of Protein and Fluid in but it was really about 9 months before I could actually manage to do this. I was, and still am religious about not eating and drinking at the same time, or drinking my nutrients, the only nutrients I drink is my once a day skinny Cappuccino which is my morning snack and gives me 7gm of Protein. I stopped the Protein shakes at about 6 weeks post op mainly because they are carb loaded and they don't meet my no drinking nutrients guide lines. I took, and still take, Vitamin 'gummies' on most days. My blood levels have been great and I am sure this helps.
Now I am 14months post op I have weighed between 54 and 55kg (120-123lbs) for the last couple of months. I now no longer track on MFP because I pretty much eat the same or similar things each day. I still walk and have even been known to make a mad dash across a park to catch the dog! I have added some low GI things to stop myself from continuing to lose, mainly nuts and also things like 'low fat' instead of 'no fat' yoghurt and the occasional piece of 'fat' cheese, and I mean occasional, not daily or even weekly. I get about 60 - 70gms of protein each day and the rest of my diet is low GI, I eat fruit and small amounts of veggies and some bread and sweet potato, really a normal diet. I don't add or have any sugar apart form those that occur naturally in fruit and veggies. I can eat about 3/4 cup of food in one meal if it has dense protein and about a cup if not.
My butt must have been HUUUUUGE because I now have so much skin that when I sit, I sit on layers and folds of skin and it is very uncomfortable. So on November 17th I am having a butt lift and blephoroplasty (eyelid lift).
This is the best thing I have ever done in my life. I have a wonderful and supportive husband and family. I tell people if they ask sometimes and sometimes I don't. I don't really care what they think, part of the freedom of being 60!
There have been a lot of people on this forum along the way who have come and gone who helped without even knowing and I sincerely thank them. I have never been this skinny in my life and I love it!

It occurred to me that not many people who have no problems really tell their story and that people doing their research may need to hear some success stories. I am a lurker, I read some of the posts on some of the threads some of the time!
In May 2013 I weighed my heaviest ever at 234lbs. I have spent my life and a small fortune going to various diet groups, mainly weight watchers, but also others that provide food etc. I have also done every diet imaginable. I cannot remember ever feeling thin, I remember my first "diet" at about 7 years of age. My parents were fat and are both now dead from Type 2 diabetes related illnesses, I could see the writing on the wall.
In June 2013 I was diagnosed with fibromyalgia, I had terrible pain in my knees from arthritis and decided I had to do something drastic. I had never heard of Grehlin, or leptin or gut biomes. So I started some serious research into weight loss surgery and so did my GP (PCP). He found me a surgeon and on August 7th 2013 I had my Sleeve surgery.
In the first 12 months after surgery I travelled to Houston for 2 weeks, to New Zealand for a week to the UK for Christmas, to Sydney (Australia) for a long weekend, to India, Israel and Jordan, and then back to the UK for 5 weeks to visit my grandchildren. While in India I turned 60 and on that day I weighed 60.6 Kg (133.8lbs) I don't usually travel this much it just happened to be the year.
Despite all of the travelling and having to find the right food to eat I managed to just continually lose the weight, no stalls, no complications just round about a kilogram each week.
Of course I lost some hair, I expected to. However because I had done a lot of research I was not overly concerned and It is all growing back quite well.
Some of the things I did along the way are:- I tracked every meal every day on MFP. I walked every day, not a lot, just enough to make me feel good and exercise my dog. I only weighed myself once each week. I tried my best to get the right amount of Protein and Fluid in but it was really about 9 months before I could actually manage to do this. I was, and still am religious about not eating and drinking at the same time, or drinking my nutrients, the only nutrients I drink is my once a day skinny Cappuccino which is my morning snack and gives me 7gm of Protein. I stopped the Protein shakes at about 6 weeks post op mainly because they are carb loaded and they don't meet my no drinking nutrients guide lines. I took, and still take, Vitamin 'gummies' on most days. My blood levels have been great and I am sure this helps.
Now I am 14months post op I have weighed between 54 and 55kg (120-123lbs) for the last couple of months. I now no longer track on MFP because I pretty much eat the same or similar things each day. I still walk and have even been known to make a mad dash across a park to catch the dog! I have added some low GI things to stop myself from continuing to lose, mainly nuts and also things like 'low fat' instead of 'no fat' yoghurt and the occasional piece of 'fat' cheese, and I mean occasional, not daily or even weekly. I get about 60 - 70gms of protein each day and the rest of my diet is low GI, I eat fruit and small amounts of veggies and some bread and sweet potato, really a normal diet. I don't add or have any sugar apart form those that occur naturally in fruit and veggies. I can eat about 3/4 cup of food in one meal if it has dense protein and about a cup if not.
My butt must have been HUUUUUGE because I now have so much skin that when I sit, I sit on layers and folds of skin and it is very uncomfortable. So on November 17th I am having a butt lift and blephoroplasty (eyelid lift).
This is the best thing I have ever done in my life. I have a wonderful and supportive husband and family. I tell people if they ask sometimes and sometimes I don't. I don't really care what they think, part of the freedom of being 60!
There have been a lot of people on this forum along the way who have come and gone who helped without even knowing and I sincerely thank them. I have never been this skinny in my life and I love it!

It occurred to me that not many people who have no problems really tell their story and that people doing their research may need to hear some success stories. I am a lurker, I read some of the posts on some of the threads some of the time!
In May 2013 I weighed my heaviest ever at 234lbs. I have spent my life and a small fortune going to various diet groups, mainly weight watchers, but also others that provide food etc. I have also done every diet imaginable. I cannot remember ever feeling thin, I remember my first "diet" at about 7 years of age. My parents were fat and are both now dead from Type 2 diabetes related illnesses, I could see the writing on the wall.
In June 2013 I was diagnosed with fibromyalgia, I had terrible pain in my knees from arthritis and decided I had to do something drastic. I had never heard of Grehlin, or leptin or gut biomes. So I started some serious research into weight loss surgery and so did my GP (PCP). He found me a surgeon and on August 7th 2013 I had my Sleeve surgery.
In the first 12 months after surgery I travelled to Houston for 2 weeks, to New Zealand for a week to the UK for Christmas, to Sydney (Australia) for a long weekend, to India, Israel and Jordan, and then back to the UK for 5 weeks to visit my grandchildren. While in India I turned 60 and on that day I weighed 60.6 Kg (133.8lbs) I don't usually travel this much it just happened to be the year.
Despite all of the travelling and having to find the right food to eat I managed to just continually lose the weight, no stalls, no complications just round about a kilogram each week.
Of course I lost some hair, I expected to. However because I had done a lot of research I was not overly concerned and It is all growing back quite well.
Some of the things I did along the way are:- I tracked every meal every day on MFP. I walked every day, not a lot, just enough to make me feel good and exercise my dog. I only weighed myself once each week. I tried my best to get the right amount of Protein and Fluid in but it was really about 9 months before I could actually manage to do this. I was, and still am religious about not eating and drinking at the same time, or drinking my nutrients, the only nutrients I drink is my once a day skinny Cappuccino which is my morning snack and gives me 7gm of Protein. I stopped the Protein shakes at about 6 weeks post op mainly because they are carb loaded and they don't meet my no drinking nutrients guide lines. I took, and still take, Vitamin 'gummies' on most days. My blood levels have been great and I am sure this helps.
Now I am 14months post op I have weighed between 54 and 55kg (120-123lbs) for the last couple of months. I now no longer track on MFP because I pretty much eat the same or similar things each day. I still walk and have even been known to make a mad dash across a park to catch the dog! I have added some low GI things to stop myself from continuing to lose, mainly nuts and also things like 'low fat' instead of 'no fat' yoghurt and the occasional piece of 'fat' cheese, and I mean occasional, not daily or even weekly. I get about 60 - 70gms of protein each day and the rest of my diet is low GI, I eat fruit and small amounts of veggies and some bread and sweet potato, really a normal diet. I don't add or have any sugar apart form those that occur naturally in fruit and veggies. I can eat about 3/4 cup of food in one meal if it has dense protein and about a cup if not.
My butt must have been HUUUUUGE because I now have so much skin that when I sit, I sit on layers and folds of skin and it is very uncomfortable. So on November 17th I am having a butt lift and blephoroplasty (eyelid lift).
This is the best thing I have ever done in my life. I have a wonderful and supportive husband and family. I tell people if they ask sometimes and sometimes I don't. I don't really care what they think, part of the freedom of being 60!
There have been a lot of people on this forum along the way who have come and gone who helped without even knowing and I sincerely thank them. I have never been this skinny in my life and I love it!

It occurred to me that not many people who have no problems really tell their story and that people doing their research may need to hear some success stories. I am a lurker, I read some of the posts on some of the threads some of the time!
In May 2013 I weighed my heaviest ever at 234lbs. I have spent my life and a small fortune going to various diet groups, mainly weight watchers, but also others that provide food etc. I have also done every diet imaginable. I cannot remember ever feeling thin, I remember my first "diet" at about 7 years of age. My parents were fat and are both now dead from Type 2 diabetes related illnesses, I could see the writing on the wall.
In June 2013 I was diagnosed with fibromyalgia, I had terrible pain in my knees from arthritis and decided I had to do something drastic. I had never heard of Grehlin, or leptin or gut biomes. So I started some serious research into weight loss surgery and so did my GP (PCP). He found me a surgeon and on August 7th 2013 I had my Sleeve surgery.
In the first 12 months after surgery I travelled to Houston for 2 weeks, to New Zealand for a week to the UK for Christmas, to Sydney (Australia) for a long weekend, to India, Israel and Jordan, and then back to the UK for 5 weeks to visit my grandchildren. While in India I turned 60 and on that day I weighed 60.6 Kg (133.8lbs) I don't usually travel this much it just happened to be the year.
Despite all of the travelling and having to find the right food to eat I managed to just continually lose the weight, no stalls, no complications just round about a kilogram each week.
Of course I lost some hair, I expected to. However because I had done a lot of research I was not overly concerned and It is all growing back quite well.
Some of the things I did along the way are:- I tracked every meal every day on MFP. I walked every day, not a lot, just enough to make me feel good and exercise my dog. I only weighed myself once each week. I tried my best to get the right amount of Protein and Fluid in but it was really about 9 months before I could actually manage to do this. I was, and still am religious about not eating and drinking at the same time, or drinking my nutrients, the only nutrients I drink is my once a day skinny Cappuccino which is my morning snack and gives me 7gm of Protein. I stopped the Protein shakes at about 6 weeks post op mainly because they are carb loaded and they don't meet my no drinking nutrients guide lines. I took, and still take, Vitamin 'gummies' on most days. My blood levels have been great and I am sure this helps.
Now I am 14months post op I have weighed between 54 and 55kg (120-123lbs) for the last couple of months. I now no longer track on MFP because I pretty much eat the same or similar things each day. I still walk and have even been known to make a mad dash across a park to catch the dog! I have added some low GI things to stop myself from continuing to lose, mainly nuts and also things like 'low fat' instead of 'no fat' yoghurt and the occasional piece of 'fat' cheese, and I mean occasional, not daily or even weekly. I get about 60 - 70gms of protein each day and the rest of my diet is low GI, I eat fruit and small amounts of veggies and some bread and sweet potato, really a normal diet. I don't add or have any sugar apart form those that occur naturally in fruit and veggies. I can eat about 3/4 cup of food in one meal if it has dense protein and about a cup if not.
My butt must have been HUUUUUGE because I now have so much skin that when I sit, I sit on layers and folds of skin and it is very uncomfortable. So on November 17th I am having a butt lift and blephoroplasty (eyelid lift).
This is the best thing I have ever done in my life. I have a wonderful and supportive husband and family. I tell people if they ask sometimes and sometimes I don't. I don't really care what they think, part of the freedom of being 60!
There have been a lot of people on this forum along the way who have come and gone who helped without even knowing and I sincerely thank them. I have never been this skinny in my life and I love it!

It occurred to me that not many people who have no problems really tell their story and that people doing their research may need to hear some success stories. I am a lurker, I read some of the posts on some of the threads some of the time!
In May 2013 I weighed my heaviest ever at 234lbs. I have spent my life and a small fortune going to various diet groups, mainly weight watchers, but also others that provide food etc. I have also done every diet imaginable. I cannot remember ever feeling thin, I remember my first "diet" at about 7 years of age. My parents were fat and are both now dead from Type 2 diabetes related illnesses, I could see the writing on the wall.
In June 2013 I was diagnosed with fibromyalgia, I had terrible pain in my knees from arthritis and decided I had to do something drastic. I had never heard of Grehlin, or leptin or gut biomes. So I started some serious research into weight loss surgery and so did my GP (PCP). He found me a surgeon and on August 7th 2013 I had my Sleeve surgery.
In the first 12 months after surgery I travelled to Houston for 2 weeks, to New Zealand for a week to the UK for Christmas, to Sydney (Australia) for a long weekend, to India, Israel and Jordan, and then back to the UK for 5 weeks to visit my grandchildren. While in India I turned 60 and on that day I weighed 60.6 Kg (133.8lbs) I don't usually travel this much it just happened to be the year.
Despite all of the travelling and having to find the right food to eat I managed to just continually lose the weight, no stalls, no complications just round about a kilogram each week.
Of course I lost some hair, I expected to. However because I had done a lot of research I was not overly concerned and It is all growing back quite well.
Some of the things I did along the way are:- I tracked every meal every day on MFP. I walked every day, not a lot, just enough to make me feel good and exercise my dog. I only weighed myself once each week. I tried my best to get the right amount of Protein and Fluid in but it was really about 9 months before I could actually manage to do this. I was, and still am religious about not eating and drinking at the same time, or drinking my nutrients, the only nutrients I drink is my once a day skinny Cappuccino which is my morning snack and gives me 7gm of Protein. I stopped the Protein shakes at about 6 weeks post op mainly because they are carb loaded and they don't meet my no drinking nutrients guide lines. I took, and still take, Vitamin 'gummies' on most days. My blood levels have been great and I am sure this helps.
Now I am 14months post op I have weighed between 54 and 55kg (120-123lbs) for the last couple of months. I now no longer track on MFP because I pretty much eat the same or similar things each day. I still walk and have even been known to make a mad dash across a park to catch the dog! I have added some low GI things to stop myself from continuing to lose, mainly nuts and also things like 'low fat' instead of 'no fat' yoghurt and the occasional piece of 'fat' cheese, and I mean occasional, not daily or even weekly. I get about 60 - 70gms of protein each day and the rest of my diet is low GI, I eat fruit and small amounts of veggies and some bread and sweet potato, really a normal diet. I don't add or have any sugar apart form those that occur naturally in fruit and veggies. I can eat about 3/4 cup of food in one meal if it has dense protein and about a cup if not.
My butt must have been HUUUUUGE because I now have so much skin that when I sit, I sit on layers and folds of skin and it is very uncomfortable. So on November 17th I am having a butt lift and blephoroplasty (eyelid lift).
This is the best thing I have ever done in my life. I have a wonderful and supportive husband and family. I tell people if they ask sometimes and sometimes I don't. I don't really care what they think, part of the freedom of being 60!
There have been a lot of people on this forum along the way who have come and gone who helped without even knowing and I sincerely thank them. I have never been this skinny in my life and I love it!

It occurred to me that not many people who have no problems really tell their story and that people doing their research may need to hear some success stories. I am a lurker, I read some of the posts on some of the threads some of the time!
In May 2013 I weighed my heaviest ever at 234lbs. I have spent my life and a small fortune going to various diet groups, mainly weight watchers, but also others that provide food etc. I have also done every diet imaginable. I cannot remember ever feeling thin, I remember my first "diet" at about 7 years of age. My parents were fat and are both now dead from Type 2 diabetes related illnesses, I could see the writing on the wall.
In June 2013 I was diagnosed with fibromyalgia, I had terrible pain in my knees from arthritis and decided I had to do something drastic. I had never heard of Grehlin, or leptin or gut biomes. So I started some serious research into weight loss surgery and so did my GP (PCP). He found me a surgeon and on August 7th 2013 I had my Sleeve surgery.
In the first 12 months after surgery I travelled to Houston for 2 weeks, to New Zealand for a week to the UK for Christmas, to Sydney (Australia) for a long weekend, to India, Israel and Jordan, and then back to the UK for 5 weeks to visit my grandchildren. While in India I turned 60 and on that day I weighed 60.6 Kg (133.8lbs) I don't usually travel this much it just happened to be the year.
Despite all of the travelling and having to find the right food to eat I managed to just continually lose the weight, no stalls, no complications just round about a kilogram each week.
Of course I lost some hair, I expected to. However because I had done a lot of research I was not overly concerned and It is all growing back quite well.
Some of the things I did along the way are:- I tracked every meal every day on MFP. I walked every day, not a lot, just enough to make me feel good and exercise my dog. I only weighed myself once each week. I tried my best to get the right amount of Protein and Fluid in but it was really about 9 months before I could actually manage to do this. I was, and still am religious about not eating and drinking at the same time, or drinking my nutrients, the only nutrients I drink is my once a day skinny Cappuccino which is my morning snack and gives me 7gm of Protein. I stopped the Protein shakes at about 6 weeks post op mainly because they are carb loaded and they don't meet my no drinking nutrients guide lines. I took, and still take, Vitamin 'gummies' on most days. My blood levels have been great and I am sure this helps.
Now I am 14months post op I have weighed between 54 and 55kg (120-123lbs) for the last couple of months. I now no longer track on MFP because I pretty much eat the same or similar things each day. I still walk and have even been known to make a mad dash across a park to catch the dog! I have added some low GI things to stop myself from continuing to lose, mainly nuts and also things like 'low fat' instead of 'no fat' yoghurt and the occasional piece of 'fat' cheese, and I mean occasional, not daily or even weekly. I get about 60 - 70gms of protein each day and the rest of my diet is low GI, I eat fruit and small amounts of veggies and some bread and sweet potato, really a normal diet. I don't add or have any sugar apart form those that occur naturally in fruit and veggies. I can eat about 3/4 cup of food in one meal if it has dense protein and about a cup if not.
My butt must have been HUUUUUGE because I now have so much skin that when I sit, I sit on layers and folds of skin and it is very uncomfortable. So on November 17th I am having a butt lift and blephoroplasty (eyelid lift).
This is the best thing I have ever done in my life. I have a wonderful and supportive husband and family. I tell people if they ask sometimes and sometimes I don't. I don't really care what they think, part of the freedom of being 60!
There have been a lot of people on this forum along the way who have come and gone who helped without even knowing and I sincerely thank them. I have never been this skinny in my life and I love it!

It occurred to me that not many people who have no problems really tell their story and that people doing their research may need to hear some success stories. I am a lurker, I read some of the posts on some of the threads some of the time!
In May 2013 I weighed my heaviest ever at 234lbs. I have spent my life and a small fortune going to various diet groups, mainly weight watchers, but also others that provide food etc. I have also done every diet imaginable. I cannot remember ever feeling thin, I remember my first "diet" at about 7 years of age. My parents were fat and are both now dead from Type 2 diabetes related illnesses, I could see the writing on the wall.
In June 2013 I was diagnosed with fibromyalgia, I had terrible pain in my knees from arthritis and decided I had to do something drastic. I had never heard of Grehlin, or leptin or gut biomes. So I started some serious research into weight loss surgery and so did my GP (PCP). He found me a surgeon and on August 7th 2013 I had my Sleeve surgery.
In the first 12 months after surgery I travelled to Houston for 2 weeks, to New Zealand for a week to the UK for Christmas, to Sydney (Australia) for a long weekend, to India, Israel and Jordan, and then back to the UK for 5 weeks to visit my grandchildren. While in India I turned 60 and on that day I weighed 60.6 Kg (133.8lbs) I don't usually travel this much it just happened to be the year.
Despite all of the travelling and having to find the right food to eat I managed to just continually lose the weight, no stalls, no complications just round about a kilogram each week.
Of course I lost some hair, I expected to. However because I had done a lot of research I was not overly concerned and It is all growing back quite well.
Some of the things I did along the way are:- I tracked every meal every day on MFP. I walked every day, not a lot, just enough to make me feel good and exercise my dog. I only weighed myself once each week. I tried my best to get the right amount of Protein and Fluid in but it was really about 9 months before I could actually manage to do this. I was, and still am religious about not eating and drinking at the same time, or drinking my nutrients, the only nutrients I drink is my once a day skinny Cappuccino which is my morning snack and gives me 7gm of Protein. I stopped the Protein shakes at about 6 weeks post op mainly because they are carb loaded and they don't meet my no drinking nutrients guide lines. I took, and still take, Vitamin 'gummies' on most days. My blood levels have been great and I am sure this helps.
Now I am 14months post op I have weighed between 54 and 55kg (120-123lbs) for the last couple of months. I now no longer track on MFP because I pretty much eat the same or similar things each day. I still walk and have even been known to make a mad dash across a park to catch the dog! I have added some low GI things to stop myself from continuing to lose, mainly nuts and also things like 'low fat' instead of 'no fat' yoghurt and the occasional piece of 'fat' cheese, and I mean occasional, not daily or even weekly. I get about 60 - 70gms of protein each day and the rest of my diet is low GI, I eat fruit and small amounts of veggies and some bread and sweet potato, really a normal diet. I don't add or have any sugar apart form those that occur naturally in fruit and veggies. I can eat about 3/4 cup of food in one meal if it has dense protein and about a cup if not.
My butt must have been HUUUUUGE because I now have so much skin that when I sit, I sit on layers and folds of skin and it is very uncomfortable. So on November 17th I am having a butt lift and blephoroplasty (eyelid lift).
This is the best thing I have ever done in my life. I have a wonderful and supportive husband and family. I tell people if they ask sometimes and sometimes I don't. I don't really care what they think, part of the freedom of being 60!
There have been a lot of people on this forum along the way who have come and gone who helped without even knowing and I sincerely thank them. I have never been this skinny in my life and I love it!

It occurred to me that not many people who have no problems really tell their story and that people doing their research may need to hear some success stories. I am a lurker, I read some of the posts on some of the threads some of the time!
In May 2013 I weighed my heaviest ever at 234lbs. I have spent my life and a small fortune going to various diet groups, mainly weight watchers, but also others that provide food etc. I have also done every diet imaginable. I cannot remember ever feeling thin, I remember my first "diet" at about 7 years of age. My parents were fat and are both now dead from Type 2 diabetes related illnesses, I could see the writing on the wall.
In June 2013 I was diagnosed with fibromyalgia, I had terrible pain in my knees from arthritis and decided I had to do something drastic. I had never heard of Grehlin, or leptin or gut biomes. So I started some serious research into weight loss surgery and so did my GP (PCP). He found me a surgeon and on August 7th 2013 I had my Sleeve surgery.
In the first 12 months after surgery I travelled to Houston for 2 weeks, to New Zealand for a week to the UK for Christmas, to Sydney (Australia) for a long weekend, to India, Israel and Jordan, and then back to the UK for 5 weeks to visit my grandchildren. While in India I turned 60 and on that day I weighed 60.6 Kg (133.8lbs) I don't usually travel this much it just happened to be the year.
Despite all of the travelling and having to find the right food to eat I managed to just continually lose the weight, no stalls, no complications just round about a kilogram each week.
Of course I lost some hair, I expected to. However because I had done a lot of research I was not overly concerned and It is all growing back quite well.
Some of the things I did along the way are:- I tracked every meal every day on MFP. I walked every day, not a lot, just enough to make me feel good and exercise my dog. I only weighed myself once each week. I tried my best to get the right amount of Protein and Fluid in but it was really about 9 months before I could actually manage to do this. I was, and still am religious about not eating and drinking at the same time, or drinking my nutrients, the only nutrients I drink is my once a day skinny Cappuccino which is my morning snack and gives me 7gm of Protein. I stopped the Protein shakes at about 6 weeks post op mainly because they are carb loaded and they don't meet my no drinking nutrients guide lines. I took, and still take, Vitamin 'gummies' on most days. My blood levels have been great and I am sure this helps.
Now I am 14months post op I have weighed between 54 and 55kg (120-123lbs) for the last couple of months. I now no longer track on MFP because I pretty much eat the same or similar things each day. I still walk and have even been known to make a mad dash across a park to catch the dog! I have added some low GI things to stop myself from continuing to lose, mainly nuts and also things like 'low fat' instead of 'no fat' yoghurt and the occasional piece of 'fat' cheese, and I mean occasional, not daily or even weekly. I get about 60 - 70gms of protein each day and the rest of my diet is low GI, I eat fruit and small amounts of veggies and some bread and sweet potato, really a normal diet. I don't add or have any sugar apart form those that occur naturally in fruit and veggies. I can eat about 3/4 cup of food in one meal if it has dense protein and about a cup if not.
My butt must have been HUUUUUGE because I now have so much skin that when I sit, I sit on layers and folds of skin and it is very uncomfortable. So on November 17th I am having a butt lift and blephoroplasty (eyelid lift).
This is the best thing I have ever done in my life. I have a wonderful and supportive husband and family. I tell people if they ask sometimes and sometimes I don't. I don't really care what they think, part of the freedom of being 60!
There have been a lot of people on this forum along the way who have come and gone who helped without even knowing and I sincerely thank them. I have never been this skinny in my life and I love it!

It occurred to me that not many people who have no problems really tell their story and that people doing their research may need to hear some success stories. I am a lurker, I read some of the posts on some of the threads some of the time!
In May 2013 I weighed my heaviest ever at 234lbs. I have spent my life and a small fortune going to various diet groups, mainly weight watchers, but also others that provide food etc. I have also done every diet imaginable. I cannot remember ever feeling thin, I remember my first "diet" at about 7 years of age. My parents were fat and are both now dead from Type 2 diabetes related illnesses, I could see the writing on the wall.
In June 2013 I was diagnosed with fibromyalgia, I had terrible pain in my knees from arthritis and decided I had to do something drastic. I had never heard of Grehlin, or leptin or gut biomes. So I started some serious research into weight loss surgery and so did my GP (PCP). He found me a surgeon and on August 7th 2013 I had my Sleeve surgery.
In the first 12 months after surgery I travelled to Houston for 2 weeks, to New Zealand for a week to the UK for Christmas, to Sydney (Australia) for a long weekend, to India, Israel and Jordan, and then back to the UK for 5 weeks to visit my grandchildren. While in India I turned 60 and on that day I weighed 60.6 Kg (133.8lbs) I don't usually travel this much it just happened to be the year.
Despite all of the travelling and having to find the right food to eat I managed to just continually lose the weight, no stalls, no complications just round about a kilogram each week.
Of course I lost some hair, I expected to. However because I had done a lot of research I was not overly concerned and It is all growing back quite well.
Some of the things I did along the way are:- I tracked every meal every day on MFP. I walked every day, not a lot, just enough to make me feel good and exercise my dog. I only weighed myself once each week. I tried my best to get the right amount of Protein and Fluid in but it was really about 9 months before I could actually manage to do this. I was, and still am religious about not eating and drinking at the same time, or drinking my nutrients, the only nutrients I drink is my once a day skinny Cappuccino which is my morning snack and gives me 7gm of Protein. I stopped the Protein shakes at about 6 weeks post op mainly because they are carb loaded and they don't meet my no drinking nutrients guide lines. I took, and still take, Vitamin 'gummies' on most days. My blood levels have been great and I am sure this helps.
Now I am 14months post op I have weighed between 54 and 55kg (120-123lbs) for the last couple of months. I now no longer track on MFP because I pretty much eat the same or similar things each day. I still walk and have even been known to make a mad dash across a park to catch the dog! I have added some low GI things to stop myself from continuing to lose, mainly nuts and also things like 'low fat' instead of 'no fat' yoghurt and the occasional piece of 'fat' cheese, and I mean occasional, not daily or even weekly. I get about 60 - 70gms of protein each day and the rest of my diet is low GI, I eat fruit and small amounts of veggies and some bread and sweet potato, really a normal diet. I don't add or have any sugar apart form those that occur naturally in fruit and veggies. I can eat about 3/4 cup of food in one meal if it has dense protein and about a cup if not.
My butt must have been HUUUUUGE because I now have so much skin that when I sit, I sit on layers and folds of skin and it is very uncomfortable. So on November 17th I am having a butt lift and blephoroplasty (eyelid lift).
This is the best thing I have ever done in my life. I have a wonderful and supportive husband and family. I tell people if they ask sometimes and sometimes I don't. I don't really care what they think, part of the freedom of being 60!
There have been a lot of people on this forum along the way who have come and gone who helped without even knowing and I sincerely thank them. I have never been this skinny in my life and I love it!

But back to the original topic - When I first starting coming here, I didn't know how to use the site. I had a lot of clinical knowledge about surgery and statistics, and had great prep from my medical team, but I didn't have a lot of first hand, real life information. I got lots of great information and didn't need to ask those questions, because someone else always did, just like they are now. People usually answer, and you'll get a variety of responses. So, while you can search, it's a little less interactive that way. Some people probably need the interactive support group environment, as opposed to a research type of interaction.
As for the ability or inability to enjoy or even realize it's a "journey", I think that comes with time for many people. It takes a long time to really figure out how weight loss works for some people, particularly if they have not been successful. I think most people understand it's not magic or automatic, but no one wants to find that they are the only one it "won't work" for. When you are eating almost nothing compared to what you used to eat and have so far to go and have no history to tell you it will be OK, I think it's normal to get a little worried. In the beginning, I was sure every pound I lost would be the last. I still think that, lol!
And one other thing about the "hurry". Once we've made up our minds, we want to see progress. It's human nature to want instant gratification. It's one of the reasons we eat. And quite truthfully, of you are like me, you can put on weight WAY faster than you can lose it. I've found it much easier to be patient at this weight than at 300 pounds. At least I can look and feel pretty good while I'm waiting to finish my "journey". And I say "finish" because that's how I feel. I want to check the box. Goal accomplished. Complete what I set out to do. Then I can start the next "journey". For me, it's easier to handle in smaller doses.
So, when I get tired of the daily question about "it's been 2 weeks and I've only lost 20 pounds, I just smile and move on. There's also an abundance of people on here who are new experts, and I just let them take it

I was 59 when I had my surgery 10 months ago. I am now at goal and have lost over 100lbs. Yes saggy skin, yes wrinkles but no fibromyalgia, no aching knees and little chance of developing the diabetes that both of my parents had. My husband still loves me, saggy skin and all ! I feel great and have more energy and better health. This is the best thing I have ever done for myself. Go for it and best of luck!

The thread is this whole set of comments following the original post - OP. A single comment is a post. Me answering your questions on this thread is called a hijack! However I can't leave you feeling miserable and depressed so here are a few ideas. Did you track to lose the weight? Whether you did or not start tracking. Most people use My Fitness Pal, but a pencil and paper would do. Can you go back to the surgeon and see if you need a refill or whatever they do? I had the Gastric Sleeve so I am not sure about Bands. Did you have a dietician or nutritionist? Can you go back to that person or find a new one? Is there a support group near you? Your Surgeons office will be able to tell you about these. Did you exercise to lose? Whether you did or not start right now, even if you just walk for half an hour each day. Are you able to keep bad food choices out of your home? Can you make your home a little safe island away from these bad food choices? About feeling pretty, I completely understand. I wear a BB cream and lipstick every single day now. There is something about putting lipstick on that makes me feel good! Weird huh? Hope this helps you get back on track and sorry OP, about the hijack.
Love Jen.

I think what happens to people is that this surgery becomes so much a last chance thing and if you fail what then? I, for one, have failed at so many diets over my time that I know failure better than success, a stall or a gain would definitely have signified the beginning of failure for me and if I had no where else to turn I would come to this forum for comfort. I can see that for some people there is not time to sit back and smell the roses while meditating over the journey. Sometimes co-morbidities are so overwhelming that time taken is important, some people are older when they find out about or save up enough for the surgery.
I am not saying you shouldn't feel frustrated about some of these posts, I am just trying to help you understand why some people need to post . Another thing I have noticed is that people post using different Apps or even devices and with some of the Apps for some devices it is quite hard to find your way around the forum so searching becomes a problem so they start a new thread, or they are so new to the forum and they want some instant reassurance. I too get frustrated with some of these people so I just move on to another thread, but sometimes I am in a better mood to cope and might try to help them. About yoga, I would love to learn but so far have not found out where to go to learn, so far everyone I have met is an expert and they can't even tell me where to begin. Now that I am thin enough to contemplate wearing the required clothes and old enough to not care what I look like in them, or what I look like doing the poses, I am quite interested in a beginner class.