Madam Reverie

It's all cracking until one starts crying and the other one starts spewing Sleeve or no sleeve laura-ven can hold her tequila Ok imma going to have to imagine your pretty eyes to go with the rest of the fabulousness I'm seeing... : Don't kill me I can't draw! LOL Brilliant! The sad thing about that? You're actually not far wrong from reality.. Could have just done with a few fine red veins where the alcohol had started getting into my system!

I don't do full disclosure on t'internet. You and the girls look like you're having a cracking time, btw!

I nearly broke my ankle instead.. In fact, we're not sure whether I need to go and get it x-rayed. Its black and blue and quite a bit swollen where it shouldn't really be. Odd shaped. I am looking at it as I type.. All wrapped up in a bandage with my hue of blue toes pointing out at the bottom. It's a bit of a mess! Least I didn't feel much when I did it!

As of today, I am officially 'Overweight'. That's not 'Obese', or 'Morbidly Obese'... But 'Overweight'. Take THAT! Christmas and your calorie rich food which I have thus managed to avoid so far... (Large-scale Guinness consumption being thoroughly overlooked) (Before it all went horribly wrong and I fell over in my four inch heels due to an 'unforeseen' crack in the pavement - Classy 'till the last )

I'm getting it on my hip bones when I wake up... Its not nice... and also my shoulders... I was actually giving consideration to get some of that padding they use for people who are bed-bound, it's that sore!

This is an average - seeing as we're right in the middle of Christmas and all rules go out of the window. Breakfast - Protein shake or Protein bar - both 20gs of protein, so all good. Failing that - an egg and perhaps a sausage and cooked tomato and perhaps some baked Beans or mushrooms lunch - Small tortilla, deli ham/chicken/sweetcorn, lettuce, tomatoes, onions, smearing of salad cream. Cut in half, eat in two goes. dinner - Roasted meat (chicken drumstick/lamb chop), half a very small jacket potato, mixed salad, smearing of salad cream. Snacks - pot of yoghurt, nuts, dried cranberries - that sort of thing.

Welcome to the madness and the best of luck for your surgery. Nice touch on the first class, btw... You'll be grateful for that

Charideeeeeeee for the day-to-day stuff. For the 'not so' day-to-day, I shall consider selling the stuff that I know my larger friends won't want - or would like, but know they wouldn't wear... (No point in offering a red floor length leather coat by Anna Scholtz to people who are fairly conservative) If you want them to go to a 'good home' and rather than making them feel self conscious about their size? Why not have a girly 'get-together', with all your stuff hung up on a couple of racks. Fill them full of wine and canapes and ask them to help themselves? Or even get them to bring some of their stuff over for a 'swap shop'.. I don't think any of us will recoup the money we spent on most of our items, but if you managed to swap something for something else that might not be in the same price bracket, but appeals to you for this season? Might be a winner?

The difference between symbolism and 'actual'?! Pah.. who cares?!

Yep, that's a seriously cute baby

eggs, to me, sank in my stomach like a brick. Could only eat half an egg - at best. Roasted meats and veggies and gravy made me feel like a normal human being. It was the best feeling ever

and don't panic, Jim. We've all been there. Just holla whenever you need to ask anything.

In the pureed stage, you're looking for the consistency of runny custard. So, make the mash a bit watery with extra milk and perhaps cheese (I struggled with cheese early on) and make sure the chicken is so well cooked, it disintegrates in the gravy like you would see it in canned Soup. I am not sure about canned 'salad' consistency, because I don't use canned foods. As for Tuna, I think you might find that a bit fibrous. I'd go with the chicken mash and gravy option first and work your way up to the others.

EVERYONE gets the jitters. Put the video out of your mind. Deep breath, head down and ATTACK!!! You can do this, honey. Walk into that hospital with your head held high, distract yourself with things to do until the time, then you only have one mission, which is to rock it. As the military say - Failure, is NOT an option... As for your son - give him lots of love and hugs - because he's right. You brought life into this world, Lady?! This is going to be a cake-walk x

Jim, Laura is absolutely right. Do you have children? If so, when they were wee little babies, what did you feed them? To add to what Laura has told you, go on google, search 'baby food recipes' and go from there. Or search 'recipe's' or 'pureed stage' in the forum topics and there are a plethora of food ideas on there. If you're on a tight budget and have to cook for the whole family - or even just the two of you - as Laura said; boil a chicken, shred it, make instant mash and a bit of gravy. Cant go wrong with that and it'll taste heavenly. It'll also last you for quite a few days.... if it's cooking techniques you're both unsure of - let us know what you'd like to eat (within reason, of course!) and we might be able to give you step-by-step instructions on what to do when you get the raw ingredients to the kitchen.

if it was me, I'd be going on mushies now. I ate prawn cocktail in marie-rose sauce 11 days out. Chewed it like anything and it felt good - really good. The real Protein made me feel like a new human being. Before anyone flails me, I got approval for it from the surgeon and the bariatric nurse. Whatever you eat, take it really slowly and chew like a mofo... Mushies should be the consistency of runny custard. Don't worry about calories too much at this stage. You physically won't be able to get down so many that it'll detrimentally impact upon your weight loss. Unless, of course, you start sucking down chocolate and ice cream. That way lies grave danger. Jim, I wouldn't worry too much. You got a food plan from your doctor, didn't you? If not, stick to the basics. Very lean meat, nothing too spicy/seasoned, vegetables well boiled and the whole lot blitzed beyond recognition in a blender. Stay away from crap like processed burgers/fried foods. They will make you sick. Think healthy baby-food. Once you get on them, you'll feel very different and the nutrients will do you good.

6oz yoghurt is a good size, for 11 days out. What stage are you at? Mushies? Maybe you should consider getting some very lean minced up Protein with some veggies boiled to smithereens in it. I betcha anything, your ability to eat 6oz of yoghurt will NOT be representative of when you hit mushies with some real protein in it. You'll be maxing out on 3oz - if you're lucky. Have you considered a PPI for excess acid? And drinking a bit more Water?

Oops, poor family! I tend to try and vent mine against inanimate objects - like the bath, with a scrubbing brush. If I have to 'engage' with humans when I'm angry, particularly the 'offender' my tongue can be quite unrelentingly vicious. Clean floors all round? Don't mind if I do!

I was hungry every 2.5 hours. I still am. It wasn't head hunger - it was real hunger. I make sure that in between my 'meals', I have stuff available which is Protein rich and calorie rich. Generally nuts and a bit of dried fruit. Failing that, a yoghurt. I was worried this might be classified as 'grazing' - but I was informed by my nutritionist, it isn't. When I was early out and in between my protein shakes/drinks, I'd have a mouthful of ambrosia custard. It went in nicely, stayed down nicely and gave me the little boost of energy I needed. Don't fret about it. Find something that is in the house that works for you at this juncture. As long as the texture is right and in line with your plan, you will not be doing yourself any long-term damage. If the kids yoghurts are there? I suggest you eat them. 11 days out, a kids yoghurt will do you for three 'snacking' sessions anyway

Some might not consider this productive.. But if it is possible - don't feel hurt - get angry. Take the energy you get from being angry and do something productive with it; decorate the house, clean the kitchen, steam your floors, take down the curtains and wash them. Might seem a bit bonkers, but not only do you vent some of those feelings out, you're left with a beautiful sparkling house. I think the official term for this is 'displacement' activity. In my experience, the moment I stop is the moment I wallow and the moment I reach for something -anything. Go, fly my pretty.. duster and bleach in hand, scrub the ever living hell out of something and rationalise what happened whilst you're doing it. You'll feel much better. Those macadamia encrusted chocolate truffles just won't have the same positive effect... in fact, they will just compound matters and make you feel worse. Stay strong x

I wouldn't worry about it one jot. You need a little sustenance of any form in these very early days. sugar free is also pretty bad for your insides in large quantities and so early on ( and in my humble opinion).

Yay! The absolute best of luck to you! Let us know how you get on.

Glad to hear you got a diagnosis and everything is in hand. Must be a huge relief! Here's hoping you have a lovely Christmas and a peaceful New Year All the best,

Don't panic - the first 6 weeks, in truth, suck quite a bit. Once you get your head round it, it becomes much easier. Hang on in there and if you feel something is 'wrong', be sure to get it checked ASAP. Nirvana is just around the corner

That's awesome, you clearly have a high pain threshold. Carry on as you are, but be mindful that something happened inside you which was quite dramatic. Wouldn't want you attempt to run a marathon in week four and end up keeling over! Glad you're feeling good though! Yay!