ausmith

Thanks! I am back at my lowest weight and slowly inching down. Size 8 jeans in Australia sizes so size 4 US. Size 10C bra! Who would have thought? I started at a 20DD and should have probably been an E! About 3 kg from ultimate dream goal.

Hang in there this is the time you need to be strong because the sleeve WILL get you into onederland. Just try not to stress about it. This is very different from anything you have tried before. If you stick to the plan and keep moving the weight will eventually start to move again. I know because the same is happening to me but I look at my husband who was done at the same time as I was and he is already at goal. Frustrating but a great motivator to me to show me it does work just faster for some.

Hey group!! Hope everyone is well and I wanted to tell you that I finally hit onederland a few days ago and am officially 100lbs down from surgery day Oct 7th. Yay!!

I am within 10 pounds of my goal and recently went to my nut to determine how to stop my weight loss in a healthy manor. (I'm well aware of the wrong ways)
She had me increase my calories right away to 1500/day (from 1200) and increase carbs to about 160/day. She wanted to slow down my weight loss to 1 pound / week and that has happened .
Upon reaching goal she wants me to increase daily calories to 1900 and carbs to 200. Wants me to get the additional calories from increased fruit, grains, and almonds.

Got a new haircut.

Just wanted to check in, I had my breast lift/augmentation and lower body Lipo last Monday - 6 days ago. Everything went great! I got 325 cc subglandular anatomical style Gummy bear (silicone) implants, right now my chest measures about 1" bigger than it was in a supportive bra pre-op. They look huge and round naked, but in clothing, you honestly can't tell I had my breasts done. I went to a party last night and wore a pretty form-fitting non-stretchy dress that I have worn in the past and it fit just fine! Obviously, my size will probably go down a bit in the next few weeks, but I expect to either remain a D or maybe go up to DD after this. I'm glad I won't have to buy a whole new wardrobe. But I bought a very basic sports bra yesterday and had to go for the L even though I would normally wear an M because of my ribcage width.
In regards to lipo, he removed 1500 cc total, the majority of it actually came from my hips/saddlebags, which is interesting because both of us were expecting to get a lot more from my inner thighs/knees. He even seemed a bit hesitant to go into my hips/saddlebags because he thought it was more loose skin rather than fat and he didn't want to worsen how I looked, but evidently, both of us were wrong!
I'm obviously still quite a bit swollen, but it's coming down nicely. I have lost 3.8 lbs in 5 days since the surgery even though I certainly have overeaten for a day or two. Right now, my hips, inner thigh crease, and knees are already the same measurements as pre-op, and my mid-thighs are *drumroll* 2" smaller!!! I went shopping at H&M the other day and had no problem fitting into their pants - before, the cut wouldn't work for me at all since their pants are cut for straight, lean legs. My surgeon said he was very conservative with lipo-ing my inner thighs because of the loose skin, but the results have certainly been great as far as I'm concerned!
The bruising is gnarly and I have a fair bit of pain first thing in the morning, but I've been taking Percocet for sleep and a Tramacet here and there during the day, and I'm doing fine. I've been doing all my regular activities save for working out. I went back to work today, after preloading with some Tramacet, and it was ok!
My first pre-op appointment is the day after tomorrow, so I'm looking forward to having the dressings removed and seeing how my breast lift turned out.

Hi everyone,
HW 289 SW 274 CW 194 10/15/13... Still tracking, keeping calories under 1000, Protein intake is good, daily workouts but pretty much stalled out for quite a while now. Feeling good but so slowwww.

I always said I would have photos of me and my daughter together, because I have very few of my own mother. My mom HATED her picture taken. She would very rarely be in them, and mostly only candid shots taken before she could object. When she died I scrambled to find all the pictures I could of her, and there wasn't many. Therefore I always said I would do better by my own daughter, because once we are gone that is one of the only thing left for our survivors. I know I don't care how my mom looked in pictures, all I see is the mom I love and miss. Yet I have found that I too have problems being in the picture. I am hyper critical of my appearance, especially being morbidly obese. In the past five years we have had our pictures taken together twice. Well this weekend we had another round of pictures done. So far I have only received one sneak peek, but I am super thrilled with it. I am only half way to goal right now, but the pictures show such a difference. I love this shot and can only hope the rest are as good! Thought I would share...

Went to my appt. My doctor told me two things that I'll never forget
1: toss my scale out the window and quit looking at at the numbers!!
2: listen to my body!! Watch my protein/carbs/and water!!
He was so happy with my progress and told me if I went to the waiting room and told others my problem about worrying about losing 80lbs in a year they would throw something at my head!! LoL
I have done good and I guess I just needed to hear him say it. Thanks for the kind feedback and I'm so glad I have this site to vent to.
Night all!!

I will share and they should be here any day now.
I do think a nutrients issue could definitely trigger a mild depression but I think the truth is a lifetime of anxiety has been stuffed down with food and is now coming home to roost so to speak. I am doing great at the moment and learning (i hope) to retrain my brain how to react.
Yesterday was my kiddos college graduation so I spent the whole ceremony plus a dinner party after with my ex husband his girlfriend his mother and other relatives PLUS my ex boyfriend of 15 years who is the kids step dad PLUS other relatives. I wondered how stressed I would feel with all the ex's etc. but I felt great, no anxiety and a huge appetite. It was a wonderful day as it should be -very proud of my boy.

Thanks evryone. I'm still waiting for Dr Daoud to come and see me and tell me what he will do

Hi guys, sorry I haven't been around for a while. I do read the posts as they come on my phone. I have been living my life lol. Well today is my 12 month mark!! I can't believe it's been 12 months haha. What a journey to have made. Getting my sleeve done was the best thing I have ever done. Here are my stats from last year and today:
3/6/2013: Weight: 135.1kg...
Bust: 128cm
Waist: 130cm
Hips: 152cm
NOW for TODAY:
3/06/2014: Weight: 89.4kg
Bust: 104cm
Waist: 99cm
Hips: 114cm

All up I have lost 53.1kg that is from the first day of my pre op that was 2 weeks long. Plus overall I have lost 165.5cm over my body!!! Look I haven't done as good as I should have over the last 2 months but that's ok a I'm only human. And here's to the next 12 months
Oh and for those of you who have PCOS well there is light at the end of the tunnel.......I have been told I no longer have PCOS I only have PCO which is great!!! My ovaries are normal and my husband and I have started our second round of IUI to have our first child, so watch this space

Well done to everyone who has had their sleeve done you are all doing great!!! And good luck to everyone who is going to get it done soon. It was the best thing I did for myself.

Cheers
Bec

Loose skin is only an issue naked. I looked like crap naked before and even with loose skin and saggy boobs I look heaps better. Id rather be healthy with loose skin around my belly than fat and unhealthy. I am not gung-ho about plastic surgery but it is on the table if I decide I want to pursue it. My loose skin has not held me back at all. I'm wearing size 6-8 or small. Started at a 22. Running 20 km per week.

So it's been a while but wanted to update since it's been a year since my sleeve-
Hit goal weight last month and kinda bounce between 153 and 157 now as I'm in maintenance from my high weight of 253
Good luck to all of you starting out and keep up the good work to everyone!!

Thanks so much I am glad that you have found my posts useful!!! I know that I used to be addicted to this site and I still read every post (as they come in an email alert) but because I haven't installed the app on my phone since the site changed, I don't respond as much as I used to!
I will definitely be keeping an eye on the site but from tomorrow I will be maintaining "radio silence" as I am moving and getting internet connected might take a week or two. But I will be back online Just watch this space!!
Best wishes to you all! Cheers, Liss

Hi everyone,
Sorry it has been so long since I have posted. It has been ridiculously busy here. So many changes!!
For those of you who don't know me, here are my stats:
Starting weight - 173kg
Date of surgery - 4.9.12
Months since surgery - 21 months
Current weight - 76kg
Surgeons Goal weight - 93kg
Goal weight - 69kg
Height - 175cm
Exercise - I have this ongoing issue with exercise. I do really well for a while and then it all falls in a heap. But I wonder if that isn't normal I make sure that I do my weight training and basic yoga exercises (about 20 minutes) every day but I had been running but that has fallen by the wayside recently.
food - I am going to be really honest. I do not make awesome choices every time. I try to make good choices most of the time but to be honest some days are better than others. I worry about this sometimes but again, when I think about my friends who are normal weight, they do the right thing most of the time and have little "splurges". It is funny, but I get really concerned by eating foods that used to be a problem for and tend to try to avoid them at all costs. My main weakness is flake chocolate. It has been forever. I can't eat much (one small piece at a time) but I have some pretty much every day. I am still losing weight which is great. I probably would lose more faster at this stage if I exercised more and skipped the chocolate but I am not really all that worried about that. It is more that I get concerned I will fall back into bad habits.
I wonder if this is something other sleevers experience?
I wonder if I fear that it is all too good to be true and it will go back to the way it was before. It's been almost two years but I still live with this concern.
I admit that I weigh myself every day (I know, probably not healthy). I don't make food decisions based on the scale but if I have several days in a row, I look closely at my food journal to see if there is a pattern that I should be concerned about.
The flip side to this is that I still forget to eat lol. You would think I had learned by now, but I almost passed out at work today. It was not just that I hadn't eaten yet today but the fact that I haven't been eating properly for several days. I have been stressed and busy (explanation a little further along) and I just haven't been hungry. Plus I have mostly been eating steamed veggies this week because they don't seem to cause me any nausea, like other foods have been. Anyway, I know it was my own fault what happened today but it was a good wake up call that I have to take better care of myself.
So the reason for the stress and excitement is that I got a new job promotion, this time back in QLD working in Toowoomba and I move on WEDNESDAY!! It is so exciting and I am very pleased but it has been very busy on this end getting things ready both at work and at home.
Finally, the other exciting news is that I am going on a holiday to Fiji in July. Before the surgery I would never have gone but now I am so excited about looking for a wardrobe to wear whilst I am away and I am already thinking about where else I would like to go in the future!!
I think that is the thing that the sleeve has done for me - the barriers that I have put on myself most of my adult life are now gone. I have to challenge my "old" thinking and try new things and it is thrilling, exciting. I am so pleased that I had the sleeve, even though it was a sucky beginning to things, but my life is so much better now, I still find it hard to believe!
So for those of you new sleevers - congratulations and welcome. I found the first few weeks incredibly hard but it will get better.
For those of you on the forum who are thinking about it, know that we often talk about the difficulties on here but we often forget about the triumphs and it can give a skewed perception of life post-sleeve. I can't tell you how much better my life is now - and it is worth every second of difficulty to get here.
For those of you that are interested, here is a current photo and a before shot
Wishing you all the best and looking forward to catching up with you soon!!!
Best wishes, Lissa

Thats great your doing well. I had surgery on wed at about 12 and when I woke up In recovery I had really bad nausea. I was dry reaching and it was horrible. Thankfully I didn't vomit but it was awful. It stayed with me til late Thursday nite and then suddenly I felt better.
Now I feel fine. My dr doesn't give nexium once we leave hospital but I did have to take them there and they were horrible to swallow. When I take my panadol it takes me bout 20 mins to get them down. It's the worst when they get stuck.
I have to have 50 grms of Protein a day so it is such a mission trying to down my opti. I have got it down to 45 mins! I am going to chemist today to find a more higher Protein source. Haven't even attempted a coffee yet as my dr said to get my opti in before other fluids! I did make some pumpkin Soup last night and it was soo awesome.
Haven't lost any weight yet from the surgery but I had actually gained weight when I got back from hosp. Funny really but I know it's from all the Fluid we are retaining, but I was back down to pre surgery weight yesterday. A total of 7.4 kgs In just over 2 weeks is nothing to complain about!
My hubby works away and is not back til the 16th of June so I want to have reached 10 kgs by then!!
Take it easy:)
Ps breast feeding is going great!! So it is totally possible

Hi Hayley my husband and I were sleeved 22/10/13 in Brisbane with Dr Lockie. We did lots of research and decided that he was the Dr along with his team that best suited us. We were living over seas and came back to Aus for the surgery. My husband has already at goal and I still have 25kg to go. So I know it works because I am living with the proof. We were interested in the band at first but decided against it because of the upkeep ie fills etc we wanted something permanent that once it was done we could get on with our new healthy lives. Which we are doing. Good Luck to you and I look forward to hearing about your journey.

It's true a the way to get a perfect fit is with a practice run in throw away fabric, a muslin. I'm considering sewing in advance of weight loss for a couple of reasons: motivation, relaxation, a strategy to keep from worrying/obsessing/(no idol hands, you know). It is risky in that I could get it wrong and have a beautiful garment I can't wear. On the other hand, I could give it away as a gift and that always fills my heart - so it's not like it would be terrible.
Much love to all my BP friends! Happy sewing or (whatever you do to relax)! Shellie

You have so much to look forward to with a skill like that. I am 7mths out and have spent years having cloths made when I go to Asia to make sure I have cloths that fit. I have no idea what size I am I have lost 80lb and going back in 2 weeks to have cloths made again. I think stretchy is the way to go for the first few months because your shape will be changing daily. Maybe keep the really great fabric for a few special goal outfits at different sizes. Like when you get to a 16 have a beautiful outfit waiting and then as an extra celebration plan somewhere to wear it. I would LOVE to be able to sew beautiful things. Good Luck with your journey

I had a rough day too. Broke down and bought donut holes. (very very bad...) first day this happened to me. I am usually really obedient. But I did log my food (all 630 calories of the donut holes... Sheesh), and reflected on what I did wrong. I guess in the end I'm grateful that the sleeve stopped me from turning my 630 calorie mistake into the pre-surgical 2000 calorie mistake.
Crappy day. Definitely a "failure". And I suppose it won't be the last.
So I take each day in stride and generally do my best. If I thought about how I was going to stop from "failing" again for the rest if time, I'd go nuts. But you know what? I'm pretty sure I'll be good tomorrow. And tomorrow is something I can control.
Hang in there...!

OMG.. I forgot about the lions!! The boy was too scared to hold the big one so I "manned up."
I love this sleeve!!!

Pic to the left is today, 7month PO, Center is "before", pic to the right is 6 months

I didn't read the 5 pages of replies, as I felt they were personal and for you. I will say that I'm a firm believer that cancer is just pure evil. Please take the time to take care of yourself, I know that is hard, but the more you take care of yourself, the more you can take care of your Bear. I lost my father to an inoperable brain tumor when I was 12, and then my grandfather (an angel in my eyes) when I was only 20. Cancer ravaged the men in my life, and it was very hard for me to grieve and let the anger go, it took me several years to allow myself to love my husband, out of fear that he too would leave me too soon.
I believe the coffee maybe a factor in the reflux, there are several low acid coffees on the market, and they really do make a difference. Also ask about protonix, it's cheap, has been around forever and works really great on acid.
I also have a suggestion for the fudgesicles, buy sugar free pudding mix, and make it with almond milk, freeze in popsicle molds and have those, they are only a few calories and really help boost Protein intake. I lived on them during my "whole liquid stage" You could also get the pre-made sugar free puddings and freeze them, they are more limited in flavors, and are about double the portion of a popsicle mold but much easier. I make them for my daughter and her friends, sometimes we layer chocolate and banana, or cheesecake pudding with strawberry and cream pudding. I will make the cheesecake for myself and the girls with crush oreo's into theirs. Since I don't care for oreos (I know I'm un American) I'm not tempted.
Last but not least know that your bariatric family is here, we may be miles away, but we are never more than a keyboard and monitor from you. Prayers and love to your family tonight, and always~Mandy
PS: feel free to email me, my address is in my signature. I'm online and check my mail several times a day. Even if you just need to vent, or want someone to tell you that you are stronger than you realize. (((hugs)))

Six months after 10-14-13, I am at GOAL! I really didn't believe it would happen, and I would've been happy to be within 10 lbs of my original goal... but I made it! I debated even getting the sleeve at my age (60) and weight (60 lbs to lose), admonishing myself that I *should* be able to do it! Now I am Sooooo Glad I made that trip to Mexico!
I feel GREAT, and I look forward to healthy years ahead, which is why I did this. It's an extra Plus to look better, too!!! I post this pic just as an encouragement for anyone considering the sleeve, whatever your age. If you're 50 lbs or more overweight, it's worth it, even if insurance won't cover the cost.
p.s. The other day, my 9-year-old grandson described someone to his mom as "tall & thin like Grammy" ~ which made me realize my grandkids will never remember me any other way!!! That made me smile all week long! :-)