Lissa_S

HI Sarah - not sure about the issue of stretching but I was told that there is a greater chance of the sleeve stretching if you eat and drink at the same time. I also understand that different doctors make the sleeve different sizes. Could be yours is just a bit bigger than others. With regards to how much others eat, I wouldn't sweat it. I am a good example - can I eat one dim sim. Not a chance. Maybe I could do half? But that would be iffy. It's too dense for me (meat). Maybe if I ate over an hour (also apparently not a good idea) I could do a half. But remember - I had the leak, extra stomach removed to fix said leak and restaple and then two months where I didn't eat (on TPN) so my stomach shrivelled up even further. I am NOT a person who you should compare yourself to. That's the thing - you don't know what other things are contributing to other people's ability to eat or not eat as much as you. Just focus on feeling well, healthy and making the best choices you can. It will all come together for you Best wishes, Lila

Hi guy's I weighed myself at work today and I am down to 117kg from 163kg (day of surgery) and 173kg at my biggest. I am really stoked with how the weight is still coming off though I am noticing it is slowing down a little. I suspect that might be a good thing If I can average a kilo a week from now on, I should still reach my surgeon's goal by September. And be pretty close to "my goal" too (only about 7-8kg away). I have applied for a promotion at work - wouldn't have done that before the surgery. It's a big step up in terms of my role and what I will be doing will be less clinical but it is quite exciting. Before this kind of job where you had to go and attend meetings with people (strangers) would have ruled out this work for me. But now, I feel confident enough to be able to do this really well. Its quite exciting Anyway, I just thought I would share what's going on with me. Hope you're all well!! Cheers, Lila

As someone that had a leak and subsequent months in hosptial, I wanted to talk about my experience and decided not to after reading some of the posts as well as experiencing a little of this backlash. Not as bad as I've read recently and no one said that I was a faker but still, pretty judgemental stuff. So i stopped posting on all but one thread (you know who you are) and they've been amazing supports. I guess it is just about finding your place

Hi Sarah - sorry to hear about the weight loss. It must be very frustrating. I agree with Kelli though - myfitnesspal or something similar might be a good option for you. It will let you know how you are going and I've found it makes me accountable. Also, you're not that far out from having the surgery are you? it could just be one of those things your body does to adjust to it's new situation. I don't know how often you are weighing yourself but maybe if you pushed it out to monthly to cut yourself some slack you mightn't worry about it so much and perhaps it will help to restart the losses. Cortisol (stress hormone) activates a heap of neurological and biological processes when produced and one of them is to store fat cause the system is under stress. That's not helpful for weight loss So the less stress the better!! Lastly - geez I am just full of ideas aren't I - it could just be that you need to work out what your body wants now with the sleeve (i.e more Protein, fruit, carbs etc). Everybody reports something different that works for them so it could just be you're working out what it is that works for you. Good luck! Cheers, Lila

Oh my goodness that is amazing! Congratulations, you must feel incredible! I hope you are planning something spectacular to reward yourself!!

Feeling vegetable deprived so decided to make myself a fresh tomato, zuccini and basil penne. No protein except for the little bit of cheese I might pop on top which isn't great but I am craving veggies Was just going to boil them up but decided to try something different. Will let you know how it goes - I don't expect to eat too much cause it's pasta but I hope it might be a nice change from my protein heavy diet of the past little while!

Ugh so annoyed. I used to really love cheese and crackers. It was my go to thing when i couldn't eat anything else. Now, since my taste buds have changed so much since the surgery, the cheese is too strong/ salty. And it's just plain old cheddar. i even tried 'plastic" cheese and it was no good either. Sigh. On the upside, fruit has never tasted so good lol Just not a lot of protein in fruit

Hope all in QLD are dry and well! Thinking of you all!

Happy Australia Day all It didn't start raining here until this afternoon so we've been lucky by the looks of it! Hope everyone had a fun and safe Aust Day!!

I didn't have the band but went straight for the sleeve. i had complications and a two month hospital stay. BUT I am four and a half months out from my original surgery and have lost almost 55 kg. The tracker below will give you this in pounds (I'm an Aussie so we use metric lol). Though I wouldn't recommend the surgery to anyone, after my own experience even with the complications, I can't argue with the amazing results Good luck with your decision! Don't take it lightly but don't be scared either - be very sure before you proceed. Trust me, you need to have been very clear with yourself why you're doing this particularly if things go wrong, cause it will help you through the tough times. Cheers, Lila

Hi SwiftKate - I struggled with this really badly when I first started fluids etc. In the end, the dietician told me to take some Immodium to stop it and even now, there are times that I have to do this. It's only been like this since the surgery. I agree with the other advice and am glad you've spoken to your surgeon however if you become concerned, don't be worried about contacting your surgeon. That is what they're there for. And if the worst case scenario is that you wasted a little time and money getting it checked out, then that's great. But if it is something else, don't wait until you end up back in OR or ICU You know I speak from experience!!

First gym session since surgery this afternoon - it's going to be difficult But I think it will be good once i am back training - need to get rid of my flabby arms!!

I don't get cravings so much (yet) and it is funny that my favourite thing pre-sleeve was Pasta and now I don't want it at all. I occassionally will have a little of someone else's pasta (a spoonful) but then I am done. I am thinking that this is one of the biggest changes for me with the sleeve - no cravings and if I do indulge, it's so small an amount I don't sweat it Seth - there were lots of times after surgery that I wondered why the hell I'd done this to myself. But that feeling does go, well it did for me and I am pretty sure for most people here. There are still times even now though where I think I'd like a massive serve of whatever - you don't get that sense of satisfaction from food that I got (all the time, which was my problem lol). When I eat now, I enjoy what I eat but it's different. Before, I was already thinking about my next meal before I finished the one I was eating - now, I honestly couldn't care less. In fact, I find it easier not to eat than to force myself to eat something at a meal time. If I don't force myself I get really shaky and a nasty headache (like I have now - stupid to miss breakfast), so it can be a bit of a catch 22. But as someone who lived with constant hunger and food obsessions, the pemanency of this was brilliant for me. I can't in good conscience recommend the surgery to anyone, given my own experience however will say that in spite of all that happened, now I am over all of it, I don't regret having the sleeve for a single second!!

Hi welcome to the group and congrats on your amazing loss so far!

Woohoo! I am out of the 120's! As of today, I am 118.8kg! I honestly can't remember when I was this weight. Spoke to my dietician today - she is stoked with my weight loss but a bit concerned about my low calorie count. But she had really reasonable suggestions on how to increase it - now I just have to give it a shot Hope everyone else is going well!! Aussiegirl, I am glad to hear you're doing better. Kelli - hope you're feeling better and that the weight starts to move. Cheers, Lila

Good job Aussie Lady Thanks for starting the thread - I usually avoid most other posts besides our Aussie one because people can be really mean and judgemental - it's why I stopped blogging actually on this site. Though (now I am being judgemental) I don't understand why people would post to this thread just to say they don't "believe" in it! What you're posting isn't mythical, it's just basic courtesy! Anyway happy to be here

You're right - I didn't look at that closely enough. I will go in and change the settings manually as suggested Yikes, it will make my protein levels even worse than they already were!

I just joined myfitnesspal too I am way under my suggested calories so I am going to have to try to work harder on that I love that it tracks my protein etc though!

Oh I just read your later post - not eating enough can mess up your weight loss as much as over eating apparently

LOL I know it would be a tiny cheat meal, but if you've been pretty restrictive during the rest of the week then it might be enough to still jump start the weight loss again

Hey Kelli - I am four months out and haven't hit a stall (YET) but you know that my situation wasn't "normal", so a bit like Deano, what I am eating probably isn't relavent. I think a food diary is a great idea but I wonder if it isn't kinda normal cause you are getting pretty close to your goal weight. Which is awesome (that you're close to goal) but sucks and must be frustrating as heck. This is going to sound bonkers, but a friend of mine who lost a lot of weight said that when she hit a long stall, her trainer told her she wasn't getting enough calories in. So she had a "cheat meal" once per week - something calorific that apparently "shocked" her body into burning more calories over the whole week and she said it really worked for her. Not sure if it applies for you but perhaps something to consider? I am dreading a stall or even worse a gain, but I am sure that is all part of it as well. Good luck Kelli and I hope things start moving for you again really soon. Oh I just remembered, remember when I was in hospital and there was a few weeks where I gained weight even though I'd been fed via drip for ages. It didn't make any sense - dietician said it was all the Fluid so given it's hot, maybe that's a part of it too - fluid retention. Anyway good luck Cheers, Lila

LOL yep I haven't weighed this week though - was going to this afternoon but spent it in ED/ XRAY getting my nephew's foot fixed after what he tells me was an "awesome" leap off the picnic table at summer camp. Apparently the landing wasn't quite as awesome So I am hoping it's a little close to 110

Me too Deano I try to have six meals per day - in this heat though, I am lucky to get two in...but in theory, I'm supposed to have six small meals a day (as directed by my surgeon).

Congrats!! Where abouts on the Coast are you getting yours done? I had mine done by Dr Silverman at John Flynn. Dr Silverman was awesome!!

Hi Puppyphat, I think that you look amazing! Honestly, I can't ever imagine weighing 58kg, even after all my weight loss. So I think you should be really proud of getting basically to your goal. With regards to the comments of others, it is really hard. If I was wearing my psychologist hat (sorry for this), I'd ask myself not why I didn't think people are proud of me but why I am looking to others to be proud. We all do it but maybe you could start to look at why you're externalising feelings which really are only internal one's. Pride in yourself can only come from yourself. It's really about self-confidence and self-esteem. Like, what does it mean if they aren't proud of me even after I've lost the weight? What does it say about my relationships? Or you could just write them off as jealous b-atches lol. Anyway, from looking at your photo's you look really healthy not sick. People will get used to it and before you know it, it will cease being an issue Cheers, Lila