Athenyx

I'll have a look and make sure there's nothing dubious looking there - better to be safe than sorry. Lol - ten hours feels long to me right now, I'm hoping I can just tune into some movies and forget about any discomfort!

Thanks for replying I've already chosen a window seat as I hate aisle seats - I'm tall so something always gets knocked - my elbow, my foot, my knee - depending on how I'm sitting. I was savvy and booked premium economy so I have extra leg room and a bigger seat, though I sit fine in normal seats really. I wasn't sure if it was okay to be taking things like immodium, but if others are and it's fine then i'll get some from the airport - thanks for the heads up!

Don't know how this repeated itself!

Heya It's a nice idea, and I'd like to, but I have people with access to my Facebook who I'd rather not know my personal business and if I joined a group like that then they would. I'm not ashamed to have had the surgery, but I view it as private - if asked I never lie, and everyone that matters to me knows and supports me, but I'm not the kind of person who shouts things from the roof tops, if you know what I mean? I'd sooner keep my really personal life off social media and away from FB stalkers, lol.

I'm at five and a half weeks and I don't manage to eat very much, but I can eat pretty much anything (healthy, that is!). A yogurt would probably fill me up, or not much more than one, and you just might be filling yourself up on that. What kind of foods have you been trying to eat that feel stuck?

I'm having the opposite problem! I'm five weeks post op and I did a general women's health blood test kit and it came back saying both my good and bad cholesterol were very low - I've been trying to think of ways to raise my good cholesterol with this diet but it's difficult! I think it must be something to do with my current diet but I'll probably check again in six months ???? best thing to do is make a few small changes and try checking again I'd say!

This is all stuff I'm eating on my blended but it might give you some ideas: Try some low fat cottage cheese (you can mix in a little sweet chilli sauce or some chopped cherry tomatoes), blend some meat (chicken or turkey or even white fish) with gravy and put it in your mash (potato, sweet potato or vegetables), order some special high Protein puddings or milkshakes (I got some vanilla puddings from protein.com and they were amazing - I think 15g of protein and around 100kcal), have scrambled eggs (a lot of protein in eggs, just crack two of 'em with seasoning in a pan), smooth porridge, low fat custard or rice pudding, low fat Greek yogurt, fromage frais, or tuna fish in low cal tomato sauce! Hope some of these help - if grits is high in carbs it probably doesn't help you much. Not that I've ever had it before!! And make sure you use very low fat cheese or milk and don't add butter to things! ????????????

I know normal is a relative term, but my first week post op I lost 4.5 lbs, second week I lost 6lbs, and then today I found out I'd only lost 3lbs this week. I say only, but I know 3lbs itself is also relative. It just seems disappointing compared to last weeks loss i guess. Is a drop in weight loss around week 3 a common thing? Is that the kind of loss I can expect each week from now on, or is it entirely random?

Don't give up hope - it'll happen. Our bodies have been through a lot when you think about it, they just need time to adjust. You'll see those pounds start dropping again soon as long as you keep doing everything right and it sounds like you definitely are ????

Hello everyone! I'm new on here, so I thought I'd follow the trend and introduce myself in the hopes of making some buddies! I'm Rachael, I've just turned 29 and I had my surgery done privately by Dr Christopher Wong at The Glen (Bristol Spire Hospital) on January 19th. I'm nearly at my three week post-op mark and feeling pretty positive (though I'm definitely having ups and downs in terms of my emotions - mostly due to other people's insensitive natures). I'm going to try swimming tomorrow, so I'm excited for that - I've been feeling like I really need to stretch my torso out a bit. I don't know if this is normal or not, but walking doesn't seem to help much. I do a mad little stretch-hula-hoop thing every time I get up now, which looks crazy but works wonders. I don't have an appetite, and haven't really felt hungry at all yet, so I have alarms set on my phone to remind me to eat some Protein, and I mentally remind myself to go get drinks in between. I only weigh myself on a Tuesday to mark the exact weekly anniversary of the surgery (I have an obsessive nature so I'm trying to pretend scales don't exist Wed-Mon), but last Tuesday I'd lost 21 lbs from the date of my pre-op appointment on the 6th Jan when I weighed 282 lbs. I'm a pretty healthy person, aside from the weight issue, but my weight has impacted on my life in a variety of other ways - mostly through depression and not being able to do the things I'd really like to, some of them so simple it's depressing in itself (as I'm sure many of you know). I'm actually a super positive and cheery person, and I so can't wait to not feel so self-conscious. I don't have a fixed job or address (my mum likes to joke that we have Romany blood) - I do some freelance academic proofreading, but ultimately I'm an aspiring novelist, which means I'm already pretty temperamental I love travelling and have just sold my latest apartment in order to do more - this weight loss will be accomplished from all over the world (fingers crossed). In terms of my journey to this point - my friend had the surgery in October 2014 and I've watched her as she lost nearly 11 stone. Essentially, she's partially responsible for my decision as she inspired me to give it a go! I've tried everything - different diets, fitness farms, gym work outs, personal trainers - nothing worked very well for me, and my depression just deepened. In November I decided I'd had enough, did some research and made a consult with Dr Wong. Initially I was going for the Gastric Band, but he pretty much filled my head with horror stories and sold me on the sleeve - and here I am two months later! The most helpful thing I've found, motivation wise, was something my nutritionist asked me to do. He made me write a list of all the things my weight stops me from doing, no matter how simple, and whenever I'm struggling I can look at it and tick them off once they're no longer an issue! Well, I'll stop rambling now, but if anyone wants to chat I'm always around! Good luck everyone!

Try it with a dollop of sweet chilli sauce - I usually have it on oatcakes or crackers but if you're on blended those are out for the time being

Yeah, that's the theory behind it ???? body thinks we're starving it so it holds onto the fat for stores rather than let it go! It gets better though - I didn't so much stall as slow down and worry myself over nothing ???? I know better now. Even if we don't lose for a week, or slow down, as long as we're doing the right things there's nothing to worry about - you'll be fine!

It gets better girls!! I'm at the end of my 4th week now and the scales told me I've lost 4 lbs this week! Hopefully you'll see movement later this week or next - are you checking your scales daily, or weekly? I find it really helps to not use scales except for the once a week weigh in, otherwise I'd watch them like a hawk and we fluctuate daily anyway

I started blended this week yeah, but I honestly forget to eat most of the time - I'm too easily distracted! But everyone's been telling me about the three week stall and how the body is adjusting to all the changes, so I'm not so confused about it anymore and just grateful I still managed to lose some :-) Forgetting to eat "most of the time" is not a good habit to get into. If you need to, set a reminder on your phone. Right now, your primary focus should be getting in all of your Protein and fluids every day, I do actually have reminders set on my phone, but sometimes I'm busy when they go off - it's also hard to eat when you don't feel hungry, but I do it. I make sure I get all my protein though because when I do eat I'm managing protein rich foods and I bought special high protein puddings and milk to ensure this. Same for the liquids - I'm not having a problem with those, I just find things I like to drink and it's good.

I honestly haven't been checking my measurements. I think I might do that once a month rather than at the same time as weighing, 'cause I think it'll take me longer to see a difference that way

I meant to reply sooner but I just had eye laser surgery and the light on my screens was killing me - even with my goggles on! I'm using sunglasses in a dark room now and it's blurry but effective ???? my poor body probably thinks it's being punished!! Well done on your weight loss! Where did you have it done? I forgot to mention scrambled eggs - no added milk or butter, just two large eggs and seasoning. Good source of Protein and a yummy Breakfast. I'm trying to eat more oats at the minute cause my blood results show I have very low cholesterol and it needs a boost! What about trying Aqua Zumba or swim fit? A lot of the local pools in the UK have it and if you're shy about your body it's mostly under Water ???? the class is all shapes and sizes and they always seem to have fun!

Hey there! Congrats on the weight loss so far! I had my surgery the day before you, so I can tell you a little of what I've been eating or drinking if that helps. Though I am British so some of the suggestions and instructions given to me will probably differ to what you've been told I'm on a blended diet for weeks 2-5/6, which means the consistency of baby food! I make myself blended meals in my nutribullet for savoury food and there's always enough for four or more meals - mostly fresh salmon flakes or chicken chunks or ham chunks or tuna fish mixed with things like vegetable ratatouille or mashed carrot and swede (both of these are cooked first and then blended with the ready to eat meat, or occasionally a little homemade mashed potato with skimmed milk and some gravy (thin made from good stock just to blend it better). I eat fromage frais yogurts, low fat mousses, these high protein low cal (100kcal 125g) vanilla puddings that have 15g of protein, ready brek, and greek yogurt with blended fruit (strawberries, raspberries, peaches, pears). I drink a cup of coffee first thing in the morning (no sugar, skimmed milk) and throughout the day I mostly have water with a little light fruit juice mixed in (I prefer red grape juice as it tastes like Ribena when mixed with water). It's also easier to put that in a 500ml bottle so I know how much water I've drunk. I also have high protein milk, milkshakes, and mocha mix to add to my protein at the end of the day if I feel like I haven't had very much. I would most definitely stay away from cheeto puffs and ice cream, and maybe blend the broccoli when soft if you're going to eat that. But there are plenty of veg that are mashable, so it might be worth just taking the time to wander around the supermarket and see what you could make In terms of exercise - have you thought about swimming? I hate walking (I know thats pretty weird, but when I'm doing it for the sake of walking and not to say shop or get somewhere I hate it) so I've started going to the local pool every other day to do lengths for 30 minutes and it's a great, relaxing workout! (plus, i burn about 326 calories each time). Let me know if there's anything else you're a little unsure on at this stage - and is it okay to add you as a friend? I think you're literally the only person I've found that's really close to my circumstances - same age and nearly the same surgery date and weight!

I don't actually have scales at home. I go into Boots every Tuesday to get a weigh in receipt by using their machine because it calculates everything for you, and also gives me a written record to look back on

I started blended this week yeah, but I honestly forget to eat most of the time - I'm too easily distracted! But everyone's been telling me about the three week stall and how the body is adjusting to all the changes, so I'm not so confused about it anymore and just grateful I still managed to lose some :-)

Thank you! I'm so OCD sometimes that my brain is always keeping a track of how many laps I've done, even while my mind is completely somewhere else! Back in my previous life when I was swimming regularly (a mile a day) I kept up with my laps more easily because I would swim sets of different strokes. Lately, I have been able to only do backstroke so I didn't even bother counting. I just went by the clock. It turns out that based on my Misfit Shine I was swimming over a mile of backstroke, just not every day. This past weekend I swam my first crawl in a long time so I will be working toward mixing up my strokes. I do water aerobics classes and water weights too so the water has been giving me a great workout. Wow - a mile a day is loads! I'm not sure I'd ever get to that stage, I just keep adding a few lengths each time to build myself up 14 the first day, 18 the second. Tomorrow I'll try for 20. I can't do backstroke without somehow going diagonally across the pool - I'm hopeless. I do breast stroke, and every now and then I'll go backwards just with my legs to give them a work out, but I have to stick next to a rope or else everyone's in danger! I see the water aerobics classes, but I'm a little nervous of them - not sure they're my thing, but they look like a good work out.

Thank you! I'm so OCD sometimes that my brain is always keeping a track of how many laps I've done, even while my mind is completely somewhere else!

Hey there! 16 lbs is great - you've lost so much already, it's amazing You're doing so well. And wow, that's fantastic - good luck with the bike challenge, I'll be rooting for you! Swimming will feel so great once you get back in that pool. Being friends would be lovely, there's definitely no age limit on friendship in my books.