LaLaDee

I threw up a lot after my WLS. It was three days of vomiting bile. I threw up the entire ride home from the hospital. I do not respond well to anathesia. I was terrified but it was OK. No burst staple line.

You will totally lose weight! It’s impossible not to! I was so scared of my surgery and if I had known then what I know now, I think I would have been more excited! I have had my own issues and complications but WLS is an amazing tool! This is an amazing opportunity! Make the most of it!

I hate being away from my scale! I was in New York for two weeks in April and it stressed me out so much! I’m going to London/Paris for two weeks in October and I’m freaking out and weight gain and not being able to monitor weight fluctuations. Particularly as I went off plan in New York and was eating whatever I wanted!!

2 hours ago, sillykitty said:

I haven't had plastics yet, but I when I made the decision to have WLS, I knew that I would need/want plastics as well.

As @newmebithebypass said "I'm not going thru this whole process and not look good naked". I am also single. Although I am dating now with my deflated boobs and wrinkly tummy, it is not ideal, obviously.

This I don't get at all. Why does your family even get to have an opinion on this? You're an adult, this is your decision, period.

You're totally right - it's not up to anyone but me. It's just that I've put my family through a lot. I've been in and out of hospital since my WLS with a weird autoimmune disease that was maybe triggered by my WLS, or the subsequent shock to my body. I ended up with all kinds of medical problems and they had to take care of me. I feel guilty about that - and also concerned that I would put my body through something even worse with plastics. It's not their decision but they are very much trying to talk me out of it and I guess I'm weighing up everything in my decision.

My family aren't anti-plastic surgery in general. My Mum had a breast reduction and my sister had her ears pinned back. They just seem to think I don't need plastic surgery. I get accused of having body dysmorphia, like I've lost weight, so I should be happy now. They think the skin thing is trivial.

I have read somewhere (can't remember where) that if you have plastics, you are more likely to successfully maintain your weight. Maybe people who get plastics are just more determined, or more likely to have reached their goal weight in the first place in order to have surgery so they're more successful at maintenance. Maybe it's going through the additional expense - that's got to be a kick in the pants for motivation to stay on track!

@Scamp I loved reading your post. Thank you so much. I'm so glad you've been so happy with your plastics.

Sorry - lots of scattered thoughts here. This is just weighing heavily on me at the moment.

I’m really torn about whether I need plastics as part of my journey. I can’t look at myself without clothes. It’s miserable. I’m single and can’t even contemplate dating. How would I explain? I look like a monster!

My family don’t get it. They think it’s not needed. They say I look great (although I’ve never shown them the loose skin).

I also don’t know if I can put myself through the pain of surgery. I think I have a low pain threshold or something. I don’t react well to anathesia. I’m squeamish. Morphine makes me nauseated.

Then there’s the cost of plastics. I’m not exactly loaded. I don’t even know where it would end. My stomach, breasts and arms look terrible. That’s a lot of surgery.

how did you guys make the decision? Anyone regret their choice? Is there something I’m missing here?

I had a consult today. They took one look at my belly and said I need plastics! They said it might help my arms a little. They have different machines that do different things but the results wouldn’t be dramatic. Sigh!!!

They asked me if I was interested in any of their cellulite reducing technologies. I feel like no one is gonna notice the cellulite with my belly hanging between my knees!!

I’m not in your shoes, I only a year post op and haven’t experienced any regain (yet). Please don’t beat yourself up. Regain is common. Life happens! I think it’s amazing that you’re taking control again! Have you met with a nutritionist or bariatric doctor? I think you need as much support as possible!

I was told my taste buds might change. It didn’t happen. I was also worried because some people can’t tolerate spicy food afterwards. I like exactly the same foods I ate before. I just have to stop myself from eating most of them. I can’t stop the chocolate though.

My family cannot believe I’ve lost 150 pounds /70kg + and eaten dark chocolate every single day.

I avoided coffee for 9 months after surgery. I then introduced it, promising i would only have 1 or 2 a week. You guessed it, I’m having it daily now. Lol. I had two today!!

My reason for abstaining was because of a dangerous addiction to Diet Coke. I want to avoid Diet Coke, not because of the bubbles (I’ll drink champagne and some carbonated drinks) but because I think the artificial sugar makes me want real sugar.

My surgeon and nutritionist never warned me off coffee. I think some studies may suggest that coffee may not dehydrate as much as previously thought because you build up a tolerance.

https://www.google.com.au/amp/s/theconversation.com/amp/health-check-does-caffeine-cause-dehydration-73965

Lol. I never went through this. At my three month check in, I had to admit to my nutritionist that I was eating dark chocolate every day.

Twice daily (sometimes more often). Yes, I’m obsessive. Yes it can dictate my mood for the day. Stalls can be particularly painful for me.

Even when there is a clear hormonal reason why I might be fluctuating up, it can still bum me out.

For me, weighing is part of my morning ritual. Its an important reminder every morning to stay on track and be healthy.

I have lost weight a million times before bariatric surgery and every time I regained it was because I stopped weighing myself everyday.

I do wish I could stop the panicked evening weigh ins though. Once a day should be enough. My family has threatened to hide my scale but I would literally run out and buy a new scale and hide it!

i do not recommend that anyone else engage in my insane behaviour!

One year out! 157 pounds lost.

I (generally) consume about 1400 calories. It does vary, but I wouldn’t have gone under 1100 in several months.

I am pretty tall - 5 foot 9, but I do very little exercise. Like a bit of yoga and barre. I’m in my thirties.

This is something that you have to play around with. During a stall, I freak out and drop to 1200. Then I might go up again.

Ive has an excellent month (down about 10 pounds, which is great for me at this stage of the journey). Even so, I do think about dropping my calories down to speed things up but there’s no guarantee it would work. I also eat fruit as a snack and I would have to stop doing that. Also, I want to be able to maintain my weight. I can’t live forever eating only 500 calories a day.

Its not just about calories though in my experience (I’ll brace for some people to respond with the usual calories in vs calories out arguement). It really is about what you eat. I avoid bread, Pasta, too much processed food, high sugar food, milk chocolate. I do eat dark chocolate every single day. So although it’s a high calorie diet, I generally follow a pretty moderate Mediterranean diet. I have messed around with the Keto diet, but I like eating fruit. My body feels healthier.

The bottom line is that you have to talk to your nutritionist and come up with something you can comply with.

Yeah, I struggle to keep mine accurate. There’s a lot of guesses, particularly around portions. I’m looking at what is left on my plate and have no idea what I’ve consumed. Plus, unless you eat at huge fast food places, it’s pretty impossible to guess the calories in something unless the place has the info somewhere.

Its still better than nothing though!

It took Three months for me! It does stop though. Hang in there. Stressing might only make it worse.

As far as I’m aware, I only lost hair on my head.

It’s pretty common. There’s a huge gap between larger sizes. I had to lose about 50 pounds to drop a size when I started and now only about 10 pounds.

Also, a lot of us are wearing clothes that are stretchy, or maybe even a little tight at the beginning of our journeys. So we have to drop huge amounts to get to the next size.

Dont worry, it will happen!

Lol. You have a lovely before photo! Good luck on your journey!

I definitely wouldn’t compare myself to anyone else. Honestly, there are so many factors to weight loss, height, starting weight, weight lost pre surgery, diet/eating plan, gender, medical conditions, hormones, activity levels pre surgery etc etc

You are only up against yourself! If you think you could be doing more to lose weight then discuss it with your doctor or nutritionist. My best tip would be honest with yourself about Snacks and hidden bites. Those really add up! Eye balling mesurements won’t help you either.

I would definitely try and take advantage of the first six month honeymoon phase. To give you an idea, I lost about 50kg (110pounds) in the first six months and then only 20kg (45 pounds) in the next six months. It’s not as easy to lose weight now.

This is despite working much, much harder now!

Lol!!! So true! When your loose arm wings could flap you over an ocean, a fraction of an inch won’t help much!

Three months! It does stop though. Hang in there. Stressing might only make it worse.

Whoa! #goals

Cobgratulations!!!

9 hours ago, Frustr8 said:

The old remedy was cocoa butter, Vitamin E or I guess in the US we have Bio-Oil , a lot of people praise it. Check and see if,your chemists in. Oz might have something similar.

Thanks! We do have bio oil in Australia. I have to admit that I’m good at buying it and forgetting to use it. These marks have just been there for years!!

It does sound pretty good. It can remove fat cells but it take like 4 months to work and you need to be dieting and exercising to really see the benefits. I want to get a quote for my arms.

First day of your period is “day one”. So you might count 28 days and then you get your period again and you start a new cycle. A typical cycle is usually 28 days, but it can vary from 21 to 35 days.

I track my cycle using an app, but you can just circle the first day of your period in your paper diary and count back to your last circle. This helps you know when your period is due and what your cycle is.

There is a lot of info online and apps that help you know when in your cycle you are most likely to conceive too and how to track it.

Anyone tried this? The before and after shots of coolsculpting/body contouring look amazing. I don’t deal well with anathesia and surgery and I’m wondering if this could be a good option?

I was thinking of just trying it on my arms to see if it helped. I suspect my stomach needs a Tummy Tuck.

My cycle had changed. I’m 34, no kids. I’ve gone from a 28 day cycle to a 24 day cycle. I also used to start quite light, now it’s heavier and shorter I think. I’m a year out and this 24 day thing is pretty weird.