Arabesque

I told my mother, one brother & a couple of close, supportive friends. One friend told several of her fiends which I was pissy about but I didn’t say not to tell anyone so my fault really. My other brother now knows (I think my other brother let it slip) but he hasn’t said anything to me only to my mother. I think several other friends & acquaintances are suspicious but they haven’t asked me. I appreciate their being respectful of my desire to be private. I felt it was my decision & nobody else’s. Plus, the surgery is only a tool. I’ve taken advantage of it but put in a lot of work to get where I have. And I’ll have to continue to work at it.

What you’ve achieved in your first year has been amazing, Jake. You look so good! As you said, is a lifestyle change. If you don’t make the changes & just keep going on the same way you always did you can’t expect to be successful as you have been. The hard work doesn’t end once you hit goal. It takes effort every day. 😁

I think my first Rundholz dress (with the panelled fullish skirt they always do) was probably about 15yrs ago. The boutique here has their deliveries delayed so we get the winter drop 6 months late in our autumn. But it does mean I can wear it straight away. Woo hoo! They get in Studio & Black Label so I haven’t seen any DIP in real life only online. I decided the cost of altering the pieces that are too big (a good 4 inches) would be expensive & likely to be unsuccessful because of the complexity of their designs - all those panels, inserts & curves. They’d have to be completely pulled apart & recut or I would lose features of the design. Sigh. I was trying skirts & pants without undoing zips & buttons & had to hold them so they wouldn’t fall down.😪 I kept checking the sizes cause I thought they’d given me two sizes larger. Thank gracious they do some stretch pieces as they fit. You may find one size fits all pieces are too large for you now. I feel like I’m drowning in fabric in the ones I’ve tried from various brands & look shorter than I am. I haven’t enough body to fill them out anymore. Who’d thunk it? After the experiences I’ve had trying to return a pair of Barbara Gongini pants I’m very reluctant to buy clothing from overseas again. For five months I’ve been trying to return them to Copenhagen & they’ve just come back to me for the second time - undeliverable! WTF! I know covid has made deliveries difficult but this is ridiculous. What shoe brand do you wear? You should look at Ester Perbandt. She was in Heidi Klum, Tim Gunn’s Making the Cut but I knew of her already. A friend has been buying from Ester when she goes to Berlin for a few years.

Oh jam rolly polly. I forgot that one. I used to make it a lot. Sushi used to be my go to for lunch on the rare occasions I had lunch. Easy to pick up on the run though I haven’t really missed it and I loved rice. I had a mushroom mini quiche for lunch last weekend when I was out - had little to choose from at a small cafe. Ate the insides leaving the crust. Wasn’t as oily as quiches sometimes are from all the cheese which made it edible without any side effects. Oh yeah, changed tastebuds have had an impact on lots of things. Last week I picked up an individual wagyu beef cottage pie from my butcher. It was in a cup sized ramekin & topped with cheesy mashed potatoes. Scraped off the potato but ended up having a spoonful & it was terrible. Sat like a lump in my stomach for ages afterwards. Blah! Think it may be better to just keep the memories.

How wonderful for you. Congratulations.

Just a thought - What’s your blood pressure? Low blood pressure has the same symptoms of dizziness, fatigue, weakness & doughiness in the head. I have that every day but with good iron levels. It may be contributing to your symptoms.

I know every surgeon has different stages for you to progress through post surgery but at one month out I was only just commencing soft foods (think mushy, flaky foods without a bite). Prawns would have been too hard a food to eat & difficult for my sleeve to tolerate. Remember you are still healing. Give yourself time to heal & learn your sleeve’s likes & dislikes. Listen carefully to your body. It will tell you what it can tolerate, when & how much. There may be foods you will never be able to eat again without suffering discomfort or unpleasant side effects. I don’t have cheese often - fat content - is too high - but I do have the odd small cube to up my protein intake if I’m low as recommended by my dietician when I was close to my goal. Also it’s not uncommon for bariatric patients to develop a lactose intolerance. So tread carefully introducing any dairy back into your diet. My sleeve becomes very noisy when I have certain dairy foods as it struggles to digest it. Good luck with your journey. Best decision I made.

It’s all Rundholz. I love their designs. It used to make up a large part of my wardrobe but unfortunately their XS is too big on me now. Sigh! I grabbed this jumper & skirt for winter & two loose dresses which are more summery. From the last drop. My favourite boutique calls me when it comes in so I can preview buy before they promote it. There are only a few stockists in Australia. Thank you @Sophie7713. The gown is actually a glorious steel grey. I still have it as it was too beautiful to give away.

Seems to be lots of variations of pre surgery diets. I was on a keto diet for 2.5weeks before with no minimum weight loss required. One friend was on 2 weeks all shakes no specified weight loss required Another was on 2 meals shakes & one meal high protein, no carbs over 4weeks with a minimum weight loss requirement. I found the diet helped get you in the new mindset in regard to eating. Good luck with your surgery.

Unfortunately, I don’t have them anymore. A couple got a wee bit trashed at B&S balls (Bachelor & spinsters balls in western Queensland. Just an excuse for 24hrs of major drinking. Go to the ball & then the next day the party continues. Usually a couple of hundred people turn up.) The rest were donated or tossed. Did find this photo before the Emerald B&S 1988. I’m 2nd from the left in the dress with the black velvet bodice & red paper taffeta skirt.It also has a red sequinned piece on the shoulder. My friend’s hair is so big! We thought we looked fabulous. 😂 Also found this one. We were on our way to the Show Ball again in 1988 when I taught in a very small town in central Queensland. Can’t claim I made the ball gown but it is so 80s thought it deserved to be seen. You look amazing, Jake. And enjoy every moment of our objectification. It’s done with love. Nothing wrong with vanity sizing @GreenTealael. Looking good. We haven’t had a covid case in Queensland for some weeks now @Sophie7713 & I think only 1 active case. We’ve been very fortunate & have opened up a lot now. A smaller population with less high density living has benefited us in Aust I think though Victoria is experiencing a second wave at the moment. (They say we’re currently experiencing a 'Spice Girl Paradigm' where everyone is trying really hard, but Victoria is ruining it for everyone. Sorry very poor joke.)

Oh yeah, this does happen. It seems to be no movement or all movement. My friend’s first week was just like yours. She wore the disposal incontinent pants to avoid mishaps & surprise leakage. She said it improved a lot in the second week because she started adding some benefibre to her shakes. The fibre seemed helped to solidify all the fluids. May be worth a go. To see if it works for you. Good luck. There’ll very soon come a time when you’ll pray for any movement at all. 😁 Aaah, the joys of this journey.

I had a sleeve & was advised no driving for 2weeks plus no lifting for the same time. And Bypass is a more involved surgery. Four hours driving is tiring enough without the consideration of you just having fairly major surgery. Plus you’ll have low energy as well because your food intake is so low. I’d reschedule. You could explain you just had surgery. They don’t have to know what sort. I delayed starting a contract because of my surgery. They were excellent & were happy if I couldn’t work a complete day to begin. Think they thought the surgery was for ‘female issues’ so they tread very lightly. Lol! Or there’s always Skype, Zoom, etc. if that would work.

No arm guns to show off here I’m afraid. My biceps could never compete with yours @ms.sss & @Dtrain84. I did wear my over the knee boots today. That’s a win for trim calves. 😁 Went to the city yesterday with an old college friend. There were people everywhere - school holidays here. Had to dodge, swerve & sidestep to avoid them. Very strange experience & somewhat disconcerting. Black fine wool dress with attached sleeveless overtop with cutouts & slashes. So lovely to be able to dress up.

There’s no hard & fast rule except generally the more you have to lose the faster you’ll lose at the beginning. We’re all different. Gender, genetics, activity levels, calorie intake, lifestyle, personal weight loss history, etc. affect our weight loss rates. My advice is don’t compare your rate with anyone else - it can mess with your head. After battling to lose weight for years, any weight loss was a win so this process has been amazing for me. Stick to the program & you will lose weight & reach your goal. Enjoy the journey. Good luck.

I had the reverse. Thanks to all the oestrogen being released from my fat as I lost my weight, my menopausal symptoms disappeared - yippee! They’re back now though - sigh! BTW my cholesterol levels also rose a lot for the same reason so don’t be surprised if that happens too.

Lol. Your sewing sounds like mine @ms.sss. I love straight seam sewing. Just put down my foot & zoom. Can’t believe I used to make evening gowns back in the 80s - taffeta drop waist ones - Princess of Wales style. Zips, velvets, gathers & pleats no bother. Now, I doubt I’d remember how to thread my machine or even read a pattern.

Congrats on your surgery! For some of us, it takes ages to get our energy levels up again while others seemingly are bouncing about after a week. I took things slowly, paced myself through each stage of being more active & kept hydralite on hand for sudden energy drops. Most importantly, if my body said enough I stopped. It will get better.

And keto body odour! I had keto breath & body odour for more than a month. Could be some reflux too. I sometimes get a bad taste in my mouth from that.

Yes, you can do it. You just have to be committed to the program & willing to make the lifestyle changes. The surgery is just a tool - like a gym membership. If you don’t take advantage of it, you can’t expect to achieve your goals. You have to work at it every day. But in saying that, don’t beat yourself up if you slip, we all do. Just get back up & keep going. The benefits are amazing. Good luck with your surgery. Best decision I made.

Three people in the last week have commented about how tiny I am. One, in a nursery, said I was so tiny I’d fit in the plant pot I was buying. (That was a very odd & upsetting comment.) These were the first times anyone has ever used the word ‘tiny‘ to describe me. It’s so weird. I see just average in the mirror. I also bought a pair of skinny jeans - Aust size 6/US2 - and I swear they are so small they’d fit my 10yr old niece so I hear you @2Bsmaller18. Right before my surgery, I was approached to be part of a Bariatric study here in Australia. I agreed because I felt their findings could help others in the future but I have not heard a word from them in almost 14 months except for a letter thanking me for being willing to participate. I wonder if I’ll get a letter at some stage thanking me for my contributions.

That belt is beautiful @Sophie7713. I hope you get the opportunity to wear it soon. I think if we went shopping together we may end up fighting over who gets to buy the clothes ... and Aquazzura shoes 😂 Edith Head was an amazing costume designer. Have you seen the documentary on costumer Orry Kelly called Women I’ve Undressed? He did the gorgeous dresses Marilyn Monroe wore in Some Like it Hot as well as Les Girls, Gypsy & so many more. Plus supposedly had a relationship with Cary Grant.

At 30 days post surgery I was 9kg down from my surgical weight. At 3 months I was 16kg down. At 6 months I was at my goal of 60kg. At 10 months I’d lost another 9kg and have maintained between 50 & 51kg for the last 3.5months. That was my journey. Yours will be different because of all the factors @catwoman7 mentioned. Best advice is don’t compare your rate of loss with others. For every fast loser there’s a slow loser. If you’re determined, focussed & willing to make long term changes you will be successful. I’m very glad I had the sleeve surgery & I hope you will be too. Good luck.

It seems different surgeons recommend different progressions through the stages. Mine was two weeks on liquids, two on purées (think thick sludgy liquids) & two weeks on soft foods (think mushy) but with the advice to step back a stage if I experienced difficulties at each new stage. Your tummy will soon tell you if it’s not ready (healed enough) to tolerate denser foods. Did your surgeon or dietician give you a list of foods to eat at each stage? I followed the recommended food lists very closely. If they didn’t, give them a call & ask for some advice. Go slowly. You are healing. Don’t push yourself through a stage just because you’re craving specific foods. Hope your recovery continues to go well for you.

Thank you @Sophie7713. I prefer shopping in stores too. I love being able to see the true colour (I know I tend to wear black) & feel the textures of the fabrics which you can only do in person. I adore playing dress up in store. It’s a real social experience for me. Plus I love not to have to wait for the postman to arrive with my purchases - instant gratification for me. There were two Melbourne stores I would visit their collections online but would ring to speak with the lovely ladies in store who knew me to discuss the pieces I liked. Because of shutdown here, I had to buy some things online (my winter clothes were too big) but not always an easy process to judge the best size & if the item had to be returned. So glad things are open here again.

I lost almost 50% of my hair over about 6 months but thankfully I had a lot to begin. It was noticeable because it was long. I cut it off to above my shoulders so it wasn’t as obvious. I’ve got a good two inches of regrowth now. Feels strange when I wash my hair. All my old thickness at my skull but still thin at the ends.