Arabesque

Thanks for the suggestions. I had clothes tailored the last time I lost weight & they never sat right so I’m a bit reluctant to try it again especially with what is a high end designer outfit. There’s a matching shirt that’s too big too. May be a case of selling it to someone who will love it as much as I do. Better to get some money back on it than end up with something that’s not right & I can’t resell.

Cool biker jacket @AngieBear. Love me a leather jacket.

Contact your doctor and go back to fluids only. Your new stomach may not be ready for thicker heavier foods yet. We all heal differently & have to go at our own pace.

chicken is dry and unless you purée it with lots of gravy or broth it is going to be heavy going. It is not uncommon to not be able to tolerate the foods you used to love in the first few months.

I ate a lot of blitzed Soups & stews at this stage. Lots of long, slow cooking.

Take it slowly and at your pace. Listen to your tummy.

It’s my mother & my annual pilgrimage. We have it down to a fine art. Shopping to early afternoon, champagne lunch & then hit the restaurants at night. A couple of boutiques we frequent will post us what we buy. So when we get home we have exciting parcels to open. Whoo hoo!, 🎉🎉👏👏

Yeah, pretty devastated about the skirt & top. Almost two sizes too big now I think.

My surgeon gave me a photo he took of my stomach during the surgery - all marked up prior to its removal. I laughed when he gave it to me but not a souvenir to hang on the wall.

I love it @AngieBear. You do look like you should be starring in a sci fi movie or series - costumes by Jean Paul Gaultier. And how amazing to be making your own dress form. Wow.

Packing for shopping trip to Melbourne but looks like I won’t be taking this skirt. Sad face. I bought it & matching top about 8 yrs ago. Just loved it & was so happy to be able to wear it again. Now two months later & the waist band barely clings low down on my hips. Sigh!

(Looks like I need to tighten the straps on my new bra - my boobies look a little low slung 🤣.)

What swelling @sillykitty? Looking fab!

Yep that’s it. Just sold under Bio Oil. In Aust you can buy it from supermarkets & pharmacies. It’s quite reasonably priced & lasts for ages. Just wait until the wounds are healed. Even will improve older scars. Good luck.

Bio oil is the great. Never heard about any foods restricting healing (except maybe processed sugar). Knew a nurse who worked with burns victims & she would make up milkshakes & add baby formula for her patients so they’d get extra Protein & nutrients for the healing benefits. Seems strange to not eat protein rich foods like seafood & beef. Just my opinion though.

Congratulations. Look how far you’ve come. Pxts are so motivating. Gold stars all round. ⭐️⭐️⭐️

I’m like @FluffyChix. Definitely not a teetotaller either & support the drinking as little as possible. I had a G&T at 6wks out at my cousin’s 40th. Took 4 hrs to drink it. If I’m going to a party I take my own - gin mixed in a small 300ml tonic or soda water bottle - cause I control the amount of gin I add. Drink slowly over hours & let the tonic/soda go flat. Had a small glass of champagne for Christmas & after 3hrs I poured half of it down the sink. (I know.😩 Such a terrible waste of Moet!)

Sorry @Fatboyslim1 Great suggestion but I just can’t do the diluting of wine. 😱

Alcohol will mess with your weight loss & addiction transference is real. Be careful. Go slowly. Weigh the risks (pun intended) before indulging.

I loved vegetables before my surgery but after it took ages for my tastebuds to tolerate them. They tasted just awful. Had no issue with eating them though. Started trying them at about 6 weeks, Found broccolini (baby broccoli) better than broccoli - not as strong a flavour. Cauliflower & shredded cabbage were the best for me. All fresh, microwaved with a little Water & butter, salt & pepper. Mind you a small floret and a couple of strands of cabbage with my Protein & I was full.
Only salad vegetable I could do was cucumber. Spread a bit of cream cheese on some smoked salmon & wrapped it around a wedge of cucumber.

Holy hell @ms.sss. That swelling is mind boggling. I would have been freaking out. So happy they’re deflating. Is your swelling like this too @rs?

While I’m enjoying poop watch 2019, I know it’s hellish for you. Fingers crossed for some movement soon. I love how supportive your husband is. Volunteering to insert your suppository is way big love.
PS - Happy to share the ‘windy’ quote. 😜🤣

Stalls will happen intermittently throughout your weight loss journey. My longest stall was when I sat at the same weight for three weeks (just short of my goal) & then dropped 1/2kg overnight & almost the same the next day. Weight loss will slow the more weight you lose & the closer you get to your goal. Don’t give up. Keep up the work & the weight will keep coming off. It will happen.

How old are your shoes? I had issues (shin splints & sore knees) & bought new running shoes & haven’t had pain since. General wear & tear & the age of the shoe will result in the inner support breaking down.

Glad to see the Aussies posting more. 🇦🇺

@ms.sss & @DaisyChainOz I lived in New Farm for about 14 yrs then bought a few hundred metres down the road in Teneriffe 5 yrs ago. Brisbane is such a fantastic city to live. Still small enough that people know each other & doesn’t take hours to get from one side of the city to the other but it’s big enough to have great dining, theatre, shopping, sports, ...

Blair Bowden at the Wesley did my surgery @DaisyChainOz He did my friend’s surgery & she recommended him. My GP said she’d heard nothing but good things about him. He was great. After the surgery he gave me a picture of my stomach all marked up before it was removed as a souvenir 🤣. It may be easier for all the post surgery visits to use a Bris Dr.

@Sophie7713 you look so bright & cheery in your Christmas party dress and look how great you are looking.

Thanks @DaisyChainOz. I’m in Brisvegas too. Whoo hoo!

I like your animal print skirt too @AngieBear. See how it looks with your fitted top untucked & then pop on a narrow belt to show off your shrinking waist.

Excited to follow this thread & see your progress.

I agree, your arms look great already @ms.sss. Wish mine looked this good.

I’ve been anti surgery for me because I scar badly (keloid) and felt the loose skin was better than any hideous scars I might end up with. So I’m interested to read about your experiences.

Love you have a Dr who gets excited about removing loose skin @rs.

Good luck with your surgery & recovery.

Fabulous effort. Gotta hate those stalls that suck the life out of you. But gotta love how reaching each milestone keeps us motivated to reach the next.

I might need to put a lock on my wardrobe with your covetous gaze about@GreenTealael. Lucky we’re in different countries. 😜
I love how this thread gives you ideas of what might suit you when you see how good someone else with a similar build & height to you looks.

Thanks @AngieBear, @Deedee12& @ms.sss.
Nothing like narrow vertical stripes to make you look taller & thinner 😜. The dress is a little big on me now but it is too nice (& new) to put it away.

Can’t claim much credit for my en-suite @ms.sss. The previous owners did the renovations. They did a great job of incorporating contemporary design with the original 100yr+ features like the original French doors. They’re warped & don’t close properly but I love them.

I’ve enjoyed this thread so much & decided to be brave and upload some images from the last month. Summer here hence the strappy dresses. Oh yeah, I’m a bit partial to black. Ha!
The day I reached my goal weight about five weeks ago. Off to the theatre to see my niece who dances with a contemporary dance company.

Two weeks ago. Ignore the unmade bed. At my mother’s before going to my two 6yr old nieces’ first ballet concert - lots of skipping around in circles.

Just around the house today. Super casual. Still have thighs 😜. Four kg below my goal weight. So much for maintaining.

Agree with looking gaunt and ‘too thin’ when first hitting your healthy BMI range and then you do settle into your new body weight. I look soooo much better now then I did a couple of months ago.

Agree with not knowing what we really look like at a healthy weight. The whole body dysmorphia is a head trip. It takes time to really see who we are & how we look now.

BMI is calculated on your height & weight & there is a range of 18.5 - 25 to allow for your frame. If you have a large frame you would be very thin if you had a BMI of 18.5. Treat it as a guide. These are my thoughts though.

I’ve a medium frame and am now in the middle of the BMI range for my height. Believe me I still have thighs & boobies. I have a butt though it is part way down my thighs - ha. I’m not bony or skeletal and still have a decent pinch worthy layer of flesh/fat over my body.

In saying all that, find the weight at which you are healthy & happy. Find the weight that does not compromise the life you want to live.

A friend went back after a week without issues but I went back after 3 weeks & I struggled at a desk job. My blood pressure was ridiculously low & besides all the dizziness I was exhausted.
I agree with reducing your hours &/or the number of days to start & see how you go.
If you have the leave available to you make use of it especially if you’re on your feet all day. Remember everyone heals differently.
All the best for your surgery.

It’s seeing my small portion on a large (normal sized) dinner plate that gets to me. When at my home I eat from side plates & tapas dishes but when I visit friends or family my small serve looks ridiculous on a dinner plate. It’s like a plate at the end of a meal not the start.

The reverse happens too. Last night I ordered a small piece of fish & a half serve of vegetables at a local pub. OMG the size of the meal was horrifying. The food was almost falling off the plate. I felt sick just looking at it. Could have easily shared it with 10 WLS buddies & we all would have been full.

So sad I can’t gulp anymore. It’s why I have trouble getting my fluids in. I was always a gulper & a glogger, downing big glasses of Water in one go. Now If I take a single mouthful or anymore than two sips at once I feel the tightness. Waaah

I was surprised originally by the oatmeal when it was on my Dr’s post surgical meal plan but it said to make it on milk (if tolerated) which adds extra Protein. I guess because you can only eat a couple of teaspoonfuls at a time and the fibre helps with the bms it was allowed on my plan. It still takes me four days to eat a a bowl using a sachet lol.