lellow

josie, I was very stiff in the first few weeks - sometimes it felt like the incisions would never 'loosen'. It was really bad in the mornings and in the evenings, and I couldn't cross my legs or wear stiff pants or even bend down very well. But now I only ever feel stiff if I really really overdo it. Most days I wake up not even feeling my incisions anymore, and it's the same for the evenings. Unless I'm up until late and have been gardening or something, I can't feel them. I don't feel them at all during the day now, and I'm back in jeans and wearing belts etc. The only thing that still sometimes bothers me is very stiff denim, like brand new non-stretchy jeans, but I'm sure in a couple of months, they'll be fine too. So it does get better, I promise. I remember once wondering if I would always feel like I was wearing pants that were waaaay too tight. But now my body feels almost completely back to normal, and I'm only 7 weeks post op. I can cross my legs, sit akimbo on the floor, I can even stretch after waking up without discomfort! So hang in there, matey. Pretty soon you'll forget you had the surgery most of the time because you'll start to feel comfortable with the new body!

I am a cycler. I can proudly say that now I've been doing it 3-4 times a week for 10 months. If I can't get out to cycle, I exercise on my spin bike. Not as much fun, but as least I can listen to my iPod. But when I actually hit the road, it's heaven. I'm HAVE to cycle now, at least once a week for 1-2 hours. But of course I loathed it for the first few months - it took me ages to get fit enough to just enjoy it and not have to concentrate on how much my muscles ached. But now I can raise a really good sweat, feel the burn, and enjoy it. Who would have thought it of me 10 months ago? I certainly never thought it possible! As for finding time - I work fulltime, study and have a teenager and a 3yo at home. All it takes is 40 (intense) mins of exercise 3 times a week - that's all I did while I was losing. That's only 120 mins out of your entire week. You can find it if you need to. The hard part is not letting yourself off the hook when it comes time to do it. Don't give yourself any excuses to get out of it. After a while, you stop making excuses and just do it.

I think you're all doing great, though I think Misty might be on to something. Now I'm not trying to lose weight anymore, I'm eating more than before, and I'm STILL losing, despite dropping a lot of my exercise routine too, in an effort to maintain. I wish it had been this easy when I was actually TRYING to lose weight. So maybe it's worth tracking with an online calorie tracker for a few days and adjust your eating to suit?

This will be my last post in this thread! Yay! I've had another fill - 0.4cc. He put in 0.3 ccs but when I drank some water, it was going through too easily so I asked for a little more. I now have excellent restriction. Not as much as pre-Body Lift (when I was pretty damned tight) but enough that I'm not eating more than a cup or so of food per sitting. I also saw my PS on Wed and we spoke a little about my mons area. He thinks it's still swollen and will subside more, but suggested that in 6 months I may want to come back in for some lipo in that area, and around my tummy area to get a more 'defined' waist. I left his office and went home, and made the decision that no, my mons area just isn't so much of a problem that I want more lipo, esp if there still is some swelling and it's likely going to subside some more. And I really don't think I need a more defined waist - I'm now an Australian size 8 (A size 4 US sizing, according to my new Sass and Bide jeans ) - so you know what? I'm happy with myself! My incisions are fading nicely. I don't have any area that's even puckered a little, so everything's nice and flat. I'm exercising normally (though I've dropped a few sessions because I'm still losing about a lb a week, and I don't want to lose anymore) and even the swelling at the end of each day isn't so bad anymore. So that's it from me, I think. My PS was a success beyond all my hopes and I feel great. My lapband is working for me, and I don't need to see my bariatric surgeon again until I feel I need to, and so it's now about going out and living life. And that's pretty much what I intend to do now. Thank you everyone who's supported me and encouraged me here. I have appreciated every post and every kind word!

I think it's easy to get into the mindset, esp after having ps, of thinking that you can keep going until you get perfection. Esp when you get a dramatic result like with a BA or a body lift. I saw my PS yesterday and mentioned that I thought that I needed more lipo on my mons area, and he started to point out other areas I could do with some lipo. My immediate instinct was to think 'yes, that would make me look better!' knowing that if I went ahead, it would be almost immediate gratification - those niggly bits get sorted, and you look almost immediately improved. But I walked away and now after some thought have decided that I don't necessarily want perfection after all. TBH, if I thought about it, I never in my wildest dreams would imagine looking like I do today when I started this whole thing in August last year. So at some point, I've got to decide I'm happy with me, and have realised that that's a concious decision I have to make for myself. So I've decided to make that decision. I intend to me happy with me now. So no, no more PS for me.

Jo, I'm glad you're managing the pain well! My pain levels sat around 3-4 too, except for the time I sneezed - OUCH! Just remember though that in 6 weeks you're going to feel so much better. I am back at work, exercising and my incisions are fading everyday. Aside from some swelling in the afternoon, I feel almost 100%. And you will too!

I'm glad to hear it all went well for you, Josiebies! I have been offline for a bit but was hoping you would be back and posting when I came on today. I too thought that the lapband surgery was worse in th scheme of things. I'm glad you came out feeling relatively good, I know you were worried about the pain.

Juli, you look great! What a fantastic results for all your hard work!

In Australia, we don't have to jump through the kind of hoops for insurance to pay as you have to in the US. The majority of Heath Insurance companies in Australia cover most of the cost of WLS as long as your BMI is 35+, or 30+ with comorbidities. From the time I decided to have the surgery to the actual date of surgery was 4 weeks. So I would say that in Australia, the majority of us are insurance-pay. Yet we have good success rates here, easily as good as the US.

Lol I only just read your post Jeni. For some reason it didn't come up in my subscribed replies. I just kept pushing myself, I suppose, and I found the more I exercised, the more supple my incisions got! So yeah, I guess I 'girled up' as Juli so aptly put it!! I called my Dr today because I'm a little bit unhappy that my mons area isn't flat enough. It spoils the silhouette imo and I want to speak to him about the amount of lipo he did. I don't think he did enough, but want to hear what he has to say about it. I se him next Wed, so we'll see how it goes. Otherwise, I'm pretty good. Went back to work and by the end of the day am pretty swollen. But I'm glad to be 'back to normal' and the reaction I've gotten from my workmates about my new body has been awesome!

Yay welcome to the flatlands, mrgta! I'm glad to hear you're feeling fine and that not only is your tummy flat but your butt and hips are tiny too! I remember sleeping on my side for the first time 8 days post op and woke up with my hip bone hurting because they'd never not had 'padding' cushioning them before! Lol!

I wore TEDs for the whole week I was in hospital. They refused to let me take them off! I went back to sleeping on my bed, without a wedge pillow, pretty much from day 8 post surgery. I just slept on my side. So I think it's one of those things - some people can't live without some things and others don't find they need them. Though I think a recliner is pretty necessary for the first week post op at least. Not long to go now Josie!

Josiebies, exercising feels good, surprisingly. It 'loosens' the tightness in my incisions and gets the blood flowing in those areas. A lot of the areas that were numb are getting some feeling back now and I'd like to think that it has to do with the increased blood flow. I do think being up and moving helped a lot. But don't forget to rest too!

Jeni, I'm doing great! I am back to normal daily activity and am exercising at 70% now, and increasing every week. I have had to take a few days break this week when I caught a chest cold, or I'd be back to 100%. I don't wear a compression garment anymore, my swelling is almost 90% gone, I can wear jeans again, and except for first thing in the morning, I can't even feel my incisions during the day. I feel so well that I feel guilty for still being on sick leave! Luckily I'm going back to work on Monday. So I think I'm been really lucky, and recovered very well. But even so, I wouldn't be game to go back for more surgery so soon! I think I have a pretty good pain tolerance, but damn, girl, you put me to shame!

You're amazing, Jeni! Good luck for Phase 2!

mrgta, it's almost time! I know it's scary but you will love the results, and in a month, you'll feel pretty good about it all. I look forward to seeing photos! I'll be thinking of you tomorrow.

To be honest, reading what you're eating now, I think you have plenty of restriction. When I'm well restricted, I can only eat slight more than a fistful of food. No more than that. You also have to be careful about not getting so tight that your caloric intake falls too much. You want to be able to eat veg, meat, a bit of carbs, and feel full for hours after. Pushing to get tighter when you're struggling to eat more than 1/2 cup of food is not necessary, and can lead to more complications that you need. PBing can cause inflammation and can sometimes lead to getting unfilled. Or worse, a slip. So if you've got good restriction now, I say enjoy it. If the restriction eases (as it does sometimes as you lose weight) only THEN look at another small fill.

Lol Jacqui, I was watching the Biggest Loser Australia finale too last night and I was oohing and aahing at how great everyone looked, when my hubby thought it pertinent to remind me that I've lost as much as some of the contestants too!

Booked myself for another fill on the 8th of May. I have decided that I DO NOT LIKE only having a teeniest bit of restriction!

It's every page.

Yes I could feel it right after surgery, and now it sticks out. :thumbup:

Marriage isn't a strictly religious term though. If a heterosexual couple have a secular, civil ceremony, they're still considered married, aren't they? They are here in Australia. So to say that marriage is a solely religious instituition is technically incorrect. You are NOT only 'married' if you marry in church. If marriage is used as a term to describe the civil union of hetero couples, then it's reasonable to expect that gay couple expect that their civil unions to also be called 'marriage'. It's a word used to describe the marital contract between two people, and the religious don't have exclusive rights to the word.

Yay on your own thread, Josiebies! I have to admit, being in hospital for the first week after surgery meant that I actually didn't need a lot. I never ended up getting a toilet riser and I didn't use the wedge pillow I got. Though I imagine if I'd come home straight away, I'd at least need the wedge pillow for the first week, if not a recliner. I did however love having a chair in the shower, and that's something I'd say was my essential! You're on the countdown now! You'll be in flatlands before you know it!

Wow, not long to go for you, Sue! Josiebies, you've got to take pics of yourself for us at the wedding. :smile2:

Aw jack&kota, you and I have lost about the same amount in the same timeframe. I just had less to lose, so got to goal sooner, is all. You're doing great, and I'm sure you'll be there before our first bandiversary! I too think I would look better with a thigh lift, but I think I'm stopping here with the PS. I'm pretty happy and can live with my thighs. What I'm not terribly pleased about is my lack of restriction though. I am not gaining, but I am still hungry between meals, and when I eat, I can easily eat double of what I used to. I'm seriously considering booking in for another small fill. josiebies, I'm only doing 15mins on my bike where I used to do 40mins before. The plan is to increase it by 5 minutes every week until I'm back to my pre-PS routine. I'm still fit enough to do 40mins I reckon, but I don't want to overdo it either. When I overdo it, I swell. And I hate swelling! I reckon you're going to look amazing for your daughter's wedding! You'll be healed and toned and gorgeous, I'm sure of it!