Spinoza

I thought about bariatric surgery for over 10 years. The decision to go for it in the end wasn't precipitated by one event, more an accumulation of little embarrassments like the seatbelt on an airplane only just buckling, my hairdresser having to bring out a special chair for me in case I broke the new fancy ones with the spindly legs, reaching a BMI of 40. Even after those it took me months to decide who to go with - I definitely looked at Eastern Europe because it's so much cheaper there but my partner was so worried about me having surgery abroad that in the end I just paid up and did it here. I spent my entire adult life believing that I should be able to lose weight on my own (I could) and keep it off (no chance). I really wish I had just gone for it 10+ years ago when I first considered it. I think you're absolutely right to do ALL the thinking before going ahead and I wish you the very very best of luck wherever you have your surgery.

Best of luck - I hope it all goes smoothly for you

The fact that you're here wanting to draw a line under this regain and looking for support is a fab first step. What you have regained is only a fraction of what you lost. @catwoman7 advice is spot on - your restriction should still be there if you want to use it now. You've obviously lost weight very successfully before so you can do it again, and you're starting when it's still completely doable. Best of luck back on the program!!

Am right with you surgery date twin! Let's see how far we can get. I am still losing a pound or two a week - are you?

There was no restriction to caffeine intake on my programme and boy was I glad - am a caffeine addict and that would have been the final nail in the coffin. Really nice to see you back posting SunshinePrincess - we're all here to support you on your journey. Hope everything is going well for you.

You are SO allowed to think, re-think, over-think and then whatever-think this decision. It's a biggie for sure. I hope you can get to wherever you need to be OP. Also - oh wow Tufflaw you are my surgery date twin! And look at our stats - mirror images!!!!!

My first veg were carrots or else broccoli, cooked really well. Then probably onions and leeks and mushrooms. I am so lucky - I can eat absolutely everything now, it's just a matter of prioritising the space! Good luck - sounds like you've really missed your veg.

I'm still tracking everything and I'm not sure I'll ever stop - I'd be afraid to. No defined calorie limit - for a few months I was having to sure I hit at least 800 calories a day but those days are gone. It just keeps me aware of what's going in. I weigh daily too and again I suspect it'll be at least weekly for life.

Meanwhile I GAINED two pounds this week. Not the first gain and I suspect not the last, but irritating. I will borrow your zen for a few days...

Aw I saw you had just posted and I was hoping it was this. Well done for keeping your sanity!

So pleased for you Erin. I hope your journey goes well and that you don't have to wait too long

None, none, none, none, absolutely none. Good luck!

You can add more calorie dense foods like butter, cream, oils, cheese, nut butters etc. to your cooking if you need to immediately halt your weight loss. Then longer term maybe you can think about your protein/good fat balance? I cannot wait to eat avocados without having to balance the entire rest of my day around that. My stats are very similar to yours although I had my surgery a month earlier. I for one am riding this train as far as it will take me but I know we all have our personal goals!

Um, nothing you put *onto* your scalp will ever stop hair loss because that's not how it works. Hair is dead keratin-based stuff, like fingernails. Your scalp skin is an organ with many jobs to do. How on earth would bathing that scalp skin in anything after hair has already extruded from the scalp help it not fall out? It's what is going on at the roots (or what went on there many weeks ago actually) that determines that I had been so happy not to have lost hair after my surgery but this week it has been falling out in handfuls. I've had this many times in the past after doing VLCDs etc. It's annoying but it'll grow back eventually. I hope that everyone who has a hard time with this (for whatever reason) sees it pass very soon xxx

Ignore!

Oh well done you! I cannot imagine how you've achieved that so close to your surgery. I am getting about 7k steps a day reliably 6 months out from mine and thinking that's fab (for me!) Please can I also say that Arabesque has a world of experience to share and is one of my absolute favourite people here because she's soooo generous with that knowledge and experience. I don't read anything patronising in her post - it genuinely comes across as 'by the way - did you know that the 10k steps thing was just an arbitrary target dreamed up by...' Which is completely true. This is not to gang up or to try to ram my opinion down your throat - I think it's just one of the drawbacks to a board like this that it's sometimes hard to judge the tone, as others have said.

You mean you don't know what your BMI is? Try this link. https://www.cdc.gov/healthyweight/assessing/bmi/adult_bmi/english_bmi_calculator/bmi_calculator.html

Oh wow what a stroke of luck! Maybe they charge less for self-funding patients? No idea how things work in the US.

I remember being in such a rush to get through the stages but with the wisdom of hindsight they're in place for a reason. I loved the pureed phase after all the fluids and I had some really tasty family dinners put through a blender. I'm sure you'll have done no harm using your teeth as your blender but it might be best to wait till your programme permits it. Best of luck, I'm sure you'll do really well

Honestly you are doing really well. I lost 17lbs in the 6 weeks after my sleeve, if that helps at all. 6 months in and I am 27lbs from goal. Trust your sleeve, it will work if you follow your programme. Best of luck.

I have had about 20 french fries in total in the last 6 months. Like one or two at a time when my family or friends order them. And they are still super nice. But one or two is all I want/can handle. Abso-flipping-lutely love that I can do that.

Interesting! I have never in my adult life wanted to eat breakfast but after my sleeve it's more like I can't. My dietician was so persistent that breakfast kick-starts your metabolism, and that I was going to be fat forever if I didn't get myself around to breakfast, blah blah blah, that I did torture myself into it a bit. But on the few occasions that I have tried it just sits there after a few spoons. I just took it as a sign to wait longer. I'm not sure I understand the fluid thing described above but it's definitely a thing for me.

You have done so well. Thank you for the encouragement. Please may I ask whether you are still losing weight a year out or whether you're done now? Did you decide what your final goal was or did your sleeve decide for you??

Oh well done - that's an amazing loss over 2 weeks. I just came to see how everyone was getting along - we're all at the 6 month stage more or less - can you believe it?! I hit 6 months on Tuesday with a BMI of just under 28, weighing 13st 7lbs, and with 29lbs to go to my goal. I'm still eating around 1000 calories a day during the week and about 1200 at weekends. Walking (really fast walking) for exercise. I'm still losing about 2lbs at week at this point and so happy with that. I'm living in fear of my hunger returning in full force now. My stomach can hold noticeably more food than even a couple of months ago, although I don't push it at all. Still eating 3 small meals a day with a couple of snacks in between, and a couple of glasses of wine on Friday and/or Saturday night. I hope everyone else is doing well too.

Two weeks here and I wouldn't like to have had to go back any earlier than that. Desk job too. I agree with @Arabesque that it would be sensible to have some contingency built in to your leave. I hope everything goes really smoothly for you.