Bypass2Freedom

So some of you may remember me saying previously that I am going on holiday in September, and now it is about 2ish weeks away! My first time in a hot country, and I was leaving clothes shopping until last minute. I have now bought some bits and pieces, and my sizing varies immensely 🤔😂 I've definitely gone down a size or two - I was previously wearing a UK 22 (I probably should have been wearing a 24 but I was refusing to accept that) - and most of the clothes I bought over the weekend were a UK 18 - one dress I fit in was even a UK 16!! (still a little tight around the boobs but that is fine 🤣) It was actually really nice to try on clothes for a change...now lets hope I can cope with the hot weather!

Thank you everyone for the advice I have packed my bag now, and lets just say, all my clothes don't fit in there 😂 I will be taking up some of my boyfriends bag space 😅 Fingers crossed I cope with the heat 🤞

Thank you so much everyone for all the comments - I was really overwhelmed (in a good way) to see so many, and this community really does keep me going sometimes. I am so appreciative ❤️ So, as some of you may know, I am a new driver and I am a bit anxious now I can go out there on my own! I realised I could drive to the gym now which would make things so much easier, in terms of getting there in the morning, so last night I practiced the route there and back and it went well. I didn't manage to get to the gym this morning, but I am trying not to kick myself! Perhaps I do just need to go for a walk first and get my steps up! I also realised I am having PMS so perhaps that is adding to the sudden weight gain & emotional state 😂 Again, thank you everyone ❤️

It is true, I think mentally adjusting to everything is so massive, and I am noticing how my body feels at the moment almost 4 months out where I am just a bit dizzy and struggling to get food in, I am not gonna perform well at the gym like I used to! Sounds like a good plan to me! Definitely will get your steps in doing that! Eeee good luck with the injections!

I was thinking that...I think I am just reminiscing too much on my past where the gym really was my thing, and I just haven't ever felt confident enough to try anything else! I know I like walking, especially now, I can just put my earphones in and go...so maybe I need to try and do more of that. I have paid for my gym membership, and it is like a 12 month contract so I will have to keep paying, so I'd love to be your virtual gym buddy! ❤️ I just need to realise I don't need to go to the gym and do a whole workout, I can do what I feel comfortable with. So I will start with that! Thank you lovely ❤️

I am fully the same! I have said expensive gym membership and it is currently burning a hole in my pocket 😅 I think I need to change up my routine. If I go in the evening I find so many excuses not to do it, I'm tired, exhausted, I want my evening to myself etc...so I think the only way is gonna be to go EARLY. Like, up at 5am, at the gym for 6am, and then to work for 7:30...I may die, but I think it'll work better 🤣 I shall trial it. I feel you on the heat - it has sapped my energy too and I really can't wait for it to be cooler! You got this ❤️

Oh lord the day I am caught eating a celery stick is the day that it is OVER for me 😂😂

I grieve the connection that food brought between myself and my boyfriend. I didn't even realise how much of our relationship was based around eating together - from ordering dinner in and just cuddling & eating, to him remembering my favourite snacks and getting them for me on a weekday. I miss that side of things! But...now I just need to find other things to enjoy. The snacks he bought me have changed from chocolate to soft drinks (non-fizzy 😂)!

It was shocking to be honest 😂 I was fully prepared to still be wearing the sizes I was in at my biggest! My eyes and mind deceive me 😅 Thank you! Oooh lovely - I hope you all have a good time! I have always wanted to visit Scotland, if for the cooler weather if nothing else 🤣

Thank you! I hope so - I will do my best not to burn in the sun 😂 I was thinking that 🤣 I shall come armed with a belt!

So today during a work meeting, one of my colleagues who I have known for many years turned and said to me, "you are annoyingly beautiful". I was genuinely taken aback by this, and just laughed and jokingly told her to shut up 😂 but I wanted to just think about why this shocked me so much. I always thought compliments like that were reserved for those people who were confident and effortlessly beautiful. I really am not used to receiving compliments, or really even being perceived, and I think this is something that a lot of people who struggle with their weight feel at some point. 280lbs me just wanted to be small and unseen, and not looked at for the wrong reason (very superficial, I know). And now I am being seen, I think, in a different light. It does feel weird. In most ways, it is really nice getting compliments like that, I feel really happy and it was genuinely sweet of her. In other ways, I feel a little bit of grief for the girl who I was a few short months ago, and how she didn't get told things like that. Either way, I do feel really happy about being told that, and weirdly a little tearful if I am honest! Anyway...happy Monday all! 😂

I am definitely guilty of doing this too! It is like an instant reflex, and so hard to get out of the habit of doing! I like the idea of smiling more...I may try to do that, as my RBF is intense 😂

You are looking amazing!

Heya! I think it is so normal to have nerves. I know I was an absolute bundle of anxiety pre-op - it was the first surgery I had as an adult, and I didn't know what to expect. Just keep reminding yourself that you are in safe hands, you will have a professional team around you, and the surgery you are having is safe, otherwise they wouldn't be doing it! My advice is to just focus on how you will feel after - maybe write down what you are looking forward to post-op, and what things you are excited to experience as you start losing weight on this journey. That really helped me focus on the reasons why I did the surgery, rather than the fear of the surgery itself. Because in the grand scheme of things, the surgery is over so quickly and is such a small part of the journey, and it is all worth it! Best of luck

It definitely does have a little bit of a stall around that point - I was in the same place around then, and I have finally started losing a bit more now. That is amazing you are getting the exercise in - that is something I desperately need to get more of. I am going to the gym maybe once a week, but my energy levels are so low due to me struggling to get food in 😅 I shall maybe just go and try to do some light cardio rather than weights!

Heya! I think this entirely depends on the plan you have been given by your surgeon/nutritionist/provider - maybe just check with them! A lot of people's LRD plans are really different, depending on start weight, country, etc. For example, I am from the UK and I was doing my LRD for 2 weeks, 800 calories a day, but with meal replacements only e.g. New You Plan, Slimfast etc. Most people say don't worry about taking vitamins etc until after surgery - also depending on how you take them. I was not allowed to take tablets until 3 months post-op, so my vitamins were dissolvable/chewable until recently. I started taking my vitamins from the day after my surgery Best of luck!

I was planning on making the exact same measurements post yesterday but I fell asleep 😂 This has reminded me to do so when I get home! This is really amazing though! I bet you are chuffed!

Definitely part of the mental fight! It is hard to break down the walls we put up - where to begin! We shall do so! Also, congratulations on your progress so far - you are doing amazingly! How are you feeling?

I always find myself thinking after I have received a compliment: "why did you not just say thank you and leave it at that?" . I have noticed this thing that I do, and I don't know if anyone else can empathise with this - but say someone compliments my hair, I will say something like: "ah I need to dye it again though", or if they compliment my weight loss, I say: "still a long way to go!". I struggle to just say thank you, to just accept it. Like I am always putting a negative on it. I wonder, if like you, I just am doing my old style thing of wanting to avoid comments on my appearance. But, I shall take a leaf from your book, and I shall try to smile and reflect fondly on compliments in the future!

Congratulations! I am so excited for you!!! ❤️

So, this is probably way more common than I think, it is just the first time I have experienced it 🤣 Yesterday I was able to eat more than I normally do - probably around 700-800 calories, which is really good for me as I wasn't getting much more than 300-400 in the past few weeks. Today my restriction feels very high. I ate a few mouthfuls of peanuts and some light babybel as a snack, didn't sit well at all despite these things never giving me problems. I gave it a little bit of a break, around 1 hr, then had some of my sandwich I'd made (wholemeal bread, ham, cheese, salad etc), and could only manage a few bites. Then my heart was absolutely racing. I'm talking about 115 bpm just sitting down, and then I just had to sleep. At work. I feel better now since waking up, but I am scared to eat again right now 🤣 Wtf was this 🤣

Hmm...I am probably not the best person to ask as I am about 3 months in and the 1 episode I seem to have had with dumping is recently where my heart was racing and I fell asleep after eating some peanuts 😂 I would say though that I think teriyaki sauce is quite high in sugar, and maybe it just needed to be diluted down a little bit? The advice my bariatric nurse gave me to "avoid" dumping as much as possible was to make sure that when eating anything, look at the "carbohydrates, of which sugars" per 100 ml/g and ensure that it is 7g and under. It seems to have worked so far!

I really do think it is one of the hardest things - at my heaviest especially, being complimented I just shrugged it off. I think the one 'compliment' that always stuck out for me was: "you're not fat, you're beautiful", b***h please 😂 can't I be both?! It is hard not to hold onto those feelings for sure, but as you say, we need to be proud and that involves changing our internal narrative of not thinking we are deserving of compliments!

This is maybe why I was on the fence about it a little bit, but I think knowing the person that said it allowed me to believe it was just a genuine compliment. BUT, I can see how it can come across as a hackhanded compliment. It is hard to distinguish sometimes! You are right though - I do deserve that. I think we all do x

I think Charlie Brown is the one...I can picture it! The hanging back from experiences is what gets me the most - so so many experiences I have turned down in the past because of my weight, and I am so excited to be able to subvert that! It is a powerful thing, and I know you'll get to where you want to be. You deserve to feel happy, beautiful & confident regardless of your weight ❤️