Bypass2Freedom

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 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!

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!!! ❤️

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 ❤️

You have worded this perfectly!! It is like you are in my brain ? It is such a difficult thing to feel, and people who haven't gone through this process won't fully understand it! So to explain it is even harder ? I wanted to tell my boyfriend about the compliment I got, but I knew I'd cry, and I didn't know how too explain that so I just left it haha. It definitely won't change, and that is a horrible but true realisation. I am slowly realising it!

? My sister feels exactly the same now that she has a little man! And yeah I fully get that side of things - my boyfriend loved me at my heaviest weight, and he told me from the start that me losing weight won't change how he feels about me, because he always thought I was beautiful. They are nice sometimes It's so strange isn't it - like I am used to just walking with my head down, but I try to keep my head up now to show I am confident, and some men try to catch my eye just to smile, and it is very weird. Thank you!!

Just makes me feel sad for old me, who is still me, but not ? It is just a complicated feeling!

@SleeveToBypass2023 It is so hard isn't it Like, you know that people are just trying to be nice and genuine, but part of you can't help but question why and ask why you didn't deserve the same compliments when you were bigger. Such a battle mentally!!

okay now I definitely am crying ?

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! ?

Just wanted to pop by and give my experience! I am about 3 months post-op, and I was asking exactly the same thing in my very early days. I remember reading so much on here about people having high restriction, and feeling full after a few mouthfuls, and I just wasn't feeling that whilst I was on the liquid/puree stages! I had to ask my bariatric nurse if this is normal ?She told me that because the 'food' I was having was still essentially a liquid, it passes through the new stomach easily, hence why you don't really get a feeling of fullness. It made sense to me! So don't worry if you aren't feeling any full signals just yet. It is only once I started eating more solid foods that I was like...wow...okay, so this is what restriction feels like! As others have said, it can vary from person to person, but I definitely feel a tightness in my tummy/chest, sometimes I get little hiccups and generally just feel a bit bloated. I still use my FitBit to time 1 minute between every bite, just so I know I am taking it slow, and I have found this works for me! Best of luck on your journey

I tried the same nuts the next day and was completely fine! Must have been a weird episode of dumping!

Oh wow okay! I did think it could maybe be a weird type of dumping and I am glad to see I wasn't the only one who has experienced this! So strange how it presents in people!

I did think this! Definitely something to keep an eye on. Thank you x