NeonRaven8919

Congratulations on your progress!

Yes I love soup too! Easier to cook as well because I can just throw it all in the slow cooker. I'm going to make a big pot of white chicken chili this weekend too

Interesting. I always thought cardio burned more fat anyway, so when the doctor said this, I was a bit surprised.

I forgot to mention that I went for my vitamin b12 injection today. I have a new GP since I changed to new practice and she said she was going to refer me to an "exercise specialist" which I have never heard of in my life so I will see what she has to say. She may be able to suggest more classes for me to do as well. Unrelated note, a good GP is a thing to be treasured. She was proud of my weight loss progress and she has had WLS too. Went form 140kg to 58kg (she's 5 foot) She suggested if anyone tells me again that weight loss surgery is cheating, I should sit on them to keep them quiet until I'm too thin for that and then just slap them.

My doctor said weight training will help me lose me more weight long term than cardio and I'm hoping to get rid of the arm flab and I've been told weights or at least muscle training will help. I've tried crossfit and that's not really my thing either. Weight lifting has always been a painful and miserable experience for me. Reminds me too much of the gym classes in school that I always hated. I'm really too lazy for weight training and real fitness, but If my gp says I have to do it, then I need to find a way to do it. She recommended resistance bands, but I won't ever be in the mindset where I'm at home going "maybe i should get the resistance bands out". I need to change my mindset, but if changing a mindset was easy, I wouldn't need half my stomach yeeted out to lose weight. I've been thinking about pilates and I've been told that it's nothing compared to weight lifting and I guess that is true in some aspects, but again, better than doing nothing, and using my own body weight is a good workout. I would be interested in trying it anyway.

I'm glad you don't have the 12 week milk diet. It was difficult and I slipped up occasionally, but it was helpful for losing weight and shrinking the liver. Because of the 12 week diet, I lost 12.9 kg (28lbs) in those three months. My NHS trust just flat out said "no ozempic" At the time, it was because it hadn't quite been approved for the NHS But I wouldn't have wanted that anyway as it would mean injections for the rest of my life and a lot of people have endless diarhoea on those meds. I had one session with an NHS psychologist and one group session. I don't really know about what tiers I had. I asked for a referral for the weight loss team, then I had an information session which was via zoom where each the nurse, dietician and psychologist gave some advice about the programme. Then I had an individual session with each one. Once I was approved, I had fortnightly appointments with the medical team to check how my weight loss was going with the milk diet, pre surgery vitals and then the surgery itself. I had a one month and 6 month follow up with the surgical nurse. Next month, I have a phone call with the psychologist. It sounds to me like you are getting a lot more psychological support than I did, which I think is great. It really makes a big difference.

Lifting and counting reps is repetitive and boring to me. Cardio i can just tune out by listening to music or watching something on netflix. I can make it fun and enjoyable Or since I already need to commute to work and I like going by bike, that's already cardio. There isn't really any way to make weight lifting fun or even just bearable for me. It's going to take all my mental energy to force myself to do it. I know i need to do strength training and the hospital recommended at my 6 month post op review to use resistance bands but I can't imagine that's any more bearable than weight lifting and I know me. I'm never actually going to do a home work out.

Following because I'm in the same boat. I've been doing cardio only because I hate weight lifting and that kind of thing and because I ride my bike everywhere which is fun and cardio, but i need to try and firm up the arm flab and I can't put it off any longer. I think your regime is a good starting point for me.

*to get rid of. * Do for more patients. Sorry too late to edit.

I never had nausea. The inmy times I've thrown up since my surgery 8 months ago was because if the multivitamin they prescribed. The first time, it was because of the method I needed to use to.take it post surgery (bite the gel cap and swallow the fluid and then discard the gel cap) and that made me ill. The doctors told me to wait until month two tomorrow again. The second time, I took it on an empty stomach because I can't fit pills and food kn the stomach anymore. So the surgery itself has nevermore me feel nauseous. Now, eating too mich makes me feel nauseous and that's my fault, not the result of the surgery.

44d down to 38 and still cant figure out what cup. I'm still not done losing (Only 8 months post op) so I'm afraid to buy new bras and such until I finish losing

Same! I had my surgery on the NHS and I've got saggy thighs and upper arms that I won't be able tonafford together rid of. Good Luck! Hopefully this is something they will dkmfor more patients soon!

I have a red bull addiction. It's not as fizzy, but definitely what I shouldn't be drinking. I was told it need to give up fizzy drinks for life, ideally, but for at least during the firstv8 weeks after surgery. I knew I couldn't give them up, but I don't drink coffee or tea and I need caffeine somehow. I was good and waited until the recommended time after surgery to drink fizzy drinks.

Sort of. I've always dressed a little more alternative/gothic, but considering most of those fashions don't come in plus sizes I've mostly just made do with black leggings and black tops. Now, I'm a size 14 (uk) so I can actually start buying and wearing all the clothes I've always wanted to wear! I do think that I've gain more confidence since I lost weight and that means I've starting taking more time and put more effort into makeup and hair etc.

My group session was for the first initial information session and group psychology initially information session. but everything else was one on one or in person with a few team members. I'm glad your moving forward! As I mentioned before, my friend who lives in Gloucestershire is trying to get surgery, but their NHS trust requires either comorbidities or a 50+ BMI which she doesn't have. It's really tricky when each NHS trust has so many differnt rules so any progress on the path as slow as it seems, is good. You're on your way which is a good start! Keep us updated!

That's a wonderful, but sad, story. It's also incredibly happy. You find your way through the darkness and that's incredible!

This a great point! This took a long for me to get to terms with. Just going up slightly while I was on the pre-op diet had me panicking that I would be refused surgery, and going slightly up or the scale not budging after surgery and I was convinced I was a failure. The scale is neither a friend, nor an enemy, but this mindset took some time for me to understand. It is a marathon, not a sprint or *insert favourite cliche here*

Well done! Not being obese anymore is my goal too. I just being regular obese instead of morbidly, category 2 feels really good too as I never in my life thought I could do that!

I'm a London, UK based NHS patient. I've only just found your post, but I've added some hopefully helpful waffle to your original post. I don't have experience of Portsmouth hospitals (only their seaside touristy spots) but in general, I've had only good experiences with the NHS treatment I got. The psychologist visit is usually just a formality because I don't think a ten minute phone call is a really good gauge of someone's preparedness for a life altering surgery. If they NHS has already gotten you past the referral stage, I would imagine, you'll just need to wait until they can find a surgery slot. I was approved in July of 2024 and told that "unless the moons and planets all align, you will likely get your surgery Spring 2025" I guess the moons aligned because two weeks later, they called to tell me it was time to start the 12 week milk pre-op diet and I was scheduled for October 2024. You will probably not have a 12 week pre-op diet. I was told this was a test group trial for University College London Hospital and because I had NAFLD. Don't be too nervous (easier said than done, I'm sure) and congratulations! You've made it this far! You can do this! We're all here to support you!

Hi! Sorry to have found your post so late! There's not a lot of NHS patients on here as this is mostly an American website. I had my surgery in October 2024 on the NHS. I remember the dietician appointment was a video call with other patients before any surgeries were finalised. I will admit that I don't feel like I got much out of it. The main message is eat slowly and prioritise protein first when eating a meal. The session with the psychologist (a ten minute phone call) was probably the least helpful as she just said I need to practice mindfulness and learn others ways to cope with stress other than eating. (Gee, thanks! Where was that advice when I was a fat 8 year old? ?) I had a higher BMI than you currently do and the privilege of living in London, so I think I was bumped up a few tiers and fast tracked (I don't know if this true in general, but London seems to get the lion's share of the funding so hospitals are less strict. My Gloucester based friend has a BMI of 44, but because she has no comorbidities, she can't get any weight loss referrals because her BMI isn't 50+) But I digress. Once I had the surgery, it was a year and a half from the initial referral, it's mostly been smooth sailing. I had the gastric sleeve and had no problems. So far, I've lost 39 kg and more fatty liver has improved significantly. My mother had the gastric bypass (also on the NHS). She had a complication, St Anthony's private hospital did the surgery, but the NHS covered it but once they operated again, she had no problems. She never shared exactly how much she weighed with me, but she went from a size 28-30 to a 22 and reversed her diabetes. She passed away in 2023, but if she hadn't, she would be much smaller I'm sure. I've had a great experience so far with my procedure and weight loss. I really do recommend going the NHS route if you are able to do so. Well done on making this decision to change your life! You've got this. Sometimes, just making the decision to get help is the hardest part!

Definitely a win in my eyes, or more accurately, a near win I walk passed a charity shop every day on my way to work and they've had a dress in there that I've loved for awhile (Light grey stripes with neon yellow stripes). I never bought it because it's a size S and I'm not a size S. Still sometimes never think I could be. But still, I admired it from afar. For months, I've seen it in there next to the neon yellow hot pants (I love neon, but I will never be a hot pants person as I don't like the wedgie feeling) I handed in my resignation a month ago and am moving on to new neon green pastures. So I told myself, if that dress is still there on the last day of work and it's the last time I will walk by that charity shop, it must be fate. So I bought the dress. As my mother would say "just because it goes around you, doesn't mean it fits". She was right. It doesn't fit. Yet. But the fact I can even get a size S to go around me is a victory. Something I would never have dreamed. But it WILL fit me. Not just because I believe in fate, not just because no one else wanted this grey and neon yellow eye sore, but because I've quite literally worked my arse off.