Hey everyone, not sure if i mentioned this before but im half egyptian half irish

Just wondering if there are others such as myself.

Catherine, every time I see a post from you my eyes are drawn to your pic. I'm assuming those are your children. You've sure got some gorgeous kids!

yep, my kids; Nora 20 and Husain 19

Nora has never had a weight problem, 98 pounds for years

Husain did, he took the bull by the horns and lost about 64 pounds by a really strict diet and running 8-10 miles a day!!!

Now if any of you lovely ladies can find me an 3arees (groom) i will be set. Homegrown american with middle eastern roots is my pref. lol

go to Michigan!

Oh, I love fava Beans. My Sudenese friends showed me how to cook them with galic, tomtoes, onions, cumin, and then a big spoon of Peanut Butter then dressed with olive oil and fresh lemon. I always eat them with pita though. However, when I am post sleeve I will try to remember to eat some fool.

with peanut butter? that sounds interesting, might try that

go to Michigan!

Yep. You need to move to Dearborn, girly.

Cant petra, i start at drexel in philadelphia for bachelors and masters, and im a single mom, so my family support is vital. But thanks habebty. It will happen inshallah if i find a guy from MI willing to move here then game on

Ahlan! Where in Cairo do you live? I lived there for two years and taught at the American International in Egypt. I absolutely adore Egypt. So glad you found this thread.

Hello Petra, I live in Mokattem, highest place in cairo how are u all doing??? Anyone past 6 months post op??? If u are, are u facing a stall right now??

Merhaba! I am American and have been married to a Turkish man for over 15 years and we have 3 kids that all are fluent in Turkish. I love his culture and want my kids to understand that side of there heritage. We live in Michigan, but we go back to Istanbul every summer for 6 weeks. One of my main concerns is tea time! I'm not wanting to tell my husbands family about the sleeve surgery since I had the lapband before and they acted like it was the easy way out. I felt like they couldnt appreciate that I worked hard to lose the weight and felt constantly judged, even more than when I was overweight! When my appendix ruptured in 2010, they had to remove the band because I became septic, and I've gained 80 lbs back in 2 years. Last summer I felt so depressed while we were there because pretty much everyone mentioned my weight gain. It's like it proved their point that the band did the work for me and now that it was gone, I was a failure. I'm getting sleeved next week, so I am hoping to lose at least 60 lbs by July when we go back to Turkey. I plan to tell them I lost it from portion control and exercise. Now, back to why I'm concerned about tea time! In Turkey they have tea twice a day with little appetizers and cookies/biscuits. If I can't eat and drink tea at the same time, I feel like it will be obvious and I may have to explain why. Has anyone 6 months out had little sips while they eat? I guess I'm being kind of ridiculous, but even my husband agrees that it will be easier to not have to explain my surgery to them. I think its mostly because he doesn't want to have to translate for me though! Lol... I speak Tarzan Turkish. I can understand a good amount, but when I speak, I guess I mix up the subject and verb and speak in a very simple way. Sorry for the novel! So nice to meet others from that side of the world!

Becca, i wish you sustained weightloss and a great result! Good idea not telling them, they will be judgemental anyway. After reading ur post i dont miss my ex inlaws one bit....

Surgery was nov 19th 2012. I never appreciated 173 this much in my life.

What weight did u start with?

Before pre op diet 215, day of surgery 201.5

I crack up every time I hear the word ******. We say "argeeleh" here in Lebanon. It is an epidemic here. So sad to see small children smoking. I started this past summer, realized that I have an addictive personality, so I quit. I really enjoyed it while it lasted lol. I have two friends that have to have it every evening to wind down.

I was amused by the little old ladies who would sit in their white patio chairs on the side walk and smoke their argeeleh all all afternoon while gossiping. I don't speak Arabic, but I know gossip when I hear it

Small children?? Omg i didnt start till i was 25...thats scary. And i never got addicted. But considering that most arab countries (at least egypt) do not require kids safety seats in cars etc, im not totally surprised. I will be one of those old ladies....just bring me a hot lebanese argeeleh boy to flip the coals! Lol

Serendipity,

you should check out some photos on the internet of Lebanon this past week. We've had days of rain with terrible flooding. Waves higher than the street lamps! And then snow in places like Nabatiyeh, where I live. Many homes have been lost and at least 6 people have died

Snow in Nabatiyeh??? I have some friends in Sur, I'll have to call them. Thanks.

I am Jordanian. Nice to meet you all!