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Great thread... and I for one feel that I am defo a slow loser... but a loser none the less! I am days away from my 2yr anniversary and still not at goal - need to shed between 14-24lbs - and I haven't lost a pound for over 8mths! (I am on HRT tablets and I feel that this might have something to do with this stall from hell!) I've tried everything...and I mean everything, but my body doesn't want to play ball and is in total opposition to my head!! Although this is really frustrating, as I would love to be at goal and feel that I am 100% successful, not 74% successful, I realise that I am now a lot healthier and fitter than I was two years ago. Another thing this stall has taught me is that I am not afraid of maintance ... sitting at this weight has sort of relaxed my mind that I am able to maintain the loss that I have achieved. I am sure that one day the scale will move... it has to eventually, right? And besides, there is no expiry date to the sleeve. You never know... I might get the record for 'the longest time to hit goal' ...lol! We just have to keep doing what we are doing and remember that we are not defined by a number or an antiquated BMI chart (hmmm, I still don't want to be obese mind!), but instead we are individuals who should only measure our success by ourselves and no one else! Slow but sure wins the race my friends...

What can I add that hasn't been said... you look great! Full of confidence and happy, not forgetting healthy! Good for you on getting that bikini body out... if I looked as good as you, I would do the same! =]

thought I would give a little update... I have been up and down since the last time I wrote... I thought I was on the up, then I attended two funerals in one week and that really fried my brain. The first one was my besties grandad; a beautiful man that I have known all my life and was like a grandad to me... his funeral, although very sad, was a true celebration and tribute to thsi wonderful guy. yes it was upsetting and emotional but he was 91 and he really did have a great and fulfilling life. It was an honour to 'send him off'! The other funeral was a friend from school, he died just three weeks after his 41st birthday, very sudden and very shocking. That funeral, was a different ball game... that one really hurt! It brought home to me how valuable each and every breath I take actually is... to see his wife and two daughters walk behind his coffin really impacted on me and everyone who attended. This is the second sudden death in 4mths, and I really am struggling to understand what the hell is going on... I am a person who needs answers... and in this situation, there are no answers and the questions will always remain... how to get my head around this is really bothering me. I suppose time will be the best healer. It seems that over the last 6mths there has been a lot of 'bad luck' coming my/our way... lots of little things, that alone are easy to deal with, but together the add up and add up... physical stress and emotional stress... lots of stress!! You get the picture! On the scale front, I am back bouncing around all over the place. On HRT tablets now, not Patches and although it hasn't been a month of taking them, I am wondering if they are doing me any good... I am positive that this is part of the reason why the scale is bouncing around... and it is getting past frustrating again. I have been so close to chucking to towel in and saying 'Oh sh*t to it'! 8mths of the same number is really crappy... I am getting 'bored' if that makes sense. But, then there is a part of me, the perfectionist in me, that can't give up... that wants to fight but can't find the energy. For the first time in a very long time, I really feel that my glass is half empty - this is not like me at all and I don't like it. I will keep on keeping on... I just gotta keep plodding and hoping; things have to look up soon, right? On a more positive note, my physio on my back is going well... the hips are now back aligned and 'normal' again! The lower back is less tense and my physio wants me to concentrate on the core muscles and has given me a few exercises to do. I can also walk again, not too much, but at least it is something. I haven't trained properly for 2mths, and I think this is also having an effect on my emotional well being! Sorry for the long rant... and the less than positive tone... Any ideas to get the glass half full are always welcome. I am looking for the light at the end of the tunnel...

Count me in, although I am not at goal, I haven't lost a pound since Oct and would love the see the scale move. I started a thread 'gonna get to goal...' and I regularly post there too, but it will be interesting to get some tips here too, to see how to reboot the losing phase. Oregondaisy, re the kettle bells, they are awesome little things that really work. I downloaded an app for my phone that cost £1.99! There are DVDs out there too, but I thought the cheap app would help me to get into it before I paid out a lot of money... the 5kg kettle bell cost £8, so all for less than a tenner... bargain. When I am cleared for exercise by my physio, I will defo be doing the kettle bell work out again. Looking forward to see this thread grow! =]

Seriously!! That, my friend, says it all... you could make yourself two new ones from the old ones... you are sooo small!! Have a great holiday! x

Lissa, I have definately changed shape... I was a typical pear all through my teens and early twenties... then on came to extra weight, but I was still an overall pear. Now, I am defo an apple... I don't like it either ... lol... I don't like how my tummy hangs! There is still a little fat there, but the skin has just given up, I too would be at least a size smaller if it was gone, just gotta save up for a TT!!

You've lost yourself... and some! Congrats! You look so slight now! Good luck with the transition into maintance, not that you will need it as you sound positive and ready for the next phase! Well Done you! =]

Congrats on a losing 120lbs and maintaing... I am nearly two years out too! This is a great post, especially for the newbies... and for us old hands too! How did you find the transition to maintance - I am not at goal yet, but doing everything I can to get there... my body is not co-operating with my mind...lol!

I say go for it... the transformation is about your body... not everyone who loses 100lb and then some can run like you do!! You've worked so hard to gain your fitness... you deserve it! I say go for it... I agree with Nancy, the sleeve is a tool and how we chose to use it is individual... good luck! x

Just as a side note... there is no expiry date to the sleeve either... so that means, if like me with no weight loss since Oct last year, there is still hope! I am two years out next month and not at goal. Frustrating doesn't even come near it! But, I am ticking the boxes and doing the right things but my body is absolutely refusing to play ball... but with my sleeve, I am hoping that eventually I will get rid if the last bit of me that I don't want... I suppose what I am saying is that there is always hope with the sleeve as it is a great tool and has gotten me fit and healthy. I just want to sprinkle the fairy dust on me now and get me finished!!

Lila, good for you on getting focused... I am loving that! I am sure you will get your rewards on the scale and see the last 25lbs start to go... let us know how you get on. I am still off the exercise and getting to the stage where I am ok with it and I actually feel less pressure! Sounds daft doesn't it.. I think it is 'cos the physio has given me 'permission' to stay away. Anyway, the lack of exercise has really made me focus on what is going into my mouth!

GT... what a shi**y series of events... and all at one time! ALL huge stress triggers too. Not good, I felt overwhelmed not so long ago... lots of little things turned into one big nightmare. I know there is nothing I can actually do, but I am sending you lots of positive thoughts and hugs from across the pond. Times like these, don't stress about stuff like bread - I love toast with butter too, a real treat! But like Lila said, think of it in the bigger scheme of things. And as for your friend... hmmm, words fail me!

You really have had some great responses and suggestions. I completely agree with Oregondaisy. I am nearly two years out and more recently I have gone back to eating very much like I did when my sleeve was 'new'... I am finding that my sleeve is tighter now too. I really want to get to goal, well, at least my surgeon's goal and I am just 10lbs away... so eating like a new sleever, I thought, was a good idea... it seems to be doing the job after 6mths of bouncing around all over the place I am back to my all time low if 164... just need it to go down a little further now! Remember, there is no expiry date on your sleeve, it is with you for life! Well done on a good job so far, and good luck in getting the last bit of you gone =]

I'm just impressed with the bikini top... you gooooo!!! x

Yep! Every doc is different... when I was in hopsital, about 4 days post op they gave me a milky coffee; ok it was weak but it was coffee. I am not a big coffee drinker and I can tolerate either cafine or decafe. I have no problems with it. Everyone is different and each sleeve is different too... I am very lucky as my sleeve will tolerate all foods and liquids with very few dramas!

Terry... you have lost ME!!! WOW... thank you for posting your story. What an amazing transformation. It really does sound like you have turned your health and your life around. I love the fact that you and you wife are bothe benefitting ...lol... and feel closer, that is such an uplifting side to weight loss. Congratulations! and good luck on the last part of your transformation; I am sure that this post will be very encouraging to those new into their sleeve lives and those who are in the research stages.

ILKrista, there is nothing wrong with kicking back and having some time out of this rollercoaster ride! Don't beat yourself up over a few extra calories... you did what you had to do... good for you! As far as being a failure... erm, NO WAY!! Look at what you have already achieved... my goodness, you are bloody amazing! You've already lost a small person... and just those last pesky 20 left to goal...well, my lovely, you can sooooo do this. I think you have done the right thing by popping on here, reflecting on the last couple of weeks/mths (?) and now it seems that you are ready to move forward. I think this is a blip in the road, not a road block! Good luck with the last part of your transformation. Please don't think yourself a failure... I promise you, you are not! =]

Hey, In the first two mths I lost 24lbs... some do that in the first two weeks... it then slowed down; perhaps a pound or two each week. The most I lost was 4lbs in a week, but this was rare! At about 2mths I exercised a lot... gym 3x weekly, walked my dog daily ranging from 2.5 miles 20 4.5 miles. I did zumba and different exercise classes... in Feb of last year I started training in a boxing gym too... so even though my weight loss was slow, I was still able to get really fit an dloved every minute of it. I am having physio at the moment for a badback/groin, so I am unable to anything but walk right now and I miss it like hell!! One thing I did notice though, is that if I train too much the scale stops moving completely!! But I think that is just me and my awkward body!! =]

Hiya, I am nearly two years out now. My surgeon set me a goal of losing 6 stone - 84lb and I have an ultimate goal to be under 10 stone or under 140lb. I have lost 74lb, and I am doing all I can to get to my surgeon's goal, at least. I have gone from a UK 22-24 to a comfortable UK14 (my original goal size) and have been in this size since around Feb, but I did notice that even when the scale wasn't moving, I was getting smaller and changing shape. I have been a really slow loser throughout the whole process... but prior to the sleeve, I have NEVER lost more than 7lbs on any given diet, and believe me I have tried them ALL - as most of us have. This has by far been the best thing that I have ever done to get my life and health back. I have to say I have been through many, many stalls... very frustrating but they are what they are. I am currently in one now... and have been since Oct. I attribute this to a number of things, but mainly starting a new course of HRT. I will keep trying though, there is some 'fat' left on me. On the topic of skin... yea, I am one of the unfortunate ones... I have horrible sagging skin around my tummy and the ole girls are pathetic now! I have got bat wings, but they could be a lot worse (they could be a lot better too...lol). My face, neck, butt and legs are ok though. I would love a TT and a boob job but it is finding the money! Not sure if that helps you... any questions, just ask! =]

I am nearly two years out... for my surgeon's goal weight I have lost 88% with a 10-14lbs to go to goal. For my personal goal weight I have lost 74% with a 24-28lb left to go. Not too shabby...lol! But I haven't finished yet! I am determined to get to at least my surgeon's goal one way or another...lol. Like rootman, I don't 'look' my weight, or so I have been told! Like most others, I have a bounce range that I am happy with. Good luck with your sleeve journey =]