UK Cathy

My 1 yr pictures ( op April 3rd 2012). 81lb down 19 to go.

I am 12 months post op (down 81lb) and I have just been on a 2 week all inclusive holiday ( 1 week hotel followed by 1 week on cruise (in mexico region - i am from UK)). The scales say I have a +4lb on the scales and I am so happy. I have really enjpyed my holiday and joined in everything -I have not regtetted on step of my journey. It may be slow but I am getting there.

Gammy what a difference in the 2 pictures, congratulations. I always look forward to your posts and replies as they are always do full of knowledge and sound advice. Thank you for all your contributions.

Well here I am sat in a hotel in Mexico wearing shorts and walking around without a care in the world. This is a big NSVs for me as I have not worn shorts in public before. I'm on holiday with my husband and we have travelled from the UK. I had my sleeve on 3rd April 2012 and I am down 80lb, my goal is 100lb. It is slow but steady and I am a great believer that this is indeed a journey along a long road and not a quick race around a track. Just wanted to share my happiness.

Proudgrammy it was snowing when we left the UK

Happy Birthday (mine too! I am in Mexico celebrating mine). Glad the family made your meal specific and special. Congratulations on those NSVs.

Well done, now stay off those scales for 1 more week!

Hi, Cathy here from England. When I was using protein shakes I got them from myprotein.com. I got the impact whey protein and found them palatable. They sell taster portions so you can try and find ones you like. I still use them occasionally and add instant coffee granules to the vanilla one. Don't worry about the weight loss - it will happen but at times it takes patience. I am considered a slow loser (well I consider that I am slow) and have lost 80lb and will be 1 year out on 3rd April, would like to get to a 100lb loss. One thing you must do is to accept that your journey is your own and you must not compare yourself with others. There will always be people who lose faster than yourself and if you compare yourself with them you might end up disappointed in yourself when I fact any lb you lose is a victory.

I have prayed for you,keep us informed of your situation.

You can use my fitness pal to work out protein, carbs etc for a recipe. You just put in your ingredients and say how many the recipe feeds and the program works out everything for you.

Welcome Jon, you are doing so well with the weight loss. Well done. You will enjoy this site people are very encouraging and you might need that when you hit the inevitable stalls or advice on diet or exercise.

It is Mothers Day here in the UK so Happy Mothers Day to all mums far and wide. I went out to lunch with my boys and husband and had a lovely roast dinner (roast lamb - my fav), ate all the lamb, 1 roast potato and 2 small carrots but I really enjoyed it. Ordered desert ( just so i didn't feel left out) but ate 1 bite. I had my sleeve on 3 April 12 and so I look totally different to last year (77lb loss) and I feel good.

Thanks I must have been having a 'senior' moment as I didn't think to do that.

How do I show my protein, carbs etc daily running totals on iPad? It shows automatically on the pc version but on my app version I only have calorie totals showing. Thanks in advance for any help.

I had to delete and reinstall the app too

Tell them you are only weighing weekly now to avoid 'scale anxiety', also you will tell them when you achieve milestones. That might stop them asking.

Could it gallstones? Some people seem to have problems with these post op. I hope they find the problem soon and that they can make you comfortable.

As well as lbs you have lost years! - you look so much younger. Congratulations.

Cheltenham, England

Hi Jodi, did you try the WLSurgery.com forum? Not too many UK people on here but it is a brilliant site to get questions answered as the sleeve is more widely used for WLS than it is in the UK. There is a part of the forum for UK sleevers and you should try posting a message there and it should reach Uk sleevers who subscribe.

I was allowed coffee 2 weeks post op. what did your surgeon advise? You mut follow what they say because if there are any problems then you should be able o put your hand on your heart and say yes I did that. I would have been really upset if it had been ore than 2 weeks.

Are you NHS? There is a site called WLSurgery.com which is. uk one and there is a sleeve section, some of the people there are NHS patients and they should be able to help you. You might even find someone who has dealt with your hospital.

I just turned 53 when I had my surgery in April 12. I am down 74lb and I have just had a month stall. It is coming off slow but sure and that is fine by me. My goal is 100lb loss and I reckon it is going to take another 6 months.

I was advised to take a multivitamin that included iron.

Take a deep breath and just take one day at a time.