sueoco

Thanks Misty - you and everyone else is well on their way too - can't wait until you guys join me on the maintenance bench - it is quite an adjustment after focusing on losing for so long. I still focus on protein but I am not eating enough green veges and tend to gravitate back to carbs. I have not had a weight gain at all from this but I am not sure how that will go long term. I am still eating very regularly and find if I do go without food for too long I can get quite hungry now. This is when I am most likely to morn not being able to eat a lot of food, because of course now, being hungry doesn't mean you can fit anymore in - so you never get that old full feeling just the new full feeling which is more of a physical feeling. Hard to describe but some of you might understand what I mean. Any feeling of missing the old full passes really quickly. I now clearly recognise it as truly emotional hunger because there is a certain amount of comfort attached to it - but like I said, it passes quickly once you have eaten.

Hi Sue, I am coming to Sydney Monday 9-Wednesday 11, but work has me fully booked this first trip. Sorry, we will meet next time, even if I come down a day early.thanks Kelli - defiantly next time then!

Wow Misty - really brings it home how much you have lost. My only momento I kept from my old life is my life time membership card to Jenny Craig which I look at occasionally - it just makes me feel grateful every time I look at it to know I will never struggle against weight gain again like I did in the past - all my old clothes have gone now - I think I have a couple of coats left. Anyway, here is another update - we were off to the races - I am no gambler but it is great day out with friends!

Less - sorry - I am an apple user so I will be no help - glad you found your way back!

Michelle - would love to catch up with you when you are in Sydney. Parramatta is not far from where I live so I can come to you. Lissa, Susan and I actually met up there for brunch (which lasted about 6 hours!) because Lissa was staying in Paramatta when she visited Sydney. Also I think Kelli is going to be in Sydney early December - Kelli do you know what dates yet? If Parramatta doesn't work and the city is better I am happy to meet up with you and travel into the city.

hi all - are any of you having trouble retaining your subscription to this thread? I am using an iPad so it is probably related to the app. I just means I have to find the thread every time I log on. I have sent an email to support so hopefully they will fix it soon.

Hi Merry - I have been taking silica and have done since I started loosing my hair. Like Misty says, I am pretty sure it didn't prevent the hair loss but what it has done is improve the condition of what hair I have and my nails that were also beginning to break. I too have thin hair and 18 months out from my op it is still recovering - my hair dresser friend says it will take well over a year maybe two. Apparently healthy hair grows about 1cm a month so if you are stressed I assume it will grow a lot slower so it could take a while. I lost so much, my husband said you could see my scalp - he didn't tell me at the time as I was so freaked out I was going to lose it all! That would have really done my head in (no pun intended) but to cut to the point, my girlfriend was diagnosed with breast cancer and it snapped me back to reality and I just stopped worrying about it as it will grow back. One thing I did do which I probably wouldn't do again was I decided to go blonde so got my hair bleached - probably not a good idea when your hair is already stressed!

hi Sarah - yep - I kinda know what you mean - I can't sit in hard chairs for long because I just don't have enough meat on my butt any more! Also getting down on my yoga mat to do my yoga moves is a killer as I can feel every bone! I have banged my knees and elbows too and with no meat (and probably lack of mussel too) it hurts a bit more. I was actually talking to my husband about this physical vulnerability I now feel. I think it is physiological as I know that some of the theory about why we eat is to put a protective coating around ourselves. He thinks that as I get stronger at the gym I probably won't feel like that anymore but weather it is a head thing or not, I know that because I am lighter if people do bump into me it can knock me around a bit more. Sorry for the mega rave - just thought others might be experiencing those feelings too!

Thanks Misty - getting out on a bike is something I would love to do - I just don't fancy my chances of survival in Sydney traffic so it would have to be in parks.

Thanks Sue, Starting my new job on the Gold Coast on Monday and I am making my first sales trip to Sydney in early December. Once I know my schedule, I will see if there is any free time for us to meet. ! I hope so. I have been looking forward to meeting you - hopefully Susan and other Sydney Sleevers can make it - it will be like our Sleevers Christmas party .... I'll order in the 6 mince tarts - that should be enough for at least 12 of us

It sounds like everyone is doing great on the exercise. Those of you that know me on this thread know that I have been talking about exercise forever and never actually doing anything! Well....get ready for it...I have joined the local gym! Now don't get too excited.. I am mainly doing weights, yoga and balance classes (which are a mixture of palates, yoga and tai chi) - no heavy cardio yet! I have managed to get there 3-4 times a week so pretty pleased with myself since exercise has NEVER been a part of my life. I have been going for about a month now and my husband and son are going too so that has helped motivate me. My girlfriend also goes to the same gym so I am hoping that I will always have someone to kick my butt when I am in one those 'don't want to go' moods. Susan - don't worry about sizes, sizing is all over the place in Australia - I fit anything from a 10-14 on top and a 8-10 on the bottom. I have quite broad shoulders so it depends on the cut and the material.

What am I doing wrong - when I try and reply and quote it puts in the body of the post - not loving this new site either. Kelli - hope you managed to decipher my reply to you.

Thanks Sue, Starting my new job on the Gold Coast on Monday and I am making my first sales trip to Sydney in early December. Once I know my schedule, I will see if there is any free time for us to meet. !

Fantastic feeling isn't it! Well done! I can't believe how different you look in your new profile photo. Your face is a completely different shape - I wouldn't have recognised you from your old photo! Yes I am having the same problems with posting on my ipad app - hope this one gets there!

hi new life - yes you will have low energy for quite a while. I found it was really important for me to try and eat every 2-3 hours. Just a few teaspoons is good - you will find that this will increase as the weeks go by. . I too had a moment when I thought that I was going to never be able to eat more than a spoonful of scrambled egg for the rest of my life at each meal - but it is amazing how that does increase as the swelling goes down. You will not be fully healed for 6 weeks after the op so just be kind to yourself and eat what feels ok. Just go really slowly. If months down the track you still don't have energy, just get your iron levels checked - I became iron deficient. Don't worry about the nay sayers - as they see your weight dropping and your energy levels increasing they will stop being so negative. You did this for you and your family so you could live a long good quality of life and I can't tell you how happy you will feel when you slip into that first pair of size nothing jeans and you are looking hot! Then we will see if the people that didn't think it was a good idea still think the same thing! so keep your chin up - I promise it gets easier. You have us here to support you - we have all gone through different things so between us all we have just about every emotion covered! So plenty of people with shoulders to cry on and plenty of people to give you a pat on the back! Good luck with work.

sue if you go into the notification option at the top of the screen and choose options then you can alter your settings thanks merry - I managed to find it on the main site as it wasn't on the ipad app but all sorted now

Hey does anyone know how to turn off the option where all posts are emailed to you - hey I love you guys but the emails drive me a bit mad sometimes - you could turn this off in the old version but I can't figure out how to do that on the new ipad version.

You all look amazing. I wish i could have joined you. I will be in Sydney a lot next year, so I look forward to another opportunity. Thanks Kelli - I said to my husband before I met up with Liss and Susan "I hope I recognise them" - he said "you will, just look for the skinny happy chicks!". Really looking forward to catching up with you/meeting you when you get to Sydney!

It's great being able to buy new clothes! Don't make the mistake that I made and buy too many as you will notice that you start to drop down the sizes pretty quickly now. They seem to get closer together as you go down - meaning it starts to take less of a weightloss to drop sizes - well at least that's what it felt like for me. Keep enjoying the ride down!

Good news! It is great when you go down into the next 10kg - 73 is not that far away!

It was so nice to finally meet Lissa and Susan and yes .. Just like catching up with old friends! What a great time just chatting and not always about our sleeves but about life! Thanks gals ... Great fun!

Yes - looks like we are back in business - I can now log on and move between pages on my ipad again! Hey Misty - it might be time for an updated profile picture as you probably look quite different now? Good luck with your gallbladder op - hope it solves your other issues.

See you there Lissa - sorry I have been out of touch. Having trouble with the new app on my ipad!

Sounds good - I am just looking forward to meeting you both! food comes second these days!