Indigo1991

Happy to help x

M2G, always pleased to do a little happy dance, helps get my exercise in:-) Love what your surgeon says - being happy with who you are is a life changer. Will keep those words. And, for me, being happy makes me less likely to slide back. It's a great life as a recent veteran sleever, as I groove around the room doing a slinky happy dance - more Tinkerbell, less Dumbo for the first time in my life :-)))))

I hope it will for both of us :-) It's also something to do with the fact that I really love my new life and I don't want to do anything to set me back. It's not a conscious thought just something that now runs in my background thinking... As you said, I love the company of friends and family, the food is almost incidental now. Lon may it continue!

For me, it's about the discipline the sleeve has add to my eating. I was a lazy eater in the sense that I didn't eat Breakfast never made time), could forget to eat lunch then I would fill up with anything that was to hand. Lot of the time it was good food (I eat out a lot) but there was also a lot of evening grazing, usually rubbish. Pre op chat with nurse showed that I wasn't actually eating enough food to lose weight, which is apparently the curse of many middle aged women. Since the op, I eat breakfast every morning, I make time to eat as I feel I need to respect my sleeve. I eat a proper lunch (favourite is chicken Caesar salad, made by my local shop where they give me a portion size I can eat without waste), I have cheese strings in the office for Snacks and when I get home, I eat food that I make myself (or that I have prepared the night before). Food isn't the focus of my life any more, although I enjoy what I eat, and I am heading for 7 months out, with 92% of my excess weight gone. I get the odd craving but now think about how to satisfy it rather than deny it or indulge it immediately. For example, I adore French fries from our local chip shop (it's a British thing) with salt, vinegar and sauce. Havent eaten them in months but took a craving so I bought a portion, took it home, took out 4 thick fries, threw the rest immediately in the bin. Sat down and ate them slowly - and savoured every mouthful. Did I need them - no but it satisfied the craving and that was it. I want to live in the real world and I want to deal with my food addiction in a positive way. I know it's not how everyone might deal with it but it works for me knowing that nothing is banned... Strangely enough, not needing permission to eat actually makes it less likely that I will. And I know my sleeve has my back because even if I have a cookie, I can only eat one not the packet!!! I don't miss eating or food because I still enjoy both - but doing it with control is a fantastic new feeling I hope is permanent.

Great, let us know how it goes. It's really strange, the illusion it creates really has saved me in recent weeks, has given me confidence and stopped me worrying about my hair (which really was my crowning glory!)

hair is made of keratin, so I buy keratin fibres from Toppik, which is a powder that comes in a range of hair colours. You shake it into the roots or into the places where your hair looks thin and it creates the impression of more hair! Couldn't survive without it at the moment. You find it at www.toppick.com. They have hair thickening shampoos etc but have to be honest and say its only the powder that works for me. Probably are other companies doing similar but I went for them on the basis that they have been around for years. Hope this helps :-)

Lol, get writing quickly... You will be surprised once you start the liquid diet, the op will be in sight and you will be focused. And as you say, it's only a week and post op it's likely to be at least a month before you get back on to soft foods.... So use the practice time to get it to the hang of the new eating.

Yup, most of us, lol! So you're no crazier than the rest of us How you feel is normal. You know all of the theory of what's going to happen with surgery in practical terms but you don't really know what it's going to be llike emotionally. You don't really understand what your new life will be like because you can only judge it in terms of your current life and what has happened so far. But it will be so different. Hard to explain and while there will be hard times - getting used to your sleeve in the early days, the head hunger, moments of regret, losing hair, trying to get in your Protein and Water - there will be happiness, amazement and the discovery of a new you as you lose weight. And you will lose weight. Do as you are asked and between you and your sleeve, you will do great things. We all get scared and unsure. We self-sabotage in the run up to surgery because, as in my case, I had lost confidence in my ability to be successful in anything weight related. All you do is take it a day at a time, dont bea yourself up, stay focussed and get back on the plan tomorrow. Good luck, you can do it!

Had first appointment end of March, surgery end of April - and I could have had it sooner if I wanted. I had a friend who had had the surgery two years before so had watched her journey and probably learned a lot. So a decision wasn't difficult. And no regrets now...

Unlikely. hair loss is believed to be caused by the trauma of surgery followed by the huge drop in Protein immediately after surgery. There's nothing you can do to avoid it, but some people lose more, some less - if there was a way to beat it, we'd all have done it :-) Have been losing hair for 3 months, lost about 50% volume. But have had it cut and use keratin fibres to bulk it up... Staying cool about it as stress makes it worse lol. Only had compliments about new style, I seem to be the only one who sees that there's less of it...

Longest stall I have had so far is just over a month. Stick with the programme - protein, water and moving... And you have the right attitude, don't stress, this too will pass :-)

Congratulations - and I am loving those fierce lips!

Laura, thanks for the table, not seen it before but my range on it is 122-153 - and I am currently 144 and aiming for 136-ish. Makes me feel a bit better :-)))))

I am still at the stage where I can't quite believe it when something nice is said to me - and genuinely meant. But for the second time in 10 days, someone referred to me as a pixie. First was an event organiser planning a party for children to meet Santa - he said I would be perfect to be a pixie if I wanted to help... Then today, I saw someone I haven't seen for 3 months and she commented on how pixie-like I was - apparently dinky, little pointy chin, large eyes and cheek bones, all add up to being a pixie it seems. My 78lb heavier self never dreamed in Feb this year that this word would ever be applied to me. But I'll take it, lol! So what's the nicest, perhaps most surprising thing that's been said to you since you started losing weight?

That could be a father/son set of pics - not only do you look years younger, you din't even look your age! As for BMI, I have lost 92% of my excess body weight this year (thanks Gamergirl for working that out for me!) - and I am still overweight! Age and how you look and feel have to come into play, not just weight, when you decide if you are done losing weight. I am aiming for within the normal BMI range but not at the expense of looking good for the first time in years...

I am now 6.5 months out and have no regrets now. But, like you, I was concerned in the run up to surgery, especially about whether it would work for me. The answer is a big YES. Life is different - but I can't begin to explain to you how good it is. It's hard to start with - I struggled the first few weeks as the way of eating was alien, my head hadn't caught up with my body, I had buyers regret (as in "wtf have I done"), it was hard to get Water and Protein in. But then the weight started to drop off me just by doing what my surgeon told me. Didn't over-think it, tried not to worry when I stalled, just stuck to the programme. Even now there are compromises in that I can't eat as much as I used to and there are a very few things I can't eat. But I have lost 78lbs (pre and post) after 20+ years of being a failed dieter with the help of my sleeve. My life has been transformed and eating is now in its place - I have so many other things to do and all the energy I need to do it. I eat out 2 or 3 times a week in restaurants and still enjoy the company of friends, even though my portion size is reduced. You might lick a chocolate bar, you might have the odd square of chocolate, you might have a cookie. But this isn't about living a life of deprivation. It's about being able to be healthy and making good choices. With limited space for food, for the first time in my life I now make decisions about what to put in my stomach in a way that no diet ever made me do. You are right to ask all these questions, others have done a good job of addressing them here and once you have seen your nut next week, you'll feel even better. I just wanted to let you know that there is life after the initial angst and concern about the surgery - and it is great!!!! Good luck to you :-)

Beachbaby29, you are on your way there :-) It is absolutely amazing to fit in, which is my definition of what normal is. People don't see a fat person, they just see an average sized person and they make no assumptions about me. I can't explain how good this is, makes every challenge along the way since my sleeve worth it.

Nope, she'll never give you a break - but that's ok because you have shown you are in charge of your life and your weight ... and you have lost 105lbs despite her, lol. 105lbs!!!!! My mum when she heard I had severe arthritis said "oh well, we all get something as we get older"... Grrr! You can't change your mum, but you can choose how to react to her. Just take a deep breath and keep being the good friend you are to everyone on here. We think you are fab!!! x

You are very well read despite being slightly unhinged ????

Normal is good - my dietician said to me at my 6 month check that I now looked normal to the rest of the world. Feels like a good place to be, normal ????

I fear my butt has gone for good ????Plugging away with Pilates exercises but it's still sore sitting too long, not enough padding or muscle... But shouldn't complain, can always sit on a cushion ????

Lynda, just snorted my drink out my nose (in a coffee shop!) at your last answer. If I had a pound for every time one "friend" says "are you allowed that?" I would be rich. I think I have always been the fat friend that makes her feel better about her weight.. To date, what I want to say but could never say out loud is "When you weigh less than me, I might consider listening to you" but your answer would pull her right up!!!! And Arts, not sure you are even on this planet, lol, but it's funny...

Alcohol has never played a big part in my life. Probably helped by the fact that I hate wine (don't stone me, please!) and that my driug of choice was food. So I haven't bothered to drink since being sleeved. However, with the festive season looming, it might be nice to have a non-fizzy go-to drink. I am slightly apprehensive about drinking anything (heard the horror stories of how quickly you can get wrecked) but what's your experience of introducing alcohol to your sleeve? And what's your favourite tipple now? Thanks...

I really miss bubbly - but maybe a tiny glass won't kill me after all

It has been a hard week. Posted that I felt lost earlier in the week and feel I am only now getting to grips with the site and seeing familiar faces again. Didn't realise how much I rely on u all x