loobylou238

I can relate to what you're going through. I'm coming up to almost a year after my surgery. I've almost lost 100 pounds and I feel and look great. I will never go back to my bad habits. However, there are still a lot of foods that I cannot tolerate. Most meats and poultry are no-nos. I'm good with fish and pasta. Mashed potatoes are fine, french fries no way. Manufactured bread is not good but I can tolerate fresh homemade bread but maybe only 1/2 a slice and only very occasionally. Protein drinks make me gag and I've yet to find one I like. (We don't get the same protein drinks here in Scotland like the ones recommended here on site). Fruit and veg are still very difficult for me to digest. I only ever buy and eat low fat cheese and not in big quantities yet my last blood test came back with slightly high cholesterol. Cannot eat early in the morning so for breakfast around 11am I have a bowl of cereal. Around 13.30 I have a small carton of soup. Then 18.00 a small bowl of pasta or some mashed potatoes and cheese. I would say I am well under 1000 calories. Most of my portions are snack size and a meal in a restaurant lasts me 3 days. I'm such a cheap date now! I still like tea and coffee and am trying to increase my water intake. I don't regret my operation one little bit. It was the best money I've ever spent. I swim practically every day now and I love it. Am visiting my sister in the States in November so I'll try to pick up some protein drinks then.

Madam R, I believe you are a fellow Scot like me? It is all in the genes. Fine, thin hair. Pale skin. It's all those midges and haggis that have done it! Hang in there and why not buy a wig? I already had alopecia(spelling?) before my gastric sleeve op in September last year. I started off just like you. My fringe disappeared, followed by most of my crown. It has definitely worsened since my surgery. The sides have disappeared completely. I really don't like looking at myself in the mirror. When I go swimming I wear a wide headband to disguise most of my baldness. I get four wigs per year on the NHS (free thank God) and some of them are absolutely stunning. If I get a compliment on my hair I will always tell the person that I am wearing a wig. Go get yourself a wig in a totally different style and colour to what you usually are and pretend you've just been to the hairdresser and fancied a change. At work, I've been known to wear a different wig each day and nobody has batted an eyelash. They all think I'm crazy!

Was sleeved September 18 and have lost 49 pounds in total. Have been in the States for the last 4 weeks visiting my sister and have still managed to lose 3 pounds. Have not been eating a great deal however I've had way too many glasses of wine! Bought loads of clothes because I look and feel so much better. Get back to Scotland on Monday and I'll get back into my routine. Am still struggling with my protein intake however I would not change my sleeve op for anything! Good luck to all September sleepers. My first goal is to get under 300 pounds.

Happy New Year to you. I was sleeved on 09/18 and since surgery I've lost 46 pounds. However my journey really started in May 2013 and since then I've lost 72 pounds in total. I too have had a couple of drinks over Christmas and New Year but I'm not ashamed of it. Everything in moderation is what I say. I most certainly have not over eaten as in previous years. I'm still struggling with dense proteins and getting all my fluids in as well. It is hard trying to eat slowly and to not drink whilst eating. But then again we're trying to change a lifetime of habits. I feel and look so much better and looking forward to visiting my sister in the States on Saturday 04 January. She hasn't seen me since before my op, so hopefully she will see a big difference in me. Here's to 2014!

Mick, whether you are a man or a woman doesn't come into it. I have just turned 62 and I was sleeved on 09/18. The last time I looked I was most definitely a woman! Since my op I have lost 46 pounds (still to update my ticker!) and I do not regret it for one moment. I only wish I'd had the funds sooner as I was self pay. Of course you want a better quality of life and it is NEVER too late to do so. I am down from 7 HBP tablets to 1 and feel and look so much better. Your daughter should understand rather than query your motives. I sailed through my op and with HBP and asthma I thought otherwise. You go for it and start writing up your bucket list of things to do!

Just carry on doing what you're doing. I stalled at week 3 for 2 weeks then I stalled at week 7, this time for 5 weeks. Didn't gain anything which was more important and I lost inches rather than pounds. Then the stall ended and I lost 6 pounds in one week. Remain positive at all times if you can. You have all the time in the world. I wouldn't change my sleeve op for anything.

I think you're maybe rushing to eat 'normal' food too quickly. I was sleeved on 09/18 and still have problems with dense proteins like chicken. Cottage cheese was also a no-no. Bread, vegetables and fruit, I still have problems with. I have always been able to eat mashed potatoes with some grated cheese and that is my standby meal. Am fine with salmon and tuna as well. It all takes time and you can't rush things. On the plus side I wouldn't change what I've done, it's been the best thing ever. Am 42 pounds down, I feel and look so much better. Down from 7 HBP pills to 1, no lymphoedema in my legs and have come down 4 dress sizes. Give your body time to recover, stay positive and you'll be fine. Best of luck.

I stay in Scotland and had my surgery in France. Had my op on 18 September and flew home on 21 September. Apart from wearing DVT socks that was it and I was absolutely fine. My surgeon did not say I could not fly. A lot of people have their op in Mexico and the majority all fly to there. So you will be fine. I am now 14 weeks after surgery and have lost 42 pounds. I feel and look like a new woman. Good luck, enjoy the birthday party and celebrate your new life. Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year for 2014.

I don't weigh myself daily. Maybe every five days or so.

What is PB2? I made the PB cookies, the ones with the protein powder in them. Never again, they went in the trash. It was like eating sand! Yuck, yuck, yuck.

My Scottish friend Indigo is right. Don't compare yourself to others. We're all different. I was sleeved 09/18, just over 13 weeks ago. Had my first stall at three weeks which lasted for two. I have just come out of another stall which lasted for FIVE weeks, but this week I've lost six pounds. You take the good with the bad and I don't regret it for one moment. This has been the best thing I've ever done. To date since surgery I've lost 42 pounds. I'm down 4 dress sizes and I feel great. It took me 40 years to accumulate this weight and if it takes me 2 years to lose it with a few stalls along the way, then so be it.

Hello Gabbs, I'm impressed with your weight loss. I was sleeved on 09/18 and have now lost 42 pounds. HOWEVER, I had a stall which lasted for two weeks at three weeks after surgery and I've just come out of a stall that lasted five, yes five, weeks. I count myself lucky as I did not put on any weight during my stalls. I stayed positive. Eating, well that is still a struggle. Chicken, bread, vegetables are all no-nos. Fish, especially salmon, is good along with mashed potato. It is still very much trial and error with me. Homemade soup is good. This week, after my five week stall, I've lost six pounds which I'm delighted with. The world according to egg face is a brilliant site and it will give you plenty of ideas. You must have been doing something right to lose your 66 pounds. Keep up the good work!

You could try a tri athlete suit. You can get them either to your knees or your ankles. I am coming over to the States next month (my sister stays in Virginia) and I needed a new suit. Purchased 2 short leg tri athlete suits as I've come down four dress sizes since my surgery on 09/18. They are a bit tight but I've kept them as they were in the sale and were cheap. I have a belly as well but not much to show off in the hoo-ha area. I mainly bought the longer length suits to cover up the fat bits above my knees. So I then bought another suit in another sale, this time one that ends under your bottom. It's not bad, the belly is still there but there are no escapees! I will say though my belly has come down a huge amount since surgery and I am 38 pounds down since then. So I think it will go down even more, the more weight I lose. Best of luck with your own surgery, you will not regret it.

Lifeliver don't give up. I was sleeved 09/18, had a stall at 3 weeks, then the weight started to fall off again. Am now 12 weeks post surgery and have just had another stall which lasted 4 weeks. Am still 33 pounds less and dividing that between the 12 weeks means a loss of between 2-3 pounds per week. You are roughly 8 weeks post op and down 18-20 pounds? That's the same as me, 2-3 pounds per week. When we started this journey we knew it wasn't going to be easy, but stick with it, things will get better. Our bodies are trying to hang on to everything we through down our necks! Keep your doctor's appointment, you still weigh less than when you started and that is an achievement. I don't regret my surgery, this has been the best thing I've ever done. Chin up and good luck!

I would be sarcastic. So to the question 'how much have you lost?' Absolutely tons. Question 'how much did you eat yesterday.' Absolutely nothing. When she looks at you in an odd way then say, but I'll be sure to pass on YOUR worries to my doctor and my nutritionist. I've never told my co-workers and I never will. Four people know and that's the way I like it. It is nobody's business but your own (and all of us here!)