willow13

Thank you 1Day, how are you doing after your surgery? Any hints or tips?

oh wow thats a long time, hope its not too restrictive

I suffer from hypothyroidism as well, for years they could not get my levels sitting anywhere near a level where I could actually loose weight. Then I had an accident at work which left me with a crushed knee and the weight piled on through me not being mobile. I was just getting over that when I herniated 2 discs in my back and trapped the sciatic nerve I was that fed up and felt that sorry for myself I began comfort eating. Before I knew it my weight was out of control and I was struggling to try to get a grip on it. By then I have gone to 350lb and my thyroid was going nuts. I then got told I was not absorbing levothyronine correctly and they started me on Armor thyroid replacement which helped but it was a really slow battle, an underactive thyroid makes everything much harder so surgery for me was the crutch I needed. I get my operation next month and cant wait.

Thanks lucky, I have never been a chocolate fan so I find that easy to ignore but crisps were my treat, I used to eat one packet every day (salt and vinegar squares have a lot to answer for lol).

Does anyone know if there is an app like that for android devices?

Yes you will definitely loose weight following their diets lol. Mine is more choice than I thought I would have but is low carb low fat and pretty bland but so much better than what some have had to endure so its not going to be too bad I don't think. My son was sitting eating crisps before and they were always my one downfall but I resisted lol this fortnight will be the real test for me as there is nothing but ME to stop me making mistakes where afterwards my sleeve will help keep me on the right path.

oh what a nightmare, have you got your actual date for your operation? 7 weeks on the pre-op diet would be too long.

Its not too bad although it is taking some getting used to, I have had a headache and have been a bit shakey today so I think its the lack of carbs I used to eat a lot before hand. Its just a case of getting used to it I guess. Upside is I have never been a breakfast eater but I am actually enjoying having a boiled egg, I hadn't eaten one of those for years. I am not allowed the jelly or a lot of milk, I am only allowed a maximum of a third of a pint throughout the whole day and I have to deduct any milk used for tea from that limit.

Willow, I have paralysis of my leg from childhood. i am sure if I can anyone can. I will let you know how it goes. Just see to that the pool has a good trainer and a hoist in the beginning. yes please do let us know how you get on

Well done on having the guts to learn to swim, its something I have been debating as I have mobility issues the weight loss will not cure but I never felt comfortable enough to go to a swimming pool at this size.

Thanks for the tip about the excercise coops, I had wondered when we should start some form of excercise into the mix so that answered another of my questions

I have told them I am having an operation and left it at that, I have found most dont push for details but the ones who have I have said hernia operation. I know a few off them would pass judgement so this way is easier and lets face it they never needed to know why we gained weight so why do they need to know what we are doing to loose it. I am lucky with my diet, I am allowed up to 1000 calories a day, with 70grams of carbs, I am only allowed 1/3 of a pint of skimmed milk a day. For Breakfast I had a boiled egg and a small slice of toast with a scraping of lowfat spread. lunch was 125gr of chicken breast with salad, tonight I am having 125g of ham with salad and then a small fat free yoghurt. I am allowed one piece of fruit or 150ml of fruit juice (no added sugar) a day. I am not allowed root vegetables or sweetcorn but can have any other veg instead of salad.

CBF how is the new diet going? Are you allowed any carbs? I was surprised when I read my diet sheet that I am allowed 70g of carbs a day and around 1000 calories a day.

My pre op diet isnt looking too bad, no where near as bad as i had originally thought it would be. LMAO CBF I have a big full roast dinner planned for tomorrow, with a cooked Breakfast which I dont usually eat lol. I didnt realise there was a chat room facility will have to check it out. Good luck with your appointment on tuesday, let us know how you get on?

Hi Willow I haven't had an accident, but I understand the bit about having less and less mobility, and it's horrible isn't it? And you're so right about the questions you ask yourself. You really do know it is your last chance, but because of all the stuff in the media, and peoples very strong opinions we of course question ourselves and balance everything in our minds. And do you know what I think? It's about time we were a little bit selfish and put ourselves first, for a change. Get rid of the excess weight, get more mobile and have less pain doing it. Good luck to you, not long now...... Best wishes Thank you Luckyknickers your so very right, it is about time we put ourselves first for a change and done something to help us never mind anyone else. My biggest hate is the people who think you are over weight because you over eat constantly, they never take into account the reasons behind it and unless they are overweight they do not realise it isnt as simple as cutting back to lose it. If it were that simple non of us would ever require surgery. I start my pre op diet on monday and even though I know its going to be a huge change I am looking forward to it as mad as it sounds as it means I am another step closer to my surgery date.

Hi CBF, I know exactly what you mean by last chance I do feel like that myself. I spent four year being immobile and comfort eating after an accident., I have tried most things to get rid of the weight with little or no result, I still have limited mobility which does not help and the weight causes more issues so this really is my last chance. I have gone through the am I doing the right thing but now I am feeling more confident in my decision and even though I know its going to be tough I am looking forward to beginning a new chapter in my life and gaining control of my life again.

I really hope the timescale is better for you than it was for me.

I am in Scotland in the UK, thanks for the link to that blog, I have started reading that myself now.

I really do hope I am wrong with the timescale thing luckyknickers, I was just going by my timescale but every area is different I guess. The NHS is tighten their belts when it comes to weight loss surgery so they are making us jump through more and more hoops because so many claim to want it but do not want to put the work in thinking it is going to be easy, I think they want to make sure we are prepared and determined to go ahead as like luckyknickers the group I started with dropped dramatically in numbers from start to finish.

I had just over 2 year of jumping through those hoops. It took 6 months to get the initial appointment with the psychologist then a further 3 months to begin weekly meetings which started off as a group of 11 but by the end of it all there was only 3 of us (they ran for 12 weeks). We went through the diet sheets, the dietician appointments, the psychologist appointments then I had 5 further individual appointments 2 months apart where I had to convince another dietician and weight loss manager that I was a good candidate for surgery before I saw the surgeon back in November, where he thankfully agreed to my surgery. I have now had an endoscopy (that was horrid) and had another appointment with the dietician and a pre-assessment appointment where I had an ECG, blood pressure, oxygen levels, bloods etc carried out. I begin my pre op diet on monday and as much as I am dreading being in the actual hospital, not worried about the operation just dont like hospitals, I can't wait for march to come around.

I really just want to get to a weight where my body isnt in daily pain.

Where are you having your surgery done jeanne? I can't wait to begin my new life after struggling for so long. I too have been doing a power of reading. Good luck with your operation.

You are a star, I do like yoghurt so I will definitely get hold of some of them and the best bit is if its tescos I can buy as I need them.

I saw the anaesthitist and surgeon back in november with my operation date being in March. They may already booked up months in advance so you might be pushing things to get the operation date before May sadly, (sorry to sound like a doom and gloom merchant). On the upside I was told out of 6 who were put forward for surgery 2 have had their operations cancelled for some reason or another, another one has postponed as she now wants to wait 6 months so you never know. Let us know how you get on.

Thank you so very much for that, its a shame we do not get catered for, the same as the people in the states do.