LaLaDee

I like chicken breast with a chili sauce, some avocado, sweet potato and kale. Otherwise grilled fish and garden salad. Or lamb marinated in lemon with hummus and Greek salad. Yummy

Welcome! What an introduction! It sounds like you need to make a change and you need to find the right path. i too struggled with the fact that the sleeve is non-reversible. But at the end of the day, why would you want to reverse it? surgery is scary but so is dealing with your diagnosis. Get as much advice as you can and holler out on the forum if you have any questions!

Congratulations on starting the first steps of what will be an incredible journey! You will find an awesome support network here. A lot of us are dealing with a range of physical and emotional issues so there is always someone who can relate! We are all different but we are all trying to commit to living healthy. I really think it’s important to acknowledge what brought us to this point, make peace with it and then start forming a kick ass action plan. Don’t compare yourself to others! Think about how you’re doing! Get tips here, but don’t worry about the person who lost 200 pounds in three months. Honestly, anyone doing this is so brave! We should all be proud of ourselves. So what if we got dealt a tough set of challenges? Look at what we are doing to overcome them! You will soon be weight loss ninjas!

I’m too cheap to pay for the gym and it’s too hot to walk outside (summer in Australia). So I just do the odd YouTube yoga video. Sometimes I just dance around the house. Sure, the dog gets scared but it seems to work.

This has been my biggest problem. I’ve easily lost 30%. More like 40%. It started at around three months. I’m at six months this week and the loss seems to have slowed. And yes guys a I hit my protein targets, took my vitamins (including biotin), used $80 shampoo (nioxcin) and it still fell out. I personally ignore any smug people who say they they didn’t lose hair because they took biotin or used some witch brew. Some of us are just gonna lose a ton of hair. I honestly couldn’t have done any more to try and stop it. Its growing back now a bit. I can see little bits sprouting everywhere. When I first found them I did a little dance to celebrate! It sucks big time guys. But I have lost 50kg/110 pounds so I have to hang on to that. Plus now it only takes 10 minutes to blow dry my hair. So that’s something.

It’s helpful but alarming to know that. I hit 6 months this week and just finally broke a stall. I’m interested to see how things go from here. Also, I had garlic mashed potatoes last night with some filet steak. First potatoes since surgery. And damn, were they delicious!

Lol, I usually drink the kind in front of me! Prior to surgery I liked a sauvignon blanc, but now I've switched to red wine, specifically pinot noir - which apparently has the highest level of antioxidants which may help body processes and heart health. There are a wide range of dubious studies saying that red wine can help with diabetes, obesity, cholesterol but I would certainly not use that as an excuse to increase your consumption. That said, there are some health benefits to the odd glass of wine. In my opinion, wine is OK as an occasional treat, pick out something delicious that you will enjoy, make sure you have lovely company with you and savour every sip. Life is short, having some wine is one of life's great pleasures.

Good for you! I chose to celebrate Single Awareness Day with some salted caramel dark chocolate. It was good for the soul.

Hell to the yes. Multiple periods in one month, and I then missed one altogether. Much heavier, crampier and longer than usual. I'm not on the pill or any birth control (I do not need a daily reminder that I'm not getting frisky). I got so freaked out by these weird periods that I ran to my bariatric doctor who said wacky menstruation after surgery is totally normal. The surgery messes with our hormones, as does the weight loss. My doctor also warned me 14 times that you are super fertile after surgery and that it was not a good idea to risk pregnancy (even though I explained that I am celibate AF). Anyway, it's all pretty much settled down now.

I started having this from about three months out and I've never had an issue. Plus, it's all kinds of delicious yo.

That's what my surgeon says. That around 1 year out you develop your set point weight and it's much harder to lose weight. No one has been able to explain to me why this is though. It scares the hell out of me! What if I haven't reached a low enough weight. I feel like Cinderella, when the clock strikes midnight, I'm going to be doomed!

Yeah, screw finding a boyfriend, I want a revenge job too!

Most depressing and true thread ever!!! When you attend a job interview as an obese person, you can almost see their disappointment at your appearance. It’s terrible.

That sounds awful!! I haven’t had that really happen yet.

Wait? So weight loss does slow down after 12 months?? I started a thread to ask people about this - people didn’t seem to think it was true

Other than your personality and desire for privacy, it really does depend on your workplace. Is it a small, close collaborative environment or a snake pit? The kind of place where people talk about you behind your back and office gossip leans towards the mean spirited. By all means, if you want, tell your work friends but assume that everyone will eventually find out. Also, while this is a big deal to us, does anyone else really give a crap? It’s not lying, you are losing weight through diet and exercise. Only if someone flat out asked you if you had WLS and you told them you didn’t, would it be lying. I’d be happy lying in those circumstances! I don’t know if anyone else remembers that host on the tv show, the View, Star Jones who had a bypass, denied it, viewers started to hate her and then she got kicked off the show. If you host a tv show, you should definitely tell your viewers. The other day, I was buying a salad and got to chatting with the girl behind me. She mentioned that she had had WLS. She was willing to tell a perfect stranger. By contrast, I haven’t even told my father and some of my siblings. its really all about your personal comfort level. You do you!

No, you look seriously different! A random stranger on the internet doesn’t lie! The other day, I was trying to safety pin my skirt on tighter (I need to go shopping) and a colleague was like, “did your skirt rip?” And I told her it was just weight loss and the skirt was loose. She smiled and said she had noticed I had lost a lot of weight but she didn’t know if it was ok to say anything. I think people who don’t know you well wont generally comment because it’s awkward. Like, what do you say to someone, “you’ve lost weight, you look great”. Does that imply they didn’t look great before? And also, you don’t know the reasons for someone’s weight loss - they could be ill seriously depressed or something. Also some people (like me) find any conversation about my body awkward and uncomfortable. I blush and get weird if someone mentions my loss. You have done so well. I bet people have noticed!

Thanks sleeve1st. You’re so sweet! I wish I was as brave as you! Dating is so scary to me!

I have 85% or 70% if I’m feeling naughty. I’d love to get the chocolate monkey off my back. If there is chocolate in the house, I will find it. It’s my super power.

Lol. You have to have a sense of humor about this!

Congratulations! You look so lovely! You will be at goal in no time! How exciting!

One man ran for the hill specifically because you have loose skin?? Seriously, that is literally my worst fear.

Yoghurt and I don't get along. Which is a pity because it's high in protein and super easy.

My nutritionist says it's fine as long as you leave it out a bit to get flat. However, I decided to quit diet coke because it's unhealthy and I think it makes you crave sugary stuff. The only bubbles I have now are in the odd glass of champagne. I haven't had any problems.

My surgeon has told me that the weight loss stops one year after surgery. That for some reason, something happens after 12 months and the weight will no longer slide off. When I asked why this happened, he said they didn't know but that was the clinic's experience. As we know, the sleeve works in multiple ways, (1) it reduces the stomach's capacity, (2) the hunger hormone Ghrelin is reduced by 50-65% because the part of the stomach that is rich in the cells that makes the hormone is removed; and (3) the way certain foods are handled by the digestive track changes, so people's tastes for certain foods changes helping you to adopt healthier eating. I'm wondering if these things all change around 12 months? I'm nearly six months out (it has gone by so quickly) and I feel like I have this six month deadline to reach goal before the sleeve "magic" stops!! Has anyone else heard anything about this 12 month milestone? Anyone more than a year out notice anything changes around this time? You can still lose weight right? Is it just harder?