summerseeker

Well done for getting the surgery you so badly needed. Its amazing isn't it. A little word of caution though, You will be eating tiny amounts and this will not sustain hard core exercise. You might get dizzy and nauseous, always carry a drink or a protein shake and a snack. I still do this and still need them now and again

You both look so much younger. If we had, couple of the year like at weight watchers, you two would defo get my vote. Thank you for sharing, its made my day

Lord have mercy $65 for a buffet ? Each ? Love the look of the focaccia though, yum

I had immediate loose bowels the moment I woke from surgery, it went on for a few hours. I certainly got myself moving in more ways than I expected. After that I didn't go for 15 days. I will not lie, it was tough. TMI moment, I had to put on rubber gloves and deal with it. I still get very constipated. Its my new hell. Keep on top of your Miralax regime and add some fibre to your diet if you can. Protein products and iron tablets add to constipation for some of us.

I went with the Spire group in the UK. My package lasted 2 years so I had all the help I needed. I paid about £12,000 as well. I had excellent care. I know of people who have gone to Turkey for the surgery and have no after care. I have heard on here that others have had aftercare. If you are going that route its a question you may need to ask. As this surgery affects us all differently its impossible to help others when specifics are needed. Only a bariatric dietician can help. Turkey is advertising the surgery for £2000, I don't know if I would risk it though.

I eat anything I want. BUT, Luckily I have never liked fast food or potatoes. I can't eat fried foods. I still have a fierce restriction. These things help keep me on track I don't buy chocolate because I still can eat a huge amount. Once I open a bar its all mine till its gone. So apart from these exceptions, I eat anything and everything. I have been on a diet all my life and I wanted to change this mindset. I try to eat well 90% of the time as @NickelChip said.

I did very little exercise and lost on 1200 calories a day. I am maintaining on an average of 1500 a day. I still have a relaxed regime, I walk a few miles a week and work in a very busy charity shop once a week. I am retired so you can see work and exercise didn't help me. I still have a fierce restriction so the calories are ok for me. I once had a stall of 3 months and then dropped 7 pounds overnight. I began to think that I had finished my journey. Everyone is so different and its heart breaking if you compare yourself to others.

No I don't take measurements. I really wished I had started this at the beginning of my journey. I just love that I have an excuse to buy new clothes again. It has taken me a while to like clothes shopping because I was not used to having too much choice. Now I am hooked

I lost for about 2 years then I decided that I felt ok with my weight and size. I then increased my calories to 1500 a day and I am stable at this weight. I don't do strenuous exercise, just gentle walking. Oddly enough I have dropped a size in the last 6 months ?? but no weight.

Hello and welcome into the forum. Congratulations on getting so far along. Your stomach has a huge cut and stitch line, it is swollen and will take a while to heal. It is tough to progress through the stages with all this but just try your best. It is ok to go back a step for a few days. The pressure in your chest is because it cant all get into your stomach at the moment. Sip slowly If you get more nausea you may need a PPI

Cucumber, lettuce, carrots, boiled beetroot, leeks, baked squash, roast cauliflower. Early out I had to get my veg in by making different vegetable soups and blitzing it. I had a cup as one of my 6 tiny meals a day. Any soup with added cheese was a particular favourite. Broccoli and stilton, onion and cheddar, carrot and cilantro { see I have been on this forum for so long that I am now using the American } lentil and vegetable and Gazpacho are still my favs. Raw veg other than lettuce tend to fill me for too long. I had some carrot batons this week and I was burping all evening, very unpleasant

Tarka Dhal. I put the spices into the lentils and omit the oil at the end. Not quite the same but still delicious

Milk, everyone knows I love milk.

Just put a few teaspoons of milk powder in your cup of skimmed milk and add your nut butter and blitz. Half a banana gives fibre. Add some Greek yogurt or protein yogurt when you are eating more. Just do it to taste.

Whoa, for that much money I would want it to be full of milk and be Cleopatra every day.

Yes I am the same. I have a lot of lower body skin that seems to weigh heavy. If I had the surgery I am sure I could reach it. BMI does not account for this. You do look good. So go learn to maintain now haha

Another milestone in your journey. So incredibly well done. You have worked so hard for it. You must be the poster girl for your team. Are you going to push on for the secret goal now ?

Just wow. You have smashed it. My advice for what its worth would be. Give yourself time to adjust to being smaller. I am into my 3rd year post op and still look in the mirror and wonder at my size. I have always been big and it has taken me a while to adjust to not being the focus of everyone's eyes. With clothes on I fit in this world now. Without clothes ? at your age, I would get the surgery. At my age I am ok with the skin

Everything you are about to do is new. I won't lie for most of us the first month is tough. Not because of pain but all the new things that need learning. The two main things are - Your first will be drinking. You will have a tiny stomach to begin with that will have a swollen stitch line. This makes sipping drinks a full time job. The more liquid you can get in you, the better you will feel. Secondly its going through the food stages. Just do your best. Be prepared for some foods to repulse you. Don't bulk buy. Use you team post surgery for the big questions and worries and this forum will give you great guidelines and advice. I read a lot of back pages of the forum whilst I waited for the surgery. It hold masses of information. You will only find help here, we don't criticize. We all did the surgery, we all managed the process, you will too. You don't need to know everything right now.

Hello @Selki Even I had these at 60. I was tearful and touchy. It felt like PMT. I hadn't been pre warned about these and when I asked on here, I was quickly answered. Once I knew the cause it was easy to accept the feelings and move on. The symptoms don't last long, about a month in my case. I had to say sorry a few times to my husband. Good luck with your surgery, it has so many benefits you will be amazed.

I love to walk, I can speed march now. I can walk to the shops and walk back with two full bags of shopping. If I am home alone and the weather is bad and I feel like I need to do some exercise, I will put on fluffy socks and dance myself dizzy on my tiled kitchen floor. Every Tuesday I volunteer in a charity shop. Its so busy. I work like a demon and its seriously hard graft. I get home exhausted. I have to give myself a day off on Wednesday because I am usually still fatigued. Exercise doesn't have to be boring or paid for. Find something you love to do and run with it.

I found taking my meds very difficult for months. I took what I could, any way I could. Having to space everything out is really difficult. Drink ,wait, eat, wait, tablets wait !!! It does seem like a full time job. Some of my tablets are tiny so they were ok. My pain meds, for Fibromyalgia, were a struggle. I had to crush them and they were vile. It did not matter what I mixed them with, I dreaded them. Shudder. I did not take the repulsive Calcium tablet for months, I couldn't, the texture repulsed me. My team were ok with this. They understood my struggle. I soon had to stop some because I didnt need them anymore, blood pressure was the first to go. Some people had no problems at all, I was so envious.

I love a super seeded bread and like @JennyBeez My bread has to be toasted too. I also like the tiny super crisp Melba toast, the kind you have with pate. I make my own Wholemeal loaves for the family and can eat a small sandwich made from this.

You are very welcome. You are doing so well. In such a short time you have lost half of yourself. Its amazing isn't it

I love walking outdoors. I get a huge buzz from just walking quick. I hope the feeling never grows old. Pre surgery, I couldn't walk without a stick and was a out of breath, sweaty mess. I had to Google every destination to be sure that the journey was do-able for me.