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Everyone seems to agree with them lol I remember why I started straightening it, tho. It's a pain to maintain. But I'll do it until I want to chop it all off lol Then I'll see how it goes. I'm not one to mess with my hair much, and I don't do much in the way of make up. Haven't since high school. So having to put the leave in conditioner in my hair and the curl cream is super annoying. If I don't, it's all kinds of floofy and frizzy. So it keeps my hair nice and tame. So we'll see how long it lasts. For now, I really like it. And thank you for the compliment Very sweet of you.

Your curls are Hair Goals -- I agree with your kids lol! Seriously though, you're looking amaaaazing ❤️

I think that it is hard not to measure ourselves against other people - but our bodies will ultimately decide the rate in which we lose weight. You have had an amazing loss so far, try to celebrate that and remember you are on the right track x

This was me after getting to work, clocking in, and being paid to "turn it on" and smile lol And yes, that's one of my 2 fur babies. This particular one is Asher lol Btw...I know you guys have seen pics of my straight hair in the past. The curls in my hair are actually natural. I have straightened my hair for the better part of 20 years, to the point that even when I didn't straighten it, there was almost no curl or wave left in it. After my hysterectomy, I got my hair cut and ALL the curl came roaring back lol I have no idea why. But my kids have decided I'm not allowed to straighten it anymore, so I won't.

That's so smart - I have been trying to get my house in order this week, too - this sounds like great motivation to me because I TOTALLY would be doing the same thing; you're right - going crazy about everything I see that needs done at the worst possible time to deal with it! I hope your EKG is good as well! I'm sure it will be *crosses fingers* I go in on Monday for my Pre-Admission Testing; I'm not sure if they'll do an EKG or not but I'm glad you mentioned it! I was just reviewing my paperwork and it says that "You will have non-fasting labs drawn at this appt. and may have other testing done." so I guess it's possible; I hadn't even thought of it. I'm sure they mentioned it and I lost it in the overwhelming amount of information I've been trying to process. It really is a LOT to keep track of. I lucked into hearing about that app I mentioned, Finch, from another friend who also had WLS. (Weight Loss Surgery - it took me an embarrassing amount of time to figure out that abbreviation! ) She had the sleeve, and another friend of mine had the Roux-y about a year and a half ago done by the same surgeon I'm using. I've watched her recovery, and it's been rocky. I think doing a 'virgin SADI' as you called it will be way better for me. She's already got an ulcer due to continuing to use NSAIDs and drinking way too much coffee. She also went back to smoking cigarettes. It's been quite the motivator to do this right, I'll say that much! I start Colace and the Liquid Diet on 7/29, so we'll be on about the same track! I've got the one week pre-op diet, and then surgery on Aug. 5th as long as I get the insurance and other clearance! Best of luck!

Yes, it's requirement. 6 month supervised diet with documented failure of weight loss. Documentation supporting the "reasonableness and necessity of a Gastric Restrictive Surgical Service being required, and significant clinical evidence that weight is affecting overall health and is a threat to life." Psych eval Nutritionist counseling sigh

Amber you have done so so well (and am totally expecting that pesky 0.4lbs to goal to melt off soon, along with more besides LOL!!) Since my surgery I have tried to avoid processed foods and ultra processed foods, other than on special occasions. These are what made most of obese in the first place. Meeting our post op macros and choosing foods that will sustain and nourish our bodies in the long term are, I believe, two completely different things. I have no evidence that people who eat mostly whole foods cooked from scratch do better long term than those of us who return to ultra processed foods but just in lower volumes (because we have a much smaller place to put them at the start - but it does enlarge for some). I do know that my approach is working for me. Also no idea whether people who revert to UPFs are on a slippery slope, do worse, just stop posting here. My observation would be that most of the long termers here don't. There are a few exceptions I think but they seem to be people who have had surgery that allows them to malabsorb hugely (and pay the price GI-wise). The sleeve isn't designed to do that. In summary - hats off for your massive and rapid loss. I think that long timers seem to do better with whole foods and home cooked meals. If you're eating something that has ingredients that you don't have in your home cupboard, be wary, think twice, but enjoy if you want to! I wish you all the best.

agree with poster above...you don't look too small at all....just right IMO. AND your boobs look very much intact..still good sized, yet higher up than your before pic! (sorry for objectifying you...you look fab!) ...also the lighter hair colour in the after pic suits you better!

I had a bypass over 15 years ago and at first it was successful over 10 stone loss and I felt amazing. My mobility has decreased dramatically nd I've been diagnosed with fibromyalgia, I've gained all my weight back and more. My pouch im sure is huge, I get terrible reflux and I'm thinking a revision. Has anyone successfully had a NHS revision? What was criteria? What did the op entail? Also, anyone gone private for this in uk? What was the cost? Im so confused but I know to help my mobility I need to lose weight 😩 Any help is appreciated

Thanks @Bypass2Freedom, @SleeveToBypass2023and @FifiLux for your kind comments. I think the MSK person just wanted to make me aware of what the future may hold for me and to temper any expectations I may have regarding WLS and my knees. As it stands at the moment, I find it difficult to weight bear as the pain can knock me sideways. I’ve had a little folding scooter for around a month now which means I can now get out of the house with hubby and be around people. I cannot begin to explain how this has added to my quality of life! I have some independence back!! I could go weeks at a time not getting out, so this is a massive change. I could actually wizz off to the park with my granddaughter at the weekend and just be there with her 😊 I also haven’t driven for almost a year now, which I miss but cannot manage at present as I can’t get in the van we have at the drivers side as it’s too high and my knees can’t cope right now as there are times when just bending them can bring me to tears. It’s not the end of the world, just something that happens 🤷‍♀️ These are all things that will hopefully change in the future. I know that weight loss will have positive impacts in lots of different areas of my life. I know that my knees will definitely thank me, knee surgery not withstanding!

Amazing. OMG that loss in that timeframe is totally inspirational! Took me much longer from a similar starting point. I am in absolute awe of your regimen. I suspect you have further loss in you. Enjoy all of the feels, all of the NSVs. You are doing this gal! With or without any further surgery you've done this 🤲

I think most just want to compliment you on your great accomplishment and we can be too sensitive. What I mean is no matter what someone says (yes some don't think it through AND do say hurtful things) it can be kinda hurtful if you think about it to much; " Oh you've let weight, you look great!" - So what are you saying, I didn't before when I was fat!? "You lost a lot of weight in your face, you're beautiful! - Again, I wasn't before? Its a very difficult mine field for ppl to transverse - I just take the compliment and move on. "better yet learn to see a person for who they actually are and not even notice a persons size amongst other physical things (only in a perfect world I know)." - After all the work I've gone though to lose the weight, its nice to have it acknowledged. I'm not sure I'd be happy if they just kept talking after not having seen me in awhile and not at least mention my weight loss...but, to each their own, we're all different. I try my hardest to not read into what or how ppl say things, I just take it as hopefully a compliment, but if it's not, then the hurtful thing is on them - not me.

It won't cure the arthritic knees and pain but it will help as you will have much less weight to be walking around with so less pressure on them. I have no cartilage in either knee and have been getting steroid injections and also hyaluronic to cushion the joints and they only last a while. Doctors told me I needed both knees replaced at a later date but I had to loose weight first and my knees need to thin down more (as I have bad lymphedema). I can already feel the difference now with the weight loss, I can walk further and faster without much pain. Whereas before I would not be able to sleep at night due to knee pain. I will get another round of injections in September before my holidays just to be on the safe side and will see what the ortho says about my knees (I don't think they have slimmed down enough yet) and I think my knees have a few more years in them.

I have to believe that, while losing the weight won't reverse the arthritis, it HAS to help it not be quite as bad given there won't be as much weight to carry around. Any weight loss should improve that, I would think. Yes, there will still be pain, but not the added pain from the weight on the arthritic knees. So I have to believe the weight loss will be at least a little bit of help in the pain department there. I'm glad you got the answers you were looking for and have a plan moving forward!!!

Thanks for the support! I've been told just liquids. I've lost .4kg (.8) after 1 day so imagine feeling encouraged! I've been told no food because I need to lose weight quickly for the surgery and I need 1000-1200 calories a day. But I also ride my bike everywhere so ai think that helps with the weight loss.

Had my MSK appointment yesterday to discuss my poorly knees and go through my X-rays. Turns out my knees are, and I quote, ‘riddled with arthritis’ and I will need both replacing. It may sound odd but it’s kind of a relief that the pain I feel is justified if that makes sense? The areas of pain on my knees marry up with the worst areas on my X-rays. She did explain that weight loss wouldn’t get rid of the pain but would obviously help with regards to the replacements and quality of life afterwards. I really did appreciate her honesty because the last thing I would want is to think that getting the weight off would make the pains go, and then be disappointed or blaming myself when that didn’t happen. So, can’t have any replacement op until I can get weight off - that’s a given so I was prepared for that. She did say that I was ahead as I’m on the Bariatric pathway which is a huge help. I’m booked in for steroid injections in both knees in 2 weeks. I’ve had these before which weren’t successful but I’m happy to try again, just in case! A couple of weeks after that I will be contacted by physio to see if the injections worked and to have some physio if so. 3 months after that I will be back to see MSK and discuss next steps. It was a huge help that the MSK person was also recovering from a knee replacement op that she had in January. She also needs both replacing and should hopefully have the second before this year is out. She explained recovery and how long it takes etc. It sounds 😬 but needs must and all that. Hopefully, by the time I’m 60 (4 years to go) my weight will be gone, my knees will by done and I will be able to run around with my 2 grandchildren 😊

It doesn't get any better than this. You are not alone. I was about to write a post about the exact same thing. I was on a 2-week holiday in Thailand and the same thing happened to me. I was 70 kg on the day we started our trip and now I'm 66.5 kg three weeks after. I lost like 3.5 kg or so which is amazing. Not sure if that is a water loss or what but I'm happy haha. I can't say the same about my wife though. She is blaming me for gaining 3 kg on the same trip. We ate like "tourists" and tried the many wonderful Thai dishes and made sure to keep hydrated. We did a lot of walking, a bit of swimming and ate a lot of fruits so that might have helped burn the calories from all the coconut milk rich dishes we tried there. I was burning more calories during the trip and more active according to my Apple Watch. The same thing happened to me on a similar previous trip so I can totally relate.

when i first started getting the "you are too skinny" comments, i was annoyed...because i was still considered overweight for my height and i thought the people saying this to me were blind. or stupid. then i started to feel secretly good about it, cuz i felt i looked great and was super proud of my weight loss and thought people saying this were just jealous. or stupid. THEN i started to doubt myself and be self-conscious about my looks as i began to take these people's comments to heart. i thought these people were mean. or just well-meaning (this was the worst stage...luckily this phase didn't last long...maybe a couple months). after a little more time, the comments began to just get boring. i finally knew i looked and felt awesome. so those people went back to being stupid. now, no one makes any comments at all (despite me weighing LESS now than when all their "concern" started showing up). almost all the people that knew me as fat are now used to me being skinny. others never even remember knowing me as fat. i'll be six years out in October. so long story short. eff all the people and their comments. so long as YOU feel great, you're golden. try not let others' opinions change your own good opinion of yourself. ❤️

I hear you! I feel like the social side-effects of my surgery have really taught me to tell the difference between truly supportive friends & family, and those who claim to care but seem to be more concerned about how my weight loss (& lifestyle) will affect their life. There are some I don't talk to about dieting/health of any kind anymore, and others I just don't talk to period.

They are yummy! I also am scared of losing hair, but from what I gather there isn't much we can do about preventing it - but it'll only be temporary if it does happen I just take the gummies to make my hair in a better condition as it is now! Definitely! I think some vitamins like B12 & D, the absorption is actually quite poor in tablet form, so the sprays help with that! Oh bless her I know that can happen with some people! So I paid privately in the UK, and it is a 2 year package of aftercare that includes: 1 week post-op appointment with a bariatric nurse 4 week post-op appointment with a bariatric nurse 8 week post-op appointment with a bariatric nurse 12 week post-op appointment with a bariatric nurse nutritional screen blood test 10 days before 6 month appointment 6 month post-op appointment with a dietician 9 month post-op appointment with a bariatric nurse 12 month post-op appointment with a dietician and a follow-up with the psychotherapist 15 month post-op appointment with a bariatric nurse 18 month post-op appointment with a bariatric nurse 21 month post-op appointment with a bariatric nurse 24 month post-op appointment with a bariatric nurse

I haven't heard of hairburst, but I'm looking it up now! One of my fears is losing too much hair. I hadn't heard of the spray vitamins until I started this forum. It seems like a great idea. My friend had WLS and had to have a blood transfusion due to her anemia, then they put her on injections of vitamins because she just couldn't keep them down. How often do you still talk to your dietician?

Honestly, that's why it's not good to weigh yourself every day. Things like how much you ate and drank, how much salt you had, if you pooped or not can all affect your weight. As hard as it is, weighing yourself once (or if you must, twice) per week, in the morning after you go to the bathroom, before you eat or drink is the best way to see what you true weight is. Weight also fluctuates by a couple of pounds naturally, so if you weigh yourself daily, you'll get discouraged and frustrated and start to think, 5 weeks out, that you've plateaued. Be mindful of slider foods. That's stuff that you can eat more of because it goes down super easy and takes longer to make you feel full. Potatoes are known for this. As I said before, the first 6 months is when you lose the most the fastest. Eating things that slow down that process during that time is counter-productive. This is where you really want to stick to the diet as closely as possible to get the most out of the weight loss. Also move your body. Add in working out, walking, swimming, anything that increases movement over and above what you normally do. Not only does that help, but when you drop weight fast, you can lose muscle. So you want to start working on that.

If you're basing your bypass opinions on 20 years ago, it's come a long way! I chose bypass and have been very happy with the choice. Having said that, I am an avid listener of Dr. Weiner's Pound of Cure podcast and videos, and I found these videos so valuable when making my choice. Ultimately, I went with bypass for the more durable weight loss and avoiding GERD. But there are good reasons to make either choice, and these kind of walk you through some of that.

August 7th isn't too far away! You're close to the preop diet. I started mine a few days ago and it's testing me, but I knew it would. If I were a smaller person, I don't think it would be such an issue. If I weren't having appetite issues even before the diet, things would be easier, too. What's helped has been sipping on broth or slurping on sugar free Jell-O all day. I go slow with those so it feels like I'm eating/taking in more than I am. I'm only nervous about one thing: the gas pains immediately after surgery. I've never had surgery before, so I am not sure what to expect. I want to have a realistic expectation of pain before experiencing it. I know I will handle it better that way. Luckily, I have a few family members who have had laparoscopic procedures before and we willing to be honest about the experience. I've been avoiding stories online of others' experiences of that moment, because we all have different pain thresholds and it's too easy to go down the rabbit hole of scary stories. Especially with AI/algorithms thinking we want to see the worst of the worst. I want to share why I made my decision to have the SADI-S vs a sleeve or bypass. While I cannot speak to what things will be like after surgery, I am confident I'm making the correct decision for myself. I'm in my 30s with no kids, but would like some. I have been struggling with my weight ballooning up and down for the last 20 years. At my heaviest, I was over 320 pounds. I hit that as I made the decision for surgery. I didn't know what surgery I wanted, so I started doing research into the best bariatric surgeons in my state. I read through their websites and looked at reviews for the surgeons through my insurance provider, google, yelp, and other such websites. Then I asked a few friends in the medical field which doctors they would want doing surgery on them. All of that narrowed my list down significantly. I ultimately went on gut instinct and don't regret it at all. My surgeon is amazing. Her teams is extremely supportive. Here's some information she gave me on my options: -- Gastric Bypass: She does not recommend the procedure to any patient. It has more points for potential surgery complications and, in her medical opinion, the highest chance for weight regain. -- Sleeve: potential to lose 70% of excess weight. Less than 1% chance for complications. -- SIPS/SADI-S: potential to lose 80% of excess weight. Less than 1% chance of surgical complications. I want to have children, and she advised that the SIPS/SADI-S (there really needs to be a better name for this) is the best choice to allow me to get pregnant a year or so post-op (depending on how I'm doing) and reenter weight loss when appropriate post-birth. I will have to work very closely with my weight loss team throughout the entire pregnancy, but it really feels like a bonus to have more support. My surgeon's office also recommends patients to very talented specialists for all surgery clearances. They all treated me like they were part of a huge team dedicated to helping me get through surgery clearance. It was amazing. I was given a packet with all the possible issues I might encounter post-op, what can be done if they happen, and how to avoid them in the first place. When I read through it spelled out in black and white, it's easy to see what my life would need to be to avoid a horrible experience. The most embarrassing ones are noted as being most common with gastric bypass than sleeve or DS. Most of these complications can be avoided by chewing well, not drinking during meals, and not overeating. One of my doctors said I am going back to being a baby again, digestively. I will need to reteach my body how to process what I eat and not be afraid to push back milestones if I'm not ready to start the next leg of the journey. I'm definitely anxious. The unknown is always scary. I'm confident at the same time because of the team I'm working with. And because of the support I have at home. I know I'm extremely lucky to have the surgeon and support I do. It's definitely a burden to afford this surgery right now, but I don't believe I will feel that way in 5 or 10 years.

I get comments and I haven’t even had the surgery yet. My surgery is on 7/25 and when i talk about my goal weight, I get the whole that’s too much weight loss, you won’t look good. How are you going to tell me that a healthy size I once was before I started having weight gain issues will make me look unhealthy. I learned not to talk about it with certain people because they really aren’t supportive. Some people don’t want to see you change for the better because then you are leaving them behind.