Photo Update - Me, Recently

Finally did the move to Sydney. Well, all furniture still in storage in Melbourne, but I need to find a house first (HELP!), then a job (double HELP!), and not gain any weight during the process (YELP!).

The weather wasn't too bad in Sydney on Sunday (I know, Melbourne has been sunny sunny sunnyyyyy since the day I left - it must be me or something???), so I asked hubby to take me to the city. I hadn't seen the Opera House and wanted to see it, so yeah.. destination was obvious :)

My husband took quite a few photos of me, and I thought some are quite good as progress photos, so here are a couple:

I am just around the 84kg mark in these photos. I can't give an exact figure as I haven't been weighing myself in almost a week (shock to the max!)

OMG I did it!!!

Ok ok slow down. I havent yet reached my goal goal weight :) Still a while for that, but I am finally under 100kg... finally! double digits!!! I've been sooooo over the moon about my weight for the last couple weeks. I dont remember being under 100kg for almost 20 years. I'm turning 33 in May, so yeah since my early teens.

I've been buying size 14 jeans - but I have to admit they have stretch in them :) otherwise they wont fit, but who cares! I used to force myself into size 24 jeans just 15 months ago. :))))))

However, I have to note that my constant weight-size change has made me go crazy. ı was always a shopaholic but because I couldn't fit into much or even if I did fit, clothing didn't look good, so I would never really go home broke. Now!!! OMG please someone stop me! I definitely have a problem.

Other than that it's all great. :)

I have taken a photo of me on te scales but I cant add it right now because I'm on my iphone. I will add later during the day :))

Current weight: 97.3 kg :))))
Starting weight: 148.6 kgs

OMG, so sorry about the sockettes (it was freezing) and my legs. I would have edited the photo if I realised earlier but too bad heheh I'm adding the photo months after I promised I would add it, but yeah here's proof :)))

Progress Photos - Long Time No See

I've been up and down with sickness in the past couple months. I think I did mention the reflux and fill removal last time?

Well, I had the fill put back in gradually (2 appointments) and was going well until I got sick again... and reflux again...

This happened a couple times and I had 1 ml removed today to give my internals a rest for a couple weeks.

I have been doing great with weight loss, but if it weren't for the episodes of illness I've been experiencing, the results would not have been achieved as quickly. I have to admit that! The cause of the tightness in my band leading to reflux seems to be triggered by colds. I've been catching colds, and whenever I do, my band gets tighter leading to reflux. Apparently something goes on internally when a person gets a cold, and that pushes onto the band making it feel tighter. Doc today said colds can be tricky. Damn!

Anyhow, I am so scared to put the weight back on, because I know it is common... the body thinks you are starving it, so anything that goes in your mouth is stored as fat for survival UNTIL your metabolism kicks in again. So this means I need to hit the gym again rigorously to compensate and kick start it.

Other than all this, I now feel that the band is not for everyone! I personally wouldn't change a thing (other than doing it earlier), I love my band and very thankful for it. But I know that not everybody can cope with the throwing up, struggling to get anything down... sometimes even getting water down is a problem with the reflux. But yeah, just depends on YOU!

I am currently at 100.3 kg, but doc said take last weeks weight as my actual weight, because I was dehydrated and got nothing down the past few days. So in reality, I am approximately 103-104 kg. So that is 10 kg less than the last photos I posted. :)

I have to add that I am very happy and proud! I am loving all the compliments I receive from people who have actually seen my before and current state. :))) I can't wait to get off the next 15-20 kg (maybe another year?) --- then surgery to remove the sagging skin... my God is everything sagging or what! It's turning me off and I think I am going to be really affected psychologically (more than I already am)... dunno how to save up for it, as it is going to cost a lot... I think the cost is going to be the thing that stops me from reaching my goal/dream. Anyway, I have my fingers crossed!

Me @ 103kg at month 14... 45kg down in 14 months!

Now, comparing to the photos in the previous post, I can't see much of a difference, but the jeans I was wearing in the previous photos was a size 18, and they are now quite big on me, very loose! These ones are size 16. I now wear size 16, there are rare occasions I wear 14 (depending on fabric), but I think that if I had the sagging skin in my midrift area removed, I would probably be a 14. That bulge you see in the centre is majorly the emptied out sagging skin which I hate to see when I take off my clothing.

Progress / Comparison Photos: Halaluliah It's Working! :))

I skipped almost a month by mistake. I try to keep a record of how I'm doing at least once a month... So my apologies to both you and myself. :))

Anyhow, I just took photos minutes ago to post up, but this month I also wanted to compare with my pre-op photos.

Let's go down memory lane... I sound like the lady on Playschool (does that even play anymore?). :)

The photo that made me realise I had to do something... Exactly 2 years ago from today!

This phto was taken 10-11 months ago... 2-3 months prior to my surgery... I was waiting... but I wasn't getting any thinner...

My first set of photos after surgery... I had lost almost 9kg post-op.

And today....

at 114.2 kg! Although I must admit jeans do make me look a little more stocky than I actually am lol

I am very proud of what I have achieved. I am almost half way to my ultimate goal. I have lost a total of 34.5kg in the last 9 months. I have had many ups and downs. At the moment I am struggling with blockages due to stress. My band feels very tight, but I haven't had any fills for over 2 months. Life is a little tough at the moment, so any stress (I've been told and read) may cause the band to feel tighter. I plan to go to the clinic the following week. It doesn't make it difficult to breathe, but I just have really bad heartburn. I need to find out why.

Anyways... The weight has been dropping off at a good speed lately.. better than months 3-4-5-6 thankfully :) So all in all I'm one happy gal. :) However, I expect it to slow down any time soon --- I don't want it to, but it's bound to happen I guess.

So yeah that's all from me today and it's quite late so I might get some shut eye.

xoxo

Slowly does it...

It has been a little over 7 months since the surgery...

The weight loss has not been as fast as it is for some and not as slow as it is for others... Nonetheless, we all have different body shapes and systems and eating habits and problem areas, and etc. etc... So what matters is the fact that we continue to lose weight!

Mine was very slow during months 4-5-6 with losses of 0.5 kg to 2 kg per month. It did make me feel down, but I always thought a loss is a loss.

Now, for the last month I have been a little worried that my metabolism will sort of crash because it is the month of Ramadhan where Muslims fast (abstain from eating, sexual activity, etc from dusk to dawn) for a period of 1 month. Obviously we need to eat frequently but in smaller portions compared to our pre-banding state and this was not possible for me during the past month. Anyhow, it hasn't been too bad with a loss of approximately 2 kg, but I hope and plan to lose approx 3 during the following month.

Today is our last day of fasting for the year and the celebrations begin tomorrow. So we shall see how that all goes.

In the meantime, some more photos to share.. :)

This is from last week... Weight @ 119 kg

This is a 'fresh' photo :) from today. Weight @ 119 kg

Side shot from today :) I apologise for the link at the bottom of the photos. They are from another of my fashion-related blogs. :)

A few months down the track and updates...

Okay, much has happened in the last few months...

I was away in Turkey on a business+holiday trip. Just got back a couple weeks ago.

As for my band... I am still happy with it... It's been 6 months, and I just wish I had the means and opportunity to have it done earlier as I know that I would have been even lighter now. But nevermind, at least I have it now! :)

I had previously heard from other bandsters that they experienced many problems when they travelled, and some had told me that they feared blockage, so they just got some fill removed before their travels. However, I also noticed those people gain back many unwanted kilograms during their travel.. So instead I wanted to go to my fill doc as frequently as 2 times every 3 weeks in order to observe very well how my body reacts to any fill that I get.

I chose to get 0.2 ml fill on my last fill before travelling, and was happy all throughout my trip. I couldn't eat much, felt the restriction, regurgitated a few times when I didn't chew well or ate too fast. That was about it. No fuss, no complaints. I enjoyed eating a little of everything. The only down side to all this was, my husband would order a separate meal, and he would finish off my leftovers. So he gained around 5-6 kg. However, he loses fast, so now he weighs less than what he did before going there.

Although I ate little and walked heaps during my trip, I didn't lose as much as I expected. I lost around 3.5 kg during my 6 week trip, which is still good. However, I lost another 3-4 kg in the 2 weeks that I've been back. So that's a bonus!

I was very upset taking off from Melbourne-Australia, as I thought with the weight I had already lost, I would not need an extension belt during the flight. BUT I DID! So embarrassing. :( HOWEVER, I didn't need one on the way back. So woohoo to that! :)

I have been getting compliments from many people as they have started to notice the changes in my body. I can see my body starting to tone up, change shape... I may not be losing as many kgs, but something is still happenning... My body is changing... I can fit into many things I couldn't get my arm through only a few months ago! It's a wonderful feeling, and I just can't wait to drop down to 100 kg! I wonder if I can do it by New Years? 15 weeks? Hmm I don't think so... Maybe 10-12 kg more by then seems more possible? But I will be happy with that too. :)

And here are some photos...

This photo was taken during our first week in Istanbul... What you see behind me is the historical Maiden Tower. Weight was approximately 129 kg

Taken again in Istanbul, only a day before the top photo. So same weight :) This here is a minature of the Sumela Monastery that is actually located in Trabzon in the Black Sea Region. This is only one of the many miniatures that can be found at Miniaturk which is an open-air musem in Istanbul where the miniatures of all monuments/touristic attractions in Turkey are on display. The detail is just amazing. It is also wonderful for those who are unable to travel all around Turkey to see the the actual places.

This was also taken at Miniaturk. My husband and I had a go at 'looking' like Ottoman Sultans. :) I edited the photo to make it look a little ancient. The original colours were too bright and looked as fake as it actually is haha

Towards the end of our trip, with a birds eyeview of Bursa (another city significant to the history of Turkey), this is when I started to notice some more changes in my body... and also my husband's belly! :) But my arms... arghh... They never seem to get slimmer (I know they are from the clothes I try, but they look awful damn it!)...

And the following are my latest photos... Apologies for the bad photo quality thanks to iphone's not so fantastic cam! These are the most up-to-date photos I have as they were just taken last Friday on the 6th of August, 2010. So you be the judge, can you see anymore changes? I can, but what about you? :)

Yup, that's a side-ish shot... Weight @ 122 kg

A-huh! T'is a front-ish shot LOL Weight @ 122 kg

And yeppers, last but not least... a 'profilish' shot; upfront and personal :) Weight @ 122 kg

Toodles!