I joined a gym this week and went today for the first time, and LOVED it, I couldn't believe how good I felt after! Admittedly, I am way too scared to go anywhere near the machines but did a step class and it was awesome. And I am normally allergic to exercise lol. I'm hoping I'll get the confidence to ask someone to show me some of the machines in a few weeks as I get used to the whole gym thing, classes are so easy to stay anonymous in. Was so glad to see it wasn't *all* super sleek people who knew what they were doing (though admittedly they were still the majority, lol)!
Am also a long-term WWer, I use the online tracker just to help keep me honest. Except for the times when I don't ha ha. We had a fiji trip about a month ago and I ate till the cows come home and have had a great deal of difficulty giving up that habit now! Still, my visit to the gym today made me log back in and start again. Oops, I did still manage to eat 40 points today but the motivation is still there to do better (honest

), and I know it has not been the past few weeks. With the recent weight gain (thanks Fiji) my overall loss since I started with WW is 6kg and I would like to lose a few more to be back to where I was, which I think was a comfortable weight for me. I don't want to be "too" slim I don't think (wouldn't know myself and that would be weird

), if I lost another 4kg I would be at the lowest I've been in many years and would play it by ear after that to see what I think looks right on me. I really find the tracker does help me, both to lose and also to maintain the loss, it helps me see where I go wrong (thinking that if something is a healthy food, I can eat ridiculous amounts of it without consequence for example lol).
kyl, if you are around, I would love to hear about your sleeve op. My mum is about to undergo this surgery in NZ and I am a bit worried about it tbh because it's so irreversible, and because I know her issue isn't so much food quantities so much as the kind of food she eats, she and my dad enjoy the good life when it comes to food. I support her in going for it, I just have these background worries. They live in the US six months of each year, eating out a lot etc. My dad is very overweight, I guess my mum is too but it's more my dad's likes that dictates their diet to a large extent. (I don't mean he's a dictator in the marriage but more that he likes good food [really I mean bad here

- butter slathered on everything for eg, soft drinks as their staple fluid], and my mum is more than happy to have that same diet. And, she is the cook.) So what happens when my mum has the op, and then finds her way of eating changes drastically, and my dad still wants his usual diet? I worry she may find she has lost something she enjoys in life very much and she will spend the rest of her days seeing her husband continue to eat the way she used to enjoy - but I don't know, maybe after the op it doesn't bother you? There is talk that if it was a very successful op for her, my dad might choose to do it too but I'm just not sure I see him ever going through with it and giving up that part of his lifestyle.
Anyway, that was probably waaaaaaaaay too much background but just wanted to get your take on it and how you are feeling since having had it done. How does it compare to the band out of curiosity, in terms of how you feel? (Band is what my mum was originally looking at but the sleeve was recommended because she spends so much time overseas and wouldn't be able to have the adjustments you apparently need). If you do see this, and are able to respond but would prefer to do so privately, feel free to PM me kyl

Thanks!