Biddy zz 🏳️🌈

I had previous surgery scars from years gone by. I had open surgery for my bypass. Seriously it is nothing to be worried about. In some ways it was easier - none of the post-laparoscopic surgery gas pain for example! And my recovery was real quick. I had gallstones last month - oddly enough after saying that too would have to be open - they did it laparoscopically!! In terms of recovery for the two - not much difference. Longer in hospital for the open bypass, a couple of nights sleeping in a recliner before I lay flat, but all up pretty ok...

RNY for me. Revision from a gastric band that had turned rogue! So at surgery was at 230lbs - down from my 260 at band surgery 9 years ago, but up from my 180ish post-band weight. i took three months to find a protein shake recipe I can stomach. Hate the protein taste in whey, and pea is even worse. My ‘forever breakfast’ shake has a shot of coffee, 50/50 vanilla and plain unsweetened whey protein, a dash of milk and 7 ice cubes blended into a slushy. In the weekend, I leave out the coffee and add a few berries for variety....

7 months post surgery, my taste and smell is still shifted. I generally cut out ‘sweets’ from my diet - not all carbs like beans but I cut out sugar, cakes, crisps, potato, pasta, rice and artificial sweetener (Coke Zero etc). Now this sweet food, even just a bite, makes me a little grossed out! But lettuce! Oh my, food of the gods! I crave it some days. Oranges! Pickles! Peanut butter - I used to hate it. So yep - the new taste for lettuce, peanut butter and pickles emerged post surgery and the unpleasantness of sweetness is developing as my tolerance is lowered by not being exposed to it. Eggs - now really cannot stomach the fart smell/taste!

I put ice cubes (seven! I am a creature of habit!) in the blender and make a slushy shake. I prefer the taste (no whey aftertaste) and no froth!

Fantastic news! Yep, walk walk walk, sip sip sip. Best post-surgery advice I was given! Welcome to the loser’s club!!

I am a bit of a creature of habit and routine. I LOVE my breakfast shake (vanilla whey powder, shot of coffee, ice - 25g protein) and intend it to be my daily breakfast forever!! I am 7 months out, below goal, and trying to stop the weight loss now. This breakfast makes me not want food until lunchtime, no cravings so no dumb choices, and has the added bonus that I like the taste - so no need to give it up, for me.

What a GREAT description!! I love this. Three walls! Fresh fruit. Meat, fish, salads. And dairy - milk, yoghurt, cheese. THAT is a rule I can live with. Sure - buy a quick lunch on the go - but from the treee walls.....

I thought this was only me! I haven’t been in ketosis, have no ketosis breath, but have general armpit BO. I havent worn deoderant for years, but since surgery at Christmas, I need to! Still, a price I am happy to pay!

Hey Cashmere&bones A few things spring to mind. You have had all your life to moderate your own portion sizes. How is that going for ya?! Of course you could start this tomorrow. Book in for the surgery, but go it alone and if in 6 months you are smashing it, then don’t have the surgery... Is that a plan that might work? It sounds easy, but for so many of us, the surgery provides that critical extra tool that means we CAN do portion control. By the way, I think we have all thought ‘I reckon I can just do it by myself’ at some point - but mostly we can’t or don’t. Half an apple doesn’t keep me full - it is starting meals with protein that makes all the difference. I drink sparkling water every day. I don’t have to do the ‘no drinking near eating’ rule. We all vary quite a bit! And you will find out exactly how you work post surgery - and make it all your own. I NEVER feel like I am missing out, now. I have worked out how to eat that works. I eat out in groups, in cafes, at parties. But I eat an entirely new set of foods! And I am happy with it!! Many of us have occasional treats. Some have a plan allowing 75 calories of treats a day, and you can ‘save them up’ for an event. I do a bit of this. Really, the eating I do now, at goal and maintaining, doesn’t look at all odd compared to my friends... One more thing. In your stats under your username, you say you are 6 foot tall, and your goal weight is 125lbs. This is really really low - bmi of 17 and out of the healthy range - is that really your goal??

Fantastic! You must be stoked!!

I was eating chicken at three weeks but, as Creek said, very moist. I added all sorts - mushy tomatoes was a favourite for me. Minimum extra calories, and a nice part of my ongoing eating plan... Dry food didn’t really sit so well for me until 2-3 months.

What a great post! 6 months post bypass, I still forget to eat. And when I do eat I don’t ever eat until I feel ‘full’ I don’t think - I sort of lose interest and stop eating before I consume too much!! Well done you - keep up the good work!!

I sat in hospital, then at home, wondering if my surgeon cut me, sewed it up, and did no surgery! But once I was on solids, then I saw all was as expected. I don’t really get a feeling of ‘restriction’ like I thought I would (I am a bypass, not a sleeve). I don’t get hungry, I don’t get stuffed full but I eat and then sort of get a ‘ok, enough, time to do something else’ after about a cup of food...

Use this place! Share the worries. Start 10 post threads. Ask questions. There have been days when having conversations with these unknown strangers - unknown except they KNOW about this huge thing in my life and how it unfolds - has really kept me sane, made me feel normal... xxx

Yep - I was a relative lightweight though! But was climbing back to my pre gastric band (10 years ago) weight after it failed, so got the bypass. my initial ‘goal’ was 170, then when I surprised the heck out of myself by looking like I would hit it, I lowered it to 156 - my BMI= not overweight any more level. Hit that within 6 months. Now I am 149 and pretty happy! I have been pretty single minded about sticking to plan, not pushing the boundaries around experimenting with dumping from eating rubbish food - my diet is really healthy almost every day - and most importantly, I am loving the new way of eating! And the clothes - yeeehaaaaa

Oh man, this is inspiring...

I had this mild pain and ignored it. And then had three major events, and went into hospital with imminent liver failure and had my gall bladder out! So you are wise to pay attention. Look online - there are loads of people swearing by things like Apple cider vinegar.

Yep - it has been a lifesaver!! I really dislike most protein powder drinks - way too sweet or the whey flavour, of me, overpowers the food flavour. I mix two vanilla protein powders 50/50 - one is too sweet, the other has no sweetness at all, so the mix is pretty well right. The coffee masks any protein powder taste, and wakes me up! And I use 7 ice cubes - trial and error to get the righ number so it is icy but drinkable. Today - dinner is mango and chicken tacos, with chipotle slaw...

Hi @Yo-yo girl I am below goal but still losing, so am trying to up my calories! I had my ‘forever breakfast’ of a coffee shot with a bit of milk and protein powder and ice, blended to a slushie. Trying to add calories - so just had 20g watermelon for morn8ng tea. Lunch will be oven roasted beetroot with baby spinach, crumbled feta and balsamic dressing. Made last night, portioned out into snack boxes for lunch. Dinner will be a veggie tempeh loaf with cannelloni beans and BBQ plum glaze. Easy peasey to make, with bok choy. If I push myself a little on dinner portion size, I should hit 1000 calories, and 60g carbs...

Good on you for managing expectations. We littlies tend not to lose 6-10lbs a week like some of our fellow travellers. I was “low bmi” but a bit higher than you - 5 foot 7, 230lbs. I had open (not laparoscopic) bypass surgery, and had to have a messy gastric band removal. Off work for 4 weeks (over Christmas - New Zealand summer holidays) and was a size down in trousers and 20lbs lighter when I went back. Averaged 4 lbs a week for the first 8 weeks, 3lbs a week for the next 10, 1.5lbs a week for the next 10. Odd three-week stalls here and there (when I tended to drop a trouser or bra size, so I don’t mind stalls). It felt like it was slow at the time, especially early on - no-one other than my partner really noticed for 4-5 months, but actually people’s reactions now show how fast this 7 months/80lb loss, has been...

Actually I hate to say this but I didn’t have much pain with dumping. But 20 mins of real pain both sides at the bottom of my ribs - like really painful - does remind me of gallstones! I had my gallbladder out nearly 4 weeks ago. Not uncommon following bariatric surgery, but usually later after a chunk of weight loss. Fats set off my gall bladder. Sugar set off the dumping. But that is only a rough guide! Gallstones do show up on an ultrasound... keep a good food record so you can see what the triggers are. Glucose syrup - sounds like a likely dumping culprit...

Yes, just cover it to keep it clean and stop any bacteria getting in the gap. If it isn’t red, sore, swollen you just want to keep it clean - and obviously, don’t take a bath or go swimming! I just had my gall bladder out recently - most incisions healed quickly but one took about 10 days longer than the others - but finally, has closed itself up.

I weigh cooked. Of course most things are not 100% protein, even 30g protein powder gives me only 27g protein! So I now use MyFitnessPal and enter the cooked food weights to help me work out my protein grams. It isn’t very precise - there are often many different options for the thing you are eating, with different calories. Often I end up making my own recipes from the raw ingredients to work out calories, protein g, sugar g etc.

The way you describe that - it sounds exactly like my first episode of dumping! I have never had one so bad since - mine lasted exactly 45 minutes, start to finish. But I could trace mine back to a sweet food. I god rny’d just befor Christmas. I got offered Christmas cake at about week 4. I thought ‘those raisins, fruit bits etc will have a lot of sugar, I will have a thin bit with very little cake” and cut a piece from the side, so what I ate was 90% icing! What a dope! Taught me a tough lesson about thinking things through!! I don’t know about those multivitamins. Look at their few sugar content - is it high? I have had less severe dumping twice since, both following eating a quest protein bar, 17g sugar.... it does act as sugar aversion therapy!

You look AMAZING - are people you know ignoring you because they don’t recognise you??