Arabesque

Aah the debate over BMIs. Think of them as a guide only. There are too many other factors that influence your weight & what is healthy for you. If you carry a lot of muscle you will weigh more & will have a higher BMI. You may have a small frame & so a lower BMI may be more appropriate. Neither means you’re not at healthy weight for you. So who can really say what’s perfect or not. At the end of my first appointment with my surgeon, when he had gone over my weight loss & gain cycles, my eating habits, general health, lifestyle, etc, he asked me where I thought I’d like to be. I told him 60kg as it was always my lowest weight. Honestly I would have been happy at 70kg. Anything was better than being 91. He told me he thought it was achievable. It was, plus more which was reached without trying to lose more. Which is where my body must have wanted to be. Instead of setting a lowest goal weight, set a couple of happy weight points like @ShoppGirl then see where your body settles. You can lose more if you want to be more restrictive with your diet & are willing to undertake more activity. As long as that’s sustainable you’re golden All the best.

Welcome & congratulations on your surgery. Never be afraid to ask for help. This process is not always easy. Many hiccups & roadblocks along the way as we work through the crap that lead us to being overweight. We don’t talk about the importance of doing the head work for nothing 🙂 Were you recommended a therapist as part or your pre surgery program? If not ask your team for a recommendation to someone who specialise in eating disorders & bariatric patients. You may find working with a therapist about your cravings & night eating very helpful. There are many people on this forum who have benefitted from working through their food obsessions etc. with therapy to understand what’s drinking them to eat & finding strategies to manage those drives. Good luck & congratulations on your weight loss so far. It’s just the beginning.

Life happens, we get complacent, say tomorrow I’ll get back on track, ... I’d say many of us would put our hand up & say yep, we’ve been where you are in some way or another. Knowing why you’re not losing is the first step. Making the changes is the next step. Even making one change today is a start. I agree with the posters above: get back onto your plan & track, meet your protein & fluid goals, watch portion sizes & calories. Make an appointment with your dietician too. Have to admit I was surprised that you only have an annual check up with your surgeon & you’re not even a year post surgery & not at goal. I know all surgeons are different but I still see my surgeon or his support doctor every three months (though as I approach my three yr anniversary we’re trying 4 months). Still have regular blood tests too. Maybe ask for more frequent appointments with your surgeon & dietician. They are supposed to be there to support & encourage you & ensure you’re keeping healthy. All the best.

Congratulations. It’s great you’ve spoken with your surgeon & are seeing your dietician to discuss your changing needs. You may be surprised how little you will have to change your diet or increase your calories to support your growing baby. You’re not eating for two adults but for yourself & a very small baby.

You really need to seek out some medical advice about this. Generally rumbling, gurgling, etc. is common. Mine can be very loud so I quizzed my surgeon’s partner at a recent check up & she said it was my body doing what it’s supposed to: digest food. (My young nieces & nephews think my noisy tummy is hilarious.) Pain & nausea is not common & needs to be explored to see what’s going on. The nausea could be the vitamins but that usually only occurs after you take them & doesn't continue all day long. You may need an ultrasound & endoscopy to see what’s happening. Work at increasing your fluid intake. At 32oz you’re only getting half of what your body needs. If your active or live in a hot climate you’ll need more. You could be borderline dehydrated which could also be contributing to your nausea & discomfort. All the best.

Great advice @GradyCat. Thank you for sharing.

Such a difficult time for you @ShoppGirl but am pleased you are gaining some comfort from the care & support of the hospice staff. I remember knowing that the staff cared equally as much about my dad as we did when he was dying was immensely comforting to my family. Don’t worry too much about those couple of pounds. Your life & routines are pretty upside down at the moment. Your emotional distress won’t be helping either. I know it’s scary when you see that higher number (I’m experiencing it now about a couple of Christmas pounds. Don’t like it & want them gone.) Always skinny people never understand how 2 pounds can demoralise us so much. But I expect this is just a temporary gain/fluctuation because of these sad circumstances. All the best.

Check with your dietician. There are many caloric recommendations around but you have to find the one that is right for you. There are lots of factors to consider like gender, age, activity level, how far out you are, etc. Some people are told to get to 1200 within a couple of months. There was no way I could have done that. I’m female, in my 50s, short & not very active. I was barely eating 900 by goal at 6 months & I could not physically eat more than I was. I only eat about 1300 now to maintain.

Oh my God. I loved those afternoon naps. Sometimes I wish I still had a great excuse to have a nana nap.

Different plans have different timelines around when to start consuming alcohol again. What does your plan say? Remember it’s always best to follow your plan. Why the craving? Is it really beer you’re craving or something else (food)? Do you really need it or are you looking for something to comfort you? Swapping one addiction/craving for another is a concern after weight loss surgery. You can’t satisfy your food craving so you look for something else and alcohol is often what people turn too. Will one beer satisfy your craving or will you want another one tomorrow? Will that beer be worth the calories & the carbs? You’re not 4 weeks out & are still healing. It’s why you’re still on a staged return to eating a broader diet of solid food. Beer is very acidic & will upset & irritate your healing tummy. These are just some things to consider before making your decision. All the best.

We all heal & recover in our own time. Some will say I was fine after a week or two others will say a month. Me, I was a couple of months but I always seem to take longer to recover from everything even a cold. Plus it was complicated by my tendency for occasional drops in blood pressure becoming low BP all day every day. Even my head became doughy & my concentration was poor. Don’t give yourself a deadline. Take your recovery at your pace & listen to your body. Keep working at meeting your fluid & protein goals. But you won’t feel like you did before - you’ll feel so much better because of your weight loss & improving general health. Won’t it be great.

Excellent progress pxt. And great top too. Shame it will be swimming on you so much soon you’ll have to consign it to the donation bin. 😉 Congratulations on your weight loss so far.

I have a sleeve but my liver function was off too - much higher levels. My cholesterol increased as well even on my very low fat diet. Some of it is because of the hormones, toxins, triglycerides, vitamins, etc. being released from your fat as you’re losing. It’s why some develop gall stones after surgery too. (I did ☹️.) Once I stopped losing, my cholesterol dropped back to it’s usual levels (had always been consistent regardless of my weight for decades) & my liver function returned to normal too. My surgeon & GP did more blood tests (almost every month) & ultra sounds to ensure nothing was untoward while I was losing & until everything stabilised again. Wouldn’t hurt to ask for additional tests just to ensure there isn’t another reason too.

Yep, erratic & changed periods post surgery is quite common. As you lose weight, oestrogen (& other hormones, vitamins, toxins, etc.) stored in your fat is released into your blood stream. I’m menopausal & after surgery my symptoms disappeared. Yay! (Though on HRT I still had break through symptoms before surgery.) Unfortunately they all came back when I stopped losing - no more oestrogen being released from my fat to offset what want I wasn’t producing anymore. ☹️ I questioned my surgeon about my HRT absorption because a much younger friend was told she’d have to find an alternative to her pill. My surgeon said taking the pill or HRT was not an issue with a sleeve. But it all depends upon where your pill (or any medication) is absorbed. Check with your surgeon or prescribing doctor to be totally certain.

Well here’s my throw together chicken & lentil soup. Only thing I bought was a leek. Had all the other ingredients in the freezer, fridge or pantry. Yoghurt is always a thing @GreenTealael. Are they prunes, cranberries or something else with the almonds?

We all lose at our own rate. Some are slow losers, others fast. Both are fine. Your weight loss seems great so far @rgwtwins. About 40lbs over 10 weeks is about 4 lbs a week. That’s pretty damn good. Celebrate those pounds you’ve lost. Yes, stalls can be damn frustrating but they do happen & unfortunately can occur a few times. Usually a stall will break in its own time without you doing anything different. If you’re worried, meet with your dietician just to ensure you are not missing something. Sometimes a small tweak will kick start your loss again especially if it’s persisting for more than 4 weeks. Yes @Cheryl A, the higher your starting weight the faster you tend to lose at first but it will slow. If your medical team is happy with your rate of loss, enjoy your weight loss too. It’s probably a bit of a shock but you’re doing well.

I agree with @philannony - just take whatever you’re making for yourself for dinner. I was & still am a big cook it myself person & I still spend time ‘bagging’ up single serve portions of whatever I cook to put in the freezer. (Actually just bagged up three serves of a chicken & lentil soup I made last night.) Before work, I’d just select a frozen portion & then zap it in the microwave at work. Easy. Also handy for those nights you don’t feel like cooking. My freezer is usually full of serves of soup, rissoles (meat balls), chicken tenderloin, lamb cutlets, savoury mince, corned beef, etc. Plenty of variety so you don’t get bored eating the same meal for lunch & dinner. In those first months, mince dishes, soups & casseroles were my go to as they always included some vegetable. Later chicken tenders were easy (just made a simple salad & tossed in the chicken at lunch). Also took cheese sticks, I also found a great frittata recipe. (I swap around the ingredients salmon instead of tuna & various veg.) Make it in a tray pan & slice it into portions or in muffin tins. Always a couple of serves of that in my freezer too. All the best.

Ok. Take a breath. You just had pretty major surgery. Your digestive system has been altered. There are lots of sutures & staples holding your tummy together. You’re on a restricted diet. It’s perfectly fine to be experiencing low energy & tiredness. You’ve never done this surgery before & it may even be your first ever surgery. Plus the surgery itself can cause many to experience a roller coaster of emotions. If you’re consuming 64oz+/- of fluid a day you shouldn’t be dehydrated but there is no harm in checking at your local medical centre to ensure you’re not. I added 500mls (16ozs) of diluted hydralite to my daily fluid intake for a few months. The electrolytes gave me a little boost of energy. Take it easy on yourself. You’re allowed to feel overwhelmed & like crap. It will get better & easier. All the best.

You can experience many stalls as you’re losing so you’re likely experiencing another one now. Frustrating I know. If it persists more than 4 weeks, check in with your dietician. Sometimes a small tweak to your diet can kick start your loss & also ensure you are still following your plan (it’s easy to get a little complacent as the months go by cause we think we have it all under control). A change to your exercise program (frequency, duration or activity) can also shake the stall. Good luck.

For ages I used to suffer from very sharp cutting like pains across my tummy. Ultrasound, barium meal & endoscopy & they found slight reflux, no ulcer & a little scaring. What they did discover was I overproduced acid. No food in my tummy - pain. Not from hunger but from too much acid. The pain & the acidic tummy often made me not want to eat but, you know, vicious circle. The easiest & quickest way to stop the pain was to eat. (Carbs like bread, cracker breads, pasta, rice, etc. worked best - more absorptive I guess.) Because much of this is like what you’re experiencing I wonder if that is your problem too. Certainly worth asking your doctors. I take Nexium every day now. I say it’s for my increased but different reflux but I also think a lot of it is still too much acid in my tummy. And it’s likely why, & with no gall either, I have random attacks of diarrhoea a couple of times a month - acid irritating my bowel. Changing your diet is a great start I managed my reflux that way after it was diagnosed. Only took esomeprazole occasionally then. No carbonated drinks (terrible hiccups if I indulged in more than 2 glasses of champagne or G&Ts), no spicy food, nothing too fatty, no rich or creamy foods (watch cheese too), reduced caffeine (single large mug of green tea a day). Maybe try eating more regularly & more dense food (not advocating lots of simple carbs but maybe some good complex whole or multi grains). I hope they can find an answer for you soon. All the best.

If I eat too quickly I get discomfort, my restriction kicks in or worst case scenario the foamies & that’s the end of eating anything more even if I’m nowhere near eating my meal. So I still eat slowly 2 3/4 yrs out. Happily take 30-60 minutes to eat a meal. Helps to reduce that temptation to eat more & increase my attention on why I’m having that next bite. But that’s me.

It’s as @GradyCat said: as long as the NSAID isn’t going through your digestive system you’re fine. The issue with NSAIDS post weight loss surgery is the irritation they cause to your tummy & potential for reflux, GERD, bleeding, ulcers etc. Remember you have a much smaller tummy so the effects of the NSAIDS are concentrated. Topical & intravenous NSAIDS are not absorbed in the digestive system. But check with your surgeon if your concerned.

I was never given a limit for carbs. Just advised to keep my intake low so avoid as possible. (Though I was able to have rolled oats from purée.) I was told to consider fruit & vegetables not as a ‘carb’ but an important source of fibre & essential vitamins & nutrients that were to be eaten after protein if I was able. Plus most veg are pretty low in carbs. Fruit is a little more but still you can’t eat much those first few months. I started fruit at around the 2 month mark I think. As an afternoon snack but not every day - watermelon (fluid content was a bonus) & strawberries to begin. Added other choices as I progressed. Now I have blueberries every day at breakfast & another serve of fruit (various) a couple of times a week. Fruit is my sugar fix. 😉 My biggest challenge with fruit is eating it too quickly - all that juicy goodness - then I have discomfort & on some occasions my restriction kicks in which is damn annoying. I started vegetables from soft food - carrots, celery, onion, tomato & mushrooms in slow cooked soups & stews. Then I added a couple of steamed green beans, cabbage or a cauliflower floret with dinner once on solid food. Now I eat a decent serve of whatever vegetables I want for lunch & dinner.

Your migraines may have improved because of your reduced blood pressure &/or the hormonal changes. Some migraines are triggered by certain foods like pickled or fermented foods, chocolate & caffeine so the changes you’ve made to your diet may also have helped. Whatever the reason why, the fact the attacks have improved is fantastic & a great win. Congrats on your weight loss so far.

Were you given a list of foods to eat & avoid during each stage? It’s always best to follow the plan you’re given by your surgeon. You could try bone broths & pho & wonton soups (without the wontons, noodles, vegetables, etc. of course). Actually all soups are good just strain them to ensure there are all liquid - no chunks or fibrous bits. If you’re on full liquid how are you eating yoghurt? It’s usually added during the purée stage but then all plans are different. You can have a yoghurt drink/smoothie just blitz your yoghurt with milk, protein powder (plain or flavoured), etc. Once you’re on the purée stage you can look to thicker but still thin foods like scrambled eggs, instant oats, even meats (incl tinned fish) blended with gravy, stock, milk, Mayo, etc. then strained. Lots more options then. Check to see if these things are allowed on your plan first though.