Arabesque

Are you still meeting your protein goals? Protein provides the amino acids which are essential to hair growth. Maybe up your protein intake further as well to see if it helps. If you’re still losing, your body will be relying on the protein you’re consuming for more needs than growing hair. When did you have your last blood test? You may be lacking in some essential nutrient which is contributing to your hair loss &/or slow regrowth. Have you spoken with your surgeon or GP? Do you actually still see a lot of hair loss or is it just that your hair feels thin? It does take time for your new growth to catch up & replenish the hair you’ve lost. I cut my long hair to shoulder length so the new hair would take as long to grow to reach the length of my existing hair. It probably took well into my second year until my hair felt thicker again & much like it had been.

Agree with @vikingbeast. You need to take a big step back. You’re stressed & emotional which only enhances those cravings. You crave the foods which offered you comfort in the past & you crave the familiar of being able to eat what you want, when you want it. And the more you worry the more anxious you become. You may find a therapist who specialises in supporting bariatric patients very helpful. Ask your surgeon for a recommendation. Constipation is part of the journey. I tried to keep on top of mine by taking Benefibre at least every second day, keeping my fluid intake up & taking a stool softener if I got to day 3 or 4 without movement. I also ate very mild instant rolled oats from purée stage. Took me days to eat a full serve but it was good fibre. You may need an enema since it’s been 15 days or a visit to the hospital for assistance. Being constipated does make it seem you’ve stopped losing or have gained. Get rid of it & your weight will be lower very quickly & you’ll feel much better. Stalls are very common. They can last 1 - 3 weeks, sometimes more. And you can experience a number of them as you’re losing. The first usually occurs around week 3 give or take. You just have to ride them out. They’re just your body taking a time out to come to terms with your weight loss. Changes to your sense of smell & taste are also common. They usually are temporary but how long it lasts is individual. Are there specific foods that upset you more you can avoid? The strong body odour is from your body being in ketosis - fat burning. It’s like every bodily secretion reeks. It passes too. I took deodorant, toothbrush, tooth paste & mouth wash & body wipes to work for refreshes during the day. I was someone who frequently skipped meals in an effort to lose weight (did that for 40+years) & tried all those very low calorie diets including one I did several times that was only 500 calories a day. I still lost all my weight & more. Stick as close to your plan as you can. It may take you a little longer to reach a stage recommendation for calories, portion size &/or foods you can eat but that’s ok. You’ll get there.

Multi vitamins can cause nausea & other digestive issues. You may need to change brands or find ones with less of the vitamins that cause problems (iron, calcium, vitamin C). Make sure you take them after you eat. I found splitting my dose helpful too - one in the morning, one at night. https://health.clevelandclinic.org/get-nauseous-after-taking-vitamins-6-tips-to-make-them-easier-to-stomach/ As to the side pain, I’d question my surgeon & medical team more. You shouldn’t be feeling pain this far out.

Protein is important for the rest of your life. Everyone should be eating protein regardless if they are bariatric patients or not. Your body needs it for healing, muscle & bone health, digestion, … https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/functions-of-protein#TOC_TITLE_HDR_9 The daily recommended amount is 0.8g per kilogram for a non bariatric patient. (I’m required to reach 1.2g of protein per kg of weight in maintenance.) My surgeon was ok if I didn’t meet my protein goals each day to begin as long as I was making an effort to be close. It gets easier when you can eat more. If you can’t tolerate the shakes try bone broth, well strained cream soups or consumes, wonton soup broth (no wontons or vegetables of course). I struggled with shakes too so would dilute them & just rode out one a day for the two weeks.

Oh yes. Most definitely don’t compare yourself to others. There are too many factors which influence our rate of loss: age, gender, staring weight, genetics, etc.. If you’re losing a couple of pounds a week on average you’re doing fine. As long as your weight loss trend is going down you’re golden & celebrate every pound & inch you lose. Don’t forget you likely will experience stalls along the way when you do t lose anything for a week or more. Watch keto. It’s very high fat & you may find your cholesterol levels are higher as your losing weight as it’s released from your fat. Better to look to low fat, low carb, low sugar high protein while you are losing. What plan did your surgeon & dietician give you? I’d avoid the popcorn too until you’re in maintenance. It’s very easy to overeat slider food. Congrats on your weight loss so far.

Sounds like it was too much, too soon & too coarse/heavy. I agree with the others: go slowly. Even if you’re allowed solid foods doesn’t mean you jump in with both feet. I’m surprised you were allowed bread - it’s very filling - but all plans have differences. Check your portion sizes too. Were you given portion size recommendations &/or calorie goals for each stage? Personally I couldn’t eat a whole egg until I was close to goal let alone sausage & bread as well. But that was me.

I like your surgeon’s position. I wasn’t given calorie goals only portion size recommendations so I didn’t have to count calories while I was losing but I’d do random checks for my own interest. Still do. Helps me keep on track. I check calories & nutrient content of all food stuffs I buy. I do a lot of my own cooking so it’s not always possible to work out exact calories which is when I rely on portion size. I don’t like using the word diet. This is just what I eat now & what I don’t eat. The nutrient value is the most important consideration. The only things I count carefully everyday are protein & water.

PS - vomited for the first time in almost 2 years tonight. (Broke my no vomit streak.) A pork cutlet, which I’ve eaten many times before, was too dry & up the last two bites came. And yes it just bubbled up like I described plus foamies (never miss out on those). No straining & heaving. Guess it’s really regurgitation not vomiting.

Soups. I tried bone broth but found the flavour unpalatable (too salty & too strong for me) but the old cup of soups of fine. Some creamy, some not. Strained them first to avoid random chunks or herby bits.

I agree with @lizonaplane. The experience has likely been more painful because you are still healing. Go slowly with the foods you add to your diet. You may find your a few weeks into real solid food until you are fully healed & your tummy is less sensitive. I’ve found after surgery that the odd times I vomited it was different. More bubbling up not heaving, & straining muscle spasms. The cause was eating a little too much, or too fast while I was still learning & once simply because my tummy said ‘no’.

I was neither someone who craved specifically sweet or specifically savoury - more an equal opportunist & liked a bit of both. But sugar now? No thank you. Sweet things taste super sweet. Accidentally bought a box of honey instant oats sachets. Disgusting. Gave them to my mum who couldn’t believe I thought they were crazy sweet. There were some things my tummy didn’t like to begin like my favourite vegetables (asparagus, broccolini, sugar snap peas) but after a month or so they were back on the menu. I still struggle a bit with mango. My restriction kicks in early & I gurgle lots. Do I still eat mango? Yes occasionally. But I go slow & eat small amounts at a time. Can’t be a Queenslander & not eat mangoes. 😉 Savoury is still fine. Cheese, hummus & multi grain crackers when socialising, roasted fava beans (the chick pea ones taste like feet) as an odd treat. If I want a savoury hit I sometimes roll cucumber in sea salt. Salty goodness. But it’s not often. Lately I’ve been eating salmon sashimi with soya sauce for a salty savoury hit (with bonus protein) for lunch.

I enjoyed going to restaurants (fine dining not chain) before surgery & I still enjoy going to them after you surgery. The difference is instead of ordering two or three courses I only order one. The only regret I have is there are a number of restaurants I’ve wanted to go to & now I can’t because they only do degustation menus. There’s no way I would be able to eat 6, 8, 9, … courses even if they’re small - the volume of food still adds up. An unfortunate side effect of COVID has been many restaurants in Australia offer three course set menus now. Can understand why - better economies & less waste - but is a waste of money to be forced to order three courses for me now. Hopefully, they will go back to full a la carte soon. As for alcohol, yes I enjoyed drinking too: champagne, gin, scotch, wine were my preference. But was never an excessive drinker. Every night I had big glass of wine sometime followed by a scotch or a gin followed by a glass of wine. Now, I only have a drink about once a month (last month I drank three times but that was very unusual circumstances). And I can nurse a glass for ages. Do I miss drinking more? Not really. Do I feel I’m missing out socially? Nope. I just enjoy being with friends & family. Honestly, I don’t enjoy alcohol quite as much. It has made me more particular about what I drink - quality over quantity. Champagne over cheap sparkling.

Little & often. I still can’t guzzle 2.5years out but that’s me. Two swallows & then I have to wait. I have a bottle of water beside my bed & I take a drink every time I wake. I have a bottle in my car - drink when I get in, drink when I get out, drink at every red light, drink every time I overtake a vehicle on the highway, etc. Every little bit helps. Personally I find it easier to drink from a glass than a bottle so I usually have a large glass beside me all day. I also mix it up with fluids: still water, sparkling water gone totally flat, green tea. I used to also sip drinking yoghurt (but they don’t make the high protein, low fat, low sugar one I used to drink anymore - grrr!). I also make my rolled oats on milk every day - extra milky - so I get 15g protein & more than 300mls (about 10oz) fluid - a double win. It all counts.

The nausea is likely from the anaesthetic & from the actual surgery - your tummy is super sensitive after what was done to it. Gas pain hurts. Nausea makes your tummy roll & you may want to throw up. Gas pain is like excess wind (burping & farting) & a distended abdominal. And then the pain rises to the shoulder & you know it then. Yes to Gas X & to walking. It takes several days for the gas to escape your body. You will feel much improved in a few days. The first days are always the hardest especially as you don’t know what to expect & what is a usual side effect & what isn’t. Good luck.

I started soft foods at week 5. I ate scrambled eggs & omelettes, slow cooked soups & casseroles, flaky fish, mince dishes, yoghurt, rolled oats, …. I was able to eat most meats as long as they were moist & pull apart tender. Take it slowly & try different things to see if you’re ready for them. If you struggle with them one week try them again in a week or two.

The rate of your loss isn’t important but looking after your health is. Lacking in energy & being unable to undertake physical activity before your main meal of the day likely is because of your diet & not taking your vitamins. I wasn’t eating that many more calories by goal at 6 months & I’m about your height. I struggled with lack of energy for a few months too but it was complicated by low blood pressure & random hypoglycaemic episodes (pre-existing). What helped was eating nutrient dense food - low carbs, low fat: protein, vegetables, fruit & dairy. It wasn’t so much the number of calories but the quality of the calories I consumed. The importance of taking vitamins post bypass should have been stressed to you before your surgery. Have you had any blood tests to check you are not lacking in essential vitamins & nutrients & your body is absorbing what you need effectively? Malabsorption issues is a concern with bypass. Best advice is to stick to your plan. Meet your protein goals. Add water to your total fluid intake & meet that goal too. Do you still see your dietician? Have you reflected on your dietary choices & made any changes to what you ate before surgery to what you eat now? And why you ate & made those food choices? And I’m not talking just portion size because you can physically eat more as time progresses & you can eventually stretch your tummy out again if you ignore portion considerations. Many find a therapist helpful when coming to terms with what drives them to eat. Ultimately, the extent of your success is up to you & your choices. Nothing will change in the long term if you don’t make the changes.

Years ago I used to get a sharp cutting pain across my tummy which was thought to be ulcers but the cause turned out to be an overproduction of stomach acid. They initially put me on Xanax but major side effects so I started taking Nexium as I needed it. I also found eating something carb rich (bread usually) helped absorb the excess acid - that ain’t happening now 😉. You may need to continue to take something like Salpraz or Nexium for a while especially until you are able to eat more & your stomach acid is used to break the food down. I have to take Nexium everyday now because I still overproduce acid & surgical team suggested I only eat soft or liquid protein after dinner to reduce acid production late at night which had become an issue post surgery. Out of curiosity, did they do a breath test to ensure you didn’t have an helicobacter pylori infection just to rule it out?

Your body is relearning how to hold itself with your lower weight. Back, hip & knee pain and balance issues are not uncommon since your muscles, tendons, skeleton used to compensate for your excess weight & now it doesn’t. Your centre of balance is changing & your posture is improving. I had upper shoulder pain & then I realised my bras were too big for my shrinking breasts & were not supporting me correctly. Got fitted for new bras & my back pain vanished. Otherwise try acupuncture, therapeutic massages or a physio to help ease the postural transition. I tend to agree with the others @jadj65 & the cause of your discomfort could be from eating too fast &/or eating too much. The restriction usually is felt across the chest but your signal for eating enough maybe discomfort across your back. It takes time for the message to get through that we’re full & we get full much more quickly, so it is easy to eat more than we need (past eating enough) especially if you’re eating too quickly. Don’t be afraid to put your cutlery down & sit back from your plate.

I don’t understand why people who buy a gym membership get congratulated for deciding to improve their life & get healthier but you decide to have weight loss surgery, also just a tool, get criticised. I’m sorry your mum is not being supportive. You would expect your family to be your biggest supporter. My mum supported me but she did struggle with my eating. ‘I don’t know what food to get when you come to stay,’ was a frequent comment. Which was a combination of her not understanding my plan & not wanting to jeopardise my success. Like probably all of us, you’ve likely tried to ‘do it yourself’ & lose weight. Probably many times & also put the weight back on again. I certainly did. The difference this time was, with the help of the surgery, I was able to make sustainable changes to what I eat & understand why I ate. The physical restrictions & the support to analyse the psychology behind our eating is what will contribute to the success you may have. Good luck. You can do this. PS - that graphic is excellent @Elidh.

I only eat about 1200/1300 calories a day at 2 1/2 years out. I was barely eating about 800 at goal. But that was me & we are different. I remember saying to my surgeon I can only eat what I can eat & he agreed with me. Probably because my blood work was always good so I was getting all the nutrients in I needed even if I wasn’t eating much calorie wise. I also wasn’t hungry for ages - well into my second year & I am grateful for that. It made me look at food differently - as something I need not just want. I still have the odd days or times I’m not hungry but I recognise I still need to eat something for my body to function effectively. Didn’t want dinner last night so I grazed on a tub of high protein yoghurt for about an hour so I still met my protein goal for the day. Yep, there’s a lot of different plans out there. Mine didn’t have calorie requirements either only portion size. But you will find you will be able to eat more as you progress. You may find grazing on meals easier than trying to eat all your meal in one sitting. Nothing wrong with taking an hour or more to eat a meal - I can still take an hour plus to finish a meal. Are you tracking your food & is your dietician reviewing it with you? Glad you’re feeling great & congrats on your progress so far.

I really liked bread too & I had access to a lot of really damn tasty artisanal bakeries. But I don’t eat bread any more. It tends to sit heavily in my tummy. Last time I tried was a couple of months ago (a za’tar & garlic flat bread - smelt & tasted divine) but nope not for me. Do I miss it? It may seem strange but not really. As @dms75 said you develop a different relationship with food. I too look at food as what I need not what I want. I still enjoy it but I don’t find it difficult to choose not to eat certain foods like desserts, chips, bread, pasta, rice, etc. Some of these I don’t eat through choice, others because they don’t sit well. You will find some people do eat bread, chips, sweet things once into maintenance. But it is their choice & most seem to seek out healthier, more nutrient dense options (like air fried sweet potato chips, high protein breads, etc.) & are careful with portions & frequency. Don’t worry too much about struggling with certain foods like eggs. For most this is a short term difficulty. Your tummy can be a bit fussy for a little while. Try some hydralyte or similar electrolyte drinks to help with energy drops. I carried a bottle with me everywhere for months. It does get easier & you’ll be eating a greater variety of food sooner than you think. The surgery will get you so far. The rest is up to you & the dietary changes you make. Exercise only accounts for a maximum of 20% of the weight you want to/have to lose. It has other benefits. I’m not an exerciser but I lost all the weight I was to lose plus more because I made changes to what I ate. But the decision as to what you eat & how often you eat it is ultimately up to you. Best advice to gain the most of your surgery while losing is to follow your surgeon’s plan & dietician’s recommendations. Good luck.

Lol. Yesterday I posted on OOTD a pxt of my most recent shoe clear out. 21/2 years out & I’m still clearing out shoes that are too big. I went down from a 38.5/39 to a 37.5/38. My foot is narrower as well as shorter in length. I’d kept some because I thought I might be able to wear them again - what was I thinking. Crazy. Others I just hadn’t worn for a while so didn’t realise they were so much too big. I have too many shoes but it has been an excellent justification to buy new ones. 😆😆😆 I wouldn’t buy too many new shoes while you are still losing either. Try some inner soles, heel grips, etc. for those shoes that are a half or maybe a full size too big to carry you through. I wore thicker socks with boots in winter which helped some too.

Full blown attacks are very painful. I swear I would have thought I was dying if I didn’t know what was happening. Amusingly (or not) a friend told me her daughter rang her saying she did think she was dying when she had her first attack. Hope yours is removed soon too. It was 15 1/2 days from first attack, seeing my GP, then my surgeon until the surgery. I found the whole process somewhat easier. This time I knew the surgeon better, knew the hospital, knew the processes to expect going into the surgery & coming out. It was just the recovery that was the unknown but there were still similarities because they were both laparoscopic abdominal surgeries. You’ll be fine.

Have a look at Dr Matthew Weiner’s Pound of Cure. He’s a bariatric surgeon & his book & You Tube videos are great: straight talking & helpful. https://m.youtube.com/user/DrMatthewWeiner

Yep. Had my gall removed 2 years after my sleeve. I had a single stone which suddenly decided to stage a riot - worst pain ever. My surgeon used three of the same keyhole incisions from my sleeve plus one new one. He said once you have one stone you’ll develop others & once you’ve experienced a severe attack you’ll have more attacks. Better to remove the gall. Honestly, the recovery was comparatively worse than the sleeve. I had gas pain (never did after the sleeve) & a lot of muscular discomfort across the abdomen like lots of pulled muscles which I didn’t after my sleeve. In saying that, the pain wasn’t bad & I was only taking the odd over the counter pain med from about day 3. It’s all relative. It is pretty common as some have had stones for years & didn’t know - just rumbling symptoms. High cholesterol or significant weight loss can contribute to the development of gall stones as can high bilirubin levels. Some women develop them during menopause. I ticked the boxes for all four possible causes as while I was losing my cholesterol increased (dropped to my usual level once I reached goal).