Arabesque

The surgery changes things. During the surgery, a lot of the area that signals hunger is removed. After surgery our sense of taste & for many the sense of smell are temporarily altered & some things taste or smell awful. Plus liquids go through our digestive system more quickly & some nerves have been damaged so you don’t really feet that full feelings while on liquids & into the purée stage . Once the nerves heal & you’re eating solid foods you’ll start to feel full again. I wasn’t hungry or really wanted to eat for ages. I first felt hungry about 8 months after surgery after a busy day when I hadn’t eaten much. But it felt different - actually didn’t know what was wrong at first. Real hunger feels different to hunger that is driven by our head, emotions & habits. To combat not being interested in eating I tried to eat to a routine, still do. I I ate to my plan & to ensure I met my protein & fluid goals. I didn’t care if I didn’t eat the full portion as long as I was eating something. And honestly, to begin my food choices were pretty narrow because of my altered tastebuds. It did get better & easier after a couple of months. I actually enjoyed this period because it gave me the opportunity to really assess the food I used to eat & decide how I wanted to eat in the future. Not sure about the twisting feeling. My first thought was it’s your restriction but that’s usually a tightness or heavy weight across your upper chest. Do you want to thump your chest to move the food? Foods that are too dry or coarse can cause that tightness, foamies (gluggy saliva) or make you gag &/or bring it back up. As can eating too quickly or eating too much. Speak to your medical team to be sure. Did you have a therapist assigned to you during your pre surgery process or did you have one to support you through your eating disorder? Many weight loss patients continue to seek the support of a therapist after surgery. If you didn’t or don’t have a therapist look for one with experience with bariatric patients &/or disordered eating. Your medical team should be able to give you some recommendations.

Liquids go through your digestive system very quickly so you don’t really feel full on this stage. Also you’re nerve endings have been damaged during surgery so until they are healed your sense of feeling full is reduced. Consequently, it is even more important to keep to your plan & stick to the calories &/or portion size recommendations (& meet or try to meet your protein & fluid goals of course). You don’t want to put stress on your poor healing tummy & all those internal stitches & staples. Also it takes time for the full message to get through so when you feel full you’ll likely have had too much it’s one of the reasons we are encouraged to eat slowly. What you’re feeling is likely head hunger. Most of the area that signals hunger in our body was removed during the surgery. So if you are able to feel real hunger it would be very minimal. Many of us discover that real hunger feels different from the head hunger that used to drive us to eat. Personally I get restless. Working out why you want to eat (emotions, cravings, habit or actual hunger) is part of the challenge. Do you need to eat or do you just want to eat? There’s a big difference. Good luck & congrats on your surgery.

Like @catwoman7, I don’t think it is traditional dumping. I do wonder if it’s linked to your sugar levels too especially as it occurs in the morning. I have random occurrences of hypoglycaemia & it always occurs sometime in the morning. I experience general weakness in my tummy & bowels, cold sweats, jelly legs, nose runs, etc. Haven’t noticed a racing heart though. I find it passes quickly - like 10 minutes or so. Drinking something (water, tea, etc.) &/or eating a little fruit helps a lot. I often keep a protein bar in my bag when I go out just in case. My last attack was about 3 weeks ago after a 2km bush walk up a mountain. The time before was about 3 months ago when I was standing in a queue for almost an hour on a warm day. I added honey & blueberries to my rolled oats every morning to give me that little sugar hit to help offset the chance of an episode. Definitely check with your medical team though. I should add, I used to experience these hypoglycaemic episodes for years before my surgery usually when exercising. (I skipped a lot of meals to try to control my weight!) Coupled with my tendency to low blood pressure they weren’t fun because my vision would narrow & my ears would become blocked as well. Became a great excuse not to exercise though 😆.

Volume is good to begin when your food is liquid, puréed & soft but it’s easier to weigh solid meats like chicken breast or thighs, fish fillets, steak, chops, etc. when you’re ready for those. I continued to use volume to measure fruit, vegetables, & wet/sloppy foods like soup, stews, rolled oats, etc.

Happy two year sleevesversary @kristieshannon. You look amazing & isn’t it wonderful how much you’re enjoying your life now.

What about trying a crustless quiche or impossible quiche as we call them in Australia. You add flour to the filling mix & when it bakes it settles & forms a denser layer at the bottom. Very quick to make too. Lots of recipes about. Some are less than 300 calories a slice. Once you have the basic recipe you can add any ingredients to the filling: salmon smoked or tinned, tuna, zucchini, asparagus, … This is a basic one - no calories though. https://www.taste.com.au/recipes/impossible-quiche-2/8244d479-b108-4b9c-9727-25e7041d8fd2

Very common. Your body goes into shock after surgery & with the reduced calories your natural hair loss cycle accelerates. You still are growing new hair as you usually do it’s just you’re losing faster so the loss is more noticeable. Hair loss because of an accelerated hair loss cycle is not uncommon after childbirth, any major surgery or after experiencing a stressful event too. It does slow back to your usual rate of loss after about three or four months. How much you lose though is very individual. There’s nothing you can do to stop it. The hair was scheduled to be shed at some time. Remember the hair you’re losing is already dead. Some people will say they took supplements or used special hair products but they still kept losing for about that 3 or 4 months. I cut my hair to just above my shoulders so the new growth wouldn’t have to grow a lot to be the same length as the hair I had. I found by about 12 months later, my hair was just as thick as it was before. Yau’ll get through this.

Like @ms.sss I too lost more than my original goal because it took a while for me to work out the calories I needed to maintain. That is the number of calories my body needs to function. Eat fewer calories, you lose weight. Eat more than your body needs, you’ll gain. I slowly increased the calories I was eating as I was physically able until I reached the number of calories I needed to maintain. I lost another 11odd kilos over a year after goal. Been happily sitting at about that weight (+/- 1kg) for about 9months. But I’m really still a newbie. Time will tell. I do have wriggle room if I do succumb to the 5 odd kilo rebound gain in years 2 or 3. Even though my BMI is on the lower end at around 18.7, I’m certainly not bony nor look undernourished. Honestly, you can look a little drawn when you get near your goal but it all seems to settle after a couple of months. Eating a little more: a few more carbs, vegetables, fruit, etc. all helps. A year ago, my uncle very kindly (not!) told my mother I looked like death. Now he tells me how great I look. As for looking older. I don’t think I do. Most importantly, I can actually see my real face now: cheekbones, jawline, eyes, etc. because there’s no fat distorting it shape. You may meet your goal, you may not or you may exceed it. Age, genetics, weight loss history, metabolic rate, etc. influence how much weight we can lose after surgery. But let’s be honest (some straight talking coming), in the end we control what we put in our mouths & that is the biggest influence on our weight. I think your weight is individual. Not just a number on a scale or a number you’re ‘supposed’ to be but how you feel in your own skin. Happy, healthy & enjoying life.

Never had a pain pump at hospital or at home. Just meds. I never experienced any real pain - may be lucky maybe just good meds. I remember I took one of the super strong pain meds on the morning of day 4 & never took a thing afterwards. Don’t actually think I needed it that morning. Just took it to keep up the schedule. I didn’t take any of the oxy I was given after my gall removal after the one I was given the morning after my surgery before I was discharged. But yes, everyone experiences pain differently. Just seems an unnecessary additional charge when they an prescribe pain meds if you need them. If you can’t swallow them, just crush in a little of your protein shake. Good luck with your surgery.

I have carbonated water almost every day but I let it go flat or near flat. Pour out a big glass in the morning & sip it over hours. I always drank heaps of water but I find it can be a little heavy now so I mix up my sips of plain water with flat sparkling water (I enjoy the minerally taste). PS - I’m not good with carbonation. The gas gives me bad hiccups. Always has so it’s just not a sleeve thing for me.

It’s a daily battle isn’t it. Sigh! I’d go back to tracking & logging what you’re eating. It’s so easy to let things slip into our diet or to increase portion size. We become less vigilant. A treat becomes a regular thing…. There may be things you’ve been eating you haven’t considered for their calorie, carbs, sugar or fat content. Plus the last 12/18months hasn’t been easy from the perspective of our emotional health either which brings it own set of challenges. I do random checks of my diet, & I think I always will, to try to keep on top of calorie & portion creep. I’m also the person peering myopically at the nutrition panels (why is the font always so tiny) of products at the supermarket. Good luck.

Always a lot of advice here so never be afraid to ask. Maintenance is when you hit the point of balance between the calories you’re consuming & the calories your body needs to function. Eat more calories than your body needs, you gain, eat less you’ll lose, eat the amount it needs you’ll stabilise. Out of curiosity, why are you still having protein shakes for two of your meals? You may not be consuming a broad range of the nutrients you’re body actually needs. What are your bloods like? I know every plan is different but … It was important to me, my surgeon & my dietician that I transitioned to eating ‘real’ food as soon as possible. Man cannot live on protein shakes alone. My diet had to be sustainable in the long term & for how I wanted to live my life - not just losing but maintaining. Personally, I haven’t had a protein shake since I began the puréed stage. I even stopped multivitamins at about 8months (I was at goal then). Good luck. I hope you find a way forward soon.

Your stall will break when your body is ready. They always do. Your body is going through a lot & needs to take a moment. I never changed a thing I was doing when I stalled. I figured I didn’t want to stress my body more by changing my calories or activity again. The stalls always broke. You’ll soon work out your weight fluctuation window. Mine is about 1kg (2lbs). It’s just life. Unless you are eating or drinking the exact same amounts of the exact same thing, & you’re peeing & pooping the exact same amounts every day, you’ll will see fluctuations. The trick while you’re losing is to look at the downward trend & not just on your daily weight. Good luck & congrats on your weight loss so far.

I don’t have a lot of loose skin - not handfuls but still good pinches & crumpling. I’ve decided not to go the surgery route. Like @NovaLuna, I can easily cover it with clothes without the need of any support underwear (& that includes in fitted clothing) & no one knows it’s there but me. I feel I sort of earned my loose skin. It’s a reminder every day to stick to my program. Plus I tend to scar pretty badly. Rather have some loose skin than scars cause I’d be wanting to cover them anyway. Actually you can see the little pinch of looseness at my waist in the first pxt. Standing up straight though it’s really nothing. So I’ve been pretty fortunate.

Don’t worry @STLoser, @shoppgirl & @SummerTimeGirl, you will eventually be able to eat more fruit & vegetables. Just slowly incorporate more. At the beginning I could only eat 2 or 3 green beans or a small floret of cauliflower. I started adding heaps of vegetables to soups, omelettes, bolognaise, etc. as well. Now I easily eat a good cup of mixed vegetables like green beans, asparagus, broccolini, sugar snap peas, etc. every night. I also eat lots of lettuce (it’s a slider for me). I have blueberries with my rolled oats every morning & another serve of fruit most nights. (Fruit is a good snack, a natural sweet substitute. Plus high water content & fibre.) I get 4-5 serves of fruit & vegetables in every day. Yogurt is high in protein & was a handy & easy source for me (mine gives me 15g yoghurt tub or 22g yoghurt drink). I still eat it as an afternoon snack almost every day or sometimes I dice up fruit to add to the yoghurt & eat it as dessert. Every little bit counts.

First congrats on your surgery. It can be tough to begin especially getting used to how your healing tummy works: so strange & different from anything you’ve experienced before. But it does get better especially once your tummy heals. There are a lot of plans out there. Some with slight variations others with lots of differences. We always say follow your surgeon’s plan because if something doesn’t go smoothly they can more easily diagnose the cause. But don’t be afraid to stay or go back a stage if your tummy isn’t quite ready yet. It’s not uncommon for people to stay extra days at a stage or to go back a step if the new stage is causing them discomfort. We heal differently & in our own time. I wonder if you’re eating/drinking to quickly too. Go slowly. Put your cutlery or cup down & wait a few minutes before having the next sip or bite. Two years on & I still experience gurgling if I eat or drink too quickly. I can have two swallows but if I have a third - gurgling & tightness. It’s like I have my own poltergeist gurgling & moaning & groaning inside. I sometimes find if I have dairy it will do the same thing. You will get to know how your body reacts to how & what you eat. (Mine’s gurgling now from too many sips of tea - lol!) You’ll realise the restriction (the tightness) & the gurgling are good things - they’re telling you you’ve had enough or you need to slow down & to be more mindful about how & what you’re eating. As time passes you will be able to eat more. I was only eating 1/4-1/3 cup the first couple of months. But by the time I was at goal I could eat about a cup depending on what I was eating. I eat about a recommended serve of most foods now. This is plenty of food & all my body needs. And that it is one of the big learnings - eating what your body needs not what your head/emotions think you need. And I still enjoy food lots. I’m just more careful about my food choices & my portion sizes. Good luck & give yourself time to heal & discover what works best for you.

Lovely to see & hear from you again @sillykitty. You’re looking fab & so glad you ‘re continuing to live your best life. Gotta embrace all the wonderful opportunities that are available to us now. 😁

Stool tests, while easy, are less than 50% successful in identifying the presence of polyps where a colonoscopy is almost 100% successful. If you have have had polyps once you are more likely to grow them again & of course are at a much higher risk for developing cancer. Therefore a colonoscopy is the better choice. Plus they usually remove the polyps as they find them. In Australia they send you stool tests for free when you turn 50. Happy birthday - lol!

Poach the fish. You can poach in milk or water. Lots of recipes about. I sometimes add ginger & lemon grass or dill to the milk. Generally cover or just cover the fish with the milk or water, cover your dish with foil & bake in the oven for about 15mins+/- . I always poached my salmon in milk because it’s too oily for me plus it reduces that salmon smell that permeates your house. You can also steam fish too. Just pop some aromatics of your choice in the water under your steamer. I tried pureeing tinned tuna & salmon with Mayo (too sweet) & also cottage cheese (just disgusting). But that was my taste buds. Good luck.

I used to make my chocolate protein shake on hot water to convince myself it was hot chocolate. Didn’t always work though 😁. Because sugar (incl a lot of artificial sweeteners) was cut out of my pre op diet & my changed taste buds post surgery, sweet things tasted terrible - horribly sweet & unpleasant. Don’t be surprised if you experience the same thing. It was great actually because I lost any desire I had for sweet.

What is homogenised meat? Or is that an auto correct word change lol? My surgeon was fine with me not hitting my protein & fluid goals to begin. As long as I was working towards the goals each day. The first two weeks, I wasn’t eating 300 calories a day - a protein shake & 200mls of soup that’s it. It was enough. I had heaps of fat to keep me going for months! 😉 But that was me. Some consume way more. While on liquids you won’t feel ‘full’. Liquids go through the tummy quickly plus your nerves have been damaged during the surgery. In a few week when you’re more healed & on soft & more solid food you’ll start to feel ‘full’ again. But it’s best to eat not until you’re full but have had enough. There’s a difference. Plus it’s really important to eat slowly. It takes time for the message you’ve had enough to get through so when you feel full, you’ve likely eaten more then you need. I still ask myself do I need the next bite or do I just want it. The squeezing feeling could be acid building up in your tummy. It can also can make you think you're hungry. Were you prescribed an esomeprazole? Good luck & congrats on your surgeries.

I record, stream or download almost everything I watch. I can’t stand any ads at all. They’re everywhere. Social media, game apps, the roadside, cinema, etc. So frustrating & annoying. 99.9% of them are about things I’m not interested in so they’re pointless. But food ads - blahh! They turn my stomach. I love cooking shows & continued to watch them all through my recovery too. Didn’t make me feel hungry though.

I made a lot of slow cooked stews, mince dishes, soups, etc. Protein & vegetables in one meal & food all the whole family can enjoy. Of course the family can add rice, pasta, additional vegetables, etc. as needed to theirs. All could be frozen as individual serves for backup meals. Poached/steamed some soft fleshed white fish too. Also ate scrambled eggs & omelettes & yoghurt.

Nope haven’t changed a thing. I had sleeve surgery 27 months ago & my gall removed three months ago. You’ll already be keeping your fat intake low & that’s really all you need to do. They often recommend eating smaller meals more frequently but you’re likely doing that too. The thing to be aware of is that without a gall bladder, bile is released continuously into your digestive system now. Consequently you may experience some diarrhoea. It usually only lasts a couple of weeks but can be a couple of months. I still have it about once every 10 or so days. But it’s a little different. I get more like a dull pain in my lower abdomen versus a crampy feeling as a warning. My sister-in-law says she gets a diarrhoea attack about once a month since hers was removed 18months ago. She thinks it’s because the bile builds up & her body says enough.

Believe me when I say pooping & not being able to poop will become something you’ll think about more post surgery then you ever have before in your life. And when you do go, you’ll think is that all? The low food intake, low carbs all contribute. Plus your body is using every single nutrient you’re consuming it can. It makes sense though when you think about it. Little food in little waste out. Keep your fluids up. Add some benefibre or similar non swelling soluble fibre to your diet (add to your shakes) & buy some gentle stool softeners to help get you moving after a few days. I used to take something if I got to day 3 with no movement. Any longer & it would get uncomfortable & painful. Good luck.