Arabesque

A mouthful of water to swallow my nexium followed by milky rolled oats with 15-20 blueberries. I have this around 8:30am. I find I don’t enjoy breakfast if I have it much earlier. For years I rarely had cereal because of my lactose sensitivity & I either found it not filling or too filling. Now I love my rolled oats with lactose free milk. If I go out for breakfast I have scrambled eggs.

Isn’t it funny the things we keep. Does the jacket have some special meaning or memory associated with it @ms.sss which made you keep it or did you just love it? The 80s are back just not as extreme as we remember them thank goodness. I reckon with just those few adjustments you could wear it very successfully. Maybe you only need to replace the shoulder pads with smaller ones after you remove the epaulettes of course - lol. And I love that belt. If it vanishes from your wardrobe I bet the kid has it 😆. Well the leather moto jacket went back this morning & I bought this one instead which I discovered during a random online search last night. It’s more shaped than my original one which I like but otherwise very similar. Much, much happier. The leather is softer too. I love the texture of fabrics. I’m the one inappropriately caressing clothing in stores while making suggestive pleasurable noises. I’ve been known to touch or examine the fabrics of clothing people are wearing. Actually did it this morning though I do ask first specially these days of social distancing. One of the reasons I don’t enjoy online shopping I think.

Popped into the city this morning & thought I’d do a side view pxt as well for a change. More shoulder pad & more black. Bought a leather moto jacket today cause my old very soft & buttery leather jacket, which I love, is too big now. I just got away with it unzipped last year but not now. Old coat - crying. It went with everything casual to formal. New coat. I don’t love it as much. It’s more casual but it’s the best I could find. Didn’t want too many zips & studs. I may return it yet. Sigh!

It’s like the week 3 stall. For some it’s week 2 & others it ‘s week 6. It’s an individual experience but the hair loss is something almost all of us go through. It’s still a shock when it happens though. Yes, it is the shock of the surgery & the restricted diet. It accelerates your natural hair loss cycle. You can’t stop it because the hair would have fallen out anyway just over a longer time frame. Biotin & other supplements won’t stop what is just a sped up natural process. Plus the hair on your head is already dead. The supplements may only help the quality of your new growth. It will stop. In fact you already have new growth but it ‘s coming in at it’s usual rate - the part of the cycle hasn’t changed. How much you lose is very individual as is how long the hair loss will persist. I lost a lot but thankfully I had a lot of hair to begin. The loss persisted for about three months. At 23 months my hair is as thick as it was before. I did cut my long hair to just above my shoulders so the new growth wouldn’t have to grow as much to catch up to the rest of my hair. I went through a similar experience about 12yrs ago during a very stressful period at work & in my personal life. My body reacted to the stress by more rapidly shedding my hair. I didn’t lose quite as much that time but it did last about 3 months then too. My hair grew back as well.

No need to apologise @ms.sss, especially as you’re a fellow shorty. 😆😆😆 Like @Jaelzion I’m at peace with my height. I used to say if only my short legs were in proportion with the rest of me I’d be 3-4 inches taller & very happy but now it’s just who I am. Though, I’m not the shortest in my family anymore as my mother has shrunk about 3 inches putting her just shorter than me & I’ve happily passed that title to her.

Artificial sweeteners seem to be in everything these days. If it says no added sugar it will be sweetened with artificial sweetener. If it says low fat or low salt bet there’s sweetener in it for flavour. Sigh! I’ve tried to get rid of as much sugar, sweeteners & sugar substitutes out of my diet as I can (my choice not an allergy like you) but it’s almost impossible. I make most of my own food now to avoid it where possible & I know exactly what I purchase which has it in (yoghurt, protein bar). If I want sweet I eat fruit or add a little honey like in my rolled oats. I second @lizonaplane’s suggestion of bone broths & adding fruit to plain yoghurt (just make sure to blend it extremely well in the first couple of weeks or juice fruit & use that for flavour) or you can make your own soups. Once you are on purées, soft foods & solid foods, you will have more food options available to you but you may discover, like me, that you have to prepare most if not all you eat yourself. Honestly I haven’t found it that hard as I’ve always cooked so not a lot of change. Plus I have control over all the ingredients & how it’s prepared & cooked. Good luck with your surgery on Saturday.

For a male at your height, no, 1000 calories a day is not sustainable but that it the next struggle. Finding what works for you (activity level, calorie intake) that allows you to maintain at a weight you are happy at & allows you to enjoy your life as you want. You will find that you can eat more as you get closer to your goal weight. By 6 months, when I hit goal, I could eat a good 1/2 - 3/4 cup of food or about 3oz protein plus vegetables depending what I was eating & less than 1000 calories a day. Honestly, I did struggle to maintain & kept losing. I added additional snacks that were protein rich & fruit. I also added some multi or whole grains though I still am pretty low carb in general. I can eat more like a cup of food or 3-4oz protein + vegetables now. I’ve been pretty stable for a few months now too. Actually my GP told me I was exactly the same weight today as I was in September last year though I sit about a kg more than my lowest weight at the start of this year. I eat about 1200 calories a day to maintain. Oh, and I’m not very active.

I’m 23 months out & I eat three meals & 3-4 snacks a day ( mid morning, mid afternoon, after dinner) also just to get the calories in to maintain & meet protein goals. The snacks are protein rich & fruit. While I was losing it was much the same but fewer snacks: three meals & a snack (tub yoghurt) in the afternoon. If I had drinking yoghurt, which I sipped on for hours during the afternoon, I’d add some fruit as a snack instead. Of course the serving sizes were small. Though at about a month out from surgery like you are, I was only eating three times a day & that’s all. I’m one of those who weren’t hungry or interested in food for ages so I had to eat to the clock otherwise I wouldn’t have eaten. Even though I now can feel hungry, I still eat very much to a routine to avoid that old negative bad for me mindless grazing. I try to eat mindfully now. Others will have different experiences & different routines but it really is a matter of discovering what works for you. There isn’t one completely right way of doing this. Good luck.

Congratulations on your surgery. Try to stay close to the volume of food your medical team recommended. Remember you’re still healing & don’t want to put too much strain on your new tummy. While it can be difficult to meet your protein goals in the beginning as long as you’re making an effort & are getting closer to goal you’ll be ok. And, yes, protein rich foods are certainly more filling.

We’re your ears burning, Jake? I was on,y thinking yesterday that you hadn’t posted in a while. So lovely surprise today to see you looking so very dashing in your suit. You both look gorgeous. I’m so glad I’m not the only one who becomes frustrated by bad driving. I’m the one in her car shouting at people who don’t indicate or indicate incorrectly on road-abouts. It’s not hard people. Oh & don’t get me started on slow drivers in the overtaking lane, going 20 below the speed limit & overtaking no one. Get out of my way!! Grrrr!!! Am also a bit of a get where I have to go, get what I need or do what I have to do & go home person BayougirlMrsS. Especially at shopping centres. Can’t stand them or all the zombie like people aimlessly wandering.

What a fabulous friend you have @GreenTealael. I only have a ‘don’t do it in the air fryer’ experience - crumbed lamb cutlets. One of my most favourite things. But they were very anaemic & unappetising looking. Plus no crunchy coating. Waaah! Think I needed to add more oil than I did but that was the point of the air fryer - less oil.

My teeth are fine but I recall a few posters have commented on tooth decay. But I wonder if it’s the surgery or long term poor diet that’s contributing to the problem? I haven’t drunk soft drinks/sodas for decades & the last time I needed a filling was when I was in my 20s. (I think sodas are very acidic plus the sugar of course.) Not that I’m saying that’s why you’re experiencing problems. There are lots of possible causes. Genetics do play a big part in the strength of your teeth & general dental health as well. Oh & I wonder if the calcium loss you may have in your jaw could be affecting your teeth too?? Hot flushes & mood swings sent me to my doctor to ask for HRT. The day I got really cranky with my boss was the day I made the appointment - lol! Then a colleague admitted she’d noticed I had become rather ‘feisty’ when dealing with the public. Feisty is better than saying I was being a real b*tch I guess. 😆 Actually reducing the calcium loss menopausal & post menopausal women experience is a benefit of HRT. Have you had a bone density scan recently? Getting older suxs big time.

Usually my second serve of fruit for the day - grapes, red paw paw, rockmelon... and sometimes a protein bar before the fruit if I think I’m a bit below my goal. I usually have these about an hour after I finish dinner so around 7:30 - 8:30pm. Nothing after then to reduce the chance of late night acid. I tried yoghurt at night but for some reason I didn’t enjoy it then so it went back to its afternoon snack time slot.

That white boob sling dress?? OMG. It’s what I’d call a slapper dress. Gonna add skankification to my vocab now too. I don’t take pxts of people wearing ‘what were you thinking’ but I am guilty of rolling my eyes or doing the nudge & head nod if I’m with a friend. I do feel sorry for them cause they obviously don’t have a mirror in their houses. I have been known to take pxts of people who don’t know how to park. You know those who park over two spaces, a metre from the gutter or think it’s ok to park so half their car is over my driveway. I avoid jumpsuits too @BayougirlMrsS but mainly because of the whole going to the bathroom thing. Maybe there’s a trick. I know you love a good jumpsuit @ms.sss. How do you deal with sitting 2/3 naked in a public bathroom while keeping the jumpsuit off the floor??

My mother who is 81 still suffers menopausal symptoms too & continues to take HRT. I worry that may be what I experience as well especially as all my menopausal symptoms came back after I stopped losing. More fun days ahead I guess. Damn hormones.

My surgeon was fine with me taking nsaids too but it was because I took them randomly: one or two tablets maybe once every couple of months for tension headaches. They are the only pain meds that worked. I have oozing discs in my lower back so I know that pain. Losing my weight certainly helped but honestly, if I stand for an hour the discomfort returns. It’s like the weight of my upper body puts pressure on & squeezes the discs. I try to get off my feet as quickly as possible which will ease it. Over the counter nsaids don’t help me though. Thankfully, the pain hasn’t been so great or prolonged that I’ve had to seek stronger anti inflammatories from my doctor since my surgery. Fingers crossed. Hope your weight loss eases a lot if your pain. But have a discussion about taking nsaids in the future with your surgeon. Your surgeon may have a different response than mine & @Creekimp13. Every case is different.

Always contact your medical team if you experience strong or unusual pain or symptoms. Better to be safe & sure than sorry.

The hair loss is a very common & temporary side effect from the shock of the surgery & weight loss. Your natural hair loss cycle has been accelerated. It will stop - usually after about 3 months but some take longer. The hair you’re losing is already dead and would have been shed anyway. It’s just falling out more quickly. Supplements won’t change that - fertiliser can’t save a dead plant. Your new hair is growing but it’s growing at it’s usual rate. Losing hair or losing weight? I’ll take losing the weight everyday. As you’re losing weight a lot of hormones that were stored in your fat are being released into your body. The increase in oestrogen causes a few issues for we women. Many experience heavier, more frequent or more painful periods. My menopausal symptoms disappeared. The pimply bumps on your shoulders could be from the oestrogen surge too. It is temporary & once you’ve stopped losing weight it stops. Oh & too much vitamin B7 - biotin - can cause skin irritations. 10 000 mcg is what B7 deficient people are prescribed. If you are concerned, check with your medical team. Good luck.

I am with the others & don’t think this is a sensible thing to do. The goal is not to eat until you are full but until you’ve had enough. It’s one of the reasons we ‘re advised to eat slowly so the message we’ve had enough gets through. By the time we realise we ‘re full if we’ve eaten too quickly, we’re had more than what we actually need. We were all guilty of eating way more than our body actually needed to function in the past. It’s why we were obese. This time is to learn about appropriate portion sizes & the difference between needing to eat & wanting to eat. Oh, and don’t worry, you soon will know if you’ve had enough or eaten more than you need. And it may be different from one meal to another. Never be afraid to put your cutlery down between bites or push an unfinished meal away & get up from the table. Good luck. PS @WickedPissah529 - vomiting is different post sleeve - well it was for me. No more of those awful gut retching, muscle spasms. More lots of saliva (foamies) & gently bringing up anything you may have eaten. Sometime you can’t predict what will make you vomit. I ate carrot one day without an issue but the next day one piece & back it came. Your tummy is sensitive to begin. Honestly, I haven’t vomited since about 4 or 5 months after surgery & most of the time I did it was just the foamies & not food. The cause was usually my multivitamins.

Is it like a tightness across your chest? That if you thump your chest it may pass & let whatever is stuck get through? If it is this is your restriction. It’s likely kicked in because you’re eating or sipping too quickly or you’ve consumed enough. I still have to leave a couple of minutes between bites of food or sips of liquids or I’ll feel my restriction. And I can only now have two swallows of a liquid at a time.

I take it you’re referring to that post in Food Befote & After. What was that? You think we were past most of that sort of thinking but then there it is again. Such a narrow minded, backward thinking comment. We should only dress for ourselves & not a small number of Neanderthals. If it makes you feel comfortable, confident & happy it’s perfect for you. Smock tops always make me think of my dear, dear friend Pat, who often wears them. They always look so pretty, cool & fresh especially your blue & white one @WishMeSmaller. And I like your new slim line dress. If you feel a little self conscious about your loose skin, though I can barely notice anything, try a pair of full brief knickers with a little more Lycra in them than your usual knickers. I find they get me through those days when I feel like I have a little pooch in dresses like this & I just need a smoother line. Remember when we’d have those heavy duty ‘suck-it-all-in’ underwear like Spanxs, Nancy Ganz, etc.? I took great delight in tossing all those out of my cupboards.

Calcium is absorbed in the body via our tummy & small intestines so even though a lot of your tummy has been removed you should still be absorbing calcium through your intestines which weren’t altered with your sleeve surgery. During weight loss I had about two serves of dairy a day. Now I have almost three. Before my surgery I barely had 4 serves of dairy a week. I was never told to take calcium tablets or any additional vitamins than a multi vitamin. And I’m a menopausal woman so you’d think they would have pushed the calcium. I stopped the multi vitamin a month into maintenance with my surgeon’s approval - they make me nauseous. However we all absorb nutrients differently. I think I’m naturally a good ‘absorber’ & get everything I need from what I eat. Some people don’t. My blood work is fine & I have super hard bones. It is challenging to get all the nutrients we need in during the first few months when we’re losing hence the vitamins. How are your bloods? Is there anything that is low? Have you had a bone density test?

It will pass. My surgeon called the first week pre op diet as hell week. I was so glad I only had to do keto but I have friends who could only have three meals a day: three shakes or two shakes plus one meal. You’re fortunate you are on 4 shakes + a meal. A lot of the effects you are experiencing are ketosis - fat burning. Plus you’re experiencing some withdrawals. You’ve reduced your calorie intake so until your body get used to it you will feel a little weak. The weakness will continue post surgery though too.

The change to our tastebuds make these first couple of months challenging. So many things simply taste disgusting. Even things we used to enjoy are revolting. It does pass. I ate/drank the same couple of things for a while - talk about a limited. & repetitive diet. Creamy soups were my saviour - pumpkin, potato & chicken were the only flavours I could stand. I strained & diluted them. A friend swore by the broths in pho, wonton soup & ramen noodles. She ate them breakfast, lunch & dinner.

Contact your medical team. If anything seems odd or wrong for you, is causing pain or has prolonged symptoms always call your doctor. Your pain should not be worsening.