Arabesque

Congrats on your surgery. Speak with your medical team regarding your activity levels at this stage. Most encourage you to start back slowly after what is quite a major surgery. Gentle walks around your house, your street, your block depending on your energy levels. Remember, you’re not even supposed to be lifting or carrying anything of weight for the first couple of weeks. I didn’t start back on my treadmill for a month. But I also found my energy would drop very suddenly so I might have felt good for 5 minutes but then I could barely take a step. Listen to your body. It will tell you what your capable of doing within your team’s recommendations. As to did I break from my program? Nope. Never did. I made the decision I wasn’t going to ruin the opportunity the surgery afforded me. I was going to reassess what I ate, why I ate, when I ate. I did a lot of reading & made a lot of changes. I worked out a plan that worked for me while losing & adjusted it for maintaining. Eating a piece of pizza, cake, chocolate, ... just was not worth jeopardising what I wanted to achieve. One piece soon leads to two, three, four... But that was me. You have to make your own decisions. Good luck.

I was 200lbs. I reached my goal of 132lbs at 6 months & that was losing at a pretty average rate. Your loss seems pretty close to mine at this point too. I was about 13lbs off goal at 4 months. So you seem to be on track. Your weight loss does slow as you get closer to your goal so what your experiencing is to be expected. The loss slows because your caloric intake has been slowly increasing (as it should be) & is becoming closer to what your body requires to function at your weight & activity level. That’s what maintenance is about: finding the balance between how much you eat and what your body needs while you’re still enjoying your life. You don’t want to be so restrictive in how much & what you eat that you don’t enjoy your life just to be a certain number on your scale. Your new habits & routines must be sustainable. Are you only concerned you won’t reach goal because you’re losing more slowly? Remember there is no set time frame in which you have to lose. You’ll lose at your pace & in your time frame. It’s not a race. You’ll get there. Good luck & congratulations on your weight loss so far.

So wonderful. Well done.

You could be a late stall starter. Usually we talk about the three week stall but you can have your first one before three weeks or much later than that mark. We’re all different in how our bodies react to the changes we’re putting it through. But you have to remember stalls are a very normal part of this process. They’re just frustrating. Are you keeping to your plan? Are you tracking your food, protein & fluid intake? Are your portion sizes small (about 1/3 cup)? Give your medical team a call if the stall persists or if you have concerns about your plan. Good luck.

I couldn’t tolerate protein shakes either & the so called flavourless protein powder still had a taste for me. I turned to drinking yoghurt. Yopro was my favourite & I could get 22 or 30g of protein in depending upon the amount I drank so 1/3 - 1/2 of my protein daily goal. You can make your own by blending up your favourite yoghurt with milk. Protein bars may be too heavy to eat this early on. I didn’t introduce them to my diet until I was in maintenance.

Ugh. I so hate when someone deciding to have bariatric surgery experiences a lack of support from family & friends. I’m sure you didn’t decide to do this on a whim. You’ve obviously done research into the process as any sensible & intelligent person would. Bariatric surgery is very common these days & is a comparatively safe surgery. Going to be a bit harsh so sorry if I offend. First, you’ll be a hell of a lot more ‘out of commission’ if you continue being obese & your health deteriorates (joint pain, immobility, high blood pressure, diabetes, heart issues, ...). Secondly, selfish for deciding to having a surgery which will help you live a better & healthier life which will benefit your family too? I don’t think so. Is it selfish to have knee replacement surgery, or heart surgery? Either of which could be ahead of you if you don’t lose weight. Thirdly, that oh, you don’t need surgery likely comes from someone not wanting to offend by agreeing that you’re obese & need help. And finally, there’s a lot of people still married on this forum. I have two married friends & one married acquaintance who’ve had surgery & their marriages are fine (I’m not married so I don’t count). If 80% fail, at least two would be in trouble. They’re even beating the 50% of marriages fail stats. A lot of the comments people are making come from fear of the unknown. Everyone seems to know the negative stories but they conveniently forget the positive ones. Taking your wife with you on your next visit is a very good idea. Getting her on side will help manage the thinking of other members of your family. Just think of the day, you can say to them I told you it was the right thing to do. (You can always do the told you so dance 😆.) Sure, your life will be different. But it’s a way better different. Good luck. You’ll always have support here.

Difficulty meeting fluid goals in the first couple of weeks is not uncommon. My surgeon said as long as I was working towards goal & was pretty close most days it was ok. I was a big water drinker pre surgery but after it was a challenge. I think the changes to our taste buds post surgery contributes. I also found water was almost heavy & sometimes drying. Weird. I’d sip diluted hydralyte (too sweet at full strength), green tea (sometimes it’s easier to sip warm drinks than cold) & drinking yoghurt. Try freezing some fluids so they’re like a popsicle. Now I also let sparkling water go flat & sip on that for some variety during the day - the mineral taste is more palatable Don’t forget, all your soups, shakes, etc, contribute to your fluid intake too. Try protein water. Crystal light seems to be pretty popular too. Good luck.

I used the weight I was at my first appointment to begin the process. Coincidently, it also was the highest weight I’ve ever been. I started cutting back from that appointment myself & saw the dietician the following week to begin the pre surgery diet. To me the first appointment was the beginning of my weight loss journey & when I started to lose my excess weight.

Don’t forget you hadn’t eaten for a while before your surgery so that could have contributed. Congrats on your surgery.

It’s likely something in your diet. I hardly passed wind at all while I was losing (it was weird) but I cut almost all carbs, starchy vegetables & sugars out of my diet while I was losing. Beans & carbs are my kryptonite & create a lot of wind for me. A lot more than before my surgery. Congrats on your surgery.

I do that too. Order a glass of wine on arrival. Sip until about 10 minutes after my order is taken so I have a window before my meal arrives. I leave another window until after my plate is removed & finish the glass when the others are having their dessert or coffee. I can’t drink a lot before dinner unless I can guarantee at least 20 odd minutes before I eat. I never seem to finish the whole glass though but found it’s easier if a bottle is ordered for the table. I can just have a small amount before my meal & have another after & the wine is kept cold in the ice bucket.

Does your blood work show you are lacking in any vitamins, etc. What’s your kidney & liver function like? Your sugar levels? A post nasal drip will often make you feel nauseous. I suffer from postural low blood pressure so suffer regularly from head spins & loss of vision. My energy levels aren’t great either & have had a few hypoglycaemic episodes - cold sweats, drop in blood pressure, drop in energy, vision narrowing, nose running, etc. I had these before I lost weight but just experience them more often now. But I’m no expert. I encourage you to get some detailed work ups from your medical team sooner than later. Good luck.

The travel shouldn’t be an issue (except from needing additional pee stops 😁). You may find your energy levels aren’t good enough for long hikes that soon after surgery but that will be an individual thing. You may have to watch lifting or carrying depending upon your surgeon’s advice & how many weeks post surgery you will be. Keep hydrated. Add some electrolytes to your fluids like hydralyte for an energy boost. Follow you plan. Listen to your body. it will tell you what you’re able to do. Congratulations on having a surgery date & your child’s graduation. Have a great trip.

Chunks of cucumber sprinkled with a little salt. What about green beans, sugar snap peas or snow peas? Just remove their side strings when you top & tail them. But definitely check with your dietician.

Yes, it’s very normal. We all experienced at least one stall along the way. It’s just your body playing catch up - it’s been through a lot & will continue to do so while you’re losing. You’ll start to notice the weight dropping again. Just give it time & stick to your plan. Congratulations on your weight loss so far. PS - you’re so lucky that your bms are normal.

It’s not unusual to have liquid bms post surgery. My friend was like this for a week or so after her surgery & then everything firmed up. As @Creekimp13 said keep hydrated & your electrolytes up. Get some hydralite or similar. Also watch dairy. You may be temporarily lactose intolerant, also not uncommon after surgery. It will cause watery bms. Check your shakes for lactose. Of course if it persists contact your medical team. Congratulations on your surgery.

So frustrating I know. You were probably told or heard the adage that the more you have to lose the faster you lose at the beginning. The other side of that saying is the closer to goal you are the slower you’ll lose. Seems that ‘s where you are. The initial weight loss rate is so motivating and then this slow down can suck the enthusiasm out of you. Hate to say it but I think battling weight will always be a monkey on our backs. We’ll just have way better skills, knowledge, tools, etc. to more successfully manage & control it than we ever did before. You’ve done so well so far don’t give up or let this get you down. You’re still losing & that’s a win. Good luck.

I still have that little pooch above my waist. It’s way smaller but must just be my body shape. When I carried my weight it was like I had two stomachs. One above, one below with a definite waist in between. You have to remember you have fat all over your body so you’ll lose a little here, a little there. Did you take any body measurements? That way you can track that quarter of an inch loss here, half an inch loss there. It adds up but may not be noticeable for a while. Remember, there are 2 inches between clothing sizes so you may not have dropped a size yet. Frustrating I know. Where you lose that weight can be surprising too. Wait till you realise your shoes are too big cause you lost weight on your feet. I even lost fat on my eyelids - no more droopy lids anymore. Oh & then when you’re maintaining, it seems to resettle & even out a bit over your body & on your face. Congrats on your weight loss so far.

It can be challenging to keep your fluid intake up at work because you get so focussed on a task & an hour has gone before you know it & you haven’t by drunk. I found it easier to drink green or herbal teas. Something about the warmth made them easier to drink. Just reheat them as they cool. I also mixed up hydralite in my water (a diluted mix as it can be sweet), Good energy boost as well as a change from plain water. Don’t forget things like soup/broths, drinking yoghurt, etc. all count as liquids. I took a small thermos flask of soup to work. Got my nutrients in as well as some fluids. I also kept a bottle of water next to my bed so I could sip whenever I woke which was 4-6 times a night. (You drink you pee 😆.) I still do. Every bit helps. Congratulations on having a surgery date.

Yes it will get better. It’s just swelling from the surgery. I had trouble too for the first couple of days & had a lot of saliva (carried a sick bag with me to spit in - not nice). My back actually went into spasm because I became tense whenever I tried to sip or swallow because of the pain. I was fine by day 3or 4. Congrats on your surgery.

Congratulations. 😁 That first time you truely realise how much you’ve lost is surprising but also amazing & wonderful. And I’m not talking about a number on the scales or what you see in the mirror. There’s something about clothing sizes that makes your weight loss all that more real. You can’t deny that number on the clothing tag. Your mind will eventually catch up with the reality of how you look now & what you’ve achieved. (Though I still have days where I wonder who is the skinny girl in the mirror or reflected in a window.) Very happy for you.

What did your medical team advise? While there are similarities in our experiences we are also different & I’m not just referring to the surgery we have. We lose at different rates. We need different amounts of food to function & lose.... And there are many different medical plans out there even for the same surgeries. It can get really confusing. The important thing is to stick to the plan your team has recommended as closely as possible. If you feel you require more specific information about calories & macros recommendations contact your nutritionalist. They should help you to design a diet that fits your lifestyle. Honestly, I was never given a caloric goal at any stage just 60g of protein & low carb. But I was told about serving sizes. A quarter of a cup to begin increasing to a third over the first couple of months from puréed stage onwards. I never precisely counted calories every day but was conscious of the calorie content of the food I ate. I found once I got my protein in I couldn’t eat much else. I was consuming less than 500 calories for ages. Even less before I was on solid food. I wasn’t hungry & not really interested in eating. I can’t even imagine eating 1000 calories in those first 2 or 3 months even 6 months. I only eat about 1200 now but that’s me. I also never had another protein shake once I got to the purée stage. I got most of my protein from yoghurt. (30g in my drinking yogurt & it contributed to my fluid goals - double win!) I don’t think you’re losing slowly at all either. At 5 weeks I’d lost about 12 kg (about 26lbs) so not that different really. Congratulations on having your surgery & your loss so far. Good luck.

It’s not red & that’s good news as red usually means there’s an infection. I vaguely remember some posts where people mentioned their surgeon used an internal stitch to support them & that it pulled & caused some discomfort. Always contact your medical team if anything feels odd to you, is making you sick or causing you pain. You shouldn’t still be in that much pain. Give yours a call.

Patio season. Hilarious @ms.sss. I laugh because I know for you that means drinking cocktails outside with friends. Love your style. 😁 It’s autumn here & I have 6 months to wait until it’s spring again. Waah! It’s my favourite season.

Thanks everyone. 🙂 Have to admit I felt a bit rock chick in the outfit hence my slightly wild hair. I’m a real in-person shopper. I love trying the clothes on, feeling the textures of the fabric, trying different styles, etc. I bought everything here in Brisbane. The pants are made from cactus. Yep cactus. So they’re a natural fibre & breathe. No getting over heated as with synthetic leathers. They actually do feel a bit like synthetic leather though. I’m always putting stress on my credit card @ms.sss. Told myself I wasn’t buying anything for a month then I saw the shoes. Sigh. Okay, my month starts now.