Arabesque

Live the white @Dtrain84. Yep, winter here in Australia @GreenTealael. My darn outdoor gas heater wouldn’t work last night so we had to cuddle together on my deck under many throw rugs. Funny we never chose to go inside though. Wore my over the knee boots, & put a cashmere blend hip length fitted cardigan over the top & belted it for extra warmth. Found my old three barrel curling ward so put some messy waves in my hair. Looks a bit fluffy though.

Did you have a puréed stage? This usually follows the liquid stage. Give it a go & leave the soft foods for another week or so as your tummy probably isn’t ready for more dense foods yet even if they’re soft. Don’t worry if you move more slowly through the stages. We all heal differently & can eat different foods at different times as we progress through our weight loss. Listen to your tummy - it will quickly let you know what it can or can’t tolerate as you progress.

Am having friends over for drinks on the deck tonight. No worries about mosquitoes here at the moment so you’d be safe @GreenTealael but frost bite is a distinct possibility. Brrrr. Not an OOTD, more a NSV I wanted to share. Yesterday I was putting on some opaque tights & I realised I was standing & bending over to put them on. I used to have to sit down & physically lift one leg up & place it over the other just to pull one leg on. Happy dance.

For the first few months you will find it challenging to eat many fruits & vegetables. Sometimes because of the taste or texture, sometimes because your tummy won’t be able to tolerate them. This will change & you’ll find you will be able to eat them much as you did before. In this interim period, you will most definitely get the nutrients & vitamins you’re not getting from fruit & vegetables from your multivitamins. Once you are eating more & a healthy, balanced diet the multivitamins aren’t as necessary. Multivitamins should be seen only as a supplement if you’re not getting enough of those vitamins through a balanced diet or you have malabsorption issues. I stopped taking my vitamins about 7 months ago (they made me very nauseated) & my blood work shows all my levels are very good so I don’t need them but I do ensure I have fruit & vegetables every day. However, we are all different & while I get my enough nutrients through food, you may not & will have to take vitamins to boost your levels.

I don’t miss my sweaty thighs rubbing together or breathing heavily walking up a flight of stairs. And I certainly don’t miss having to wear flat or low heels because my feet ached & burned - bring on the 4inch heels again.

The protein bar I usually eat a couple of times each week did it earlier this week. Pressure in my stomach, vertigo, pain across my rib cage, hot flush & so wanted to vomit to relieve the pressure but didn’t. Tentatively ate one last night & no problem. Our stomachs just like to keep us on our toes.

We have a similar story. I’m an inch taller, weighed 49.6kgs today, wear a US size 2 & have to work at maintaining. I lost more than my goal weight (another 10kg) while trying to find the right balance & combination of food to maintain. It takes very little for my weight to drop & a lot to gain it again. Not that I really manage to - last month I sat between 50-50.5kg, this month it’s 49.2-50. I feel I eat all day too. I added snacks with multi/whole grains & continue to focus on portion control & healthy food choices. I often eat a meal over a long period of time (50+ mins at lunch) so I can consume a little more & then have to fit in snacks. It can be a challenge. On Tuesday a doctor on my surgeon’s team said I need to put on 4kgs but I’m conscious of the strong likelihood of the year 2/3 weight gain @catwoman7 mentioned. I’d rather stay at this weight with a possibility of a 5kg gain in a year or so than put on 4 now & then another 5+. I just want to be able to stay where I am now cause I’m happy, feel fine & my blood work is very good.

I used to carry around a bottle of diluted hydralite (found it too sweet full strength) to give me little boosts of energy for months after surgery. But 14.5 months out if I don’t keep my fluids up I can still get weak - jelly legs, cold sweats. Felt that way yesterday after I’d been rushing about shopping all morning & had to sit down for a few minutes. For me I think it’s a combination of low blood pressure & Gilbert’s.

I did keto as my 2 week pre diet but found it challenging because I’ve never enjoyed foods high in fats. They used to upset my tummy & reflux so I’ve been low fat for decades. I was also told keto should only be followed short term not as a long term lifestyle choice. I presumed the low fat recommendation post sleeve was because of the potential for gall bladder problems after surgery. Also my cholesterol went up to 6.9 during my weight loss as it was released from my fat. Thank goodness it’s back down now with a good balance of HDL & LDL.

Plateaus can be demoralising. And yeah, I’d tell that person to feck off too! I think @catwoman7 is correct & you are consuming enough calories to be in maintenance. At 3 & 4 months I was still barely eating 1/2 cup of food three times a day (took me three days to eat 2 eggs) & was probably eating 300 - 500 calories. Check your portion sizes, ensure you’re meeting your protein goals & avoid carbs & sugars.

Oh, I’m not brave enough to do a Jake style parachute jump. I was actually chasing some of those Olympic style all-in-one swimmers & thought I could pretend I was a gold medalist swimmer but then I found out how much they cost - yikes! Damn humidity has ruined many a hair style for me too @Sophie7713. It’s why I have a hair band on my wrist at all times to rescue a deflated ‘do’ & covert it to a pony.

No bread, pasta, rice, alcohol, caffeine, root vegetables or carbonated drinks. Reduce fats, carbs & sugar as much as possible. I slowly tried different foods over time to work out what my tummy could tolerate. The only vege I could eat for months was microwaved cabbage & cauliflower but didn’t have issues with any meats. Best advice is follow your surgeon’s plan & slowly introduce new foods when your ready. I can eat most things now. I follow what I call an avoid, reduce or limit eating plan. I still avoid bread, pasta & rice. I reduced my alcohol to maybe once a month & limit the sugar I ingest (only naturally occurring sugars like in fruit where possible & no sweets, cakes, etc.). The only carbonation I have is the odd tonic or soda water & only caffeine comes from green tea (which I’ve drunk for years). Limit carbs to small serves of multi or whole grains. I keep my protein up & eat vegetables, salads & a piece of fruit each day. Good luck with your surgery. I love my sleeve.

RYou look fabulous @Dtrain84. And Jake, you always look great. So lovely to welcome our new comers too. Hope you’ll become frequent posters. By the way, has anyone heard from Angiebear? I hope she’s ok. Because we had to cancel our girls’ trip to Spain, we’ve decided to do a weekend away at an upmarket retreat in the mountains here in Queensland in September. We’ve decided to go all out & will be helicoptering up & back (45min trip). The views will be spectacular & we’re very excited. Anyway, our private lodge has a spa on the deck so I’ve been forced to buy some swimwear - first time in 18yrs. Thought you’d be amused by my choice - ain’t no one seeing my saggy baggy skin & I am very fair so there is some sensible logic in my choice.

Congrats on your weight loss so far. The itching at your incision sites means they are healing - it’s the nerve endings that were cut twitching. The left shoulder pain is possibly still from the gas they inflated your abdomen with during surgery. It can take time for your body to expel it. Go for short walks every day slowly increasing your speed & distance as you feel stronger. It will help with the cabin fever & also with the gas pain. Did the pudding have any dairy in it? Lactose can be a problem post surgery & will cause diarrhoea. Don’t what was worse in the first 6 months - the constipation or the diarrhoea. There’s a lot of learning about what your tummy will & won’t tolerate in the first few months. Sometimes what you eat one day without problem will upset you the next. Sometimes the taste, texture or smell can turn you off. Just take your time. Goid luck.

An extra pair of pjs, or sleep wear, & knickers in case you have to stay an extra day or accidents. (At my hospital they make you shower & put on your own pjs on the second day.) My friend swears by incontinence pad knickers. Not for incontinence but for the not uncommon & totally unexpected attacks of diarrhoea. As her surgeon warned her: you may think you’re about to pass wind but it will be way more than that (apologies if tmi). Non slip slippers or slides for your laps around the ward. I couldn’t stand anything pressing against my incision wounds so soft waisted pants/skirts that you can fold down at the waist to wear home or a dress. Good luck.

The section of your stomach that is removed is where most of your hunger hormone is produced. This is why we lose our hunger and also why we will regain it (at various strengths). At 14.5 months out I have days I don’t feel hungry at all but I still try to eat though not as much & try to meet my minimum daily protein goal. I also have days when I feel hungry but it’s a much gentler feeling like a reminder it must be about lunch or dinner time. (It’s been stronger lately because it’s damn cold in Australia at the moment & I’m a walking ice cube.) If you tend eat much the same things, maybe add something different to your diet. Try a new recipe, use different spices or add new protein sources, etc. It may stimulate your appetite a little. I used to eat a lot of chicken for lunch now I’ve thrown in fresh prawns a couple of times a week & I look forward to eating them. Good luck with your appointment. I hope they can identify what’s causing your pain.

It’s a real thing though it may be in week 2, 3, 4 or 5. They can last 1-3 weeks. And this is the just the first stall you’ll have through this process. Some advocate boosting your intake or exercise others say stay your course. For me, I stayed my course & the weight loss started again. I look on stalls as your body playing catch up to all your changes: diet, exercise, reduced calories, etc. Best thing is not to let it get you down. Keep your mind strong & focussed. We all lose at different rates. You may be a slower loser and there’s nothing wrong with that. But you have lost 9lbs in 4 weeks with a stall. This is something to celebrate. It’s not a race. Don’t compare yourself with others especially those who have more to lose than you - they’ll lose much faster to begin. It’s often not the number in the scale (though certainly motivating) but how you are feeling & what you are able to do now (the non scale victories) that can be more meaningful. Good luck.

Different surgeons want you to follow different diets. Some all shakes, some advocate two shakes plus 1 reduced calorie meal, while others will want you on other diets. Mine had me on keto but put my friend on all liquids. Her BMI was a lot higher than mine & I wonder if that might influence the plan they want you to follow. First week of the all shake diet is often called hell week. Your body struggles to get used to fewer calories, your head plays tricks making your cravings worse and you suffer withdrawals from sugar, carbs & caffeine. It will pass.

Mmmm? You pose any interesting question. I have blood work done about every 3 months. (Just had one yesterday for my surgeon’s appointment next week.) My GP orders some when I visit her & my surgeon when I visit him. They were watching my liver function for a while so I’m not sure if that was the motivation or if it’s the usual practice. (I am fortunate that my GP & surgeon & his team work well together.) I would have thought you would have regular tests because of your bypass & because your vitamin B levels were so high. You can always ask your GP for a blood test if you are concerned that the time between tests is too long.

Ring your surgeon or go to your nearest hospital. You shouldn’t be experiencing this sort of pain. Good luck.

We all have different experiences & we can & can’t do different things at each stage. My first fortnight I was only managing 1 shake & half a cup of soup every day so even less than you but I was ok & lost 5kg. You can only do what you can do. Don’t push yourself because your healing tummy may revolt. You’ll soon find you can tolerate more. Good luck.

Yep, you’re in a stall and it won’t be your only one through this process. They may last a week, two or more. I thought of them as my body saying: ‘Stop! Hang on. What the hell on you doing to me?’ It was like my body needed to take breath to catch up to the changes I was making & forcing it to become used to. Don’t worry your weight loss will start again. Just give it time.

Though I initially had pain on swallowing due to the swelling, I had no desire to eat or drink for days after. Remember, you’ve just had surgery & you don’t want to stress your stomach by pushing it too much. As @catwoman7 said nerves have been cut & you may not be getting the messages that you’re full or your stomach is uncomfortable yet. Take it slowly, pace yourself & follow your surgeon’s recommendations. As you heal, you’ll find your stomach will quickly tell you what it can’t tolerate - loudly (growls, gurgles, ...) or physically (pain, tightness, vomiting,..).

I have odd days I feel hungry and days I don’t but when I feel hungry it’s more like a ‘it must be lunch time’ feeling not that I’m starving & have to eat. Protein is more filling & satisfying and a more nutritionally beneficial choice than other foods such as carbohydrates which many of us turned to when we felt hungry pre surgery. One of the benefits of the sleeve is that the area where much (but not all) of our hunger hormone is produced is removed. Another is a boosted metabolism which can make us feel hungry as we burn energy faster then before. This could be why you are feeling hungry. It could also be head hunger as against real hunger. There are several threads on this & on doing the head work which I’ve found useful. At least with our much smaller stomach we can’t eat that horse - at least not in one sitting 😁

My surgeon asked me if I had a goal. I suggested 60kg (BMI of about 23) as I had been that weight before & had been happy then. He agreed & said it was a sensible goal for my height, age & lifestyle. When I surpassed it by 5kg he was initially concerned but after we talked about it he was ok. I lost another 5kg while I was working out my maintenance plan but have been stable for about 4 months. Personally I think you need to consider what is the weight that will allow you to live the life you want & you can happily maintain. And if your goal changes, that’s your choice. It’s not always about the number on the scales. For me it’s about being happy & healthy.