Arabesque

I hated the shakes too (texture, sweetness, etc.) but I found if I diluted them they were a little more tolerable. I added about 50% more water. Good luck.

Constipation or diarrhoea is pretty common in the beginning. A friend wore disposable adult diapers for the first week (a suggestion from her surgeon) & she thanked God every day for them as she suffered bowel in continence too for the first week. I was fortunate & only had one bad attack like that. I got up to do a wee & uh oh! No control at all. Of course if it persists contact your medical team. Good luck & congrats on your surgery.

A tablespoon of cider vinegar a day is supposed to also help. I think you can dilute it in water if you can’t tolerate the vinegar burn.

This is pretty common. Some of it comes from a change in your taste buds & for some also their sense of smell. Plus your tummy is pretty sensitive while it’s healing. Don’t worry, it changes back. A lot of things I previously enjoyed were abhorrent after surgery. You’ll also find that something you can eat one day will make you sick the next. It’s a lot of trial & error to begin. I ‘d say a lot of us survived on a pretty small range of foods we could tolerate in the beginning. But don’t give up on a food. Just have a break & try it again in a few days or a week or two. Try different foods too. You may find things you wouldn’t have eaten before now are quite easy & enjoyable to eat. Don’t worry if you go back a step for a short time or move more slowly to a next stage. You have to do what works for you. As I said, it’s a lot of trial & error to begin. Good luck.

Knowing it happens made it easier for me to accept when it did. It’s just your body taking a breath to get used to all the changes you’ve been making. I’d heard all the stories about upping or lowering your calories, changing your activity, etc. but I just stuck to my plan & I started to lose again. The first one lasted a week. I had a couple of what I called mini stalls where I’d lose less than my average loss across a week. My last one was my worst. One kilo off goal & I sat there for 2 & a half weeks. Longest 19 days in my life. You’ll get through it & you’ll start to lose again.

I freeze a lot of my leftovers - well the protein content - or eat it the next day. But generally I take at least 20 minutes to eat a meal. I usually take an hour to eat lunch but I do eat a lot of lettuce & other salad ingredients. I guess my protracted lunch is probably a bit like grazing or having mini meals. I agree with Ms.SSS. If the calorie intake is the same it shouldn’t matter whether it’s eaten all in one go, in three separate meals or multiple mini meals. If you struggle to eat 4oz in a meal, I’d suggest you finish it off as a snack later in the day if you’re concerned about not meeting your goals. I had to eat snacks to meet my protein goals when I was losing because I couldn’t get my protein in three meals alone. I eat even more snacks in maintenance so I don’t continue to lose. It’s hard cause I’m often just not hungry & my restriction kicks in a lot. All my snacks contain protein and are nutritionally sound (yogurt, fruit, hummus on multi grain crackers, cheese, protein bar, etc.). I find it works for me. You’ll find what works for you it just may take a lot of trial & error. Good luck.

Congrats on your surgery & welcome. You’ve lost 77lbs that’s amazing. I lost about 70lb in 6 months so pretty similar. It’s going to take time. Remember you didn’t put on your weight in a short time frame so you can’t expect to lose it quickly. Surgery isn’t a quick & easy fix but you’ll get there. Stick to your plan, meet your protein & fluid goals each day. Take time to learn new healthier cooking methods & try more nutritious foods. It’s a lot of learning & changing from what you used to eat, how you ate & why you ate. But it’s so worth it. Good luck.

Met up with friends today. We met at college 38 years ago. We’re quite different but somehow we work together as dear friends. It’s been a couple of years since the three of us have been together but keep in touch by phone & individually so today was special. I’m very in love with puffed sleeves at the moment - though they’re annoying to iron. They’re cool & hide my saggy upper arms 😁.

It was wonderful BayougirlMrsS. I so enjoyed it. Thank you. I recommended it to my aunt & uncle who sing in their church choir but they don’t have Netflix ☹️. Hope they can borrow one of their children’s account so they can watch it.

Lovely pxt of the two of you, Jake. Looking real fine.

So. Ok. I’ve been noticing some strange & totally unexpected changes to my body post weight loss. I’m not talking shrinking feet & fingers. I mean they seem logical when I think about it but... Was doing my makeup for Christmas Eve when I realised I could see the eyeshadow on my lids when my eyes were open. The reason this is strange is that for as long as I could remember, I’ve had hooded eyelids which run in the family. I had a fleshy overhang over my upper eyelid so I couldn’t really see any eyeshadow I applied & when I put on eyeliner I’d get a line on the overhanging part of my lid as well. But I’ve noticed my hooded eyes aren’t so hooded anymore. I can actually see eyeshadow & eyeliner just like most people do. So I guess I lost weight on my eyelids too. What the??? My neck is thinner & longer. Now the logic tells me this is because I don’t have a double chin any more & I don’t have extra flesh around my collar bones & shoulders. But I wasn’t really expecting it. I mean I’ll never have a swan like neck but I don’t feel like I’m being strangled physically or emotionally if I wear a high neck top. Now this last one is a bit personal so beware. I’ve lost weight around my lady parts specifically my pubis region. It’s definitely less fleshy & ‘puffy’. So I guess I’ve lost weight there too. Who’da thunk it? Anyone else noticed these changes or have other weird & unexpected changes to their bodies since they’ve lost weight?

I just went & checked my underarms @ms.sss but I can’t remember what they used to be like - lol. And you’re right about cellulite. My thighs aren’t lumpy at all anymore. Shame about my saggy inner thighs though otherwise I’d be flashing some upper leg gams. Can’t comment on my butt cause, you know, I don’t really have one anymore 😁 My eyes used to be so hooded I had seriously researched blepharoplasty & looked for surgeon recommendations before wls. Looks like I’ve saved some money cause I don’t need it now. Whoo hoo! Fingers crossed for those also cursed with droopy lids. I wish I had cheekbones @GreenTealael. I’m very jealous. Your cheekbones are gorgeous. I hadn’t thought about the benefits for men @Recidivist of a shrinking pubic area but it sure made me smile 😜.

It must have been so frightening to hear you stopped breathing during surgery. I’m sorry that happened to you. As for the chest congestion & cough, check with your surgical team. Anything that seems odd to you post surgery should be checked medically.

You should be able to eat any protein. I eat beef, lamb, pork, chicken, seafood as well as yoghurt, milk, cheese & eggs. You could try some plant based proteins as an alternative. Over the last fortnight I’ve been eating small slices of Christmas cake & drinking champagne. I dropped 1 or 2 snacks a day to compensate a little (though I was low on my protein as a result ☹️) & kept to my routine with everything else. I’m completely back on track now. For me, I find comfort in routines: knowing what I can eat, how much I can eat & when I eat. It’s dependable. (Makes grocery shopping a breeze too.) Hate to say it but it’s time to break those bad habits again. Get rid of the lemonade & the alcohol. Avoid sugars including the artificial ones as they still feed any sugar cravings. They’re all empty calories & offering no nutritional value. Chewing gum stimulates your stomach making you think you’re hungry. Try some of the dry mouth drops available at pharmacies instead of the gum. Start taking advantage of your tool again, remember portion size, monitor your calories, eat slowly & meet your protein & fluid goals. What was working for you to get to 140? It will work again. Good luck.

I live alone & I ended up throwing a lot of food out too. I didn’t like the idea of throwing away so much food either. I think it’s why I left it so long to do it but by then I didn’t have a choice except to toss it as the expiry dates had been passed. I had multiple packets of rice, pasta, quinoa, etc. It was ridiculous. As for the frozen, I tossed a lot of that too but do you have neighbours or friends with children? You could always offer them the ice cream & other frozen foods. I understand you’re not telling them about your surgery but how have you been explaining your weight loss? If you’ve said a dietician or change of diet use that as to why you’re offering them some of the frozen foods.

So pretty BayougirlMrsS. Glad you finally had a chance to wear the blouse. Such a lovely colour. Love the snake skin shoes too.

I wasn’t a good sleeper for years so I understand your frustration. My mother is also a bad sleeper - way worse than me. Melatonin didn’t work for her either. She took it for 2+ years cause it supposed to take a long time to build up in your body to become effective but nothing. I understood that bypass patients have less hunger hormone in their bodies because the hormone is produced in the section of the stomach that is sectioned off so it can’t circulate through the body as it used too to stimulate the hungry feeling. Which prompts me to ask: Are you really hungry? Or are you eating out of habit? (Did you eat during the night before you had surgery?) Or because you’re frustrated by not sleeping? Or because you’re bored being awake? Working out why you eat, doing the head work, is a big part of the journey which we’re always working our way through. Are you reaching your protein goals during the day? The only times I’ve felt real hunger was at night was when I didn’t come close to my meeting my protein goals during the day (cause... you know... life). Both times occurred in this last year after I reached my goal weight. I found a protein rich snack helped - a small piece of meat or a protein bar. Good luck.

I found the food prep in the first couple of months really easy. Because you eat so little (like only 1/4 cup) you only need to prep food every couple of days. The freezer & microwave were my friends - they still are actually. If I scrambled 2 eggs, it took me three days to eat them. Like Catwoman7, I rotated through a small number of meals too. A lot of my old favourites did not taste the same (your taste buds temporarily change) & I admit I had to toss some things I made because they tasted terrible. While I didn’t experience any issues with food intolerances, I added new foods to my diet slowly. Good luck on your journey.

It will depend on how you recover. I always take longer to recover than others if I’m sick & it was the same post surgery. A friend was back after a week. Another after 2 weeks. Me, 4 weeks later I picked up a part time contract & I was wiped every afternoon. I was having issues with low blood pressure & low energy. I have Gilbert’s & slow recovery is common. I was a primary teacher & I know how physically & mentally demanding the job is. I’d probably look at having the surgery in your longer break. It will give you time to work through the pre solid food stages & start getting your head around how your new tummy works for you. Good luck with your surgery.

Honestly I can’t remember. After about two months I wasn’t really looking at them. They just got lighter & lighter. They’ve been like they are now for more than at least 6 months. They’re nothing. I have way worse scars on other parts of me from acne, mole removal, etc. I doubt any one would even notice them unless they were really looking for them.

I couldn’t handle shakes either & don’t get me started on protein powders. Shudder! I was so glad to get to soft foods when I put those shakes & powders away. I set myself a goal that I would get all my protein, vitamins & minerals from what I ate not from supplements. It was slow to start. In the soft food stage I made slow cooked meals - stews, casseroles, bolognese, etc. I also made soup which I’d simmer for ages so any meats or beans were really soft. Yoghurt was my friend as were scrambled eggs & rolled oats. Good luck.

Awesome! Congratulations. 🏆

I can’t believe I forgot this thread. I found it last year ( well year before now) when I was still losing, I so could have used it this last 12 months. It’s lovely there are many familiar faces here & though I know about a lot of your experiences, I’ve found reading about your specific issues & learnings about maintenance helpful & reassuring. Some of the things that have resonated are: Feeling like I’m eating all the time. Eating to a routine not hunger cause I’m often not. Finding the balance so I don’t lose more which I still struggle with. I’m going to get in trouble when I see my surgical team in a week & a half cause I’ve lost another kilo since my last appointment. That’s 11.5 down in 12 months. And no, eating Christmas cake, my steamed marmalade pudding & custard or champagne for days did not change my weight at all! Not even 100g. The drinking eating balance. I find I sort of can drink green tea & eat my mid morning crackers together without much of an issue but I do this slowly over an hour. But at other times the least time between I can manage is 15 mins before or after & only sipping. My restriction is still pretty active. I wrote briefly about this in an update earlier this week. Being scared to put weight on again. Not just a kilo or two but 10+ Because I think if I put on that much, I’ll put on another 10 & another ... & I’ll be back where I started. I’m still very careful about what I eat too (well 99% of the time). Avoiding as much sugar as I can, keeping to whole or multi grains, low fat. I regularly eat fruit & vegetables. Predominately green vegetables: beans, sugar snap peas, asparagus, broccolini, lettuce - no starchy ones except the odd bit of carrot. I also have fruit twice a day: blue berries on my rolled oats & then apples, grapes, cherries, strawberries, lychees, mandarin, rockmelon, watermelon or paw paw at night after dinner. I don’t consider them empty calories cause they’re full of essential vitamins & minerals. I don’t take any vitamins or use supplements in my diet so it’s essential I get these in through the food I eat. Yes, the fruit has sugar but it is naturally occurring & not added. I do suffer a little from hyperglycaemic so the sweetness in the fruit helps. Yes, they are carbs but again I look at them as a naturally occurring carb & they’re fibre rich not like processed carbs in bread & pasta. We do need some carbs in our diet to help regulate our insulin, for energy, to keep us regular, etc.

It will depend on how you usually scar. I have five tiny fine white lines that I have to look for now from my sleeve surgery. Four are across my tummy in line with my belly button & the fifth one is half way between my belly button & breasts. They’re less than a centimetre long. I used bio oil once the wounds were healed. Vitamin E oil can work to reduce scarring too as can silicon tapes. Good luck with your surgery.