Arabesque

I avoid as much sugar and as many sweetened things as I can. It is the devil & contributed to me being over weight in the first place. Dropping it from my diet helped with my weight loss & now maintaining. I don’t miss it. Dumping is not an uncommon side effect of sugar consumption post surgery. (Less common with sleeves though.) But for you it seems like your body is showing its intolerance for sugar by producing excess gas. You may discover you can’t tolerate other foods as easily either & may have to avoid them as well.

You’re talking about your health. You must be truthful because you don’t want to risk any complications. I’d give my new doctor the results but ask if they’d do another lot to monitor changes. Your doctor can access all your blood work results anyway if they want so you’re not hiding anything. When I get my printout it shows the results for a number of previous tests. The surgery was one of the best decisions I ever made. Best of luck with your journey.

Yep every day I have access to my scales. I usually have breakfast, then after my second pee of the morning, & bm I get on the scales in my underwear before I get dressed. I try to keep the scales on the same tile too for consistency.

The surgery & change to your diet speeds up your natural hair loss cycle. It’s a reaction to the shock to your body. You just have to wait it out. There’s no common experience as to when it will start, how much hair you’ll lose or for how long it will go on. I lost a lot of hair over about 6 months. You may notice a change in your hair texture too. There’s nothing you can do to stop it. Biotin, silica, vitamins, etc. won’t stop the loss but they will help strengthen your new growth.

A BMI of 35 tends to be the minimum requirement for many surgeons in Australia at least and a lower BMI with high BP, diabetes, etc. (think my surgeon’s min was 32 with these health complications). I had a starting BMI of 35 as did my friend. I didn’t have any health concerns but my friend had a few minor issues that will be alleviated with weight loss. The decision to have the surgery is yours. It’s not an easy choice and certainly not an easy way to lose weight. It takes a lot of commitment, effort, reflection & lifestyle changes but the benefits are huge. Out if interest, are your friends slim or do they carry weight? Just wondering what might be motivating their comments.

Every single day. And I’m menopausal! Grocery shopping is the worst. I was wearing long sleeve tops in the middle of a Queensland summer & would be so cold it was painful. I think my low BP contributes as well as the lack of fatty insulation.

Sometimes it is difficult to find foods you enjoy eating at this stage. Your changed taste buds & the texture of some purées make eating unpleasant. Some things are just plain disgusting. I ate a lot of soups during this stage with shakes - usually a 1/2 cup of soup & a shake each day - sipping slowly over the day. My doctor & dietician wasn’t concerned about minimum protein levels at this stage. That changed once I got into the soft food stage. Try to purée a poached chicken breast with chicken stock & gravy. I also puréed mince & vegetables (cooked for ages). Scrambled eggs, mashed boiled egg, very mushy rolled oats & yogurts also worked for me. Good luck.

Soup is the go to at this stage. I’d probably avoid the ramen or Thai options because of the meats, vegetables & noodles. Would be more obvious if you just consumed the broth whilst leaving the rest of the ingredients with those. Just remember to eat slowly & don’t have anything to drink or you fill up to quickly. Hope you enjoy your evening.

Thank you for starting this thread @Suzi_the_Q. Any help & advice to stay on the right path would be wonderful. I’m only 13.5 months out & hit my goal at about 6 months. I continued to lose for another four. While I’ve been maintaining for the last 3.5 months, I know this will continue to take effort & determination. I don’t want to throw away the opportunities the surgery has given me. I try to keep to routines of when & what I eat, eat slowly & keep portions small. Like @ms.sss I too say no to pasta, bread & rice. I also avoid potatoes. And I weigh myself almost every day. I’m still in the sweet spot with a strong metabolism so the real work will begin when that starts to slow.

I just filled another bag for St Vincent de Paul. This one is full of camis, singlet tops, pantyhose & shapewear. The one before was pyjamas, leggings, track pants & hoodies. This should be my last lot as I think I’ve gone through all my wardrobes & drawers now for the last time? It feels so good not only to cleanse but also to be able to donate the clothing to help others. (Knowing the clothing was all way too big made me feel good too! 😁)

Yeah I get how you feel. A couple of people said it to me & I felt as if they were almost taunting me because, like you, at the time I still had a way to go. It was like ‘hey skinny’ really meant here we go again she’ll put it all back on again or she’s still so fat. But that could have been my twisted thinking. I felt there was much more support & encouragement in a close friend quietly saying I was looking good or she was happy for me. I found it really awkward when people would ask if I was sick.

You’re not shrinking the liver itself but reducing the fat on & in the liver. @GreenTealael is correct & it also helps give the surgeon a better field of vision whilst doing the surgery. I was not given a size that my liver must reduce to just that I had to lose some weight in the fortnight prior to surgery. I lost a good 4kgs but a friend had to lose 8 kgs in the three weeks prior to her surgery. Good luck.

Starting to get pretty chilly for Queensland. Got out my raccoon & wool asymmetrical jumper, wool tube skirt & boots on Saturday to go to Toowoomba on the Great Dividing Range. All toasty warm. It’s my nod to the 80s.

Congrats on your weight loss. An amazing achievement. I eat oatmeal often for breakfast (at the moment it’s every day cause I’m over eggs) & did so through my weigh loss stage as it’s a good carb & was on my diet. (Mind you the couple of teaspoons I could eat wouldn’t had much of an impact.) When I got to maintenance, my dietician recommended small amounts of whole/multi grain carbs. Crackers have been the easy choice for me as I didn’t want to go down the bread & pasta route either. They’re good for carrying other foods like hummus, avocado, etc. & are an easy snack. And it’s nice to have a crunchy bite. These few carbs have helped keep me regular (yippee) & have improved the skin on my face - not as gaunt looking anymore. They’ve helped me maintain & if I drop them I start losing weight again. Amusingly, I bought a brown rice cracker during lockdown as my usual ones weren’t available - result was many smelly farts. Brown rice is now on my avoid at all costs list.

The issue for people post surgery is addiction transfer & alcohol is an easy transfer from food. I enjoyed a glass of something (wine, gin, scotch) every night pre surgery but since my surgery I probably have a glass less than once a month. And then I rarely finish it. I also found that my taste buds have changed & a lot of alcohol tastes too sweet & just plain blah! Have to admit I don’t really miss it. If I do have something to drink it’s gin & tonic. I drink it very slowly - an hour + for a low ball. Most of the bubbles dissipate quickly which helps with the carbonation issue. A couple of things to consider: The carbonation fills you quickly & causes issues like discomfort. If you’re drinking, you’re not eating. Alcohol will dehydrate you. Alcohol has no nutritional value.

I’m sorry you’re experiencing such terrible gas pain. A big part of the not drinking before eating is to allow your tummy to fully empty before you start to eat. And the reverse after you eat. Remember your tummy is very small now & can only hold a small amount of food or drink. As you just had your surgery you should be on liquids only (surgeons differ on for how long). These liquids (broths, shakes, etc.) all count to your fluid intake for the day. So at this stage there is no real difference between ‘eating’ & drinking. I added more water (about 1/2 cup more) to my shakes to make them thinner & easier to consume and I would take hours to finish one just slowly sipping. I would swallow my meds with the diluted shake. The waiting before eating & drinking kicks in once you begin eating ‘real’ food from the purée stage. Even at 13 months out this is still true for me. As is being unable to drink more than a mouthful of liquid at a time. If I drink close to when I eat or drink a little when I eat, I can’t eat much because I feel full & I don’t get my nutrients in. Plus I gurgle something terribly.

Constipation is an issue for many after surgery but so too is diarrhea. The high protein, low carb diet is the culprit. I added benefibre to my shakes every morning. Keep your fluids up & have some stool softeners in your medicine cabinet. When I got to day 3 without any movement I’d take some coloxyl. Some need much stronger stimulants or enemas to get things moving. Once I was in maintenance & added some good carbs - multigrains - I became more regular again.

Congrats for starting your weight loss journey. I too wasn’t a social media user but this forum has been fantastic & very helpful. I’m so glad I joined. I’m 5’3” & was 200lbs with a bmi of 35 at the beginning. I’ve lost about 89lbs which has put me at the low end of the healthy bmi scale for my height. Any more loss & I’d look all bony & gaunt. I live alone, so before my surgery, I purchased the shakes, bone broths, clear soups, etc. I would be able to eat in the first fortnight. I also purchased hydralite, benefibre, Imodium, de gas, over the counter pain meds & coloxyl. I also filled all my scripts so I would have them as new, unopened packs to take to the hospital & for after. A friend also purchased sustagen & adult diapers. She swears the adult diapers were the best buy because of the sudden attacks of diarrhoea. (It does happen, without warning & it’s not pretty!) I also purchased a small thermos to keep my soups & broths warm while I slowly drank them & a couple of protein shake bottles so I could make up 2 at a time in different flavours. I wasn’t allowed to drive for two weeks, so by getting everything I needed before my surgery I didn’t have to ask others to try to find things. You will be tired & lack energy. Don’t push yourself. Go for strolls for 10 mins to begin with & then up the duration, frequency & pace according to your energy levels. Sip your liquids slowly. And don’t be surprised if you struggle to have a second ‘meal‘ a day to begin with. I would finish the shake I made for breakfast around mid afternoon & then be lucky to drink 1/2 cup of soup for dinner over the next couple of hours. You’ll notice your taste buds will change. I used to dilute my shakes & hydralite (at least 50% more water to the mixes) to make them easier to swallow & more palatable. And yes, all the shakes, soups, broths etc. count to your daily fluid intake. Everyone recovers differently & loses at different rates so don’t be concerned if you take longer to recover or lose more slowly than others.

Nothing helps to stop the loss or speed up when your regrow begins. Sorry. The surgery is a shock to your body & speeds up your natural hair loss cycle. You may notice a change in texture too. As @catwoman7 said it is common after a lot of surgeries & pregnancy & can happen after experiencing excessive stress or trauma. All the vitamins & minerals supposedly for hair growth will only help the new hair growth not the hair you have now - it’s all ready dead. Special shampoos & treatments may help the quality of the hair you have (make it smoother or shinier) but they won’t stop it falling out. You just have to go through the process & it will be different for everyone. Mine started at about month 3 & lasted a good 6 months losing close to 50%. I have several inches of regrow now.

We’re the same height & I agree 170lbs seems too high. I do agree with @catwoman7 too that that would be the weight loss you should be able to get to based upon the stats. However, i’d look at it as a guide. It would be a great achievement if you reach it but if you want to get to an even more healthier weight range & want to set a lower final goal you can. You just need to find your sweet spot weight wise. The weight you can maintain while living a happy & healthy life & sometimes that’s not ruled by a number on the scales. Good luck.

Lyrica is renowned for increasing your appetite & weight gain. It’s a great medication for nerve pain but ... Your appetite is probably coming back, with the meds contributing, & you may be sub-consciously eating more. It’s easy to do. Check your serving size and if you aren’t counting calories, you may need to give it a go for a couple of weeks. All the best.

What diet did your Dietician/nutritionalist put you on to lose your pre-surgery weight? Shakes? Keto? You need to follow the plan they gave you.

They call this first week hell week for a reason. It is hard! But it will be worth it. At the moment you’re suffering withdrawals from your previous diet - sugar, carbs, alcohol & caffeine (if you dropped or reduced that too). It will pass and you will get through it. This whole process is not easy. You will have to work hard to be successful but the benefits are amazing & sooo worth the pain & effort. Good luck.

Stalls are very common & this is just the first of several you will experience. Some last a week others a couple of weeks. My longest, just before I hit goal, lasted almost three. They are frustrating but keep your spirits up. You will start losing again. I always thought of the stalls as my body needing to take a breath to come to terms with my weight loss to that stage. Remember your body is going through some big changes: surgery, reduced food intake, a change of diet & removal of foods your body was used to/dependent upon (sugars, fats, caffeine, alcohol, carbs, etc.), plus a increase to your physical activity. Some veterans will suggest you adjust your diet to start the weight loss again but I just kept to my plan & it started again. I suggest you contact your medical team about your infrequent urination & possible fluid retention sooner rather than later just in case something else isn’t going on. Good luck.

Feeling nauseated & vomiting after taking multivitamins was not a new thing for me after wls. I always had issues & it didn’t matter what brand I took. I found taking my vitamins on an empty tummy worse. I split mine so I took one later in the morning & one at night. Morning was still bad but least the night time was generally ok. Try taking them after lunch or dinner when you’ve more on your tummy. I gave up taking my vitamins with my dietician & surgeon’s ok when I hit maintenance & I was eating more & a more nutritionally balanced diet. But I had a sleeve & multivitamins aren’t as essential post weight loss as with other surgeries.