Arabesque

I’m a pro scale person. I still weigh myself almost if not every day & record my weight most times. I found it kept me & does keep me motivated. But in saying that, it’s not always about the number on the scale. You have to know when to leave it for a couple of days or when to ignore the number (like when stalling, constipated or natural body fluctuations). If you’re someone who won’t be able to leave it or will get anxious about fluctuations, scales may not be for you during the weight loss phase.

The weight loss period is perfect for changing old food habits, trying new things & looking for better, healthier options. There are lots of unprocessed lean meat, & seafood or plant-based protein options available you could try. That saying, I lost the taste for a lot of things in the first four or so months but I found I could eat thin pork sausages which I bought from my local butcher who’s very good. He makes them using real meat & little else. Mass produced sausages tend to be made from the fatty off cuts, gristle, lots of meal, preservatives, artificial flavours, nitrates, etc. I’d eat 1/2 sausage as one of my lunch options maybe twice a week. Cooked a couple of sausages at a time in dry in a non stick pan, cut them in half & froze the individual portions. Easy. My dietician was okay with me including them in my diet because they were freshly made by a butcher. See what your nutritionalist says.

I think the requirement to be taken home by/with a family member/friend is to ensure if you do become unwell on the drive home, your family or friend are better placed to make decisions about your health & can offer assistance if required. They will also get you settled back into your home. It is a lot to expect a stranger to make decisions about your state of health & needs. Many taxi/Uber drivers would be reluctant to touch you if you are sick or collapse especially if you are female. And they’re probably even more reluctant in the age of covid.

Eating out can be challenging. I always check the menu before I go so I can work out what I can eat. If there’s nothing suitable I’ll go elsewhere. I only order an entree (American appetiser) & usually choose seafood. Managing wait staff who are concerned about you not eating the whole meal can be difficult especially if you are wanting to be under the radar. If I’m with people who don’t know about my surgery, I’ll speak with wait staff away from the table - saying I’m on a medically restricted diet works well. Also watch the drinking before your meal - so easy to slip into the pre dinner drink habit & then you struggle to eat. Yesterday I had lunch with an old friend. Couldn’t check the menu online but I’d been to the restaurant many times so thought I’d be fine. But because of covid they were doing a limited menu. There was only one dish I could eat - a $40 main course fish dish. I ate about 2/3 of the piece of fish & an asparagus spear. It was delicious but such a waste of food & a lot to pay for the small amount I ate. Sigh.

I feel like I’m the odd one out here. After surgery I was taking: 1 Nexium (20mg) 1 HRT 2 Bioceuticals women’s multivitamins (one in the AM & one in the PM) 1 Bioceuticals Vit D3 Briefly took a low blood pressure med - didn’t help. Now all I take is 1 Nexium in the AM & my HRT in the PM. I have Meniere’s so have to take Serc when I have vertigo attacks. Also have glaucoma - thank goodness that just means eye drops every night. Been off the multivitamins & D3 for about 8 months. (No more nausea & vomiting - yay!) Blood work is all good. I know I’m very fortunate.

Don’t get me started. Shoes are my kryptonite. Chubrub those Hamilton shoes are so much fun. I love a good short boot for winter - perfect with skirts or pants. Lunch with a college friend yesterday & medical appointment today - wearing my new silver & pewter mules (pewter - Lol bring on the 80s again). Finally found the perfect grey top to go with the skirt. Mission accomplished. Only took three weeks. Hooray!

A friend dropped me off but I was alone until day 4 when I was discharged & another friend who’d had the surgery previously dropped in on her way to a medical appointment at the hospital. I had phone calls but honestly, I slept most of the time. I even found it hard to read or watch something - couldn’t concentrate. I wasn’t allowed to have my phone with me in the surgical waiting room but they had lots of mags to read. They probably wouldn’t now in our covid world but I’d take a trashy one with you that you wouldn’t mind losing. Good luck with your surgery.

When I was losing, I had the odd glass. I think the first was a gin at my cousin’s 40th at about 2 months but then I didn’t have another for months. It truely took me hours to drink the low ball & no effect. Alcohol just doesn’t interest me as much & I had at least one big glass every night before I had surgery. I find a lot of alcohol too sweet now even some red wines. I’ll have a glass of something if socialising now (but who does that much anymore) but it’s not uncommon for me not to finish it. Honestly I do consider if it’s worth the calories & it’s usually not. The concern about alcohol is the addiction swapping: swapping a food addiction, which can’t be easily satisfied after surgery, for an alcohol addiction. My dietician told me Esomeprazole medication does reduce the effects of alcohol (not the amount of alcohol in your blood steam). I’ve never seen reports of this but she was a pharmaceutical rep previously so ... shrug. I’m certainly not advocating its use for this if it’s true but it could also explain some of why you didn’t have any ill effects after if you are taking it.

Welcome newcomers. Looking forward to many pxts of your lots. Popped out to buy a gift for my nephew who’s turning 3 soon. (He’s my favourite nephew as he’s the only one shorter than me - not that difficult. The other two are 6’4”+.) Decided to wear a faux leather top I picked up in winter & never got round to wearing. Perfect for this time of year. But my shoes are a little big on me now - sigh!

Unfortunately they didn’t work for me. Waaah! Just remember one prune is one plum. So consider how many plums you’d eat & make sure you include them in your food log.

Your skin is like an elastic band. It can stretch & contract until it gets to a point it can’t contract any more. How much you weighed before surgery. How long you weighed that much. How much weight you want to lose. How old you are all affect your skin’s elasticity & how much lose skin you will end up with. I was feeling a bit cocky about how little loose skin I had but once I started losing the last 10 kgs & surpassed my goal, it all started to droop. I don’t have a lot compared to others & I’m not contemplating surgery. But you won’t see me waving my arms about or wearing shorty shorts. My little tummy pooch doesn’t show in form fitting clothes. One old hair band used a lot. One new band hardly used. 😁

In Aust the min bmi seems to 35. Some surgeons will operate on patients with a slightly lower bmi but they must have severe health complications (high blood pressure, heart problems, diabetes, etc.). It‘s not common for people to lose so much weight after surgery they attain a bmi in the low end of the healthy range or lower & stay there. Those that do drop to a bmi of 18 or 19 more often or not gain some again after because it’s difficult to maintain long term. Life kicks in, your hunger increases & metabolism slows again. The average weight loss after surgery is about 65% of the weight you need to lose to put you in the upper end of the healthy range after 5yrs. There are a couple of people on this forum who struggle to maintain & have a low bmi. I’m sort of one of those people. If I miss a meal or a snack I can drop weight. Do it a couple of times in a week & the drop sticks. Consequently, I’m very routine in my diet of when & what I eat - sometimes I feel like I eat all day which is challenging when I’m often not hungry. (Honestly, my GP & surgeon would like me to put on a couple of kilograms but I’ve dropped a kilo in the last 2 - 3 months so I’m a bit nervous to go back next month.) What is your goal weight? As with all things in life if you put in the hard work & are committed to your plan (very careful with your diet & very active) you can attain your goals & maintain it. However balance is key. You have to be able to live the life you want at a weight you are happy with. I hope I don’t sound negative. Your concern is legitimate. I suggest you speak with your surgeon & nutritionalist about your worries. Good luck.

Congrats on your surgery. Sometimes it’s not about the number on the scales but about changes in the fit of your clothes, on the tape measure or with your health. You’ve just had surgery, your body is still in shock & may be holding on to surgical fluids. Give your body time to catch up with the changes. (I think this is why we have stalls - our body saying let me stop for a moment & catch up with what you’re doing to me.) Stay away from the scales for a few days. You will start to lose & then you’ll see those numbers on the scales decrease. Good luck.

Welcome to our 23 day of Spring. (My double hippaestras in bloom.) A glorious 30 degrees in Brisbane today. I’ve had bare arms & naked legs for a couple of weeks now (after I undertook a major deforestation of my winter hairy legs 😂).

Go for a stool softener - much more gentle on your system. Remember, you’re not eating very much so your body doesn’t have as much waste to get rid of each day. If I hadn’t/haven’t been for two/three days I take a softener, like coloxyl, that night. Add some soluble fibre like benefibre to your diet (avoid the ones that swell in you tummy), keep your fluids up. And relax. Don’t force your self. The stress will bind you up more. Stick to a routine. Take a magazine, a device or a book in with you & let nature & gravity do their thing. Don’t let your body get used to depending on bowel stimulants to make you go. You will poop again 😁

The surgery & dramatic change to your diet accelerates your natural hair loss cycle. It’s the stress on your body. Because shedding hair is a natural occurrence, taking vitamins, using special shampoos etc. won’t stop it happening but they likely will strengthen your new hair growth. As with most things, we all react differently. People lose different amounts of hair over varying periods of time. Some people lose so little it’s not really noticeable. Others, like me lose lots. It does stop & then you’ll notice the regrowth. It’s a small temporary price to pay for your weight loss.

The three week stall is experienced by just about everyone but it can happen from week 2, 3 or 4 & can last 1-3 weeks. And you’ll experienced it again along this journey. Yes, it can really screw with your head. I thought of them as your body saying stop. what the hell are you doing to me or it taking a breath as it gets used to the changes you’re making (reduced food intake, changes to activity levels, the surgery, etc.). Leave the scales alone for a few days. Did you take body measurements before your surgery? Sometimes you’ll see changes on a tape measure before you see them on the scales. This is hard work. A lot of reflection, emotional ups & downs, changing habits & establishing new routines but it is sooooo worth it. Best decision I ever made. So many benefits. Keep a list of all your non scale victories a long the way to keep you motivated. Take photos of your shrinking body. You’ll get through this & other hiccups along the way.

Oh yeah menopause was the pits for me. It was when I put on my last 15kg seemingly overnight. My girlfriends were the same. When I was perimenopausal I also put on about 10kg over about two years. I hadn’t changed what I was eating or my activity levels. And I couldn’t shift it at all. It was what made me decide to have the surgery. I don’t have any answers but have you considered going back to your nutritionalist? Have you gone back to your post surgery habits: protein first, meeting water & protein goals. Are you measuring & weighing your foods, checking your portion sizes? Are you on hrt? I didn’t lose any weight on it but I didn’t put on any more.

As the months pass you will be able to eat more & you will start to feel hungry. I’m not sure how far a long you are but by 5/6 months I could eat half a cup of food at a meal. Now at 16 months I can eat about a cup of food or two eggs or about 80g of protein. I still have days when I’m not hungry but do have some I feel hungry. I keep very much to a routine of when I eat, how much I eat & what I eat. It helps me meet my goals on non hungry days & not over eat on hungry days. One of the challenging learnings along this journey is working out what is real hunger or head hunger. Are you eating out of habit or are you truly hungry? It’s like cravings. Are you really craving a specific food or is it salt or sugar or just wanting something you should avoid? On these days I look for an alternative - a slice of apple, a cube of cheese or a chunk cucumber with salt to satisfy. Some days it’s really hard to sort through these feelings but it is worth it. (I’m still sorting through it.) Keep your protein up because it is more filling. Avoid slider foods as they don’t satisfy hunger. Good luck.

I can’t imagine you’ll need a shower chair either. I was up showering the next day no problems - I just went slowly. I didn’t wash my hair for a few days just because I had long thick hair & didn’t want to lift my arms up high & did it over the laundry tub for a couple of weeks. I had no issue sleeping in a bed & on my side as usual but I think I was a lucky one as I didn’t even have gas pain (don’t hate me). Make sure you have all your prescription meds & over the counter meds (gasX, benefibre, aspirin, coloxyl, etc.) before your surgery. You may find a heat pack soothing. Good luck with your surgery.

My question is what guidance has your nut been giving you for the last 6 months? Surely they should have been tracking your weight every visit & advising you on dietary changes so you could lose weight throughout this time if a specific amount of weight loss was a requirement of your surgical approval. Following two shakes plus one high protein & vegetable meal per day or three shakes a day will get the weight off. Many patients follow this diet in the two/three weeks prior to surgery with a lot of success. Apparently the first week is pretty hellish but you’ll get through it. Good luck.

The old cup a soups when I was lazy & easy for work. Strained it get out any chunky bits. I also made my own chicken soup. Simmered for ages to cook everything right down. Strained out any big pieces of chicken & vegetables & blitzed to make sure it was smooth. Added more chicken stock to make it a nice thin consistency.

You’ll still lose only consuming that many calories - it’s still not many at all. But if you are concerned you may need to consider what it is about work that makes you eat more. Is it because others are eating? Are you really hungry or head (habit) hungry? Do you take your own food or buy your meals? ... It can apply to other situations too. I found it difficult when I went back to work simply because I didn’t have as much control over when I ate. Some days I’d be so busy I wouldn’t get close to my fluid goals. Also, I take a while to eat but at work I had to eat more quickly (causing me discomfort) within my prescribed break times. I always took my own food too because it was very difficult to buy suitable healthy food I could eat. There’s so much to learn on this journey about how, what, when & why we eat & so many other things. Good luck.

I barely tolerated shakes but I only did them for two weeks. I wouldn’t have been able to survive 4 weeks & think I would have felt just like you. Our tastebuds do get screwed up after surgery. Everything tasted sweet to me too or tasted like nothing. I used to dilute my shakes which helped a bit with their flavour. Try some thin soups & consommés also. They were my saviours. Good luck. You will get through this.

Looking great Ms November 11. Love your pink & yellow bags. So bright & fresh.