Arabesque

You’re not alone. I found it was because my taste buds changed & some foods (even things I used to enjoy) tasted terrible. Also, I just didn’t feel hungry. I kept my diet pretty simple & repetitive the first couple of months. I gave myself time to heal & break habits & cravings & slowly added new foods to test what my tummy could or couldn’t tolerate. You’ll also find that something you ate successfully for days will make you unexpectedly sick the next. If I didn’t have it for a week or so I could eat it again. It’s a big learning stage. Get your fluids up, have a chat with your medical team (they may want to do some tests), don’t be afraid to go back to having a protein shake to help meet fluid & protein goals & get some nutrients in. Good luck.

I wasn’t eating much as I progressed through the stages - just wasn’t hungry. I would sip on 200mls of soup & a diluted protein shake for for hours. (That was all I’d consume each day.) When I reached the purée & soft food stages I was eating about 1/4 to 1/3 cup over a good 30+ mins 3 times a day. Sometimes I couldn’t finish the serve. (I still take ages to eat certain meals - lunch often takes an hour.) Remember the extra liquids you add to liquidise you’re food contribute to your fluid intake which was one of the reasons I diluted my shakes. But you’ll find you can only eat as much as you feel like eating. I never met my protein goals during the first 6 weeks but my surgeon & dietician weren’t too concerned as it’s like you’re learning to eat again at the beginning. You can’t force yourself to eat. Good luck.

I was allowed very milky, well cooked oatmeal in my purée stage (day 15) but I had to wait until soft foods (day 28) for scrambled eggs & mashed up boiled egg. Your tummy will tell you pretty quickly what it can’t tolerate. Did you get a list of foods to eat at each stage?

Welcome back Sophie. Glad you had a wonderful break at the cabin.Gorgeous cabin. (Loved the bear pxt in the food before & after thread too.) Love, love, love that multi coloured striped dress & that Mr Sophie was wearing a matching shirt. You’re looking very svelt.

That’s a lot of protein for your current weight. Was this the goal given to you by your surgical team or dietician? I’d never be able to consume that much protein in a day. I originally advised 1g of protein per kg of weight but then my dietician told me because I’m in my mid 50s I should be consuming 1.2g of protein per kg of weight. You’re about 57kg so, depending upon your age, 57 - 68g of protein should be fine based on the rate I was given. Of course you need more if you do a lot of exercise esp weights. Do you need more protein because you have a gastric bypass? So interesting, but also frustrating, all the conflicting information we get.

A thermos works for keeping things hot or cold. I loved my small thermos though I used it to keep my soup hot (my surgery was in winter). I got it from Kmart. (500ml bottle of water for size comparison.)

For most of the time I’ve been living in slim/skinny/tight leg pants too, ChubRub (though I do love me some wide legged pants). Yesterday, I went for something different - a gathered skirt! Would have avoided a skirt this full before I lost weight (unless it had a wide yoke). Just noticed you can see all the wrinkly skin on my hands in this pxt - never expected to have loose skin there.

I took a good quality women’s multi vitamin & D3 recommended by my dietician (the brand, Bioceuticals, is stored behind the counter at the pharmacy where the better stuff is kept - well at least it is in Australia). I was getting labs done about every two months to begin & then every three. I also had a couple of monthly tests too. My GP & surgical team would alternate their requests. Some of that came from concerns about my liver function - it’s all good now.

I was two weeks, liquids, two weeks, puréed (sloppy foods - get out the blender) & two weeks soft (mushy with minimal chew - lots of slow cooking) before trying more solid food too. Personally I’d go slowly through these stages & don’t be concerned if you find you have to go back a step. You’ve just had surgery on your digestive system & will be healing for a while. You don’t want to put too much strain or stress on it. Your tummy will soon tell you what it’s ready to tolerate. Good luck.

Congratulations on your weight loss and happy birthday for next week. I love NSVs. They are so motivating & rewarding.

Once you get to your goal weight I think you can explore eating most things within reason. The key is balance. I looked at my weight loss period as a time to re-examine what & how I ate & to break habits & cravings. Once I reached maintenance I added more things to my diet to work out how I could maintain my weight while still living & enjoying my life. There are foods I avoid but others I limit or reduce how much I consume. Yes, there are times when I see others eating certain foods & I think that would be really nice to have but I’ve found that ‘missing out’ feeling has decreased. Likely because the desire to keep the weight off is stronger now. The other weekend I had friends over for drinks & supper. We shared the catering & I made sure no food was left behind in my fridge. I neither wanted the temptation nor to waste food I don’t eat anymore. When I have to ‘bring a plate’ now I bring something I can eat so I don’t have to worry about what to do with leftovers. I’m 15.5 months out & still very much a toddler on this journey compared to others. I know I’m still learning & think I always will. Good luck on your journey.

Oatmeal is fine. It’s a whole grain (therefore a good carb) & has beneficial nutrients. I’d make mine up using milk to up the protein & didn’t add salt, no sugar or similar. I could only eat about 1/3 cup of the porridge for months. Can’t see an issue with adding protein powder to it. My dietician suggested adding milk powder for extra protein (I couldn’t stand protein powders) but I found it too sweet. Cereal is a different consideration. Check the salt, carb, fat & sugar content & only look for whole grain or multi grain cereals. I would avoid it till you’re further on in weight loss.

I tried to eat pretty cleanly through the weight loss stage. Low fat, low salt & avoided sugar (real & artificial) whenever possible. The only carbs I consciously ate was from fruit, vegetable & rolled oats (about 1/3 cup of milky porridge - a good whole grain). Like AZhiker, said just reaching your protein & water goals each day will fill you up. Eat your protein first, then vegetables if you can fit them in. I’d only get in a couple of green beans or about a tablespoon of steamed cabbage. There was no way I could eat carbs as well. Most important to consider is that breads, pasta, rice tend to swell in your tummy & provide little nutritional value. I still avoid bread, rice & pasta but do eat multi or whole grain crackers as a carrier for avocado, hummus, etc. now. I’ve also tried beans & chia seeds but they make me very windy - lol. This weight loss stage is a perfect opportunity to break old eating habits establish new patterns to help maintain your weight long term. Good luck.

I think it was close to 6 months when I noticed a slowing in the amount of hair in my shower & about the house. It’s growing back nicely now - a few inches. I can really feel my old thickness returning. Woo hoo!

Friends told their dietician they were pescatarians. She provided them with a meat based menu plan & then lectured them about how to cook meat. Sheesh! They never went back.

So many factors affect the rate of your weight loss as Catwoman7 said. Comparing yourself to others can mess with your head a lot. My friend’s daughter had sleeve surgery 6 weeks after me. She had exceeded my weight loss 4 weeks later. She is about 30 years younger & was considerably heavier than me to begin. It would have been very demoralising if I was competing against her. I tracked my weight loss in the My weight app. It’s just a simple way to record your weight only. I loved watching the downward trend on the graph - it was motivating & rewarding. As long as you keep to your plan & you’re losing weight you’re winning. Good luck.

All surgery carries risk but so does being obese. Unfortunately, there’ll always be some negative Nancies out there who are so happy to tell you horror stories. But you didn’t make this decision without doing the research & there are thousands of success stories on this forum. Sure some have experienced complications along the way but goodness knows what they would have faced without the surgery & not losing weight. As others have said, it’s not an easy fix. You have to make changes & take advantage of the tool. If you pay for a gym membership but never go, you’ll never get healthier. Same with wls: you have to work at it every day. It’s a lifestyle change. Best of luck with your surgery. It’s an amazing journey & the benefits are incredible.

I’ve had Chinese twice: once at about 4 months & then again in maintenance. I just picked out pieces of braised meat (chicken & beef) & vegetables but avoided the sauces as much as possible (used a fork to strain the meat & veg when serving) & no rice or noodles. I did throw up the first time I ate it but you can only try.

Super hot, Jake.

I sometimes found I’d make up a shake but couldn’t take the taste after a few sips so I’d pop it in the fridge & try it again the next day. My taste buds & tummy were really erratic to begin - tolerating something one day but not the next. I had my surgery in winter so I sometimes used hot water to make up my chocolate flavoured shake so I could pretend it was hot chocolate without the marshmallows - lol.

Herbal teas & decaffeinated green tea are also great. Dilute your shakes too. I found it made them easier to drink & further upped my fluid intake. Don’t worry if you don’t hit your fluid goal every day - as long as you’re in the ball park. You will get more in as you progress. Mind you, I was a big water drinker before surgery & I struggle every day to get close to goal 15mnths out.

I just made sure I’d have all the shakes, soups, broths, etc. I would be eating during the liquid stage. I live alone & didn’t want to bother others to do my shopping. I bought all the over the counter meds too like gasX, benefibre, stool softeners, pain meds, hydralite, etc. Also bought a mini thermos to keep soups & broth hot as it took me hours to drink them. I’d make up my shakes in zippy cups/water bottles so I could have a couple of flavours on the go in the fridge. Your taste buds do change after surgery & flavours you enjoyed before may become disgusting to you after. Small storage containers & zip lock bags once you start on soft then solid foods will become your friend. I froze meals I cooked in individual serves - actually still do - so it made it easy at meal times to just defrost & heat. Good luck with your surgery.

Unfortunately, this won’t be your first stall. I liked to think of a stall as my body playing catch up with my weight loss, reduced diet, etc.: it just needed to take a breath. My longest stall was just short of three weeks when I was a couple of kgs short of my goal - so frustrating. You’re doing the right thing by keeping on your path. The weight loss will start again. Good luck.

Having a supportive GP does help when you’re on this journey. I’m sorry yours isn’t. In Australia we have to have a referral from our GP before seeing a specialist so if your GP isn’t on your side you can’t even get to the surgeon. I’m very fortunate to have a GP who wants the best for me & has been extremely supportive. She’s been my doctor for more than 25yrs so she knows my struggles well. She weighs me at every visit, checks all my blood work results & orders extras so she can pick up any variations in between surgical team visits. She also keeps in contact with my surgical team.

I struggled to get my energy back too but I tend to take a long time to recover from everything even a cold. I also had (still have) low blood pressure issues which I believe contributed. The nausea could be from dairy or even your multi vitamins (they used to upset me a lot). Sometimes something you’ve been eating successfully will upset you out if the blue. I find if I drop it for a week or so I can eat it again without issue. Our tummies can be sensitive & contrary. I’d do the old trial & error. Add one thing you are regularly back into your diet & see how you go then add something else.