Arabesque

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.

You look great in this red dress GreenTealael - set off gloriously against the green shrubbery & fence & the blues of the ocean & sky too. I think you look fab with or without abs.

You look great in this red dress GreenTealael - set off gloriously against the green shrubbery & fence & the blues of the ocean & sky too. I think you look fab with or without abs.

You look great in this red dress GreenTealael - set off gloriously against the green shrubbery & fence & the blues of the ocean & sky too. I think you look fab with or without abs.

Don’t be afraid to accelerate a stage if you’re physically (&mentally ready). It’s ok to do this just as it’s ok if you want to slow down your steps. Just don’t go crazy. It all comes down to what you (your tummy) are able to tolerate. You may be ready to move forward especially if you’re pretty active. Try another spoonful & see how you go.

Yep, watch the sugar content. Cereals are notorious for hidden sugar. (Watch artificial sweeteners too as they only feed your sugar cravings.) They are also high carb. Look for multi or whole grain cereals - better carbs. I was allowed rolled oats from early on. I make it with lactose free milk. I eat a milky, though still thickish, bowl every day - good source of protein. No sweeteners at all except a few blueberries on occasions.

Ask your surgeon to recommend what supplements are best for your needs & your surgery. There are some that are formulated especially for Bariatric patients. (I believe there are some on this site.) Some people struggle to swallow vitamins post surgery so this might be a consideration in what sort you chose - capsules, gummies, patches... Nothing will prevent the saggy skin or hair loss. Sorry. The saggy skin is what’s left after the fat is gone from your stretched out skin. If you’re younger, your natural skin elasticity may help to reduce some of the sag. But the older you are, the more weight you have to lose, how much your weight has fluctuated over the years all increase your chance of saggy skin. Some say exercise & weights but that only builds muscle to fill in under the skin. It doesn’t tighten the skin itself. (I’d have to have Chris Hemsworth’s arms to fill up my batwings.) The only way to get rid of saggy skin is to physically remove it. I was almost 54 when I had my surgery & expected I’d have saggy skin after. I actually didn’t have much once I hit my goal - my upper arms, a little looseness between my upper thighs & general softness on my tummy. Then I lost the additional 10kg & everything went south. Saggy butt, flappy arms, oozing down my thighs... I even have loose skin on my fingers! I’ve just accepted my sags as part of my journey to get where I am now. The hair loss occurs because of the shock of the surgery & restricted diet accelerates your natural hair loss cycle. Supplements will only support new hair growth. They won’t stop your existing hair from shedding. Best of luck on your journey. It’s going to be amazing.

I think it’s time for a new dietician. They should be supportive, a source of information & guidance & motivating. If they’re not you need to find a new one. I was a bit meh about mine too. (Decided I was in the wrong profession after handing over $80 for each ten minute appointment.) I was going every fortnight for 6months, then monthly. She’s never weighed me. Never measured me. Never asked me to record my food intake. She barely asks me what I eat each day. She took a very scant health & diet history at the first appointment. Guess you can’t share much in 10 mins! After the first appointment she emailed two pages of pre surgical diet guidelines & I’ve received no other information in 16+ months. Oh & at my last appointment she asked for the very first time if she could look up my blood test results. (head shake, eye roll, shrug) I did lots of research myself & studied all the material provided by my surgeon. I worked out my own post surgical diet & maintenance plan. The only reason I stuck with her was that every now & then she’d share a piece of golden advice. She was the one that said not to worry about my cholesterol levels rising because it was being excreted from my fat stores & into my blood steam as I lost weight. I did some reading & she was right. She’s low pressure & that works for me.

Ok, breathe. It’s ok. We all lose at different rates. You may be a slow loser. You said you’ve lost 10lbs in 4 weeks so that is some loss. I am concerned about how you are managing to get in 1200 calories a day at this early stage. Who recommended that as a daily goal? That seems more like a high recommended pre surgical caloric goal not post surgical. 300 - 500 calories at this early stage seems to be pretty common. 1200 calories is what a lot of us consume to maintain our weight. Are you on purées or have you started eating soft foods? Are you following your diet plan? What quantity of food are you eating? Most are told to aim to consume 1/4 to 1/3 of a cup of food 3 times a day once you start eating purées, soft food & then solids. Contact your nutritionalist/dietician and your surgical team. They will give you some guidance on how to manage your journey.

Oh, Dtrain those shoes are A-mazingly fantastic. Welcome to the dark side of being addicted to shoes. Your soxs are mad good. I love dressing too even to get groceries - just makes you feel better.

Yes, very normal and you’re doing the right thing. Almost 16months out, & I still often don’t feel hungry. (Hope it lasts a lot longer.) On these days, I stick to my routine of when & what I eat (though I do eat a little less & stretch out meal times on these days). Oh, & you’ll certainly know when your restriction starts to kick in. Also, I noticed when I did start to feel hungry it was a different feeling. I didn’t know what was wrong but knew something was off. But that could be just me - lol.

You’ve lost 60lbs. This is great. But I know the head games can sabotage your progress & bring your down. It’s not just about the number on the scale. Think about your wins. I bet you’re more active than you were before, have more energy plus being several clothing sizes down. What about improvements to your health & well being? What about things you couldn’t do before but can now. Celebrate these wins. We all have different experiences on this journey. For every fast loser, there will be someone who loses more slowly. Every lb lost is a lb closer to your goal. Do you have a dietician or nutritionalist? It may be worth a conversation to ensure you’re on the best eating plan for you. A tweak to your diet can make a big difference sometimes. You can do this.

I love zip lock bags - snack size 15 x 10cm. Great for freezing individual serves & don’t take up as much room in the freezer as containers.

Though I struggled to swallow medication the first couple of days after surgery, I was ok after that. I just spread out when I took them across the day (breakfast, lunch, dinner) so I wasn’t swallowing too many at once. (Because meds are absorbed at different sections of the digestive tract, check with your doctor to ensure yours will be absorbed correctly after surgery.) Like Recidivist, I didn’t enjoy protein shakes & had no appetite either. I’d dilute the shake & soup I’d ‘eat’ each day & literally would take hours to drink them. Some people keep a 5min timer on their phone to remind them to sip. I was a big water drinker before surgery, but still struggle 15.5 months out to meet my water goals. (I supplement with high water content fruit & vege - melons, lettuce, etc.) I’ve never been able to eat spicy food (sensitivity) So not an issue for me but I’d go the bland diet route to begin especially while you’re healing internally. Plus you’ll discover your taste buds will have changed & things you used to love will become disgusting to eat. (Don’t worry you’ll come to love them again.) I haven’t heard about the chewing 20 times before swallowing advice, but eating slowly is very important. Put your cutlery down between each bite. I still ask myself if I really need the next bite or am I eating out of habit. But this was me. You may be totally different. Best advice I received was to take everything slowly. From how much you can eat or drink, what you can eat or drink, how much exercise you can do, when you can progress through the stages, etc. It’s a lot of trial & error to find what works for you & your tool. Some things will work one day but not the next. Your tummy will soon tell you want it likes or doesn’t & what’s too much. You’ll do fine. There are so many wonderful benefits to this process. Enjoy each & every one. 😁

10lbs is pretty common as Catwoman7 said. I lost about 13lbs in the first three weeks (but I wouldn’t have been hitting 400 calories a day - not hungry & struggled to eat much that first month or so). I slowed after that first month. Some weeks you may lose a little more, others less. Then there’ll be weeks you don’t lose at all. It’s all part of the process. Good luck on your journey.

It just feels so uncomfortable if I do drink with or immediately before or after a meal. Plus I can’t eat much if I drink before or during. I don’t miss it either. I’ve been having soup a bit recently & it’s a real challenge to eat unless it’s a really thick dense soup (& I love a bowl of home made soup). All you can do it give it a try & see if you are someone who can. We’re all still learning so all questions have value here. 😁

Devastated. My local supermarket is no longer stocking the yoghurt I love in either tubs or the drinking yoghurt. Best thing was it didn’t taste as sweet as other yoghurts which is likely why it’s not a ‘good seller’. Used to mix my collagen & silica powder in the drinking yoghurt. I’ve complained but I’m probably a lone voice. 😭

It doesn’t have sugar but it does have artificial sweeteners which continue to feed your sugar cravings. Plus the 300mg of caffeine per can is equivalent to about three 8oz cups of coffee. Another consideration is the carbonation. The gas is rather filling for your much smaller tummy. If, on the odd occasion I have a carbonated drink (soda or tonic water), I don't let them get pretty flat, I get a very uncomfortable tightness - like I want to burp but can’t. Many wls patients have no issues with caffeine or carbonated drinks but others do. But ultimately the decision is yours. You could see if you can tolerate drinking them again but I would give yourself time to heal after surgery before you do.

I had stress related irregular reflux plus an acidic stomach & suffered terrible hiccups for years & took Nexium as needed. My surgeon told me I would need to take Nexium everyday after surgery which I do. He also said basically the same as Greentealael’s surgeon said: some improve, some worsen some remain unchanged. For 12+ months mine seemed better but it could have been the daily medication. I have noticed I now get a bit of burning in my throat on odd evenings but I don’t have hiccups like I used to or the bad taste in my mouth. I usually take another Nexium when it occurs.

I was eating about 1/4 to 1/3 a cup just depending on how I was feeling until into about month 3. Eat slowly, get your protein in first & listen to your body - it will tell you when you’ve had enough. Don’t push it. You are still healing. I didn’t try vegetables until I was on solid foods so around weeks 5 & 6. I love my vegetables but found that I did not enjoy the taste of many of my favourites. Steamed cabbage & cauliflower was all I could tolerate for ages. Carrots, onions & celery were ok if cooked down in a stew. I didn’t eat them often to begin because I couldn’t fit them in after I’d eaten my protein. Are you taking your vitamins. This is really important.

This is all pretty normal. The swelling is probably a combination of the surgery & the gas. It will disappear. My surgeon told me not to be too concerned with meeting goals to begin with which was reassuring as I’d only have one protein shake & barely 200mls of soup a day - & I’d take hours to drink them. Diarrhea is common too. You’ll soon find the reverse will happen & you’ll regularly be constipated. Remember you’re not eating any solid foods at the moment & then when you do begin to it‘s not much. Some of the pain you’re experiencing is likely from the internal wounds & swelling around where that large section of your tummy was removed. Your tummy may be sensitive for a while until you’ve healed. I’m glad you contacted your medical team. It’s better to know if what’s happening is expected (or not). Good luck on your journey.

Oh, yeah. I put in 10+kg in a couple of months when I hit menopause. No change to what I was eating or my activity levels. Same thing happened to two friends too. Bloody hormones. I’ve been eating white bean soup (beans, carrots, celery, onion & spinach in vege stock) for the last couple of days & I’ve put on 1/2kg. WTF? Makes no sense.

I was only eating three times a day & probably only barely 1/3 cup. Don’t force yourself to eat if you’re not hungry or to get in a specific volume of food. Listen to your body. It will tell you how much you can eat & how frequently. be patient you don’t want to make yourself unwell or suffer more dumping attacks. If you are really concerned about your calorie intake at this stage, sip some soup, broth or a protein shake over a couple of hours. During my liquid stage, I ate two ‘meals’ a day & take hours to drink my protein shake or soup. (I kept the soup in a thermos to keep it hot.) Plus they add to your fluid intake for the day.

Constipation is pretty common. The combination of a high protein & low fibre diet is the main cause. Plus you’re not eating much so don’t have a lot to excrete. If you haven’t yet, add some fibre supplements like benefibre. Avoid the ones that swell in your small tummy. They’ll fill you up & you won’t want to eat which is more important. Also keep your fluids up. If I went every second day I was happy. I’d take a stool softener if I hit a third day. I also found if I just sat & was patient, not straining, I would get some movement. It does get better when you’re closer to maintenance & are eating a more balanced diet.

So it was fine for your friend to take time off work for her honeymoon & to have her baby but you can’t take time off to do something which will make you healthier. And your colleagues who are so concerned about the risks of surgery speak to your manager but have made no mention of the risks involved with you being overweight. Selfish HYPOCRITES! I am angry for you. Making the decision to go forward with weight loss surgery is not easy & neither is the journey to successfully lose weight. I’m very glad you have the support of your husband & mother because there will be times you’ll need them to help you stay the course. I wish you all the best on your weight loss journey.