Arabesque

Unfortunately, hair loss can be upsetting and frustrating but it is a perfectly normal side effect of weight loss as the others have said. It’s also common after many bigger surgeries, pregnancy, etc. It is temporary and most find it slows after about 3 or 4 months which is when you’re probably eating a little more & a more balanced diet as you’re better understanding your nutritional needs even on a GLP-1. The thing to remember is the hair you’re losing is hair you were gong to lose anyway. It’s just your normal hair loss cycle has been accelerated. Your new growth is still occurring but just at its usual rate. In a couple of months you’ll notice the fluffy new growth bits starting to show through & in an other 12 months or so your hair will be much the same (depending on its length) as it was before weight loss. Many of us cut our hair if it was long (I went to just above my shoulders) as shorter hair looks thicker and tends to be bouncier. Plus it takes less time for your new growth to reach the length of the rest of your hair. As for minoxidil, I’d probably leave it for a few months to see whether the hair loss is related to your weight loss or age. Had you lost any prior to your weight loss like with the onset of menopause? Menopause is when I lost some and developed a thin spot above my right temple. I use minoxidil for that spot (and my eyebrows). If you go down that path, it is for life. Stop using it and you’ll lose the hair again. Also look for 5% (2% isn’t enough) and look for the men’s minoxidil. The pink tax is still alive and well with price discrepancies. Congratulations with your weight loss so far.

I went from an 18E at about 200lbs to a 10E at 108lbs. I remember I was a 12F/G at 132lbs. (Bought a few new bras as I thought yay goal. I didn’t even get to wear all of them before they were too big. Sigh!). I wish they were a little smaller in the cup as I still have trouble getting fitted tops and dress to go around them at times. You know buttons gaping and trouble doing up side zips the last 2 or 3 inches. Yes, your frame will influence what size looks better on your body. Friend had a reduction to a 14C 2 yrs ago. She has a large frame and was about a size 18/20 Aust dress size & 18E bra. I felt they looked too small on her broader frame and size. Now she’s on Wegovy and losing weight so her smaller boobs should start to be more balanced I think. But I do agree with the suggestion to err on the side of going a littler smaller. Padded and push up bras can make a noticeable difference if needed. And it’s easier to find a wider range of prettier bra styles & options. Plus if you’re active, it’s easier to find more comfortable sports bras if you’re a smaller cup size than those large cup overs that feel like you’re all bound up & restricted.

Congratulations @Chatterboxdea. Love you’ve been able to shop your wardrobe for clothing as you’ve been dropping sizes. Wonder if they still make those jeans & if you can get them in smaller sizes as you need them?

So glad you have such a wonderful and supportive surgeon @ShoppGirl. Sounds like he has your back and wants to help you reach all your goals for your health and your weight loss. Hope you continue to not experience any of the awful side effects of your chemo.

I’m the same. Acetaminophen do nothing for me either. My surgeon said it would be okay to take NSAIDs with my sleeve (at about 2years) if I took half a dose & didn’t take them regularly. Think it’s likely more important to eat something g before & after taking them though to protect t your tummy a little more than the average person. Like @SpartanMaker I wonder if it was too high a dose of the codeine too @Bypass2Freedom. Panadeine Forte (Australian) is a combined over the counter med but the dose is 500mg paracetamol and 30mg codeine. PS: Codeine messes with my head. I get very irrationally emotional and spacy, Drove through a red light (thankfully no one else on the road) and then sobbed uncontrollably curled up on the floor in my kitchen (very Meryl in The Hours). Was my first & only time taking it. Doctor advised to always say I’m allergic to it because of that reaction.

Look at those teeny weeny arms @Sophie7713. Fabulous. ❤️

As from these posts you can see you ‘re not alone in being anxious about your loss of routine due to surgery or injury recovery. I can add me too. I feared if I didn’t get back into doing some form of my stretching & resistance band routines I would never get back to doing it after my hysterectomy. My innate laziness and dislike of exercise would kick in again. By day 4 I just had to do something so I started very slowly. Didn’t over extend my stretches to anywhere near what I usually did. Avoided certain things. Interestingly there are contradictions with post hysterectomy exercising. No lifting for two weeks, then 5kg, then 10 then all good ( so by 8 weeks lift anything) compared to no heavy weights (>15kg) for 6 months. No core muscle work for 3 months vs start core muscle work at one week. You can understand why I took my own path. If I felt a pull or discomfort I stopped and/or avoided that movement for a few days. I can understand having to avoid upper body work but what about lower body? Like using ankle weights like @kristieshannon suggested when you’re able to walk or get some resistance bands to do some stretches either sitting down or on the floor. Don’t use your arms. If you have circular bands use a chair to brace the band or get your husband to hold the bands. I do some where the band goes around my ankles and below my knees and I pull one leg away from the other. Try deep knee bends, squats, ankle work, pelvic thrusts with feet on a wall, etc. So you’re not doing weight baring exercises but still working your muscles. Even if it’s not your usual routine make it a new, though temporary routine. All the best.

Can you spread your morning meds out so you’re not taking them at the same time? Even spreading them out over 30 minutes may help so you’re not taking large mouthfuls too close together. I can do two mouthfuls to swallow meds but not a third. Struggled to take a Serc tablet one morning for my meniere’s vertigo. Just couldn’t swallow it as it was sticking in my mouth. Finally after 4 mouthfuls I got it down. Then I swear I took 3 steps to go back to bed and up all the water came (& the med 😩). Are any of the meds multi vitamins? Vitamins are renown for making you feel blah or nauseous. Can you split when you take them like I used to take one in the morning and the second one at night. PS Congrats on your weight loss so far. Fantastic!

Dr Matthew Weiner is a great resource so am glad @NickelChip recommended his video. Another is Dr John Pilcher also a great source of information. It’s not really about popularity or the most performed but about which surgery is best for you. Your surgeon should really take into consideration your current health status and history, your weight loss and gain history, your current weight and how much would be beneficial for you to lose, etc. Also discuss the possibility of side effects like malabsorption, dumping, reflux, regain with the surgeries and what you might be willing or not to live with or manage. Do your research, watch these videos and others they may have and prepare questions to ask your surgeon. If you don’t think they’re as comfortable doing one surgery over another or you don’t feel comfortable with their responses, seek a second opinion or a referral to another surgeon. And remember there are other surgeries beside sleeve and bypass so look into them as well (Sadi, duodenal switch,, RNY, or a mini bypass). I would avoid a gastric balloon or gastric banding but that’s my opinion only.

Give it time @FifiLux. I say this as I’m sipping my cup of tea and eating crackers with labneh. Was probably into my 2nd year before I could do it and I do go slowly because I’m not a gulper and can’t drink lots of mouthfuls one after another. Sip, wait, take a bite, wait, sip, repeat. So you may not have been able to do it this Christmas, by next Christmas you may be able to sip your coffee and nibble on a mince pie.

I always liked VB dresses too - very elegant and well tailored so was so glad to find this one. Have another I’m saving for my niece's wedding (in October) but unfortunately paid full price for that one. Am keeping my eye out for another bargain one. I used to say my legs were only good from the ankles down. 😁 Though my legs look better now since my weight loss (calves aren’t so big), I still like a longer line for certain dresses. Pretty easy for us shortees though. Tee hee! This dress is probably tea length or just below the calf on taller girls.

It’s likely from swelling from your surgery. I had trouble swallowing for a good three days after surgery. I also produced a lot of saliva and carried a sick bag for a couple of days to spit out the excess spit. All from swelling my surgeon said. I found warm drinks soothing on my tender throat and tummy though some people say the colder the better. So try both to see which you find more soothing. And yes sip slowly leaving a couple of minutes between each sip. If it persists call your team. PS The surgical gas is pumped into the abdominal cavity and very little is actually in your tummy. You may feel bloated and you’ll develop shoulder pain as the gas moves up and is absorbed into your lungs to be breathed out. Takes about a week or so to be breathed out. Take little walks often. March on the spot. Raise your arms up and down and do some long slow deep breathing to help it move more quickly.

Happy new year everyone. You look stunning in red too @Sophie7713. I’m a bit the same about oversized clothing too since my weight loss. I love a wide keg pant as you know but I look for those that fit neatly around the waist and hips. But loose fit palazzo style casual pants are super comfy. I have a couple of pairs of the elastic waist wide leg pants in linen and viscose I wear when pooping out to the shops. PS - Love those loafers with the cut out sides and contrasting colours. Fun.

OMG this sounds delicious. Think I’d risk the bread sitting like a lump in my tummy for a bite or two (or three or four) of this sandwich.

As much as it would be great if we could reset our tummy to the loss of hunger phase after surgery we can’t. You can reset your thinking and your head though it’s not easy. Start by going back to tracking everything you eat and drink & maybe keep a second record of what you were feeling at the time you ate or drink to see if there are any specific emotions (boredom, frustration, anger, sadness, happiness, stress, etc.) driving you to eat or any events that occured or situations you were in (Friday morning tea at work, socialising, at the movies, a sporting game, holidays). Identify things you ma have let slide: portion sizes, protein intake, food choices, fluid intake, snaking, etc. check your activity levels. Then make a change. Drop a snack or work on reducing your portion size. After a couple of weeks make another change or two like increase your activity, or increase your fluid intake or swap out some food choices to better ore nutrient dense lower calorie options. And so on. Gradual changes are much easier to adapt to and adopt and always seem more achieveable. Become more mindful about your eating. Are you eating because you need to eat (real hunger) or just want to eat (head hunger - associated with emotions, situations or events). Eat slowly to allow time for your full/had enough message to register (takes at least 20 minutes). Slowly work your way back to how you were eating when you were first maintaining. You’ll get there. All the best.

Congratulations @Bypass2Freedom. You’ll be beginning this new year in a totally different place than you were this time last year. Amazing achievement. All the best for what the next year brings you.

I second the suggestion to track everything you eat or drink. I know it can be annoying to weigh/measure and record everything but it is the best way to ensure your portions are too large or you’re missing hidden calories or underestimating them. For example ate your potatoes mashed with butter, milk & are you counting them? Try to focus more on home made foods too so you can control the ingredients and cooking methods. I’d also suggest eating more regularly aiming for three small meals of real food not two meals of shakes. I was someone who lost their hunger and interest in eating for about a year. I ate to a routine to ensure I was getting in the nutrients I needed. I still eat this way. Even if I’m not all that hungry, I’ll still eat something. At 800 calories, most of your meal would be protein with some vegetables. Take your record of your tracked eating & drinking to your dietician and ask them to review it and make actual suggestions of what you could eat (add or remove). Demand better advice than an eye roll or general you must be eating something that’s sabotaging your weight loss.

Yep, it is exactly like a growing baby’s stages of eating: liquids, purées, soft food then solids. Most of us are told no pasta (rice or bread) because it swells in the tummy and takes up valuable space which should be dedicated to protein and then vegetables. Plus they are simple carbs with little nutritional value when the nutrient value of what we eat is so important. When you are able to eat carbs look to whole or multi grain complex carbs and then only if you are able to eat them after eating all your protein first, then vegetables, (then fruit if you are able) and finally carbs. You’ll be getting some good carbs in any vegetables & fruit you eat. Some, like me, can never go back to eating pasta, rice and bread. They just sit far too heavily in our tummies. Don’t be worried if you eat a meal that is solely protein either. I often did that but it wasn’t for all my meals or every day but sometimes the protein was all I could eat at a meal. Also yes to high protein yoghurts. Blend them with milk for added protein & to make a smoothie. These were a game changer for me in regards to meeting protein goals. The yoghurt I buy used to have a pre-made yoghurt drink with 34g of protein & I would sip it during the afternoon. But be careful of some pre-made ones as they can have lots of added sugar or artificial sweeteners and not much protein.

Great advice from @SpartanMaker as usual. I’d also add if you’re lifting weights you’d be building muscle which is heavier than fat. So you could have been losing some fat during this time while building muscle. May be consider having a dexa scan to measure your current muscle, fat & bone density. Then have another in a couple of months to compare. Are you still in contact with your dietician? If not maybe arrange an appointment. Because you are aware of your average daily calorie intake, I presume you’re measuring and tracking every thing you’re eating and drinking every day. I’d take this with you to the appointment and ask the dietician to go through it with you in case you are missing something not only in regards to calories but nutrients as well. If you’re a random tracker like I was and am, vigilantly track everything for a week or two before seeing the dietician. Don’t give up though. The scale may not be moving but I bet you’re fitter, stronger and generally healthier than you were before.

I hear you about the shakes. I found them sweet too and also very grainy so texturally off putting. I used to dilute the shakes to try to reduce the sweetness and had only one a day. Shakes aren’t your only source of protein if you’re still in the liquid stage. Bone broths, consommés, cream soups can all be eaten/drunk during this stage. I found the bone broths salty so drank cream soups ( just strain them to make sure there are no stray fibres or random chunks). I agree with @summerseeker’s suggestion to make your own shakes with milk, yoghurt, protein powder, skim milk powder and an unsweetened powdered flavour if you wish. You will likely find this sensitivity to certain flavours, textures and even smells continues for a couple of months. Your tummy can be pretty fussy. I described mine as a petulant, temper throwing 2 year old child. You may find you tolerate something one day but not the next. It does pass so don’t think you’ll never be able to eat those foods ever again. Multi vitamins can make you nauseous too. Make sure you take them after you’ve eaten or with the last few sips of your shake, broth, etc. Also if you have to take multiple vitamins spread out across the day when you take them. I’d take one multi in the am and the other in the pm to reduce the effects of the nausea. Also have you tried taking an anti nausea med to get you through this period. Your liquid stage will soon be over and then you’ll be on purées and that can be another interesting experience in finding something you can tolerate eating. It does get better and easier.

I did some of my own research first and I had a friend who had got a sleeve about a year previously and I picked her brain a bit. The surgeon went through each of the surgeries listing pros & cons of each. He also discussed my eating habits and weight loss and gain history. Though I had reflux I managed it with dietary choices and maybe took medication 5 times a year he still recommended the sleeve because of my history & eating habits and I had no co morbidities or other health concerns. It was the way I was leaning too so the decision was easy after that. My brother recently had sleeve surgery too. He didn’t have any co morbidities either. The surgeon said he would be considered very healthy for someone in a healthy weight range let alone some one at his weight and recommended sleeve because of that. (Interestingly it was the same surgeon but my brother didn’t know the name of my surgeon to tell him he’d done my sleeve too.)

Did anyone see that influencer saying fair life shakes don’t have any protein because they don’t list protein in the ingredients? Ignored that milk, containing protein, is listed as an ingredient. Don’t know what’s worse: that this uneducated fool is spreading this misinformation over social media or that people will believe him. 🤦🏻‍♀️

I ate a lot of minced meat dishes (meat balls with gravy, bolognese sauce, savoury mince), slow cooked stews and soups so the meat and vegetables were very soft and tender. Omelettes, rolled oats, scrambled eggs, sausages (from butcher not mass produced), soft white flesh fish, yoghurt. A lot of it comes down to the flavours and textures your tummy will tolerate & it can be a bit fussy. You may go slowly at first and stick to just a couple of foods to begin gradually adding more as you test out your tummy.

Just checking you had your surgery in May so you’re 8 months out? Mmmm 800 may be a little low for you given your height and gender though that is a conversation to be had with your dietician with consideration of your needs and activity. I’m a lot shorter than you, female, likely older & wasn’t very active when losing and I was eating about 900 at 6 months and at my goal & I kept losing. Even now I maintain at my weight eating about 1600 calories. Though if you’re not hungry do you need more calories at this time?? I do disagree with your dietician saying if you increase your intake you will gain as you will continue to lose weight eating more calories if you’re still in a deficit (i.e. eating fewer calories than your body needs to function). It may slow down your rate of loss though. Yes, this time of year can be difficult with so much food and so many treats. It really does come down to making the best choices you can when you have little or no control of the food available. Consider portion size. Can you swap out anything? Try to balance your intake across all your meals during the day. Keep focus on your protein first then vegetables. Avoid carbs and limit what sweet treats you may indulge in. And if you’re not hungry you don’t have to eat because everyone else is. If you’re contributing a dish, make something you can eat without compromising your plan. Remember this is not everyday but just this time of the year so don’t beat yourself up if you do go off plan though try to get back to your regular eating style/plan as soon as possible. I’m 5.6 yrs out and I still follow these guidelines in these types of situations. After four Christmas gatherings with full on meals over a couple of days, food to prepare & leftovers to eat, I am glad to be back in my own home, with my own food choices and my own eating routines. I weighed myself this morning and I only put on 300g (0.6lb) over Christmas & being away a week so the guidelines do help to keep things under control. PS What are the shots you mentioned?

Mmm not sure but I’d check in with your doctor especially when it is a new and unusual pain and lasts a while like yours does. PS - I find these diagrams helpful to rule out some things and as general information when experiencing pain.