Arabesque

I’m sorry you’re feeling so isolated through this. Have you spoken to your husband about how you feel? Maybe he’s feeling uncertain about what your needs may be & how to support you? He may worry you’ll become a different person when you lose all your weight? Same with other family members & friends. It can be confusing for others because they don’t understand (they haven’t experienced this either) & they don’t want to upset you or appear to be too nosy. I only told one of my brothers & his wife (I knew the other would be critical). They rarely said anything to me except if we were eating together they’d just check I could eat what they were preparing or if I had special needs. My mother, who I spend weekends with every couple of weeks, got upset at one point saying she didn’t know what I ate or needed to eat & was worried she’d get the wrong food in when I stayed with her. Wonder if you speaking with a therapist will help you have conversations with your husband, etc. about your feelings & also give you the opportunity to talk things out in a non judgemental environment.

That’s funny @ms.sss. He’s usually eating your leftovers. 😁😁

I didn’t exercise & still don’t. I do some stretches, use a resistance band & do some sit ups now but more to help with my back & to keep me a bit limber than for anything else. I wouldn’t burn 30 calories. (Ironically I would burn more calories if I weighed more LOL!) I really don’t enjoy structured exercise at all. It’s boring, I don’t like being forced to ‘perform’ & I hate being sweaty. I do my stretches, etc. in 5-10 minute blocks through out the day (it’s called exercise snacking & is just as beneficial as doing a single long block of exercise). I’m more willing to do it like this. Exercise only accounts for about 10% of any weight you have to lose. Want to lose 60lbs? Exercise will only contribute to you losing about 6lbs. Of course there are many other benefits to exercising but don’t rely on it for boosting your weight loss. I have never been this successful with sustained weight loss ever before & I’m almost 58 so have quite a few years of dieting experiences. 😉 I’ve changed so much about my relationship with food. I still enjoy food but know & accept I can’t just eat what I like, when I like & how much I like. I don’t consider I’m making sacrifices or missing out. It really is about changing your thinking about food & eating. It doesn’t happen over night but you’ll get there too. Day by day, week by week.

It could be from the tube they put in your airways during surgery. Could be some reflux because of acid buildup. You’re likely still producing the same amount of acid you used to need in your larger tummy & to digest the larger meal portions you used to eat. Plus the surgery alone stirred up things too. If it’s from the breathing tube this will pass - warm/hot drinks can be quite soothing. If it’s acid, were you prescribed a PPI to reduce it’s production? I had a lot of swelling for the first couple of days from the intubation - made swallowing very difficult. Was spitting up a lot of saliva due to the irritation too. Mine was mostly gone by day 4. If it persists call your team.

It’s pretty common but usually temporary. As @catwoman7 said it’s usually related to getting up from lying down or sitting - postural hypotension. Your blood rushes to your feet thanks to gravity & it takes a little time to be pumped up to your head again. Hence the light head mess, dizziness, loss of vision or fainting. I always had a predisposition to low blood pressure (hereditary) & now I have it all the time. I can experience it tipping my head back, reaching up to get something off a shelf & with a hot shower/bath as well as getting up. Definitely talk to your team. If you are on BP meds they may need to be adjusted. Keep your fluids up. Add extra salt to your diet. Get up slowly & stand before moving. I find bending over at my waist so my head is level or just below my heart helps it pass more quickly. And as I feel it coming on I reach for a wall, table, chair, person, etc. to ground myself until it passes.

My hand is up. I’m 5’3” & weighed 200lbs when I started. I lost to my goal by 6 months (132lbs - so loss of 68lbs). I kept losing very slowly for another 10 or so months until I reached 108lbs - a total loss of 94lbs. I’ve been pretty much stable since then aside from little fluctuations & I’ll be 4 years out on the weekend. There is no right or wrong rate of your weight loss. There are averages but like all averages (statistics) some will lose more than the average others less. And some will lose at a faster rate & others will lose at a slower rate. Averages only give you an idea of what might happen not what will happen. And all of this is okay. Remember it’s not a race. There are some things you can pretty much rely on. If you weigh more at the beginning you tend to lose larger amounts at first (like you see on My 600lb Life). Your weight loss is always more in the beginning. Everyone’s rate of loss slows. If you follow your plan, you will lose at the rate that is right & best for you. Nothing wrong with 21lbs in 6 weeks. (I’d lost about 22lbs at 6 weeks.) That’s about 3lbs a week. Can’t complain about that. The only time you should be concerned is if your surgeon or team is. Celebrate every pound you lose.

All the hair on your head eventually sheds at some time. It falls out itself onto your clothes or the floor, you wash the loose strands out or you catch it on your brush or comb. It’s just that at the moment your hair loss schedule has been sped up. Can’t stop it & you can’t really make yourself lose more than what you currently are. Just be gentle. I like the idea of putting conditioner on it before swimming, & ensure you rinse your hair out well after swimming until you can wash it properly.

Everyone heals & recovers differently for many reasons. You may find you won’t need your opioids (or as many) in the next day or so & over the counter, non NSAIDS, will be enough. Start slowly with your walking & increase as you’re able. Walking around your home is fine if that’s all you can mange at first. Doing several short walks is just as beneficial as doing a single long walk. Or do some seated exercises for your legs & arms (raising your arms & legs up & down, foot & wrist flexing, etc.) if getting up & down is difficult at first. Of course if your strong pain persists into a second week or your opioids aren’t managing your pain, contact your surgeon. All the best.

Stalls are a important part of your weight loss. It’s when your body stops to get used to the changes, assesses your new needs & readjusts things like the hormones involved in digestion, metabolic rate, etc. You’ll start losing weight again when your body is ready. How many stalls you have or how long each one lasts don’t have any affect on your final weight loss. I agree: stick to your plan, stay off the scales. And yes, they always break. All the best.

The temporary changes to your taste buds &/or sense of smell can make enjoying food difficult even the shakes you have to drink at your stage. Many find the shake flavours they drank before surgery are disgusting after surgery. I agree try (thin, strained) soups like broths & consommés. And I too found warm drinks more soothing & easier to tolerate. I’d warm my shakes, drink room temperature or warm water & drink green tea (herbal if you prefer).

Pain under your rib means it’s more likely surgical gas. This gas isn’t in your tummy & digestive system (like gas you burp or eventually fart out) but in the abdominal cavity - the space around your organs. It rises up behind your lungs, putting pressure on nerve endings hence the shoulder & likely your pain behind your ribs. It’s then absorbed into the lungs & you breath it out (that’s why walking, marching on the spot, deep breathing, lifting your arms up & down all help you breath more out). It usually takes about a week +/- to fully go.

Three months is pretty common & that’s regardless of taking additional vitamins or supplements or not (save your money on those - they may only benefit your new growth). Of course for some it’s a little longer & others a little less. Just make sure you’re meeting or very close to your protein goals. Most of the accelerated hair loss is down your body’s reaction to the surgery, anaesthetic, hormonal fluctuations, stress, etc. Remember, your new hair hair is still growing at it’s usual rate. In a few months you may start to see the little fluffy bits of your new hair growth. Many of us cut our hair shorter. Shorter hair looks fuller & bouncier than long & it will take less time for your new hair growth to grow to reach your shorter length hair. You can always grow it again. If your hair loss is significant or noticeable try wigs or hair pieces or once the hair loss has slowed/stopped maybe look at hair extensions.

Establish little habits so you drink when ever you do something specific. I keep water by my bed so every time I get up to pee I drink (before & after). At work, read an email then sip. I sip every time I get in or out of the car & at every red light. You can do this with public transport too. Watching tv or a movie sip every scene change or ad break. Sip after every page or two you read. Keep liquids by your side always. Yes, setting a timer can help too but as you’re new out try every 3-5 minutes as you are only sipping. It does get easier and you will be able to do more than just sip.

Your surgery hasn’t failed. You have lost weight - yay! This is likely a stall as others have suggested. Stalls are very common. Almost everyone experiences them & they are an important part of your weight loss (it’s when your body pauses to reassess your new needs & resets digestive hormones, metabolic rate, etc.). They often last 1-3 weeks but for some they can be longer. The stall will break when your body is ready. Just stick to your plan & don’t stress your body more. And yes I know even with knowing this, stalls can still feel frustrating. We all lose our weight at our own rate. There’s no wrong or right amount you have to lose each week. There are just averages which only give you a bit of an idea of what you might experience not what you definitely will. Being a slow loser doesn’t mean you won’t lose all your weight either. It just means it may take you a little longer & that’s okay too.

This will happen often while you are losing. Your weight loss won’t ever be a consistent straight line on a graph. It will go up & down, zig & zag & plateau. All to be expected. Our weight always fluctuates even when stable. Hormones, water retention, constipation, diarrhoea, eating or drinking a little more or a little less, doing more or less activity, etc. all play a part.

Almost twins. Though I bet I’m a bit older. I’ll be 58 this year - yikes! Definitely ask your dietician about the tortillas. You never know. Do they include any flour? I find even the vegetable pasta still heavily because of the small amount of flour in them. But it may not affect you at all. All the best with your recovery.

Wonderful news @ChubRub . So glad all went well yesterday & you’re feeling good. That knee fat transfer sounds interesting too. Wonder if it would plump up my empty boobies? Certainly have some knee fat to spare. 😁😁

Where are you vacationing @GreenTealael? The wreath on the fireplace is beautiful.

I get that little slapping flap now and again too with certain movements. I think of it as my body applauding my physical efforts. 😁😁😁

Check with your dietician & medical team. Plans differ & it’s always best to follow your plan. If your plan says no bread it means no bread & that includes low carb, low calorie or high protein versions. The issue with bread, bread alternatives, rice & pasta is that they swell in your tummy & take up valuable room which should be filled by the protein you need to eat. Remember all because you may not be allowed now while you are losing doesn’t mean you won’t in the future. Of course some are allowed to eat bread, etc. but what sort, how much & when you can is where differences occur. If you are allowed remember eat your protein first, then any vegetables you are able & very last any carbs you are allowed & only if you still need to eat. (Often I could only eat my protein & nothing else.) And of course the other consideration is if you can physically eat them. I’m almost 4 years out & I still can’t eat breads, pasta, rice. They just sit too heavily in my tummy & limit the amount of more nutritionally food I need to eat. Lots of alternatives like cauliflower rice, cauliflower crust for pizza, zucchini noodles, etc. available. PS - The type of surgery doesn’t really influence your post eating surgical plan.

That pork belly looks delicious @Tomo but what a huge portion. No wonder you had left overs. (Left overs are the bomb!) I wonder if it as the fat on the pork that caused the foamies for you? It does for me sometimes. I accidentally ate a chunk of fat on a beef cheek at a gala lunch. The function room was so dark I didn’t see it & there was enough meat in my bite to disguise it until it was too late. It was stuck for hours. Very unpleasant.

Oh yeah & even without eating salty foods. We women put up with it every month from when we hit puberty. 😁 I still experience it even though I’m in my late 50s & ‘past it’. I still bloat once a month for a couple of days before it is relieved by several hours of peeing every 30 minutes … which always occurs at night after I’ve gone to bed. 😆😆

I live by myself too & was fine too. Friends & family rang every day to check on me. If you’d rather you could have your husband there just in case for a couple of days & then have him arrange with his work to have extra time if you find you need it or can leave work if you need it. Keep your fluids up. Get up & down slowly & carefully. No heavy lifting (usually less than 10lbs the first couple of weeks - check with your team). Keep meds, shakes, broths in a handy, easy to access location. Take short walks around your home or outside as you’re able. Rest. Listen to your body. All the best.

I agree. I think it was the salty pickles too. Awful feeling though when you see those higher numbers on the scale & wonder what you’ve been doing wrong. Over time you’ll discover things that make your weight fluctuate a little more than usual. I’m up a little at the moment because I’ve been eating my chicken & barley soup - an extra serve of carbs & the extra fluid does it every time for me but it will be gone in few days. Try adding lemon juice to your water or drink some tea - both will make you pee more & help flush out the excess fluids.

Night time cravings are a challenge for many so you’re not alone in this. I can be pretty determined (pig headed some might say) so I manage my cravings differently. I don’t let them rule me. I use logic to manage them & have some habits I follow. I don’t eat after 8pm. I have my evening meal & then a protein bar about an hour later to boost my daily protein intake. If I feel hungry after that I know it’s not real hunger because I’ve eaten recently & have eaten well all day. I remind myself, I don’t need to eat or need those extra calories & it’s not real hunger. That’s just what I do. Of course we all weaken at times for many reasons. If I weaken I’ll have a little fruit or a few nuts. The important point @summerseeker raised was about not exceeding your daily calories if you do snack. I’m almost 4 years out & I do snack like the protein bar. They’re scheduled, add to my needed daily calories, protein, etc. intake but if I’m not hungry I won’t have them. It isn’t easy to do all this in the beginning when you’re still learning about so many things & still working out what works for you like how you’re going to mange your food choices, eating habits, etc. now & in the future. Try some distraction techniques & drinking (like a warm drink) in the meantime. They can be helpful when head hunger hits. If you are allowed a snack during the day, maybe save it to have at night. Good luck however you chose to manage those night time cravings.