Arabesque

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.

A couple of weeks without your vitamins shouldn’t cause any problems. I mean some don’t start taking them for a month. It might only be an issue if your levels were already low. Like you won’t become anaemic unless your iron stores are low as well as your daily intake. The hair loss occurs because of stress (surgery, changed diet, etc.), hormonal fluctuations, anaesthetic & prolonged low protein intake (if you’re meeting your goal or getting closer to it in those first few weeks you’ll be okay). They cause your usual hair loss cycle to accelerate. Vitamins won’t stop the hair loss as that is dead hair you would have lost anyway. Vitamins may only benefit your new hair growth which isn’t affected by the surgery, etc.

Funny you mention this @MandoGetsSleeved. Almost 4 years out & I experience odd things too. Like, the last couple of days, I’ve been having prawns for lunch. Now I often eat prawns for lunch but this time my restriction kicked in every time before I ate the number of prawns I’d usually eat. The pack of green prawns I bought was always two meals for me no problems. This time I got three meals out of it. I don’t rely on my restriction to signal to stop eating so this was strange. Plus I almost got the foamies yesterday. Don’t know why. Just an idiosyncrasy of my sleeve I think.

Yes, but you are still using your dominant arm so still working the muscles there. Your dominant arm would have had more muscle & less fat than your less dominant arm too. Did your arms measure the same when you first started losing? As @Possum220 said our bodies aren’t symmetrical. The places we are most aware of tend to be our feet or breasts as we’re always measuring them. We rarely if ever measure our thighs, arms, etc. As @hills&valleys said we carry our weight in different places and we lose it in different places at different times. Density of fat deposits can also affect how much you lose in those areas & over what time. Interestingly I always had a distinct waist regardless of what I weighed yet when I lost all my weight I also lost my waist. No more hourglass shape. I was straight up & down. But over time, my remaining fat resettled & I have a waist again (& also hips). I guess what I’m saying is don’t fret yet. You’re early out with your weight loss.

My weight just slowed. I reached my goal & thought yay but I kept losing. So I slowly increased my calories as I was able hoping to slow it down. Some of the increased calories came as I was physically able to eat more - eventually more like a regular portion size. I also added snacks. I was still seeing my dietician so I worked through suggestions with her. I added two more serves of carbs (whole/multi grains), another serve of fruit, nuts, hummus, peanut paste, chia pudding, protein bar, etc. My dietician also suggested adding milk powder to my milk to enrich it (for my rolled oats & chia pudding but I found it too sweet). When I reached goal I was eating about 900 calories. When I finally stopped losing (about 11 months later & a further 11 odd kilos down) I was up to 1300. Now I eat about 1500 to maintain at about a kilo or so heavier weight. And yes I still snack a few times a day.

While some do feel hunger after surgery, they are the minority. Are you sure you’re really hungry? May seem a silly question but after surgery our head seems to play more games with us because of the stress & emotional after effects of the surgery. Plus our hormones are often all over the place. We feel hungry because we may have used food to comfort us or we’ve subconsciously looking for something familiar in our upside down world. And of course we often what something more when we can’t have it. It’s all head hunger not real hunger. Craving a specific food, flavour or texture (such as a purées because you see them more as real food) is head hunger. Distraction is often helpful. Read, craft, check social media, play a game, ring a friend, go for a short walk, etc. Warm drinks can be helpful too. Post surgery, your body is still producing the amount of stomach acid you needed to digest food in your much larger tummy. Also because you don’t really need the acid to digest liquids, it’s literally just sitting in your smaller tummy causing discomfort, reflux type symptoms or making you think you’re hungry. A PPI can be helpful to reduce the acid. We’re usually prescribed one but if you weren’t you could ask for a script.

As you can see there are many variations on when to start your vitamins & even what sort. I was told start them when I got home after surgery & I took capsules. Vitamins can make you nauseous & yes you can even bring up what you’ve eaten or drunk. So it could be them that are upsetting you. Also your digestive system is very sensitive after your surgery which may mean you feel unwell after drinking. Your surgeon’s colleague’s advice is probably based upon their thinking you aren’t ready yet to take vitamins. We all heal in our own time. You may find this happens with other things to like moving from stage to stage & you may need to take a little longer until your system is healed enough to tolerate whatever you are swallowing (food, liquids or meds). I’d try warm liquids too. They are often more soothing on your tummy. Water can often make nausea worse as it can be almost heavy on your tummy. Can’t beat chicken soup (broth) to make you feel better. The foamies is when you spit up (not vomit as such more it just fills your mouth) thick slimy saliva. It happens if something you’ve eaten is to dry, coarse or stuck. The slimy saliva is produced to try to soothe your throat & ease the passage of the dry, coarse or stuck food back up or down. A rumbling tummy is very common. It’s not a sign of anything (& most of the time not even hunger). Just your digestive system working.

There’s no right or wrong way & there’s no one path everyone follows while they’re losing. Though it would be easier if we could say exactly what will happen on or by a specific day or time. Like week 6 day 4 I will have lost this much weight, I will meet my protein goal for the day, I will be 3ozs short on my fluids, I will poop, I will feel tired, & so on. You can depend upon certain things. You can expect your rate of weight loss to fluctuate day to day, week to week. You can expect to experience stalls at some times which will usually last 1-3 weeks but may be more. You can expect your rate of weight loss to slow as you get closer to your final weight. You can guarantee your weight loss experience may have similarities with someone else but won’t be exactly the same. There are averages (statistics) but they only can give you an idea of what might happen not will definitely happen. We’re all too different physically & psychologically, have different health issues & history, different demands on our lives, different genders, ages & heights, etc. I tracked my loss almost every day and yes there were ups & downs along the way but that’s just life - one day is never identical to the day before or the day after & there are always things that happen that you can’t control (hormonal fluctuations, pooping, peeing, energy levels, being unwell, etc.). The most important thing to me was I was losing & the general trend on my weight loss graph was downwards. Keep following your plan & getting in your protein & fluids as you’ve been doing & you will lose weight in your time. Don’t put pressure on yourself on how much you will lose by some arbitrary made up date. It will only stress & upset you if you don’t make it. All the best.

Very important to get your protein & fluids in. Focus on eating your protein first, then any vegetables you’re allowed & are able then if you are able any allowed carbs. There were plenty of meals where I ate only my protein because I didn’t need or want to eat anything else. (In fact I still do this - yesterday I had prawns for lunch just prawns, not even a sauce.) If you don’t enjoy the shakes (I certainly didn’t) find alternatives like a high protein yoghurt (you can make it into a drink by blending with milk - protein & fluids), protein waters, add unflavoured protein powders to other foods or drinks. I drink through the night & take a drink every time I get in & out of bed & get in another good cup (8oz) of water in. Keep water or other fluid with you always. Develop routines like every time I get in or out of my car I drink, drink at every red light. It all adds up.

Stalls are a natural & normal part of weight loss. They are the time your body takes to reassess the changes you’ve made: the change in calorie intake, weight loss, activity levels, etc. All things that put stress on your body. The body reassess your needs & makes changes to things like your digestive hormones & metabolism. You will start to lose weight again when your body is ready - in it’s time not necessarily your time. Don’t stress your body more. Get back on your plan & stick to it. But yes, check with your team regarding your weight lifting. May be not so much you’re doing it but how much your lifting. Better to be sure you’re doing the best thing for your body right now.

No hard & fast rule with pain. We heal differently, there are variations in our individual surgeries & our pain thresholds are different. Many seem not to need opiates to manage their pain by day 4 as the strong pain goes & only rely on over the counter pain meds if needed for the random bouts of discomfort or spasms on moving too far, too fast or certain body positions. Gas pain seems to persist the longest - sometimes into the second week but pain meds won’t help with that. It does get better. All the best.

i wondered if it was a combination of a stall & the expected slow down of your weight loss too.. Those last pounds can seemingly take forever to go. Yep, exercise accounts for about 10% of your weight loss. So exercising will only contribute to the loss of about 3lbs of your last 35. I get not having the time or energy to exercise after work. I was the same plus I really detest it. I discovered exercise snacking. That is exercise in short bursts a few times a day. I do about four sessions a day lasting 5-10mins each & totalling about 20-25mins. (After lunch, before & after dinner & before bed.) They found that short bursts are just as effective as a single sustained exercise session. They’re much easier to fit around the demands of your day & much less an onerous task (which is how I saw exercise).

That’s correct, sleeve surgery removes around 75-80% of your tummy but gastric bypass creates a much smaller tummy from your tummy & attaches it to your rerouted intestines. Your remaining tummy is still there after bypass but no food can enter it. Further conversations with your surgeon may be needed to help you understand the differences in the surgeries, how they impact your body & which may be best for your needs. It may help ease some of your nerves too. (Nerves before surgery are very common - fear of the unknown, uncertainty, etc.) With both surgeries your ability to consume large portions is reduced. Initially after either surgery when you start consuming purées you will only be able to eat 1/4 - 1/3 cup of food. This slowly increases. (By 6 months I could eat about a cup of food & now I eat about the recommended serving size or a little less.) And it is possible for you to eventually eat around your smaller tummy which of course results in weight gain & something to be aware of. Changing your eating habits, your relationship with food, understanding the nutritional benefits of food, etc. are vital aspects of losing your weight & maintaining the loss. This is the work you have to do & has nothing to do with the surgery. Many find the temporary changes to our sense taste & sometimes smell after surgery is an opportunity to try different & healthier foods. I have some food sensitivities so I recognise you may as well but are they legitimate food sensitivities or just you don’t like to eat certain foods (taste, texture, etc.)? A dietician can help with this as well. Often working with a therapist is very helpful to work through your relationship ship with find & what is behind your eating habits., as well as your hunger (distinguishing between head hunger & real hunger). Focus on eating your protein first at every meal. Then eat your vegetables. Finally if you are able eat any carbs. This will be the same advice you will be given after surgery & when your able to eat solid foods. There were many meals I only ate my protein & couldn’t or didn’t want to eat anything else. ( I still have days like this almost 4 years out.) Start tracking your food (portion sizes, calories, protein & other macros). There are some great apps you can use. You can be successful with either surgery but after the honeymoon stage when things like your appetite returns, most of your success depends upon you. You have to be ready for the surgery & the changes it brings & the changes you have to make. Surgery was the best thing I ever did. All the best whatever you decide to do.

I agree with the other. This much pain this far out is not usual. Ring your surgical team & see if you can get an earlier appointment or go to your nearest medical centre. In the meantime may be try a binder to support your tummy.

Perfectly said @The Greater Fool. Using food to numb ourselves from emotional pain, depression, anxiety, stress, etc. is very common especially with people here. It’s the same as those who use drugs & alcohol to mask their pain & become addicted. Eating, regardless of how much is consumed, never stops the pain because it’s still there. So yes, you are experiencing withdrawals & grieving your inability to eat the same volume of food & food choices. Seeking support to understand & learn how manage the emotional or mental pain will be helpful. All because you can’t have your whisky now doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy a glass in the future. As long as you’re aware of addiction transfer & your greater susceptibility to it, having a glass on a Saturday night will be okay again. Congratulations on your weight loss so far & the life you are regaining. So much to celebrate & be joyful about.

Could they be varicose veins? They may be more visible because of your weight loss so far. Do they ache or bulge more if you’ve been standing for a while? I have lots very visible veins on my hands now which can look quite ropey at times. It’s fascinating discovering what our fat hid. May be best to see your doctor & find out what’s going on.

Will a revision help you to lose weight again? Yes but your weight loss will likely be at a slower rate than after your initial surgery. Will it help you keep the weight off in the future? Well, like your first surgery, that depends on you. The revision will offer more physical restrictions though many of these fade like your appetite returns & you’re able to eat larger portions. What the revision surgery, like your initial surgery, won’t do is anything about changing your head & your thinking about food, your eating habits, food choices, etc. That’s the work you have to do: establish a new relationship with food & a new sustainable way of eating that supports you maintaining a lower weight without hindering or limiting how you want to live your life. The one thing we all have in common is that our old way of eating & how we looked at food did us no favours. It led to us all being obese & affected our health. Many find a therapist helpful in understanding your eating habits & relationship with food. Your surgeon or their team should be able to recommend someone if this is a path you’d like to try.

You can stall several times while you are losing so yes you may be stalling again. Remember a stall is the time your body uses to reassess & readjust to your lower weight & new needs. It resets things like digestive hormones, metabolism, etc.

It started at about month 3 or 4 & lasted about three months. This tends to be pretty common in terms of starting & finishing times regardless of taking supplements or additional ‘hair growing’ vitamins. I didn’t lose so much it was noticeable to others (beside my mother & hairdresser) but I had lots of hair to begin. I cut my hair to just above my shoulders so that it wouldn’t take the new growth as long to reach the length of my hair. (Remember your new growth is still growing g at it’s usual rate while your shedding cycle has been accelerated.) I did notice a slight change in texture from the anaesthetic (can contribute to your hair loss too). It eventually grew out. I lost hair in the past after a stressful time like you too and this time seemed pretty similar… except I didn’t freak out as I knew what to expect.

Peeing is part & parcel of better hydrating yourself. I go every 60-90 minutes so am jealous of your two hours. Mine slows in the hours after midnight when I rarely/never have to go. You get used to it & some find they eventually stretch out their bathroom visits as their bodies get used to the higher fluid intake. Plans are very different but 5 shakes & two cups of broth seems a lot. A shake is considered a meal & a cup of broth is a meal too so you are having the equivalent of 7 meals a day. Is this what your plan advises? It will be your surgery day before you know it. All the best.

Boredom & eating can be a tough head hunger to break and because it’s happening at work the usual distraction techniques are difficult to implement. Knowing it’s boredom making you want to eat & not real hunger is half the battle so you’re on the right path already. Not knowing your actual job & responsibilities some of my suggestions may not be possible. Try a hot drink instead of a snack (snacking, even healthy ones, can be a gateway to establishing bad snacking habits & they all have calories which add to your daily intake). Green or herbal tea are great low calorie (green has none at all) or coffee (if you’re able but without the syrups, etc.) Go for a short (a few minutes) walk around the office or outside (good for mental health at work too). Do some desk stretches. Change the task you’re doing. You can come back to the original task later. Chat to a colleague for a couple of minutes about work or life. Get up & refill your water bottle.

There’s never a stupid post here. We have different experiences & no one’s experience is more right or more wrong than another’s. Yes, we tend to receive more attention when we initially lose weight from family, friends, work colleagues, etc. It’s because they are happy for us. Some seemingly negative comments (those you’ve lost too much weight ones) come from their vision of us catching up to the reality of what we’re like now. (Just like it takes us time to truely see what we look like physically with the weight loss.) Once they accept the changes those comments don’t continue. Actually most/all of the comments about our weight loss eventually go. The comments that are left are mostly genuine compliments: great dress, you’re looking lovely today, love your hair cut, etc. (The unwanted flirting & requests for your phone number aside of course.) Personally I enjoy giving people compliments. (I like receiving them too.) Be it about how they do their job, how they interact with others, how they look, etc. I do it because on your lowest day someone telling you you look nice or you appreciated their help or whatever does make you feel a little brighter. Maybe a therapist would be of benefit especially if how you are feelings is affecting how you view others & their comments, your day to day interactions with people, & how you live your life. At least they may help you develop strategies to cope with those situations that make you uncomfortable. All the best.

Yes after revision surgery weight loss is slower than with your original surgery, Also remember you are starting at a lower weight this time so your loss will be a little slower from that perspective too. However, there’s nothing slow with your rate of loss. Three to 4 pounds a week is nothing to be concerned about. Enjoy every pound you lose.

There are lots of statistics about weight loss after bariatric surgery. But as with all stats they’re just average. We all lose at our own rate. Some lose more quickly while others lose more slowly. Some lose all the weight they wanted. Some lose more & some lose less. And there is no timeline as to when you have to lose your weight. Statistics only give you an idea of what might happen not what will happen. I lost more than double my 3 month weight loss (16kg at 3 months & 42kg when I stabilised). Though it was about half of what I lost when I reached what was my goal (to lose 31kg). Forget any self imposed or external timelines. Celebrate every pound you lose because regardless of how much you lose or by when you’ll lose it, you’ll be in a healthier place.

How long you carried your weight, how much you lose, age, genetics, etc., also influence how much lose skin you’ll have. I don’t have a lot of loose skin & what I have is not restrictive or limiting in any way. I can even wear body conscious clothing without need of any support undergarments. Genetics in my favour I think because as a menopausal woman in her mid 50s I certainly was more likely to have a decent amount. Like @learn2cook I look at it as something I earned. It reminds me every day of how far I’ve come & a great motivator to stay there. But for some it can be very limiting & then plastic surgery is the only solution. Your BMI is comparatively low so you won’t have as much weight to lose which may mean less loose skin. Wait until your weight has stabilised & allow for some resettling of your remaining fat in the months after. Oh, and don’t believe any of those creams, supplements & such that say they help with sagging skin. They don’t. Our skin has been over stretched for too long like a well used old elastic band.