Arabesque

I used (actually still do) an appetiser plate so a little smaller than a salad plate. Tapas plates & dishes are good too as are ramekins. Toddler cutlery is also useful. I used teaspoons & buffet sporks. I still use small plates & bowls as meals look so sad & lonely on a regular size dinner plate & I even eat regular portion sizes now. 😆

Your tummy can be very sensitive & can behave like a petulant, tantrum throwing two year old for a while. Remember too you’ve put your digestive system through quite a bit & part of its recovery is re learning how to function. For many the lactose intolerance is temporary. In the meantime try some of the myriad of lactose free/vegan products available these days. I struggled with lactose for decades thanks to a parasite & back then there want a lot of options (soy, rude bran, oat milk tasted awful to me) so I just gave up milk. I could tolerate small amounts of yoghurt & cheese. Though I think the surgery cut away the parasite, I only buy lactose free milk because I consume it every day & don’t want to risk it. Are you on a PPI? My other thought was excess acid which can cause a sharp, cutting pain across the abdomen &/or cramping & quite rapid onset diarrhoea which is often quite smelly.

I didn’t have external staples either just dissolving sutures. I have had staples in my head (I grow cysts so have had a few over the years). It hurt a little to have them removed - sort of a sting - but more likely because they were in my head. The freakiest part is hearing the ting of the metal staple as it’s dropped into the metal dish.

No I haven’t had a revision or need to repair a complication. I have three friends who have also had surgery & they haven’t either. Revisions are sometimes needed (for personal choice like to lose additional weight or medical reason like gerd) & sometimes a complication arises that needs corrective surgery but they aren’t all that common. Ask your surgeon how many they have done. You may be surprised.

Your plan should tell you when you can add seeds (& nuts) back into your diet (if it doesn’t ask for guidance). It usually is a couple of months after your surgery but plans do differ. Seeds are a great complex carb & a source of fibre, protein, & other nutrients. Are beneficial to your digestion. Sprinkle on salads & cereal, use as a crumb crust on meats, throw some in your smoothie, make a nut & seed mix for a snack, etc.

Oh this is very common & will be something you will face during your weight loss & sometimes, though less often once you’ve stabilised. Add some soluble, non swelling fibre to your shakes & then other fluids as you progress. I used Benefibre. Try to keep on top of your constipation. I took a stool softener if I hadn’t gone after three days. But remember you aren’t eating much so there’s not much to poop so only going every two days is okay for a few months. While a stool softener worked for me some do need much more aggressive treatments. Have a chat with your medical team for alternatives. There are prescription meds you can take & many swear by milk of magnesia. All the best.

You have very good reasons for having the surgery & questions & doubts about progressing are common. It’s surgery. It changes your digestive system. There is a period of healing & recovery. To be successful for the long term, you will have to make changes to how, what & why you eat & your relationship with food. The months post surgery give you time to work through all of this & certainly therapy, as @SleeverSk suggested, can be very helpful. The surgery also gives you time to develop better eating habits & routines like being more mindful. Will you forget & take a too big sip or bite or eat too quickly? Yes it will happen but your body soon tells you & you’re usually extra careful after the experience. Often all you’ll experience is just discomfort but occasionally foamies or vomiting. Complications after surgery aren’t common and many are related to pre existing conditions or predispositions. The risks are lower for bariatric surgeries than many other common surgeries. I used to control almost all my reflux with dietary choices before surgery (no spicy, fatty or rich food, little carbonation & reduced caffeine) which is why I had sleeve. I still have reflux but it is different & I need meds every day which I didn’t before. I hate taking tablets & often forget. Multi vitamins always make me nauseous but my bloods are good & I don’t need to take them anymore though some sleevers still do. Just depends on your diet & absorption for us. But it is a necessity after bypass as malabsorption of calories (& therefore nutrients) is how it contributes to your weight loss. Dumping can occur with bypass (about 40% chance I think) but if you discover you have it it is simply a matter of avoiding fats or sugars as they are the usual culprits. Some even find they can eat small amounts as time passes. You can also have it with a sleeve but it is less common (30%??). The average weight loss with sleeve & bypass is about the same 65% +/- of the weight you have to lose to put you in a healthier weight range. Some lose more some lose less. Make a list of your questions to discuss with your surgeon. They’re best placed to answer them in relation to your specific needs, health status/issues & weight loss/gain history. All the best whichever surgery you have.

I used to often make chia seed pudding like @Tomo regularly but haven’t for a while now. Funny how you get out of the habit of making/eating something. I’d just use vanilla as a flavour & would add a spoonful of milk powder to the mix for extra protein too ( it can make it extra sweet though). I have a spoon of mixed seeds cooked in with my porridge every morning.

Definitively check with your team about what activity they recommend you start & when. There usually are differences in these requirements surgeon to surgeon but generally walking is the go to from when you’re in hospital. Then your recovery, current fitness & health status are usually considered. But listen to your body as lethargy & periods of low energy are common for a couple of months. Personally I was a no exercise person while losing. Didn’t affect my weight loss. Now I only do about 25 mins of stretches, use some resistance bands & some sit ups & do them over two or three sessions usually every day. More for my back & for general toning. Wouldn’t burn 30 calories. But it is a personal choice what & how much you do for your needs.

The hair loss tends to last about 3 months +/- for those who take theses additional vitamins & supplements & about 3 months +/- for those who don’t take them. As to whether you’ll lose less or more hair by taking them or not taking them no one really knows as you can’t compare your experience with someone else. Most supplements to promote hair growth or prevent loss contain the vitamin B family, vitamins D & E, zinc & iron which are usually found in your multivitamins anyway. I say save your money but it is your choice. Take your multi vitamins, meet your protein goals & your hair will stop shedding in its time.

I started about day four when I got home. I was allowed to swallow mine. Unfortunately nausea is quite common. Iron is the worst culprit but other vitamin can cause it too.

How terrible @Starwarsandcupcakes. Hope they discovered the cause & you are feeling better. Why were you in hospital @summerset? Why does hospital food always looks so brown/beige & unappetising? Though some of yours looks more colourful & appetising @summerset.

Lap bands aren’t commonly done anymore & many surgeons don’t even do them now. (Complications, low success rate - only about 30% lose their weight, greater risk of regain, etc.) Sleeve has become the more popular surgical option & many older people successfully have that surgery. (I was 54 when I had mine but there are many in their 60s & 70s who do.) Are you only interested in the band because it is reversible & makes fewer changes to your body? We all have our own reasons for choosing our surgery so certainly no judgment here. I just find it interesting to hear why people choose their surgery but maybe I’m just nosy. LOL! When I first decided to go the surgery route I thought lap band but then started doing research & realised a sleeve would be a better fit for my lifestyle, medical status & my weight loss/gain history.

I believe inflamed intestines is categorised as part of inflammatory bowel disease which encompasses a number of conditions. It’s quite common & can affect anybody though I believe women are more susceptible. May be ask to see a specialist in that field to get a more definitive diagnosis & treatment/management plan. You can’t keep experiencing pain & discomfort.

I didn’t exercise & I lost all my weight & more. No running or cycling miles or hours at the gym for me. It’s not that I can’t I just dislike it … a lot. All I do are a few resistance exercises & stretches. (I did add some sit-ups but as I do them I tell myself I’m crazy.) I do a series of exercise combinations over three sessions each afternoon & evening. They take me about 25 minutes in total & wouldn’t burn 30 calories. I do them more to better support my back & my oozing discs & a little toning. There are a variety is simple exercises available on line for people with a variety of mobility issues. You could give them a try too & see if any work for you.

I feel the same @Briar Rose about the loose skin on my body, arms & legs: badge of honour. I’m vain enough to want to try to improve my face but nothing invasive. Snap. One of my nieces used to play with my upper arm batwings. She’d say it’s so soft & squishy & even squeeze her hand under sleeves to play with it. I’d laugh when she did it just like you. Sometimes I’d say you’ll have your own to play with when you get as old as me. 😁

I think many people here would put their hand up & say they too wondered if they really needed surgery & couldn’t just do it themselves. So you’re not alone in that thinking. However, I think all of us would say we tried dieting ourselves (or with clubs, dieticians, weight loss companies) in the past with all the best intentions many, many times, yet we all found ourselves obese. Yes, you are asked to follow a liquid shake diet post surgery but it is usually only for 2 weeks, then you usually progress to purées, soft foods then solid food. It is in place solely to support your healing of your tummy. Think of the sutures & staples holding your tummy together - you don’t want to stress or strain them with coarse or dense foods. After that the diet you will be placed on encourages healthy eating of nutrient dense foods. It encourages you to consider the nutritional value of what you eat, to work at breaking cravings & old habits., to look at your relationship with food. With the diet you slowly add a greater variety of foods & increase portion sizes until how you’re eating close to your maintenance point & it is much like the way you’ll eat in the future. The pre surgery diet, which often also is shakes, is also short term & in place so you will lose some weight quickly, reduce fat around your liver & make surgery easier. For me the surgery changed my metabolic rate, gave me a new set point (the weight my body is happiest at), it adjusted my digestive hormones. Most importantly it gave me time to look at my eating & develop new habits. No other diet did that. Every other diet I felt like I was punishing myself which is why when I finished the diet I went back to eating in the exact same way I always had & the weight came back. I didn’t with this. I have a new way of looking at food & eating. I’m not on a diet. This is just the way I eat. But only you know if the surgery will be right for you & that’s okay. All the best whatever you choose to do. PS - Sorry for the long post. I guess you can tell I’m very pro surgery but that is because of the success I’ve had.

I’m sorry you are going through this frustrating time. Just throwing a few things out there. I could be widely off the mark but … Are you eating a good balance of food so you get in a range if nutrients? I’m guilty of having the odd yoghurt meal or protein only meal but it’s balanced by the variety of food I eat for my other meals throughout that day. Your body needs a variety of nutrients, vitamins & enzymes to be able to digest & absorb the nutrients, vitamins, etc from what you eat. Do you predominately eat low or no processed foods i.e. a whole food diet? Do you consume a lot of artificial sweeteners? What does your blood test show in relation to vitamins & proteins, glucose, cholesterol, etc.? Have you had a liver scan or other tests? Have you spoken with your surgeon or just the dieticians? Could there be an absorption issue? Maybe your body needs more of certain food types like carbs to function more effectively? The stress & anxiety you’re feeling could be contributing. Certainly adding to your hair loss I’d think. Viscous cycle in play. Our bodies usually work to protect us but sometimes can work against us too. All the best.

There are lots of differences in plans for pre & post surgery. From how long each stage lasts to what you are allowed to eat or drink on each stage, etc. While the two weeks cycle is quite common many have shorter or longer stages like one week liquids or skip stages like no purée. Some find they need to stay longer at a stage or go back a stage because they’re not healed enough. I have heard of some surgeons who have encouraged their patient to move to the next stage earlier than they first required. I was on two week cycles of the three stages: liquids, purée & soft, before beginning more solid food. Liquids did not have to be clear & was allowed smooth soups & broths with shakes during the liquid stage but no juice, sugar free jello or popsicles at all. Many are allowed mashed potatoes & apple sauce during purées but I wasn’t. I was allowed herbal or green tea from the beginning. Best advice is always to follow your surgeon’s plans. It’s in place to protect & support your healing tummy & not put additional stress on it. They have developed their plan based on their theories & experiences. If you do have an issue with the stages or plan discuss it with your surgeon - never hurts to ask for modifications.

This is interesting (though I’m sure not for you). Out of curiosity did they say if this is a temporary or permanent issue? Wondering if it is similar to how other hormones & enzymes can go crazy while we are losing but settle again (often at a better level) once our weight stabilises. How are they treating you? Since my gall removal I don’t absorb protein well so I take creons which are a pancreatic enzymes which can firm bowel movements up for some. Wonder if they would help you too? Sorry for the questions.

Another one of those everyone’s different things I think. I understand they can continue to be erratic for a while for some. Have you had a blood test to check your hormone levels? They’re a good indicator of what stage you’re at. My GP checks my levels every now & again as a comparative even though I very menopausal. My mother is 83 & still takes HRT. If she goes off them she gets hot flushes, becomes cranky & argumentative, etc. She often laments wasn't menopause supposed to stop 20 years ago (& she started having symptoms in her early 40s - wasn’t pleasant either). Thankfully I haven’t followed after her & our peri/menopausal experience has been very different.

The time when you are losing is a wonderful opportunity to change your relationship with food. To assess the situations & emotions that drive you to eat. Many of us used food to comfort & soothe us & doing the head work is an important aspect of the long term success of your weight loss. Some found therapy very helpful in discovering how to take away the power of those emotional drives & learning how to better manage them. (Your surgeon or their team will be able to recommend someone you can work with if you.) That old adage of eating to live not living to eat is true but the realisation & acceptance of it doesn’t occur overnight. I still find enjoyment in eating, dining out, etc. but I don’t turn to food to make me feel better. You can’t totally get rid of cravings (desire for specific foods, textures or flavours) but they’ve lost most of their power over me now & occur infrequently. If I do crave something, I recognise the craving for what it is & I choose what to do about it. I may ignore it or if I choose to satisfy it I make better food choice & watch portions. Want something salty have nuts. Want something sweet have fruit. I used to enjoy having something sweet after dinner & I’d often buy a special sweet treat on the weekends (too many patisseries). Now I rarely eat sweet foods & rarely go to the patisserie unless buying for others. Don’t want it or miss it either.

Yep stall. It may last 1-3 weeks & you’ll likely experience them again. Think of them as your body taking a break in reaction to all the stress it’s been under (the equivalent of how we may want to close the door & pulling the covers over our head when stressed). It will pass. Stick to your plan, don’t stress your body further by making more changes & it will pass when your body is ready. Oh, and stay off the scales for a few days - it will only frustrate you more.

Milk is better, unless it becomes too rich, to make yoghurt into a yoghurt drink. Plus extra protein from the milk. Bonus!

Isn’t it wonderful to be able to see your real face. Cheek bones, jaw line, neck, … I even have visible lower eyelids now - they’re not being covered by droopy, puffy upper lids anymore. You look great & yes definitely younger.