Arabesque

I agree with the suggestions to distract yourself, clean tired teeth & snack on your leftover dinner, a protein or nutrient dense food. You can try having something to drink too - water, warm milk, a herbal/green tea. And, yes, most traditional late night snacking foods are nutrient poor sliders which are easy to overeat. I’d also ask myself why I want to snack. Is it an old habit, an emotional need, are you craving a specific food, flavour or texture? These are all head hungers not real hungers. Recognising them & discovering what to do to manage them is part of our weight loss process. Not easy but worth the effort. If only the surgery removed that part of our brain too. PS - try not to eat too close to going to bed (leave a couple of hours) especially if you’re eating a dense protein like meat as it can cause GERD symptoms.

And you’ll likely experience a couple of them as you’re losing. Stalls are all very normal & very common. They usually last 1-3 weeks. Think of them as your body saying what the hell are you doing to me: less food, change of diet, change of activity, weight loss, … It then shuts the door & tries to come to terms with the changes. Some find that while the scale doesn’t move, a tape measure may show some changes.

You’ve done amazingly well so far. Congratulations. Ok, breathe. Weight loss is never a straight downward line. It goes up & down, plateaus, goes faster at times, slower at others. As long as your general trend is downward you’re golden. We all have a natural fluctuation too from hormonal changes, water retention, constipation/diarrhoea. It’s just how our bodies function. Don’t let the scales rule your life. You know best how to manage it - weigh every day or less frequently. I weighed every day until I stabilised now I weigh every second or third day but that’s what I need to keep myself honest & on track. Don’t forget to that what you weigh on your scales will likely be different to your doctors. Different scales, you’re weighed at different times, after eating/not eating, dressed or not, etc. Also scales are not 100% accurate all the time. A few weeks ago my scales said I weighed 136.2kg & that was after I changed the batteries. It initially read 151kg - about three times my weight. Yes I did have heart palpitations for a second or two. Since it wasn’t the batteries, it may have been the days of extremely high humidity or that it was just time they went to God. I bought a new set … which weigh about a pound heavier than the old ones. ☹️

As @SmolGojira says, there are lots of factors that will influence how much loose skin you have on your face & your body. But there are non invasive & minimally invasive things you can do to help to a degree if you aren’t happy. First, give your body a chance to resettle after you’ve lost your weight. It can be quite amazing how your body almost reshuffles your remaining fat after you’re reached your goal. In maintenance you’ll be eating a broader range of nutrients including more carbs (multi/whole grain low processed carbs) which help too. Initially I had lots of fine lines running down from under my chin. I did a series of RF treatments & with time & a broader diet most disappeared. This year I had some filler into the sides of my face in front of my ears where I had hollows totally empty of fat & that gave a slight & natural looking lift to the marionette lines around my mouth. I’ve also had one session of derma pen to help with acne scarring but will be transitioning to the combined dermal needling & RF instead which supposedly is more likely to provide skin tightening. I also have dysport/Botox but that’s for my vanity wrinkles - LOL! You can try taking collagen & silica. But like derma needling, topical or ingested collagen will still take about 3 months for you to see any effects (the natural skin cycle). Topical skin products like hylaurinic acid, Vitamin C, collagen oils & such can help make your skin, brighter, plumper, even out skin tone & texture & generally give you a healthy glow which will somewhat distract from any laxity you may have. I believe the effects of many of these will depend on you - your genetics, how your body processes/absorbs them & how much your skin is in need. One bonus of the weight loss was the deep lines that encircled my neck (fat creases) are barely visible in some light. Best is I have a jaw line, cheek bones & visible eye lids (hooded lids no more), my neck is longer & thinner & I look like me because my face isn’t distorted by fat. Before you do anything though, educate yourself. Be informed on the possible benefits & side effects. Don’t get caught up with what a beauty therapist is selling, influencers are promoting or latest fad. I started seeing a cosmetic physician this year for my treatments & I appreciate her honesty & straight talking about treatments & products. She often says don’t waste your money doing that. Sorry for the long post.

I guess your referring to it helping with the hair loss while you are losing weight. This hair loss is just an acceleration of your natural hair loss cycle (hair that was going to fall out anyway) in response to the stress of surgery, reduced calories, restricted diet, weight loss, etc. It’s temporary. Your new hair is still actually growing but just at it’s usual rate. The hair loss tends to start at around months 3 or 4 & lasts about 3 months +/-. (It seems to be the same length of time for those who take all the hair growth vitamins & supplements like biotin too.) It seems to stop around the time you’re eating more & a broader range of nutrients & you’re not as stressed. It most cases, the only person who really notices the loss is you (& your hairdresser 😉). A lot of us cut our hair if it was long during this time. I did it so it wouldn’t take as long for the new growth to reach the length of my shorter existing hair. Plus shorter hair usually looks thicker, bouncier & healthier. But you can always try something like Nioxin if you want. Can’t make it worse.

First, stalls happen. They’re part of the weight loss journey. Some have more of them. Some experience ones that seemingly last forever. The thing to remember is they do break. Secondly, the further out your are the slower your rate of loss which make you think your stalling too. If it persists, chat with your dietician. Maybe a tweak to your diet or activity will help. And yes, track or monitor your food. It can be easy to eat a little more than we think or eat something we think is okay but may not be the best at this time. And I’m with @kcuster83, I often find I weigh a little more after I break a couple of days of constipation. It usually doesn’t show until the following day. I wonder if it’s because I’m retaining extra fluid at the same time??? How our individual bodies work can be fascinating (& frustrating).

OMG. Every plate looks majorly delicious. I would’ve eaten the entire scallop & the tuna too - love a scallop. Actually don’t think I could have passed on any thing (except the bread & the dessert 😉).

Nausea after taking vitamins is pretty common. Try taking them across the day so for example if you have to take two multi vitamins, take one in the morning & one in the evening. Make sure you take them after you eat not with. Iron is often a cause of nausea so if you take a multi with iron & a separate iron as well you may benefit from dropping the iron alone or reduce it to every second day but check with your medical team first. I found a spray vitamin D & K - simply squirt under the tongue so super easy to use & one less tablet to swallow. Maybe look at patches too & avoid your tummy altogether.

This reminds me of an old family story of this happening to an aunt but it was her knickers. She was in a busy department store when they simply fell to the floor. She apparently just stepped out of them & kept walking … straight to the lingerie section where she bought new smaller knickers. 😂

You’ve probably bought it up now but likely have bruised your healing tummy/throat hence you thinking you can still feel it. You’ll be okay but best to stick to liquids (shakes, soups, etc.) for another week. That ‘s one thing about the surgery, your tummy tells you pretty quickly, though not in the nicest way, it’s not ready for something yet. Puréed cheese??? Do they mean cream cheese? I would think even that would be too thick at one week. Probably Hold out on cheese to you are on solid foods & then soft cheese (processed cheeses like string cheese or cheese slices are a good place to start though I found jarlsburg easy to tolerate), though you could melt some cheddar in an omelette during soft.

The change in our taste buds, & sometimes our sense of smell too, is just temporary. The flavour, texture or smell of some foods almost turn your tummy or taste disgusting. While being extra sensitive to sweetness is pretty common, other flavours, textures & smells can be individual. I remember the first time I was able to eat vegetables as a side & sat down to my favourite asparagus & sugar snap peas & blah!! Just awful. Took a couple of weeks before I could eat them. Strangest one was smoked salmon. I often found it too rich pre surgery but suddenly I could eat it & had it every second day with cucumber & a little cream cheese. Then one day nope, couldn’t stomach it & haven’t been able to face it since. PS - Personally, I embraced the sensitivity to sweet & never really reintroduced sugar, sugar alternatives or sweeteners back into my eating.

There are temporary side effects of losing larger amounts of weight like we do through this process. One is hair loss & some lose more or less than others. Another is looking drained, wan, tired or even gaunt. There are other individual things too. But most of these are temporary. Once our weight stabilises & our eating changes to include a broader range of foods & nutrient sources & our portion sizes increase these things change. Over time our hair regrowth is more noticeable & our remaining fat seemingly resettles. Well it did for me & my friends who also had the surgery. Around the time my weight loss had almost stopped, my uncle told my mother I looked like death. My hour glass shape had gone but I felt good in myself & very pleased with what I had achieved. Within a few months of my weight stabilising my curves returned (hello waist - though I still don’t have a butt). My uncle told me I looked great & others commented on my glowing, healthy skin. My hair was thickening as the length of the new growth was nearing that of my existing hair. A short time of not looking my best is nothing. Happily pay that price to feeling & looking how I do now which is way better than I have in forever. I don’t even really care about my saggy, loose skin - I’ve earned it - it’s a reminder of where I was & what I did to get where I am now.

I’m certainly glad you’re still about @GreenTealael & your very wise advice. ❤️

Don’t know about the floor ones but my mum bought a seated exercise bike for use before & after her double knee replacement. You supposedly use more of your upper leg muscles 🤷🏻‍♀️. More expensive of course than the floor elliptical ones but if you shop around you may find ones that aren’t too pricey.

I was told no fruit juice either not even 100% juice no added sugar ones. Takes several pieces of fruit to make a glass of juice. You get all the sugar but don’t get all the nutrients & benefits of the whole fruit. So it is better to have a single piece of fruit when you are allowed. But check with your dietician. Honestly I did buy a small bottle of all juice no added sugar when I was out shopping early in my 2nd month as I had a sudden drop of energy & some hypoglycaemia. I had a couple of sips but it was awful - far too sweet. I learnt then to carry a bottle of diluted hydralite with me whenever I left home.

What our new signals may be can be different. Hiccups like you, sneezing or runny nose seem to be quite common. Me, I don’t have a physical reaction like those. Sometimes my tummy will start to rumble, grumble & squelch. In many ways I have a similar feeling of fullness to what I always got just not as extreme because I am more aware of when that feeling starts (sort of heaviness). I rely more on asking myself if I need the next bite or just want it. I often will put down my fork or spoon with food on it because I realise I don’t need that bite. Sometimes I may have that bite 5 or 10 minutes later. I still have my restriction but I only feel that if I‘ve eaten a little too fast (I’m still a slow eater) or if something is too heavy, not sitting well or sometimes for no obvious reason.

Estrogen is stored in your fat. As you lose weight, estrogen is released into your blood stream messing up your cycle. Not uncommon to have heavier/lighter periods, more or less frequent cycles, or experience more or fewer symptoms (cramping, emotions, etc.) You can also become more fertile. I was menopausal & my breakthrough hot flushes, night sweats etc. disappeared whoo hoo - they came back though unfortunately. It usually settles once you’ve lost most of your weight. If it persists chat with your doctor & ask for your hormone levels to be checked.

This isn’t an easy question to answer because we have different needs & we are different people. I was at my goal at 6 months but kept losing as I struggled to eat enough at first to slow the loss. My surgeon told me to work up to about a cup of food by maintenance & I guess that was pretty true but it did depend on what I was eating as some things were more filling - still the same now. I was barely eating 900 calories at 6 months & then about 1300 when I stabilised at about 15 months. I eat about 1400 now & generally eat about or a bit less than what would be considered a recommended serving size. Someone taller, younger, more active than me, heavier than me & with a larger frame would need to eat more & vice versa. And of course the foods you eat also okay a part. I’m a low processed make it myself person, eating lower carbs, very little sugar, lowish fat. Have you spoken to your team about the foods you struggle with? What do you mean by struggle - make you feel sick, feel your restriction, sit heavily, taste, etc.? Is it a specific food/s, food group or any food randomly? Can you relate it too how much you eat, how fast or even when you eat? (Sounds odd to ask about time but for example I have difficulty eating breakfast before 8:30/9am.)

Any one that you can enjoy & don’t mind doing regularly. Still haven’t found the one for me & I’ve tried lots of them over the years. LOL! I do a series of stretches & some basic resistance exercises at home. Mostly to support my back but also to tone my arms & keep me limber. I’m not looking at running a marathon or dead lifting my, or anyone else’s body weight. @SpartanMaker has listed all the benefits of regularly exercising but if you’re looking at exercising predominately for weight loss there is an ugly truth: exercising only accounts for about 10% of the weight you want to lose. So only about 1 of those last 10lbs you want to lose.

You may not want to hear this but this may not be a stall. This may be your body’s set point (the weight your body is happiest at & is easiest to maintain) and/or you’ve reached a point where your food intake is equivalent to what your body needs (burns) to function. Not everyone gets to the goal they’ve chosen. The average weight loss after three years is about 60/65% of the weight you had to lose to put you in a healthy weight range. Have a chat with your dietician & review your eating plan & activity. Though if you decrease your calories & increase your activity to lose those last 10lbs you will have to maintain that to remain at the lower weight. Only you know if that is sustainable.

Actually I’d say it’s more Atkins than Keto, though both advocate high fat, low carb. The difference is Atkins recommends higher protein & also healthy carbs in maintenance. Keto doesn’t. Keto also is quite restrictive in choice of vegetables & fruit while Atkins has more options. It may be best not to try to define your post surgery diet as anything other than your post surgery diet as prescribed by your surgeon & dietician. We all get too stuck on labels. Generally, your post surgery diet is high protein, low carb, low fat, low sugar while losing. Starches like rice,bread, pasta & potatoes are not recommended for a couple of reasons. Unused starch quickly turns into fat. Rice, pasta & bread swell in the tummy leaving less room for you to eat protein & more nutritious food choices (i.e. vegetables). They often sit heavily in your tummy as well making you unable to eat what you need as well. They are considered higher processed carbs too. Many successfully reintroduce them or variations of them in maintenance. No one ‘diet’ works for everyone & many aren’t sustainable in the long term. That’s one of the reasons we always failed in the past. Work out a way of eating (not a ‘diet’) that works for you, your body (health), your lifestyle, allows you maintain & is sustainable & allows some flexibility if needed. It may take elements of a few different ways of eating. I don’t consider myself on a diet. This is just what I eat.

It still happens occasionally. Funniest & oddest time was almost a year ago. I attended a farewell for someone I’d worked with on & off for years. I caught up with a team I’d worked with for about a year until a few months before my surgery. I greeted two of the men, hugged & kissed each on the cheek & sat with them for a while catching up. Later on, one admitted he had no idea who I was for ages. The other admitted it took him a few minutes. I thought it was hilarious that they had hugged & kissed a ‘stranger’. Another man kept saying he didn’t know who I was & I had to tell him my name twice before he accepted it was me. (The women knew who I was as I had seen them a few times since my surgery.) Two weeks ago I went to a funeral & people didn’t recognise me & some told other people I was my s-in-l. She is 7 inches taller than me! She also has a bigger build, is a couple of sizes larger than me & didn’t know the person who had passed away. I was a bit peeved about that one. I say enjoy it while it lasts.

Some people do have very few issues with drinking & eating. It’s part of us all being different & our bodies reacting differently to the surgery. Yes, fluids do pass through your digestive system more quickly but another thing to consider is that lots of nerves were cut during your surgery & messages & signals like feeling full don’t always get through until you are fully recovered. It’s why we’re advised to take things slowly & to be aware of portion sizes. When you are full healed, you’ll likely discover the signals & messages are different. For example, some say they now get the hiccups or their nose runs when they are full or have had enough.

I’m with you on the quantity of food people eat & add the quality of food. It almost makes me feel physically ill. Can’t stand ads, social media posts, movies, tv programs, etc. which show & celebrate the excess. Shudder. I can understand your concerns for your sister’s family & how you feel torn about what to do. My brother struggles with his weight like I did (do - as we always will) & I watch his children eat seemingly all the time & not always the best choices. The only thing is they are very active. Lots of sport & outdoor play & while they are young & that continues it will help. Though I worry most about the second daughter & son who I feel are very much like my brother & I & their maternal poppa. All I feel I can do is set an example. When they ask why I’m not eating or not eating much I tell them I’m careful about what I eat & how much I eat because I don’t want to put on weight again & I want to be healthy. When they’re with me, the food options are always more nutritious & I subtly restrict the quantities & how regularly they eat. (How about we go outside for a while & then we can have morning/afternoon tea.) It may be all your can do too. The worry is if you say something it may cause dissension & alienation.

Mine was high too. It could be just part of the weight loss when lots of things go out of whack for a little while but it’s good they’re doing since tests to ensure it’s not a sign of another issue like your gall, a blocked bile duct, or any other cause they can do something about. My surgeon was a little concerned but asked if there was Gilbert’s in my family. Turned out it is as we discovered my dad’s only surviving sibling has it. I let my surgeon know & he said if it continued to be high it likely was Gilbert’s. The symptoms were pretty much me too. Almost 3.5yrs out & yep it’s still high. It likely always was but no blood test had picked it up previously. Doesn’t cause me any issues except my stamina isn’t the best & I take longer to recover from viruses, etc.