Arabesque

Some people seem to be able to go back to drinking a lot at a time & others not so much. In my third year, I’m in the not so much camp. Two swallows is my max. If I have that third swallow I have discomfort at the least or my restriction pain at the worst. As with eating, go slowly (swallow, wait, swallow) so you stop before the discomfort. I believe if you sip all day long you never let yourself get dehydrated & then want to guzzle ‘gallons’ at a time. I rarely feel thirsty now & never get to that point that I think I’m ‘dying of thirst’.

You are not alone & you’re not a F-up. We all likely have experienced various degrees of success losing weight in the past but I’m 100% positive we all failed at keeping it off. If we had been successfully at keeping the weight we’d lost off we wouldn’t have been obese & lined up for the surgery. And I’m pretty sure at some point & in varying degrees we all worried that the surgery wouldn’t work for us either. I’ve never ever been able to maintain a low weight for longer than a month or two. I’d get complacent, think oh eating this won’t hurt. But it did. And very quickly I’d have gained a lot back & I’d be lying in bed at night saying tomorrow I’ll eat better just as @Officially Not Fatty Matty said. What’s made this time different for me is that I realised that I had to really look at what I had been eating, my eating habits & why I would want to eat. I also had to come to accept that this wasn’t a short term diet restricting what I ate for a few weeks or months but a complete forever change of what I ate. I realised if I went back to the way I used to eat, I’d fail again & end up exactly where I had been - obese. If I hadn’t had these ‘come to Jesus’ type realisations I know I would not have lost all my weight & actually be maintaining it. Yes, the surgery helped by reducing my hunger & reducing how much food I can physically eat. But most importantly it gave me the time to reflect on the what, how & why I ate & start to put in place the changes I wanted & needed to make to be truely successful this time. The change of mind set was vital. I was able to do this myself but others seek the support of a therapist. Don’t be reluctant to seek help if you need. There are lots of people on this forum who have had lots of success doing so. It can be very scary to try to imagine & understand how & what you will eat in the future & how you will cope without your old emotional crutch foods. Food grief is real. A therapist can help. The cravings, our emotional drives to eat & our own proclivities never go away, we just learn to better recognise them & develop strategies to manage them. Any one can learn to cook (my sister-in-law’s 74 yr old father just learnt cause his wife died) & this is a great time to experiment. You don’t have to get good enough to enter MasterChef. Simple basic home cooking is all you need but if you enjoy it … I always cooked but have to admit I cook pretty simply now. Food has a different purpose. I look at food more as a source of energy & not as a way to satisfy some craving, an emotional support or social activity. It still has to be yummy but the nutritional content is equally or more important. Sure I have cut a lot of things out of my diet but I still enjoy everything that goes into my mouth. Honestly, when I look at fast food ads, social media pxts of overly sweet foods, massive portions, etc. I’m revolted now. My stomach actually turns over. This is my story & what has been working for me so far. Reality is I’m still pretty much a newbie & am still learning. Like @Jaelzion, I don’t know what the future will bring. Life can throw a lot of crap at you at times. I’m in the dangerous third year when the possibility of the 10lb+/- bounce back regain is high. But damn I’m gonna work hard at continuing to watch my calorie intake & being careful about my food choices. All the best.

The hair you’re losing is hair you would have lost as part of your natural hair shedding cycle. The cycle has just been accelerated because of the stress your body has been undergoing (the surgery, reduced calorie intake). You would have shed that hair eventually it’s just happening way more quickly so is more noticeable. You are growing new hair it’s just that it’s growing in at its usual rate & you don’t notice the new hair but then you likely never have been aware of it. If you look carefully you may start to notice some fluffy, wispy bits of new hair in a couple of months when it’s long enough to be seen. Most experience this loss from around months 3 or 4 but some start earlier like you. Just like some lose a lot of hair & others very little. Generally it seems to persist for 3 to 4 months regardless of whether you take supplements or use hair growth treatments or not. It’s up to you whether you want to take additional supplements than just your prescribed vitamins or not as long as you make sure you’re getting your protein in. Oh, I did cut my long hair to just above my shoulders so it wouldn’t take as long for my new hair to get to that length and the hair loss wasn’t as noticeable with the shorter length.

I’d say ketosis too. When on a low calorie diet, your body starts to break down your fat for the energy it needs - ketosis. As the fat breaks down keytones are produced. These cause the unpleasant odours as they escape the body via sweat, saliva & urine hence the bad breath, bad body odour & for many women a smelly crotch. It can be really embarrassing. Apparently keeping your water consumption up can help - dilutes the odour & flushes it from your body more quickly. It does improve when your body adjusts to fat burning but it just takes time. I found it only lasted a couple of days after my surgery & was much milder than when I was on a low calorie diet a couple of years before - I was a walking stink bomb then. 😱 Presume I adjusted more quickly because my body had experienced it before. 🤷🏻‍♀️ Shower regularly, reapply deodorant frequently, maybe get some body wipes for quick refreshes during the day & keep breath mints handy.

I agree that no one should feel pain & there are different ways of managing the level of pain someone may be experiencing. But I don’t think @Summermoose surgeon was saying pain helps healing. Rather that feeling pain like on movement (versus continuous pain) can indicate you’re doing too much & are risking damage which would impede healing. Well I hope that’s what they meant. 🙂 There’s pain & there’s pain & we all have different pain thresholds. Personally, I delayed taking my opiate meds when I got home after my sleeve surgery & my gall removal to assess how much pain I was actually experiencing & if I really needed to continue with opioids to manage it. In both cases I didn’t need the opioids any longer & an over the counter pain med was enough - one dose a day for a day or two & then none at all. Any discomfort I felt didn’t warrant pain meds - just being more careful. 🙂

Aah the joy (not) of trying to break our cravings, habits & dependencies. Back when I taught in another life, I often mindlessly grazed when I was prepping or marking work. I had a jar of lollies on my desk & would be constantly eating them so I understand that desire. Now, I find it helps if I make myself wait or do something to distract myself for say 30 minutes before actually satisfying the craving helpful. Often by the time that 30 minutes passes, I don’t want it anymore. You could say, I’ll have something sweet after I mark X more papers. Sometimes a cup of tea, a shake, an electrolyte drink or similar you can sip as you work can help & give you a little boost. In time you’ll be able nibble on nuts or fruit likes blueberries - more nutritious hits of sweet & salty. Congrats on doing so well so far.

It’s really an individual thing cause we all react & heal differently to surgery. (I also think some surgeons may be more gentle than others.) I didn’t use or need a binder & had no problems sleeping - on my side or twisted half on my tummy from day one. I had more abdominal discomfort after my gall removal - like pulled muscles. But it was only noticeable when I was specifically using those muscles like as I got up or down. I just supported the area with my hand. Once I was standing or sitting there was no pain. Good luck with your surgery. PS - Oh yes, this forum is helpful & supportive. Always learning something here.

There’s a lot of variations in the pre surgery diets. Mine was real food too - specifically keto. So I ate meat, eggs, full fat dairy, low carbs, non starchy vegetables & berries. Yours sounds like it may be keto or similar to keto too. My surgeon requires different patients to follow different pre surgery diets based on various factors - weight, blood work, results from various medical tests, etc. Sometimes the diet is not only to reduce the fat around your liver, but to lose some weight before surgery, break some addictions/cravings (caffeine, sugar, carbs, etc.) & /or get you thinking about what you eat. Best advice is to follow the plan you’ve been given.

Actually you only need to continue with vitamin supplements with a sleeve if you personally need to i.e. blood work show you’re low in specific vitamins, etc. The sleeve only changes your tummy not other parts of your digestive system. The additional changes that occur with a bypass does increase the impact on your ability to absorb the necessary nutrients. I had sleeve surgery & haven’t taken a vitamin since month 8 when I was in maintenance. But digestive systems can work differently cause we have different physiologies so you may need to take vitamin supplements regardless of the surgery you have. Generally the post surgical diets for sleeve & bypass are pretty similar. The staged return to eating (liquids, then purées, then soft food & finally more solid foods) is to support your sensitive & healing digestive system. There also are certain foods you introduce more slowly into your diet because they’re just too harsh to begin. Both surgeries tend to focus on high protein, low carbs, low fat, low sugar, nutrient dense foods. This is a lifetime thing if you want to maintain your weight loss. In time you can eat most foods just depends on how your body tolerates them but this generally is an individual thing.

Is it a haematoma? A swelling caused by bleeding in the area from the removal of the port damaging the area. If it is protruding it’s from the amount of blood that’s clotted. Generally they disappear but if it persists give your doctor a call. Give your doctor a call/visit anyway to find out what it actually is.

Unfortunately the glorious & heady weight loss of the pre & immediately post surgery days doesn’t last. Think of this time as the kickstart. Around month 3+/- when your weight loss starts to slow is when reality begins to set in again. You’re eating solid foods, there are more foods you can eat, your portions are getting larger & you’re consuming more calories. Just stay your course. It’s not a race. You’ll reach your goal in your time which is the right time for you. You can’t control factors like gender, age, metabolic rate, weight loss history, etc. which influence how much & the rate at which you’ll lose. Remember the axioms: the more you have to lose the faster you’ll lose to begin & the closer to your goal the more slowly you’ll lose.

Oh, I’m sorry @Pyxis. NSW is really struggling at the moment. So, so many cases and you’ve been caught in the fallout. I agree with @catwoman7. Up your protein intake, your vegetables & your fluids. Cut back on processed carbs & introduce or swap them for whole or multi grain alternatives or vegetable based alternatives. Reduce your portion control. Don’t reintroduce things you’ve already cut out or reduced like caffeine, sugar, etc. You’ve already broken a lot of your dependency on them. Look at this time as a bonus & start to refocus your diet & explore alternative food choices, ingredients, cooking methods. Look at this as a place to start. You don’t have to do everything we’ve suggested. Little changes tend to be easier to adopt & make permanent than changing absolutely everything you eat. Good luck. Stay safe & well.

I kept very closely to the plan I was given & the recommendations from my dietician & surgeon. They knew what they’re talking about. Your plan would advise when you can start to try to include certain foods in your diet as your tummy can’t digest some things to begin - too coarse, too fibrous, too dense, too rich, etc. When you’re able to eat solid foods again it’s not a free for all. You need to be careful not to stress & strain your tummy & digestion. It will be sensitive & as you’re discovering may not tolerate some things you used to enjoy. (It does improve but it takes time.) We’re advised to avoid nutrient poor pasta, rice & bread because they tend to swell in your tiny tummy & fill you up so you’re unable to eat the protein & other nutrients you really need. Remember you physically are only able to eat small portions if anything. There are pretty good alternatives about. A lot of people swear by a ricotta bake which reminds people of pizza or in time you could try pizza made with a cauliflower rice or a shredded chicken base. Try zucchini noodles instead of pasta. You will be able to eat salads in a little while. Some people will say they ate bread, rice, pasta, etc. without issue at some point while they were losing. Some successfully with careful portion control incorporate these things & foods like pizza occasionally in maintenance. Personally, I decided that the weight loses phase was the perfect opportunity to change the way I ate & what I ate & I still stay away from lots of foods - I realised they were danger foods for me. But ultimately, it’s your decision. You have to do what works for you. Good luck.

Made a 3 egg omelette yesterday with celery, mushrooms & parmesan cheese. Forgot to buy spinach & capsicum at the markets so the filling was a little scant & my cheddar cheese was rather green & furry hence the parmesan. Ate half for lunch & the other half for dinner. First time I’ve used a full sized dinner plate in more than 2 years - lol.

Oh yeah, some are disgusting. Many of us find our taste buds change temporarily after surgery & you may find the shakes you enjoyed pre surgery suddenly are just terrible. Or you may become lactose intolerant for a while. Have a couple of different brands, flavours & lactose free options available just in case. Good luck with your surgery.

The lightheadedness can be from low blood pressure &/or low blood sugars. You’re also consuming very few calories at the moment. You’d have got a boost to your energy levels from the nutrients in the shake which is why you felt better afterwards. Keep your protein intake up & get your fluids in. It will get better but don’t be surprised if you experience periods of low energy/light headedness as you progress especially at times you up your activity. Try adding some electrolytes to your water for a boost too. I found doing this very helpful.

Exactly. The surgery is a tool. You don’t give kudos to a gym membership or an exercise machine. They’re just tools too. If you don’t work hard & put in the effort they won’t help you at all. Congrats on your weight loss so far. Fabulous!

The closer to your goal weight the more slowly you’ll lose. That’s because your portion sizes & therefore your caloric intake has been increasing & getting closer to that point of equilibrium. That is the number of calories you’re consuming is equal to or almost equal to what your body needs to function. That’s how we maintain our weight. Eat more calories than your body needs you’ll gain. Eat fewer, you’ll lose. Not sure how much more you want to lose but you will continue to lose more & more slowly as you progress. Unfortunately we don’t keep losing at that same rate as we did in those first couple of heady & exciting months. Stalls happen all through your weight loss @Stalled. Your body just gets stressed & decides it needs to take a breath & recover (shut the door, pull the covers over its head). The longest, & most frustrating, stall I had was just before I reached my goal. It was just there! I didn’t lose a gram for 2 1/2 weeks.

In all likelihood it’s head hunger. You’ll discover that real hunger feels different from what we thought was hunger. That hunger was cravings, emotions, habits, etc. not that your body was in calorie deficit & required food to function. At the moment you have a lot of stored energy (fat) your body can burn. A large part of the area that produces the hunger hormone in your tummy has been removed. It’s why you won’t really feel hunger for 12-18months after surgery. By that time, the other smaller hunger hormone producing areas in your body kick in more. It’s why it’s important to understand what hunger feel like for you. For me I get restless. Fighting head hunger is not easy. There’s no easy answer. It’ll always be there to lead you astray. Therapy can help develop strategies to manage the cravings, etc. Look for distractions (read, watch a movie, play a game, craft), sip water, herbal or green tea or some broth. Go for a walk (help get that gas out of your body), ring a friend, … I find making myself wait 30 mins or more helps - by then any desire to eat has usually passed. Good luck & congrats on your surgery.

It should pass once you’re on more solid foods. It can be from the liquid diet & also from the surgery. Try wearing some disposal knickers or incontinent pants. My friend’s surgeon suggested it before her surgery & she said they were a saviour especially when she had ‘poopy farts’. I wish I knew about doing it - save me tossing knickers when a had a completely unexpected, no warning diarrhoea attack in hospital. It was the worst - took two steps & gush! 😱 As with all things if it does persist give your medical team a call.

The truth is exercising only contributes to a maximum of 20% of the weight you have to lose. You’d have to walk 6km in an hour or run 8km in 45 mins to burn 360 calories (about two slices of pizza). Of course there’s lots of other benefits to building & maintaining your fitness. Making adjustments to your diet & reducing your calorie intake is the real key coupled with portion sizes to weight loss. If you consume fewer calories then your body needs to function you’ll lose weight. Work at reducing your sugar intake. Stop the candies for a month but avoid sugar rich alternatives. Then drop any cakes or biscuits. Look to fresh fruit for a sweet treat. Make other small changes to your food choices like @lizonaplane suggested. Again you don’t have to change everything at once. Swap out a couple of things at a time & give yourself time to get used to it. You’ll likely find it much easier to make & adopt small changes to your food choices. You may not see changes in the scale straight away but it will happen. Go back to tracking your food - calories & portion sizes. It’s easy to let these slip especially if you’re guessing or not being as vigilant. Check your protein & fluid intake & increase if needed. Did you have a therapist when you had your surgery? Maybe get back in contact with them or ask your bariatric team for a recommendation. The therapist may help you better manage your stress & what may be driving your cravings. You can get back on top of this. Good luck.

You won’t be able to eat portion sizes like you used to because your tummy is a fraction of the size it was. But it is likely you used to eat portion sizes that were too large before like almost all of us did. it’s one of the reasons we were obese. You will eventually be able to eat about a recommended portion size but this will be at or around when you reach goal. I was only eating 1/4 - 1/3 cup of food in the first months. It slowly increased to about a cup by about 6 months later but it would depend upon what I was eating. It took me three days to eat 2 scrambled eggs for months & I still can’t eat 2 eggs. Eat slowly. Use teaspoons, buffet forks (sporks), etc. Serve your food on small side plates & bowls. I found ramekins & tapas bowls & plates a good size. Take a small bite & wait a couple of minutes before having another one. It doesn’t matter if it takes you 20 - 30 minutes. (I still take 30mins to an hour to eat a meal.) it takes time for the message to get through that you’re full & by the time you feel full you’ve had too much. Learning to stop before you feel full but when you’ve had enough is key - do you really need that next bite or do you just want it. Don’t force yourself to eat just to clean your plate - gotta get away from that thinking. And certainly don’t force yourself to eat at the moment while your tummy is still healing. You don’t have to waste anything. Keep it for later or another day. Cling wrap, storage containers & your fridge, freezer & microwave will become your best friends. My freezer is full of left overs & single serve dishes - easy nutritious meals for days I don’t want to cook. My fridge often has plates of leftovers - some porridge, vegetables, the last two bites of meat. I just graze on it later or include it in another meal.

Thank you so much for sharing, @Danpaul. Your experiences are what all of us will likely experience in some way at some stage. Yes, we are only human. Interestingly, Dr Matt Weiner did a video recently about making single easy changes to your diet just like you & your support group are implementing. In essence, he suggested about every month make a change - drop something from your diet or add something. A small change is always more achievable than a major overhaul. It resonated with me & I was so happy to read of your actual successful experience of making small changes to your diet & routines. Congrats on being almost back at your goal (happy) weight.

Can’t recall hearing of anyone’s metabolic rate being negatively affected after sleeve surgery. But we all react differently. My metabolic rate was practically non existent before surgery - decades of deliberately skipping meals. I struggled to lose anything on those very low calorie diets. After surgery it seemed like it was going 1000 miles an hour. I believe it’s settled a bit now in my third year (I’m not very active which would boost it more) but it is faster then what it was pre surgery & I happily eat 1200 calories a day to maintain my weight at my height & age. I would have put on weight if I ate that much before surgery - in fact I did. Now I eat regularly throughout the day & keep my protein high to feed my metabolism (three meals & about 4 snacks & all but one includes protein). While you’re losing, you’ll be increasing your caloric intake & including more & more nutrient dense foods. So though initially you’ll be consuming low calorie it’s for not the long term. If you think your metabolism has slowed when you get to goal or after, there are metabolic reset diets around. Dr Matthew Weiner’s A Pound of Cure comes to mind (book & you tube videos).

Oh gracious. Didn’t they tell you not to lift anything over 10lbs for the first week or two, then increase to 20lbs for the next week or two after that. Hope you didn’t do any internal damage to those stitches & staples holding your tummy together as well.