Arabesque

The textural aspect of purées can be a challenge for a few of us. Add in the changes to our taste buds &/or sense of smell & it can be extremely frustrating. Soups were my friend too. Plus yoghurt, thin instant oatmeal (made with milk), runny scrambled eggs (try poached). Mashed hard boiled eggs (mayo) were okay too. Even had some baby food a couple of times. I wasted a lot of food I puréed & couldn’t tolerate - puréed tinned fish was the absolute worst. Blah! I was glad I wasn’t interested in eating. Do stick to your plan. In a week or so you’ll be on soft food which is so much easier & purées will be only a bad memory.

I’d never heard about up them (they’re not available here so no wonder). I did notice they say to avoid if you have IBS or other gut conditions as they can upset your small intestine bacteria. Can cause bloating, diarrhoea, etc. too. May be see what your dietician & surgeon say especially with your revision.

In time, yes you’ll be able to take normal sized bites (whatever that is) but not big mouthfuls. You’ll notice as the weeks pass you can take more than just part of a teaspoon until you work out what size bite you are able to take. For me, it’s more not swallowing too much than the size of the bite. But smaller bites do help ensure you to take time to eat your meal & allow the message you’ve had enough to get through (takes a good 20+ minutes) & to think about your eating not mindlessly shovelling food in. You may find you don’t have to wait 30 mins before & after eating to drink & can get away with less time. Or you may be able to have the odd sip while you eat. Again this is an in time/eventually thing & working out what you can do as against anyone else. But remember, fluids will temporarily fill you & will flush food through your digestive system more quickly.

It’s about making the best choices you can in the situation you’re in & try to keep to your portion sizes. Recently I had a couple of takeaways with my brother’s family. Fish & chips - I ordered grilled fish & salad, dressing on the side. Vietnamese - prawn & noodle salad but left the noodles. I’ve ordered wrapless wraps in the past where I literally get served the wrap filling.And steamed gyoza or dumplings & eaten the filling only. Don’t forget to ask to take your left overs home. If you don’t eat them over subsequent days, someone in your family will - lol! Most places will make allowances to some point. Maybe you can order just the sides (salads or vegetables or eggs). Appetisers are usually the best for appropriate portion size but if those choices aren’t great maybe you could share a main meal with whoever you’re out with. Soups are always are great go to as well. And if the best choices really aren’t anywhere near best, don’t beat yourself up. Tomorrow is another day. As long as it doesn’t become a regular occurrence you’ll be fine. You can’t always control every aspect of your life.

I agree check with your team regarding if you can count it towards your protein goal. Generally it’s no because it doesn’t contain all the necessary amino acids though I believe there are some brands that add these additional amino acids. If you’re just taking it for general skin & hair health it won’t hurt. It won’t stop any of the hair loss though. That hair was going to fall out anyway as part of your natural hair shedding cycle. It’s just accelerated as a result of the surgery, anaesthesia & weight loss. Some people swear by taking supplements to stop the loss but they usually say it stopped after about 4+/- months exactly the same time frame as those who take nothing so … I took a collagen & silica supplement (powder) for a few months towards the end of my first year. Honestly, I can’t say if it did or didn’t do anything. Don’t know whether the quality of my skin & hair was a result of the collagen or just my weight stabilising & eating nutritious foods.

I think it’s about ensuring your blood is well oxygenated & also poor breathing and sleep affects your heart & blood pressure. But most importantly, sleep apnea puts you at higher risk with anaesthesia which slows your already compromised breathing resulting in complications during & immediately after surgery. Certainly worth a conversation with your surgeon & maybe your respiratory doctor as well.

Just read that cipro can cause nausea & vomiting so you may be vomiting from the med or from your healing tummy being vey sensitive at the moment. Is there an alternative antibiotic you could take? Also you can take it with food so maybe take it with your last sip of shake or soup or whatever to see if that helps. Certainly worth a conversation with your doctor. And yes it does get better. It takes a good 8 weeks to fully heal from what is a pretty major surgery. Plus you’re trying to wrap your head around all the changes & requirements of your plan. Allow yourself some grace during this time. But get used to the gurgling. Some of us continue to experience it in the long term. I say I have my own personal abdominal poltergeist rattling the chains, moaning & groaning. It’s just our digestive system working.

Don’t forget you’ll be eating a lot less so your food bill won’t be as high. And you won’t be buying as many or any treats (chips, sweets, carbonated drinks, etc.) any more. Another saving.

Some great advice from the others. Heartily recommend Drs Matthew Weiner & John Pilcher too.They are great sources of information. Try not eating until you feel full. Aim for had enough. I ask myself do I need that next bite or do I just want it. Remember to keep eating slowly too. It takes a good 20 minutes for your full message to get through (mine can take way longer than that). So by the time you feel full you can easily have eaten more than you need/should. Wouldn't hurt to check your portions & track your calories for a couple of weeks just to ensure you are not over estimating - it’s easy to do. Also, maybe check in with your dietician to review the best portion sizes & calorie goals for you for where you are now.

Prices have always gone up. A price increase in one area drives the price up in another.It’s an accumulative cycle. Consider how a price increase in electricity affects the cost a business incurs just in keeping their doors open. So they raise their prices to offset the more they pay for electricity. Then wages go up because people are struggling to pay their electricity bill. Wages go up so employers have to increase their prices to compensate for the wage increase. The wages go up for the electricity companies too so they increase their charges and prices go up again. Recently in Australia, the government bought in a wage increase that anyone working a public holiday is paid triple time (up from double time). Consequently, nothing is open today Good Friday (except churches) because they simply can’t afford to pay their staff if they open. The fall out is greater though. Weekly sales are down so they may have to offset this with an increase in charges in some items because they still have costs. The shop is closed but they still are using electricity (refrigeration, lighting, security, etc.). They still pay rent or rates on the property for the day they’re closed. They still pay insurance on the property & product. There may lose product (food going bad). Casual workers aren’t paid for days they don’t work, so less income coming into those households for the week. Some businesses also have to pay a payroll tax here. If your payroll (wages) is higher than a certain amount you are taxed. So wages go up, you pay more tax & consequently increase the cost of your product or service. And they’re usually percentage increases so as the years pass and prices go up the percentage increase is greater. And round and round it goes. Here endth my lesson on this Holy day. LOL!

It’s not only a full time job but a lifetime job. I found eating & drinking to a routine very helpful while losing & maintaining. I still watch what I eat (nutrients & calories) & how much I eat. I know I can’t eat whatever I want otherwise I’ll be back where I started. Of course I have more flexibility now in regard to certain foods & how much & how often I have them. Some great suggestions from the others. You can start by slowly incorporating a couple every week or two & see how you go. While you are still losing it’s very important to stick closely to your eating plan. Though I would question a plan that says you can eat whatever you like at 4 months. Maybe go back to your dietician and ask for more guidance around your food choices, & ideas for ingredients or cooking styles you can swap in or incorporate. Also you may find speaking with a therapist helpful. Many do. A therapist will help you work through your eating & relationship with food, what drives you to eat, support you develop strategies to manage challenges like cravings. You can do this.

@ms.sss said exactly what I was going too. Done all those things too. I still have facial droop, nasolabial folds & jowls though my skin is more even in texture, tone & colour so still a win in my book. Unfortunately, the skin on your face has stretched just like the skin on your body. However, once your weight stabilisers, if it hasn’t yet, you will notice your body & face sort of resettles & you may notice you look a little better & brighter in the face. I’ve accepted this is how I look I mean I am almost 59 & I’ve earned this face. I take great pleasure in seeing the real shape of my face, having a jaw line, cheekbones & not having really droopy eyelids. I’m still vain enough though to keep up the Botox, filler, SecretRF (same as Morpheus8) & retinol, vitamin C, serums, & other aspects of my skin care routine. lol!

These things can & do happen. Constipation is often an ongoing issue for many of us at least until we’re eating a broader range of food like vegetables & fruit. Try adding a soluble fibre to a drink, shake, soup, yoghurt, or similar to help. I used to take a stool softener if I hadn’t gone for three days to keep on top of it. Remember too you’re not actually eating that much so you don’t have much to actually poop out especially in the first couple of months. So don’t expect to go every day. Meeting or being close to your daily fluid goal is extremely important because of dehydration. Sip, sip, sip. I still drink during the night to ensure I reach mine. (Have a drink whenever I wake.) Your throat can be swollen for a little while after the surgery though it does generally pass in a couple of days. Do mention it to your surgeon when you go for your check up if it’s soon otherwise give them a call. Try drinks at different temperatures in the meantime. Many of us found warm or hot drinks more soothing than cool or cold drinks. And again sip slowly. Also remember we all heal & recover in our own way & time. This is a pretty major surgery & some take a little longer or can experience some challenges with certain aspects like hitting fluid or protein goals, or experience a little more surgical pain, have more gas pain, take a little longer to get their strength back, tolerate or not tolerate certain flavours, textures, smells, etc. Like your weight loss, your recovery may be a bit erratic. Easier today, but tomorrow not as much, then the next day is okay. Look back over a week to better see your progress. You can be sure that it does get better & easier in time. All the best.

Aaah, vanity sizing. They’ve been slowly making clothing bigger for years but don’t change the size on the tag. No one wants to admit they’ve gotten bigger & need a larger size. 😉 I had an aunt who swore she’d always wore size 7 shoes but ignored that fact she was much, much larger than she was when she was young so her feet were larger too. She’d rather squeeze her feet into a too small shoe than admit she needed a larger size. Though I’m an Australian dress size 4 or 6, I wear size 10 knickers & my bras are a 10 band. I believe underwear is the only clothing items that have remained the most true to & consistent in size over the years. But then I do recall bra manufacturers making band sizes larger some years ago because women were getting broader across the back. Mmmm?? And don’t get me started on size guide measurements. With some brands, using their measurements I would need 1 or 2 sizes larger than I actually wear in the brand.

Hey @Rose perez. Could you update your profile with your details ( type of surgery, surgery date, starting weight, current weight, height, etc.). It makes it easier to respond to your questions, offer advice, support, etc. if we know that information. You can do it via profile under account in the menu tab.

That’s interesting. Cultural differences?? It’s always promoted as Yum Cha here in Australia and we all call it that. Shall we go for Yum Cha? Does that Chinese offer Yum Cha? Funny the differences in terminology around food. Cookies - biscuits. Jelly - jam (not to be confused with marmalade). Romaine - Cos. Courgette -zucchini. All purpose flour - plain flour.Aubergine - eggplant. Fries - chips. Ketchup - tomato sauce. ….

Diets have always been cyclical. High fibre diets were big a couple of decades ago (thinking of the Pritkin diet of round the 80s??) so it must be their time again. But as we all know diets don’t work. If they did no one would be obese or need weight loss surgery or weight loss medications & there’d be no one on this forum. They’re just marketing ploys. Best diet is no diet & to work out a way of eating that meets your nutritional needs & allows your body to function effectively. And what that means for me & works for me may not for you.

Oh @ShoppGirl, this is why I was so so glad I never had to count carbs. I was just told keep carbs low and I still generally do (usually keep to two serves a day). I go by complex carbs are always better than simple carbs and low processed carbs cover highly processed ones so whole & multi grains wherever possible. And I ignore the carbs in fruit & vegetables - too many other good things in those. My thinking was those old food pyramids separated fruit & vegetables from ‘carbs’ so that was good enough for me. Have you spoke to your dietician about this conundrum? They may be your best source of guidance around this.

The pouch reset diet is an old wives tale. You can’t ‘reset’ your pouch. You can only reset your head & thinking. If you think you are eating more than you should, watch your portion sizes carefully & your frequency of meals. Portion control will always be something we have to take care with because as the months pass we are physically able to eat more. Our restriction eases. Our tummy, while still small softens & is more pliable. And our hunger returns. We can also learn how to eat around our smaller tummy. I was told to eat about a cup at 6 months but as your surgeon said everyone’s journey is different and you may have different needs in regard to how much, what & when you eat. Check with your dietician for the best portion size of proteins, vegetables, etc. & frequency of meals for you. Then you just have to keep to those recommendations. As I always say, all because you can (in this case eat more) doesn’t mean you should. I’m glad your surgeon is so supportive & is willing to look at other ways of helping you to lose more weight & get closer to where you want to be.

Chinese yum cha lunch with girl friends yesterday & a part way through my meal pxt. Half of the Moreton bay bug spring roll & one of the three prawn & scallop siu mai. Took about 45 minutes to eat it all but I was sipping a glass of Louis Roederer champagne & the bubbles were giving me a bit of trouble. Was still worth it though. Lol! PS - Bugs are a local lobster variety. Very yummy: sweet, rich.

The staged return to eating is in place for a reason - to protect your healing tummy. There are a lot of sutures & staples holding your poor digestive system together. If you had a 12 inch wound with stitches on your arm wouldn’t you do all you could to protect it & ensure you didn’t damage or strain it or hinder your recovery? It takes about 8 weeks to be healed from the surgery. Yes, foods (liquids) can taste awful after surgery & it can continue for a while until you are more fully healed. I found the shakes disgusting but you have alternatives. Thin soups like broths (bone broth are high in protein), consumes & cream soups (tomato, pumpkin, chicken, etc.). Just strain them to ensure there aren’t any random chunks of meat, vegetables, herbs, etc. in it. Make your own yoghurt drink by blending Greek yoghurt with milk to a thin consistency & add any flavour powders you may like. Protein water is another option. All these count towards your fluid goal during the liquid stage. Just sip, sip, sip. The portion recommendation I was given (1/3 - 1/4 cup) didn’t begin until purées so liquids were just three ‘meals’ (shake, soup) a day so a cup each. I diluted them to help with the flavour & texture (for the shakes) & didn’t care if it took hours to drink them. Plans can be different about caffeine but if yours is no caffeine try decaffeinated or green or herbal teas. I found warm drinks much easier to tolerate & soothing to drink.

Oh yes. Food for weeks. I still cook more than I need but I do it on purpose now because I love having leftovers. Simply freeze the leftovers/excess for easy meals on another day. Just bag it up in appropriate serving sizes. (I love zip lock bags.) My freezer is filled with single serves of soups, bolognese, savoury mince, steak, chops, savoury egg muffins, … chicken, beef, lamb & pork. Don’t feel like cooking? Just defrost a meal & all I have to cook or prep are vegetables or salad if needed. Bonus you only have to cook dinner from scratch a couple of times a week. Found it very useful for work lunches too. Popped one of my frozen meals in my bag & reheated it at work. Easy.

Would I be right in thinking your nutritionalist is recommending a keto like diet? They are big on no root vegetables & no corn, peas because of their naturally high sugar content. (Potatoes are often a no because they are considered a starch.) I regularly ate carrot & sugar snap peas. I threw frozen corn & peas into soups, mince dishes, some slow cooked dishes, omelettes, etc, I usually just microwave my vegetables with a splash of water & a dab of butter but also will stir fry & occasionally roast (especially cauliflower with a little hummus & zataar to serve). I love vegetables & enjoy them best simply with salt & pepper but don’t be afraid to try herbs & spices. The only vegetables I don’t eat is potato, sweet potato & pumpkin (they tend to sit heavily) except a very small piece (bite or two) with a roast dinner. My thoughts were & are vegetables are vegetables (except potato). They are highly nutritious (all those vitamins, minerals & fibre) so a valuable addition to our food choices. And the little we eat, especially in the first months will have minimal impact on your calorie intake & weight loss. I mean 1/4 cup peas is 30 calories if you can eat that much. Plus the ‘sweet’ vegetables are naturally sweet so they don’t count towards your sugar intake. Certainly didn’t affect my weight loss or maintenance. I say eat your vegetables, just watch portion size & what you serve or add to them. Like no honey glazed carrots, sour cream or cheese sauces at least for a while.

Plus you just had a pretty major surgery. Your body sleeps when it is trying to heal & recover & this is what it’s doing now. It does improve but you may have random periods of low energy over the next months. There'll come a day when you wish you could still justify an afternoon nana nap. Enjoy them now while you can. 😁

I kept losing for almost another year after I reached my goal. It began at a similar rate of loss as I was experiencing but gradually got less & less until it stopped. Over that time I increased my calorie intake (added more & more snacks) & my portions got a little larger. I was eating about 1300 calories when I initially stopped losing but eat about 1500/1600 to maintain at about the same weight now. Like @Spinoza, I’m a believer in our changed set point. This is the weight my body is happy at & this is the weight it wants me to be thanks to the surgery. Could I eat my set point up? Yes, if I wanted. I mean that’s what we did before - ate our set point higher. Our original set point wasn’t an obese weight. Don’t forget you may initially stop at a lower weight than you expected but it may give you wriggle room if you experience the bounce back regain around years 2 or 3. Give your body time to resettle. Lots of things change when your weight starts to stabilise. Just give it time. Slowly increase those calories. Get in touch with your dietician for ideas of what you can add or how you could adjust your current eating plan. Good luck.