Arabesque

We always say stick to your plan but sometimes our tummy is just not ready to move forward. It’s not unusual for people to go back a stage for a little longer. I mean we all heal in our own time line. In your case, maybe you do need a liquid stage. Worth giving it a go & seeing if it helps. Just watch your protein. You may not get to your goal but as long as you’re close you’ll be okay. I’d probably still contact your team to discuss your situation & struggles. They may suggest some other things you could try. Give yoghurt, thicker soups, instant oats made on milk (add more milk to get it to a consistency you can tolerate), runny eggs (though some struggle with eggs), etc. a go which will give you protein unlike your potatoes & toast. These were a blessing to me.

Best advice is to get back into contact with your therapist (if you saw one as part of your pre surgical process) or ask your team for a referral to one. They will help you work through the why behind your bad eating habits & help you develop strategies to manage when those situations (stress, anxiety, boredom, past issues, life in general, etc.) arise. Then go back to how you were eating when you lost that 50lbs. You don’t need to go back to the very beginning. Meet those protein & fluid goals. Eat your protein first, then vegetables & only if you can any carbs you are allowed (look for whole or multi grain low prices see versions). Keep your fat & sugar (real, artificial or alternatives) low. Check your portions. Return to tracking if you did it before to check your getting your nutrients in. Maybe catch up with your dietician too to help you get back on track. You can do this.

I used to sprinkle chunks of cucumber with salt so crunch & salt. The salt was good for the low blood pressure & the cucumber is practically no calories at all. Those pork rinds are pretty tasty but way high in fat (often 50% fat) & calories especially as a snack for the losing stage as @ms.sss said.

Doing many different duets including several VLC & deliberately skipping meals had done a number on my metabolism. Started doing this at 15 so did this for 40 years. The last VLC diet I did (<500 calories) I barely lost a thing - a couple of kilos over 6 or more weeks. The surgery works because it changes your hormones & boosts your metabolism. It also resets your weight set point. This is the weight your body is happiest at & will keep returning to or makes it harder to lose the weight in the first place. I went from really not being able to lose anything to losing all my weight & more. I weigh The other difference was if I did lose weight on a diet in the past as soon as I stopped I invariably went back to eating the exact same way as I did before & regained my weight. Which kept my set point high. I’ve been able to maintain because I took the time while losing to change my relationship with food & changed how & what I ate. I took advantage of the benefits of the surgery. I look at flood differently. I adopted a way of eating (not a diet - to many negative connotations to that word) that works for me because it’s sustainable, complements my lifestyle, ensures I’m making nutrient rich food choices & I don’t feel like I’m missing out on anything. You may find these links informative. Dr Matthew Weiner (Pound of Cure) has excellent resources es as does Dr John Pilcher. https://courses.poundofcureweightloss.com/courses/weight-loss-hormones/

Exactly as @catwoman7 said, perfectly normal. You can experience a few of them along the way too. They usually last 1-3 weeks. They are an important part of your weight loss & are when your body shuts down & takes stock of the changes you’ve made & your weight loss so far. It works out your new needs in regards things like digestive hormones, metabolic rate, etc. The stall will break when your body is ready to move forward again. Don’t stress your body more by trying to change things beyond what your plan requires. Yes, even knowing this, they’re still frustrating.

Yep, me too. I had upper back pain. Getting a bra that actually fit & was supportive helped a lot but that’s not an option for you - Lol! I had some acupuncture too. As @ms.sss said, a changing centre of gravity because of your weight loss is a big contributor. Your body (muscles, tendons, sinews) was used to holding itself in a certain way to counteract & balance the weight you carried, now it’s relearning how to hold itself. I remember slouching for a while after because I didn’t have a tummy to prop me up anymore. I used to check & correct myself to sit up or stand straighter until it became more automatic & natural. Yes it was temporary for me too. Can’t recall how long for though. Maybe a physio can help with some exercise & stretches to build up your postural muscles again. Or some good massages or acupuncture. Congrats on your weight loss though!

You have so earned this after your experiences. Congratulations. Yay!

I didn’t do a food funeral or have a final treat. It all happened pretty quickly. From GP appointment for a referral, to seeing the surgeon, then the dietician & then surgery wasn’t quite 6 weeks. And I think because from the morning I woke up & said enough & made my GP appointment, I was committed. I was ready to make the change for a different life. Maybe if I had a longer time frame until the surgery it may have been different. 🤷🏻‍♀️ Never thought I’ll never have this food again, or won’t be able to eat at a specific restaurant ever again. I do. Just make more careful choices, watch portions, frequency, etc. Had takeaway fish & chips with my brother’s family last week. Ordered grillled fish & salad & snuck a chip from my nephew’s plate. Actually first fish & chips (well chip) since before surgery. But we’re all different in how we approach things. Doesn’t mean what you choose to do is right or wrong. Enjoy.

First was at week 5. I had returned to work in a new area where an old work friend was based. I’d lost a good 10kgs (22 odd lbs) so noticeable. She’d known me from thin to obese & up & down so knew of my battles. She hugged me in welcome on my first day & then whispered I was looking good. I told her a few days later. She offered no judgement just good wishes. Everyone in that section knew I’d recently had a surgery but not what. Most presumed it was a ‘female surgery’ (it was a largely male section) & I didn’t correct them. I remember her reaction so well because on the last day of my contract (about 8 weeks later), they organised a farewell/thank you morning tea for me. Lots of sticky buns, cakes, etc. She whisperered she’d made sure there was some cheese & crudités so I could have a little bite of something & not feel uncomfortable. Such a considerate thing to do & all without fuss. Can’t recall who was last to notice I was losing weight. Sometimes people don’t say anything because they’re unsure how you’ll react or don’t want you to think they watching how successful you are or will be. Or if the don’t know worry you are unwell & again don’t want to broach the subject with you. So they say nothing. Your boyfriend is likely trying to be super supportive & nothing more. Depending on how much you were when you started, it can take a little while to really notice a change. For me, that 10kgs was almost a dress size, but because I wore a lot of loose, or elastic waisted clothing, my loss was sort of hidden. Gave you been taking photos or taking body measurements (weekly or monthly)? Sometimes the changes can be seen more easily that way than just in a mirror (body dysmorphia can blind us to the truth sometimes) or when pulling on your pants (until they fall down of course 😉). Congratulations on your loss so far.

It depends on what your goals are. Fitness? Cardio? Building or toning muscle? I didn’t exercise while losing & still don’t in any traditional form. About 14 months or so again I began doing some stretching exercises to support my back & my oozy discs & improve flexibility & bought some resistance bands to tone my arms a bit. I do 4 x 5minute sessions every day. They call this exercise snacking. I actually enjoy doing it as proven by my doing it for more than a year now. LOL! And no gym memberships! My arms look great - muscle definition without bulk. And I had to buy new trousers as my thigh muscles have got a little bigger - not what I was hoping but … PS - Don’t rely on exercise just for your weight loss though. It only accounts for about 10% of any weight you lose.

I’d ask simply him why. Why he’s removing it & why he wants to do two separate surgeries. Lap bands have dramatically decreased in popularity over the last years & not many surgeons do them any more. Failure, side effects, effectiveness, etc. seem to be the reasons. Some studies say the life span of a lap band is only 7-10 years so you’re at your band’s end of life now. Not all surgeons do the removal & revision in one surgery. Maybe your surgeon is basing his decision on your current health status. Maybe he wants to give you a recovery period between the two surgeries to ensure you’re fully healed. May be he wants to give you time without a weight loss tool to see how you respond in regards to self monitoring your food intake, etc. Just throwing some ideas out there.

I agree with the others. Your rate of loss is fine. I also agree with the concerns about your eating during this losing period. It seems more like how you may chose to eat when you are in maintenance. When we choose how much & how often we have foods like pizza, chips, sweetened drinks, etc. When we decide what foods we’ll to add back into our new way of eating or ones we’ll avoid. When we look at alternative ingredients, or different cooking methods. I also worry about you changing your way of eating so often, going from one extreme to another. (Not including Ramadan in this.) Are you sure you’re meeting your fluid & protein goals? Are you sure you’re getting in a range of nutrients from nutrient dense foods? This is so important when we are only able to eat smaller portions. We all say & are told to stick to our plans for a reason. You mentioned you had a difficult relationship with food/bad eating habits & these current behaviours do seem a continuation of this. Do you still see your dietician? Your therapist? If not, at the very least I’d seek a reference from your surgeon/team to a therapist who specialises in disordered eating. Many find therapy very helpful in changing these behaviours & their relationship with food & identifying strategies to mange them. All the best. PS - Don’t believe the calorie burn on your Apple Watch. It’s known to be inaccurate & tends to inflate the stats. It only uses your height, weight & age & not your individual metabolic rate, your optimal heart rate, the amount of energy you are putting into the activity, etc. Use it as a guide/approximation only.

Be warned what you may enjoy before surgery may be disgusting after. We experience a change in our tastebuds & sometimes sense of smell. There can even be an aversion to certain textures. It can persist for a couple of months. I found things became ridiculously sweet or salty. The shakes were crazy sweet & seemed very grainy. I tried a flavourless pea protein but all I could taste was peas (& I love peas but then blah!) Many struggle with purées because of the texture. Best advice is to get in a variety of brands & flavours of shakes others recommend here & also some bone broths & cream soups. All the best with your surgery.

It’s almost like they’ve conveniently forgotten you’ve lost your pre surgical weight & are just telling you to lose more as per their set playbook. I also love how they’re telling you to lose weight but aren’t supporting & guiding you in how to do it. Where’s their pre surgical diet? Where’s the referral to a dietician?? Like @NickelChip, I would suggest the three shake a day pre surgical diet many are given. Or do two shakes & one meal of 3 or 4 ozs protein & 1/2 cup steamed vegetables or undressed salad. All the best.

I wasn’t focussed on inches so didn’t take measurements either. Was just weight & also clothing size focussed. My goal weight was partly based on being a weight that meant I could wear Australian size 10/12 (US 6/8). Ended up at Aust size 4/6 (US 0/2). I generally find size guides using body measurements when buying clothes online completely useless. According to one guide I’m an Aust size 8 or 10 in their clothes but I actually buy their size 4 or 6 in store. And they’re not the only one. I found understanding how my body looked after I lost most of my weight difficult at first too. Body dysmorphia with a side of disbelief. Photos didn’t seem accurate and mirrors can distort. So crazy as it seems I used to google celebrity weight & height data so I would have an idea of what I might look like.

I don’t tell a lot of people either. Just stick to the facts like many others: saw a dietician, did a lot of research, changed the way I ate & had my doctor’s support. If they ask what diet (still get asked occasionally) I say keto to kick start (was my pre surgery diet so true too) but then no diet just made changes that are good for me. I don’t tell them I exercised because I didn’t & anyone who knows me would know I was lying if I said I did. LOL! I agree with @GreenTealael. The quick turn about to redirect them to themselves or a new topic is a good tactic:

Estrogen is stored in the fat in your body. Lose weight& the estrogen is released into your bloodstream. This hormonal flush causes changes to your menstrual cycle. Heavier or lighter, more or less frequent, increased or decreased PMT symptoms, etc. when you weight loss slows, your hormones resettles.

I recommend Dr Matthew Weiner (pound of cure) as an excellent source of all information bariatric. He has videos, podcasts, website, instagram & books. He’s been doing a few podcasts on GLP-1 meds lately you may find interesting. Dr John Pilcher is also a great source of straight forward factual information. John Pilcher: https://m.youtube.com/channel/UCA4do-4YA82-BMYBp-WRwVA Matthew Weiner: https://www.poundofcureweightloss.com/ (podcasts can be found via menu) https://m.youtube.com/user/DrMatthewWeiner/videos

@BlondePatriotInCDA reminded me I’d found this a while ago to help identify possible causes of pain per quadrant. Some may find it helpful.

I doubt it would be gas too. Have they ruled out gall stones, appendicitis, pancreatitis, ulcers, etc .? Did the CT scans check your liver, kidneys, spleen? Hope they can find an answer for you soon. And they have given you something to help with the pain.

@Spinoza is correct. It is easy to do because you can’t tell you’ve had enough yet. Besides the staples & sutures holding your tummy & digestive system together, a lot of nerves were cut. So signals we used to rely on aren’t working or aren’t working properly yet so those messages just aren’t getting through. It takes a good 8 weeks to be fully healed. So it may not be until you’re into your third month before you start to feel signals again. Oh, and your signals may be different to what they were. And, no you won’t have stretched your tummy or impacted your weight loss by doing this this one time. And you would know if you had damaged your tummy. Just tread carefully & slowly & follow your plan to protect your healing tummy & support your recovery.

I know it’s hard, it’s almost inbuilt, but try to avoid comparing yourself to others. Our weight loss experiences can be so different & comparing only leads to frustration, annoyance & sometimes depression. There will always be those who lose faster or those who lose more slowly than others. There isn’t a time frame in which you must lose your weight. You’ll get there in your time. Weight loss is erratic. Better to watch the general trend not the daily fluctuations. If the general trend is downwards you’re golden. Yay! As I always say: celebrate every pound you lose. P.S, @BlondePatriotInCDA - Ten pounds a month is still averaging about 2lbs a week which is generally accepted as a good rate of weight loss. And you’ve lost 80lbs! Worth being happy about.

You may not feel full or feel full accurately for a while. You have to wait for your tummy & the nerves that were cut to be healed (around 8 weeks). It’s why sticking to the portions you were given vey important at this time & also the eat slowly. It takes at least 20 minutes for the full signal to get through (this is everyone not just us) so if you eat quickly you will have eaten way too much by the time the signal gets through. You may feel some pressure or at worst the foamies if you eat too much now. Later you may develop the runny nose, hiccup, etc. signals. It will be a little while until you feel your restriction which is really the stop, stop, too much warning. I only feel pressure if I’m full or something is sitting too heavily in my tummy. I also ask myself if I need the next bite or just want it because we should stop before we feel full. I also discovered my full signal can be really slow, up to an hour, so I usually take 30-45 mins to eat.

I wouldn’t worry yet but wait until you start to lose your hair. You don’t know how much you will shed. You may not have to do a thing. You usually start to shed around month 4 so your hair wouldn’t have grown much in those 4 months (about 2 inches) and you may not need to do a thing. I had long thick hair & cut it in stages. Cut a few inches off after a month because it was looking a little thin at the ends (well thin for me but not for most). I then went to just above my shoulders the next month when I’d lost some more. I didn’t lose a lot but short hair is always bouncier & looks thicker than long which is why I cut it.

Weight regain happens. You’re not the only one you had or will experience it. We get over confident or complacent & poor choices slip in. We go back to old behaviours of using food (or alcohol) to comfort us or sooth us in times of stress or emotional upsets. It’s why what you need to do is reset your head not your tummy. Remember how we always said doing the head work is a very important aspect of our weight loss & maintenance. A pouch reset won’t reduce the size of your tummy (not that your’s would be stretched) nor do anything to get to the root of your eating & change your behaviours. Stretching your tummy is pretty difficult. It would take a concentrated to eat excessive portions multiple times a day for a prolonged length of time to do it. You’ve made the first two steps already by acknowledging & recognising the what & why behind your regain & by starting to track your food again. Best advice then is to go back to how you were eating (food choices, portion sizes, eating behaviours, meeting protein & fluid goals) when you were nearing your stabilised weight. Would you consider going back to your dietician to help you get back on track? Did you see a therapist when you had your surgery? Maybe get in contact again for the regain & also the drinking. We have to be careful with addiction transfer after surgery. It can be a slippery slope. All the best. You got this.