Arabesque

Fabulous effort. Gotta hate those stalls that suck the life out of you. But gotta love how reaching each milestone keeps us motivated to reach the next.

I might need to put a lock on my wardrobe with your covetous gaze about@GreenTealael. Lucky we’re in different countries. 😜
I love how this thread gives you ideas of what might suit you when you see how good someone else with a similar build & height to you looks.

Thanks @AngieBear, @Deedee12& @ms.sss.
Nothing like narrow vertical stripes to make you look taller & thinner 😜. The dress is a little big on me now but it is too nice (& new) to put it away.

Can’t claim much credit for my en-suite @ms.sss. The previous owners did the renovations. They did a great job of incorporating contemporary design with the original 100yr+ features like the original French doors. They’re warped & don’t close properly but I love them.

I’ve enjoyed this thread so much & decided to be brave and upload some images from the last month. Summer here hence the strappy dresses. Oh yeah, I’m a bit partial to black. Ha!
The day I reached my goal weight about five weeks ago. Off to the theatre to see my niece who dances with a contemporary dance company.

Two weeks ago. Ignore the unmade bed. At my mother’s before going to my two 6yr old nieces’ first ballet concert - lots of skipping around in circles.

Just around the house today. Super casual. Still have thighs 😜. Four kg below my goal weight. So much for maintaining.

Agree with looking gaunt and ‘too thin’ when first hitting your healthy BMI range and then you do settle into your new body weight. I look soooo much better now then I did a couple of months ago.

Agree with not knowing what we really look like at a healthy weight. The whole body dysmorphia is a head trip. It takes time to really see who we are & how we look now.

BMI is calculated on your height & weight & there is a range of 18.5 - 25 to allow for your frame. If you have a large frame you would be very thin if you had a BMI of 18.5. Treat it as a guide. These are my thoughts though.

I’ve a medium frame and am now in the middle of the BMI range for my height. Believe me I still have thighs & boobies. I have a butt though it is part way down my thighs - ha. I’m not bony or skeletal and still have a decent pinch worthy layer of flesh/fat over my body.

In saying all that, find the weight at which you are healthy & happy. Find the weight that does not compromise the life you want to live.

A friend went back after a week without issues but I went back after 3 weeks & I struggled at a desk job. My blood pressure was ridiculously low & besides all the dizziness I was exhausted.
I agree with reducing your hours &/or the number of days to start & see how you go.
If you have the leave available to you make use of it especially if you’re on your feet all day. Remember everyone heals differently.
All the best for your surgery.

It’s seeing my small portion on a large (normal sized) dinner plate that gets to me. When at my home I eat from side plates & tapas dishes but when I visit friends or family my small serve looks ridiculous on a dinner plate. It’s like a plate at the end of a meal not the start.

The reverse happens too. Last night I ordered a small piece of fish & a half serve of vegetables at a local pub. OMG the size of the meal was horrifying. The food was almost falling off the plate. I felt sick just looking at it. Could have easily shared it with 10 WLS buddies & we all would have been full.

So sad I can’t gulp anymore. It’s why I have trouble getting my fluids in. I was always a gulper & a glogger, downing big glasses of Water in one go. Now If I take a single mouthful or anymore than two sips at once I feel the tightness. Waaah

I was surprised originally by the oatmeal when it was on my Dr’s post surgical meal plan but it said to make it on milk (if tolerated) which adds extra Protein. I guess because you can only eat a couple of teaspoonfuls at a time and the fibre helps with the bms it was allowed on my plan. It still takes me four days to eat a a bowl using a sachet lol.

Stay away from the Pasta, bread, rice & other carbohydrate heavy foods. They fill up your tiny tummy, often swell more and you won’t get in any of your necessary nutrient rich food. It’s possibly why you’re vomiting.

The number one rule is get your Protein in first.

Six months out and at goal, I struggle to eat half to 3/4 cup of food at a time on a good day and that’s my required protein & a small amount of vegetables.

Developing a lactose intolerance is common for many post surgery. I’ve been the reverse & my insensitivity has reduced.

Think of it as what soft foods you’d feed a baby. Mince, eggs, oatmeal, mushed tinned fish, stewed meats. Thin out with small amounts of salt reduced stocks, watered down gravies, ...

Take it easy. What works for some may not work for you. You’ll be on solid foods before you know it.

I bought one ($10 from Kmart) which is rope like with handles and a door attachment thingy. (I like it better than the flat strip ones you wrap around your hands which I used to use at Yoga.)

I don’t like the whole gym thing so I thought I’d try the bands instead. They’re great for toning but i think if you want to build muscle weights are the way to go. I’ve noticed some toning in my biceps after a couple of weeks which is what I wanted. I just put together my own routine after watching a few you tube videos.
Good luck.

I’ve always related my blocked ears to when my blood pressure would drop. I’ve had instances over years before my surgery but since my surgery in May my BP is low all the time & I have had blocked ears many, many times. I can’t pop them (yawning, drinking, chewing,...don't work). I just have to wait for it to pass. Interested to hear how common this is.
My GP got me to have a brain scan to make sure there was nothing sinister this week but all good. Thank gracious.

Hair loss is very common. Mine’s been falling out for 4 months now & I’ve lost almost 50%. Very sad. There are lots of posts about this with suggestions on how to lessen the impact but nothing’s slowed mine yet. My surgeon warned me it would happen. In his words: ‘You’re body has better things to do with the reduced nutrients you take in on your new diet than grow hair.’ He wasn’t wrong.

My surgeon & dietician told me I’d have to take Multi Vitamins for the rest of my life. I have blood tests every 3 months for my Bariatric team & my GP has had me get one in between. They’re tracking & monitoring even slight changes. I’m sorry your GP is not being supportive of your journey. They are your primary care giver & someone who you should be able to trust & depend upon for your health & well being.

Even during transition, get a supportive, well fitting bra. Sports bras will work but get fitted. You don’t want to add to the saggy baggy boobs by wearing loose bras too. Only buy a couple (one you’re wearing & one in the wash) and look out for sales & special deals. After suffering back pain from my too large & non supportive bras, I splurged on some new (though pricey) much prettier underwear. Made me feel & look better & no more back pain. Just had to buy another lot of new underwear in a smaller size. I’ve gone from 18F to 14F to 10 FF/G. Hopefully that should be it now. Donated my too big bras to St Vinnies.

So glad I’m not the only one hearing these types of comments. Today she told me I walk differently. What the ... I’ve always walked with purpose - I’ve never been a stroller. But then soles of my feet don’t ache as much either when I wear heels now.
I’m just about passed the haggard face look. Six weeks ago my chicky babe girlfriends asked if I was really ok & if I was getting in all my nutrients because I looked so drawn but they think I’m looking much better now. Plus I think all the collagen, silica & RF treatments are starting to show results. Whoo hoo.

I too was always told I look years younger than my 54 yrs & while I think I look more my age I still look like the youngest in my family & not the eldest. Recently a 20yr old asked how was I going through menopause. I said well because I’m in my fifties. She gasped & said she thought I was in my early 40s. Yay! Still winning!

Yeah saggy, deflated boobies are not attractive but good supportive underwear get them back up to where theY should be.

Mother: You’re too thin.

Me: I’ve been this weight before & it wasn’t an issue then.

Mother: You need to stop losing weight.

Me: I weigh more than you did when you were in your 20s & I’m 3inches shorter. And I’m in maintenance.

Mother: You don’t look like you any more.

Me: I look like me just not as fat.

Mother: I don’t know what to cook for you when you visit anymore.

Me: Cook the same meals you always did. I just don’t eat as much.

Mother: I don’t know who you look like anymore.

Me: I still look like me just not as fat.

And so it goes on.

My mother has been supportive through out the process but this last month these conversations have been on a loop. Am I being overly sensitive that they are bothering me so much or am I justified to be fed up.
Anyone else facing these sorts of comments from their loved ones?

Light headedness, vision going black, blocked ears (like going up a mountain range), dull headedness... all day every day. Always had a tendency towards low blood pressure & even at my highest weight my blood pressure never went above 120 over 80. Now it’s never above 85 over 65. GP put me on a low pressure medication which seemed to take the edge of the events but after a couple of weeks it was as bad as ever. So off the meds, more blood tests & head scan. All good thank goodness but still no answers. GP & bari Dr want me to have abdomen scan now. Low BP is just as dangerous as high - strokes, organ damage - so keep following up with your Drs. I just want an answer & a solution but am very glad I’m not the only one suffering from this.

Don’t worry the salad was just for show. I already had them remove the chips and fish would have looked ridiculous on their huge plates. 😜 Plus I was with people who don’t know I had the surgery & I didn’t want to deal with the strange looks. I’m at 6.5mths & the only salad I have is the odd slice of cucumber.

First time was at four weeks - marked my first solid ‘real’ food & my cousin’s 40th. Had a small white fish croquette - about two bites.
I also choose seafood options like fish, prawns, scallops & calamari & only Entrees (American appetisers). I find I struggle when I go out - I subconsciously tense up - and never finish the meal.
Had grilled fish & salad the other day but they over cooked the snapper making it dry with sharp, scratchy edges. Had trouble eating it & gave up after a couple of bites. Very sad... & it cost me $30.

Avoid the coconut milk. High fat, high calories & lower Protein & more carbs than cow’s milk. Not worth it during your weight loss stage.
My niece started drinking and cooking with coconut milk because of it’s heavily promoted ‘healthy’ benefits. She put on weight and her skin broke out in terrible acne. Stopped using it & her skin cleared up & she lost weight.
Personally I hate the taste of it. I had it once & found it way too rich & caused me many issues with my sensitive digestion.
Lot’s of other milk alternatives if you don’t want to use cow’s milk.

I’m doing RF therapy as well. I don’t want to go down the route of face lifts, Botox or fillers - I don’t like that strained look people get but that’s my personal opinion no offence to those who go down that path.
I can see some improvement with the RF but it’s a long process with follow-up maintenance after the intensive weekly program. It’s supposed to stimulate collagen but takes a couple of months for that to kick in.

A friend tried skin needling which is supposed to stimulate collagen as well. She says she can’t see any difference though I think her fine lines have reduced.

Congrats on your surgery. Hydralyte is very helpful. Had to dilute it as I found it too sweet but I carried a bottle everywhere I went. Also found it easier to drink than Water.
This to will pass. Every week that passes you’ll feel stronger and your energy levels will increase.

I’m now thinking this loss of menopausal symptoms may be a NSV. 😜
I experienced a couple of random hot flashes (felt like my face was burning but the rest of me was fine) while still having my periods in my late 40s too ms.sss. So yes I think you may be perimenopausal. Then I suddenly stopped having periods when I hit 50 - well one after 4 months then another break, then nothing since. Was a bit annoying not knowing when or if they would start again.

I found I also started to get ‘feisty’. Then one day I told my boss off and not over anything major. I made an appointment with my GP that afternoon & she put me on HRT. (Thank goodness my boss was pretty easy going & this was such an anomaly in my behaviour he let it pass. Though it was funny the next day when I apologised and he very nervously asked if I was ok & if there was anything he could do.)

Oh and feeling the cold now. Hell yeah! I can’t stand walking down the frozen & refrigerated aisles at the supermarket anymore. It’s like a physical pain. I need thermals just to buy some milk.

PS - Don’t want to scare anyone but my mum is almost 80 & if she goes off her HRT, her hot flashes return & her emotions are all over the place. I hope you don’t continue like this JRT mom.

I’m presuming you recently had your surgery. My back went into spasm on day two post surgery. The doctor said I was holding a lot of tension in my body because of the pain I was experiencing when swallowing especially my medication. Even after the swelling which caused the pain reduced, I was still expecting to have pain when swallowing tablets and this stress caused my back to ache again though not as severely. I had to consciously relax when taking tablets and the back pain disappeared. You may be holding stress in your body too. If it continues, speak to your medical team to be sure all is ok.

Don’t forget you are drinking more now and likely more than you did before hence the more frequent bathroom visits. I always go more often at night because I get very busy at work and don’t go as often as I should so I make up for it at night lol.

Summer was always worse because my general body temp was higher. Fingers crossed I’ve seen the end too.
Also the dry skin on my arms, legs & feet is almost gone as are the little pimples on my arms. I used to exfoliate and slather on the moisturiser but still scratched my legs til I had bruises. Yippee!