Arabesque

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.

It’s caused by the loose skin in your armpits which folds in over your actual pits. Your beauty therapist would stretch & pull the loose skin out of the way when they wax but it’s nigh on impossible for you to do it yourself - one arm in the air the other holding the razor. Try stretching your arm back as far as you can while pushing your pit area (& breast) forward to stretch the skin more. Or use you upper arm to try to pull the loose skin out of the way.

Don’t be afraid to eat fruit. I was encouraged to add fruit to my diet when I was able - I think from about 3 months. Melons & berries became one of my snack alternatives. Fruit (& vegetables) were a source of the fructose & glucose my body needs as an energy source & an excellent source of essential vitamins & minerals. It helped a with my energy drops & random hypoglycaemic episodes. Its addition also helped me to work towards a balanced, nutrient rich diet. If fruit is on your diet give it a go if not, leave it until your dietician says it’s ok. As with all things portion size is important, include the calories (it’s the calories not the fruit that affects your weight loss) & whole fresh fruit not juice. Avoid dried too as we tend to eat a lot more dry fruit than we would fresh - a prune is one plum, a dried apricot is one small apricot or half a large.

I avoid breads & other carb rich products too. Like you @bufbills, I think they’re danger foods for me & I’m pretty glad my tummy doesn’t like them. I have tried a bite here & there but my restriction kicks in or they sit heavily in my tummy. Last time was a bite of naan bread last month as a test. Was yummy but groan. Not for me. Maybe give it another try in a couple of months & see if you can tolerate it then. May not be a gluten allergy or sensitivity as they tend to cause bloating, pain, diarrhoea, etc. more than nausea (though they can) as you’d likely know from your brother. But you could always have a test done to be sure.

Have a bone density check. It’s a good idea to have one done regularly if osteoporosis is in your family regardless of your surgery. It will pick up if you have signs of osteopenia. (It’s more common in women over 50 but with your family history you may be more likely to have this first sign of bone loss younger.) Better to get on top of it before there’s noticeable loss of bone density & you start experiencing more complex issues. Start adding calcium rich foods to your diet (look for low fat ones though) & supplements as needed.

You need to request another dietician. There are good ones & not so good ones about but you have to find one you’re comfortable with & you feel has your best interest at heart. Mine wasn’t great but she was always supportive, would explain things & made some useful suggestions about things I could try in my diet. I can understand your dietician’s concerns about the psyllium husks - they can be too coarse to eat in the beginning & they tend to swell. If they swell in your tummy they’ll fill you up & you won’t be able to eat as much of the nutrients you need. (Look for non swelling soluble fibre to add to your diet.) But she should have explained this to you. Berries tend to have fewer carbs, less sugar & are lower in calories than bananas & bananas can cause constipation (which we already battle with). Again she should have explained this to you. The bananas & psyllium can be added back to your diet as you progress. Your weight loss will slow as you get closer to your goal & your weight loss will vary week to week. Everyone experiences fluctuations when losing & when maintaining. (I fluctuate about 2lbs in maintenance.) As long as your weight loss trend is going down you’re doing great. My protein goal while losing was 60g. In maintenance I was told it should still be 60g. By my current weight it should be about 40g based upon the 0.8g per kg of weight recommendation. I average about 55g. There is no right or wrong way to consume your calories & meet your protein goals. Some eat three meals a day, some snack, some graze on smaller meals, some do combinations. I had two snacks a day (afternoon & after dinner - fruit, cheese &/or yoghurt) from about month 3 or so. Helped me get my protein in. I still snack about 4 times to get my protein & calories in or sometimes I graze - finish off an earlier meal. Some need more calories some fewer. I eat about 1200 to maintain my current weight but I’m not overly active, am in my mid 50s & have a smallish frame. I was barely eating 900 calories when I hit my goal at 6 months. But that was me. My dietician was always happy with my food choices & eating habits. We’re all different. You have to find what works for you in regards to diet & eating habits. That’s what your dietician should be helping you to discover & advising you upon while you’re losing & then in maintenance. I hope you’re able to find a better, more supportive dietician.

Lack toast & told her aunt - hilarious @vikingbeast. You’re suffering withdrawals from caffeine, sugar, carbs, … @Vicks1990. It will get better when you’re over the hump (usually about 5 +/- days). It’s called hell week for a reason! There are several different pre surgery diet plans but just like your post surgical plan it’s best to stick to the one you were given. My surgeon gives different plans to different patients based upon things like starting weight, eating habits, weight loss history, etc. The pre surgical diet is in place for a number of reasons including to shrink your liver so the surgical field can be visualised more easily, lose weight before the surgery (so you’re healthier) & break some of those food addictions & eating habits. (Better to have the withdrawals now then immediately after your surgery when you’ll have other things to manage.) Between the calories you’re eating & your fat stores you have plenty of energy available for your body function as it needs. It’s only two weeks - you’ll get through it.

The average loss is about 65% of the weight you have to lose (to put you in the healthy bmi range) after (I think) 5 years. Some end up more than this others less hence the average. And it isn’t necessarily the lowest weight you’ll reach. Some regain because they find the diet to maintain at the lower weight too restrictive &/or the exercise regime too demanding & it didn’t fit in with their lifestyle or they felt more comfortable at a higher weight, etc. I had to lose 31kg so I should expect to end up about 20kg lighter at 71kg in 5 years based on the average. I lost about 42kg & have basically maintained that. I’m only in my third year now so who knows what the future will bring. I think some surgeons tell you the average so you won’t have unrealistic expectations but it doesn’t mean that’s where you’ll maintain in the long term.

@catwoman7 is absolutely correct. Your rate of loss does slow as you progress so what you’re experiencing is usual. The only difference is some may lose at the higher rate for a little longer some fir a shorter time. Depends upon how much we have to lose & just our individual differences - gender, age, weight loss history, metabolic rate, activity, etc. I wasn’t a big exerciser - just walked on my treadmill. Started off slow & slowly increased to about 20 mins as I felt stronger. Then I struggled with low energy & low blood pressure so I stopped & used resistance bands for a while. As @ms.sss said you may have to lose more before others notice the loss. It seems the more you have to lose, the more you’ll have to lose for others to notice. A good friend noticed after I lost about 15kg - so about halfway to my goal. I was also wearing a straight line dress that had been a little snug (& pulled across my ass) before surgery but was hanging loosely when she saw me.

What a lovely dress @GreenTealael & such a great colour on you. Your daughter was right - perfect for a date night with your very lucky man.

There’s really no right or wrong rate of losing. You’ll lose at your rate. Your weight won’t be falling off you - no 100lb a month losses like On My 600lb Life cause you’re not 600lb+ Not sure what stage you’re at yet but you won’t really start to feel your restriction until you are eating solid food (not purée or soft) & the nerves that were damaged during the surgery are more fully healed. Plus you’re likely still eating quite small portions so you’re restriction doesn’t need to warn you that you’ve eating too much. The first time you eat too quickly, too much or eat something that sits too heavily in your tummy you’ll feel that tightness across your chest. The effort you’re putting in is what will make you more successful with your weight loss this time. We used to fail to lose weight &/or maintain a lower weight in the past because we never dealt the reasons we were driven to eat and we didn’t permanently decide to eat more nutritious foods & reduce the amount of food we ate. Anyone can lose ‘too much’ just by being too restrictive in their diet & eating too few calories but ‘too much’ is individual & personal. As long as you’re happy & healthy & can live the life you want all us good. I lost way more than I thought I would be able to but I’m very happy at my weight, am in good healthy & enjoy my life. Good luck.

I’d ask for some tests to be done - scans of your back, abdomen, maybe an endoscopy, etc. I’d think you would have experienced any changes because of the surgery after the surgery not 5 years later. This may not be related to the surgery at all but it is easy to blame the surgery & write it off. The discomfort & odd sensations could be because of your back pain, a grumbling gall bladder (if you still have one), a hernia, etc. Hope they can find answers for you.

Very, very common and you’ll likely experience at least another one while you’re losing. Think of them as your body taking a breath from all the changes & stress - surgery, reduced caloric intake, change of diet, change of activity levels, etc. Just like when you sometimes need to close your door & take time away for yourself in times of stress so does your body. Some say increase your calories &/or your exercise. I never changed a thing & stuck to my plan - why make more changes to stress my body more. The stall always broke. Yours will too.

What @Luna Girl & @Crick said is correct. The average weight loss is about 65% of the weight you need to lose to get you into the healthy bmi range after (I think) 5yrs. This is the weight the calculators will say you will likely lose too. This average is not the lowest weight you may reach but where you settle after a few years. Some of this occurs because you amend your original diet because it was too restrictive, not sustainable or just not practical with your lifestyle or you change your exercise routine for the same reasons. It’s why it’s not uncommon for people to experience a 10lb+/- bounce back weight gain in yrs 2 & 3 post surgery. Like all averages you can fall above or below. But you can decide the weight you want to reach & maintain as long as the diet & exercise regime you need to follow to be at that weight is sustainable. Being healthy & happy is more important than the number on the scale. Good luck.

I love cucumber too. When able I used to put a little cream cheese on smoked salmon & wrap it around cucumber wedges for lunch. Was so yummy - except when my tummy decided smoked salmon was too rich. I also used to sprinkle sea salt on cucumber wedges for a snack - very low calorie & high water content. Plus crunch & salt for the cravings & the salt helps with the low BP. Win, win, win.

Because you’ve already have a staring point of reference because of your band, I’d probably ask about the differences between having a band & the bypass. Are there differences in the foods you can eat or may struggle with? Are there differences in specific nutrients you must include in your diet? Are there differences in how you’ll recover post surgery? Are there differences in how you’ll manage the bypass versus the band. Will you require different or additional supplements? What are the possible issues you may encounter after surgery & in the long term - what to look out for or be aware of. What should you expect the recovery time to be? How will your digestive system work with a band versus a sleeve? What are the dos & don’ts post surgery & the staged return to eating solid foods? Etc. Sure others will come up with more. Hope it goes well.

You will eventually able to drink more - how much & when is individual. You’ll also eventually be able to drink more closely to before & after you eat. The waiting before & after is to ensure your tummy is empty before you eat so you’ll get your protein & other nutrients in - essentially when you’re losing. Personally, I prefer sipping throughout the day because it keeps me hydrated all day versus not drinking then chugging glass after glass cause I’m dying of thirst. Remember much like feeling full, it takes time for the message you need fluids to get through. So by the time you feel thirsty you’re on the way to being dehydrated. I often think being thirsty is also a bit like an addiction - the more you drink the more you want to drink. Just like you slowly get used to drinking less if you cut back for some reason - travel, work, weather, etc. I struggle to drink to my goal in winter then it takes me a little while to get fully back on track when the weather warms. To use straws or not is different surgeon to surgeon & person to person. I used them to begin but found I was sucking up too much air & I can’t burp so painful. I found it way easier to drink from a glass than camel back or similar bottles. I also take the lids off takeaway tea & coffee. All reminds me too much like baby bottles & sippy cups. Lol! Just a thought. Were you diagnosed as being diabetic or being insulin resistant? Increased thirst is a sign. Often people are pre diabetic & don’t realise.