Arabesque

Looking good @Bypass2Freedom. You’re lucky to be able to shop your wardrobe. I had high hopes but kept missing my window: wrong season or dropped another size before getting the chance. Even had a couple of things that just didn’t fit the same because of how I was losing (lost faster in some areas) so my body shape was different. Oh, dirty mirrors. Was putting makeup on in a mirror at my mother’s yesterday. Everything was blurry so I thought something was wrong with my contact lens. Put some drops in, moved them about. Still blurry. Then I realised my mum’s cleaner must not have used a clean cloth to wipe/polish over the mirror after cleaning it & so it was scummy. Wiped it down & my vision was crystal clear. ?

OMG! How did I miss you had Vegemite on toast last week @Starwarsandcupcakes. I didn’t think any non Australian could tolerate it. Mind you I can’t stand it - so strong - unless there’s heaps of butter & only a smear of Vegemite. I’m a promite girl (or was before surgery when I had it regularly on freshly baked white bread). That carrot soup looks delicious!

Oh yeah. Been there. Even now 5 years out & I still can’t tolerate more than 1-2 mouthfuls at a time. Was having trouble swallowing a fast dissolving tablet one morning (it was sticking in my mouth) and had to take 4 mouthfuls to finally swallow it. Took four steps from my kitchen & up it all bubbled … including the damn tablet! So yes, sip slowly for now. It will get easier as you progress. Many find they get gulp down whole drinks again. I’m just an outlier in not being able to drink more. (I say I’m special that way. ?) Doesn’t bother me. Just a quirk of my tummy.

Sounds delicious. Post the pxts on the food before & after thread. ?

Oh yes, never only electrolyte drinks. I only had one a day and I would dilute it cause it was so sweet and again only when I knew I would be having a busy day or was going to be active. Initially I took a bottle to work & would sip on it as needed during the day & had other drinks on the go at the same time. I often had to have meetings in another building a couple of blocks away and up a rise with steep steps. Boy I really needed that boost on those days.

Many years ago (after a Jenny Craig diet) I had a few things taken in but they never fit right after. If you’re dropping down anything more than a bare single size, they really need to take the whole item apart and recut everything which is not always easy or inexpensive to do. Unless it’s something with just straight side seams, a simple waist band & is sleeveless, it’s not an easy fix. PS. I should have saved my money back then because of course I regained the weight I’d lost then & had to buy new clothes again. So glad to be off that rollercoaster now.

Check out Dr Matthew Weiner Pound of Cure website, you tube channel & podcasts. Practical and informative advice. Five years out & I still listen to his podcasts. A recent podcast he did with his in-house nutritionalist touches on weight loss eating plans as well as maintenance. I believe you can join their nutritional workshops and clinics for a small fee if you’re interested too. I know someone on this forum has and found it helpful (can’t recall who at the moment). https://poundofcureweightloss.com/bariatric-secrets-what-really-influences-weight-loss-after-surgery/?utm_source=ZohoCampaigns&utm_campaign=What+Really+Influences+Weight+Loss+After+Surgery&utm_medium=email

No I can’t do pasta or rice so I’ll have zucchini noodles if I want a pasta-like experience. Otherwise I just have the sauce (with whatever protein) alone. PS I planted my basil in a pot on my deck. Have chives & parsley too. You can keep the pot in a sunny spot in your kitchen too.

I spoke with the nurse and she told me they don’t have anything any more on the floors. It’s terrible. They were told it was because the stock would expire and would have to be disposed off so they stopped the supply for budgetary reasons, Also have to order water via the app (or by phone which as I mentioned was out of my reach at the time). What happened to those lovely ladies who would top up your water, offer you a cup of tea, a little chat, fixed your flowers (if you were lucky enough to receive any) when you were in hospital. So sad. They don’t even have the little fridge in the room anymore like they used too. I had my hypoglycemia years before my sleeve surgery, I just experience it more often now. I sometimes find even a cup of tea (green so no milk) helps me. Strange but true. But generally I go for something a little sweet hence the blueberries or electrolyte drink. Oh, I have the survey & don’t worry I will be filling it out detailing my experience.

I have it too. Random episodes but I also experienced it before surgery. Friends used to laugh and say it was an excuse not to do any strenuous type exercise (which was when I mostly had episodes) until they witnessed me experiencing it. Freaked them out. Yes, keep little snacks on hand. Eat to a routine. (I started to do this early after surgery because of the lack of hunger and any interest in eating. I knew I had to eat to get in the nutrients my body needed. I still do 5 years out.) Have an electrolyte drink on hand if you know your day will be busy and you may miss meals. (I added a hydralyte tablet to a bottle of water when I knew I would be out or at work.) And I plan ahead in situations I know may cause an episode. For example, sometimes I pop out before breakfast to grab a few groceries. To ward off an attack I’ll have a few blueberries before I leave. My last attack was 4 weeks ago at hospital. The hospital doesn’t provide the sandwiches or cheese & crackers after you have surgery any more. That night I had an episode. It had been 24hrs since I’d eaten and when I spoke to a nurse, she informed me o had to order my own meals through an app or ring an order through. Sorry but still rather out of it from the anaesthetic, sleepy and having a hypoglycemia episode does not make downloading an app and creating passwords, etc. easy. Plus the phone & menu was out of my reach because of the IV and being plugged into those pulsing leg wrap things. Due to my woozy befuddled brain, I totally forgot I had packed a few protein bars which would have got me through. And yes, I had identified I had hypoglycemia on my admitting records.

I’ve only done it with Roma tomatoes which have a thinner skin you don’t need to skin. I don’t cut /scrape out the seeds either with romas. (May be known as plum tomatoes I think in the US.) I started buying the little basil plants in the supermarket and plant them out. Get about 4 or so months out of the plant before it gets sparse looking and doesn’t produce many leaves. The little pots cost about $5 in Australia so pretty cheap for having fresh leaves on hand.

Don’t forget basil. It enhances the tomato. Throw the whole tin in. Lots of flavour in the juice and any excess water will steam off as it simmers. Also you can reduce the olive oil by using a little spray olive oil instead. If you use fresh tomatoes, roast them with basil and garlic first to give an even richer flavour. That’s interesting you like Nigella’s recipes @summerseeker. I find they’re more likely to fail for me (even when I follow them exactly ?). I like Jamie Oliver. Straightforward, easy, always taste good and never fail. Recipe Tin is an Australia cook who has a huge following here. Her recipes are good too. Plus many of them have a feature which lets you adjust the serving size and the measurements for the ingredients update accordingly. (Tap the serving size and a slider will pop up to increase or decrease the number of portions you want.)

Working out real hunger from these hunger is a major learning for us all. Takes time though to work out which is which. Unfortunately you won’t get proper or true signals about hunger, fullness, etc. until you are fully healed (about 6-8 weeks) cause all of the nerves that were cut during surgery. As someone arise who really ‘ate’ two meals a day in the beginning, I too had that dizziness or wooziness, ensure up you have something before you do anything active. It will help ward if possible hypoglycemia episodes too. You may find too that your blood pressure drops which will make you dizzy, woozie or light headed, doughy in the head, find your vision narrows (lasts a couple of seconds) or at worst you may faint. Try adding an electrolyte powder to your water or take an electrolyte drink with you when you’re more active. It will give you a boost. I found it very helpful. For most people none of these things last once you are eating more regularly, eating a wider range of nutrients and are eating a little more. I’ve always had a tendency to low BP and had random episodes of hypoglycemia. Since surgery they’re more frequent. (The low BP is an every day thing now.)

Mozzarella is good too. I add a lot of vegetables to my omelettes: celery, calcium, mushrooms, baby Roma tomatoes, capsicum, spinach, parsley, chives, basil, etc. whatever I have of those sort of ingredients in my fridge. Of course since my tummy said nope I don’t like eggs a while back I haven’t made omelettes for a while. Loved it for lunch. Oh, I’ve seen those graters but wondered if they were actually any good. Will have to look into getting one now on your recommendation.

Never experienced this or heard of it either. How weird. Maybe throw the spinach in the omelette for the last minute or so or before you fold/roll it so it cooks a little?? I knew it was hard on your kidneys but only because a friend with an autoimmune disease if her kidneys isn’t allowed it.

You look fabulous. Happy birthday too.

I as really surprised when I saw her on tv when she her career revival began last year & didn’t recognise her as Shania. I wouldn’t have picked your pxt as her either @ms.sss unless you said. I agree, the work she’s had has changed her facial features a lot though I think it ‘s softened a bit lately. Maybe less filler or had some removed. Glad she obviously still rocks a concert & a good night was had.

My sleeve & gall were by the same surgeon and very neat. These with the scrapes are from my hysterectomy. Different surgeon. All were ‘manual’ surgeries but I would think robotic surgeries may be a little more rough as they can’t feel skin, consider texture, depth of flesh, etc. Mind you, you watch those surgery ducu-series and see how they toss you about, push & poke about your organs, etc. Yikes! No wonder we can have bruises and scrapes. I had a pulled thigh muscle after this surgery.

See, the Enterprise. ?? The lines were actually bruising & scrapes. I guess from the instruments. Never had that before.

Five years out and the poltergeist in my tummy is alive and well. It was grunting this morning after breakfast. And I mean grunting. I asked the doctor who does my follow ups about it a couple of years back because all the grumbling, rumbling and whining was so loud. She said it was my digestive system doing what it’s supposed to do: digest food. It differs person to person & I believe surgeon to surgeon (some are just more rough), After my sleeve I had very little bruising. Though others have posted some pretty significant bruises here after theirs. Can’t recall after my gall but I’ve had more with my recent surgery. (My poor belly button is so tiny now with the 3 laparoscopic abdominal surgeries I’ve had that have used it.) Each time the wounds were different. This time I even have a little lump from a pleat in my skin from the internal sutures. And one I swear looks like the Enterprise from Star Trek. And one can be more tender one day and the next another one is. Took into the third week for the bruising to be fully gone this time. The incision they removed your stomach through is usually a little longer than the others & is the one on the right of your belly button.

You’ll likely find in another couple of days, your pain will have reduced considerably & you may not need any more (but we’re all different about things & we can tolerate different pain levels). Yes to walking around. But marching in the spot, raising your arms up and down and doing slow deep breaths (breath in & hold for a count of 5-8 then exhale) are good to help with getting rid of the gas. (This is in your abdominal cavity not your digestive system. It rises up behind your lungs and puts pressure on nerves causing shoulder pain. It’s absorbed into the lungs and you breathe it out.) I used y dilute my shakes (to dilute the horrid taste & graininess) and sip on that most for a couple of hours. Then I had a diluted soup late afternoon, again sipping for a couple of hours. That was all I could get myself to even think about consuming. My surgeon also wasn’t too concerned about meeting protein goals at first. As long as I was making an effort to get some in and was slowly increasing over the first month or so. Oh, yes, don’t weigh yourself for a few days at least. You’re likely still holding on to some of the fluids the pump you full off. Honestly I looked four months pregnant after recent my hysterectomy and I remember weighing 2kgs (4.4lbs) more after my gall surgery.

Oh I have plenty of still tagged items too just waiting on special events/occasions to wear them. Did you mourn when you binned your lounge pants? I would have especially if they were super comfy. Leopard print would have been fun & there’s nothing wrong with a little Catwoman self-empowerment moment. ? Your road trip to national parks does sound fun especially the Grand Canyon. Would like to visit that one day.

I thought the no caffeine had a lot to do with how caffeine stimulates stomach acid. (It why you should avoid caffeine if you have reflux.) Post surgery, our bodies are still producing the same amount of acid we used to need in our larger tummies (& why many are prescribed PPIs to counteract this). So we’re told to avoid caffeine so we won’t stimulate our stomach acid more at least until our body adjusts to our new digestive needs.

No capsule wardrobe in my house. I’m guilty of having far more clothes than I need. A example of the proof of me having too many clothes is this dress which I found in my wardrobe recently and couldn’t remember buying it. Obviously worn (no tags) but where and when I had no idea. Wore it last weekend because of my guilt & than I remembered the last time I wore it - to my friend’s daughter’s hens party three years ago. Oops. Where did you go for your holiday?

Can’t help with the decaf matcha (find matcha can be grainy and dusty & the caffeine knocks me) but what about trying green tea? It’s the same just milder in flavour and because it’s not as concentrated it has less caffeine (about 1/4 of coffee & I think about 1/3 of matcha). I’ve been drinking green tea for 20+ years. My surgeon allowed herbal or green tea after surgery thank goodness. I think I started drinking it again a few days after. I found the warmth more soothing & easier to sip than water. If it got too cool, I just reheated it in a microwave but some people swear by those little hot plates to keep your mug warm. Check with your team if you can try green tea as an alternative to your matcha.