Arabesque

I just slowly introduced solid foods & kept things pretty plain & simple. I also prepped & cooked almost everything myself so I’d have control over the ingredients & how it was cooked. Your tummy can be a bit like a two year old to begin & can throw tantrums: you can eat something one day & then the next your tummy says no way. Together, with the temporary taste bud changes it can be a challenge to find foods you can eat & enjoy. But don’t give up. It does improve. If you can’t eat something one week, try it again in a week or two. Think if it as retraining your tummy & tastebuds much like you do when introducing foods to a baby. It’s a good time to introduce food you may not have eaten before, new ways of cooking foods & to reduce any cravings you may have for sugar, salt, etc. Have to admit I ate predominately protein: chicken (breast & thigh), beef (mince & steak), pork (tenderloin & sausages from the butcher not mass produced), fish, yoghurt, eggs, cheese, rolled oats in that first month after soft foods. I slowly added vegetables & fruit. I loved my vegetables pre surgery but my tummy was very fussy about them that first month of solid food. Some posters will tell you they couldn’t eat chicken or they couldn’t eat steak at first. I was fortunate I could eat both. Some people do struggle at first to find foods they can tolerate, others don’t. It’s very much an individual thing. My goal was to rely solely on the food I ate to meet all my nutrient needs - no supplements or shakes - once I reached solid food which I did & still do. I did take a general multi vitamin (no other vitamins) but gave it up just after I started maintenance. My blood work has been great. Now I only struggle with oily fish, rich or fatty foods, potatoes & pasta so I avoid them. I don’t eat bread or rice, my choice, but I expect I’d struggle with them too & they’d sit like a lump in my tummy. Sometimes heavily grilled food (charred) can be too dry & don’t sit well. Good luck.

1: Have to admit I made the decision pretty quickly. Woke up one morning & said enough. I was in surgery just under 6 weeks later. So I didn’t have much time for nerves or second thoughts. 2: Super glad I did it. 3: Not a single regret. Sure there are little things that can be annoying (like when my restriction kicks in after 2 or 3 bites sometimes when I’m out) but they are my experiences & quirky to me. If I could go back in time I’d still do it. Two other friends decided to have the surgery after I did because of my experience. 4: I was pretty well prepared before my surgery so there wasn’t anything I really didn’t expect (except that diarrhoea experience on day 3 - embarrassing ?) & there hasn’t anything that would have changed my mind. I had a friend who had the surgery about 16 months before I did & she shared lots of great advice. I also did quite a bit of reading & I was very glad I stumbled upon this forum. As long as you understand it’s not a magic cure & that you have to put in the work, make the changes & make them a permanent part of your life you’ll be able to best take advantage of the benefits of the surgery. How much weight you actually lose is not as important as finding the point that you can maintain your weight & live your life as you want to. Good luck.

Hilarious I didn’t notice that - damn auto correct. Yes, it was Alyson HANNIGAN (she’ll always be Willow to me though). @kristieshannon that t shirt is the best. Love it. I blame all those home & garden renovation shows @WishMeSmaller. They take on these tasks & they’re miraculously done in a day or two & then you think oh that’s easy we can do that. But they don’t show the large number of tradesmen they have actually doing the work.

Forgot to say it also sometimes happens to me if I reach up to get something from a high shelf like at the supermarket or in my kitchen. Itv can be more disorientating cause being short I’m often on my toes trying to reach the item & I can lose my balance too.

They actually look very much like mine though your super long legs are a little slimmer. ??

20 -30 mins for 2ozs or 1/4 cup of purred or soft foods. I could take an hour or 2 to drink 200mls. I still take ages to eat or drink anything. (Been sipping 300+mls of green tea for over 90 mins now & yes it’s pretty cold ?.) I was told no potato until maintenance by my dietician - too starchy but there are a lot of post surgery plans. I tried some mashed then but not good & I still can’t tolerate them at almost 2 yrs. Had a small piece yesterday & there was my restriction & it sat like a lump in my tummy. Almost vomited when I got home. I didn’t have a leak. They are pretty uncommon but can occur. Increasing pain, fever, fast heart beat, dizziness, shortness of breath are all symptoms of a gastric leak. But if you experience any pain or anything that is uncommon for you, contact your medical team as soon as possible.

You’re not doing anything wrong. It’s quite a common experience after weight loss surgery. it’s just scary if you’ve never experienced it before. Like @Jaelzion I still suffer from postural or orthostatic hypotension but I’ve always had a tendency towards low blood pressure & experienced this before. I always had more attacks when I was slimmer than when I was carrying weight but I do suffer from more episodes now - several times a day vs a couple of times a month (more in Spring & autumn). Up until a couple of months ago, it happened every time I got up now it’s probably 3/4 of the time so it has improved. I too look for something I can touch (wall, chair, another person) to ‘ground’ myself for those couple of seconds. Sometimes I bend over especially if there’s more severe vision loss & dizziness just to get the blood back to my head. My GP put me on some meds but they did nothing. I added extra salt, waited before standing, wriggled my feet & toes before standing but nothing helped. I look at it as something that’s just me now especially as it was a pre existing condition just amplified.

Congrats on your wedding anniversary @mischa23. Have to admit I did look forward to that first gin & tonic after surgery at my cousin’s 40th but it took me hours to drink it. I had to stir it a bit to release some of the bubbles in the tonic first but honestly it didn’t quite taste the same (damn weird post surgery taste buds) & I wasn’t really enjoying it. I still find that with wine & champagne. Even dry not sweet wines taste too sweet & I don’t enjoy drinking them as much when I do have the odd glass. Even now, I only have one glass of alcohol about once or twice a month & I take ages to drink it. Gin is probably the drink I enjoy most (I was always an gin drinker so yay) & I find I rarely finish a glass of champagne. You may be totally different but don’t be surprised if that first glass is not quite as enjoyable. Hope your anniversary is a special day for you both.

Mega validation here. Congratulations.

Working with leather is a skill & a talent @BayougirlMrsS. Don’t let her go. I’ve had a few leather pants over the years that could benefitted by someone who can tailor leather. Hope you can find your leathers. Embrace the pale @WishMeSmaller. We who are very fair need to stick together. Those compression sleeves are fabulous & very practical to protect your legs while fencing. Lunch with my girls. We’re trying to go out to somewhere nice for lunch or dinner every 4 weeks. Look I’m not wearing all black ???. Popped on my new leather coat as it was a bit overcast & cool today - Autumn & lunch was on a rooftop. I love my jacket. So glad I returned the other one. Had the dress in my wardrobe since just prior to COVID last year. This is it’s first outing. Amusingly, Alyson Hannibal wore the dress to a presser in February for her movie Flora & Ulysses except it was like three sizes too big on her. Think I won the ‘who wore it best’ comp. ?

Getting old is a b*tch. And our sight deteriorating is another one of those signs our bodies are wearing out. How depressing. I’ve worn glasses since I was about 12. I’m short sighted (very myopic) but then around 45ish, I started having trouble reading. Yep, my long vision was deteriorating. Then my glaucoma was picked up as was a thin retina. I wear contacts & now wear a script for distance in one eye & near vision in the other. I’ve had no discernible changes to my vision or glaucoma & my retina hasn’t thinned any further since I had surgery but the changes that did occur did so when I was between about 45 & 50. Amusingky, had my flu vaccine on Wednesday & my GP started to ask if I had my COVID vaccination yet but then corrected herself saying oh you’re too young & healthy to have yours yet. I replied that it’s been a damn long time since someone said I was too young for something. ????

First, congrats on your surgery. Second, it’s perfectly understandable to be confused & questioning what’s happening. You’re right it’s not easy. It doesn’t matter how much you read or what you were told to expect it’s not the same as actually experiencing it for yourself. Plus while many of our experiences are similar there are also differences. These are some things I’ve learnt on the way. I hope they can help you or at least ease some of your concerns. Try to stick to the recommended serving size. You are still healing & the smaller quantities reduce the stress on your healing tummy. Plus it also helps us come to terms with smaller portion sizes in general. Most of us ate portions that were way too big before surgery. You will be able to eat more as you progress. Fluids tend to pass through our digestive system more quickly than solid foods. So if you are drinking as slowly as you’ve been advised your tummy likely will be emptying as you’re drinking more. I found depending on how sloppy your purées are you may have the same experience of not feeling full. Try to avoid feeling the restriction. It’s an indication you’ve eaten too much (more than you need) or too quickly. The eating slowing recommendation is to allow the message to get from our tummy to our brain to tell us we’ve had enough. Many of us are used to eating to past full. We have to learn how to stop before we are full. One of my big learnings was the difference between wanting to eat & needing to eat. Do I need this bite or do I just want it. The pain you feel that you think is hunger is likely too much acid in your tummy. Are you taking esomeprazole every day? For many of us our true hunger signals have changed. It does take time to recognise these new signals. For me I become restless & feel like something is wrong. There’s a lot of new things to learn about your eating habits, what motivates you to eat, what are more nutrient dense foods, etc. Most of all you have to work out what it all means for you & discover what works for you to be at a weight you’re happy at & be able to live the life you want. It’s all worth it. The rewards are amazing. Good luck.

Welcome. You’re likely experiencing what we call the three week stall which can happen before or after the three week mark. It can last 1- 3 weeks where you have no or minimal weight loss. It’s very common. I like to explain it as just your body taking a breath to come to terms with all the changes - the surgery, chance of diet, decrease in caloric intake, etc. It will pass but you’ll likely experience stalls again while you’re losing. Some people suggest increasing or decreasing your food intake or activity level to try to break it. Some of us just stayed our course & it still broke. Whatever you choose to do you will start to lose again. It’s just part of this weight loss journey. Congrats on your surgery.

A mouthful of water to swallow my nexium followed by milky rolled oats with 15-20 blueberries. I have this around 8:30am. I find I don’t enjoy breakfast if I have it much earlier. For years I rarely had cereal because of my lactose sensitivity & I either found it not filling or too filling. Now I love my rolled oats with lactose free milk. If I go out for breakfast I have scrambled eggs.

Isn’t it funny the things we keep. Does the jacket have some special meaning or memory associated with it @ms.sss which made you keep it or did you just love it? The 80s are back just not as extreme as we remember them thank goodness. I reckon with just those few adjustments you could wear it very successfully. Maybe you only need to replace the shoulder pads with smaller ones after you remove the epaulettes of course - lol. And I love that belt. If it vanishes from your wardrobe I bet the kid has it ?. Well the leather moto jacket went back this morning & I bought this one instead which I discovered during a random online search last night. It’s more shaped than my original one which I like but otherwise very similar. Much, much happier. The leather is softer too. I love the texture of fabrics. I’m the one inappropriately caressing clothing in stores while making suggestive pleasurable noises. I’ve been known to touch or examine the fabrics of clothing people are wearing. Actually did it this morning though I do ask first specially these days of social distancing. One of the reasons I don’t enjoy online shopping I think.

Popped into the city this morning & thought I’d do a side view pxt as well for a change. More shoulder pad & more black. Bought a leather moto jacket today cause my old very soft & buttery leather jacket, which I love, is too big now. I just got away with it unzipped last year but not now. Old coat - crying. It went with everything casual to formal. New coat. I don’t love it as much. It’s more casual but it’s the best I could find. Didn’t want too many zips & studs. I may return it yet. Sigh!

It’s like the week 3 stall. For some it’s week 2 & others it ‘s week 6. It’s an individual experience but the hair loss is something almost all of us go through. It’s still a shock when it happens though. Yes, it is the shock of the surgery & the restricted diet. It accelerates your natural hair loss cycle. You can’t stop it because the hair would have fallen out anyway just over a longer time frame. Biotin & other supplements won’t stop what is just a sped up natural process. Plus the hair on your head is already dead. The supplements may only help the quality of your new growth. It will stop. In fact you already have new growth but it ‘s coming in at it’s usual rate - the part of the cycle hasn’t changed. How much you lose is very individual as is how long the hair loss will persist. I lost a lot but thankfully I had a lot of hair to begin. The loss persisted for about three months. At 23 months my hair is as thick as it was before. I did cut my long hair to just above my shoulders so the new growth wouldn’t have to grow as much to catch up to the rest of my hair. I went through a similar experience about 12yrs ago during a very stressful period at work & in my personal life. My body reacted to the stress by more rapidly shedding my hair. I didn’t lose quite as much that time but it did last about 3 months then too. My hair grew back as well.

No need to apologise @ms.sss, especially as you’re a fellow shorty. ??? Like @Jaelzion I’m at peace with my height. I used to say if only my short legs were in proportion with the rest of me I’d be 3-4 inches taller & very happy but now it’s just who I am. Though, I’m not the shortest in my family anymore as my mother has shrunk about 3 inches putting her just shorter than me & I’ve happily passed that title to her.

Artificial sweeteners seem to be in everything these days. If it says no added sugar it will be sweetened with artificial sweetener. If it says low fat or low salt bet there’s sweetener in it for flavour. Sigh! I’ve tried to get rid of as much sugar, sweeteners & sugar substitutes out of my diet as I can (my choice not an allergy like you) but it’s almost impossible. I make most of my own food now to avoid it where possible & I know exactly what I purchase which has it in (yoghurt, protein bar). If I want sweet I eat fruit or add a little honey like in my rolled oats. I second @lizonaplane’s suggestion of bone broths & adding fruit to plain yoghurt (just make sure to blend it extremely well in the first couple of weeks or juice fruit & use that for flavour) or you can make your own soups. Once you are on purées, soft foods & solid foods, you will have more food options available to you but you may discover, like me, that you have to prepare most if not all you eat yourself. Honestly I haven’t found it that hard as I’ve always cooked so not a lot of change. Plus I have control over all the ingredients & how it’s prepared & cooked. Good luck with your surgery on Saturday.

For a male at your height, no, 1000 calories a day is not sustainable but that it the next struggle. Finding what works for you (activity level, calorie intake) that allows you to maintain at a weight you are happy at & allows you to enjoy your life as you want. You will find that you can eat more as you get closer to your goal weight. By 6 months, when I hit goal, I could eat a good 1/2 - 3/4 cup of food or about 3oz protein plus vegetables depending what I was eating & less than 1000 calories a day. Honestly, I did struggle to maintain & kept losing. I added additional snacks that were protein rich & fruit. I also added some multi or whole grains though I still am pretty low carb in general. I can eat more like a cup of food or 3-4oz protein + vegetables now. I’ve been pretty stable for a few months now too. Actually my GP told me I was exactly the same weight today as I was in September last year though I sit about a kg more than my lowest weight at the start of this year. I eat about 1200 calories a day to maintain. Oh, and I’m not very active.

I’m 23 months out & I eat three meals & 3-4 snacks a day ( mid morning, mid afternoon, after dinner) also just to get the calories in to maintain & meet protein goals. The snacks are protein rich & fruit. While I was losing it was much the same but fewer snacks: three meals & a snack (tub yoghurt) in the afternoon. If I had drinking yoghurt, which I sipped on for hours during the afternoon, I’d add some fruit as a snack instead. Of course the serving sizes were small. Though at about a month out from surgery like you are, I was only eating three times a day & that’s all. I’m one of those who weren’t hungry or interested in food for ages so I had to eat to the clock otherwise I wouldn’t have eaten. Even though I now can feel hungry, I still eat very much to a routine to avoid that old negative bad for me mindless grazing. I try to eat mindfully now. Others will have different experiences & different routines but it really is a matter of discovering what works for you. There isn’t one completely right way of doing this. Good luck.

Congratulations on your surgery. Try to stay close to the volume of food your medical team recommended. Remember you’re still healing & don’t want to put too much strain on your new tummy. While it can be difficult to meet your protein goals in the beginning as long as you’re making an effort & are getting closer to goal you’ll be ok. And, yes, protein rich foods are certainly more filling.

We’re your ears burning, Jake? I was on,y thinking yesterday that you hadn’t posted in a while. So lovely surprise today to see you looking so very dashing in your suit. You both look gorgeous. I’m so glad I’m not the only one who becomes frustrated by bad driving. I’m the one in her car shouting at people who don’t indicate or indicate incorrectly on road-abouts. It’s not hard people. Oh & don’t get me started on slow drivers in the overtaking lane, going 20 below the speed limit & overtaking no one. Get out of my way!! Grrrr!!! Am also a bit of a get where I have to go, get what I need or do what I have to do & go home person BayougirlMrsS. Especially at shopping centres. Can’t stand them or all the zombie like people aimlessly wandering.

What a fabulous friend you have @GreenTealael. I only have a ‘don’t do it in the air fryer’ experience - crumbed lamb cutlets. One of my most favourite things. But they were very anaemic & unappetising looking. Plus no crunchy coating. Waaah! Think I needed to add more oil than I did but that was the point of the air fryer - less oil.

My teeth are fine but I recall a few posters have commented on tooth decay. But I wonder if it’s the surgery or long term poor diet that’s contributing to the problem? I haven’t drunk soft drinks/sodas for decades & the last time I needed a filling was when I was in my 20s. (I think sodas are very acidic plus the sugar of course.) Not that I’m saying that’s why you’re experiencing problems. There are lots of possible causes. Genetics do play a big part in the strength of your teeth & general dental health as well. Oh & I wonder if the calcium loss you may have in your jaw could be affecting your teeth too?? Hot flushes & mood swings sent me to my doctor to ask for HRT. The day I got really cranky with my boss was the day I made the appointment - lol! Then a colleague admitted she’d noticed I had become rather ‘feisty’ when dealing with the public. Feisty is better than saying I was being a real b*tch I guess. ? Actually reducing the calcium loss menopausal & post menopausal women experience is a benefit of HRT. Have you had a bone density scan recently? Getting older suxs big time.