Arabesque

Does your blood work show you are lacking in any vitamins, etc. What’s your kidney & liver function like? Your sugar levels? A post nasal drip will often make you feel nauseous. I suffer from postural low blood pressure so suffer regularly from head spins & loss of vision. My energy levels aren’t great either & have had a few hypoglycaemic episodes - cold sweats, drop in blood pressure, drop in energy, vision narrowing, nose running, etc. I had these before I lost weight but just experience them more often now. But I’m no expert. I encourage you to get some detailed work ups from your medical team sooner than later. Good luck.

The travel shouldn’t be an issue (except from needing additional pee stops ?). You may find your energy levels aren’t good enough for long hikes that soon after surgery but that will be an individual thing. You may have to watch lifting or carrying depending upon your surgeon’s advice & how many weeks post surgery you will be. Keep hydrated. Add some electrolytes to your fluids like hydralyte for an energy boost. Follow you plan. Listen to your body. it will tell you what you’re able to do. Congratulations on having a surgery date & your child’s graduation. Have a great trip.

Chunks of cucumber sprinkled with a little salt. What about green beans, sugar snap peas or snow peas? Just remove their side strings when you top & tail them. But definitely check with your dietician.

Yes, it’s very normal. We all experienced at least one stall along the way. It’s just your body playing catch up - it’s been through a lot & will continue to do so while you’re losing. You’ll start to notice the weight dropping again. Just give it time & stick to your plan. Congratulations on your weight loss so far. PS - you’re so lucky that your bms are normal.

It’s not unusual to have liquid bms post surgery. My friend was like this for a week or so after her surgery & then everything firmed up. As @Creekimp13 said keep hydrated & your electrolytes up. Get some hydralite or similar. Also watch dairy. You may be temporarily lactose intolerant, also not uncommon after surgery. It will cause watery bms. Check your shakes for lactose. Of course if it persists contact your medical team. Congratulations on your surgery.

So frustrating I know. You were probably told or heard the adage that the more you have to lose the faster you lose at the beginning. The other side of that saying is the closer to goal you are the slower you’ll lose. Seems that ‘s where you are. The initial weight loss rate is so motivating and then this slow down can suck the enthusiasm out of you. Hate to say it but I think battling weight will always be a monkey on our backs. We’ll just have way better skills, knowledge, tools, etc. to more successfully manage & control it than we ever did before. You’ve done so well so far don’t give up or let this get you down. You’re still losing & that’s a win. Good luck.

I still have that little pooch above my waist. It’s way smaller but must just be my body shape. When I carried my weight it was like I had two stomachs. One above, one below with a definite waist in between. You have to remember you have fat all over your body so you’ll lose a little here, a little there. Did you take any body measurements? That way you can track that quarter of an inch loss here, half an inch loss there. It adds up but may not be noticeable for a while. Remember, there are 2 inches between clothing sizes so you may not have dropped a size yet. Frustrating I know. Where you lose that weight can be surprising too. Wait till you realise your shoes are too big cause you lost weight on your feet. I even lost fat on my eyelids - no more droopy lids anymore. Oh & then when you’re maintaining, it seems to resettle & even out a bit over your body & on your face. Congrats on your weight loss so far.

It can be challenging to keep your fluid intake up at work because you get so focussed on a task & an hour has gone before you know it & you haven’t by drunk. I found it easier to drink green or herbal teas. Something about the warmth made them easier to drink. Just reheat them as they cool. I also mixed up hydralite in my water (a diluted mix as it can be sweet), Good energy boost as well as a change from plain water. Don’t forget things like soup/broths, drinking yoghurt, etc. all count as liquids. I took a small thermos flask of soup to work. Got my nutrients in as well as some fluids. I also kept a bottle of water next to my bed so I could sip whenever I woke which was 4-6 times a night. (You drink you pee ?.) I still do. Every bit helps. Congratulations on having a surgery date.

Yes it will get better. It’s just swelling from the surgery. I had trouble too for the first couple of days & had a lot of saliva (carried a sick bag with me to spit in - not nice). My back actually went into spasm because I became tense whenever I tried to sip or swallow because of the pain. I was fine by day 3or 4. Congrats on your surgery.

Congratulations. ? That first time you truely realise how much you’ve lost is surprising but also amazing & wonderful. And I’m not talking about a number on the scales or what you see in the mirror. There’s something about clothing sizes that makes your weight loss all that more real. You can’t deny that number on the clothing tag. Your mind will eventually catch up with the reality of how you look now & what you’ve achieved. (Though I still have days where I wonder who is the skinny girl in the mirror or reflected in a window.) Very happy for you.

What did your medical team advise? While there are similarities in our experiences we are also different & I’m not just referring to the surgery we have. We lose at different rates. We need different amounts of food to function & lose.... And there are many different medical plans out there even for the same surgeries. It can get really confusing. The important thing is to stick to the plan your team has recommended as closely as possible. If you feel you require more specific information about calories & macros recommendations contact your nutritionalist. They should help you to design a diet that fits your lifestyle. Honestly, I was never given a caloric goal at any stage just 60g of protein & low carb. But I was told about serving sizes. A quarter of a cup to begin increasing to a third over the first couple of months from puréed stage onwards. I never precisely counted calories every day but was conscious of the calorie content of the food I ate. I found once I got my protein in I couldn’t eat much else. I was consuming less than 500 calories for ages. Even less before I was on solid food. I wasn’t hungry & not really interested in eating. I can’t even imagine eating 1000 calories in those first 2 or 3 months even 6 months. I only eat about 1200 now but that’s me. I also never had another protein shake once I got to the purée stage. I got most of my protein from yoghurt. (30g in my drinking yogurt & it contributed to my fluid goals - double win!) I don’t think you’re losing slowly at all either. At 5 weeks I’d lost about 12 kg (about 26lbs) so not that different really. Congratulations on having your surgery & your loss so far. Good luck.

It’s not red & that’s good news as red usually means there’s an infection. I vaguely remember some posts where people mentioned their surgeon used an internal stitch to support them & that it pulled & caused some discomfort. Always contact your medical team if anything feels odd to you, is making you sick or causing you pain. You shouldn’t still be in that much pain. Give yours a call.

Patio season. Hilarious @ms.sss. I laugh because I know for you that means drinking cocktails outside with friends. Love your style. ? It’s autumn here & I have 6 months to wait until it’s spring again. Waah! It’s my favourite season.

Thanks everyone. ? Have to admit I felt a bit rock chick in the outfit hence my slightly wild hair. I’m a real in-person shopper. I love trying the clothes on, feeling the textures of the fabric, trying different styles, etc. I bought everything here in Brisbane. The pants are made from cactus. Yep cactus. So they’re a natural fibre & breathe. No getting over heated as with synthetic leathers. They actually do feel a bit like synthetic leather though. I’m always putting stress on my credit card @ms.sss. Told myself I wasn’t buying anything for a month then I saw the shoes. Sigh. Okay, my month starts now.

I was only told to keep my protein at 60g a day (1.2g per kg of weight) & to slowly increase my calories until I reached an equilibrium. My dietician just reviewed my diet every month for about 4/5 months after I hit goal. She suggested a couple of alternative food choices, like adding some beans, lentils & some powdered milk to enrich my milk if I wanted but said I was on the right track. I added a second serve of whole/multi grain to my diet. Increased my vegetable intake. Added a second serve of fruit & slowly increased my serving sizes - generally still under the recommended serving size. Avoid sugar, sugar alternatives & artificial sweeteners where possible & no bread, rice, pasta or potato. I eat about 1200 calories give or take now. That’s me. You may need more calories to maintain the weight you’re happy at. I don’t take any supplements or vitamins. My blood work is very good. Honestly, I found finding the right balance difficult & kept losing for about 12 months. My medical team was concerned but were happy with my weight & that I had finally stabilised at my last appointment in January. If you would rather have more guidelines, give your nutritionalist a call. At the very least ask if they could review your diet or provide you with some sample meal plans. I don’t have appointments with mine anymore but I can contact her whenever I need. Good luck & congratulations on your weight loss.

What a lovely pxt @ANewJourneyAwaits. You’re gorgeous. Congrats on your weight loss so far too. Went to a launch of some new labels at my favourite shoe store last night. Crab meat finger sandwiches (not for me though) & Pol Roger champagne. It was a really good night. ? Wore my new low rise Vegan leather pants & gold sandals from one of the new labels. Got a special preview earlier in the week before anyone else did & they let me buy them. Yes! Just had to fib a little & say I bought them just before the launch event started.

OMG. I didn’t see that at all. Now I’m glad the piranha is smothered in gravy & I can’t see him. ?? Didn’t anyone make you rissoles when you lived in Australia? They are the best. Basically a meatball but in a rich brown gravy not a tomato sauce. You just got to get those crunchy bits around the edges. Also great warmed & smushed on white bread with some of the gravy or a little BBQ sauce drizzled on top. Like a mince roll. Please tell me you had one of those when you lived here.

This is very normal. You’ve had a major surgery & you’re consuming very little. Remember the old adage of resting to heal/recover. That’s what your body is doing at the moment. Plus it’s working pretty darn hard burning just not what your consuming to function but also your fat stores. Some of us also have another drop of energy a few months a long. I was so tired I almost fell of my treadmill around month 4. Best advice is to listen to your body. If it says rest, rest. I never slept as well as I did after surgery. Oh & nana naps are the best. Congrats on your surgeries.

Oh, that last pound or two are the hardest. So close yet so far. I sat just off my goal for almost three weeks so I feel your pain. It’s like those numbers are just taunting you. Catwoman7 is also right. A real good bowel movement or a night peeing can see the scale drop a pound or so. (Sorry if tmi.) Try to look at your plateau as if your body is just sorting itself out & finding its new ... I so want to say its new normal but that phrase has been ruined forever. I know it’s easy to say that but it is sort of what’s happening. Your body is working out what it needs to function & maintain at a weight in relation to your calorie intake & activity level. It could just be your natural fluctuation around the weight your body is happy at. Mine fluctuates about 1kg (2.2lb) so similar to yours. Congratulations on your weight loss. It’s a wonderful achievement

Absolutely fabulous. Amazing progress.

As Catwoman7 said, lactose intolerance can occur after surgery for some people so that could be the cause. it could also be the general ‘richness’ of dairy products & your tummy being sensitive & finicky at this stage. It’s hard as dairy is an easy way of getting in protein - yogurt, milk, cheese - in these first months. I eat a lot of dairy & my tummy gurgles & groans something shockingly when I do but it’s just me now. Try some lactose free dairy products and/or some low fat versions and see how you go. Or just give it a miss for a little while & then try it again. You may be someone who just struggles to begin but then are fine. Good luck & congrats on your surgery.

Thank you everyone for your support, common sense advice & your your kind words. As some of you know, it took me about a year & an additional loss of 10kg to find my maintenance sweet spot. And I was eating a lot - several snacks a day just to get the calories in so I wouldn’t loose more. Now I’m eating a little less & on about 1200 calories a day. I have a little wriggle room with calories I could cut but I wouldn’t really want to go below that 1200. I’d be back where I spent most of my life basically starving myself. Eating only once or twice a day kills your metabolism & I did that a lot from age 13. It was my default. And I don’t want to live like that again. Yep, I do have some wriggle room with my weight but I like my weight where it is. Though I’m a lower BMI I’m not bony by any stretch. And believe me I still have ‘fleshy’ thighs. But finding clothes that fit can be a bit challenging at times. Been watching Dr Matthew Weiner’s videos about the end of the honeymoon period & his reset diet. I have his book too so I’ll be doing some reading on the weekend. ? Fingers crossed I can quickly discover what will work for me in this phase.

I knew it would be coming. I know it does happen to us all but I’m still annoyed that the honeymoon period of increased metabolism, lack of hunger, etc. seems to be ending for me. First, I noticed a little scale creep. I fluctuate between 48.1 & 49.1kg & have for a few months now. Well I did. Now I fluctuate between 48.5 & 49.5kg. Now I know that‘s only 1/2 a kg (about 1 pound) but I also know I’ve had no change to my diet, calorie intake, activity & it’s been doing this for a month. Then two weeks ago, I felt really hungry. All day long. For three days in a row. On the second day, I realised the hunger was just like my old hormonal (pmt) craving for carbs specifically bread. It was surprising because I haven’t had a desire for bread for almost two years & secondly I’ve been menopausal for 5 yrs so no monthly hormonal fluctuations to even drive this hunger for me anymore. Thank gracious there’s no bread in my house otherwise I swear I could have devoured a whole loaf in one day & still not felt full. I did weaken & have some extra multi grain crackers though. Sigh. My sleeping has also become bad again. One of the unexpected benefits of the surgery was actually sleeping at night - anywhere from 7 to 9 hours a night. I used to average about 5 very broken hours so being able to sleep was wonderful. Now, my sleep is broken again, with 3+ hours at a time of just lying there awake. Of well, seems like I’m about to embark on my next battle. This one to continue to keep the weight off but without the help of my big guns (fast metabolism & no hunger). Have to work out additional ways to fortify my borders.

You just had pretty major surgery so nausea, some pain & not feeling the best is to be expected. It’s all new & different, you don’t know what to expect or how the surgery will affect you so it’s okay for you to have doubts & be concerned about your choice. By day 4/5 I was off my pain meds & apart from feeling tired & a bit washed out I felt ok. I was a bit tender around the incisions but that was to be expected. I live alone & was perfectly fine looking after myself. I did have an extra day in hospital because my back went into spasm from a pre existing condition & that was way, way worse than any post surgical side effects. You’ll be fine. Just take it easy while you’re getting over the surgery & healing. Follow your surgeon’s plan & instructions. If anything does seem unusual, not right, like unmanageable pain, contact your medical team straight away.

Made rissoles yesterday afternoon. I used to make them with my mum as a child. Had them with a brown gravy made with all the bits left in the pan. Gotta love comfort food.