Arabesque

That’s one benefit of the surgery for many of us: if we make a wrong choice, push to fast or detour from our path we’ll pay for it.... big time. And it ain’t pleasant. Hope you feel better soon.

Plus the cost of returning it if it doesn’t fit. Grrrr. Been trying in last summer clothes & a lot are too big. Sigh. Will I ever stabilise. So new pants (black of course) for work. Thank goodness Witchery does a size 4 (US size 0). Picked up two new blouses too. Both size 4 as well. No wonder my old size 10 tops were floating on me. I’ll be shopping in the children’s section soon though I don’t think I’ll resort to one of those Daddy’s little Princess shirts ? Also cleared out some summer shoes. Too big & too wide. Six pairs to find new homes. Lucky I bought those couple of new pairs. ?

Yep it is. The closer to your goal, the slower the weight loss. It’s part of the ‘more you have to lose, the faster you’ll lose at the start’ general rule. In saying that, you may have reached a point of equilibrium where your caloric intake matches your calories burnt which is great for maintaining but not so much if you want to lose more. Have a chat with your surgeon & your dietician to review your diet, activity levels & lifestyle requirements. What is your goal weight? How much do you have left to go? I sat at a stall for 15 days before I hit my goal with one kilo to go. Super frustrating. You’ll get there. Congrats on your weight loss so far.

It seems unusual that your surgeon or dietician didn’t give you a plan but ... shrug. Ask for a program you can follow until you discover out what works best for you as you progress & within their recommendations & guidelines. In saying that I wasn’t given a caloric goal just portion size & food recommendations & suggestions. Some people can consume more calories than others. I was a small calorie consumer - less than 300 for the first few weeks. I’m not a n avid calorie counter just randomly check but I did record what & how much I ate for the first couple of months. You can only eat what you can eat with your much smaller tummy. Unless you force yourself to overeat at every meal, make poor food choices, etc. you’ll lose weight. Eating to excess will cause you lots of discomfort: pain, vomiting, etc. But it sounds like you’re committed to the program which will lead to your success. Just take a breathe. You can do this. There’s a lot of good information & real life experiences on this site. If you’re unsure, there’s always people here to share what they found worked for them. Good luck.

I think toxins & or hormones may be the culprits too. Fat stores a lot of stuff, like oestrogen, & as you lose the fat it’s released into your blood stream. Some women say they have cycles that are heavier, prolonged or more painful because of the flush of oestrogen into their bodies. I was menopausal so my hot flushes disappeared for a while - whoo hoo! Lol! Good luck in your journey. The pimples now will be so worth it when you’ve lost your weight. ?

The general rule is the more you have to lose the faster you’ll lose to begin. That ‘s why people on My 600lb Life lose 25-30lbs in a month. I’m not sure what your starting weight was but 18 pounds is a lot of weight to lose in two weeks. I lost about 5kg in the first 2 weeks so about 10lbs which seemed pretty average for those with similar height & starting weight to me. But, everyone loses at their own rate as other factors besides just caloric intake can come into play (age, gender, metabolic rate, weight loss history, lifestyle, etc.). As long as you’re following your plan & meeting your protein & fluid goals, you’ll lose weight. Every pound lost is a win in my book. Celebrate each one you lose. Congrats on your surgery & good luck on your journey.

First, just about everyone stalls at least once on their journey regardless of their protein intake. It’s just your body taking a breath to catch up with the changes. I wasn’t getting my protein in either to begin. My goal was 60g. I couldn’t tolerate protein shakes at all - so grainy & blah! Shudder! But they’re the easiest way to meet your goals if you can tolerate them & they contribute to your fluid goal too. I added a high protein yoghurt/yogurt drink to my diet to up my daily protein intake instead. My dietician also suggested adding milk powder to my milk to make it extra rich & double the protein except I found it too sweet. I add it to my chia pudding now.

Multi vitamins can make you nauseous. I spread mine out over the day & made sure I had them after I ate. Also, some people have trouble with lactose post surgery. At the best it can make you nauseous. At the worst it will go right through you. Many experience changes to their taste buds making previously enjoyed foods totally unpalatable. Some also find the smell of some foods turn them right off. Have a chat with your surgical team & your dietician. You should be able to eat regular food now. Congrats on your surgery.

I never ate that much for months. A quarter to a third of a cup was the norm for me. It would take 3 days to eat 2 scrambled eggs. I ate three times a day & at about month 3 I started slowly adding an afternoon snack of yogurt &/or fruit. At 19 months out I eat about 3 oz of protein. I do eat more vegetables than when I was losing (about 1/2 cup now) & have more snacks. Last night I had a bare cup of bolognese ( mince beef, onions, celery, carrot, tinned tomato) over 35 mins & it was more than enough. At 5 weeks I could eat about 1/4 cup of the same. Don’t push yourself to eat to a specific amount. Just make sure you’re meeting your protein goals. We can only eat what we can eat. Eat slowly until you feel like you’ve had enough. (It takes time for the message you’re full to get through.) You don’t want to eat too much or eat until you’re over full. I can take 20 mins to an hour to eat. I’m a believer in putting my fork down between bites, waiting before I take another & asking do I really need (not want) that next bite. Some people can & do eat more. Others less. You just have to work out what is the right amount for you & your body within your program. Good luck & congrats on your surgery.

In my first two weeks I was consuming way less than 500calories. I wasn’t even hitting 300 calories. I wasn’t hungry & had issues with swallowing post surgery because of surgical swelling. By soft foods I was eating more but still not 500 calories. Once on solid foods, I started eating to a schedule to ensure I ate & to increase my calories to about 500. My surgeon & dietician was fine with this. At almost 19 months out & I still eat to a schedule & am pretty routine in what I eat too. I still have days I’m just not hungry & I struggle to maintain my weight so the food routine is important for me. I can be flexible because I accept some things are out of my control, but I am concerned about how I’ll manage going back to work. Can’t take an hour to eat & take regular breaks to snack especially in retail. Sigh. You have to discover what works for you & your medical team is happy with as well. I understand your husband’s concern because of your history so while your surgeon & dietician can oversee your food consumption & physical health, conversations with a therapist may be necessary to support you with your control issues. Good luck.

Don’t worry about meeting your protein goals to begin. You’ve just had surgery, you’re swollen & your digestive system is very delicate. I was in hospital for two days after surgery & I doubt I consumed a cup of broth & water combined. I was very swollen & had trouble swallowing. But as the days went by I could get more in. The surgeon was fine with it. Take your time, increasing your intake each day as you can manage it. You’ll likely find things you used to enjoy upset you to begin & you can be more sensitive to certain foods like dairy. Your taste buds change as does your sense of smell for many too - they do go back to normal. Congrats on your surgery & good luck on your journey.

Unfortunately the creams won’t do much. They’ll help with your skin texture but won’t eradicate over stretched skin. Think of an elastic hair band that’s stretched out from lots of use compared with a new band. Your skin is the same. The amount of sagging skin you’ll have depends on your history of weight loss & gain, your age, how much you want to lose, how long you were overweight, your natural skin elastin, etc. But really once your skin has been stretched the only way to get rid of the loose skin is to surgically remove it. I don’t have a lot of loose skin but it’s enough. I’ve chosen not to go the surgical route. If only I could stretch my body so I was 3 inches taller I’d have little or no evidence of loose skin - & I’d be taller. lol! My friend wore incontinence pants for a week after her surgery because of the watery diarrhoea. I only had one attack & then was constipated. We seem to be one or the other. Also remember your consuming very few calories, so there’s little waste for your body to get rid of, & the calories are all in liquid form. My surgeon told me not to touch my wounds until they had healed & to keep them covered until the dressings fell off themselves. Once healed I could apply Vitamin E oil or bio oil to help reduce scarring. A lot of people also swear by the silicon strips. I used to roll the waist band of my knickers, pants & skirts down below the wounds so as not to put pressure on them. This site has lots of good advice & suggestions. Best advice I received was to go slowly & listen to your body. It will tell you what you can’t or can do, eat, drink, etc. We all go through this journey at our own pace. You just have to discover what works for you. Good luck on your journey.

Yep, walk, walk, walk. Frequent, short walks around your house are fine if you’re not up to walking your block yet. And GasX. Congrats on your surgery.

Mum told me I have to wrap the jeans up to open them at Christmas with the rest of the family. So not only did I have to buy my Christmas present from her, I have to wrap it too. ? We’re supposed to be having a heat wave for the next few days but only about 33 degrees C here (40 an hour away where Mum lives). Don’t think I’ll be wearing jeans soon even with air conditioning. Lol! Aaah, the annoyance of returning unsuitable online purchases. It’s one of the reasons I don’t but much online. I tried on a couple of 7/8 length pants yesterday but on my short legs they flapped around my ankles looking very unflattering. Too short to be long & too long to be short. But I could just put them back on the rack. Easy. Usually I hem my pants long so they cover my high heels to pretend my legs are 3 inches longer & more in proportion with the rest of my body. Oh, to be 5’6”. Sigh!

Fifteen ponds is great. Congratulations! There is no right rate of loss. We’re all different. You’ll find you’ll lose at the rate that’s best for you. Follow your plan & your weight will continue to drop. It’s a wonderful & exciting time. Enjoy every pound you loose.

Welcome @ichabodny & @arrington0711. Hope to see you here a lot. That jumpsuit is lovely MsSss. Super flattering. Have any of your other purchases arrived yet? We need pxts. Love the green dress bayougirlMrsS. Perfect for Christmas. Did you get the blouse in green too? The pink would be pretty too. Would match my new shoes tee hee. My mum is buying everyone jeans for Christmas but said she’d give me money to buy my own cause I was too fussy! She says fussy I say exacting standards ?. I bought these. You know I like a wide leg. They called them barrel legs - no reflection on the shape of my legs I hope. We called them cigar legs back in the day.

No added sugar usually means they’ve added an artificial sweetener. It reduces the calories but doesn’t do anything to modify the craving because the food still tastes sweet. This is the real challenge for those with this craving because the alternatives to sugar that are used still feed the craving. My mother craves sugar too. She always has biscuits, cakes, ice cream, chocolate, desserts, syrups, dessert toppings, .. in the house. She says as she’s now 80 she deserves a treat. But it isn’t a treat if you have it every day. She’ll say she’s not hungry & doesn’t want dinner but 5 minutes later she’s eating a giant bowl of ice cream with chocolate sauce. It is affecting her health which really upsets me.

Aah you fell into the ‘I’m making healthier food choices but I haven’t lost weight’ trap. A lot of us have. It’s portion size that often trips us up. We make the good choices & choose grilled over fried, add more vegetables, etc. but our plate is still full. It’s just another thing we have to learn on weight loss journey. Full liquids seems to be your best option at this point. Have a chat with your nutritionalist first to help you through these couple of weeks. If your surgeon still does decide to delay your surgery, don’t give up. It will happen for you. Through this journey, you’ll probably have a few slips, trips & challenges. This is just your first. Just pick yourself up, regain your focus & move forward. Good luck.

I’d always drunk lots of water but after surgery I really struggled - it tasted odd & it didn’t interest me. So I’d eat watermelon (when I was able) to help boost my fluid intake. It’s 90% water. Strawberries, cantaloupe, oranges are also good sources of fluid. As are lettuce, celery & cucumber. All have very high water content. You can’t really measure how much fluid you’ve had eating these things so I tried to keep my pee a light straw colour. I still struggle to get water in but I must be getting enough fluids with the addition of these other sources cause I pee all day & night! Lol. I also keep a bottle of water next to my bed & have a couple of sips every time I wake which is often - usually to pee. And I sip from the bottle in my day at every traffic light. It all helps.

I was always a bad sleeper. I’d lay awake for hours, my brain just not switching off, then doing the count down to when I’d have to get up. If I got 5hrs it was a good night. Post surgery, I nana napped for months. I don’t nap now. I sleep pretty well most of the time now getting in 8 hrs on average. The nana nap can be enough to affect your night time sleeping ... well at least I used to find that. So I think reducing your afternoon naps may help. Good luck. Not sleeping well is awful.

I’m the opposite to you Ms.Ssss. I fell into the excessive drinking before surgery (shock). I had at least one glass (bucket size) every night. Now, it doesn’t really interest me & I fall into the social drinker category. (Though when you & Sophie come to visit, I’m sure it’ll be a very social occasion?.) I am pretty preoccupied with food too, which I didn’t want to be post surgery, but it’s all about: look at the time I have to eat., what can I eat, how much will I eat, I’m not hungry but I need to eat to get my calories in. Aaaahhh! Not so much what lovely delicious thing can I cook. I was living in a fool’s world pre surgery too Gradycat. I didn’t realise/accept how big I actually was. I knew what I weighed but was blind to my actual physical size. I avoided photos & the ones I was in I thought were just super unflattering. I probably talk too much about what size I am now because I’m still coming to terms with it. If I say it often enough it will be real. I have to admit, my dirty little secret, I do spend time googling the height & weight of actors to try to visualise what size I am. Don’t judge me. I do feel some guilt (imposter syndrome) that I’ve had a pretty easy journey so far. Not from others but from myself. I don’t run miles or lift weights. I don’t exercise at all to lose or keep the weight off. I haven’t had to battle cravings or food addictions. I didn’t have any complications. But I do feel for those who do. We all have our battles I guess as unfair as life is sometimes.

This is very common. It’s a reaction to the shock of the surgery, anaesthetic & reduced caloric intake. My surgeon said my body had more to do with the nutrients I was consuming than grow hair. Your natural cycle of shedding hair has been accelerated as a result of all this. How long it will last & how much you will lose is individual. There’s nothing you can do except relax - you don’t need the additional stress. Supplements, shampoos, etc that promise to stop the hair loss or improve/strengthen your hair won’t stop this process. The hair you’re shedding is already dead. Those products only may help strengthen new hair growth. While you’re losing hair, you are actually growing new hair. It’s just growing at it’s normal rate while you’re losing more quickly.You won’t notice the new growth until it’s a couple of inches long. Remember you don’t usually notice your new hair growth & you’ll only notice it now because your hair is thinner. It will stop. Your hair will grow back. I found my loss reduced back to more normal amounts once I was close to maintenance & eating more. Congrats on your weight loss so far.

You can only eat as much as you can eat. I had the same conversation with my surgeon’s medical team - you need to eat more to maintain/put on some weight. I eat three meals a day & 4-6 snacks. There are not enough hours in the day to eat more frequently & I cannot physically eat more at a sitting. I only eat until I’m satisfied too never til busting full. I worry about returning to work this week as I can’t just can’t have multiple breaks to eat my snacks. I don’t believe in cheat days because I think they’re a slippery slope too like you. I try to add more nutrient dense food, like add milk powder to my milk, ensure my snacks have about on average 10g of protein. I even use real dressings on my daily salads, no low fat diet dressings for me, to increase my calorie intake. I just make sure I hit my protein goal each day & ensure I have some fruit, vegetables, good carbs, dairy & some fats & lots of protein in my diet. I don’t count calories but am portion size conscious. I believe my issue is that my metabolism is finally working & it’s going 3000 miles an hour. It’ll eventually slow & I’ll have to cut food out. I hope the ‘barbaric’ therapist - tee hee - can offer some support in regards to the guilt you feel about possibly over eating. Good luck.

The important things are you’ve recognised you have an addiction & that weight loss surgery doesn’t cure it. Now you can begin to move forward, work at taking control of your addiction & truely take advantage of your surgery. Whether that be with the help of a therapist or a support group (or both) is up to you. Wishing you the best of luck. PS - Yep, I’m with AZHiker. Sugar, real & artificial, is crack but I’ll also say so is caffeine. Now I’ll be in trouble - lol.

Congrats on your surgery. I’m glad to went so well for you. Catwoman7 is correct. Fluids go through you quickly & your full feeling will likely be different. Plus you’re healing at the moment. Lots of nerves were cut, damaged or stressed. It’s why it’s important to stick to the recommended quantities of liquids & foods. I could drink 200mls of soup/broth after surgery but it took more than an hour. I think that is key: eat/drink slowly to give your body a chance to register if you’ve had enough & for you to register you have. The goal is to feel satisfied not to feel full. (Feeling full can cause a lot of discomfort post surgery.) Take it slowly. There’s a lot to learn about your new digestive system: how it works for you, what it likes & what it doesn’t. Good luck on your journey.