Spinoza

My trigger (on top of years of unhappiness with my weight, as for all of us) was not being able to fit into a booth in a restaurant to eat with my family. Having to ask to be moved was humiliating. Probably for the umpteenth time but that was the (last) last straw. Never looked back.

You have a plan and it sounds really good OP. I wish you the best of luck with your weight loss and your knee replacements. Hope you're back to being as fit and active as nature intended really soon.

Honestly OP at all stages of your weight loss journey I would recommend avoiding any exercise that causes you significant pain. It will only hold you back. As everyone else has said, the surgery will let you lose lots of weight whether or not you do ANY exercise on top. The benefit of waiting for some initial loss is that exercise should then be much less painful and much more productive as time goes on.

If you or someone else in your household cooks meals for everyone then honestly I would advise just swooping some of that into a blender (protein, veg, tiny portion of carbs) with some gravy or other liquid OP. If the texture is acceptable to you then the flavours will be amazing after the all liquid diet. Honestly, I still have fond memories of the tiny lamb dinner I first pureed for myself after cooking it for my family. Even if it's just you at home it would be worth preparing a small normal dinner and then pureeing that and refrigerating/freezing tiny individual portions to get you through this (most tricky!) stage.

Yes yes yes. I am 20 months post sleeve and I am still feeling the cold really badly. And this is summer. I need at least one more layer than normal weight people and probably 2 more than when I was obese. Hoping it stabilises as my body acclimatises and hoping yours does too!

Stalls are the absolute pits. We've been through hell and high water even to decide to have this big procedure, and we take the leap of faith and actually do it, and and and all of a sudden...a big fat no loss. And next day...nothing. The only way not to see the stalls is not to weigh yourself very often, and I think most of us here are too invested for that! Just come here and complain every single time you hit a stall and we will listen and sympathise. Everyone here has said it - they're normal and most of us experience them - repeatedly. If you stick to your plan you will lose loads, it just doesn't follow a straight line with a loss every day - your body doesn't do things that way. I wish you the very best of luck.

Oh wow what a photo! 🤩 And I totally agree, it's time for a name change Tiny Sue!

Holiday looks amazing and so do you. Nice work!

I love both of those. Especially the gown for the wedding itself - looks amazing.

I still can't and I'm 20 months post op tomorrow Matt! I can drink drink drink before a meal now - pretty close to eating actually (and it sounds like you can't yet). Think it took me at least a year from memory to get that far. I simply cannot do it the other way around - gives me real grief. Once I eat solid food I have to wait at least half an hour and ideally more like an hour until I drink. The only exception to this is when I want to, LOL, and even then it needs to be planned like a military operation. I can swallow a mouthful of pizza followed by a mouthful of beer for like forever. I only do this when in company and not wanting to draw attention to my surgery. I wouldn't recommend it other than in an emergency - it's a surefire way to regain.

Plans are all so different! I was given no guidelines at all about post op eating other than sticking to the stages texture wise. Nobody ever suggested any calorie intake in particular. I asked people here! I think that at 8 weeks I was probably at 700-800 calories daily. I remember I used to eat some nut butter at bedtime if I can't reached something close to that. I agree with the others that protein and fluids goals are still the most important thing.

Honestly and genuinely, and without disagreeing with anyone here (because only they can know what has worked for them and all of our experiences will differ) stalls and plateaus are a completely normal part of losing weight after WLS. If you stick rigidly to the plan you have been given then in the vast majority of cases stalls will break, plus eventually (sooner or later - and people get there at different rates) you will get to your new set weight. That weight might not be your ideal weight but that's what the surgery does. All of the side stuff you do along the way makes little to no difference IMO. It's window dressing. And we kill ourselves angsting about it. Sure, if we've been on a long stall and we then decide to increase/decrease protein/carbs/exercise/type of exercise/duration of exercise/CALORIES/whatever, and we resume losing weight, it is human nature to attribute the renewed loss to whatever we did. But we're working with an experimental group of 1 (me) with no control group. Basically if all the time we're sticking to our programme then that's what kick starts the new loss, not the other stuff. If I could go back in time 20 months I would just say to my post-op me "stick to the plan, use your tool, and see how far you can get. You will lose rapidly and lose slowly with no rhyme or reason. Stop comparing yourself to others - they're different to you. Surgery works, stick to the plan!!!!" I really hope this helps someone else.

Yes I think surgical teams do tend to be quite conservative in their estimates. If the average loss is 65% then lots of people lose less and lots more (that's how averages work, LOL). I think they don't want to 'promise' a greater loss in case we complain afterwards that their surgery didn't achieve it, so they pick the lowest common denominator.

And that is EXACTLY how to do it! You've got this. 💪

Some processed stuff too though Suzi. I found it helpful to avoid those foods in the weeks and months after my op. And sweet stuff was a real trigger early on - almost derailed me a few times. Yeah totally agree too - some yoghurts will have more sugar and stuff in them whilst presenting themselves as healthy. Wasn't dissing your recipe - as I said, it looks really fab. My comments were more for Kathy who seems to be early post surgery, and just to share my experience.

Oh OK if you're just a few weeks out from your surgery then I would not recommend this recipe. Much better to prepare healthy food from scratch and for that to be the mainstay of your diet forever. Next year and forever after definitely you can build this sort of stuff in as an occasional treat!

I have just hit maintenance but my long term plan is to allow a 5lb gain without freaking out (because of water weight and other factors) and then if I exceed that to go right back to basics - protein first, veg and fruit second, carbs a very last third - until I'm back to my previous weight. I have no idea yet whether or not this will help me maintain but I just thought I should share. Best of luck to you x

Loving this thread. Some of my good problems relate to newfound boniness. I went on several rollercoasters in a park at Easter and ended up with bruises right down my spine - because I have no padding now and the seats are hard hard plastic. Does this happen to people who were never obese? What on earth is wrong with park operators building in a bit of wadding??? Also - my ass hurts if I have to sit on unpadded chairs anywhere for more than a few minutes. I have to start jiggling and that's not a good look.

OK we have GOT to see some photos of this...

Totally lush. Thank you for sharing. And happy birthday! 🎂

OMG I am not even looking at that recipe again. Looks amazing and I had such a sweet tooth once upon a time! 😂

Was your surgery 2 and a half years ago (your profile says that)? If so you might actually already be at your final new set weight. I think it's possible to get lower than that for some people but it seems to require a huge effort and then sustaining that - in a way you are fighting against what your body has decided is good for it. I do understand that it is frustrating not to reach your goal weight (I would have been really sad, I know, but my body decided it was happy with losing that amount and I know I was one of the lucky ones). Would it be possible to accept that you've made an amazing change for the good and relax into your new weight? I totally understand that might not be who you are, and I know people with much greater wisdom to share will be along soon. Best of luck.

Also can I just echo Arabesque's recommendation of the electrolyte drinks? Thankfully I had read loads of her posts here before my surgery - they totally saved my life several times in my post op period when I felt weak and wobbly. 😘

I went to a friend's for xmas dinner at exactly the same point post op. I got to sit the whole time obviously so I hope the standing isn't too long for you, but if you make an average/good recovery I think you'll have no problems at all. Bet you're looking forward to some major last minute alteration of that bridesmaid's dress too (and please can we have a photo in the OOTD thread in the lounge?? I'm a bit obsessed with weddings). I'm sure you'll enjoy it. My dietician cleared me to have a glass or two of bubbles at my dinner but might be worth just checking with your team if you intend to drink any alcohol. And - definitely the chicken, just a tiny portion. And then hide most of that under the salad/veg, LOLOL!!

Huge congratulations. What a difference in those photos too! Getting halfway to my goal was such a huge milestone for me. I wish you continued success - you're completely smashing this. 💪