Kia kaha

Such an interesting thread. I’m pre op and obviously my husband knows, I have one daughter aged 26 who struggles with her weight and she is totally encouraging, and one daughter who has never struggled with her weight who is less than enthusiastic! I have lost both my parents in the last couple of years and, to be really honest, not having to tolerate their judgement is really freeing. Whilst I’m all about being honest, my weight and my health is my business so I’ think I’ll just let folk ‘go figure’ when the weight starts dropping off! I guess dealing with others is all part of the great journey of life

Thank you so much for sharing your feelings. I am pre op and posts like yours and their supportive replies feel so helpful to give me a realistic insight to how things might (might not but…) go a little pear shaped after surgery. Having said that, I am sending you all my aroha ❤️, as we say over here. Noho kaha, Kia kaha, stay strong, be strong.

From the website Clarity Surgical:
Your mood is influenced by a wide array of factors. One of these factors is serotonin, a neurotransmitter produced by the brain.
Because of the surgery, your diet becomes much more restrictive. This restrictive diet reduces the amount of carbohydrates you can take in, which causes serotonin levels to go down.
Decreased serotonin can cause depressive symptoms. You may also deal with mood swings as a result of your low-carb diet.
It’s important to note that if you’ve had a history of depression, you are at increased risk for post-bariatric depressive symptoms.

Yeah, sadly, those heady days of a high rate of weight loss don’t last. You can always depend on your weight loss slowing the closer you are to goal. You’re eating more (which is a normal progression) & getting closer to the number of calories your body needs to maintain your weight.
As @catwoman7 said how much food you eat depends on the food you’re eating. A good place to begin is to look at the recommended portion sizes of different foods - start with google & quiz your dietician on what is a serve of beef, of chicken of vegetables, etc. You’re probably getting to close to a recommended serving size now. The problems only start to arise if you’re eating more than that & the only thing that will stop you eating larger portions sizes is you. Plus check the calories of what you’re eating & the nutritional content if you’re not still doing this. 1500 calories is 1500 calories regardless of whether it’s from nutritionally dense food or from cake, sodas, chips, pizza, etc. I eat more often & eat more food in a day now than I did when I was obese. It’s just more nutritionally dense food & my my metabolism is working better.
As to what’s bad: carbs, fats or sugar? I think this is a personal thing. You know your medical status which would influence whether you should keep your fat intake low or not. You know your weaknesses - sugar, carbs. I think we should work out a lot of our eating plans based on these things about ourselves. There are recommended daily allowances for fats, sugar & carbs too. Generally, I’m a bit of a balanced diet person. Though I don’t eat a lot of carbs & only multi or whole grains - I used to eat a lot of bread, Pasta & rice. I also avoid a lot of sugar, artificial sweeteners & sugar substitutes because I think sugar is the real devil. I get my sweet from fruit.
I don’t have dessert as such but have eaten chia pudding (flavoured with vanilla extract). I’ll have a Protein Bar after dinner if my Protein is a little low for the day or will have fruit.
How I feel real hunger is very different. I feel restless & I don’t crave a specific food or type (salt, sweet, carb) of food. If my ‘hunger’ is craving something specific it’s head hunger & not real. If there’s an emotional component to the ‘hunger’ (like hangry) it’s not real hunger.
Part of the ‘fun’ of maintenance is working out your calorie & nutritional needs. It took me a while to work out what mine was & to be physically able to eat that much food. But you have to find a balance too. If you have to have such a restricted diet to maintain that it compromises you enjoying your life, it’s doomed to fail. It’s about sustainability. If that means you end of weighing a little more than you thought you wanted to be, that’s ok. If you enjoy your latte every day enjoy it. If it worries you try a smaller serve or reduce it to one a day or three cups every two days. There’s always work arounds or substitutes you can make like zucchini noodles instead of spaghetti but still enjoy what you’re eating & not feel like you’re missing out.
The truth about exercising is that it will only contribute to 10-20% of any weight you want to lose. Want to lose 10lbs? Exercising will only contribute to you losing 1 or 2 lbs. Plus if you increase your exercising, your hunger will increase.
Unfortunately the work doesn’t the end. All the best.

Thanks for the support! Congratulations on your successful journey!! What are some 'lessons' you have learned throughout this past year? Were some things harder than others? What did you find easy?

Such an interesting thread. I’m pre op and obviously my husband knows, I have one daughter aged 26 who struggles with her weight and she is totally encouraging, and one daughter who has never struggled with her weight who is less than enthusiastic! I have lost both my parents in the last couple of years and, to be really honest, not having to tolerate their judgement is really freeing. Whilst I’m all about being honest, my weight and my health is my business so I’ think I’ll just let folk ‘go figure’ when the weight starts dropping off! I guess dealing with others is all part of the great journey of life

Oh ! Makes me realise how darn slow everything happens in NZ! I spoke to my GP last August, it took him 2 weeks to even write the referral letter (I had to get referred even though I am self funding). I waited until December to see the surgeon, then i had to have two psych appointments and a dietician appointment, then they all got together yesterday and agreed I can have the surgery 😁 I have another final appointment with the surgeon beginning of March where he will schedule the actual date…..am elated and terrified at the same time! So it will be near 9 months. Though I did actually talk to another GP in the practice about surgery over a year ago, she was negative and told me that Keto might work…it did but I have since put nearly all the weight back on again.