What one thing do you wish you'd known before having surgery?

[HealthyLifeStyle 351]

20 hours ago, catwoman7 said:

It took me 20 months to lose all that weight (I started out MUCH heavier than you did), so I was well into the second year before I hit my low. I don't remember exactly when i started looking better because it's been a few years, but it would have been within a few months after I hit bottom.

I just checked my weight log and by a little over 2.5 years out, my weight started to head up, so things had probably shifted around and settled and I looked better at my lowest weight sometime during the period of 4-10 after I hit bottom and before I experienced rebound weight (I was totally convinced I would NEVER experience rebound like so many people do, but...I did). Even though I loved seeing the 130s on my scale, I looked way better once my weight started to go up. But now I'm 20 lbs heavier (the last 10 thanks to COVID). I still look fine, but I'd really like to lose 5-10 lbs.

17 hours ago, Arabesque said:

I struggled to maintain too @HealthyLifeStyle. I did look drawn in that year I kept loosing but since I stabilised about 6 months ago I look fine. Things do shift about. I’m a little shorter than you (5’3”) and my bmi sits just under 19 and I’m not bony. Sure I can feel my bones but my shoulders aren’t sunken & nor do I have deep hollows under my collarbones (signs of being underweight). I have a smaller frame so I can carry my lower weight better. If you have a larger frame, you may look slimmer than your weight indicates. Give it time.

It can be hard to come to terms with how we look being slim. It’s body dysmorphia. I think a lot of us would put our hand up & say yep I’m still sometimes surprised by how I look in the mirror or they can be surprised when someone describes us as slim or small (who? me?). (I don’t really like ‘skinny’. It can have negative connotations or raise negative responses.)

Sorry, @FutureSylph your post has been hijacked a little - it often happens.

Best advice:

1 - fellow your plan. There are lots of different ones but stick to what you were given. You can negotiate with your surgeon & dietician as you progress.
2 - go at your pace. It’s not a race. You may lose quickly, you may lose slowly. You may struggle at times on the way but you’ll get there.
3 - listen to your body. It will tell you pretty darn quickly if it’s happy or not. It can be pretty fussy at first & may not tolerate one day what it did the day before. Give it a break & then try again in a week or so.

4 - what worked for me or someone else may not work for you. Still give any suggestions a go or research them to see if they might.
5 - take time to decide what foods you do want to reintroduce into your life & what you don’t when you reach maintenance. Consider portion size, frequency of eating or if there’s an healthier alternative for foods you do want to reintroduce.

Good luck.

Well my collarbone is all bone. My neck is what make me look older than I am. It is so hollow. My eyes are sunken in and really dark underneath. Sometimes it looks like I have a black eye. I have been trying so hard to eat a little bit more, even if its just one or two more bites. I also have been eating carbs, but nothing is working. I will call the nutritionist tomorrow to see what I should do.

[FutureSylph 377]

On 5/23/2021 at 4:14 PM, HealthyLifeStyle said:

I have been trying so hard to eat a little bit more, even if its just one or two more bites. I also have been eating carbs, but nothing is working. I will call the nutritionist tomorrow to see what I should do.

Any good news, @HealthyLifeStyle? I've been thinking of you and hoping your nutritionist was able to help. Have you considered the very-high-calorie nutrition shakes? I know Boost makes one that's 700 calories in one tiny juice-box-sized container. (My sister has to drink them while undergoing chemotherapy.)