maggiemayuk

What an amazing result! I'd love to have a TT when I've lost all my weight..

I eat out quite a lot at lunchtimes and have whatever I feel like having. The point is that since surgery I just don't want rich food or anything that's hard to digest. I tend to choose healthier stuff and stop eating when I start to feel full which means I leave at least half of the plate of food. It's 3 months since my op and I'm pleased with my weight loss although it's not as fast as some of you and I feel healthier as each week goes by. I don't want to regard myself as being on a 'diet' for the rest of my life with all that entails such as feeling deprived etc. It's all about portion control and making sure you eat the protein/veg before any 'extras' That way you can have a taste of something you fancy without eating a great deal of it. Listening to your body is the key. Good luck with your journey and I wish you every success.

It's interesting how the attitudes to caffeine in the US are so different from those in the UK. Like Pipinleicester, during my consultations there was no mention of caffeine being an issue. Was warned not to drink sodas but that's for different reasons - the gas, the sugar, chemicals etc etc but luckily I've never liked them so that doesn't affect me. I'm sure if my surgeon or dietician thought that caffeine could have impeded the healing process they would have said so. I drink regular tea at home and have at least a couple of coffees when I'm out and about. I haven't noticed any ill effects. Also there was some research in recent years that said that all non-alcoholic liquids consumed in a day can count towards your hydration targets, not just pure Water. coffee can be a diuretic, but as long as you replace the liquid if you find yourself peeing a lot, and as long as your pee is straw-coloured, and not too dark, then you should be fine. However, as Pipinleicester said, I wouldn't dream of encouraging anyone to go against the advice of their medical team.

That sounds good Ch@ss. Yes it is one step at a time and remember not to beat yourself up if you find yourself eating unwisely. As soon as you realise, just stop and go back to eating healthily straight away. Don't do that thing of thinking 'I've ruined it today so I might as well carry on eating and start again tomorrow', or worse 'start again next week'. We're all human and it's hard work at times. Good luck with the gym!

Glad to hear you're doing better at last - you've had a tough time. Hope you feel strong enough to go back to work next week - lucky it's just three days.

This weight loss journey is as much, if not more, about our heads rather than our stomachs. It's telling that you said you have the cravings but actually when you eat the stuff you're not really interested in it. I really think it's worth you talking to your doctor about this to see if they can arrange a counsellor for you - it would very likely help you with your 'head hunger'. I'm sure that you don't want to have gone through all the bother of surgery and then not stay healthy and lose weight, so please try to get appropriate help. In the meantime well done for sticking to your diet for a day - no-one said it would be easy, but just focus on all the things you're hoping for when you've lost your weight. It can be helpful to write a list of them that you can look at when things get difficult. These don't have to be all the major things, include the small stuff like fitting into chairs, doing up airplane belts without having to loosen them, painting your toenails in comfort , not minding if a label sticks out of your clothes and people can see what size you are etc etc! We all have different things that matter to us, so write a list of yours. Also read the success stories on here and look at the before and after pictures particularly those of people of a similar age and starting weight - that can be inspirational. The other thing is that when we're overweight we often spend a high proportion of our time thinking about food, shopping for it, cooking it, eating it, clearing up after cooking, going to restaurants etc. When we can no longer eat in the old way suddenly there can be a lot of spare time to fill - you said yourself you 'had to keep moving' to keep the cravings away. Can you find things that you would enjoy doing to keep yourself occupied? Really hope you get back on track - and good luck with it all.

Welcome, and congratulations on your weight loss so far. It won't always be easy but when you're struggling just focus your thoughts on all the benefits you're looking forward to. Good luck!

I think that sometimes those thoughts are to do with how we feel rather than what other people are really thinking. When I go out to eat with friends I am not watching them eat or looking at what they leave on their plates. I went out to dinner a few weeks after surgery with a large group of friends and had to leave half of my main course but no-one noticed - they were all too busy eating their own food and talking. In the UK it's not the 'done thing' to ask for the food you leave to be packed up to take away, more's the pity, so it does seem a waste of money in food terms. However, I tend to think of it as the cost of the social occasion rather than the food alone. As to what the waitress thinks.... well who cares?! They are used to clearing away half full plates, because naturally slim people always stop eating when they're no longer hungry even if there's a lot of food left on their plates.

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@@Aribay1 - I'm sorry you feel that way about the posts. I've read most of them and I honestly think most people were trying to help you with 'tough love', rather than insulting you. None of us is perfect - I'm sure most of us have our ups and downs and it sounds like you're back on track now - so well done. Hope it doesn't put you off posting - we are all here to support each other.

My health was my main concern. I have yo-yo dieted all my life, keeping my BMI in the 24 to 30 range up until my mid forties when things seemed to get out of control. I still managed to diet 'successfully' but the weight I regained and needed to lose went up as time went by until I needed to lose 140lb, lost it, then regained. From my fifties I was diagnosed with underactive thyroid, then high blood pressure, then in my sixties type 2 diabetes, raised cholesterol. I had started to diet again, then had treatment for breast cancer during which I piled on over 40lb. My joints hurt, my sacro-iliac joint was extremely painful making standing difficult for any length of time. Post cancer treatment I was depressed as I was the heaviest I had ever been, couldn't exercise due to painful joints and I knew from experience that diet alone didn't work for me. My doctor suggested bariatric surgery and referred me to the hospital. Fortunately in recent years I had studied weight management and gained increasing self-knowledge about the causes of my 'head-hunger', but still experienced high levels of physical hunger. I only had the surgery 2 months ago but already my back pain has pretty much gone and my knees are fine. I have started to take brisk walks again and will start some weights work once I feel I'm fully healed. I have not been able to reduce any medications yet, but feel a lot better. I am no longer physically hungry all the time and I'm happy with my weight loss so far. What I look like/size of clothes is a bonus but health comes first. I do not come from a long-lived family and I'm very aware of the advancing years. I enjoy my life and don't want it to be cut short! I have a long way to go but am optimistic that I will get to a more healthy weight (anything under BMI 30 would suit me fine as I look bony and gaunt at BMI 24). Really hope I can maintain it this time once the 'honeymoon period' of the surgery wears off.

I had a lot of internal pain too, similar to what you're describing. Apparently there are some internal stitches and things take a while to heal up. I finally got rid of the pain just over 6 weeks out. Were you given advice about physical exertion? I was told not to lift, push or pull heavy-ish things post-op so that ruled out carrying shopping, vacuuming etc. I expect you exerted yourself a little too much when helping out with the door. Take care.

I only weigh twice a month, clothes and shoes on, which is also how I'm weighed at hospital check-ups. I have been dieting on and off for 50 years (I started young!) and I have finally learned that obsessing over the scales or trying to 'cheat' them by dehydrating etc is absolutely pointless. I am looking at the long term and fat loss and it's nice to have a noticeable difference each time I weigh. In between weigh-ins I can feel the difference in my clothes so I'm confident that I am changing shape and continuing to lose.

Have you had a check-up Turkeyboo? I'm surprised you're still having difficulties with eating. I was also sleeved 7 weeks ago but can eat anything now as long as the portions are small, I eat slowly and chew everything very carefully. Apart from one time at 4 weeks out when I must have forgotten to chew a piece of steamed salmon well enough and had to throw up, I've had no difficulty at all digesting anything. Really think you should consult your doctor if you haven't already.

As far as I'm concerned you're missing out the best bit of the egg if you only eat the whites. Why would you not eat the yolk? If it's to do with cholesterol I'm sure I read somewhere that there's no proven link between cholesterol in eggs and blood cholesterol. If it's to do with digestion then a small amount of low-fat mayo would help it go down.

Countrysweet - you've done brilliantly well, so weighing every day obviously works for you. I think we're all different and need to find our own ways of dealing with things. I am only at the beginning of this journey, and hope that I can do as well as you over the coming year.

I didn't have any problem eating a scrambled egg either at the puréed food stage. I haven't had any problems with any food yet - I just eat slowly and stop before I feel full. Having said that I haven't tried solid pieces of meat or chicken yet now I'm on solids - I just don't fancy them at the moment. I'm not worrying about counting calories - I'm eating small amounts of healthy food and making sure that Protein takes priority, so it's unlikely that my calorie intake is too high.

I don't find it helpful to weigh too often. I weigh twice a month and that's enough for me. I'm feeling fitter and my clothes are getting looser, so that's how I judge my progress. I have 'only' lost 6.5lb over the past two weeks and I'm sure that if I'd been weighing every day I would have found it demotivating after the higher initial weight loss.

Here in the UK no-one worries about caffeine to the extent people seem to in the US. There has been no mention from my bariatric team about avoiding caffeine so I've been enjoying my skinny flat whites when I'm out and about! At home I drink Earl Grey tea without milk or sweetener and I've never drunk cola-type drinks anyway so what I've never had I don't miss.

Congratulations - you look amazing.

Agree it's worth getting checked out to be safe. However I have had deep 'stitch' pain for 6 weeks and only now is it settling down. I had it when standing or sitting upright, twisting to the side or bending - it felt as if something was 'caught up' deep inside on the lower left side. I was told at my check up that some people get this post-op and that in my case it was nothing to worry about. Incidentally for all those disappointed by their weight loss...... even if you are only eating 600 cals a day, for women that's only approx 1400 less than you need each day for moderate activity so you are saving 9800 per week which equates to 2.8 lb (you need to burn 3500 cals to lose a lb of fat). So if you are losing more than 12lb a month you are doing very well. I had lost 22lb in 6 weeks and when I had my check up they were concerned that I might be starving myself to have lost so much! It's different for men - you have a faster metabolism and you need 2500 + cals a day anyway so the 'shortfall' is greater for you and you can expect to lose more. Some people are posting amazingly high weight losses on here per week/month and that's great for them, but I don't think it can be taken as the norm, so don't get disheartened.

Have you told your medical team? Have they prescribed a PPI drug for you like lansoprazole, to reduce stomach acid? PPIs are routinely prescribed at my hospital and I've had no issues with stomach acid or feelings of hunger.

At my hospital they worked out which of my meds were crushable and which needed to be substituted by a soluble version. I was not allowed to take solid pills for 6 weeks post-op. It all tasted disgusting and I'm so pleased I'm back on the normal whole pills. I do have to take them separately now with not too large a gulp of Water rather than taking them all at once.

I was given soluble calcium citrate with vit D3 to take twice a day when I left hospital. As I understand it I have to continue with that indefinitely.

My dietician recommended flax seeds (linseeds). I mix them in with yogurt or you can put them in Soups and on salads etc. I get the ready-milled kind which makes the fibre more easily available I think. It seems to help. I still have prunes occasionally as well. When I saw the bariatric clinician for my check up though he just emphasised drinking as much Water as possible to keep regular.