Arabesque

Well that explains it. Roma tomatoes are the best. So flavoursome. I used to have them on toast every morning. Some cracked black pepper & sea salt. Delicious. I’d be happy to share your lunch with you @Starwarsandcupcakes. I’ll have the blue cheese, pear slices & walnuts & you can have the sourdough. 😆😆

Most ‘hunger pains’ having nothing to do with hunger. It’s an old wives tale we all got sucked into. The rumbling, gurgling, squelching & other sounds are just your digestive system doing what it’s supposed to - digesting food through our stomach & intestines. For some reason it seems to be noisier after our surgery. Sometimes it does take a while for our bodies to readjust the production of the acid to digest food. This excess acid can cause a sharp cutting like pain. Some say if they eat it goes away so it must be hunger. But eating just means the acid is used not that you were hungry. Were you prescribed a PPI to reduce the acid production? Yiu usually only need to take them for a couple of months. Yes, the surgery does remove a lot of the area in your stomach that produces the hunger hormone ghrelin however it’s not the only place that produces that hormone or others. So some still do feel real hunger after surgery. And as someone also posted the surgery doesn’t remove head hunger which is one of the big battles we have to fight. That occurs because of emotions, boredom, eating out of habit, etc. You’ll discover real hunger feels different to head hunger. For me I get restless, don’t crave a specific food or food type & there is a logical reason behind the hunger (like I’ve eaten little that day). I don’t get an emotional drive to eat - no feeling hangry. Yes you are eating very little but remember you have a lot of energy stored in your fat your body can use to function as it needs. And getting your body to burn those fat stores is what you want to happen. I felt real hunger for the first time at about 8 months. I had passed my goal & didn’t know what was wrong. But my hunger didn’t really start to come back until well into my second year. I was very fortunate in that.

Some people get tattoos, go on holidays, buy jewellery, etc. as rewards but they weren’t for me. Clothing, shoes & bags are my passion. I didn’t reward myself as such I just shopped. Not that I needed an excuse. 😆😆 I so loved being able to buy the clothing labels I’d always wanted to buy or had bought when I’d been at a lower weight. I’d kept some of those clothes. (The old one day I’ll fit into them again thinking.) I was so excited when I was able to wear some of them but unfortunately about a month later they’d be too big. Or I simply missed my window to wear them. I would suggest you wait to buy a big ticket clothing item until your weight is stable. I have several high end pieces I bought at goal that are one or two sizes too big because I continued to lose. At least that’s not an issue with handbags except some of my old bags are too large for my smaller frame now. I do want to see pxt of you in your coat when you do buy it @fourmonthspreop & your LV handbag @SleeveDiva2022.

First thing to remember is you’ve lost weight & inches. Whoo hoo. Celebrate each one of those pounds & inches. Secondly we all lose at our own rate. There is no one correct amount of weight you have to lose by a certain date. There can’t be as we’re not the same. My physiological make up & medical history is different to yours & everyone else's. There are just averages which should be only be used as a guide to what’s possible not what’s a certainty. Some people are just slow losers & some lose more quickly. Certainly the more you have to lose the faster you lose at first. 1200 calories seems to be quite a common goal for those who are given one & it’s not based on height but is generally considered a low calorie diet. As long as you’re following your plan you’re on the right path. Scales can be different. They are just machines. Even things like the floor they’re on can affect their accuracy. I weigh differently on my scales, my doctor’s scale & my surgeon’s scale. Some of that is what I’m wearing, time of day, whether I’ve pooped, eaten, etc. They keep their starting & progress records & I keep mine. I don’t compare what their scales say to what mine does. As long as the numbers were going down in their records I was happy (now as long as it’s stable I’m happy). Unless you weighed yourself on the work scales at the very beginning you can’t place value in what they say now - nothing to compare it to. You likely would have weighed heavier on them back then too. So have you failed & f*cked up? No! PS - Hate to tell you 5’5” is not short but is about average height. In fact in the US the average height for an adult woman is 5’4”.

The squelching, rumbling, groaning & whining are just your digestive system working. Many of us have really noisy tummies now. Happens all day long regardless of whether I’m eating or drinking or not. The tightness could be from drinking too much &/or too quickly. It’s easy to do at first as you’re learning how everything works for you. But you should be able to sip every couple of minutes & be able to reach or be close to your fluid goals (the shakes & broths etc. all count towards your fluids. Many of us found it easier & more soothing to drink warm drinks than cold. Give your surgeon a call. There always is a risk of a stricture which are easily fixed. The other concern is potential for dehydration & whether you are getting in enough nutrients.

Yes, it’s always best to follow your surgeon’s advice but you also have to consider what you are able to do. Have to admit I’m surprised you are able to weight lift so soon after surgery given the weight restrictions we’re given. I could only lift/carry 5-10kgs the first fortnight then 10-20 the next fortnight. Many of us are advised just to walk to begin but 🤷🏻‍♀️. There are lots of benefits to regular exercise but the truth is exercise will only contribute 10-20% of the weight you have to lose. So if you have to lose 100lbs, exercise will account for only 10-20lbs. I barely exercised at all & I not only reached goal but exceeded it. But that was my choice. And exercising doesn’t help to reduce the amount of loose skin you’ll have. That’s dependent upon factors like age, gender, genetics, how much weight you have to lose, how long you were at the higher weight & your weight loss/gain history. Loose skin is about your skin being stretched out & it’s ability to retract back. That’s the elastane in your skin not your muscles. My friend & fellow sleever is a keen cyclist (100-200km a week) has rock hard thighs of steel but she still has all her loose skin. Best advice is to listen to your body & do what you are capable of & comfortable doing.

Certainly the physical limitations do help. But the real benefit was giving me the time to reassess what I ate, how I ate & why I ate. To make new eating habits. My appetite really didn’t start to come back until well into my second year & my restriction still works at three years out. The boost to my extremely slack metabolism also helped & while it’s not as fast now as it was during that first year, the reset certainly helps me to maintain. One of the biggest changes was when I finished a diet in the past I went back to eating the same way I always had so the weight would come right back. This time I didn’t go back to my old habits. I eat very differently now. I worked out a way to eat that is right for me & is enjoyable, nutritious & sustainable (the longevity of being able to stick to it). I could be very restrictive about what & when I ate in the past & spent a lot of time thinking about eating or not eating. The restrictive aspects of those old diets weren’t sustainable & felt like I was punishing myself. A lot of my relationship with food has changed. I don’t feel like I’m missing out on anything. I still enjoy food - flavour, texture, etc. but that adage of eating to live not living to eat is very real for me.

Yes, the gurgling, growling, whining, squelching, etc. is just your digestive system working as it should. It very rarely means you’re hungry as many people think it does. I say I have a personal poltergeist inside rattling the chains. Yep, it can be embarrassing & I have apologised especially to new people, like my new brow lady last week. I’m pretty used to it now. My little nieces & nephews think it’s hilarious. Have you spoken to your surgeon about the frequent bowel movements? I’m presuming they’re loose/diarrhoea & if so you could have a intolerance to something you’re eating - lactose & certain artificial sweeteners are often the culprits. The concern is as a result you aren’t absorbing the nutrients you need as well as you should.

No you won’t always have to sip. Whether you’ll be able to guzzle & gulp is really an individual thing & an idiosyncrasy of your own new digestive system. Some find they can guzzle fluids a short time after surgery. Me I’m a two big gulps (4 swallows) & then I have to wait a couple of minutes & I worked up to that over about two years. You’ll also find you won’t have to wait the full 30 minutes before/after eating. I’m generally okay with a 5 min interval if I’m sipping but not gulping. I was never told to chew multiple times. But I kept my food pretty moist & I only took small bites. I used a teaspoon or a spork. I still cut up my meat to small bite size pieces when at home & never have mouthfuls of food. I still eat slowly too - 30-60 minutes for the about recommended portion size meals I eat now. If I eat too fast or too much or eat food that is too dry my restriction will kick in but that happens rarely now. It’s all about being mindful when you eat. At a year, I’d been maintaining for 6 months. I was eating whatever I wanted. I’d already made a lot of adjustments to how & what I ate & came to understand why I ate. There are foods I’ve chosen not to eat or rarely eat. But even before I reached goal I was just living my life. Socialising, eating out, even went on a girls’ weekend away. Sure I had to be careful with my food choices but I wasn’t restricted in anyway.

It’s because oestrogen is stored in your fat & as you lose weight it is released into your blood stream causing your menstrual cycle to go haywire: heavier/lighter, more frequent /less frequent, etc. It’s a temporary hormonal boost. It’s also why some surgeons recommend doubling up on your contraceptives. I’m menopausal. That hormonal flush stopped all my menopausal symptoms to the point I was staring to go off HRT. Unfortunately, when my weight started to stabilise they all came back & I went back to taking HRT.

Not every one develops gall stones after weight loss surgery. Many actually had them already. They are caused by high cholesterol or high bilirubin levels & can develop during menopause. As you lose weight cholesterol, which is stored in your fat, is released as you lose weight & can cause stones to form. They found a stone at about my 6/7 month mark after a ultra sound to check my liver function. Don’t know when mine formed as I was menopausal before my sleeve, my cholesterol had gone from a steady for years 5 to 5.6 as I lost weight (it’s 4.1 now) & I have high bilirubin. I won the lottery of causes. Never had symptoms before my first attack 25 months after my sleeve surgery. I had my gall removed about two weeks later. The gall removal surgery recovery was similar but different to my sleeve. After sleeve, I had no gas or pulled or strained abdominal muscles. I had a lot of gas pains & muscle strain affecting my movements for a good week after the gall surgery. But no restricted diet, constipation or diarrhoea, no swallowing issues of course so that was a plus. My surgeon used the same incision sites he’d made for my sleeve. I was home the next day. Same weight restrictions for lifting & same no driving for a week again. He sent me home with some opioid pain meds but I didn’t take them. Did take one nurofen, with his permission, on day 3 but no pain meds at all after that. Just put up with the gas & muscle pain. Haven’t heard about a potential for weight gain. I have gained 2kgs in the last five months but continued to maintain my weight for 6 months after the gall was removed. I attribute the weight gain to starting a higher dose HRT & working on increasing my protein in that same five months. Plus I’m at the 3 year mark & there is always a potential for weight gain during that 2 or 3 year mark. Since my gall removal I don’t absorb protein well anymore which was unexpected & is likely just me. We tried medication (creons) for 3 months which didn’t seem to help hence my increasing my protein intake. I’m back on creons to give them a longer go. I am noticing my hair is thinner (not shedding like after the sleeve) & my nails are weaker because of the protein issue. The other odd side effect of no gall is I have random diarrhoea attacks. Usually every 2 or 3 weeks. Almost like there’s a build up acid, which the gall used to regulate. It irritates the bowel & causes the diarrhoea. My sister in law is the same & she hasn’t had weight loss surgery. My aunt says if she eats anything fatty she gets nauseous. Not everyone is prescribed meds for gall stones after surgery. Personally, it seems odd to prescribe meds to dissolve gall stones before you have them. I did ask my surgeon about dissolving the stone after my attack but he said: if you grow one stone you will grow another so it’s best to remove the gall. I have three friends who have had sleeve surgeries too within the last 4 years. None of us were prescribed urisidiol or similar & I’m the only one to form a stone. But your surgeon must have their reasons for doing so.

Soft foods are pretty easy & you have quite a wide choice. Anything that is slow cooked will work. Think, casseroles/stews, soups. Mince dishes were an easy go to: bolognese (no spaghetti), savoury mince, meatballs, chilli, etc. Anything with a sauce or gravy. Scrambled eggs, rolled oats (instant at first then in solids you can try traditional oats), yoghurts, string cheese, omelettes. Poached/steamed white flesh fish. I threw a lot of vegetables, carrots, celery, onions, leeks, tomatoes, mushrooms, zucchini, peas, cauliflower, etc. into the slow cooked dishes so they were a bit mushy. I avoided starchy root vegetables (except carrots) as they weren't on my list of allowed foods. As long as you don’t need to bite into them, you’ll be ok. Many struggle with chicken breast as it’s too dry. Give thighs a go. They are more tender & tastier. Otherwise, you can give any meat a go as long as you can cook it until it is soft & break apart tender & moist. So no steak but beef mince is great. The only issue will be what your tummy & tastebuds will tolerate. Check your plan or with your dietician for what foods you can or can’t eat too at this stage.

It’s not uncommon. Generally they attribute it to uric acid, which is stored in your fat, being released into your blood stream as you lose weight. Much like other hormones stored in fat are released & cause levels to rise while you are losing - oestrogen, cholesterol, etc. No suggestions are how to manage it though, sorry. But talk to your doctors for possible solutions or help.

Your weight loss will be erratic. Ups & downs & plateaus. Nobody has a perfectly straight line graphing their loss. @Tufflaw’s graphs are a great example. And the faster weight loss rate doesn’t last. It will start to slow & eventually get to the point you think you’re not losing anymore when you’re almost at your goal. Some people recommend only weighing yourself once a week or even less frequently. I weighed myself every day but I knew what to expect. As long as your general weight loss trend is downwards you’re doing well. (Though it’s a bit early for you is see that trend.) All the best.

Your body goes into shock after the surgery & a lot of the hormones that regulate certain functions go haywire making your levels go up or down. Then some hormones, like oestrogen, are stored in your fat & as you lose weight they are released into your blood stream & cause issues like mess up your menstrual cycle. You may find your cholesterol goes up too & your liver function is off too. They all settle eventually & many, like your sugar & cholesterol, will be much lower.

Since my surgery I cannot stand ads for fast food places - tv, cinemas, billboards, etc. Social media frustrates me because of the ads for unhealthy food & posts about enormous portion sizes & high fat, high sugar food. They repulse me & literally turn my stomach. Then it’s portion sizes in general when you eat out. We’re eating what is about a healthy portion size & people question us but find it perfectly okay that others are gorging on meals 2, 3 or more times the size they should be eating.

That was me too. (Similar demographics too.) No health issues just not really healthy & fit. But I knew those comorbidities were in my future. All surgeries have risks but weight loss surgery risks are pretty low. You’re going into the surgery pretty healthy, all things considered, so you are in a stronger place than some others with a higher weight & existing comobidities. Ask your surgeon for their stats. It’s perfect ok to have a degree of apprehension about the surgery. It is something you’ve no experience of & changes will be made to your body. Those changes don’t really hinder or restrict your future life in any way but they will allow you to live a better life. You have fabulous reasons for proceeding but it is your choice. As @The Greater Fool said the negative stories you’ve read about surgery are the same side effects as not having surgery & continuing to be obese &/or gain more weight. Plus the horror stories make the better online stories. Good news & happy experiences don’t so are much harder to find. Since my surgery I do have an issue with low blood pressure. But this is a pre existing genetic issue & I would experience it when I was a lower weight in the past. Ironically, the weight I was carrying actually kept my blood pressure at a healthy 120/80. The surgery can’t change your genetic pre disposition to health issues but the weight loss may delay or reduce the severity. All the best.

Had funny flashback this morning. Was wearing some slim leg, stretch pants with a wide elastic waist band. I vaguely remember they were called corset waist pants or something similar. OH MY GOD. Twenty minutes into wearing them & I thought I was going to explode. Remember that awful feeling of wearing pants that were too tight, cutting you in half, feeling like you were going to be sick?? I had that feeling this morning wearing these pants. Was out so couldn’t pull (peel) them off. Oh I so wanted too. Odd though, about another 20 minutes passed & they were fine. Maybe I stretched them while wearing them. Great knit sweater dress @GreenTealael. They are such a versatile piece. Perfect for yiur capsule wardrobe. And I love a ribbed anything: dress, top, sweater, barbecue. 😆😆

I’m the same with strawberries. Fresh strawberries are delicious but strawberry yoghurt, ice cream, cheesecake, milk shake, … disgusting.

Oh, ok. That makes sense. I think my GP will take over ordering tests for me too when my regular surgeon visits end or become less frequent. While I was losing she was ordering them as well as my surgeon so I was having blood taken about every 6weeks. Felt like a pin cushion but was pleased they both were being thorough.

Generally yes, a reduced carb diet is recommended while losing though they are many different plans with different guidelines around carbs. But @ShoppGirl is at her goal (congrats) so her diet is less restricted now & she’ll be reintroducing certain food groups or looking for alternatives. I tried some naan bread with hummus last year. I only managed one bite cause it was just sitting there. Was yummy though. I added multigrain/whole grain crackers to my diet from maintenance which was very handy if eating cheese & dips when socialising. I always keep hummus in my fridge for when friends drop around. For those not in maintenance try raw vegetable crudités, if or when you’re able, to scoop up your hummus.

Why don’t you need lab work done anymore? I’m three years (well will be on Friday) & I still have them done about every three months. I see my surgeon’s colleague In two weeks & I have a blood test scheduled for next week. Don’t know how long this will continue though or if it will become less frequent. Maybe it’s just different surgeons & programs around the world. Have to admit I am pleased I do have them frequently. It’s how we picked up my protein malabsorption issue after my gall removal last year & picked up a seasonal drop in my vitamin D levels in winter (level still ok just something to be aware of). PS - Many blood tests are covered by our public health system (Medicare) in Australia so I haven’t had to pay for any of mine.

Coffe beans have calories so hazelnut coffee will too regardless of how the beans were flavoured. Of course coffee, like tea, has a very small calorie content. It’s the milk, syrups, creamers, sugar etc. we add that amp up the calories. I hate when food/drink products don’t list all ingredients & all nutritional information. Food intolerances, allergies are so wide spread theses days & can be life threatening. Did find this article. Not about your specific hazelnut coffee but about flavoured coffee beans in general which may be of interest. https://www.eraofwe.com/coffee-lab/en/articles/does-flavored-coffee-have-carbs

Yep still gurgle when I drink. At almost three years out I can drink more than a sip but if I have more than two large mouthfuls in a row I whine & whirr. Wouldn’t say a pain but there can be slight discomfort. A third mouthful can make my restriction kick in. Try sipping warm drinks. A lot of us find them more soothing. Plus at the moment you have swelling from the actual surgery which causes discomfort/pain on sipping. It will pass - mine took about three days to noticeably improve. If the pain doesn’t reduce, give your surgeon a call. By the way, I actually gurgle & rumble on & off all day. Lots of us do. I say I have a poltergeist in my digestive system. It’s just your digestive system working.

Yes, it is. It’s one of the benefits of the surgery though not every experiences a lack or hunger &/or disinterest in eating/food. I didn’t feel hungry or interested in eating for months. My real hunger didn’t truely start to come back until into my second year. I found I had to eat to a schedule to ensure I ate & got in good nutrition & met my goals. Some days I couldn’t eat everything I was supposed to but other days it was a struggle but it seems to balance out. It did help change how I looked at food & eating though - eat to live not live to eat - which was a big win. PS - Congrats on your weight loss so far.