Arabesque

Out of curiosity, what’s your blood pressure like? I get dizzy, lightheaded, vision blacks, & I feel weak every day because of my low BP. Also I have occasional hypoglycaemic episodes. I tend to have bursts of energy & then nothing - rest now. Always had a tendency towards low BP & had experienced some hypoglycaemic episodes in the past whenever I was in my previous low weight range. Now my blood pressure sits in the 80s over 60s every day. (My heart rate is low too. Like athlete low which is hilarious as I doubt I could run 200m 😂.) Try adding an electrolyte drink to your daily fluids. I found them very helpful while I was losing. And I try to remember to take one with me if I’m doing any exercise or physical activity.

That’s what happened to me. Reached my goal & had hardly any loose skin at all. Little pinch at the top of my thighs & my arms (bat wings) were a little empty. Actually was quite chuffed about how little I had but then I lost that additional 11/12kgs & there it was. Mind you I still don’t have much at all. Not worth having surgery. And I can wear a body con dress without ‘suck it in & hold it firm knickers’ & you can’t tell I have any loose skin. I was 54 when I was losing. I had been at my highest weight for about 4 years & prior to that I’d been bouncing between my usual 60-75kg range. Genetics also helps.

Thankfully I never had to do that excessive chewing thing. If your food is soft & moist enough & you take small bites (use a teaspoon) you shouldn’t need to chew 20+ times before swallowing. But most certainly your body will tell you what you need to do. Personally I wait 2-5 minutes between bites. That is between swallowing & taking the next bite. Sometimes I go longer. I often distract myself between bites. Wait for an ad break. Read a couple of pages. Check social media. Read this forum 😉. Have a conversation. Play a game on a device… Not only put your cutlery down between bites, but also sit back from the table. It takes time for the message to get through to tell you you’ve had enough hence us being told to eat slowly. I still do - anywhere from 30-60+ minutes. It will take time to work out all your signals & cues & what strategy will work for you. All the best.

Some lose in that first week. Some don’t. It depends on things like how much fluid & gas you were pumped with during & after surgery. How long it takes your body to express it. How your body responds to surgery - the stress. You may have diarrhoea or be constipated over the first week or two. You may retain more of the fluid you’re consuming to begin. It’s all very individual as to what shows on the scale. Some surgeons actually advise not to weigh yourself for a week or more post surgery to allow for these factors as you can weigh more after surgery than you did before. (I weighed a good 2kgs more 24 hrs after my gall removal & took 4 days to get rid of it.) if you do weigh yourself after surgery don’t be surprised if there’s no loss or if there’s gain. But you could be someone who does have a loss in that first week (I did - almost 3 kg.) Your weight will be falling off you soon enough after & it will be fantastic. All the best.

Think you’re approaching this with the right attitude @MiniGastricBypassDude. I’ve just survived my third post surgery Christmas lunch. Honestly, it was probably a little harder this year & I’m reflecting on why. Did I nibble on the lollies & chocolates strategically placed around the house? Nope. Did I want to? Yes. Did I have a glass of champagne? Yes - took 90+ mins to drink it. Had a little baked ham, a little roast beef, a little turducken, a little green vegetable salad, potato bake & had still had empty spaces on my plate. Did I eat it all? Nope. Did I eat slowly? Yes - others were finishing their second helping but I was still on my first. Ate a little too much (thought I could have that bit extra.) & had a small bout of the foamies as a result ☹️. In reality if you ignore the potato bake (all that cream & butter) the main course options would be considered sensible healthy food choices. Had some dessert about 2 hours after lunch. The dessert & potato bake were my Christmas treats as I rarely eat them. Don’t regret it & don’t beat myself up about it. No one says anything about what anyone eats or doesn’t eat & no one cares if you don’t eat everything on offer. Generally, I try to basically follow my usual eating regime if I can. I choose the healthier option or take a smaller portion: ‘a taste’. I’ll have a treat or two if I want. It’s only one day. The trouble comes if it becomes two days, three days, etc. Sometimes things are beyond your control especially if you’re a guest. You have to accept that for this one day aspects of your eating routine may have to be put aside. Happy Christmas.

Merry Christmas from the Southern Hemisphere. Picture of the traditional Christmas dessert, well in my family anyway, pavlova. We also had steamed marmalade pudding, fruit salad, trifle, egg custard & jelly. (I had a little marmalade pudding, jelly & custard - my Christmas treat.) Have to admit the pavlova was a shop bought one but it was lovingly decorated with Chantilly cream & fresh fruit by my nephews (21 & 16) under close supervision of Nana. Think they did a damn good job.

Generally post bariatric surgery we’re advised to avoid bread, pasta, rice especially while losing. They are nutritionally poor food choices, can swell &/or sit heavily in your much smaller tummy. Your focus should be protein. If you can only eat say 1/3 cup of food for a meal the majority of that 1/3 cup should be protein focussed. Some people do eat small amounts of vegetable pasta, cauliflower rice, etc. as they progress through the weight loss phase. And some find they can eat a little traditional bread, pasta or rice as they are able to eat larger portions at a meal. Many avoid these foods until maintenance when they start to reintroduce them into their diets. It does depend upon the plan you have been given & also how you react to certain foods. What does your plan/surgeon/dietician recommend? I still don’t eat bread or pasta or rice at 2yrs 7 months. They tend to still sit heavily in my tummy & I also try to focus on nutritionally dense food choices.

It could be that you have reached your low weight point. You could be in a prolonged stall which is more noticeable because you are getting close to goal & your rate of loss has slowed. You may need to up your activity or tweak your food choices a bit. What does your dietician or surgeon say or suggest? Unfortunately, the truth is not everyone reaches their goal weigh. Some lose more, some less. Some regain, some maintain. Remember, the average weight loss at the 5yr point is about 65% of the weight you had to lose. I reached my goal at 6 months but continued to lose for another 10/11 months. I struggled to eat enough to stop the loss. The rate slowed a lot over that period down to about a pound or less over two weeks or more. I’m what is termed a statistical outlier & have beaten the odds so far but I have no idea what the future will bring. Congratulations on the weight you have lost. Whoo hoo!

Oh yeah, my metabolism was well & truely wrecked from decades of literally starving myself to try to lose or maintain. That has been a bonus of this surgery: a metabolism that actually works again. I’m truely surprised by how much food I eat to maintain my weight now which would have resulted (& did) in weight gain at my much higher weight pre surgery. I am still a believer of calories in & calories out (not that I’m a regular calorie counter by any stretch of the imagination) but temper it with the calories in are what your individual body needs to function. No one’s body is exactly the same as another’s & therefore our bodies have different caloric needs & we process the nutrients we need from the food we consume differently so we also have different nutrients requirements. That’s why one diet/style of eating will work for someone but not for someone else. It’s why so many of us advocate you discovering what works for you. That’s a benefit of this forum, lots of ideas, suggestions, experiences from which you can start to develop your eating style from people who truely understand the struggle.

My niece stayed for a couple of nights & we made rissoles - basically meat balls served with a brown gravy. Of course you have to use your hands to mix in the diced celery, onion, grated carrot, egg & panko crumbs. Lots of fun as you can see by my niece’s smile (with an 8 yr old’s obligatory missing teeth 😉). No after pxts - I forgot ☹️.

Unfortunately, if you have GERD, a gastric sleeve really isn’t for you. It is very likely your symptoms will get even worse & you could face developing Barret’s Esophagus like @ElyQuint (sorry this has happened to you). In saying that I had acid reflux before my sleeve surgery which isn’t isn’t as severe as GERD. I managed it with diet & had only rare episodes - less than a handful of times a year (usually if stressed or if I made poor dietary choices - like too many champagnes or gin & tonics 😉). I still have reflux post surgery but it manifests itself differently now. I still watch my food choices (no spicy food, low caffeine, rarely have carbonated drinks or let them go pretty flat, avoid rich & creamy foods). A daily esomeprazole in the morning generally manages it - sometimes have burning in my throat for an hour or two at night but that’s all. But again that’s reflux not GERD.

Exactly. Remember also we, all have a natural weight fluctuation, we just notice it more now because we ‘re more vigilant with weighing ourselves & recording our weight. I’ve discovered my natural fluctuation is a kilogram (2.2lbs). Any more or less & I reflect on what I’ve eaten or not eaten. Has my water intake been more or less? Did I have some alcohol? Am I constipated? Am I peeing more or less? … Should say I’m maintaining & am pretty vigilant but the principle is the same. If you’re still losing & your weight loss trend is still downwards your golden. If you’re maintaining, reflect on your last week & see what next week brings. Three pounds may be your natural fluctuation. Congrats on your weight loss. Whoo hoo.

As the others have said: it’s just a part of the experience. Your natural hair loss cycle accelerates as a result of the shock of the surgery, stress, anaesthetic, decreased protein intake, dietary changes, etc. The hair you lose was destined to be shed it just happens a bit faster than usual. Just keep on top of your daily protein goal & take your multivitamins. Taking additional supplements that supposedly stop hair loss or strengthen your hair will only help new growth not the hair on your head which is already dead if it does anything. Nothing happens to your new growth cycle so you still ate growing new hair while your losing just at it’s usual rate. A lot of us cut our hair shorter so the new growth doesn’t have as much to grow to catch up plus short hair always seems to look thicker. Same with your skin. Protein is important. You can try taking collagen & silica. Keep it well moisturised & regularly exfoliate. You may look more gaunt & tired for a while but it does settle once you start maintaining. Genetics, age, highest weight, length of time being obese all influences how much your skin has been stretched, how much will bounce back & how much loose skin you end up with. All the best.

It does get easier to eat slightly larger portion sizes (not talking more than a recommended portion size though) as you progress. I also added more snacks & stretched out my meal times more so I could eat a little more. I did feel like I was eating all day though so be warned. I should stress I was trying to maintain when I was doing this. I added some more fat but only a small amount: a few nuts, salad dressing (not diet), liverwurst, etc. Added some multigrain crackers for a few more carbs. Added another serve of fruit to my snack rota. Included a protein bar. Generally, I kept to nutrient dense food. Took me some time to discover what worked for me.

As I said above, I just sipped the diluted serving for ages. If I remember correctly, it made up one cup of shake but I’d diluted to 1 1/2 or 2 cups. Sometimes alternating my sips if shake with water or green tea. It counts towards your fluid goal as well as your protein goal so double win. I didn’t think of a shake or soup as a ‘meal’ as such that I had to consume in a specific period of time. Some days I would still be sipping that shake 4 hours later.

Smoking hinders your healing. Don’t know if that’s specifically tobacco or if it includes pot, etc. too. Better to ask & avoid it for a few weeks then do it & extend or compromise your healing.

I struggled too so I diluted (almost doubled the liquid) the one I had every morning & sipped on it for ages. I had soup in the evening also diluted. Try bone broths or consommés (e.g. just the liquid in pho or wonton soups) as alternatives to only shakes. Add milk to yoghurt drinks to thin them down more too as another source of protein. All the best.

I had reflux before my sleeve surgery but because it was not frequent, I managed it mostly with diet & only took an esomeprazole occasionally. I still have reflux but it manifests differently now (less severe hiccups no bad taste in my mouth). I do take esomeprazole every day now & it manages the burning for most of the day (get some late at night fir a couple of hours). My understanding was that heartburn alone is mild & can be managed a lot with diet. Reflux is worse but again diet can play a big role in easing symptoms but gerd is more severe & generally needs regular meds to help manage it. If you have gerd sleeve is not your best bet. As everyone above has said, protein is essential to a healthy body. It will aid your healing after surgery. It’s used as building blocks in our bodies (bones, muscles, etc.) contributes to hormone & enzyme production & is a source of energy. it does seem odd that your surgeon doesn’t require the consumption of protein post surgery. My surgeon was okay if I didn’t met my 60g a day protein goal to begin as long as I was working towards it & I’m glad as I physically unable to eat (drink) more than I was. It easy easier when I got to purées & soft foods (weeks 3 on). It would be worth a conversation with your surgeon as to why he’s a no protein advocate from early on post surgery & why he pushes fruit juices (even diluted).

Just throwing some thoughts out there. First thought was an undiagnosed stricture. Or it could be a psychological block especially as you said you think you will gag when you eat so you do. Our brain is a very powerful organ. Does nothing sound or taste appetising because you can’t eat foods you used to enjoy eating & so don’t want to eat the healthier food options (low fat, low salt, low sugar, low carb) you’re encouraged to be eating now? Honestly, I thought the shakes were the most disgusting thing I’ve every had to consume & they certainly further turned me off eating. I had them on,y because I knew I had too but bleah! I was soooo happy to stop drinking them as soon as I hit purée. What does your surgeon say? Do you still see or have access to a therapist?

My surgeon gave me the Sally Johnston book too (gift with purchase 😂). I found it really helpful in the beginning as well when I was wrapping my brain around everything. Iron is renowned for causing nausea as can general multivitamins (specifically vitamins C, A, D, E & K) . if you’re taking them after eating & your still nauseous trying splitting the dose if you can - one in the morning & one in the evening. Make sure your not doubling up on vitamins - like is there iron in your multi vitamin as well? Look for a lower dose, a different brand or a different form of iron like @catwoman7 suggested. I only had to take multivitamins but I was so glad when my surgeon supported my request to stop taking multi vitamins (at about 8 months & 2 months post goal). I’m fortunate I absorb all the nutrients I need from what I eat Good luck.

I wasn’t given a caloric goal at any stage either only portion size: 1/4 cup to 1/3 to 1/2 etc. as I was able & protein & fluid goals. I did random calorie checks for my own information. I was eating less than 300 calories in that first month & about 900 by my 6 months & goal & eating about a cup of food but it did depend on what I was eating (like about a cup of protein & vegetables but only one egg). Honestly I couldn’t eat anymore than I did & I was fortunate I wasn’t ever really hungry for more than a than a year. I eat about 1300 to maintain at my weight now but I’m not very active, not very tall, have a smaller frame & am in my mid 50s so my caloric needs were & are different. You’re not tall either so that may influence your caloric recommendations. Worth asking your dietician about factors like these that may influence your caloric needs. They may not even suggest a caloric goal until you’re much further out.

The cream soups & cream of wheat may be a little too heavy for your tummy at the moment - we all had different things we could or couldn’t tolerate at each stage. I agree with @ShoppGirl: don't be afraid to go back to clear fluids stage for a few days. We all heal & recover at different times & there’s nothing wrong with going back a step or taking longer to move to the next stage. My surgeon was ok if I didn’t meet my daily protein & fluid goals at first as long as I was actively working towards them. Remember all liquids count towards your fluid goal - broth, soup, shakes, etc. Try room temp water or herbal or green tea. I found warm drinks much easy to drink & more soothing. I even heated some of my shakes. All the best.

I agree with @ShoppGirl. You may have transferred your addiction back to food. Seeking a therapist who specialises or is experienced with bariatric patients, disordered eating &/or eating addictions. Your surgeon should be able to recommend someone to work with you. Unfortunately many anti depressant meds increase your appetite too so you they could be adding to your battle. Congratulations on being a year sober. All the best. Sorry, just read your response above & I’m glad you’re seeking help from therapists all ready. Definitely see a dietician. Sometimes little things have a, big impact on losing or gaining.

The more you have to lose the faster you lose to begin. 20lbs is great. If anyone tells you differently punch them in the nose (not really of course). As @catwoman7 said the people on My 600lb Life have a lot more weight to lose than you - like more than double. So you should expect their initial weight loss rate to be more than double yours. But if you watch that show you’ll notice that as they lose weight, the loss Dr Now expects them to lose each month decreases. Glad you’ve done well & haven’t had any issues. And enjoy every pound you lose.

You just had pretty major surgery. Your insides have been pushed, prodded, rearranged & cut. You’ve been pumped full of gas to expand your abdomen so they can see what they’re doing & fluids. You’ll have lots of swelling too. Unfortunately pain is to be expected. But this doesn’t mean you have to just endure it. If you’re struggling to swallow or keep down your pain meds & are experiencing pain ask for an alternative method of giving you pain relief like an injection, patch, through your drip… The pain does reduce but you had a lot done so it may take longer than others who had a less arduous surgery. All the best.