Arabesque

Not feeling full is quite common. Nerves have been cut & as @Elidh said liquids & purées do pass through your digestive system more quickly. Observing portion control & eating slowly during these stages is important. Remember you’ve just had pretty major surgery & there are a lot of sutures/staples holding your digestive system together. You don’t want to stress or put undue pressure on your poor healing tummy. Check with your surgeon regarding portion size recommendations if you weren’t given any. I was told 1/4 to 1/3 of a cup for the first few weeks. A sachet of instant oats took me three days to eat . Of course I could also eaten the sachet over three meals in the one day. But we’re all different & our surgeons have different guidelines. I was also advised not to eat until I felt the restriction or felt full but to work out when I had enough & stop. There is a difference. It’s also about being more mindful about our eating - not mindlessly shovelling food into our mouths. All the best.

You may discover that your definition of yummy changes. A lot of fast food, takeaways, sweets, etc. are really unappealing to me now. Watching advertisements for this type of food almost turns my tummy. When I was losing I ate the inside of a wonton (group of friends decided to order takeaway for dinner) but didn’t really enjoy it. I’ve had gyoza (steamed, inside only) twice & Chinese (braised chicken & vegetables) once since I started maintenance. Again a bit blah! I’ve also had some dessert & cake at Christmas, a wedding & a birthday but again honestly the couple of teaspoons/bites was more than enough. I didn’t get the same enjoyment from eating them. I do drink alcohol. About once a month & usually only a glass. Gin & tonic or champagne usually. Some people do have the odd pizza, burger, etc. eat the occasional biscuit, etc. but it’s an individual thing. Some have found healthy versions (like bun less burgers, high protein chips). You know your lifestyle best & how you will be able to manage adding some things back into your diet in the future.

Sexy librarian - I love it @ms.sss And your moto jacket looks great with your animal print dress @GreenTealael & so talented to have made your dress too. No animal print clothing but shoes I can do. Lol! Will these count? Had some slim leg, mid thigh shorts on today actually @ms.sss. Went to take a photo after I visited my little nieces & nephews & realised that wearing white shirts to visit people with 8 dogs is not a good idea. My white shirts are covered in dog drool & dog dirt. Thank gracious for napisan! 😂😂😂

No dumb questions here ever. So all good. Ask away. 🙂 A - Meds 1- will depend on your surgery & where your meds are absorbed. Check with your surgeon & your specialist. It just may mean a switch of meds. 2- The rule is no NDAIDs for pain management. Burt in saying that I have a sleeve & my surgeon gave me the ok to take a single NSAID on the rare occasions I need to once I was in maintenance. In the last two years I’m still on the same box. B - Living alone 1- I live alone in a two story house. Stairs were no problem. Actually walked up & down them a couple of times a day from when I got home as part of my gentle exercising. 2- I have a high princess bed (plus I’m short) so I always have to do a little hop onto my bed. I didn’t have any issue but I was also able to sleep on my side & half twisted onto my tummy. It is individual & will depend on how you heal, your surgery, etc. Maybe buy a step so it’s easier to get in & out of your bed. Otherwise some use a recliner. 3- No issues at all but as I said above I could twist pretty easily. Your starting weight may be factor & again your surgery. You may find you don’t need to go for a few days - the constipation! 4- I took a shower the day after my surgery. It was glorious. Took my own shower gel to hospital so I didn’t smell like antiseptic & all ‘hospitally’. C - Work 1- pain was basically gone by day 4. But the brain fog for me was not good. Plus my blood pressure was very low. Was very doughy in the head in the morning then in the mid afternoon. I started back at work part time after 4 weeks. I do tend to take a long time to recover from everything - just me. A friend went back to full time work after a week no or is. Another took 3 weeks. 2- This will depend on your recovery. Talk to your surgeon too as they will likely have some guidelines re activity. As another consideration, you will have restrictions on how much weight you can carry, pull, push, etc. for the first 4 weeks or so. Good luck.

I hear you. I think I can count the number of times I’ve worn makeup in the last 4 odd months on one hand. Bought two new lip glosses early last month to celebrate spring arriving. Don’t know why I bothered. 🤷🏻‍♀️

Ahh the battle of defeating or at the very least reducing the power of your cravings. Not easy at all. I had some oven fry fish at around 5 or 6 months - I ate the fish & left the crumb coating. I did buy an air fryer a good year ago for when I want that crisp finish. But I really haven’t had traditionally deep fried food since before surgery. The exception has been calamari a few times. I haven’t had pasta or rice for that long either except for test bites in the first year of maintenance that proved very quickly they weren’t for me (too heavy & too filling). When I want pasta I eat zucchini noodles - you can eat them from the soft food stage on. Same with cauliflower rice. I tried some high protein vegetable pasta but while yummy (much improved from the mushy, starchy stuff of 20yrs ago) it was heavy in my tummy for some reason. I’ll give it a go again in the future. I agree with @TheGreaterFool, your surgeon isn’t telling you when to eat these foods because they don’t want you to. One: probably to try to break your craving. Two: they’re too high in empty calories (little or no nutritional benefit). Three: because if you can only eat say 1/2 cup of food it should be nutritional dense & high in protein. And finally pasta & rice is too filling & can swell in your tummy meaning you can’t eat much of the nutritionally rich food you need to be eating. Some quite happily eat traditional pasta, rice & deep fried foods at times in maintenance. But it really is your call.

Try some bone broth or soup so you’re still getting in some nutrition & fluids. Dumping usually has cold sweats, heart palpitations, as well as vomiting, diarrhoea, etc. So a reaction to what you’re eating or a bug does seem most logical. Did they at least take a sample at urgent care to ensure you don’t have a bug? Did the recommend some Imodium or similar to slow/stop the diarrhoea? Hope this resolves soon & you feel better.

I haven’t touched a protein shake since my two weeks of post surgical liquids finished. I lost all my weight plus more, met all my protein goals & got all the nutrition I needed through the food I ate, even stopped vitamins just after I reached goal. My plan was always to get the nutrition I needed through what I ate not through supplements. I’m a question asker too. Plus I do a lot of my own research - love me some googling. I think your questions were very sensible. Can’t say the same for the responses from what you said though. Sheesh!! Do you have to be your surgeon’s support group? And why does he have you still on purées? That seems to be taking it too far at 7 weeks unless there are other health considerations at play of course. Though I’m a stick to your plan person, I think you could slowly start to add real food sources of protein & other nutrients to your diet. Maybe don't jump to a steak tomorrow but move to soft food for a week or so. Check with your nutritionalist, make sensible nutrient dense healthy food choices & then tell your surgeon when you see them. You’re doing well with your loss so far. Congratulations.

As a joke I tried on a pair of shorts my mum bought for my 11 almost 12yr old niece - children’s size 14. Think I just found a new place to shop - the children’s department. Though don’t think I’d get away with a daddy’s little princess t shirt. 😂😂😂 Have a few ribbed dresses ready to pack @Sophie7713. Fingers crossed we’ll be able to travel safely soon. Third time’s the charm. That linen suit is gorgeous @ms.sss. Another piece fir my wardrobe, thanks. 😁

So talented @Starwarsandcupcakes. Envious of people like you who can turn their hands to such artistic activities. I can about mange to draw a stick person. 😆

Forgot to add you’ll probably have lots of leftovers. My freezer is full of single serve meals of leftovers. When I don’t want to cook I pick a ‘takeaway’ from my freezer. Couple of minutes in the microwave, prep any sides I want or need & done - 5 mins top. You can eat as much flavoursome food as you & your tummy likes. It may be a bit fussy to begin but as time passes you shouldn’t have to sacrifice any flavours you enjoy. Have a look at the food before & after thread here: hundreds of pages of pxts of food that people enjoy post surgery.

The surgery throws you on a bit of an emotional rollercoaster. Plus you’re healing from a pretty major surgery, you’re on a restricted, low calorie diet. So having low energy & feeling flat or down emotionally is quite common. It does pass but when is an individual thing. You also haven’t experienced anything like this before & as you said don't know anyone who has which would add to any feelings of being lost or confused. There are lots of people here happy to help, offer suggestions, offer support & to celebrate with you. It was a great source of information & advice when I began. You don’t have to post. Sometimes just reading about others’ experiences can be helpful. Maybe sitting down with your closest friends to explain why you chose to have the surgery may help them understand your reasons better & they may become more supportive. It is something that will be part of your life & you will be making changes to your eating, physical activity, etc. Having them onside would be helpful.

Welcome to you both. Oh yeah. Peri menopause & then menopause is the worst. It’s when I put on 30kg (15 more than I ‘d ever done before) & couldn’t shift a gram of it. Was so glad I found this forum before my surgery. There are lots of people willing to help, offer suggestions, hold your virtual hand or celebrate with you here. Hope all goes well with your approvals.

Honestly, I probably do focus on what I’m eating more now but the focus is how much protein, is there sugar in this, etc. So I focus more on the nutritional value of what I eat. Also before I used to skip meals. Now I try to make sure to eat more regularly. I cooked before surgery & I still cook. I prep most of my food so I can control the ingredients & how they’re cooked & I do cook a little more often - one because of prepping lunch now & I’ve dropped my once a week takeaway. I randomly check calories & portion sizes to make sure I’m on track & not over or under estimating. I also cleaned out my pantry, fridge & freezer in the first months. Got rid of all the food I couldn’t or didn’t want to eat anymore. If it’s not in the cupboard I can’t eat it. If I don’t buy it, I can’t eat it either. As @The Greater Fool said it can be an obsess ion if you let it or want it to be. How rigid/flexible do you want to be in your food choices? Your dietician should be a good source of possible eating plans & food options that fit in with your lifestyle, family, etc. You will have to make some changes. If you go back to eating exactly as you did before you will end up where you were before surgery. Remember, there is no one right way to eat just the way that’s right for you. Good luck & I hope everything goes smoothly for you.

I’m a big advocate of putting your cutlery down, sitting back from the table & asking do you really need that next bite. I also do something between bites to distract me: work on a puzzle, read, etc. You can also wait for the next ad break to eat a bite, don’t eat while someone at the table is talking, etc. I also did the time thing too - a bite every 3 minutes or so. I generally take 30 - 60 minutes to eat but of course my servings sizes are more like the recommended size now (cup of vegetables & 3 oz protein, 1 serve rolled oats, tub of yoghurt, etc.).

The average weight loss post weight loss surgery at five years is around 65% of the weight to be lost to be in the healthy BMI range. I think that is the 75% your surgeon is probably referring to - the difference could be based upon your specific surgery, the stats of his patients & possibly you & your situation vs another patient. As with all averages some lose more & can maintain it, some lose less & happily maintain at that weight. In years 2-3, it’s not uncommon for people to put on 10+/-lbs from their lowest weight as they settle into their new eating style. Some lose some of that weight others are happy to stay there because it’s an easier weight to maintain. As you’re losing you likely will experience stalls or (plateaus) almost everyone experiences at least one. It’s part of losing weight. Think of it as your body taking a break to try & catch up with the weight loss you’ve had so far. They break & you will start losing again if you stick to your plan. The goal is to reach a weight you are happy with, can enjoy your life at & can maintain with out gaining or losing (not including our natural weight fluctuations of course). Congrats on your weight loss so far.

As @ms.sss said. It can take time to work out that sweet spot of the number of calories your body needs to function & maintain your weight. It took me about 11 months till I stabilised, worked out how many calories I needed & was physically able to consume enough food to do so. Consequently I lost another 11kgs but have basically maintained there for about 12 months now. I eat less than @ms.sss - around 1200/1300 calories a day but I’m not very active. Not a runner nor the owner of a gym membership. 😁 If I was more active I’d need to eat more calorie dense food. If I was happy to maintain at a higher weight I’d also eat more. I eat three meals & 3-4 snacks a day. Generally I follow a healthy eating plan of nutrient rich foods. Prep most of my food myself. Almost every thing I eat contains protein. I eat fruit, vegetables, dairy, two serves of multi or whole grain carbs a day. I don’t have a lot of fat (salad dressing & liverwurst are the main - & worst - sources) & I got rid of a lot of sugar (real, artificial & substitutes) out of my diet. It also takes time to work out a way of eating that works within your lifestyle so you can still enjoy your life without being limited by restrictive food choices. My choices may not work for you & that’s perfectly ok. I doubt our bodies would gain weight faster than anybody else unless you’re eating more calories. The surgery gives your metabolism a boost & I’d think it would settle at a rate that is pretty acceptable for someone of your height, weight, activity level, age, gender, etc. Have a chat with your nutritionalist & discuss what eating options which may work for you.

2litres or 64 ounces is the recommended volume of water (mix of fluids) everyone should drink a day to be fully hydrated not just people who’ve had weight loss surgery. If you are in a very hot climate, exercise a lot or just sweat a lot you should drink more. I was advised (my dad had kidney issues) you shouldn’t actually reach that I’m really thirsty/dying of thirst point. Your pee should be light in colour like straw. Once you get to a sunshine yellow you really aren’t drinking enough. If it’s dark you are very dehydrated. Of course multivitamins can make your pee very yellow even if you are fully hydrated.

Gotta love a bargain @ms.sss & what excellent finds they are too. I just might borrow that ribbed dress so if it’s missing from your wardrobe …. 😆😆😆

I was only consuming 200 - 300 calories a day to begin but I was a low calorie eater most of the time (about 900 by goal at 6 months & 1200-1300 to maintain now) - you can only eat what you can eat. The number of calories you consume will increase as you heal & are able to eat more. How much were you eating after your sleeve surgery? Did your surgeon or nutritionalist give you a caloric goal for this surgery or just protein & water? Are you following the eating plan you were given? (Same old basic questions. 😉) Have a chat with your nutritionalist &/or surgeon if you are concerned or to reassure you that you’re on the right track. Out of curiosity why are you using powdered milk? My dietician did suggest I add powdered milk to my milk when I started maintenance to boost my protein & calories but I found it too sweet. May be give some lactose free milk a try just in case you are sensitive to it at the moment? Glad they got the post surgery issues under control & you are feeling better.

Using straws is another one of those things that some surgeons say no to but others say it’s ok like @Hop_Scotch said. Personally I used a straw but only if I was drinking from a bottle & that was to control the size of my sips. (Tended to gulp when drinking from a bottle.) Fortunately, we still had access to plastic straws back then so it didn’t matter if I left the straw in the bottle for most of the day - no soggy mess 😁😁. Once I could handle a swallow larger than a sip I stopped using them.

Could be any of those causes. Plus the removal of your gall can trigger diarrhoea for a little while as your digestive system gets used to a continuous supply of bile instead of just when you eat. (The gall regulated the amount of bile going from your liver to your intestines to further digest food - storing it till it was needed.) if it persists contact your surgeon because it is essential you are able to absorb all the nutrients you can.

Exactly as @catwoman7 said. There is no wrong or right amount to lose each week. Yes, there are averages & ranges but treat them only as a bit of an idea of what you MIGHT lose not what you will. There are too many factors that influence your individual rate of loss & it will change day to day, week to week, month to month. Remember you’ll lose at your own rate & every pound you lose is a win. Congrats on what you have achieved so far.

Yes your taste buds, & for some their sense of smell, can go a bit haywire after surgery & be very sensitive to certain tastes &/or smells. You may discover there will be other foods you always liked that suddenly taste disgusting, have no flavour at all or turn your tummy. It does pass. When my sensitivity for chilli & curry worsened to a full intolerance years ago the smell used to make me feel ill. Curry was the worst (& they had curry cook offs at work once a month & the smell would permeate the whole office through the air conditioning. Ugh!!!). It was like the smell was a warning not to eat it because it would make me sick. My chilli & curry intolerance is forever but as I said your current aversion to certain foods will pass. Treat the aversion as a warning that maybe your tummy isn’t ready for it yet. Congrats on your surgery.

Spring time here on the opposite end of the earth. Friendly Butcher bird came to visit as I sat on my deck with my mid morning snack. Didn’t like the way he was eyeing off my multigrain crackers though & I wasn’t sharing. 😁😁 Your soup looks yummo @kristieshannon but you all know I love soup regardless the weather. Congrats on your surgery @Kaminsky Dyer. We’ve all been where you are now & undesrand the newness & strangeness of the post surgical eating play. Just take it day by day & you’ll be able to eat soup like Kristie’s (without the kale to begin - too coarse) before you know it.