Arabesque

That’s pretty much what to expect in the first month (around 15-25lbs). Those who lose those large amounts of 30, 40 or so pounds the first month usually start of at a weight much higher than your’s like on My 600lb Life. And 100% of what @summerseeker said. Never compare yourself to others. It will mess with your head bad! Congrats on your surgery & your weight loss so far. Wonderful!

Definitely go back to your prescribing doctor. Meds are absorbed in different parts of your body (stomach, intestines, kidneys & liver). It may mean changing to a more rapid release vs slow release or a different med. My experience was the absorption of my HRT but after my gall was removed. My doctor switched me to a patch to ‘completely avoid my digestive system’ & all was good again. But that likely won’t be an option for the meds you are on.

That’s such silly advice. Make high protein choices. We make those choices every day. Okay up your protein but also up your calories. Your calories or volume of food you eat should be slowly but steadily increasing as you progress until you get to the point you’re maintaining. Until that time, you will keep losing but the rate slows & slows. Like many of the others above I kept losing for almost another year after I reached goal so about 18 months in total. (Wasn’t intending to lose more but it took time to increase my portions & calories to a point it the loss stopped plus it was obviously where my body wanted to be as I’m still there.) And the loss in those last months was grams a week (or none) not kilograms. It’s not over until it’s over.

Ask about bone broths & consommés too as they are allowed on many plans. They may say no to creamy soups (I used to dilute mine to make them thinner) but yes to clear soups like bone broth.

Check with your dietician. We all have such different needs. From activity levels, whether you’re maintaining vs still losing, current weight, age, metabolic rates, to genetics, etc. I’m a little shorter than you, am almost 59, not very active, on the lower end of the BMI scale & I need around 1500/1600 calories to maintain. However, the actual total calories I consume a day aren’t important to me (never had to track) but I randomly check out of interest & people can better relate to number of calories. Portion size & the nutritional value & quality of what I eat is more important.

My regular dinner plates sit all forlorn in the drawer too. I use entree plates which are slightly larger than a side plate. My dinner forks are the same - never used as I use my entree/dessert forks only.

I still cut up my meals like a toddler so all the components, vegetables & meat, are bite size. Am I the only one who does it this far out or are there are few others who do it too. Didn’t eat all of this but most. (Didn’t do the chef thing of wiping of the plate before the pxt. 😁)

If I remember correctly I think it was around one or so weeks. I remember the surgeon saying the dressings would slowly work their way off (loosening around the edges) & as long as the wounds weren’t being irritated by anything like clothing & looked healed on the surface I didn’t have to cover them again. Your internal healing takes about 8 weeks.

I’ll add to @SleeveToBypass2023 response. We all carry our weight in different places. If you carried it in your tummy, this will take the longest to go simply because it has the densest volume of fat. For some it might be their thighs or their butts. Even when you get to your goal you may still carry some weight there. But yes as @SleeveToBypass2023 said, this will also likely be where you have the most loose skin after too. Out of curiosity, have you had children? There could have diastasis recti where the abdominal muscles that separate during pregnancy don’t rejoin after. It can cause your tummy to protrude. Congrats on your weight loss so far. Wonderful.

Constipation is very common. So your pain may be from that. Remember even though you’re only drinking liquids, those shakes & soups have nutrients that end up as waste once your body has got what it needs from them. Your poop may be small &/or softer or you may have bouts of diarrhoea from all the liquid. Don’t expect to go every day either in the beginning. Back pain can also occur because of your weight loss. Many of us experience this as our bodies try to rebalance ourselves as we get smaller. Our muscles, tendons, etc. have been compensating for our heavier weight & now it doesn’t have to. Our posture & centre of gravity changes too so don’t be surprised when at odd times you lose your balance. The back pain can be from being moved about during the surgery too. But as with all things, if this seems strange or unusual for you or the pain isn’t manageable, contact your medical team. Better to be sure it’s nothing than something. Congrats on your surgery!

Remember too a lot of nerves were cut during the surgery so you won’t be getting messages in the same way or getting them at all. Plus all those sutures & staples holding your digestive system together. It takes about 8 weeks to heal so stick to the advice you’ve been given. It’s there to protect your healing tummy & support your recovery. All because you can doesn’t mean you should.

All those calculators are just averages so try not to get too caught up in what they say you’ll have lost at certain times. Some will lose more. Some will less. Some will lose as they say. That’s how averages work. And it may change time frame to time frame. Treat it only as an idea of what might happen not what will happen. You may end feeling like you’re failing if you look at their results as gospel.

We’ve all been where you are now. Loss of hunger & appetite is a benefit of the surgery (though there are some who don’t lose their’s) but it can be confusing & difficult to work with it. Aim for three ‘meals’ a day and eat what you can. Don’t force yourself to eat more even if that means you don’t eat all your portion. You’ll get used to leftovers in your fridge you’ll finish at your next meal or the next day. I only drank two ‘meals’ a day during liquids. I diluted everything and just sipped, sipped, sipped until it was finished - usually a couple of hours hence the two meals. Probably the most challenging part is understanding the difference between real hunger & head hunger especially as many of us were driven by our heads when it came to eating not real hunger. Head hunger isn’t affected by the surgery so it can be a real struggle to manage as it seems almost stronger. Generally, if you’re craving a specific food, flavour or texture that’s head hunger (a craving). If you’re hungry out of boredom, emotions (like stress & worries after the surgery), habit (always snacked by watching tv or after dinner, etc.) that’s also head hunger. If head hunger is making itself known try distracting yourself: read, craft, do a puzzle, ring a friend, go for a walk, sip water, a cup of tea, or similar. It takes about 8 weeks for you to be healed after the surgery and this includes your nerves which carry the messages to tell you you’re hungry, had enough or are full. So for a while those messages may not get through or may get through differently and the signals may be different. Like some sneeze, or their nose runs when they’ve eaten enough. Believe me, when your hunger does come back you’ll wish for the days you didn’t have it. All the best. PS - Yes they pump you full of lots of fluids so the scales can show an increase after surgery. You’ll pee it out over a few days.

I agree with @ms.sss. Stop the vitamins & go to see your doctor. Ask to look into why you may be anaemic. Is it an absorption issue, do you have some internal bleeding/blood loss, etc. In the past, I’ve always bought the non constipating iron. Can’t recall what makes them different though. The link below gives some information about other drug & vitamin interactions you may find interesting. Also advice to avoid caffeine - reduces iron absorption by up to 60%. https://www.health.qld.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0036/931698/c-lifeblood-iron.pdf Hope you can get some help soon.

I honestly didn’t notice it after my sleeve surgery but I was in hospital for a couple of days so it was day 4 before I think I weighed myself so had likely already peed most if not all of it out. I was out the next day after my gall removal & there was a good 2+kgs (5 odd lbs) on the scales (at my current weight so a lot comparatively). Yikes. I swear all I did was pee for the next few days. 😁

As all above 100%. Your medical team may track what you’ve lost since surgery but how you look at it is your choice. To me, it doesn’t matter that some weight was lost before surgery & some after. You’ve still lost all that weight & that’s amazing. Congratulations.

Yep, it is. They pump you full of lots of fluids. You’ll pee it out over a couple or so days & the scale will drop. But it is a shock when you see the number on the scales & realise how much they filled you with. PS Congrats on your surgery.

Absolutely gorgeous - the dress & your daughter. You’re so talented. So few people know how to sew on a button these days let alone make a dress as beautiful as this. I used to make gowns to wear to B&S balls (bachelor & spinster balls in country Australia. Would go for two days & involve copious drinking & very little dancing.) Went to a few when I was teaching in central Queensland back in the day.

As @SleeveToBypass2023 said, it is perfectly normal to be able to eat more as you progress. Your calories increase & your portion size increases. Your tummy is stretching more that it is getting a little looser, plus your more healed & your tummy is less fussy & sensitive to certain or random foods. The trick is not to exceed either of those. And, yes, it’s okay to have the odd days when you eat less on those days you don’t want to eat more or can’t eat more. Almost 5 years out & I still have days I’m not all that hungry (went through a few months of not being hungry earlier this year - it was great). I also have meals where I don’t want to or can’t finish my usual portion of that particular meal. Sometimes certain foods can sit more heavily at odd times than other times. I like to think it’s because I don’t need to eat more that day or simply because my tummy isn’t in the mood for that food/meal. Yes chips like Doritos are slider foods. Crackers, pop corn, pretzels, chocolate, sweets like cake biscuits, etc. all pass through your digestive system more quickly & therefore don’’t fill you up so you are able to eat way more than you should. If you do eat any of these types of foods portion out a small amount to eat & put the rest away in the cupboard. Or don’t keep them in your house to tempt you. There are healthier options to some of these like instead of chips (corn or potato) air fry some thin slices of other vegetables. Try baking/air frying some fava beans or chick peas & sprinkle your own flavours (sea salt, chilli, paprika, garlic, etc.). Or get some edamame (I got mine from the freezer section at the grocery store). Constantly weighing & recording food can mess with you sometimes but if you are someone who may be making less great choices or are worried about portion sizes you may have to keep it up if only for most meals.

Stalls tend to last 1-3 weeks and you’ll likely experience a few of them while you’re losing. They’re actually an important part of your weight loss. It’s the time when your body shuts down to reassess your new needs based on your weight loss. Your body works out what it needs now in regards to digestive hormones, metabolism, etc. When it’s done this & it’s ready to move forward again, your stall will break. Stick to your plan. Don’t make any additional changes other than what your plan requires - don’t stress your body more.

Many surgeons use an internal scaffolding type stitch around your larger incision through which they removed your tummy. This stitch eventually ‘pops’ around 4-8 weeks (individual healing times). My thought is this was the pop you felt. But always good to check with your medical team.

Almost 5 years out and I still feel cold. Was just at my beauty therapist & had a blanket wrapped around me while I had a pedicure. Bbrrr! Simply it’s because you’re losing your insulation. Plus your body doesn’t run as hot as it did when functioning at your higher weight. Some people acclimatise eventually others, like me, don’t. I keep a coat in my car for emergencies & try to dress according to where I’m going or what I’m doing.

So you’re in your third week which generally is purée. Can you give us an idea of what you’ve been eating. Yes, some take longer to heal & therefore need to move through the stages more slowly so move back a stage for a few days. Like the purée you’ve eaten is still too thick for you yet. Try thinning them with water, stock, milk, etc. Some allowed foods can still be too heavy for our tummy yet & you may experience discomfort though I wouldn’t say pain as you’ve described. And yes, eating too quickly can cause again discomfort. You can even have the foamies if something is too heavy, coarse or you eat to quickly but you’ve haven’t experienced that. I’d still check with your surgeon or go to a hospital because you really shouldn’t be experiencing pain as strong as you’ve indicated.

I also suggest checking out you tube - exercises for those with mobility issues. I don’t have knee issues but I have lower back problems. I do my stretches & use my resistance bands sitting or lying on the ground. (I have an inch thick foam mat to protect my bony back 😉.) Also you didn’t have to do 20 - 30 odd minute sessions. I do 4 sessions of about 5 minutes (6 days a week). And I sometimes do some extra random stretches - like calf stretches when cooking or prepping a meal. You may find these short bursts less stressful on your knees.

May be if they (the US gov’t) didn’t subsidise the growers of corn, wheat, soy beans, rice, which are predominately used for the production of high & ultra processed foods, & they subsidised fruit, vegetables & meat producers instead you’d have greater access to healthier food & it would be cheaper. Farmers aren’t really subsidised in Australia. Subsidies are offered in rare cases to support producers in regard to our variable climate. It’s less than 2% - 2nd lowest in the world. So our prices for fruit, vegetables & meat are subject to the same ever cost of living increases (labour, electricity, water, machinery, fertilisers, transportation, etc., etc.) as everyone else - producer, manufacturer, service provider, consumer here.