Arabesque

To add to @Jaelzion excellent list: 9. You’ll lose some hair. The surgery & reduced caloric intake accelerates your natural hair loss cycle. It generally starts around month 3 or 4. You can’t stop it cause it’s a normal process. It does stop & your hair is regrowing as you’re shedding. How long it lasts is an individual thing. 10. Constipation is common. Add benefibre or similar to your diet & have some gentle stool softeners on hand. You’ll become regular again once you get close to or are in maintenance. 11. After surgery you may experience some nasty & very sudden attacks of diarrhoea. Pack some incontinence knickers so you’re not caught unaware & forced to toss your own knickers. 12. You will have lose skin. How much depends on how much weight you have to lose, your age, gender, weight gain/loss history, how long you’ve been overweight. 13. A lot of hormones, etc. are stored in your fat & as you lose your weight they’ll be released into your blood stream. You may experience changes to your menstruated cycle like heavier periods, increased cholesterol levels, incidences of low blood pressure, etc. Things will settle once you reach goal. 14. You will experience tiredness & loss of energy at times. Rest, nap as you need it. 15. Take each step slowly. Your tummy can become very contrary & throw tantrums like a 2yr old child. You may not enjoy foods you did before surgery. Food you ate successfully for weeks may suddenly upset you. Don’t give up on those things. Take a break & try them again later. 16. Yes, there will be foods you won’t eat again but they are the ones you won’t be able to tolerate after surgery &/or got you to the weight you are now. There will be foods you will only eat in moderation & foods that you discover healthier alternatives for or healthier ways of cooking them. 17. Listen to your body. It will tell you what you can or can’t tolerate. You may experience tightness or heaviness, vomiting or diarrhoea, even dumping. 18. You digestive system may gurgle, groan & whine like the ghost of the part of your tummy that was removed is haunting you. 19. Eat slowly. Put your cutlery down between bites, sit back & wait. Then ask yourself do you really need the next bite or do you just want it. 20. Don’t eat until you are full. Eat until you’ve had enough. There is a difference. 21. Sometimes, you may think you are having hunger pangs but it’s actually too much acid in your tummy. You likely will be prescribed esomeprazole to take at the beginning. If you weren’t, ask for some. My surgeon told me I’ll always be taking one every day. Of course you may not experience all of these things but it’s better to be aware of them in case you do. Good luck on your journey.

I had a bmi of 35 before my surgery & am 5’3” so similar to you. I wouldn’t consider it a low bmi though it is generally considered the minimum for surgery unless you have pre existing conditions like high blood pressure, which you have & diabetic, which you almost are. In two days I’ll be 19 months post surgery. I have no regrets at all. Best decision. I slowly put on weight from puberty. Then yo yoed between 60 & 75kgs thru my 20s, 30s & 40s. Then I became peri menopausal & put on 12 kgs in about 6 months. When I became menopausal I put on another 15kgs I swear overnight. And I couldn’t lose any of it. I woke up one day & decided enough. Made an appointment with my GP & 6 weeks later I was in surgery. I haven’t been the weight I am now since I was 12 & starting puberty. I’ve gone a full circle. Generally the whole process has been pretty smooth. My tendency to low blood pressure has become my every day life & I have the odd hyperglycaemic attack. But apart from that all good. It is your decision but if you follow the plan, make permanent changes to how you eat & what you eat, it will work for you too. It’s not a quick fix nor the easy way out. There’s a lot of self reflection, learning & work involved. The benefits to your health, general feeling of well being, greater energy, confidence, etc. cannot be undervalued. Good luck with whatever you decide to do.

Try the food before & after thread. Some posters are in maintenance, 1, 2, + yrs out, some are still losing. Lots of yummy pxts, product recommendations, recipes, etc.

I bought this vegan pasta because my grocery didn’t have my zucchini noodles. Decided I’d give it a go. I cooked two serves to go with my bolognese sauce which made 9 serves so about 11g pasta per serve. Oh boy, my tummy did not enjoy it. The taste was ok but it sat like a lump about half way down my tummy. Groan! Not a great loss though as I really like zucchini noodles.

Yep, real, fresh, whole foods are more expensive but so much better for you. My grocery bill is less now because there’s no bread, no biscuits, no ice cream, no snacks, etc. I make just about everything from scratch. I control the ingredients, how they’re prepared & how they’re cooked. I used to cook from scratch 80% of the time anyway so little change except for cooking methods, portion size & no pasta, bread or rice. I don’t use protein powders but that’s me (sorry Mr Alley Gator 😊). I get all my protein in without it but as you ‘re starting out they will make it easier to reach your protein goals. One benefit of the surgery is you eat much smaller portions so you’ll save that way. 500g of beef mince makes 9 serves of a bolognese sauce for me. Before surgery it would have been 4 or 5 serves. Don’t be afraid to bulk cook & freeze like Mr Alley Gator suggested. Zip lock bags & my freezer are my best friends followed by my microwave. Good luck.

That’s one benefit of the surgery for many of us: if we make a wrong choice, push to fast or detour from our path we’ll pay for it.... big time. And it ain’t pleasant. Hope you feel better soon.

Plus the cost of returning it if it doesn’t fit. Grrrr. Been trying in last summer clothes & a lot are too big. Sigh. Will I ever stabilise. So new pants (black of course) for work. Thank goodness Witchery does a size 4 (US size 0). Picked up two new blouses too. Both size 4 as well. No wonder my old size 10 tops were floating on me. I’ll be shopping in the children’s section soon though I don’t think I’ll resort to one of those Daddy’s little Princess shirts 😂 Also cleared out some summer shoes. Too big & too wide. Six pairs to find new homes. Lucky I bought those couple of new pairs. 😂

Yep it is. The closer to your goal, the slower the weight loss. It’s part of the ‘more you have to lose, the faster you’ll lose at the start’ general rule. In saying that, you may have reached a point of equilibrium where your caloric intake matches your calories burnt which is great for maintaining but not so much if you want to lose more. Have a chat with your surgeon & your dietician to review your diet, activity levels & lifestyle requirements. What is your goal weight? How much do you have left to go? I sat at a stall for 15 days before I hit my goal with one kilo to go. Super frustrating. You’ll get there. Congrats on your weight loss so far.

It seems unusual that your surgeon or dietician didn’t give you a plan but ... shrug. Ask for a program you can follow until you discover out what works best for you as you progress & within their recommendations & guidelines. In saying that I wasn’t given a caloric goal just portion size & food recommendations & suggestions. Some people can consume more calories than others. I was a small calorie consumer - less than 300 for the first few weeks. I’m not a n avid calorie counter just randomly check but I did record what & how much I ate for the first couple of months. You can only eat what you can eat with your much smaller tummy. Unless you force yourself to overeat at every meal, make poor food choices, etc. you’ll lose weight. Eating to excess will cause you lots of discomfort: pain, vomiting, etc. But it sounds like you’re committed to the program which will lead to your success. Just take a breathe. You can do this. There’s a lot of good information & real life experiences on this site. If you’re unsure, there’s always people here to share what they found worked for them. Good luck.

I think toxins & or hormones may be the culprits too. Fat stores a lot of stuff, like oestrogen, & as you lose the fat it’s released into your blood stream. Some women say they have cycles that are heavier, prolonged or more painful because of the flush of oestrogen into their bodies. I was menopausal so my hot flushes disappeared for a while - whoo hoo! Lol! Good luck in your journey. The pimples now will be so worth it when you’ve lost your weight. 😁

The general rule is the more you have to lose the faster you’ll lose to begin. That ‘s why people on My 600lb Life lose 25-30lbs in a month. I’m not sure what your starting weight was but 18 pounds is a lot of weight to lose in two weeks. I lost about 5kg in the first 2 weeks so about 10lbs which seemed pretty average for those with similar height & starting weight to me. But, everyone loses at their own rate as other factors besides just caloric intake can come into play (age, gender, metabolic rate, weight loss history, lifestyle, etc.). As long as you’re following your plan & meeting your protein & fluid goals, you’ll lose weight. Every pound lost is a win in my book. Celebrate each one you lose. Congrats on your surgery & good luck on your journey.

First, just about everyone stalls at least once on their journey regardless of their protein intake. It’s just your body taking a breath to catch up with the changes. I wasn’t getting my protein in either to begin. My goal was 60g. I couldn’t tolerate protein shakes at all - so grainy & blah! Shudder! But they’re the easiest way to meet your goals if you can tolerate them & they contribute to your fluid goal too. I added a high protein yoghurt/yogurt drink to my diet to up my daily protein intake instead. My dietician also suggested adding milk powder to my milk to make it extra rich & double the protein except I found it too sweet. I add it to my chia pudding now.

Multi vitamins can make you nauseous. I spread mine out over the day & made sure I had them after I ate. Also, some people have trouble with lactose post surgery. At the best it can make you nauseous. At the worst it will go right through you. Many experience changes to their taste buds making previously enjoyed foods totally unpalatable. Some also find the smell of some foods turn them right off. Have a chat with your surgical team & your dietician. You should be able to eat regular food now. Congrats on your surgery.

I never ate that much for months. A quarter to a third of a cup was the norm for me. It would take 3 days to eat 2 scrambled eggs. I ate three times a day & at about month 3 I started slowly adding an afternoon snack of yogurt &/or fruit. At 19 months out I eat about 3 oz of protein. I do eat more vegetables than when I was losing (about 1/2 cup now) & have more snacks. Last night I had a bare cup of bolognese ( mince beef, onions, celery, carrot, tinned tomato) over 35 mins & it was more than enough. At 5 weeks I could eat about 1/4 cup of the same. Don’t push yourself to eat to a specific amount. Just make sure you’re meeting your protein goals. We can only eat what we can eat. Eat slowly until you feel like you’ve had enough. (It takes time for the message you’re full to get through.) You don’t want to eat too much or eat until you’re over full. I can take 20 mins to an hour to eat. I’m a believer in putting my fork down between bites, waiting before I take another & asking do I really need (not want) that next bite. Some people can & do eat more. Others less. You just have to work out what is the right amount for you & your body within your program. Good luck & congrats on your surgery.

In my first two weeks I was consuming way less than 500calories. I wasn’t even hitting 300 calories. I wasn’t hungry & had issues with swallowing post surgery because of surgical swelling. By soft foods I was eating more but still not 500 calories. Once on solid foods, I started eating to a schedule to ensure I ate & to increase my calories to about 500. My surgeon & dietician was fine with this. At almost 19 months out & I still eat to a schedule & am pretty routine in what I eat too. I still have days I’m just not hungry & I struggle to maintain my weight so the food routine is important for me. I can be flexible because I accept some things are out of my control, but I am concerned about how I’ll manage going back to work. Can’t take an hour to eat & take regular breaks to snack especially in retail. Sigh. You have to discover what works for you & your medical team is happy with as well. I understand your husband’s concern because of your history so while your surgeon & dietician can oversee your food consumption & physical health, conversations with a therapist may be necessary to support you with your control issues. Good luck.

Don’t worry about meeting your protein goals to begin. You’ve just had surgery, you’re swollen & your digestive system is very delicate. I was in hospital for two days after surgery & I doubt I consumed a cup of broth & water combined. I was very swollen & had trouble swallowing. But as the days went by I could get more in. The surgeon was fine with it. Take your time, increasing your intake each day as you can manage it. You’ll likely find things you used to enjoy upset you to begin & you can be more sensitive to certain foods like dairy. Your taste buds change as does your sense of smell for many too - they do go back to normal. Congrats on your surgery & good luck on your journey.

Unfortunately the creams won’t do much. They’ll help with your skin texture but won’t eradicate over stretched skin. Think of an elastic hair band that’s stretched out from lots of use compared with a new band. Your skin is the same. The amount of sagging skin you’ll have depends on your history of weight loss & gain, your age, how much you want to lose, how long you were overweight, your natural skin elastin, etc. But really once your skin has been stretched the only way to get rid of the loose skin is to surgically remove it. I don’t have a lot of loose skin but it’s enough. I’ve chosen not to go the surgical route. If only I could stretch my body so I was 3 inches taller I’d have little or no evidence of loose skin - & I’d be taller. lol! My friend wore incontinence pants for a week after her surgery because of the watery diarrhoea. I only had one attack & then was constipated. We seem to be one or the other. Also remember your consuming very few calories, so there’s little waste for your body to get rid of, & the calories are all in liquid form. My surgeon told me not to touch my wounds until they had healed & to keep them covered until the dressings fell off themselves. Once healed I could apply Vitamin E oil or bio oil to help reduce scarring. A lot of people also swear by the silicon strips. I used to roll the waist band of my knickers, pants & skirts down below the wounds so as not to put pressure on them. This site has lots of good advice & suggestions. Best advice I received was to go slowly & listen to your body. It will tell you what you can’t or can do, eat, drink, etc. We all go through this journey at our own pace. You just have to discover what works for you. Good luck on your journey.

Yep, walk, walk, walk. Frequent, short walks around your house are fine if you’re not up to walking your block yet. And GasX. Congrats on your surgery.

Mum told me I have to wrap the jeans up to open them at Christmas with the rest of the family. So not only did I have to buy my Christmas present from her, I have to wrap it too. 😂 We’re supposed to be having a heat wave for the next few days but only about 33 degrees C here (40 an hour away where Mum lives). Don’t think I’ll be wearing jeans soon even with air conditioning. Lol! Aaah, the annoyance of returning unsuitable online purchases. It’s one of the reasons I don’t but much online. I tried on a couple of 7/8 length pants yesterday but on my short legs they flapped around my ankles looking very unflattering. Too short to be long & too long to be short. But I could just put them back on the rack. Easy. Usually I hem my pants long so they cover my high heels to pretend my legs are 3 inches longer & more in proportion with the rest of my body. Oh, to be 5’6”. Sigh!

Fifteen ponds is great. Congratulations! There is no right rate of loss. We’re all different. You’ll find you’ll lose at the rate that’s best for you. Follow your plan & your weight will continue to drop. It’s a wonderful & exciting time. Enjoy every pound you loose.

Welcome @ichabodny & @arrington0711. Hope to see you here a lot. That jumpsuit is lovely MsSss. Super flattering. Have any of your other purchases arrived yet? We need pxts. Love the green dress bayougirlMrsS. Perfect for Christmas. Did you get the blouse in green too? The pink would be pretty too. Would match my new shoes tee hee. My mum is buying everyone jeans for Christmas but said she’d give me money to buy my own cause I was too fussy! She says fussy I say exacting standards 😂. I bought these. You know I like a wide leg. They called them barrel legs - no reflection on the shape of my legs I hope. We called them cigar legs back in the day.

No added sugar usually means they’ve added an artificial sweetener. It reduces the calories but doesn’t do anything to modify the craving because the food still tastes sweet. This is the real challenge for those with this craving because the alternatives to sugar that are used still feed the craving. My mother craves sugar too. She always has biscuits, cakes, ice cream, chocolate, desserts, syrups, dessert toppings, .. in the house. She says as she’s now 80 she deserves a treat. But it isn’t a treat if you have it every day. She’ll say she’s not hungry & doesn’t want dinner but 5 minutes later she’s eating a giant bowl of ice cream with chocolate sauce. It is affecting her health which really upsets me.

Aah you fell into the ‘I’m making healthier food choices but I haven’t lost weight’ trap. A lot of us have. It’s portion size that often trips us up. We make the good choices & choose grilled over fried, add more vegetables, etc. but our plate is still full. It’s just another thing we have to learn on weight loss journey. Full liquids seems to be your best option at this point. Have a chat with your nutritionalist first to help you through these couple of weeks. If your surgeon still does decide to delay your surgery, don’t give up. It will happen for you. Through this journey, you’ll probably have a few slips, trips & challenges. This is just your first. Just pick yourself up, regain your focus & move forward. Good luck.

I’d always drunk lots of water but after surgery I really struggled - it tasted odd & it didn’t interest me. So I’d eat watermelon (when I was able) to help boost my fluid intake. It’s 90% water. Strawberries, cantaloupe, oranges are also good sources of fluid. As are lettuce, celery & cucumber. All have very high water content. You can’t really measure how much fluid you’ve had eating these things so I tried to keep my pee a light straw colour. I still struggle to get water in but I must be getting enough fluids with the addition of these other sources cause I pee all day & night! Lol. I also keep a bottle of water next to my bed & have a couple of sips every time I wake which is often - usually to pee. And I sip from the bottle in my day at every traffic light. It all helps.

I was always a bad sleeper. I’d lay awake for hours, my brain just not switching off, then doing the count down to when I’d have to get up. If I got 5hrs it was a good night. Post surgery, I nana napped for months. I don’t nap now. I sleep pretty well most of the time now getting in 8 hrs on average. The nana nap can be enough to affect your night time sleeping ... well at least I used to find that. So I think reducing your afternoon naps may help. Good luck. Not sleeping well is awful.