Arabesque

Look at you in your jeans, Sophie: looking great. I’ve decided grey is the perfect transeasonal neutral. The mules actually have a bronze 3.5in heel too - go the metallics. Oh, & some animal print - growl. And yes they do it in a flat too - Sophia Webster Ramona flat.

I think negativity about high protein intake is related to the negativity about the keto diet. I was told to aim for 60 grams during my weight loss. When I reached maintenance I adjusted to the 0.8 per kg of my weight. But my dietician said it should be 1g per kg but because I was a woman in her mid 50s I should be getting 1.2g but that seems too much. I aim for 50g a day but I don’t beat myself up if I only get in 40g on the odd day. It’s a bonus day when I get in 60g. I think you should just follow your plan & the recommendations from your dietician & surgeon.

First, congrats on your weight loss. As for your clothes: get rid of them. As ChubRub & AZHiker said you don’t need a back-up plan. A ‘just in case‘ plan implies you have accepted you will fail. You can & will be successful. Every month, I’d clear out a wardrobe, a cupboard or set of drawers & then I’d start again. It was really rewarding to pack up clothing that was too big for me. I donated most things except for my really good clothes which I’m slowly selling or gave to my mum. I simply tossed somethings. One girlfriend got all the unopened packs of tights I had & another a brand new bra. I’m offering shoes in good condition but too big to my cousins then to the ladies in the office at my family’s business.

Congrats on having your surgery & your weight loss so far. You likely aren’t doing anything wrong. Generally, the less you have to lose the slower you’ll lose. But, we all lose at our own rate. Some at similar height, age & weight will lose very quickly, others will lose very slowly. Our age, genetics, gender, health, personal weight loss history, type of surgery, etc. all impact our progress. There is no right or wrong speed just as long as you’re losing. Stick to your program. Do the work. You will lose your weight & get to your goal just in your time. Just watch those numbers decrease, your clothes to get too big, your health to improve & enjoy your progress. Good luck.

A lot of foods are just too sweet for me since surgery. (A bonus.) I eat Danone YoPro yoghurt - don’t know if it’s available in the US. A 160g tub of passion fruit yogurt has 15g protein, 94 cal, 0.5g fat & 5.8g sugar. I don’t find it overly sweet. It has a slightly denser texture - not silky smooth.Their drinking yoghurt has 30g protein in a 350ml bottle & similar ration s if fat, sugar, calories. My dietician initially suggested Chobani but that was really too sweet. You could always purée fruits you enjoy & add them to plain yogurt. You’ll get the sweetness from the fruit & not from the sugar/sweetners in syrups. I gurgle terribly when I have yogurt but it’s a good source of protein for me each day so I put up with the growls, whines, moans & gurgles. 😁 Good luck with your surgery.

Looking absolutely fabulous @BayougirlMrsS. Love the memory lane pxt @Cheeseburgh. I lived in my long line cardigan in winter @ms.sss. So easy to layer. The mossy green colour is lovely too. So pretty @GreenTealael - both you & the location.

I did lots or reading before surgery. I also chose the sleeve because it didn’t change my digestive pathway & I wouldn’t be challenged by malabsorption issues. Sleevers also seemed to be less likely to suffer from dumping & food intolerances. The average weight loss over 5 years is about the same for the two surgeries though bypass patients often lose more quickly at first. I had stress related reflux before but while I have odd days now when I have attacks (usually at night) it’s manageable with medication - I just take 20mg Nexium every day & not as needed as I did pre surgery. I didn’t have any side effects from my surgery so I can’t advise you on that. I just have the usual side effects of weight loss: feeling the cold, bony butt pain, cholesterol went up before settling back to normal, low blood pressure, etc. & better health. As with all things, we all have different experiences throughout this journey & level of your success is directly dependent upon the effort you put in. I’m so glad I had my sleeve surgery. Whichever surgery you decide to have I’m sure you’ll be equally as happy. Good luck.

Congrats on your surgery & I’m glad you’re feeling so well. Remember, you are healing after your surgery. Your nerves have been cut, your digestive system is working differently & you may not feel/experience things the same way. The restrictive diet & volume limits are to allow your body to heal. My first thought regarding your hunger is are you really hungry? Head hunger or habit eating hunger is real & can mess with you bad. We all have to work through understanding the difference & learning about about mindful eating. It’s part of this journey. You’ll work your way through this too. Also because your ‘drinking’ your meals at the moment you can consume more because the liquids go through your tummy more quickly. If you are really concerned & can’t speak with your dietician, contact your surgical team. Good luck.

It’s likely the anaesthetic. Many non wls patients comment on dry, brittle or frizzy hair a couple of months post surgery. My mum & her neighbour both complain about the change in their hair texture after their knee replacement surgeries. It’s a pretty common side effect of having a general anaesthetic. The hair loss is the shock to the body & restricted diet. Your hair texture will improve over time you just have to wait for it to work out of your system.

It’s always soup season even in spring in the Southern Hemisphere. Chicken & vegetables. Was going to throw in some barley but forgot to buy it ☹️. Still yummy.

I was put on a keto diet plan by my dietician for the 2.5 weeks pre surgery & I was ever so grateful. One friend was on 3 shakes a day for two weeks while another was on 2 shakes plus 1 high protein low carb meal for 4 weeks. Which ever plan you’re given stick to it. It starts the process of re-examining your food habits & making better food choices so you can take the best advantage of your surgery. Good luck with your surgery & on your journey.

It may be the type of ‘mask’ you have or you may need to adjust the fit or the air flow because of your weight loss. There could be other non CPAP causes too. There are some of us who began to breathe through our mouths post surgery (don’t ask me why but the dry mouth is pretty hideous). If you fall into this group too, it may be contributing. Make sure you’re not eating to quickly or gulping your fluids & building up air in your stomach. Watch carbonated drinks. Have you noticed any reflux symptoms? It can cause burping (& hiccups).

You may dump from the sugar hit, just vomit, have diarrhoea or you may not have any side effects or any you are aware of. But is it worth it? There is a reason for the restrictive diet & staged return to eating. You’re healing. There’s swelling, nerves have been cut, you’re generally more sensitive to foods, etc. You may not even enjoy it as your taste buds change after surgery. These first months after surgery are a perfect time to reflect on your eating & change your eating habits (what you eat, how much you eat, when you eat & why you eat). This won’t be the only time you’ll be challenged by a food choice on this journey just the first. Ultimately, it is your choice.

I did look drawn & pasty when I was losing weight (worst were the ones from people thinking I had a mortal disease) but my colour & face shape improved greatly when I settled into maintenance. Depending on what they said I usually responded with something about feeling so well now I’m in the healthy weight range & thanked them for noticing my hard work. Yep, at times I was a bit b*tchy but only when their comments were really upsetting & intrusive. I still get comments about looking sick from ‘well meaning’ family friends. Unfortunately, I have glaucoma & the drops give you dark bruising shadows around your eyes. (concealer doesn’t really cover it). So I have a legitimate reason to give them in response but it’s still annoying because they tie it to the weight loss.

Killing the sugar craving is hard. My mother is crazy for sweet. As a child she risked being bitten by a snake to grab a bag of lollies her mother had hidden on top of an old cabinet. That’s an addiction.😁 Some people can’t tolerate sugar after surgery and dump. I can, but have killed most of my desire for it & now find lots of things too sweet. I went pretty cold turkey. Ate food I made myself. No treats. No snacks. No dessert foods. That worked for me but I didn’t have really strong cravings - just missed specific treats. I looked for naturally sweet alternatives like fruit (just watch the serving sizes). Or even something with texture or a little salty when the cravings hit. I found freeze dried mangoes at my green grocer - yummy, crunchy & sweetish. Blue berries are fantastic. Melons are great too plus their high water content is a bonus. Now I also make a plain chia pudding & add vanilla extract which makes it a little sweeter. Read labels carefully. Watch the ones with no added or low sugar as they likely use artificial sweeteners instead & they still feed your craving. Good luck.

I’m a pro scale person. I still weigh myself almost if not every day & record my weight most times. I found it kept me & does keep me motivated. But in saying that, it’s not always about the number on the scale. You have to know when to leave it for a couple of days or when to ignore the number (like when stalling, constipated or natural body fluctuations). If you’re someone who won’t be able to leave it or will get anxious about fluctuations, scales may not be for you during the weight loss phase.

The weight loss period is perfect for changing old food habits, trying new things & looking for better, healthier options. There are lots of unprocessed lean meat, & seafood or plant-based protein options available you could try. That saying, I lost the taste for a lot of things in the first four or so months but I found I could eat thin pork sausages which I bought from my local butcher who’s very good. He makes them using real meat & little else. Mass produced sausages tend to be made from the fatty off cuts, gristle, lots of meal, preservatives, artificial flavours, nitrates, etc. I’d eat 1/2 sausage as one of my lunch options maybe twice a week. Cooked a couple of sausages at a time in dry in a non stick pan, cut them in half & froze the individual portions. Easy. My dietician was okay with me including them in my diet because they were freshly made by a butcher. See what your nutritionalist says.

I think the requirement to be taken home by/with a family member/friend is to ensure if you do become unwell on the drive home, your family or friend are better placed to make decisions about your health & can offer assistance if required. They will also get you settled back into your home. It is a lot to expect a stranger to make decisions about your state of health & needs. Many taxi/Uber drivers would be reluctant to touch you if you are sick or collapse especially if you are female. And they’re probably even more reluctant in the age of covid.

Eating out can be challenging. I always check the menu before I go so I can work out what I can eat. If there’s nothing suitable I’ll go elsewhere. I only order an entree (American appetiser) & usually choose seafood. Managing wait staff who are concerned about you not eating the whole meal can be difficult especially if you are wanting to be under the radar. If I’m with people who don’t know about my surgery, I’ll speak with wait staff away from the table - saying I’m on a medically restricted diet works well. Also watch the drinking before your meal - so easy to slip into the pre dinner drink habit & then you struggle to eat. Yesterday I had lunch with an old friend. Couldn’t check the menu online but I’d been to the restaurant many times so thought I’d be fine. But because of covid they were doing a limited menu. There was only one dish I could eat - a $40 main course fish dish. I ate about 2/3 of the piece of fish & an asparagus spear. It was delicious but such a waste of food & a lot to pay for the small amount I ate. Sigh.

I feel like I’m the odd one out here. After surgery I was taking: 1 Nexium (20mg) 1 HRT 2 Bioceuticals women’s multivitamins (one in the AM & one in the PM) 1 Bioceuticals Vit D3 Briefly took a low blood pressure med - didn’t help. Now all I take is 1 Nexium in the AM & my HRT in the PM. I have Meniere’s so have to take Serc when I have vertigo attacks. Also have glaucoma - thank goodness that just means eye drops every night. Been off the multivitamins & D3 for about 8 months. (No more nausea & vomiting - yay!) Blood work is all good. I know I’m very fortunate.

Don’t get me started. Shoes are my kryptonite. Chubrub those Hamilton shoes are so much fun. I love a good short boot for winter - perfect with skirts or pants. Lunch with a college friend yesterday & medical appointment today - wearing my new silver & pewter mules (pewter - Lol bring on the 80s again). Finally found the perfect grey top to go with the skirt. Mission accomplished. Only took three weeks. Hooray!

A friend dropped me off but I was alone until day 4 when I was discharged & another friend who’d had the surgery previously dropped in on her way to a medical appointment at the hospital. I had phone calls but honestly, I slept most of the time. I even found it hard to read or watch something - couldn’t concentrate. I wasn’t allowed to have my phone with me in the surgical waiting room but they had lots of mags to read. They probably wouldn’t now in our covid world but I’d take a trashy one with you that you wouldn’t mind losing. Good luck with your surgery.

When I was losing, I had the odd glass. I think the first was a gin at my cousin’s 40th at about 2 months but then I didn’t have another for months. It truely took me hours to drink the low ball & no effect. Alcohol just doesn’t interest me as much & I had at least one big glass every night before I had surgery. I find a lot of alcohol too sweet now even some red wines. I’ll have a glass of something if socialising now (but who does that much anymore) but it’s not uncommon for me not to finish it. Honestly I do consider if it’s worth the calories & it’s usually not. The concern about alcohol is the addiction swapping: swapping a food addiction, which can’t be easily satisfied after surgery, for an alcohol addiction. My dietician told me Esomeprazole medication does reduce the effects of alcohol (not the amount of alcohol in your blood steam). I’ve never seen reports of this but she was a pharmaceutical rep previously so ... shrug. I’m certainly not advocating its use for this if it’s true but it could also explain some of why you didn’t have any ill effects after if you are taking it.

Welcome newcomers. Looking forward to many pxts of your lots. Popped out to buy a gift for my nephew who’s turning 3 soon. (He’s my favourite nephew as he’s the only one shorter than me - not that difficult. The other two are 6’4”+.) Decided to wear a faux leather top I picked up in winter & never got round to wearing. Perfect for this time of year. But my shoes are a little big on me now - sigh!

Unfortunately they didn’t work for me. Waaah! Just remember one prune is one plum. So consider how many plums you’d eat & make sure you include them in your food log.