Arabesque

Yes, very normal and you’re doing the right thing. Almost 16months out, & I still often don’t feel hungry. (Hope it lasts a lot longer.) On these days, I stick to my routine of when & what I eat (though I do eat a little less & stretch out meal times on these days). Oh, & you’ll certainly know when your restriction starts to kick in. Also, I noticed when I did start to feel hungry it was a different feeling. I didn’t know what was wrong but knew something was off. But that could be just me - lol.

You’ve lost 60lbs. This is great. But I know the head games can sabotage your progress & bring your down. It’s not just about the number on the scale. Think about your wins. I bet you’re more active than you were before, have more energy plus being several clothing sizes down. What about improvements to your health & well being? What about things you couldn’t do before but can now. Celebrate these wins. We all have different experiences on this journey. For every fast loser, there will be someone who loses more slowly. Every lb lost is a lb closer to your goal. Do you have a dietician or nutritionalist? It may be worth a conversation to ensure you’re on the best eating plan for you. A tweak to your diet can make a big difference sometimes. You can do this.

I love zip lock bags - snack size 15 x 10cm. Great for freezing individual serves & don’t take up as much room in the freezer as containers.

Though I struggled to swallow medication the first couple of days after surgery, I was ok after that. I just spread out when I took them across the day (breakfast, lunch, dinner) so I wasn’t swallowing too many at once. (Because meds are absorbed at different sections of the digestive tract, check with your doctor to ensure yours will be absorbed correctly after surgery.) Like Recidivist, I didn’t enjoy protein shakes & had no appetite either. I’d dilute the shake & soup I’d ‘eat’ each day & literally would take hours to drink them. Some people keep a 5min timer on their phone to remind them to sip. I was a big water drinker before surgery, but still struggle 15.5 months out to meet my water goals. (I supplement with high water content fruit & vege - melons, lettuce, etc.) I’ve never been able to eat spicy food (sensitivity) So not an issue for me but I’d go the bland diet route to begin especially while you’re healing internally. Plus you’ll discover your taste buds will have changed & things you used to love will become disgusting to eat. (Don’t worry you’ll come to love them again.) I haven’t heard about the chewing 20 times before swallowing advice, but eating slowly is very important. Put your cutlery down between each bite. I still ask myself if I really need the next bite or am I eating out of habit. But this was me. You may be totally different. Best advice I received was to take everything slowly. From how much you can eat or drink, what you can eat or drink, how much exercise you can do, when you can progress through the stages, etc. It’s a lot of trial & error to find what works for you & your tool. Some things will work one day but not the next. Your tummy will soon tell you want it likes or doesn’t & what’s too much. You’ll do fine. There are so many wonderful benefits to this process. Enjoy each & every one. 😁

10lbs is pretty common as Catwoman7 said. I lost about 13lbs in the first three weeks (but I wouldn’t have been hitting 400 calories a day - not hungry & struggled to eat much that first month or so). I slowed after that first month. Some weeks you may lose a little more, others less. Then there’ll be weeks you don’t lose at all. It’s all part of the process. Good luck on your journey.

It just feels so uncomfortable if I do drink with or immediately before or after a meal. Plus I can’t eat much if I drink before or during. I don’t miss it either. I’ve been having soup a bit recently & it’s a real challenge to eat unless it’s a really thick dense soup (& I love a bowl of home made soup). All you can do it give it a try & see if you are someone who can. We’re all still learning so all questions have value here. 😁

Devastated. My local supermarket is no longer stocking the yoghurt I love in either tubs or the drinking yoghurt. Best thing was it didn’t taste as sweet as other yoghurts which is likely why it’s not a ‘good seller’. Used to mix my collagen & silica powder in the drinking yoghurt. I’ve complained but I’m probably a lone voice. 😭

It doesn’t have sugar but it does have artificial sweeteners which continue to feed your sugar cravings. Plus the 300mg of caffeine per can is equivalent to about three 8oz cups of coffee. Another consideration is the carbonation. The gas is rather filling for your much smaller tummy. If, on the odd occasion I have a carbonated drink (soda or tonic water), I don't let them get pretty flat, I get a very uncomfortable tightness - like I want to burp but can’t. Many wls patients have no issues with caffeine or carbonated drinks but others do. But ultimately the decision is yours. You could see if you can tolerate drinking them again but I would give yourself time to heal after surgery before you do.

I had stress related irregular reflux plus an acidic stomach & suffered terrible hiccups for years & took Nexium as needed. My surgeon told me I would need to take Nexium everyday after surgery which I do. He also said basically the same as Greentealael’s surgeon said: some improve, some worsen some remain unchanged. For 12+ months mine seemed better but it could have been the daily medication. I have noticed I now get a bit of burning in my throat on odd evenings but I don’t have hiccups like I used to or the bad taste in my mouth. I usually take another Nexium when it occurs.

I was eating about 1/4 to 1/3 a cup just depending on how I was feeling until into about month 3. Eat slowly, get your protein in first & listen to your body - it will tell you when you’ve had enough. Don’t push it. You are still healing. I didn’t try vegetables until I was on solid foods so around weeks 5 & 6. I love my vegetables but found that I did not enjoy the taste of many of my favourites. Steamed cabbage & cauliflower was all I could tolerate for ages. Carrots, onions & celery were ok if cooked down in a stew. I didn’t eat them often to begin because I couldn’t fit them in after I’d eaten my protein. Are you taking your vitamins. This is really important.

This is all pretty normal. The swelling is probably a combination of the surgery & the gas. It will disappear. My surgeon told me not to be too concerned with meeting goals to begin with which was reassuring as I’d only have one protein shake & barely 200mls of soup a day - & I’d take hours to drink them. Diarrhea is common too. You’ll soon find the reverse will happen & you’ll regularly be constipated. Remember you’re not eating any solid foods at the moment & then when you do begin to it‘s not much. Some of the pain you’re experiencing is likely from the internal wounds & swelling around where that large section of your tummy was removed. Your tummy may be sensitive for a while until you’ve healed. I’m glad you contacted your medical team. It’s better to know if what’s happening is expected (or not). Good luck on your journey.

Oh, yeah. I put in 10+kg in a couple of months when I hit menopause. No change to what I was eating or my activity levels. Same thing happened to two friends too. Bloody hormones. I’ve been eating white bean soup (beans, carrots, celery, onion & spinach in vege stock) for the last couple of days & I’ve put on 1/2kg. WTF? Makes no sense.

I was only eating three times a day & probably only barely 1/3 cup. Don’t force yourself to eat if you’re not hungry or to get in a specific volume of food. Listen to your body. It will tell you how much you can eat & how frequently. be patient you don’t want to make yourself unwell or suffer more dumping attacks. If you are really concerned about your calorie intake at this stage, sip some soup, broth or a protein shake over a couple of hours. During my liquid stage, I ate two ‘meals’ a day & take hours to drink my protein shake or soup. (I kept the soup in a thermos to keep it hot.) Plus they add to your fluid intake for the day.

Constipation is pretty common. The combination of a high protein & low fibre diet is the main cause. Plus you’re not eating much so don’t have a lot to excrete. If you haven’t yet, add some fibre supplements like benefibre. Avoid the ones that swell in your small tummy. They’ll fill you up & you won’t want to eat which is more important. Also keep your fluids up. If I went every second day I was happy. I’d take a stool softener if I hit a third day. I also found if I just sat & was patient, not straining, I would get some movement. It does get better when you’re closer to maintenance & are eating a more balanced diet.

So it was fine for your friend to take time off work for her honeymoon & to have her baby but you can’t take time off to do something which will make you healthier. And your colleagues who are so concerned about the risks of surgery speak to your manager but have made no mention of the risks involved with you being overweight. Selfish HYPOCRITES! I am angry for you. Making the decision to go forward with weight loss surgery is not easy & neither is the journey to successfully lose weight. I’m very glad you have the support of your husband & mother because there will be times you’ll need them to help you stay the course. I wish you all the best on your weight loss journey.

One of the reasons I was leaning towards sleeve surgery was because issues with malabsorption were less frequent than with other weight loss surgeries, or so I understood. I stopped taking my vitamins early this year after I started maintenance (made me nauseated so I wouldn’t eat) & my bloods have come back twice since then with all my levels being very good. My bone density is excellent too. My surgeon & dietician are happy with me but we’ll keep monitoring just to make sure. I do eat a balanced diet: protein, vegetables, fruit, dairy, whole/multi grains, low fat, etc. And I think I just absorb my nutrients well - genetics play a part here I think. We’re all different & those who’ve had issues may naturally not absorb nutrients via food &/or supplements as well as others. Some sleevers happily give up regularly taking vitamins yet others continue to take supplements for myriad reasons. Follow your team’s instructions re vitamins & keep up with your blood tests to monitor your levels. That way it there are any significant drops in your levels they are picked up quickly & something can be done about it. There’s a difference between being aware of possible complications & worrying about something that may not happen. Good luck with your surgery.

I was a big water drinker before surgery but I have struggled ever since. I don’t know why but think it may have to do with being a water guzzler before & now I struggle to have more than a mouthful at a time. I keep water beside my bed, in the car, in my living room so it’s always on hand. I try to keep my fluid levels up by drinking green tea (have done so for years), eating high water content foods like lettuce, fruit (watermelon is great), drinking yogurt, eating milky porridge, etc. Of course it’s not easy to measure your fluids accurately this way but as long as your urine is at least pale lemon in colour & you pee often, you should be ok.

What a lot of proponents of high protein diets like keto & carnivore omit is that excess protein that your body does not need will be stored as fat. While these diets may work in the short term, they are not sustainable in the long term & may cause health issues. This weight loss period is perfect for working out what your body truly needs to be healthy & function well, what foods your body can tolerate & what works for your lifestyle in the long term. My two week pre surgery diet was keto but once I started eating solid foods I modified that diet with my dietician‘s support. Dropped the high fat, added fruit other than just berries, broadened my vegetable options (but still avoid root vegetables), etc. to the more balanced diet it is now. I’ve tried to cut out a lot of the foods that AZhiker mentioned but have discovered reducing or limiting the intake of sugar, carbs, processed foods, alcohol, etc. works better for my lifestyle. I eat small serves of whole or multi grains but no bread, rice or pasta. I limit my sugar to naturally occurring sugars only, like in fruit, whenever possible & avoid artificial sweeteners whenever possible. (They are the worst as they only feed your sugar cravings.) I go for weeks without alcohol & if I do have a glass, I often don’t finish it. Good luck. You’ll find the balance that works for you.

Sleeping in a hospital chair... that’s real love. They are the worst torture devices ever! I think they choose uncomfortable chairs on purpose so visitors will leave after a short visit.

The smell of spicy food aggravated me before but it is so much worse now. Walked through a food court last week & thought I’d be physically sick from the smell of curry & ramen.

People get told different things by their surgeons. A friend’s daughter was told she’d have to get a contraceptive implant as she wouldn’t be able to absorb the pill correctly after her sleeve surgery. My surgeon said that was hogwash because with a sleeve the digestive path is not shortened. I swallowed all my meds, not that I was on many, from day 2. (I initially had a little trouble but that was because of post surgical swelling.) However, meds are absorbed in different parts of your digestive tract so check with your prescribing doctor to be sure.

Yep, if you don’t lose any weight in a week it’s likely a stall. (Think of them as your body playing catch-up with the changes you’re making.) Like NovaLuna, my longest stall persisted 3 weeks too & I experienced about 3 during my journey. Some people advocate shaking your body up by increasing or decreasing your exercise or food intake. I just continued with my routine & gave my body the time it needed & I eventually started losing again. Good luck.

Congrats on getting your surgery date. You’ll be fine. My surgery was way before covid but I was alone most of the time. A friend dropped me off at the hospital & picked me up three days after surgery. I live alone & managed well at home. Have to admit I was pretty tired & didn’t really want visitors so my friends & family txt & phoned regularly to make sure I was ok. I did make sure I had all my meds, shakes, soups, broths, etc. I’d need before I went to hospital. Good luck.

I starting eating watermelon when I neared my weight loss goal. Yep the sugar content is a concern (but at least it’s a naturally occurring sugar) but the water content is great for boosting your daily intake & it’s super delicious. I was low carb too but was allowed oatmeal from the start of my solid food stage as it’s a good carb. (It contains protein & the fibre hit helps with your BMs - always a win). Mind you, it took about 3 days to eat a serving. 😁 I made it on lactose free milk to up the protein more & ate eggs the other 4 days each week. I eat a regular serving now everyday & sometimes throw in some blueberries. My dietician told me recently to added some powdered milk to the cooked oats to further up the protein but I find it way too sweet.

Part of this journey is to work out what works for you to maintain your weight loss & complements your lifestyle. If for you, that includes some fast food & your weight loss tool can tolerate it, that’s your choice. Honestly, I never enjoyed fast food burgers. Give me a real Aussie steak burger any day - steak on a crunchy roll, with lettuce, cucumber, tomato, beetroot, pineapple, cheese, steak sauce,... delicious. Now, because I can only eat a small amount of food at a time, it would take me several meals to eat a single steak burger let alone any chips on the side. You could always make your own burger & fries. That way you control the ingredients, salt, sugar, carbs, fat, serving size, etc. & way less processed. Just a thought.