Arabesque

Amusingly Jamie Oliver posted a joint recipe for asparagus quiche & asparagus soup yesterday. Started with a kilo of asparagus used the top half of the spears for the quiche & bottom half for the soup too. Obviously is asparagus season.

The final look. The designer was excited I was wearing her boots & pointed me out during her Q & A. Had a lovely chat with her afterwards. She’s delightful. Heard that she went to Chanel earlier in the day & they made her line up outside. They made the Chanel head shoe designer line up outside Chanel! 😱 She introduced herself & they said please wait here with everyone else. And worse there was only one customer in the store. Just one person! Don’t want to be that store manager & staff if she reports back to Chanel. Later in the evening, a woman came to me & asked if I was a 38? When I said yes, she said they were supposed to be my boots. Quick & the dead I replied. We laughed. Apparently I’m always getting in before she does so misses out.

We all heal & recover differently & it is a pretty major surgery. Plus you’re on a restricted diet to begin, have restricted movement & how much weight you can carry, low in energy, & can get weary quickly. A friend was back at her job after a week - easy. Another took three weeks off & said she needed all of them. I did 4 weeks, returned part time but it wasn’t easy - weak, lots of drops of blood pressure, doughy headed. We all worked in offices. Best advice is negotiate with your employers in case you do need extra time. Or return with reduced hours. You won’t actually know until it happens. All the best with your surgery.

I really love my porridge. I initially began with instant oats - less coarse & easier to tolerate. I ate them from purée. Can’t recall when I transitioned to traditional oats. I do make them (oats, seeds dried cranberries & milk) overnight but I still cook them the next morning. I cook a little longer so about 4 mins in microwave stirring between & adding more milk. Then add yoghurt, more milk to a texture I like & then blueberries. If you add the yoghurt before cooking it curdles - not appetising. PS - Watch some instant oats if you start there. They can be loaded with additives & other ingredients. Find ones where the only ingredient is oats.

I’d worry about ensuring you’re getting in all your nutrients too. Do you track your food? It maybe an idea if only for a couple of weeks. Check your plan in regards the rice & noodles. Most plans say no to these as they are so filling, have no real nutritional value & limit your ability to consume your necessary protein. Your dietician should be able to give you ideas & recipes you can put together with your limited cooking capabilities. Otherwise google can be your friend. There are so many things you can cook using just an air fryer & microwave that will ensure you meet your protein goal & are getting in nutrient dense foods. I’m a proponent of cooking as much of your own food yourself as you can. It’s the only way you can be sure of the ingredients (including preservatives & additives) & the cooking methods. Plus means you eating low processed foods which is way healthier than takeaways & other highly or ultra princesses foods. (They’re known to change your digestive hormones to increase your hunger & decrease your satiety hormones plus the other impacts on your general health.) Plus eating the small portions you are at the moment you can get away with only cooking every couple of days. Less if you have a freezer compartment in your fridge.

That many calories would have been a meal for me too at your stage. Personally I would avoid them but I’m a very low sugar consumer & avoid artificial sweeteners or sugar alternatives whenever possible. I’d worry about the carbs too (high processed white flour - whole meal would be a little better) & the fat content. Check with your dietician to be sure especially in relation to what else you usually eat each day. Plans & requirements do differ.

Like @GreenTealael I have a routine too. It makes me comfortable about my choices & I don’t have to think too hard about what I’m going to eat, how much, am I meeting goals, & so on. Breakfast: rolled oats & milk with high protein yoghurt, mixed seeds, dried cranberries & blueberries Lunch: multi grain crackers with labneh & tomato or with liver wurst & pickled onions. Occasionally gyoza or calamari. Used to have salads with chicken or prawns but got tired of it & then was making omelettes with lots of vegetables & cheese but my tummy decided it didn’t like eggs (after 4 years 🤷🏻‍♀️). Dinner: usually pretty simple - a protein (last night was trimmed lamb cutlets with a dukkah crust, the night before chicken breast & gravy) & vegetables (green beans, sugar snap peas, asparagus, broccolini & zucchini or cauliflower). snacks: 3 of either macadamia nuts, grapes, string cheese, peanut paste, protein bar, left over breakfast or similar Activity 4 sessions of about 5 minutes (3pm, 4 pm, 5 pm & 9pm) of stretchers & resistance bands. Usually do this every day or a modified version of them. There will always be days when we eat a little more of this & a little less of that, skip a meal because of the busyness of life, etc. like @GreenTealael referred to. Same with your activity. As long as you aim to do your best most days, it all works out in the end. PS - Glad you’re back on track & feeling stronger about moving forward.

Yum @Starwarsandcupcakes. Just yum. As a lover of asparagus (eat them several times a week) I’m going to look into the soup & the tart. The tart maybe another opportunity to use Boursin cheese if I’m feeling too lazy to make the custard - lol! And yes, I’ll gnaw on the snapped off end of the raw asparagus unless it’s too woody.

Another sale find. Yay! Denim shirt dress. Has pleats stitched down from the waist to top of thighs so very neat around the torso which I love. And now for a little shoe envy. Going to a meet the shoe designer thing tomorrow night & will be wearing these crystal & stone dotted beauties from her latest collection. She also designs for a little French fashion house that starts with C & ends in hannel but sshh we’re not supposed to say when speaking of her own label. Should be an interesting night.

Great advice above. Dr Matthew Weiner is a great resource (you tube videos, books, podcast, website). He does encourage a plant based eating style but you can use it as a guide & for ideas especially around increasing vegetable consumption, ingredient alternatives, etc. I didn’t exercise while losing & still don’t as people define exercise. I do 4 x 5 minute sessions of stretching & resistance bands through out the day. Easier to find 5 minute blocks of time throughout the day versus say an hour + at the gym. It’s called exercise snacking. Though as other have said you probably do a lot of running about with your little ones as it is. And yes, stop using the word diet. It’s so filled with negative connotations like restriction & failure. I started saying I’m not on a diet, I just changed the way I eat from when people started noticing my weight loss. (The usual reaction: Oh, you’ve lost weight. What diet are you on?) It’s does contribute to changing your thinking about food & eating. Go back to the basics when you were losing. Meet your protein & fluid goals. Watch your portions. Protein first, then vegetables & then carbs if you’re able. You can start slow & incorporate one or two changes every couple of weeks. Much easier to adopt than jumping in with both feet. Don’t be afraid to touch base with your dietician, surgeon or therapist if only for support & remind you of anything you may have forgotten or missed. All the best.

This is something you will need to tell your surgeon about & ask for their requirements. They will likely suggest you stop the blood thinner for a little while before (days not weeks I’d think). You’ll be given blood thinner injections immediately after your surgery for a period of time. They may even have you wearing a compression device for a day or so. Plus you’ll have to put on compression hosiery before the surgery & wear them for a week or so after. Make sure you get up and walk laps around your ward as soon as you’re able after your surgery: short walks frequently. Same when you get home. They may have you doing additional things because of your history. But make sure you ask your surgeon lots of questions about this. All the best.

I have random bouts of the foamies vomiting too. Sometimes I can’t work out why. It’s usually something that is a little coarse or fibrous or too dry. The last bout was because of some string left on a sugar snap pea pod - didn’t do a great job trimming it. Sometimes it’s the floret part of broccolini. Or chicken breast. Or something that’s just sitting more heavily than expected. Or … And yes it’s often food I’ve eaten easily before & will again after. Sometimes, I can bring up the offending bite & a few minutes later finish the meal. Weird. I just say I have a sensitive esophagus & tummy & some days they say No! PS - Congrats on your loss so far. Whoo!

Even almost 5 years out, there are still things that surprise me. Walking around cars in a car park & realised my short cut progress was halted by a post & a dirty car. I thought no way will I squeeze through that tiny gap of maybe 10 inches & thought I’d have to walk back around. Took a breath & decided to edge sideways a little to test it. Slipped through that gap like butter. Didn’t touch the post or the dirty car. I was wearing white too & not a mark. Couldn’t believe it.

We always say stick to your plan but sometimes our tummy is just not ready to move forward. It’s not unusual for people to go back a stage for a little longer. I mean we all heal in our own time line. In your case, maybe you do need a liquid stage. Worth giving it a go & seeing if it helps. Just watch your protein. You may not get to your goal but as long as you’re close you’ll be okay. I’d probably still contact your team to discuss your situation & struggles. They may suggest some other things you could try. Give yoghurt, thicker soups, instant oats made on milk (add more milk to get it to a consistency you can tolerate), runny eggs (though some struggle with eggs), etc. a go which will give you protein unlike your potatoes & toast. These were a blessing to me.

Best advice is to get back into contact with your therapist (if you saw one as part of your pre surgical process) or ask your team for a referral to one. They will help you work through the why behind your bad eating habits & help you develop strategies to manage when those situations (stress, anxiety, boredom, past issues, life in general, etc.) arise. Then go back to how you were eating when you lost that 50lbs. You don’t need to go back to the very beginning. Meet those protein & fluid goals. Eat your protein first, then vegetables & only if you can any carbs you are allowed (look for whole or multi grain low prices see versions). Keep your fat & sugar (real, artificial or alternatives) low. Check your portions. Return to tracking if you did it before to check your getting your nutrients in. Maybe catch up with your dietician too to help you get back on track. You can do this.

I used to sprinkle chunks of cucumber with salt so crunch & salt. The salt was good for the low blood pressure & the cucumber is practically no calories at all. Those pork rinds are pretty tasty but way high in fat (often 50% fat) & calories especially as a snack for the losing stage as @ms.sss said.

Doing many different duets including several VLC & deliberately skipping meals had done a number on my metabolism. Started doing this at 15 so did this for 40 years. The last VLC diet I did (<500 calories) I barely lost a thing - a couple of kilos over 6 or more weeks. The surgery works because it changes your hormones & boosts your metabolism. It also resets your weight set point. This is the weight your body is happiest at & will keep returning to or makes it harder to lose the weight in the first place. I went from really not being able to lose anything to losing all my weight & more. I weigh The other difference was if I did lose weight on a diet in the past as soon as I stopped I invariably went back to eating the exact same way as I did before & regained my weight. Which kept my set point high. I’ve been able to maintain because I took the time while losing to change my relationship with food & changed how & what I ate. I took advantage of the benefits of the surgery. I look at flood differently. I adopted a way of eating (not a diet - to many negative connotations to that word) that works for me because it’s sustainable, complements my lifestyle, ensures I’m making nutrient rich food choices & I don’t feel like I’m missing out on anything. You may find these links informative. Dr Matthew Weiner (Pound of Cure) has excellent resources es as does Dr John Pilcher. https://courses.poundofcureweightloss.com/courses/weight-loss-hormones/

Exactly as @catwoman7 said, perfectly normal. You can experience a few of them along the way too. They usually last 1-3 weeks. They are an important part of your weight loss & are when your body shuts down & takes stock of the changes you’ve made & your weight loss so far. It works out your new needs in regards things like digestive hormones, metabolic rate, etc. The stall will break when your body is ready to move forward again. Don’t stress your body more by trying to change things beyond what your plan requires. Yes, even knowing this, they’re still frustrating.

Yep, me too. I had upper back pain. Getting a bra that actually fit & was supportive helped a lot but that’s not an option for you - Lol! I had some acupuncture too. As @ms.sss said, a changing centre of gravity because of your weight loss is a big contributor. Your body (muscles, tendons, sinews) was used to holding itself in a certain way to counteract & balance the weight you carried, now it’s relearning how to hold itself. I remember slouching for a while after because I didn’t have a tummy to prop me up anymore. I used to check & correct myself to sit up or stand straighter until it became more automatic & natural. Yes it was temporary for me too. Can’t recall how long for though. Maybe a physio can help with some exercise & stretches to build up your postural muscles again. Or some good massages or acupuncture. Congrats on your weight loss though!

You have so earned this after your experiences. Congratulations. Yay!

I didn’t do a food funeral or have a final treat. It all happened pretty quickly. From GP appointment for a referral, to seeing the surgeon, then the dietician & then surgery wasn’t quite 6 weeks. And I think because from the morning I woke up & said enough & made my GP appointment, I was committed. I was ready to make the change for a different life. Maybe if I had a longer time frame until the surgery it may have been different. 🤷🏻‍♀️ Never thought I’ll never have this food again, or won’t be able to eat at a specific restaurant ever again. I do. Just make more careful choices, watch portions, frequency, etc. Had takeaway fish & chips with my brother’s family last week. Ordered grillled fish & salad & snuck a chip from my nephew’s plate. Actually first fish & chips (well chip) since before surgery. But we’re all different in how we approach things. Doesn’t mean what you choose to do is right or wrong. Enjoy.

First was at week 5. I had returned to work in a new area where an old work friend was based. I’d lost a good 10kgs (22 odd lbs) so noticeable. She’d known me from thin to obese & up & down so knew of my battles. She hugged me in welcome on my first day & then whispered I was looking good. I told her a few days later. She offered no judgement just good wishes. Everyone in that section knew I’d recently had a surgery but not what. Most presumed it was a ‘female surgery’ (it was a largely male section) & I didn’t correct them. I remember her reaction so well because on the last day of my contract (about 8 weeks later), they organised a farewell/thank you morning tea for me. Lots of sticky buns, cakes, etc. She whisperered she’d made sure there was some cheese & crudités so I could have a little bite of something & not feel uncomfortable. Such a considerate thing to do & all without fuss. Can’t recall who was last to notice I was losing weight. Sometimes people don’t say anything because they’re unsure how you’ll react or don’t want you to think they watching how successful you are or will be. Or if the don’t know worry you are unwell & again don’t want to broach the subject with you. So they say nothing. Your boyfriend is likely trying to be super supportive & nothing more. Depending on how much you were when you started, it can take a little while to really notice a change. For me, that 10kgs was almost a dress size, but because I wore a lot of loose, or elastic waisted clothing, my loss was sort of hidden. Gave you been taking photos or taking body measurements (weekly or monthly)? Sometimes the changes can be seen more easily that way than just in a mirror (body dysmorphia can blind us to the truth sometimes) or when pulling on your pants (until they fall down of course 😉). Congratulations on your loss so far.

I’d ask simply him why. Why he’s removing it & why he wants to do two separate surgeries. Lap bands have dramatically decreased in popularity over the last years & not many surgeons do them any more. Failure, side effects, effectiveness, etc. seem to be the reasons. Some studies say the life span of a lap band is only 7-10 years so you’re at your band’s end of life now. Not all surgeons do the removal & revision in one surgery. Maybe your surgeon is basing his decision on your current health status. Maybe he wants to give you a recovery period between the two surgeries to ensure you’re fully healed. May be he wants to give you time without a weight loss tool to see how you respond in regards to self monitoring your food intake, etc. Just throwing some ideas out there.

I agree with the others. Your rate of loss is fine. I also agree with the concerns about your eating during this losing period. It seems more like how you may chose to eat when you are in maintenance. When we choose how much & how often we have foods like pizza, chips, sweetened drinks, etc. When we decide what foods we’ll to add back into our new way of eating or ones we’ll avoid. When we look at alternative ingredients, or different cooking methods. I also worry about you changing your way of eating so often, going from one extreme to another. (Not including Ramadan in this.) Are you sure you’re meeting your fluid & protein goals? Are you sure you’re getting in a range of nutrients from nutrient dense foods? This is so important when we are only able to eat smaller portions. We all say & are told to stick to our plans for a reason. You mentioned you had a difficult relationship with food/bad eating habits & these current behaviours do seem a continuation of this. Do you still see your dietician? Your therapist? If not, at the very least I’d seek a reference from your surgeon/team to a therapist who specialises in disordered eating. Many find therapy very helpful in changing these behaviours & their relationship with food & identifying strategies to mange them. All the best. PS - Don’t believe the calorie burn on your Apple Watch. It’s known to be inaccurate & tends to inflate the stats. It only uses your height, weight & age & not your individual metabolic rate, your optimal heart rate, the amount of energy you are putting into the activity, etc. Use it as a guide/approximation only.

Be warned what you may enjoy before surgery may be disgusting after. We experience a change in our tastebuds & sometimes sense of smell. There can even be an aversion to certain textures. It can persist for a couple of months. I found things became ridiculously sweet or salty. The shakes were crazy sweet & seemed very grainy. I tried a flavourless pea protein but all I could taste was peas (& I love peas but then blah!) Many struggle with purées because of the texture. Best advice is to get in a variety of brands & flavours of shakes others recommend here & also some bone broths & cream soups. All the best with your surgery.