Arabesque

I had a slump about three months after surgery. So so tired. Remember walking on my treadmill (thought it was about time I did something more physical) & struggling to keep my eyes open. Thought I was going to fall off & hurt myself. Went upstairs and napped. Can’t recall how long it persisted. I went back to taking a diluted bottle of hydralyte with me to give me an energy boost if I needed it. Never did get back on my treadmill 😁😁.

Actually I have read about some people who do take the Flintstones ones. If they work can’t see a problem. Some find the creators unpalatable so maybe have a look around & see what vitamins you can find in a patch or an oral spray formula. I started using an oral spray Vit D+K in winter last year. It was so easy - single squirt under the tongue. It lasted for ages (about 6 months) so more economical than tablets & my levels did rise so it worked. I’ve seen Vitamin B & C oral sprays.

@summerseeker explained them pretty well. High processed, simple carbs, high sugar, low nutritional value, ‘snack’ foods tend to be sliders. Not just for us but for everyone. They go through your digestive system quickly & therefore don’t fill you/satisfy you so you eat way more than you should. They can also cause dumping in some people. Chips (corn, potato, tortilla), popcorn, chocolate, chewable sweets, milkshakes, ice cream, pretzels, cakes, crackers, etc., should be avoided. If you do choose to eat them in the future it is important to carefully watch how much you eat. Portioning out an appropriate serve is better than straight from a bag or packet which easily becomes mindkess eating. If you’re looking for a snack type food try cheese, jerky, nuts, hard boiled eggs, celery or carrot straws, or make your own protein balls or mini egg muffins.

I told some people & not others too. Those I hadn’t told about the surgery, I’d say I was seeing a dietician, changing what I was eating, had done lots of reading & had the support of my doctor. All true. If they wanted to know what diet I was following I’d say, again truthfully, not a diet, but a way of eating that worked for me.

Yep. Our bodies can be pretty vocal about what it likes/doesn’t like or tolerates/doesn’t tolerate. I was really happy when I was able to eat rolled oats too (instant initially). I’d make up the full serve (on milk) with extra milk added to further thin it too & I’d eat it for three days. 😁 Each day I’d scoop out the portion I could eat & reheat it in the microwave. I still at it very day with blueberries. Yummy!

I took meds 24hrs after surgery. It was painful for a couple of days due to post surgical swelling. It is something to speak to your surgeon about as they often have different requirements. And not all meds can be crushed or split so you’ll have to look into that if you have to wait a couple of weeks before swallowing meds.

Been baking. For drinks yesterday & then today to use up the leftover ingredients. Mediterranean tartlets & savoury egg muffins. As usual I started with a recipe & then detoured considerably LoL! Froze most of the muffins but will have two for lunch today & tomorrow. And I used a mandoline to slice the onions for the caramelised onion tartlets for first the first time since I sliced off part of my thumb. Have to admit I had a moment of trepidation but then I just dived in slicing.

I started a new contract 4 weeks after my surgery. I did struggle a bit because my BP was so low - had times I was very doughy in the head & would lose vision at times. (Always had a tendency to this so…) I had a long history working in this department & they were very understanding. They knew I had a surgery & was recovering so let me negotiate my hours a bit. Funny thing was my boss presumed I’d had a ‘female’ surgery & I didn’t say I didn’t. Some noticed the weight loss ((last worked there five months previously) but they linked it to the surgery too & me trying to be healthier. All very easy actually.

For me I still can’t take more than two big swallows (my restriction kicks in & I gurgle more) but others find they can eventually drink much like they did before. Personally, I find drinking regularly means I never feel so thirsty I need to gulp down several mouthfuls which is better for you.

I still enjoy eating really good & delicious food & I still love cooking & going out to fine dining restaurants. I just look at food differently. Of course food still has to taste good. I wouldn’t eat something only because it was good for me if it tasted awful or unsatisfying. But it’s almost like food being yummy is the bonus to the nutritional benefits. I don’t eat it just too make me happy or feel better. The other part of this is portion control: this is delicious but I don’t have to eat more than I need. This is how I manage the rare times I have dessert. I don’t need to eat a full slice, multiple scoops, etc. A couple of bites is fine & just as enjoyable. In some ways I value those couple of bites more. Don’t be afraid to try new foods & ingredients during this process. You may also discover foods you didn’t enjoy before or didn’t think you’d enjoy are actually quite delicious. Oh & I had almost 54 years of programming 😉.

Depending upon what your surgeon advised (yes or no to straws) you may find a straw helpful. I found I could control my sips more easily with a straw. Warm/hot drinks are easier to sip - don’t want to burn your mouth. Plus warm/hot drinks are often more soothing & yes you can warm your shakes. Your body will certainly tell your sips are too big or you’re taking them too frequently though it is harder to tell while you’re healing - all those cut nerves. More reason to be careful - don’t want to strain your healing tummy.

Oh yeah, the change to our taste buds & for some smell. It’s temporary but can make certain foods taste flavourless or really disgusting. Same with smell - you can become more sensitive to certain smells or certain smels make you nauseous. How long it persists is individual. When you say satisfied do you mean an emotional satisfaction from eating or sated as in you don’t need to eat any more/don’t want to eat more? The emotional satisfaction you may have got from food before is related to head hunger & how food may have comforted you or made you feel better. Emotional satisfaction is related to your relationship with food & something we all work through. (Not saying you won’t enjoy eating. You will still enjoy delicious foods & eating but your relationship with food will change & you’ll understand why you eat better.) With the surgery you can also lose your appetite so not be interested in eating. Plus your nerves were cut & your healing so all those old messages about hunger, having eaten what you need, etc. don’t get through like they used too. And you may find a lot of those old signals feel different & you have to learn what those signals are & mean to you.

It’s time to put you (& your children) first. If your partner is not supportive now he won’t be any time in the future. Abuse is not always physical & cooking dinner does not make up for his hurtful, harmful words. You obviously are not happy & as @Hop_Scotch said you deserve much better than this.

The hunger urges do come back any where from around 6 to 12 months +/-. As @SkinnyMingo1408 said the surgery is a tool & you can’t rely on the the temporary benefits like reduction of hunger & appetite which don’t last. The honeymoon period is an opportunity to establish new eating habits, introduce new more nutritious foods & cooking methods, reflect on what drives you to eat, etc. Is what you feel real hunger or head hunger? Is there a reason you’re hungry (late for a meal, ate a small portion at a previous meal, missed a meal, been very active)? Are you wanting to eat a specific food, texture or flavour? (This is head hunger not real hunger.) If you are eating regularly, are eating nutrient dense food in recommended portion sizes you shouldn’t be feeling so much hunger you have trouble controlling the urge & are driven to eat. Do you still measure & track everything you eat? Have a chat with your dietician to review your food choices, portion sizes & calorie intake to ensure you on track. Maybe finding a therapist will help too. Many find therapy very beneficial in understanding their eating habits, what drives them to eat & the reason behind them. The head work really is the hardest part of weight loss.

My thought would be no because they’ll be dealing with a different part of your anatomy & therefore you would need different surgeons with different specialities. They would likely be able to use some of the same laparoscope sites for the surgery so maybe no additional scarring.

Constipation is very common. Find a good soluble non swelling fibre supplement - I used Benefibre - & add it to your diet every day. Add more vegetables to your diet as you’re able, look to whole & multi grains in the carbs you can have & ensure you’re meeting your fluid goal. And try to keep on top if the constipation so it doesn’t go on for so long you require more extreme treatments, and you can avoid the daily discomfort & pain when you finally go. Personally I took a stool softener if I hadn’t gone by day three. It was enough to get things moving again for me. It usually continues until you are eating more & a wider variety of foods so when you are close to your weight stabilising. I still have occasional episodes of constipation (had one this week 😉).

Did the drink also contain artificial sweeteners specifically sugar alcohols (xylitol, maltitol, erythritol, etc. - those that end in ‘ol’)? These are renown for causing nausea, diarrhoea, bloating & other digestive problems. Many find after surgery, they can’t tolerate these sweeteners after surgery. Of course your tummy can be sensitive & fussy in the first couple of months after surgery (like a petulant two year old). A food or drink you can eat/drink one day causes you problems the next: tummy says no, not today. Doesn’t mean you won’t ever be able to have that food or drink. Give it a week or two & try them again. I remember easily eating a soft well cooked carrot one day but the next up it came. Tried it the next week & all was fine, never had an issue again.

Welcome & congrats on your upcoming surgery. You picked one of the questions for which there is no definitive answer. Some will say yes & others no because surgeons have different plans & requirements. Best advice is to ask your surgeon or their team & then follow their advice. Same with what foods you can or can’t eat & when, how long each of your staged return to eating phases last, whether you can use a straw or not & so on. Nothing stopping you reducing or stopping your caffeine intake if you want as it can irritate your delicate post surgery healing tummy. May be look to reducing things you consume a lot or crave like carbonated drinks (one you will have to avoid for a while or forever depending on how you react), sweet things, etc. so withdrawals symptoms while on the pre surgery & staged return to eating post surgery diet aren’t quite as severe & hard to manage. To update your profile information using the web based version not the app, click the three line icon in the top right hand corner, select account & then profile. You can update your current weight as you progress by scrolling to almost the bottom of any page to the together we have lost section. All the best.

Estrogen is stored in your fat so as you lose weight that estrogen is released into your blood stream. This estrogen flush can make you more fertile (many surgeons suggest doubling down on contraceptives), longer/shorter/heavier/lighter periods, more or fewer PMS symptoms, acne, headaches, etc. In my case my menopausal symptoms disappeared for a while (came back though ☹️). The surgery & weight loss can also cause other seemingly unusual effects For example, many see their cholesterol &/or bilirubin levels rise, liver function to be off, etc. It can even cause gall stones to develop. These are all temporary effects & will eventually decrease until your weight loss stabilises or slows & they disappear. Of course if the persist or seem extreme, contact your doctor.

I didn’t exercise in the traditional sense & I lost all my weight & more. I made my everyday tasks more active. Walked up & down escalators, took stairs not lifts, parked further away from where I was going, took the long way round, made multiple trips up & down my stairs even if I could do it in one trip, etc. Now I do some stretches, use resistance bands, some wall pushups & sit ups. Mainly for my back - have oozing discs. Honestly what I do takes about 20 mins max over a three or four separate sessions. Wouldn’t burn 30 calories. 😆. Exercising accounts for only about 10% of the weight you have to lose. So want to lose 100lbs, exercise will only account for about 10lbs. Of course there are many benefits to exercising. There are lots of low impact, gentle exercises designed for various physical limitations available online which you may be able to do without causing a flare up. Give them a go & see how you go.

Yep & i still do. I’m the one running down the freezer, meat & dairy aisles in the supermarket. I get so cold it’s like it almost burns. It’s the lack of insulation (fat) and your body doesn’t have to work as hard when you’re doing every day tasks or being more active.

Wow this is really surprising. Solariums (sun beds) were banned in almost all Australian states more than 15 years ago (the last state ban occurred more recently) because of the increased risk of skin cancers (a 60-75% increase) from using them.

Whoo hoo! Hope you did a happy dance. Congratulations.

I second @Jeanniebug’s suggestion of seeking help from a therapist. Many find them very helpful in identifying the why behind overeating & head hunger & can help you develop ways to better manage the cause & effects. The suggestions of measuring your food & drinks are a good place to focus. Set a timer on your phone for a couple of minutes so you only take a single bite or single sip at a time. I still ask myself if I need the next bite or do I just want it & find this helpful for really thinking about my eating. Working out what your real hunger cues are will help too. I feel restless. I think something is wrong but don’t know what until I realise it’s hunger. I never crave a specific food, flavour or texture with real hunger. And this is a legitimate reason I am hungry (missed a meal, didn’t eat much at the previous meal, my calorie intake for the day is low,…). Real hunger doesn’t really disappear. You can distract a lot of your head hunger away. To distract yourself, try going for a walk, craft, garden, call a friend, check social media or this forum, clean out a cupboard, read, have a cup of tea or another drink, etc. Try to work out why you want to eat. Are you bored, stressed, angry, sad, hormonal? Are you wanting to eat out of habit - because of a time (lunch time, snack time) or activity (watching tv, socialising).

Nobody wants to regain weight. Though sometimes it happens. It could be our body’s set point & therefore our weight settling. The second/third year bounce back regain does happen. Cravings, boredom, emotional issues are always there in our heads driving us to eat especially for us. If your way of eating or exercising is too restrictive & not sustainable. Complacency. Health issues. Medications & just life in general can all contribute to a possible regain. I accepted it might happen. I also decided I’d do everything I could to reduce my chance of it happening though knowing some things would be beyond my control. I made changes & have stuck to them. I still watch what I eat & how much I eat. I randomly check calories & nutritional value. Monitor my fluid & protein intake every day. I prepare & cook most of my food avoiding high processed foods & prepared/ready ingredients or meals. It’s not difficult, restrictive or limiting. It’s just what I do - habits, routines & a sustainable way of eating. And yes, I have treats just not often. I’m 3.75 years out & I had a small but rapid regain (2kgs) at about 2.5 years. Wasn’t happy but accepted it had happened. Then my doctor suggested it & some other symptoms might be because I wasn’t absorbing my HRT meds. Changed to a patch & she was right. The weight is slowly dropping off without me doing anything (& that included over Christmas). This is my opinion, my experience & what works for me & my life. Others will have different experiences & suggestions especially those who are further out than me. All the best.