Arabesque

Yumm. I have fillet steak in my fridge for tomorrow night. And asparagus will be one of my sides too. Twin eaters. 😁

That is a pretty strong drink. Don’t know what your daily calorie intake is but 248 is a lot of calories to waste on a single glass of alcohol which provides no nutritional benefit which should be your focus. 248 calories would have been 3/4 of my daily intake then. The carbs would also be a significant percentage of your limit too I would guess. And alcohol dehydrates you & slows your metabolism. In saying that I had a gin & tonic at around 2 months at my cousin’s 40th. I nursed that drink for more than 4 hours. Didn’t really enjoy it either & I didn’t have another drink for months. I don’t drink much at all since my surgery. An odd glass of champagne or a G&T maybe once a month or less often. My friends don’t pressure me to drink even though they drink. I realised I don’t need to drink to socialise & enjoy being with my friends. My question is what sort of friends are they to try to force you to drink when medically you’re advised not to? Are they trying to sabotage your weight loss? Ultimately though it is your decision. If you want to have a drink maybe look for a lower calorie drink with fewer carbs & less alcohol.

Not as such but my first bowel movement (awful diarrhoea) about 3 days after my surgery was very dark & smelly with old blood from the surgery but that was all. If your blood is bright red & it is persisting contact your surgeon again or go to a medical centre to be sure everything is ok.

Remember stalls are very common & you can experience a few of them while you are losing. Many experience the first one around week 3 +/-. They can last 1-3 weeks. Stick to your plan & the scale will start moving again. In the meantime, take some body measurements. Sometimes you notice changes with a tape measure even though the scales don’t move. Did you experience many stalls after your bypass?

Our hair can be such a strong representation of how we see ourselves soo losing it like this can be stressful & difficult to accept. I cut mine to just above my shoulders. My hair looked thicker, bouncier (didn’t have all the weight of my long hair pulling my remaining hair down) & the shorter strands didn’t look so scary in the bottom of the shower or in my brush. Plus it takes less time for your new growth to catch up to the shorter length. You can always grow it again to a longer length if you want. Try not to let it stress you more - you don’t need the extra worry to add to the loss. It will slow back to its usually shedding rate in about 3 months.

Body dysmorphia. It can bring us down, make us doubt ourselves & mess with our reality far too often. I have odd days when I question & doubt my size. Even yesterday, I very tentatively & reluctantly put on a pair of jeans thinking the worst: they won’t fit, they’ll be tight. Were they? No. They fit fine. Looked good. Logically I knew they would but my head was saying Christmas, too many desserts, fat. I knew the scales read only 200g more over the week of Christmas. Yep, 200g, 7 freckin’ ounces, & my mind went to crazy extremes Thankfully it was only a brief bout of insanity until I told myself not to be so damn foolish. Wish I’ll never have those thoughts ever again, though I think they may always happen in some form. I am glad though that over time I’ve got better at recognising them for what they are (mind games) & can remind myself of the truth of my reality more quickly so I can ignore them. Hopefully you will too.

No, you haven’t wasted your time or money. So you ate some dessert & other treats over Christmas. It’s not Christmas every day & if you’ve recognised it for what it is (a special occasion exception) & gone back to eating as per your plan you’re fine. You’ll always be faced with these type of dilemmas (travelling, dining out, holidays, etc.). Over time we learn how not to beat ourselves up about it, make the best choices we can in the situation, accept it & move forward. Part of the weight loss process is learning about your eating, what foods you can or can’t eat (or are or are t willing to eat) & how much or how often you can eat some foods. I described it as discovering what foods I could eat regularly, occasionally, rarely & which foods it was best if I avoided. I don’t eat sweet foods except at Christmas & certain special events - rarely. Some people work out they can have a small serve of say pizza with the family or they work out healthier ways of eating old favourites like a bun less burger - occasionally. I don’t eat high processed carbs like bread, pasta & rice - avoid. Oh, and I’d lost about 68lbs at 6 months so not much difference. Seems like you’re pretty much on track. And the accelerated loss of the hair you would naturally be shedding usually lasts about 3months +/-. Your new hair is still growing just at it’s usual rate. Losing some hair, which regrew, was a small temporary price to pay for my weight loss. You’ve got this.

You’re depressed (& likely bored, tired, stressed, sad, frustrated, etc. - it can be an emotional roller coaster) so you crave junk food to comfort you then you feel down because you’re craving junk food. It’s an awful cycle without any easy solution or cure. I’m glad you’re seeing a therapist who should help you start to work your way through this. The tiredness is very common and part of your body healing & recovering from what is pretty major surgery. It does get better & you’ll eventually notice you have more energy especially as you start to eat a broader range of foods.in the meantime enjoy those mid morning & mid afternoon naps I say. Can’t offer any suggestions about your textural issues in regards to purées. You can purée many foods just be adding enough stock, gravy, milk, water, etc. to keep it moist & dollopy. It may be a case of trying different things to see what you tolerate best. But puréed soups & slow cooked stews, sloppy scrambled eggs, yoghurt, applesauce, custard, mashed boiled eggs with Mayo, milky instant oats, etc. are a good place to begin. Personally the worst thing I puréed was tinned fish - disgusting. I even ate baby food a couple of times as it was no prep needed.

Same thing happened to me. As @catwoman7 said this is pretty common with our weight loss. It’s tough on our liver & lots of hormones, triglycerides, etc. stored in your fat are released into your bloodstream as you lose weight. Always a good idea to keep watch on it but it’s likely once your weight stabilises your levels will revert to what they were before surgery or be better.

No, not just you. Been exhausted for days. I’m blaming the stress of Christmas prep & eating too much. Don’t think I was anywhere near my fluid or protein goals for days plus too much sweet stuff. So glad to get home yesterday & my routines. Also excited to cook & eat my food tonight after restocking my fridge with vegetables & non Christmas meats today. Thank goodness Christmas is once a year.

Unfortunately, reflux or gerd is a possible side effect of the sleeve. Definitely speak to your surgeon about how it can be better managed & your options. I had reflux before my surgery which I managed most of the time with dietary choices. My reflux is worse now in that I need meds every day versus rarely before surgery. But the surgery also reduced some of the reflux symptoms I had like the horrendous hiccups. Try avoiding caffeine, carbonation & spicy & rich foods (though your current eating plan probably avoids a lot of these). Try not to eat heavy/dense protein a couple of hours before going to bed. Sleep on a wedge or raise the head of your bed with a brick. Worth a try to see if any of these things can help you even a little.

I agree call your doctor to be sure but it likely is rising surgical gas. The gas they pumped you with rises & settles behind your lungs & presses on nerves causing discomfort especially in the shoulder region. Heat packs usually help.

You’ve lost the padding on your bones. My wrists, knees, shoulders, ankles, butt all would get sore when I’d put pressure on them. It does improve. The discomfort only wakes me after two or three hours now not every hour like it originally did. Some of the pain can be muscular too as tendons & ligaments etc. realign. Hips, back are the most common areas. They had been working in certain positions to compensate for carrying your weight & now they don’t have to & are moving back into their correct place as your posture improves. As for your sternum, may be check with your doctor to reassure yourself. Our skeletons have little differences in bone formations & some parts protrude more than others like noticeable collarbones, larger chests, wider hips, etc. Congrats on your weight loss.

I used to say I had a poltergeist in my tummy groaning & moaning & rattling the chains. Mine still grumbles & whines most every day up to an hour or more after I’ve eaten or drunk (just whined then 😆😆). My young nieces & nephews think it’s hilarious. I was told it’s just your digestive system doing what it’s supposed to do - digest food. Doesn’t mean you’re hungry as we were always told when our tummy growled.

Constipation is a regular battle for most in the months after surgery & until your weight settles. You’re not eating much (like your only fluids now) & your body is using most of the nutrient rich foods you will eating. It becomes quite common & okay to only go rope Et two days. Best advice is to keep on top of it because if it persists it gets harder to go, you need stronger medications to break it & it can be painful. Add some soluble fibre to your diet & get hold of a stool softener or other constipation treatment. Personally, if I went for a third day with out going I’d take something so I’d have movement on the fourth day. Some take something everyday. Just got to find what works best for you. All the best.

I started to eat to a routine, eating meals at approximately the same time every day. (Still do this most of the time.) I didn’t mind if I didn’t eat all my portion just made sure I ate something. I ate because I knew I needed to for my health & well being. Changed a lot about how I looked at food. Mind you I was barely eating 900 calories at 6 month. Even at 3.5 years I have periods of time when I don’t feel all that hungry or feel like eating (hungry but not hungry & don’t finish meals). I’m going through this at the moment (sometimes wish it happened more frequently 😁). Maybe you are too. Have a chat with your dietician if you’re concerned for ideas on how to boost your calories.

I took Benefibre for about 5/6 months . I stopped once I was eating a wider variety of foods & larger portions. I kept on top of any constipation I had but generally found I’d go every two days. If I didn’t go by day three I’d take a stool softener. I didn’t experience any of the prolonged periods of constipation & I think the Benefibre helped to avoid that. I didn’t have any issues with using it but I only had it once a day not three times as I believe it can be taken. I added mine to 250mls of a high protein yoghurt drink. Think it’s better to add it to a liquid versus applesauce or other puréed type foods.

Haven’t baked in a while but I’ve always made most if not all the desserts at Christmas which is amusing now as I don’t usually eat sweets. Christmas is really my only exception when I’ll have a small serve. Most gets eaten thankfully but a small amount comes home. Thankfully my mum has a sweet tooth so she eats that. I promised our neighbour I’d give him any leftover cheesecake this year. If I’m hosting a gathering, I tend to focus on serving savoury foods. Friend bought a dessert the other guests ate for my last gathering & I sent her home with the leftovers. If I have to take something to somewhere I leave whatever is left with the hosts. I sometimes experience hypoglycaemia. Tried a couple of sips of orange juice when I had an episode while out early post surgery but the juice was really sweet & blah! Was given a rum ball after another attack at a store (it was Christmas 🙂). I then started to take an electrolyte drink when I went out & kept a protein bar in my bag. I have blueberries with my breakfast now & I rarely have an episode. I find even just stopping and having a cup of green tea (no sugar) has helped if I catch I coming on. Don’t know why … maybe the hydration???

So sorry you experienced this. Though extremely low, there is always a chance of a complication like you said. Though, I’m surprised by such severe leakage & bleeding from your surgery. My surgeon sewed & stapled so double sealed my tummy. I wonder if your surgeon did this? I’m very glad you were in the hospital when this happened & they are able to operate again to help you so quickly. All the best with your recovery.

Eggs can be a problem & some struggle to eat them for varying amounts of time. Your tummy is still healing & can be sensitive to certain, flavours, textures, etc. Give them a break for a week or two & then try them again. You may find this with other foods too as you reintroduce them. And don’t be surprised if you are able to eat something easily one day but the next day your tummy says nope that’s awful. It can be like a petulant tantrum throwing two year old sometimes in the first couple of months.

I describe it as regurgitation - a sort of bubbling or coughing up the food. It usually occurs pretty quickly after you’ve eaten whatever is upsetting you so the food is still pretty high up & you don’t need all your tummy muscles to force the irritant food up as vomit. And yes less food to bring back up. I enjoy not vomiting.

I’m three yrs 7 months post surgery. I’m about 3lbs heavier then my lowest weight (2 of which are above from where I initially settled). I eat about 1400 calories a day & don’t really exercise apart from from resistance exercises, sit ups & stretches (wouldn’t burn 30 calories 😁). I am pretty careful with what I eat & there are certain foods I don’t eat or eat very rarely. Some are foods that don’t sit well in my tummy like bread, pasta, rice, quinoa, cous cous & starchy vegetables. Others are things I’ve realised I feel better without like sweet foods. I don’t eat fast food like burgers & rarely eat takeaway like Chinese, Japanese or Thai - only with others & make careful choices. I don’t consider this a diet but just how I eat. Some may think I’m fairly restricted in what I eat but it’s only with certain things & I don’t feel I’m missing out on anything. I still have cravings - salty foods are my challenge - but I understand the why & the when behind them like craving salt after I eat yoghurt (🤷🏻‍♀️). Sometimes I surrender though I’ll have some salted macadamia nuts, a couple of multigrain rice crackers (carefully as they’re a slider food) or roll some cucumber in salt. I changed some of my cooking styles & use have incorporated some alternative ingredients & more if others. Like I use an air fryer or oven more & incorporate more lentils, pearl barley & beans than I did before. I don’t track as such but I do random checks of portions, calories & nutrients. I still keep a close eye on protein, because I have an absorption issue, & on my water intake. I weigh myself a couple of times a week just to keep myself on track & honest. A lot of how you manage your maintenance into the future is a personal thing. My body, how it works & what it needs, is different to yours. My lifestyle will be different. How I want to live my life & the demands on it is likely different too. And you may be more or less active than me. Health, age, etc. are a considerations too. So how I choose to eat may not work for you or for anyone else. Same with the other changes & choices I’ve made. Best advice is to experiment with different eating styles & cooking styles, introduce new foods, reintroduce old favourites, etc. & see how you go. It just need to be sustainable, complementary to your lifestyle & you’re happy & healthy.

Firstly, congratulations on reaching onderland. Yay! Body dysmorphia doesn’t disappear with your weight & sometimes you only start to experience it as you’re losing & when your weight stabilises. It takes time for your brain (& how you picture yourself to be) to catch up with how you really look now. And it affects family & friends the same way - all those ‘you’ve lost too much weight’ comments we all get. I still have days when I look in a mirror or a reflection in a window & am surprised that the reflected person is really me & I’m 3.5 yrs out. But I was bigger for a lot longer than I’ve been slim. It may seem silly but I actually used to look up the height & weight of actors & I also took pxts standing beside family & friends so I could better see my size in comparison. You can always seek support from a therapist if you think your body dysmorphia is hindering your physical, emotional & mental progress in any way.

I found my rate of loss just got slower. & slower. There wasn’t a sudden change. It goes hand in hand with you slowly increasing your calorie intake as your portion sizes get larger & you’re eating a wider variety of foods which you should be doing. Plus every week you have less to lose. The hair loss is temporary & only lasts about three months. Small cost to pay for the weight loss. The thing to watch is complacency in your food choices & activity. It can be easy to let a treat become a more regular addition to your diet, to add extra snacks, larger portions etc., not tracking & measuring as carefully or regularly. Boredom & diet fatigue are real. But stick to your plan, recommendations from your dietician & the new habits & behaviours you’ve been establishing.

I understand your desire to maintain your privacy. We all have our reasons why & how much we’re comfortable with revealing about ourselves. And certainly professional reasons is an extremely valid reason especially these days. You don’t have to use your real name or include where you’re from, date of birth, or surgeon’s name in your profile or complete the about me section. Some information can be helpful like gender, your weight, type of surgery & surgery date. Anything else you reveal in your profile or posted content is up to you. Whatever you decide, you can remain an anonymous visitor & use the forum as a reference site only. I started as a visitor after I stumbled up the site & after a month or so I decided to join & post. The forum is a valuable resource providing information, support & understanding through shared experiences, advice, guidance, suggestions, recommendations, etc. It alleviates fears, strengthens resolve & gives confidence to those who are members or who just visit.