Contemplating bariatric surgery.... advice?

[Seriouslyconfused3]

Hi as the title states I am contemplating a gastric sleeve. I am a serial yo yo dieter and my metabolism is fucked. I have pcos and have tried Xenical, saxenda etc- successful until I stop using and the weight piles back on.

I’ve seen an endocrinologist and he said that, in his opinion, sometimes surgery is the only viable option. I’d be paying for it myself as I don’t quite meet the nhs criteria yet.

I’m miserable- I don’t lose weight unless I starve myself ie 600 calories a day and then I’m even more unhappy. I’m worried about my health in the long term, but then the prospect of surgery scares me too.

Any advice from those who have been there before?

I'm not struggling AT ALL with portion control (8 weeks after gastric sleeve)

And I had rhubarb crumble and custard last night for dinner - was lovely!

Eating completely normally now - but can only eat half a sandwich at a time - so I have the other half 2 hours later

Still eating 800-1000 a day and still NEVER hungry

Portion control is not an issue- I definitely feel the restriction. I do get hungry tho but only when I’m actually hungry iyswim. I do struggle with head portion size though- I plate myself up way too much and it pisses me off when I’m enjoying something that I can’t eat more of it

Can I ask what % of your excess weight people have lost so far? Actual numbers etc will vary hugely person to person but % of excess would make things a bit clearer.

So if you were 18 stone & ideal weight was 12 you have 6 stone to lose, sleeve statistics say after 12-18 months most will have lost 50-70% of excess weight.

I had surgery on 19th Oct & have so far lost 37.5% of excess. That seems high. Its been a month! Does it dramatically slow down suddenly? I've had mini stalls of 2 or 3 days. Not sure if they count. Anticipating a long one soon like @Seriouslyconfused3

I’m 40% of my excess down but that includes my lrd weeks too!

That's amazing seriously! How long has that taken? I presume it all "evens" out at some point & I'll soon be crying I'm losing too slow or not at all! Lol

How would you calculate what your ideal weight would be? Is it bang in the middle of the normal range? I’ve currently lost 48.7% of my excess weight if that’s the number, in 10 weeks.

I worked it out on the top of my healthy range

I didn't even think about that! I've googled & asked on other forums. Think its supposed to be 25 but I did it on my "fantasy" weight BMI 22.

Very encouraged by your numbers guys. I feel on track & positive

After 8 weeks I've lost 15.4% of the weight loss I need

That's so shit compared to y'all

I'm so bad at maths

Dh has just pointed out it's 19.89% after 8 weeks

I've basically only lost 2.5 pounds in last 5 weeks though (at eating less than a 1000 calories a day ) so I guess my body was in shock at dropping a stone in 3 weeks ?

I do wonder though how much my ACTUAL STOMACH weighed - anyone know?

I've lost 33% of my excess weight in 6 weeks, including two weeks of LRD. Weighed in today and I'm 32lbs down since starting the LRD on October 10th.

I think we’ll all average out eventually- for me I lost a lot in a few weeks then had a terrible stall so I think it balances out

Where is everyone losing weight from? Mine is all my tummy- my legs are still like tree trunks

That's not "shit" @LaurieFairyCake that's 20% gone, poof, vanished! Everyone is going to be so different & we're all relatively new to this so body is going to be having quite few 'what is going on?' Moments.

@Seriouslyconfused3 I did measurements from day 1 & have shrunk everywhere but upper arms seem to be most resistant so far. Not doing much strength training yet, only cardio so hoping it will improve. Most happy with bra size reducing, gone down 1 in the back & 2 cup sizes (clothes look better already!)

Well done@Seriouslyconfused3 for breaking the stall - I'm not looking forward to hitting one. It's amazing that our obstinate bodies will cling on to weight despite having lost 75% of the stomach and taking in less than 1000 cals a day!!

I'm now 2 weeks post sleeve and starting to feel good. The lack of interest in food I'm feeling is completely weird for me but I kind of hope it lasts. It feels like I've been freed!

Finally have a date for my surgery; 4th Jan. So hopefully that will translate into a proper “New Year, New Me” type situation, rather than all the failed diets and resolutions I’ve had in the past.

My surgeon has asked me to do the LRD for 3 weeks rather than 2, and my dietician said that I can do a Lighter Life Shake diet thing instead of messing about with all the weigh and measuring food, which I think I’d prefer. Subject to dietician approval, I’m thinking of doing it for four weeks, pre surgery to give myself a real kick start.

Unfortunately the above means I’ll miss out on Xmas dinner and all the lovely Xmas food this year, but it’s a very small price to pay for what I’ll gain in getting my health and energy back.

My partner is booking the time off work so he can isolate with me for the days before hand, and then care for me post op if I need anything, which will be nice.

I’m excited, but also quite scared. I really don’t want to die under anaesthesia which is probably a completely irrational thought, especially as I’m a nurse and know how small the chances of that happening are!

Did any of you have any “last supper” type meals before hand? The main things I’d really like are a proper Sunday dinner/carvery (to make up for my missed Xmas dinner), and to go out for a curry with my family on a Friday night and have a couple of drinks. Although all of that is looking quite unlikely with all of the covid rules, my area is quite likely to become tier 3 once the lockdown is lifted so most probably won’t have a chance to squeeze it in before the LRD.

I had plans to have lots of chocolate the day before my LRD but on the day had a really upset tummy and didn't feel like it at all!

I'm 4 1/2 weeks post op and have no desire for chocolate.

My best tip would be to get some calpol 6+ for post op pain much easier than effervescent paracetamol. Also make sure you have all the right types of food in for after the op.

I'm so glad I had it done; I've lost 2 stone already since beginning of LRD.

Ohh, I’ve started with freezing some NUK baby food pots of soft foods. Have a tray of frozen mash potato cubes for when I’m allowed soft so I can just add bits to it - gravy or some cheese, etc rather than cooking a potato from scratch each time.

Need to look further into what I’m going to come up with for the liquid weeks. What sort of things did you have? Wonder if it would work to blend up some tinned soups that are already in my cupboard?

I need to get a good blender as mine is a bit shit.
I’ll get some calpol in stock then.

Fabulous losses already! Well done!

Oh here’s my tip- don’t Bulk buy protein shakes in advance- I couldn’t stand them afterwards and wasted a small fortune. Protein water was much nicer tho!

I think I miss Yorkshire puddings the most now- I had a major sweet tooth before buts it’s pretty much gone now. I’d kill for a Yorkshire pud tho!

Tinned soup would be fine blended but if money allows get fresh ones as better macros. Higher protein, lower fat/salt/sugar etc. At liquid stage I had to maximise my protein intake at every possible stage as its so hard to meet requirements!

Agree with seriously, protein water way better than a shake!

How is everyone getting on?

I've just worked out that I've lost 2 st and 2lbs since starting LRD - I'm 5 weeks post-surgery now.

I'm eating mostly fish and low fat mozzarella to make sure I get enough protein. I'm not hungry at all and could quite easily not eat anything, if I didn't have to eat before I take my tablets to stop me throwing them up.

The only thing I'm struggling with is what to drink. I REALLY miss fizzy drinks, and my taste has changed so much that I don't like any squashes that I liked before.

I’m worried about my tastes changing for drinks, I get through so much Robinsons Orange squash at the moment, but it keeps me well hydrated. If I don’t have that squash addiction I don’t know if I’ll manage all my fluids.

I still love squash drinks but cannot stomach tea or coffee anymore- it’s so weird

I've also pretty much gone off tea and coffee

I'm fine with fizzy tonic water in gin

There's no way I'm getting enough protein in

Vegetables are my only real problem - weirdly cauliflower just sets off my hernia