I am not yet scheduled for gastric sleeve surgery but it should be in a month or so. I am disabled and use a scooter after two knee replacement surgeries. 1. If I can't affective exercise will I still lose weight? 2. Once the weight starts coming off how does the body remove the loose skin folds? 3. Does the love of food and cooking go away after since you are restricted by what you can eat?
I am having Gastric Sleeve surgery soon.
- Thread starter swf1963
- Start date
Lorelai
Member
Welcome, Shelley! Congrats on taking the next point forward!
I haven't had surgery yet but I've done a ton of research to prepare myself. From what I've seen, you're not going to be moving much the first week or two out of surgery, anyway. There is usually a bit of a small stall in weight loss once you actually start eating food again, but you should continue losing weight after your body gets accustomed to that. You should be able to work with your weight loss surgery team for exercises you can do from your couch, whether it be arm pumps holding a can of soup or hooking a resistance band under your foot and pulling on the handles as you watch TV.
Based on how your body is, your skin may be able to naturally shrink back into place. Otherwise, you may end up needing skin removal surgery in a few years. You should go ahead and start taking supplements with biotin if you aren't already. I'd also recommend shampoo / wash / lotion with biotin and collagen because you're likely to lose hair post op from the sudden change. Just make sure you get your protein in!
As for your final question, I have seen a few cases of people saying their hunger eventually came back, but the most seem to not be hungry til the move on to eating solid foods. I've seen quite a number of people mention that they basically have to force themselves to eat / drink at set times til their body gets more accustomed to the new life style.
I haven't had surgery yet but I've done a ton of research to prepare myself. From what I've seen, you're not going to be moving much the first week or two out of surgery, anyway. There is usually a bit of a small stall in weight loss once you actually start eating food again, but you should continue losing weight after your body gets accustomed to that. You should be able to work with your weight loss surgery team for exercises you can do from your couch, whether it be arm pumps holding a can of soup or hooking a resistance band under your foot and pulling on the handles as you watch TV.
Based on how your body is, your skin may be able to naturally shrink back into place. Otherwise, you may end up needing skin removal surgery in a few years. You should go ahead and start taking supplements with biotin if you aren't already. I'd also recommend shampoo / wash / lotion with biotin and collagen because you're likely to lose hair post op from the sudden change. Just make sure you get your protein in!
As for your final question, I have seen a few cases of people saying their hunger eventually came back, but the most seem to not be hungry til the move on to eating solid foods. I've seen quite a number of people mention that they basically have to force themselves to eat / drink at set times til their body gets more accustomed to the new life style.
JudyNY
Member
Welcome Shelley! Lorelai pretty much said everything I was thinking of answering with the exception that I had my surgery June 2020. For me the hunger did come back, but if I am totally honest it is more the head hunger and dealing with food addiction. I agree with Lorelai that this does not happen to everyone. So while I wouldn't be overly obsessed about it, you should be aware that it can happen. Having your mindset in a healthy place is important to stay focused.
As for mobility, pre-surgery I was walking with a cane and could not walk long distances. I also had knee replacement surgery many years ago but excess weight was giving me backaches and foot/ankle problems. That is gone now, and I can easily walk. I've gone from using handicap parking to parking at the end of the lot to get my walking in. I hope that gives you some encouragement as you just might find yourself ditching that scooter!
As for mobility, pre-surgery I was walking with a cane and could not walk long distances. I also had knee replacement surgery many years ago but excess weight was giving me backaches and foot/ankle problems. That is gone now, and I can easily walk. I've gone from using handicap parking to parking at the end of the lot to get my walking in. I hope that gives you some encouragement as you just might find yourself ditching that scooter!
JudyNY
Member
I just watched a video by Dr. Weiner on exercise following weight loss surgery where he mentions he doesn't push exercising for weight loss but rather diet change. I hope you find it helpful:
Exercising for weight loss.
Exercising for weight loss.
Hi and welcome to the best support group for pre- and post-surgery advice, nonjudgmental support, and sincere encouragement through thick and "thin" LOL.
The others have given you great advice and tools to get started. I usually add try starting to get your 64 ozs of water daily to become accustomed to that feeling, plus staying hydrated will benefit your skin. Please try weaning yourself off of sodas (reg & diet), juices, and any other sugary liquids, plus eliminating caffeine gradually. You eventually can include caffeine several months after surgery once you become used to 64+ ozs of water daily.
Meeting your water and protein goals will go a long way toward feeling satiated, and make it easier to resist "head hunger." DianeSeattle has shared tons of delicious recipes with pics that you will find in the recipes archives.
Good luck as you continue this process.
The others have given you great advice and tools to get started. I usually add try starting to get your 64 ozs of water daily to become accustomed to that feeling, plus staying hydrated will benefit your skin. Please try weaning yourself off of sodas (reg & diet), juices, and any other sugary liquids, plus eliminating caffeine gradually. You eventually can include caffeine several months after surgery once you become used to 64+ ozs of water daily.
Meeting your water and protein goals will go a long way toward feeling satiated, and make it easier to resist "head hunger." DianeSeattle has shared tons of delicious recipes with pics that you will find in the recipes archives.
Good luck as you continue this process.
Kathi_S
Member
Hi Shelley, welcome to the group! You've found the perfect place for support.
The most important piece of advice I can give you is to always consult your bariatric team with questions and follow their advice. Every bariatric team is different and their advice may differ from one patient to another, there are reasons for this. For example, my bariatric team always has patients do the two week preop liquid diet, until I came along, I was the first patient ever, they told not to do it, because my BMI had dropped so low I was close no not qualifying for surgery.
Keep a notebook with you and jot down questions as they occur to you so that you don't forget to ask about them when you see your team. No question is silly. It is better to ask them than it is to ask us. We don't know if they count any liquid towards water. Some do, some don't. My team didn't have a pureed stage, it had a soft food stage, similar but not the same. My team didn't allow protein shakes after full liquids to make protein goals, where most others did.
Communication with your team is vital. You should be extremely comfortable with them. Remember you are trusting them to open you up and reroute your digestive system. You need to trust them enough to have open & honest conversations with them.
The most important piece of advice I can give you is to always consult your bariatric team with questions and follow their advice. Every bariatric team is different and their advice may differ from one patient to another, there are reasons for this. For example, my bariatric team always has patients do the two week preop liquid diet, until I came along, I was the first patient ever, they told not to do it, because my BMI had dropped so low I was close no not qualifying for surgery.
Keep a notebook with you and jot down questions as they occur to you so that you don't forget to ask about them when you see your team. No question is silly. It is better to ask them than it is to ask us. We don't know if they count any liquid towards water. Some do, some don't. My team didn't have a pureed stage, it had a soft food stage, similar but not the same. My team didn't allow protein shakes after full liquids to make protein goals, where most others did.
Communication with your team is vital. You should be extremely comfortable with them. Remember you are trusting them to open you up and reroute your digestive system. You need to trust them enough to have open & honest conversations with them.
Does the love of cooking or food go away? Oh heck no. Look at some of the recipes I have posted in the recipe section. I'm six month out from surgery and found many things I used to like, I just don't like anymore. Like Chicken breast, bread and breading being my big ones. (Bread just tastes like dirt smothered with butter or whatever anymore and chicken breast is like trying to swallow a hair ball) I have had no desire to try pasta either. But that does not mean you have to eat rabbit food. With decent cutlery, pots pans and measuring I have just been falling back on recipes I have tried in the past and dig into more of the region the recipe originated from and search for others. I make a lot of variety of ethic foods from specific areas. Right now I do some German, Norwegian, Greek and Spain for European dishes but also a mix of Syria, Thai, Nepal, Vietnam, Philippines, Japan for Asian dishes and Texas when it comes to BBQ. Beef can be hard to digest at first and I ate a lot of shrimp, mussels, oysters, fish, pork and protein shakes at first (and I still do). But I look for dishes simple, easy to prep and either low or no breads but are delish and look probably bad for you but look at the ingredients and they are not and your whole family can enjoy together. A lot of traditional ethnic foods are low in sugars and breads and high in protein and complete carbohydrates (veggies). Anymore If I opt for a piece of bread it's like 30 minutes later Coma hits me.