ddeegan

Hi all, I had gastric bypass Jan 2018. Before my pre-surgery liquid diet I weighed 334lbs. Right now I am floating between 260-265lbs. I've been gaining and losing the same 5lbs since about May of 2018. I lift weights and am very aware of how to eat healthy, but lately I make bad choices about half the time. I believe this surgery has uncovered and made me aware of a food addiction, because I can't stop thinking about eating! I always knew i loved food, but never viewed it as an addiction until the ability to eat tons of it was taken away from me. While I'm eating, I'm thinking about what I'm going to eat next. I'm hungry all the time and despite having a tiny gastric bypass stomach I feel like a bottomless pit. I'll eat, and yes I get full quickly, but then 20 minutes later I feel hungry again. It scares me! 99% of the time I don't even have a drink in front of me when I eat so I know I'm not washing food through. I experienced "dumping" for the first few months but that mostly has gone away. I also had an internal hernia complication 3-4 months ago and had to have another surgery to correct it. I don't recommend it to anyone. It was quite painful! I'm not necessarily looking for advice on food addiction, it's something I am working on now. I've come here to ask for thoughts/opinions on a few other things that have been literally keeping me up at night. I'll probably ramble a bit so I'll put the main question of each thought in bold. 1) Have a I stretched my pouch? I've googled this a million times and can't find clear information on this. I've read that yes it's easy to stretch it. I've read that it's impossible to stretch it. My own surgeon and other doctors at his hospital have said conflicting things to me about it. If you're overeating all the time, does it take five weeks to stretch it out? Five months? Five years? I ask because I'd like to know if it's something I should even be thinking about at this stage. I don't know about the stoma stretching thing, because I do get full when I eat (albeit for not that long). I've read alot about the "pouch reset". Some swear by it. I've read doctor articles saying it's BS, and that you cannot shrink a stomach once it's stretched. I could see it helping mentally to re-acquaint you with the surgery, but I don't see how drinking liquid for a week or two can undo stretching. I digress. I just worry that 10-11 months out I have stretched my stomach irreparably and that's why I'm hungry all the time. 2) I've read that after a year, or 18-months if you're lucky, you are done losing weight. At least, the gastric bypass portion is done doing what it's going to do and anything beyond that is just eating right and exercise like everyone else. Biologically, does gastric bypass stop helping you after a year/18-months or can I still use it? I would hate to know that I pretty much wasted my time getting a life-altering surgery, and now I have to go back to trying to lose weight the regular way since it took me a surgery and year to finally realize I'm a food addict! 3) I recently read that if you get this surgery, you have to spend the rest of your life eating 900-1000 calories a day or you will gain your weight back, even if you exercise. I'm just curious what people's thoughts are, because I've read conflicting stuff about maintenance. And 900-1000 calories a day sounds extremely strict, beyond anything I was educated about before I got my surgery. In fact it's kind of depressing! I would hope that If I eat the same diet as my disciplined friend (who has a six-pack) and do the same workout he does that I'd be ok. I can't eat as much as he does in one sitting. If I beat my food addiction and just eat less than my friend, shouldn't I be ok? Please let me know your thoughts, it could help me in my quest to get my head straight! I'm afraid to go to my surgeon with this, because I feel like a huge failure and am embarrassed to go to my one-year followup and have them see I'm probably 3-5lbs heavier than six months ago. I've read through a few pages of posts (at least the subjects) to make sure i'm not just asking the same stuff 90 other people ask a day but don't see all that much that fit my exact situation. Thanks!

Since I started taking notice of this addiction business I go for small victories - Ignoring the treats at work, drinking a glass of water instead of food when I think I'm hungry at off times (IE half an hour after lunch). After 3-4 weeks of doing this every time I would binge eat I'm hoping to get my mind reset. I'm glad to see you're aware too. I envy that you got the sleeve. I wish I had gone that route instead of bypass. I feel like in a perfect world it's a year of weight loss at the cost of a lifetime of 9000000 vitamins, potentially bad teeth and a toxic bathroom!

1. mostly grilled chicken and broccoli when I'm on point (with various hot sauces), lousy and embarrassing when I'm slipping 2. black coffee and water. Lots of water. I drink 32 oz. or more alone in one gym session. 3. I'm sure it will cause weight loss again, especially if I keep my gym routine up I was hoping more for thoughts/advice/opinions on the three points I mentioned in my original post. I have plenty of technical knowledge about what to eat/how to eat/what to do. I'm going through some mental stress in regards to the surgery so if you have any insights on the questions I asked, feel free to share! I do appreciate the reply and the sentiment though.