Weight Gained Since Having Gastric Sleeve Surgery

[laurak712 52]

Well I'm here to tell all of you that it IS possible not to gain weight back. I am a bit over 4 years out and haven't gained one single pound back! There is no secret to it folks, this is a lifetime diet or lifestyle...whatever you want to call it. And exercise is most important during maintenance. More important than during the losing phase in fact. I still weigh my food and exercise quite a bit. This is also what normal thin, fit people do too. I see them at the gym every day. They can't have all had WLS, lol. This is no miracle. But it is a second chance to get it right this time. food choices and exercise....no miracle. We all know that, we just don't want it to be true...sadly it is..

Laura

[lsereno 2,525]

By accident, I did not eat dinner until 930 p.m. tonight. It was well balanced meal. And of course I am NOT craving any extra food or sweets. It may not work all the time, but it was a relief tonight. I too struggle with after dinner cravings and eating a snack right before bed.

Oh boy me too! I try to have a snack under 200 calories, which works for me. Generally, my snack is some kind of treat (pretzels, crackers, popcorn) that is also a bit filling. If I eat a more calorie dense snack, like a 200 calorie cookie, I'm still hungry for more. Sometimes I have cut up fruit, a cup of yogurt, or a glass of soy milk. Before I went into maintenance, I had fruit or a little more low-cal Protein for an evening snack.

Lynda

[Ms skinniness 3,003]

It is so helpful to hear from peoples experiences. I am about 16 months post op and i find myself struggling with my old habits sneaking back in. I can eat more than I use too. My weight is fluctuating up and down a few lbs. I still work at keeping the trigger foods out of my house, and I do throw away a lot of food. My adult kids bring it in and I will discard it when they're not looking..... This is hard work....and it's for a life time....... :ph34r:

[NtvTxn 1,262]

Sadly, I do NOT exercise, not during my five months of losing, or since then. I park far out in parking lots and I walk the mall as often as I can....window shopping etc. I know me and I KNEW I must make LIFE STYLE changes with food because I have the attention span of a four year old. I did NOT want to lose weight due to exercise because I know I'm lazy and get bored easily.....and knew that if I lost weight this way, as soon as I stopped, and I assure you, I'd stop.....I'd gain weight. So other than my 5 lb weighted ball that I 'play' with every so often, (i finally realized that bat wings were not going anywhere no matter what I did, short of plastic surgery) I reached goal, then lost enough to have a 'pad' and I maintain totally by being a bit obsessive and at times 'rigid'. I go up and down a few pounds just like my non WLS friends. All I do is cut back a little or add a little, and it doesn't take much. I log, weigh and measure my food when I'm home.....today I was busy all day, I met a friend in a neighboring town.....my calories today, just under 800. I will weigh less tomorrow that I did this morning. This is my new life, and it's pretty easy. I don't 'diet' EVER. I may cut a snack out but it's not a big deal at all. This may not work for everyone, but for me, it's a breeze. I pray that I'll be saying the same thing five years from now.

[Kris 78]

I bottomed out around 142 lbs. (90% to goal) in spring 2012 (about 15 months after surgery), but didn't sustain it long, and I ended up stabilizing in the mid 140s for several months. However, since the summer I've gotten very careless with what/how much I eat, and stopped participating in support groups. Now, a bit over 2 years out from surgery, I'm bouncing around between 153 and 155.

Seriously, it is all too easy for me to eat at least 2,000 calories a day, which is several hundred above my maintenance caloric load (1,700 - 1,800). 300 extra calories a day X 30 days = 2.5 lb./month weight gain. I never thought of it that way, but it's just basic math. I learned how to eat around my sleeve, have been eating lots of crap, and am back to some nasty pre-surgery destructive eating behaviors. I feel scared, remorseful, and guilty. I must get some help with emotional eating issues, because clearly I haven't fully dealt with them.

I started a "slow carb" diet last week and lost a bit over 1 lb., which was disappointing considering I really stuck to it. Then I realized I was still eating at least 1,200 calories a day on that diet. Time to get more serious and get below 1,000 calories a day, until I'm back on track, and once I'm back to the low 140s I must stay vigilant about what I eat.

I'm going to take the positive view that this was a necessary (scary) wake up call for me to get back on track before things get further out of control.

[K33 87]

Oh, please don't feel disappointed. In a few months eating 'slow carb', you will be back at 145.

You helped me see that vigilance is important. For me, I feel bad about myself for being fat, and I hope that when and if I have some regain or bounce back (which is expected), I don't want to feel bad about myself for losing ONLY 90 # instead of 100#. Keep your chin up and everything in perspective.

[janagram 1]

I am actually getting into panic mode.

I had my sleeve over 3 years ago, lost 130 pounds, and in the last 6 months have gained 30 pounds.

I am falling back into some bad habits.....

I came to the boards to maybe get inspired to get back on the wagon.

I spent a lot of money to have this sleeve done and I don't want to be stupid and un-do it! YIKES!

[former_vbg 198]

I am actually getting into panic mode.

I had my sleeve over 3 years ago, lost 130 pounds, and in the last 6 months have gained 30 pounds.

I am falling back into some bad habits.....

I came to the boards to maybe get inspired to get back on the wagon.

I spent a lot of money to have this sleeve done and I don't want to be stupid and un-do it! YIKES!

I'm 1 yr and 8 mths out and I have been struggling with this some as well. The key is that you realize what is happening and ready to put on the brakes. I'm still about 10# to get back to when I reached goal, but it doesn't come off as quickly as it did that first 6 to 8 months.

I'll offer just some thoughts you might consider.

1. Remove all the "bad" food from your house. If you have others living there, try to work it so that "those" food items are in 1 or two cuboards that will just have to be off limits.

2. Think about what started your gaining trend. Are you going through some stressful events in your life that is causing you to find food again? Maybe find a counselor to try and identify those things and work through them.

3. Do 3 to 4 days of no carbs to get your system cleansed of the processed foods, sugars, etc. Then, go back to the dense Proteins, try to drink lots of Water. And, depending on whether you went low carb or focused on calories (whichever path worked for you) and follow that to guide you on your eating plan.

4. If you aren't incorporating some form of exercise into your routine, try to start this. Whether its walking a couple miles a day, doing aerobics at home (you can buy different exercise DVD's at Walmart or about anywhere), or if you have the time / money, join some exercise classes at the YMCA or local gym.

Just remember, this is a journey and I think the majority of us all have to remember that food will always be a challenge for us.Coming here to the boards is a great start.

[NtvTxn 1,262]

I bottomed out around 142 lbs. (90% to goal) in spring 2012 (about 15 months after surgery), but didn't sustain it long, and I ended up stabilizing in the mid 140s for several months. However, since the summer I've gotten very careless with what/how much I eat, and stopped participating in support groups. Now, a bit over 2 years out from surgery, I'm bouncing around between 153 and 155.

Seriously, it is all too easy for me to eat at least 2,000 calories a day, which is several hundred above my maintenance caloric load (1,700 - 1,800). 300 extra calories a day X 30 days = 2.5 lb./month weight gain. I never thought of it that way, but it's just basic math. I learned how to eat around my sleeve, have been eating lots of crap, and am back to some nasty pre-surgery destructive eating behaviors. I feel scared, remorseful, and guilty. I must get some help with emotional eating issues, because clearly I haven't fully dealt with them.

I started a "slow carb" diet last week and lost a bit over 1 lb., which was disappointing considering I really stuck to it. Then I realized I was still eating at least 1,200 calories a day on that diet. Time to get more serious and get below 1,000 calories a day, until I'm back on track, and once I'm back to the low 140s I must stay vigilant about what I eat.

I'm going to take the positive view that this was a necessary (scary) wake up call for me to get back on track before things get further out of control.

It's funny that you mentioned additional calories and what it equates to over time. I JUST attended my first support group at Baylor Plano, this past Wednesday. We just moved to this area and I needed to find one closer to me. It was really good.....and the speaker was the doc (PhD doctor) that does the pre and post op counsiling for their WL patients. He was GREAT, a good speaker. He brought up this subject, except he used 100 calories. An additional 100 calories a day, 365 days is 36,500 calories. He said that will be 10 lbs a year. THAT is how I ended up at 238 lbs and attending my WLS seminar, 10 lbs at a time. I am sure it was about 10 lbs per year, maybe a little less, but you know what I mean!!! I vividly remember gaining from 170 to 180 and convinced myself it was 'no big deal', 180 isn't so bad. OMG, that is how it happens!!!! I am at goal, several lbs below my doctor's goal, but I'd like to drop 3 or 4 lbs "JUST BECAUSE". Mainly to make sure I can. I had to ADD a meal or a few Snacks to stop losing weight.....yes, seriously!!! I still have good restriction, but I eat out of habit. It's 'time' for a snack. I started a couple of days before the meeting, cutting out my morning snack, I want to 'test' and see what it takes to lose just a little. After the meeting, in my mind, if adding 100 calories a day does that, maybe cutting out my morning Graham Cracker w/peanut butter.....130 calories, will make a difference too. What do you think?

I know you can do it, we do have to be aware of everything we do. I log my food, but there are some things I do NOT even bother counting.....and they do add up, and CAN add up to 100 calories in a blink of an eye!!! I add a little 2% milk (although I DRINK skim) to my THREE cups of coffee. Not even enough to try and log.....BUT, it adds up. Also, when I scramble an egg, I put a little butter in the pan, a teaspoon at the most, but I do NOT log that either!!! Jeeeeeze....and we all know how food tasting when we're cooking can add up to a meal almost!!! I did stop doing that almost totally before surgery.

Sooooo, I am playing with changing up what I do, just a little. This morning, rather than two scrambled eggs, I had one egg and one egg white. One egg white is 17 calories, the egg is 70. I got my two eggs, less calories. Less Protein too, but still 3.6 grams for the egg white!

I'm rambling. If you have any other thoughts or suggestions, tell me. What changes are you going to have to make? What will you have to leave out to cut calories??!!!

Good luck!!

[Ms skinniness 3,003]

In the past week, I've gained at least 3 lbs. I let myself get out of control and thought I would have just one girl scout cookie. Ha who was I fooling, I ate almost 1/2 the box and gave them away. Then my daughter's boyfriend had girl scout Cookies sitting on her dresser and I would take one daily.....Oh how my thoughts lie to me....So I'm putting my lying thoughts in time out for eternity Yep, eternity...... NTVtx said it all, it's those little things that add up. I know that I'm eating more today than in the past and it's driving me crazy...... I will be attending a support group really soon.

I am making changes in my diet as well. Keeping everything low carb and reminding myself that I am eating to live, not living to eat. I will also be focusing on exercising more too. Oh and the adult children(s) will be putting all their junk sh** some place where I can't see it.....Out of site, out of mind. I can't believe that I have gained 3 lbs......

What a lesson to learn... I hope I've learned my lesson. Thanks for everyone's support.....

[NtvTxn 1,262]

In the past week, I've gained at least 3 lbs. I let myself get out of control and thought I would have just one girl scout cookie. Ha who was I fooling, I ate almost 1/2 the box and gave them away. Then my daughter's boyfriend had girl scout Cookies sitting on her dresser and I would take one daily.....Oh how my thoughts lie to me....So I'm putting my lying thoughts in time out for eternity Yep, eternity...... NTVtx said it all, it's those little things that add up. I know that I'm eating more today than in the past and it's driving me crazy...... I will be attending a support group really soon.

I am making changes in my diet as well. Keeping everything low carb and reminding myself that I am eating to live, not living to eat. I will also be focusing on exercising more too. Oh and the adult children(s) will be putting all their junk sh** some place where I can't see it.....Out of site, out of mind. I can't believe that I have gained 3 lbs......

What a lesson to learn... I hope I've learned my lesson. Thanks for everyone's support.....

I'm with you, 100%. You can do it, and THIS is why I weigh every single morning. We may not LIKE to see the scale creep up a little, but a LITTLE, our three lbs, is MUCH easier to handle than getting on there and it's 8 or 10 lbs!!! I'd just crumple, I'm sure!!! LoL These little changes that we are discussing can make us or break us....all depending on whether we are adding a bite here and there or taking them away. Like you.....if it's there and something I like, I swear, it's like...'Hurry up and get it all eaten so it will be gone' Where in the HELL did thinking like that come from???!!!!!!! I don't know, but I am aware of it and know it is wrong, that does not mean it's easy to stop. One thing in my favor is I CAN and DO throw things away now. Prior to surgery......that wasn't something I did.

You can do it.....so can I. Find a support group, just like an alcoholic, we need these meetings. I felt revived after the other night!!!

[NtvTxn 1,262]

Well I'm here to tell all of you that it IS possible not to gain weight back. I am a bit over 4 years out and haven't gained one single pound back! There is no secret to it folks, this is a lifetime diet or lifestyle...whatever you want to call it. And exercise is most important during maintenance. More important than during the losing phase in fact. I still weigh my food and exercise quite a bit. This is also what normal thin, fit people do too. I see them at the gym every day. They can't have all had WLS, lol. This is no miracle. But it is a second chance to get it right this time. food choices and exercise....no miracle. We all know that, we just don't want it to be true...sadly it is..

Laura

I know this is not what all 'normal' thin folks do. I have a friend who is 5'5" and about 115 soaking wet. She has NEVER watched what she eats, she'll probably die of a heart attack!! I've known her since 1984, she was 28 years old. She almost always has something 'sweet' in her house, she loves to bake. I vividly remember one time we were on the phone, mid-90's and she couldn't decide whether to pop popcorn or have a piece of apple pie she'd baked. So, what do you do when faced with a tough choice like that???!!! Of course, you have BOTH!!!! Obviously it is something that has stuck with me all these years!!! Other than things like that, I feel like I eat like a normally 'thin' person, but my friends....the thin ones, I cannot think of ONE that hits the gym. I take that back, I have ONE friend, we've been friends since 6th grade. She isn't skinny, she is thin, naturally thin......she and her husband JUST joined a gym about two weeks ago.

[former_vbg 198]

I know this is not what all 'normal' thin folks do. I have a friend who is 5'5" and about 115 soaking wet. She has NEVER watched what she eats, she'll probably die of a heart attack!! I've known her since 1984, she was 28 years old. She almost always has something 'sweet' in her house, she loves to bake. I vividly remember one time we were on the phone, mid-90's and she couldn't decide whether to pop popcorn or have a piece of apple pie she'd baked. So, what do you do when faced with a tough choice like that???!!! Of course, you have BOTH!!!! Obviously it is something that has stuck with me all these years!!! Other than things like that, I feel like I eat like a normally 'thin' person, but my friends....the thin ones, I cannot think of ONE that hits the gym. I take that back, I have ONE friend, we've been friends since 6th grade. She isn't skinny, she is thin, naturally thin......she and her husband JUST joined a gym about two weeks ago.

I will agree with you that not all "normal" folks have to watch their food intake like we do. I am in my 40's and while it seems many of the younger ones tend to watch less what they eat, I have learned that they pay the price for that as they get older because I've seen it. Maybe not to the same degree that many of us have experienced but I also have friends up through their 60's who while they may not eat huge volumes of food, etc... they don't pay attention to what they eat and manage to stay at a healthy weight with little to no effort.

Not everyone is the same. There will be a few of us who have had the WLS that will be lucky and fall into that category of it being "easy peazy" to maintain but I don't think that will be the majority of us IMO.

[NtvTxn 1,262]

I will agree with you that not all "normal" folks have to watch their food intake like we do. I am in my 40's and while it seems many of the younger ones tend to watch less what they eat, I have learned that they pay the price for that as they get older because I've seen it. Maybe not to the same degree that many of us have experienced but I also have friends up through their 60's who while they may not eat huge volumes of food, etc... they don't pay attention to what they eat and manage to stay at a healthy weight with little to no effort.

Not everyone is the same. There will be a few of us who have had the WLS that will be lucky and fall into that category of it being "easy peazy" to maintain but I don't think that will be the majority of us IMO.

Right now I find maintenence easy, I reached Dr. D's goal in just under five months, my goal, 5 lbs less, a month later. I say easy, but I go up and down 2 or 3 lbs weekly. I consider that 'normal', I figure that is what naturally thin people do. Maybe not, maybe it's just MY normal??!!!! LoL I can tell when it's Water retention because my wedding ring is hard to put on in the morning. What scares me is this......what if it ends, what if it isn't always this easy. It's easy now to resist or throw something away because I have little or no hunger....ever. What if, what if....will the what ifs EVER END??!! Maybe not, maybe the what ifs is what keeps me, what WILL keep me on my toes. Nothing is off limits for me except carbonated drinks. They said at the seminar, 'this is not a diet, it's a way of life'. That said......rather than mindlessly eating, I am aware of everything I eat. Some might call me obsessive.....seriously!!??? It works for me, I like this. I like weighing and measuring my food. I like logging it. Weighing daily. I think it's a control issue. All of this makes me feel in control. I like that feeling! Even when I made Christmas Cookies and ate six little stars throughout the day......I knew the next day I'd cut out a snack or two. Amazingly enough, I didn't pay for it with the scale going up.....but I'm not use to sugar like that and I didn't feel good. Make sense? I don't ever want to forget what it was like to shop in the women's dept and hate the clothes. I don't ever want to forget......

[laurak712 52]

I know this is not what all 'normal' thin folks do. I have a friend who is 5'5" and about 115 soaking wet. She has NEVER watched what she eats, she'll probably die of a heart attack!! I've known her since 1984, she was 28 years old. She almost always has something 'sweet' in her house, she loves to bake. I vividly remember one time we were on the phone, mid-90's and she couldn't decide whether to pop popcorn or have a piece of apple pie she'd baked. So, what do you do when faced with a tough choice like that???!!! Of course, you have BOTH!!!! Obviously it is something that has stuck with me all these years!!! Other than things like that, I feel like I eat like a normally 'thin' person, but my friends....the thin ones, I cannot think of ONE that hits the gym. I take that back, I have ONE friend, we've been friends since 6th grade. She isn't skinny, she is thin, naturally thin......she and her husband JUST joined a gym about two weeks ago.

I wonder what their body composition is. I'm not just interested in being thin but having a low body fat percentage. I know plenty of people that weigh what I do that don't go to the gym and they are soft and mushy with unattractive bodies. Mine is hard and firm. That's what I'm after...not just a number on the scale. And I want good blood panels too. And food has everything to do with that, especially as we get older.

Laura