6 yrs post op - weight gain - seeking support

[Domika03 309]

Hey everyone,

I had gastric sleeve surgery back in 2014. I did pretty well over the years coming from almost 240 all the way down to 140 but now about 165. I'm definitely a stress eater. This year has been a struggle & I'm not even talking about COVID. No point in sharing my reasons because they don't help.

I'd like to get back on track but I don't even remember how to start. I'd like to ask what you guys are eating on a daily basis; a sample menu perhaps? I'd be so grateful if anyone could give me pointers on how to get back on the right path!

Many thanks,

Fran

[catwoman7 11,212]

I gained 20 lbs after hitting my lowest point (138). I really needed to gain the first 10 lbs of it - I'd gotten too thin. But I've been struggling to lose the last 10 because I DIDN'T need or want that part of it (have managed to lose like 3 of it -- since March! It's tough...)

anyway, I still track my food intake, but I've been doing that since my surgery in 2015 (actually, even BEFORE surgery). I've made a serious effort to stay within my maintenance calorie range, which for me is 1500-1700 per day - and I'm trying to stay at the low end of that (1500). I also really increased my exercise. My primary exercise these days is biking, which I usually do for 60-90 minutes a day, five or six days a week. It's working, but it's S-L-O-W. I know if I lowered my calories even more, to like 1200, the weight would come off faster - but I'm evidently not ready or willing to do that yet or I'd already be doing it. BUT....I'm sure it would work.

at this point I just count calories - and I've been doing that since I was about a year out from surgery. I can eat anything as long as it fits into my daily calorie limit. I know that doesn't work for everyone, though. I know several people who are trying to lose regain doing Keto, or Weight Watchers, or Intermittent Fasting. And many just go back to what they were doing the first year post-surgery (not all the way back to Protein Shakes and purees, but back to Protein first, then non-starchy vegetables - and then maybe an occasional serving of fruit or whole-grain carb)

it basically comes down to what works for you and what you think you'll be able to sustain long term.

Losing regain is hard and it's slow, but it's do-able

[New&Improved 1,780]

6 hours ago, Domika03 said:

Hey everyone,

I had gastric sleeve surgery back in 2014. I did pretty well over the years coming from almost 240 all the way down to 140 but now about 165. I'm definitely a stress eater. This year has been a struggle & I'm not even talking about COVID. No point in sharing my reasons because they don't help.

I'd like to get back on track but I don't even remember how to start. I'd like to ask what you guys are eating on a daily basis; a sample menu perhaps? I'd be so grateful if anyone could give me pointers on how to get back on the right path!

Many thanks,

Fran

Pick yourself up and get back on track you can do it

[JessLess 1,163]

You can do it! I gained 14 lbs, turned things around, and have lost 2 over the past week or so. I lose slowly at under 1500 calories a day.

Breakfast: 1 egg, 2oz lox, 1/2 cup fruit, coffee with a little 1% milk

Lunch: Healthy Choice Powerbowl (low carb) or similar

Dinner: Fish, vegetable, occasionally brown rice or carbanada low carb Pasta

Snacks if I am actually hungry: fat free yogurt, banana, 1/2 cup Julian's low carb granola, unsweetened almond milk, low fat cheese stick, etc.

I take a walk/run with my dogs for about 2 miles a day and do Pilates 2x a week. I'd like to add back weightlifting when it's safe to go back to the gym.

Knocking off the number of snacks seems to have been the main issue for me. I would track and see where the extra calories have snuck in and see what you can live without. Good luck!

[bookworm1983 28]

OMG I am totally there with you! I has VSG 2.5 years ago and was doing pretty good (from 390s to 230s) and then (of course) COVID hit and I am working from home. I eat when I'm bored or just eat mindlessly. I have been really trying to increase my Water intake but the snacking is HORRIBLE! It does not help that my hubby (who also had VSG 4 weeks before me) also fell, hard, off the wagon and there is ice cream, chips and Snacks all over the place. I have NOT been tracking my food and the exercise (walking) is NOT happening either because of the weather. I know that gyms are opening again but I do not live within walking distance and we only have one car, which my husband uses every weekday and does not get home until 6pm. I have good days and bad days but the bad days seem to really get me down, making it difficult to recover and get back on track. I will be following this thread as well as I could also use the support to get back on track.

[New&Improved 1,780]

2 minutes ago, bookworm1983 said:

OMG I am totally there with you! I has VSG 2.5 years ago and was doing pretty good (from 390s to 230s) and then (of course) COVID hit and I am working from home. I eat when I'm bored or just eat mindlessly. I have been really trying to increase my Water intake but the snacking is HORRIBLE! It does not help that my hubby (who also had VSG 4 weeks before me) also fell, hard, off the wagon and there is ice cream, chips and Snacks all over the place. I have NOT been tracking my food and the exercise (walking) is NOT happening either because of the weather. I know that gyms are opening again but I do not live within walking distance and we only have one car, which my husband uses every weekday and does not get home until 6pm. I have good days and bad days but the bad days seem to really get me down, making it difficult to recover and get back on track. I will be following this thread as well as I could also use the support to get back on track.

It is time to make a stand... Throw out all the junk food.. tell your partner to get back on track and help each other be successful.. it is time to make a change before it is too late..

It feels like you both have eating disorders and need to get some help to combat that asap before you corky undo the surgery..

All I see is someone making excuses not to get back on track... the weather, the gym, the husband...

[NIKKINVNOW 1]

I completely understand the regain of weight after hitting our low weight or our goal. The biggest problem is that we graze and I am seeing grazing on a daily basis in my practice. I am a Family Medicine doctor and have been working on my own regain of 30#s in the last 2 years. I started with logging every morsel of food along with a rating of how hungry I am when I am eating it. Also assigning an emotion to the process. Day in and Day out I saw that I was eating out of good and bad emotions, but nothing having to do with hunger. So I started back at day 1 and went back to Protein Shakes and am in the process of getting my act back together.

What I have noticed with my patients is that we are all struggling with the lack of control we have in our lives. I think we have to embrace that and accept that we can only control our own actions and we need to be our own best friend first. The average weight gain among my patients in the last 3 months (since lockdown started in NV) has been 9-11 lbs. I finally had a couple of people last week who had lost weight with a great deal of effort on their part. The comment I loved the best was from Bev, who is 93 -- She said she wished her refrigerator had never learned English because it practices it all night! I completely agree, so now I am ignoring my refrigerator and planning out every day.

The one think I know is accountability. That is really important so find someone you trust and can be honest with and ask for their help.

[bookworm1983 28]

8 minutes ago, New&Improved said:

It is time to make a stand... Throw out all the junk food.. tell your partner to get back on track and help each other be successful.. it is time to make a change before it is too late..

It feels like you both have eating disorders and need to get some help to combat that asap before you corky undo the surgery..

All I see is someone making excuses not to get back on track... the weather, the gym, the husband...

oof. Well, I have thrown out all the junk food (several times, in fact) and it just gets replaced; the food I get for myself (cottage cheese, yogurt, lean meats, etc.) get eaten and NOT by me. Conversations with the hubby have been had, but pretty much ignored. I acknowledge I have impulse control issues when it comes to food and I am working on it, but having temptations around all the time makes it difficult.

I actually purchased new shorts and shirts online a few days ago so I can be more comfortable (waiting for them to be delivered) as my current clothes are too tight/small for me to comfortably leave my house to walk around the neighborhood. I am also going to talk to my boss about changing my login time so I can try walking in the morning when it is cooler rather than when I get off work when it is the warmest. (This seemed to work well when I had to go into the office. I took an earlier bus so I could get 30 minutes of walking in before work.) I downloaded a calorie tracker so I can start using it tomorrow morning.

I literally cried when I got on the scale on Wednesday because my weight was way worse than I thought. It was a slap in the face and a huge reality check. I cannot change everything at once or I will get overwhelmed and quit. I am hoping that making these smaller changes now, losing a little and feeling better, I can make more and more changes.

Since I really do not have a lot of support from my husband, I felt that coming here, I could find some POSITIVE support and encouragement to help me make these changes and STICK to them.

[Pandemonium 515]

18 hours ago, bookworm1983 said:

oof. Well, I have thrown out all the junk food (several times, in fact) and it just gets replaced; the food I get for myself (cottage cheese, yogurt, lean meats, etc.) get eaten and NOT by me. Conversations with the hubby have been had, but pretty much ignored. I acknowledge I have impulse control issues when it comes to food and I am working on it, but having temptations around all the time makes it difficult.

I actually purchased new shorts and shirts online a few days ago so I can be more comfortable (waiting for them to be delivered) as my current clothes are too tight/small for me to comfortably leave my house to walk around the neighborhood. I am also going to talk to my boss about changing my login time so I can try walking in the morning when it is cooler rather than when I get off work when it is the warmest. (This seemed to work well when I had to go into the office. I took an earlier bus so I could get 30 minutes of walking in before work.) I downloaded a calorie tracker so I can start using it tomorrow morning.

I literally cried when I got on the scale on Wednesday because my weight was way worse than I thought. It was a slap in the face and a huge reality check. I cannot change everything at once or I will get overwhelmed and quit. I am hoping that making these smaller changes now, losing a little and feeling better, I can make more and more changes.

Since I really do not have a lot of support from my husband, I felt that coming here, I could find some POSITIVE support and encouragement to help me make these changes and STICK to them.

You can absolutely find positive support here and I am sorry that you have had an encounter with New&Improved. His toxicity is a serious detriment to these forums and I urge you to ignore him.

I've very sorry that you're not getting the support from your husband and that it's making things difficult. It's definitely not too late to turn things around, even with the chaotic state of the world. The fact that you've acknowledged that you need to make changes and have begun to make them is an amazing step in the right direction! I've been in the same boat with the exercise portion of my post-op routine. Between some persistent light-headedness and the stream of 90+ degree days, my efforts to walk 30 minutes a day generally have only been for 10 minutes. That might be a good place to start for you as well. It may not be 30 minutes, but it's still exercise and gets the body moving and burns some calories.

Food logging is definitely going to help. I've been using the Baritastic app since I started in my weight loss program in February. It's been a definite boon and I highly recommend it.

I wish I had some advice on what you can do to get your husband to be part of the process again. Maybe leading by example might get him back on track?

You've got my support on this, as well as the support of many others on this site! You can do this and you're going to kick butt doing it!

[kristieshannon 1,638]

Adding to the above, I agree 10 minutes is a good start! Sometimes it’s easier to fit in/do 10 minutes several times a day rather than one long walk.

Do you think it might work to ask your husband to help you? Instead of focusing discussions on him or “we”, try “Honey I’m really worried and stressed that I’ve been slipping in my plan and have gained a few pounds. Could you help me by keeping x, y, and z out of the house or at least keep it where I can’t see it?”

Best of luck to you, I also agree that seeking out help , asking for support, and working on a plan is an awesome first start.

[Sandra Nuelken 419]

21 hours ago, bookworm1983 said:

OMG I am totally there with you! I has VSG 2.5 years ago and was doing pretty good (from 390s to 230s) and then (of course) COVID hit and I am working from home. I eat when I'm bored or just eat mindlessly. I have been really trying to increase my Water intake but the snacking is HORRIBLE! It does not help that my hubby (who also had VSG 4 weeks before me) also fell, hard, off the wagon and there is ice cream, chips and Snacks all over the place. I have NOT been tracking my food and the exercise (walking) is NOT happening either because of the weather. I know that gyms are opening again but I do not live within walking distance and we only have one car, which my husband uses every weekday and does not get home until 6pm. I have good days and bad days but the bad days seem to really get me down, making it difficult to recover and get back on track. I will be following this thread as well as I could also use the support to get back on track.

If you don't bring it into your house you can't eat it. I have Outshine pop cycles, grapes, peaches, and almonds for Snacks. I also use a calorie counter on my fitbit and stay true to my count. I have one "free" day and I have an alcoholic drink that day.

[mi75 1,235]

I am also a 2014 vet. I too had some regain. Here's the story for me...about 18 months after my op I left a long term career position, took a night, started grad school, switched to a leadership job, lost a parent unexpectedly, graduated grad school, went back for PhD, and more. When I had surgery, one of the main issues was a health problem that was considered reversible. In 2017 after some regain, my GI doc gave me some sobering news that it was returning. I had a serious 'come to Jesus' talk with myself. I went online looking for solutions. I sought my team. I went to some support group meetings (even online). I met with my nut. I met with a surgeon. After being given the option of a RNY revision, I realized that I KNEW WHAT TO DO, AND I HAD THE TOOL...I went full on Keto and never looked back. I am now at my lowest ever. I lost all the regain and then some. I realized through the process that FOR ME, I must always identify as a bariatric patient. I will NEVER be able to eat 'everything in small amounts'. I will always struggle. Surgery saved my life, yes, but it didn't fix my weight permanently- it did part of it but the major work was up to me.

I would suggest seeking out support from your surgical team, support group, nut, psych, etc. ANYONE who is part of a bariatric practice. And start from scratch. Dense Protein. Water. shakes if necessary. Skip the 'reset' and all those things. Obviously regain comes from EATING so you have to relearn how to eat as a bariatric patient. It is absolutely possible but there are many of us here on the same timeline as you who have already been through this and are willing to help!

[catwoman7 11,212]

22 hours ago, New&Improved said:

It feels like you both have eating disorders and need to get some help to combat that asap before you corky undo the surgery..

I was going to ask where you got your MD degree or your PhD in Clinical Psychology, but even people with those credentials would never diagnose a stranger over the internet, as you just did.

[Pandemonium 515]

6 minutes ago, catwoman7 said:

I was going to ask where you got your MD degree or your PhD in Clinical Psychology, but even people with those credentials would never diagnose a stranger over the internet, as you just did.