3 Things You Can Do This Minute to Stop Weight Regain After WLS
June 12, 2017Terrifying.
That’s the word almost all of my clients use to describe their fears of weight regain after WLS. We all know that some weight regain is expected—usually around 25% of the total weight initially lost—but what if it doesn’t stop there?
There definitely are steps you can take, right this very minute, to reverse the curse. Let’s take them one by one.
Three Things To Do This Minute to Stop Weight Regain After WLS!
Write It Down
The only sure-fire way to know exactly what you’re putting down the pie hole is to write.it.down.
I know, it stinks, it’s a pain. But you know it’s true. Modern gadgets make it easier than ever. The point is not to count calories or carbs—just to help you see what your habits and trends are when it comes to eating.
How can we know what the weight gain is about if we don’t know where it’s coming from?
The positive news is that it can instantly give you a sense of control. This can feel, as they used to say in the credit card ad, priceless.
And I encourage you to do it for a least seven days—ideally longer, but at least seven.
Here’s why.
Research in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition showed that people who followed the same eating routine weekdays and weekends, enjoyed the most success:
“We evaluated whether maintaining a consistent diet was related to subsequent weight regain after 2 y. Interestingly, results indicated that participants who reported a consistent diet across the week were 1.5 times more likely to maintain their weight within 5 lb. over the subsequent year than participants who dieted more strictly on weekdays.”
Eat ‘On the Plate’
Have you heard of the ‘plate percentages’?
It’s a modification of the current government guidelines called My Plate.
The bariatric version is smaller—only about 7 inches wide and has three sections, Protein, Veggies, and Starch.
There’s space for about 3 ounces of protein. That looks like the size of a deck of cards. That’s where your meat, fish, chicken, tofu or beans would go.
About a quarter of the plate is for non-starchy vegetables. For simplicity sake, I tell my clients that’s about ½ to ¾ cup.
Non-starchy vegetables include everything except peas, corn, potatoes and winter squash.
Carrots and beets have gotten some bad press in the past but that’s total hooey! They are perfectly acceptable, nutritious and delicious choices. They do not contain more sugar or carbs than other vegetables.
Finally, there’s room for 2 whopping tablespoons of starch. This is your bread, rice, potato and those corn and peas or pasta. Note: If you feel nervous having starch, ¼ - ½ cup of fruit is a great substitute.
You don’t need a lot of carbs but you DO need some.
I LOVE the plate because it keeps it bariatric eating, simple,
No calorie counting, no weighing, no carb counting just using the size of the plate and proportions to do all the work for you.
I tell my clients, if they eat your lunch and dinner ‘on the plate’, and have about 25 grams of protein for breakfast, they’ll be in great shape nutritionally and feel much better about what the scale says.
I recommend clients aim for 3 meals and 2 planned snacks every day. When folks start to regularly veer off this guideline, things can get messy. The tricky thing is that for your bariatric tool to work best, you need to be very aware of what you eat and the portions so you get the proper nutrition.
When clients consistently skip meals or stop choosing portion controlled snacks, they are moving away from the structured bariatric eating that best works after surgery.
Grabbing snacks when you think of it, when they’re convenient or when you are starving—increases the likelihood that you’re mindlessly eating and not paying close attention to your hunger or food choices.
Eat Your Calories, Don’t Drink Them
If I politely and gently requested that you avoid any wine, latte or a Margarita that was to come your way—would you scream bloody murder?
If that might be the case, it might possible be that liquid calories are the delicious yet highly suspicious cause for any recent weight gain. Alcohol and the yummy extras we dress up our coffee and tea with can do some damage in the calorie department.
With today’s extra-large glasses, it’s easy to drink 400 calories of wine before even having dinner! And wouldn’t you know it, our bodies don’t register the same sense of fullness after 200 calories of a beverage versus 200 calories of a food?! Any drink that has calories in it, even juice, needs to be watched closely.
If you’re not ready for the caffeine withdrawal or think your weekly glass of wine isn’t the problem, I challenge you to at least follow step 1 and write down everything you drink for at least a week.
Then you’ll know for certain.
And a little something extra…
Have you heard of the National Weight Control Registry?
The National Weight Control Registry is a research study of people who have successfully lost at least 30 pounds and kept it off for one year or more.
I wanted to check in and see what habits they relied on to keep the extra pounds from returning.
Here’s what I found:
- 78% eat breakfast every day.
- 75% weigh themselves at least once a week
- 62% watch less than 10 hours of TV per week
- 90% exercise, on average, about 1 hour per day
You can find out more here: http://nwcr.ws/research/default.htm
Bottom-line, don’t give up. There is always help nearby. Never forget.
 | ABOUT THE AUTHOR Elizabeth Anderson, MA, RD, LD is a bariatric dietitian working with WLS clients online and from her office in New Hampshire providing services through Crackerjack Nutrition. Elizabeth works with clients that want to stop their regain and feel proud of their body. Her pledge is to help clients with both the essentials of bariatric nutrition and the support to help them peacefully manage their weight...forever.Read more articles from Elizabeth! |
