gained my weight back

I had r&y gastric bypass surgery about 3+ years ago. Did great lost a little over 130 lbs. Highest weight ever was 370lbs with surgery went to 240lbs. I was so excited to be thinner, life was feeling great. Now 3 years later...not so good, i have gained almost all my weight back and feel like a complete failure!!! i saw recent pictures of myself and i just want to cry and crwl into a deep hole. Deeper depression i feel is on its way. I feel so lost...can anyone give me advice. What do you think the best way to get back on track is????  Im 29 yrs old now I had ovarian cancer 2 years ago this january and had both my ovaries removed, could the imbalance of hormones be affecting me or be part of the problem....just feeling like a big failure...any help would be appreciated Thanks!!

I definitely feel your pain !!! I had RNY April 5th 2005. I lost 148lbs total. I got down to 220lbs and was looking good. I still wanted to lose 30 more lbs. Instead I gained back 40lbs. I to felt like a failure and I still do somedays. The best way to get back on track is to start attending support groups. There is people there with your same pain and who truely understand. You didn't say where you live but I will tell you I live near Rehobeth and I lead a support group in sussex county. My daughter and I come to New Castle once a month to the group at Victory Fellowship Church. I strongly reccomend you try this group. They meet the 3rd Tuesday of the month at 7p.m. There is so many groups so please attend one asap. One of my best tools is journaling.When you really look at what you are eating you see where you are going wrong. See your Dr and go back to basics. Protein, water and exercise. If you want email me @ [email protected] . We can start off 2008 together and get off some of the weight we gained. We can do it. Never give up !!! You may feel like you lost the battle but you have not lost the war !!! Hang in there, put your head up and be proud !!! You took the 1st step my doing this post !! I am proud of you. Now lets go that next step !!! Are you ready??? See you lighter. Joanne

thank you so much for your encouraging words and advice!!! It is much appreciated. Im from wilmington btw...i am going to go "back to basics" ...i wish i could go back to dr. wynn...but to make matters worse i have no insurance... but anyway...im going to "restart" this journey again  and come to a meeting, thanks so much!!! sherri...p.s. i like the see you lighter!!!

Sherri, I hope you see you are not alone. Hope to meet you in person someday. My daughter Debbie and I come North once a month to the meeting at Victory. Maybe we will see you there in February. Please keep posting and let us know how you are doing. You are doing great. Keep your head up and be strong. WE CAN DO THIS !!! See you lighter.Joanne

Sherri, I am sorry to hear of your struggle to get back on track, and I really can't address your weight gain issue directly since I have not experienced that myself.  I can however, talk about how easy it is to go back to our old and unhealthy ways.  The pouch CAN and DOES stretch over time, allowing us to eat larger portions without discomfort or dumping.  I am almost 16 months post RNY and find myself eating an entire sandwich now, where earlier on, I couldn't eat 2 bites of ANYTHING made with bread without getting full.  Well, I get full but I know all I have to do is just wait a few minutes and I can finish the sandwich. That disturbs me, and I realize that eating all of that starch and carbs will cause me to gain so I pu**** aside and tell myself "Sure, you CAN eat the rest but you DON'T *NEED* to".   I do eat the bad stuff from time to time, but I am still very careful about my protein and fluids.  I will be the first to admit I am horrid about exerise, even walking.  I have such a bad history of arthritis and heart disease that I have to get the all clear from my cardio before doing any kind of exercise.  I will have a treadmill stress test next week. Joanne is right in saying "get back to the basics"  Drop the breads, pasta, cereals and chips...up the protein and fluids and exercise more, even if you just walk.   I haven't done any research into whether or not we can actually *shrink* that pouch but I am sure if we get back to eating less, at least it won't stretch any more. The depression is very familiar to me.  Mine lies in the fact that my food choices are very limited and I get so tired of eating the same crap every day.  I just want to have a normal meal like everyone else.  I go to the fridge or cupboard and look at all the yummy stuff I keep around for the family and it just depresses me that I have to eat cottage cheese or yogurt.  I want to eat a donut with my coffee on Sunday mornings, NOT lean turkey breast meat.  I want a chocolate shake from McDonald's, not Atkins, and I am sick to death of checking sugar grams on everything.  Do you know how bad I want french toast for breakfast instead of the every day jumbo egg (11gm protein each)??   Then I pray.  I thank the Lord for this gift, a gift of extended life and better health, and ask for strength in making good food choices.  I pray to be humbled by memories of what life was like at 300 pounds and how close I came to death.  I truly believe my faith is the only thing that has sustained me in this journey because I call to Him endlessly for courage.  Being able to overcome the temptations are His way of reminding me that He is always with me.  I just say, "Jesus, help me get through yet another day of curds and whey.  Amen." Good luck to you and keep us posted on how you're doing. KathyG

You have already gotten some great advice. So I just want to let you know that I am standing in your corner and cheering you on. Best wishes to you and keep reaching out. We are here for you. Gigee

I am  2 1/2 years out and sportin a 12 pound re-gain but what I am doing is when I get 3/4 of my sandwich or meal in me and feel full, instead of waiting a few minutes and finishing it, I am just either giving it to my husband or the dog to finish (whomever happens to be begging at my side at that particular moment ).  I haven't really lost anything yet, just bouncing the same 3-4 pounds, but not that it is ski season I am hittin the slopes HARD almost every weekend.  The key to stopping-reversing re-gain is watching what you eat and exercising.  You gotta get off your can and MOVE!  Cause once you hit that 2 year mark, your innards have adapted to the bypass and you are pretty much back to square one.   How are you doing with your supplements and fluids and protein?  I've found that keeping up with the rules for those 3 items are the biggest help in not gaining any more than I already have.  You need to take all of your vitamins and get those labs done AT LEAST every year, get in that 80 grams of protein and at least 64 oz of water every day.