I'm Screwing Things Up......Again

I haven’t really lost any weight in the past eight weeks. And, it’s entirely my own fault.

I’m only doing two things right.

1.       1. I’m taking my vitamins and getting regular lab work

2.       2. I’m eating at least 100 grams of protein a day

The list of things I NEED to be doing:

·        - I need to count and reduce the number of carbs I’m eating

·         -I need to exercise more regularly than once every two weeks. While I have more endurance, I feel much more wimpy than when I weighed 300 pounds.

·         -I need to cut back on my diet soda and alcohol consumption and drink more water.

·         -I need to do an elimination diet to figure out why I still have to get up multiple times in the middle of the night to poop.

Why didn’t I have brain surgery instead?

(To all the pre-ops reading, don’t worry. I’m still glad I had the DS. I’m just bemoaning the fact that I still have many of the same challenges I had before….I’m just dealing with them as a size 16 now instead of a size 28!)

I'm assuming your revision was RNY to distal RNY, and that you still have a pouch instead of a reduced stomach.

It's been said on the board before, revisions lose weight more slowly than virgin DSers.  From what I've read here on the board, they seem to have more long-term stalls, too. 

If you're a revised RNY with the bottom half of the DS only, you still have to eat like a RNY.  If your stomach was reconstructed as a sleeve gastrectomy, the top half of the duodenal switch, you can eat what you can tolerate, but you still need to avoid carbs, because even though you've been switched, your intestines are different inside. 

With RNY's after two years, new villi grow in the small intestine, becoming more dense, to compensate for the malabsorption.  That's why you see so many RNY's regain - they've lost the malabsorptive part of their surgery. If this is the case with you, then you have more absorption than most DSers, and that could be the issue.

As for poop schedules, mine didn't become predictable until my 2nd year out.  Three times upon rising, takes about 45 minutes total, and I'm done for the day.  The only time this differs is if I take the liberty of eating more simple carbs and simple sugar than I need to. 

That's what's so great about the DS - you control it, it doesn't control you.  You decide whether you want to eat a particular item that might give you bowel and gas issues, and deal with the consequences.  If not, you don't eat it. If the consequences are worth it to you, then you eat it.  No "forbidden" foods with the DS, just decisions, totally made by *you*.

Thanks for the response!
I'm actually a band to DS revision. I feel like I've lost at a great rate so far, but I know I've developed some bad habits that aren't helping me any.
I understand that what I eat may make a difference in my poop habits, but I really can't figure out exactly what triggers me when. Some days I'll eat what I think is the exact same diet, but I'll have very different outcomes. So, for now, it doesn't exactly feel like I control it. But, if I would go ahead and suck it up and do an elimination diet, then I might actually be able to figure out the culprits and make a more conscious decision.

It sounds to me like you know exactly what you're supposed to be doing, and that's a good start.

The thing with carbs, (simple carbs, particularly) for me....  the more i eat the more i want, for one.  and also - i really do feel better when i stick to protein and fat.  This could very well resolve the poop issue.

alcohol is really empty calories.   i think i'd cut that out first ****il goal).  or severely limit it.

diet soda - yeah, it's bad...  but not your biggest problem, imo.  i'd say curb that last.

poop - try dropping the carbs first.  see if that helps.  milk kills me.  i'll be on the toilet all damn day with one glass of milk.  heavy cream is fine though. 

good luck!

Your post has actually been very helpful. Instead of beating myself up for not doing everything right, I should probably prioritize the most important things and work on those first. I seem to have poop issues even when I have very little carb consumption. I'm worried it might be a dairy issue. I don't drink milk, but I eat LOTS of cheese!

some people also react to artificial sweeteners...  (diet coke).  my sister is one of these.

Yikes! That would be very unfortunate. But, I'm glad you mentioned it so I can at least test out the theory if it comes to that.

I feel your pain! I am almost 4 months out and losing very steady but I had a carb attack week.  I think my period is coming and  i'm hoping that is part of the problem. I completely see old habits resurfacing.  I actually shoveled doritos in this week and even know I knew to stop....I didn't, I just kept going.  Of course I paid for it a little later that night.  This past week I didn't do protein shakes because i couldn't stop eating long enough to wait the hour or two it takes me to drink it.  Today it has been much better, so I hope it's just that time of the month.  It did scare me though

Thanks for commiserating! I was doing so well for so long, and then all of a sudden, I was eating a bagel! I don't know what I was thinking! I've been making a renewed effort to cut back on the obviously bad for me things.

Congrats on your weightloss so far! 
You didn't say and noone has asked yet..so..are you taking a probiotic?  I know it doesn't work for some but they do wonders for a lot of people with gas and BM issues.  (Amazon seems to have the best price on Primal Defense Ultra with 20% bonus capsules)
I don't have any trouble with most dairy but milk itself doesn't agree with my DS!

(and it still freaks me out to see my Mii as your avatar!!)  LOL
For those who think I look like my ****atoo, now you know what I really look like!