14 years post OP and need to get back on track!

I've been way too liberal with my diet. I had surgery in 2006 and wouldn't change my DS for any other type but.... the pounds are creeping back on... I've been faithful with my vitamins and blood work but the carbs are my Waterloo. I'm starting back tomorrow with low carbs, drinking water, not Coke Zero, etc etc. I want to lose 30 pounds by Christmas!
I needed to check in and say hi to anyone from OH *****members me...MaryC from NJ, and become active on the group again. Hi!

welcome back! You may want to consider joining the RNY menu thread (there used to be menu threads for all three major surgeries, but the DS and VSG ones seem to have died. The RNY one is still active, though, and we always welcome people who've had other surgeries - there are a few regulars on there who've had the other surgeries, in fact). A lot of us are vets and a few are dealing with regain. The main focus is our eating plan for the day - but we discuss other things, too. I find it a great source of support, and checking in with it at least once a day keeps my head in the game.

I didn't get a great DS so I have been dieting since I had it in 2003. I am a low carb person for life. I wanted the DS dream but that was not for me. I wanted to be one of those people wearing size 00 jeans posting about how to quit losing.

Most of the water I drink is in coke zero or coffee. I drink lots of those 2 things and I would never do without them. No carbs and almost all water anyway. Sometimes I drink SF flavored seltzer too.

I wanted to tell you about some things I found that make long term low carb doable for me. I use a lot of low carb wraps. They look like tortillas. And they are usually in the tortilla section at the store. These are my go to for sandwiches and even pizza crust. If I plan to bake them crispy I let them dehydrate a bit before baking. I just ordered some brand new ones online that only have 2 carbs! Maybe they will be good but who knows. Haven't received them yet. Next is ThinSlim products. Expensive for me but I buy them a couple times a year. The bread, buns, and bagels are very good. In some places you can buy them in the grocery store but not where I live.

I do make ice cream and I am excited about some of the new ones coming out with almost no carbs. The best one I have found so far is Rebel Creamery. But like most low carb wonders, it's not cheap. Duncan Hines has come out with some keto brownies and cakes in a cup. All you do is add water and microwave. I bought some but haven't tried them yet. I always keep some SF candy in the house. Hard candy is always in my desk drawer. I get a few Endulge bars every year. Once in a while some SF Russell Stovers. During cold weather you can also shop by phone at the RS Outlet and they will ship to you! The cheapest way I have found to get them is one of my local Dollar Stores. Some people have problems with sugar alcohols so portion control is sort of built in.

Fake pasta is an occasional thing. I use Banza and it is just LOWER carb. My go to is long skinny bamboo shoots. Not perfect but pretty good. I drain them and soak in water before cooking. You can find them in big cans at Asian grocery stores or order on Amazon. I get the ones that sort of look like noodles and are about 4 inches long.

I do give myself cheat days. I can't do the deprivation forever thing. Holidays and vacations out of town are my days to eat whatever I want. Sometimes I have lists made months in advance. My next one is Labor Day and I am thinking maybe it will be mostly desserts. That is what I have been missing the most. But that could change 10 times between now and then.

Hope you find some of this helpful. Best of luck!

Thanks for the great tips!!

Th DS forum isn't dead I check the DS page almost daily. Just not alot of DSers around. Congrats on recognizing you needed to get back on track.

You can do it!! Back to basics. High protein, low carbs, lots of water. Not sure what type of eater you are but I'm a grazer. I can eat all day long. My tips - snack on protein - nuts, cheese, deli meat, jerky. Eat good carbs. A couple of years ago I started creeping up too - got about 15 pounds higher than I wanted and wasn't happy. For me it was the added carbs (of course).

I had my surgery in 2005 and the day I had it I weighed 478. So I guess is was 23 then. I have always hovered around 235-245 without trying all that much. Admittedly, my diet was not too strong because I didn't have to try that much. Over the years, I got married and had kids and slowly but surely I creeped back up--especially in the last few years. I guess it goes with being almost 38 now. When I started back to full-time at work around 6/7/2020 I weighed 260 lbs. I decided enough was enough and have gotten back down to 232 since then and dropped 2 pants sizes. I'm not suggesting you do this, but I also separated with my wife during that time, so the stress and not wanting to eat played a part. However, the biggest thing I have done has been to take charge of my diet again. My wife was a very picky eater and she always threw things in the crock pot or otherwise handled dinner. Since I've been on my own, I'm back to choosing foods that are better for me. In all honesty, I prefer healthier items, like vegetables and such, but I had a hard time resisting an already prepared meal. Some other things I've done is incorporate some of the basic principles of the Mediterranean diet. I eat a lot more fish, hummus, olives, and those sort of things. I make sure if I eat fats that they're healthy, although it doesn't matter too much with the DS. I downloaded a reminder app on my phone to remind me to take my vitamins. I started supplementing a lot more with getting more protein and have been hitting the gym at least 3 days a week. I have also experimented with intermittent fasting with good results. I find that once you get used to that, it's easy to skip breakfast. However, even if you don't 100% stick to the 16 hour fast just eliminating those calories makes the rest of the day a lot easier to attain. Since I've been working out more these days, I've kind of given the fasting up and I'll have a low carb protein supplement before I go to work in the morning because getting enough protein is hard enough as it is. I also supplement that protein with a digestive enzyme to help absorb more of the protein at one time. I don't really stay away from carbs so much as I try to eat more complex carbs and limit them when I can. Probably the single biggest thing for me has been to eliminate simple carbs. I had a period of time where I was drinking one or two regular sodas a day, putting like 4 tsp of sugar in my coffee, eating fast food for lunch. And this far out from surgery I can eat a good bit. It was just simply making me feel miserable both from the sluggishness it caused and the gas and other issues it caused. I can't tell you how much better I feel eating real foods and drinking more water. Now that I am used to a sweetener in my coffee, I can't hardly tolerate the sugar in it. So, it's really just all perspective. When you are able to just start and hunker down, you'll probably find you have an easier time than those without the surgery, in spite of the fact that you've been gaining. Add on top of that the exercise and weight lifting and I feel like a pretty much new guy.

Good luck to you!