hELP I AM SLIPPING 2 YRS OUT IN JULY

How do we go back too the way we was ??? Is a question i ask myself everyday .. After losing -115 pounds and being so happy now ,I gradually feel myself slipping away daily . in 1 week i can gain and lose 10 pounds . but i can now eat anything and i have figured out so many tricks to be able to do just that .Why would i even want to . i love the new me but my mind has still not caught up w/ that i dont think .I struggle everyday within myself and i still stress eat and can have that cake cookie and poptarts now . i still dont excersise never have am i proud no .. I KNOW THIS IS A TOOL SO I DONT NEED TO HEAR THAT AT THIS POINT I GOT THAT !!!!! REAL LOUD AND CLEAR THIS LAST 2 MONTHS AS I HAVE GAINED 10 POUNDS !!!!! I see myself slipping away and i cant discipline myself . sure i have alot going on i have 7 kids and lil time for me at all . But i refuse to be FAT SHERRI AGAIN . i need some support i guess or some help anyone else at 2yrs out slip away . i still drink only water so that is good but that is about all i do right i do have shakes still 3 times or 4 times a week but i find they dont curb my appetie no more what can i do . i am an eating machine again . the journal thing dont work .i see what i eat . at least w 6 kiddos in school and it warming up my 3 yr old and i can walk ... tom i am joing curves . . my schedule is just so ran by other people my hubby works 12-14 hrs a day i have about 2 hrs total if that a week to myself .. right now he is just so busy w/ work that he works all nigh sleeps i see him for 1hr and hes off then 1 hr later kids get home ... and my busy day starts ... someone Help i am sorry i am just struggling and this far out i dont want to go back not now thanks alot Sherri

Hey Sherri...(((hugs))) I feel your pain...just wanted to let you know that you're not alone...this part of our journey is the most difficult. I'll be anxious to see the responses that you get....but remember that we can expect to re-gain at least 10% that we lost. At least that's what Dr. De Le Torre and Dr. Scott both told me. Take care, Kelli

Hello Sherri. Sorry to hear you are having difficulties.I wish I had the answer that was going to make everything better but being only 3 months out makes it hard. The tool you were given 2 years ago is still there. The differance is that now it depends a lot on the decisions you make (the honeymoon is over). You are already taking a big step by joining Curves, that will help a lot. Don't just track what you are eating, look at your choices and substitute healthier things for the not so heathy items. You have come so far and your determination to not become "FAT SHERRI AGAIN" will help you in this part of your journey. I will pray for your success and remember we are always here for you. Wayne

Sherri... You have taken the first step which is also the HARDEST step. You recognize what you are doing wrong and now you need to plug in the answers that will correct those behaviours. It isn't going to be easy but then again anything that is worth having is worth working for. Lets start from the top. You don't have alot of "me" time so it seems that you are frazzled *rightfully so* and I bet that you are just grabbing foods that are easy to eat maybe? (If I'm wrong please by all means tell me).. I can remember when our kids were little and time was precious. I grabbed what I could WHEN I could.... You can start by making up alot of healthy GOOD snacks that are good protein sources and you can even enlist the kids help with this. Make it a cooking with mom adventure. It will get them to eat better too!... that will help you out when you don't have the time and you need something GOOD to eat!... You are drinking water... VERY GOOD... you should be proud of yourself. When you find that you are reaching for food are you drinking first and making sure that you aren't thirsty as opposed to being actually hungry. Mentally make yourself drink 16-20 oz. of water and then wait 15-20 minutes and if you are still hungry... then eat something... most times you will find that you really weren't hungry. Silly as it seems I visualize tha****er just flushing the fat right outta' my bod... Make sure that you are getting in protein honey... I do 3 protein shakes a day. First thing in the a.m., right before I hit the gym in the afternoon, and right before I hit the sack. My trainer has said that it is VITAL to ingest protein (shake/drink wise) RIGHT before going to bed. Don't do this by a food item... too hard on the digestion...but by a drink. You are joining CURVES... GOOD FOR YOU HONEY... you do it and go for it... keep doing it no matter how hectic your schedule is... don't let anyone encroach upon that "Sherry time"...that is sacred and yours. Watch your fat grams... and carbs... we need carbs especially if we are very active (working out)... right before working out get some good complex carbs in you... ( I eat oatmeal)..and right after you are done working out eat a tiny bit of carbs... Try not to get carb dense in the latter part of the day. Rule of thumb that I follow is Breakfast like a Queen, Lunch like a King and Dinner like a pauper. More complex carbs in the early part of the day when you are going to need them to fuel through the day... but the last meal that you should be eating a normal portion of carbs is at is your lunch.... Dinner you can have some...but it should be mainly focused on proteins.... Try to keep the fat grams well under 30.... 20 is even better but 30 is better than nothing. Log EVERYTHING into fitday. Seriously. I know I might seem compulsive but I put EVERYTHING that I eat into that program , including the salad dressing that goes on my salads. When you see it in black and white it makes you accountable for your actions. Alot of the time you think that you are doing well and when you see the tallies your mouth hits the floor... hey I have been there too!.... YOU CAN DO THIS GIRL... you are the mom of 7 KIDS... that is the hardest job in the world! This is going to be a snap to do... you just have to find your groove and stick with it. Yes, that is also meaning adding exercise to the mix... but you can make it fun and make it YOUR time to sneak away.... and good idea on walking with the 3 yr. old. It isn't too young to start your kiddos off with good health habits... Let me know if you have any other questions.... the above is what I am doing... some of it might work for you..and some you might not want to use. Admittedly I am in a very intensive weight lifting/training regime and I also take vitamin/mineral supplements and I eat 6 meals a day (mini meals) that are spaced out to benefit my workouts... but it is working and I am really dropping the last of the fat and getting some incredibly ripped muscles.... it IS working.... Wishing you nothing but the BEST honey... hang in there... you can do it! ((hugs)) Elizabeth~

Hi Sherri, I want you to know that you're not alone in how you feel! I don't have any concrete answers but I can offer some information and my personal experience as support. Kelli is exactly correct...the statistics are an average weight regain from wls is 10-15%. That doesn't mean any of us or that we have to accept that regain. However, it also doesn't mean anything negative about what you're going through either. It just shows that you're not alone and this is something that we all struggle with at one point or another. Wayne, with being three months post-op, blows me away with his insight and wise suggestions. You are experiencing being out of the honeymoon period. This is a psysiological adjustment where your body starts absorbing more of the calories you are eating. You are doing lots of great things for yourself so focus and congratulate yourself on those! It is great that you are drinking your water. There are some people that struggle with that so you have that one under your post-op success belt! As far as drinking protein shakes maybe you need to look at that. Of course, follow your physician's protocol in this respect. From my experience, as far post-op as you are, plus your statement that they aren't curbing your appetite any more is something to look at. You possibly could consider that you need to eat more dense protein to obtain the full feeling of satiety. On the Nutrition Forum of ObesityHelp, there is a fantastic article that explains satiety and how our pouch functions to obtain satiety. Essentially, the dense protein sits in your pouch like a funnel and slowly empties out. You might consider protein drinks as supplementation but have meals with more dense protein. If you feel full longer with dense protein, you might make healthier choices. I'm with you about the journaling! It reminds me way too much of my dieting days. Like you, I know what I eat and don't need to write it down. My Jenny Craig and Weigh****cher food journaling are a distant memory. I can be responsible and accountable without journaling. No more diet-type of practices for me. I understand and support you too. I have two kids and with my job, personal time, family time, commitments and responsibilities that I have, I can feel overwhelmed. I multiply that three times for your six kids and WOW! I commend you for being a mom to six kids. Sometimes we create a time out for ourselves by emotional eating. It is a way to give nurturing and give back to ourselves from giving so much to others in our lives. With you sharing in your post that your schedule is run by other people, maybe you are cutting out a slot of time for Sherri Time. Something possibly to consider? It is great that you are walking with your three year old. What a great way to get in activity for you and spend time with your child. Joining Curves is great. You don't have to workout for hours to get the benefits of activity. Curves is great in that you are in, do your routine and out quickly. The other thing you did that you didn't mention is that you posted here on the Missouri Board. There are so many wonderful people here that understand completely. You are among friends that will support and be here for you. We all will experience bumps (also known as real life!) in the road of post-op success and this is what you are going through. Consider this a wake up call that you are out of the honeymoon period and our surgery needs our attention in a different way. We all know how to eat, what to eat, etc. We learned that in our first year. Now we get to implement those healthy habits we picked up during our honeymoon period. If we need to create more healthy habits, now is the time. You are realizing that maybe you need to create some new healthy habits into the ones you've already created. ObesityHelp also has an Emotional Eating Forum course that you could consider. It is at no charge and is a wonderful resource. It is done by Dr. Roger Gould. I know you'll get through this. Know why I know that? From your post! Your refusal to be the Fat Sherri Again! What a powerful statement you made. You are feeling out of control and scared. You are bigger than any piece of cake or Pop-Tart. You've done so well to lose what you've already lost. You just need to look at some things you're doing now, change directions and do them differently. Please keep posting as that helps me feel connected to my friends here on this Board. You will find that same connection supportive and encouraging. Please let me/us know how you're doing. Cathy ObesityHelp Support Group Specialist

Yesterday I was very discouraged and overwhelmed. Know what I did? I went to the grocery store and bought cherry turnovers. I had not had them since surgery. I ate one and then asked myself why. Guess I should have asked the question before eating!!! My answer was I was overwhelmed, a common situation I often found myself in prior to surgery. I have tried since surgery to minimize the overwhelming feeling. With your kiddos, I don't know how you can do this, but YOU MUST FIND TIME FOR YOURSELF. Ask yourself, what besides eating makes me happy? What besides sitting and watching tv makes me happy? Some things I've discovered that make me happy are being by myself. This is difficult for me to do since I have two kids and two foster daughters who live with me, as well as my husband. My solution has been to take what time I do have and just get away from the house for a few minutes. Even if you have to pay a sitter to do it, it will be worth it. I also really enjoy reading. I have taken my book to the park and just sat and read. May sound boring to some but with my overwhelming life, dealing with everybody else's problems, I need some time to get away and not deal with anything except peace and quiet. Maybe you are not like me at all and what makes you tick is being with people, friends or family. Whatever makes you tick, you need to discover it and then move heaven and earth to have some of that in your life. I'm very serious about this. If I don't do this, I find myself heading for the sweets. I'm really trying to ask myself why I eat the wrong things when I do. Just the fact that i know I'm going to question myself helps me stop sometimes. I'm not saying I have it whipped but I do think there is something to this emotional eating thing. If we can overcome it, then we need to write a book about it and sell a million copies. I'm sure it would be a best seller. My solution for now is take time for ME and not feel GUILTY about it. As women we are givers. We give to everyone else and don't take time for ourselves. At this point I'm sure you're saying, there is no way I can do that. Don't dismiss it so quick. Think about it, plan it and then go for it. OF course, keep all the good stuff in place as far as eating goes. Hey, I heard on Oprah the other day that a woman has a book out about how having active sex can help you loose weight. Might be something to check out. Later. Teresa

Teresa, I LOVE what you wrote. Thanks for sharing your insights. You exchanged unhealthy habits for healthy habits that reflect who you are and your interests. Thanks to Sherri for sharing what you're going through right now so we can reflect on ourselves. Cathy ObesityHelp Support Group Specialist

I know what you mean about it being harder the farther out we go. I'll be two years in August. Unfortunately, I too have found out I can eat many things that are not good for me. The secret is that you eat them every now and then -- not everyday and not bagfuls. I try to watch how think people eat, and mimic them. Most, don't eat very much and they eat slowly. (not everyone, but find a good example). If I mess up, I start over right then -- not the next hour, next day or next week. I also cut myself some slack. We're only human and the more we beat up on ourselves, the more we want to eat. Sometimes I have to take it five minutes at a time, an hour at a time, a day at a time -- whatever it takes to be good. And I know this next one is hard, but you have to find a few minutes for yourself -- for a quick exercise time or quiet complemplation on why staying on track is so important. Sherri -- you did an amazing job losing 115 pounds, and you look amazing. Don't beat yourself up over these extra pounds. Just concentrate on chipping them away again. You are a wonderful, beautiful person -- inside and out -- just cut yourself some slack and dig in! You can do it!!!! I struggle almost every day with making good choices. I was hoping maintainence would be easier, but it's not that way with me either. Let's do this together!!!! Maybe we could all do a daily or weekly checkup to see how everyone is doing. (((((((HUGS)))))))) Joni