Help!!

 I had gastric bypass in August 2008.  At the time of surgery I was 259.  I got as low as 124, mainly because I had a couple of hospital stays due to appendicitis and a hysterectomy.  My weight stayed around 130 - 135 and I was really happy about that.  The 1 year ago, I found out that small amounts of sugar didn't bother me and an occasional fried food wasn't too bad also.  Now, I am at 150 and scared to death.  I feel I need encouragement and suggestions on what to do.  I have vowed I will never go back.  If anyone has any suggestions on what to do, please feel free to let me know!!

First, take a deep breath. Next, know that you are NOT doomed to failure and regain. This happens to many of us at one time or another, for one reason or another. I have been just about exactly where you are. My weight when I met with my surgeon was about 250 (my high weight was nearly 270!). I got down to as low as 126, which was too slim for me and then went as high as 152; while 152 'looks' fine on me, I wasn't happy with how I got there, and I would imagine that is likely the case for you. If you read my blog I think you'll see your reflection in some of my entries. I am here to tell you that all is not lost. I'm sitting her typing this and weighing in today at 136. I did it and you can too. I'll be glad to share the short version of what I did, but I'm also glad to be a 'buddy' if you need or want somebody who has been there that can help talk you back down. 

Okay, so the real question is how to get back on track and if it's a realistic possibility and probability. I'm here to tell you that it is both possible and probable that you can reverse the tides and get back to where you are happy and be able to stay there. I have to tell you that I too was just terrified because I knew from my previous experience that 'diets' just don't work for me. I'm an overgrown 3 yr old and if you tell me I can't have something, then.... I will. That scared the proverbial pants off of me. After mulling it over a bit, I decided to try a new tact. One to get the unwanted extra pounds off and another, related tact to keep my weight where I want it to be.

So, to take off the weight, the two biggest things I did were to log my intake and activity and to cut back on simple carbs... cut back, not cut out. I made sure to 'take care of business' with every meal and snack, making sure I was eating 5 to 6 times a day. When I say 'take care of business' I mean that I made sure that I got in  4 to 6 ounces of protein, then followed that with colorful, complex carbs. I also made sure that I wasn't drinking any fluids within that 30 min window before, during and after my meal so that I could allow my pouch to work for me and help me really regulate my intake to ensure I wasn't taking in more calories than I needed. I maintained a caloric intake of about 1000 to 1200 calories a day when I was working on losing the weight. Logging really helped me think about what I was ingesting and if it was supporting my goals or undermining them. This helped think of things in a positive light. Is this choice going to help get me to where I want to be or submarine my attempt to achieve and maintain a healthy and active life? If not, I often would think twice and let it go without the burden and baggage that comes with feeling deprived. I have to say that I did occasionally indulge while I was losing, but not often because I had my eye on the proverbial prize and I was delighted at the result I was getting; most of the time the 'indulgence' I wanted at the moment faded when I 'weighed' it against my goals. To be honest, the weight came off relatively easily. Much more so than I thought it would.

Now that I've taken the excess weight off, I don't really log anymore unless might weight ticks back up out of it's normal range. If that happens, I start logging again and am able to easily trim off the few pounds.

I honestly think that losing the weight and then maintaining it all comes down to awareness and accountability. If you think about it, I'll bet that you've been playing a bit of 'hear no evil, see no evil, speak no evil' as it relates to what you are consuming. You 'know' you are going off track, but tend to not want to see the evidence of it. We all have to find ways to be aware and accountable and to be honest what works when we are losing is not necessarily what works in maintenance and I think that this is one of the main reasons we tend to falter in maintenance. Whatever we did to maintain awareness and accountability in our weight loss phase doesn't really work for us anymore and no one has told us that we need re-evaluate how we are going to remain aware and accountable as we work to maintain or new found weight and it's resulting health and quality of life benefits. It took me a while to find what works for me. It may take you a while to find what works for you, but I'm sure that you can and will. 

Wishing you all the best as you work to get to where you want to be.

Regards,

 Thanks so much for the reply, I cried as I was reading it.  I will get back on track and thank you for the encouragement.  I would read the post on this forum daily the first year or two then, I got off track.  I am going to start back reading the forum and getting the daily encouragement that I found when I first started this journey.  Thanks again Barbara!!!

You are so welcome. I have to tell you that I actually copied part of the response and reposted it... of course, not mentioning you or your name, but I cross posted it to the main and RNY forums and on my own blog. It really has garnered a great deal of response. The reason that I'm sharing that with you is that you should know that you are not alone in this. 

 Thanks again for the support!!

You are most welcome.