Am there/have the tshirt.

I think going back to your doctor is a great idea. I did. I found out that my pouch is still very tiny. I found out if I eat the proper RnY diet..protein first and no simple carbs that I can still lose weight. I also know that grief and remorse won't get the weight off but that there are objective things I can do. One of mine is to come back here and keep posting.

Good luck to you.

Deb T.

We have RNY surgery and the body suddenly stops getting all the food it was used to receiving.  For about a year the body has to maintain itself on the tiny amount of food we can get into our pouch.  The first hundred pounds disappears like magic.  We eat very little and absorb little of what we can eat.  It feels like we have been cured.

But the body is smart and soon starts to overcome the effects of being starved.  It learns to absorb calories again.  Our pouches grow and allow us to eat much more food.  Almost everyone has a gain in the twenty pound range before the third year after surgery.

Your old stomach was maybe the size of a 2-liter soda bottle.  Your mature pouch is probably about eight ounces.  You can learn to eat dense protein meals that will keep your pouch full and satisfied.  Like Grim said, weighing and measuring portions will give you control over your eating. 

Your surgeon and nutritionist can help you.  Losing the rest of the weight and learning how to maintain is hard work, but it can be done.  Make up your mind to turn this around and you will be amazed how much weight you can still lose.

You (and many others) say, " I can't get full" or "I don't feel full."  Why do we think we have to FEEL full???

 My bariatric diet (I'm 6 years out and in maintenance) tells me portion sizes and calories, grams of carbs and grams of protein that I eat each day for the rest of my life.  I follow my bariatric diet plan and keep a food journal.

 When I've finished my preplanned meal - I stop!  My feelings have nothing to do with it.  I've given my body the nutrients/fuel it needs.  There will be another meal later, because my body needs more fuel for my heart, liver, lungs, brain, etc. to function and make new cells.  It has nothing to do with '"feeling full" or "feeling hungry."

It's OK to have "feelings" but we choose how to respond to the "feeling."  I don't let "feelings" dictate my eating habits.  Maybe therapy, a support group or reading (The Beck Diet Solution is a cognitive therapy book dealing with changing thoughts/behaviors) may help you.

Hope you get some help and listen to your bariatric doctor, dietitian, and bariatric vets for wise counsel

Penny

I love this, Penny. I've never seen someone write it so simply before.

I almost always just cook the portion size I had planned. Some days, I'll set out my food for the whole day, and tell myself I can spread that out however I like. Eat it all at once, every three hours, early in the day, late in the day, but that's all there is.

There are lots of ways to control our portions. We each need to find the way, or ways, that work for us. But this won't work unless we find a way to control how much we eat.

Actually, that's pretty much exactly what I do - plan my daily menu, pack whatever parts of it I want to take to work, and when it's gone... well, it's gone and I'm done, nothing 'til dinner and only what's left on the original plan. I think you're right in saying we have to find what works for us personally. As long as what we're doing works, that is.

Yup. There's more than one way to skin a cat.

How did that become a saying? Was cat-skinning once so common that they had a saying for it?

Very well said!  With so many things in life I find that I do best when I can acknowledge my feelings and then get on with life :)

"Why do we have to feel full"

-NOW THIS Has given me something to contemplate.  Is fullness/satiation a lack of hunger?  Or is it that nice warm feeling after eating.

Pre-op, I would get a pleasant nice warm feeling in my stomach area when full.  Post-op, that feeling went away. It was replaced by a boa-constrictor feeling around my heart and/or hiccups (which I equally dont like).

Sometimes, I wait for and miss that nice warm sensation.  Maybe that is where I went wrong in the first place and ended up MO?  Do normal weighted people NOT get that nice warm sensation after eating and therefore dont look to feel it?  Thus not consuming excess calories in the first place.

I really really like this post!

You have already taken the hardest step by saying enough is enough and now I want to get back on track.  Here are some steps I hope will help you. They helped me...  Also, be sure and join the Back On Track Together group link in my signature area.  

Planning/Preparing

Remember when we were preparing for surgery?  How many meetings, classes and such did we attend?  We were told the more prepared we were the better our chances were for success.  And they were right. Go through the house, car and work place and get rid of trigger foods.  Stock up on foods that will keep you on track. I removed every carb/sugar temptation and replaced it with lots of protein, veggies and fruits.  

Journaling

Get back to journaling.  This will help you identify when you feel like eating, stress factors and any triggers in your life.  Once you identify these factors, this will help you put tools in place to keep you from eating.  It became clear I was not taking time for me anymore. I worked my day job and then spent the rest of my time caring for my husband.  It was easy to reach for fast, prepackaged food.  Since I purged my home I have to eat clean as there are no other options LOL

Use a tool to track you're eating and exercise like Getting Started with Health Tracker

Once I started to track ever bite and drink it became clear why I had gained.

Goals/Rewards

Make a list of goals for yourself.  Make them realistic and small.  Some of mine were move more, purge all junk from my home, eat more protein.

Food

In general, a long term post-weight loss surgery eating plan includes foods that are high in protein, and low in fat, fiber, calories, and sugar. Important vitamins and minerals are provided as supplements. (if you had a different surgery adjust this to your food plan)

Water

Water is our Best Friend. I have to say I never went back to pop or any bad drinks, however I was drinking tea like crazy. What is wrong with drinking tea?  I was either using sugar or 3 equals and 3 sweet n lows per 32 ounce glass.  So I was either pushing to be diabetic or get cancer.  I found once I started carrying a bottle of water around 24/7 (yes had one at my bedside) I lost the cravings for the sugar and I KNOW those artificial sweeteners are not good for me. Look I am old and if you add up all the artificial sweeteners I have consumed I am sure I am at the rat in the lab getting cancer threshold

MOVE!

I can't say enough about how key this was for me. The reason I kept my weight off for almost 10 years was no matter what I kept moving.  If I could not go to the gym I would walk. I loved Zumba, bootcamp workouts, lift weights. When I stopped, the weight came on.  So for me I am starting slow to avoid injury by walking and using some of the workouts on my Demand TV.  Find something you love to do and it won't feel like a pain in the *** to do daily.

Support

If it's an option "run" don't walk to a support group.

Keep me posted on how you are doing