Gaining it back
I am ready to stop this regain but o need to understand my pouch a little first.. If I go down to protein shakes, water, Greek yogurt ... Will the weight fly off like it did at first. I'm sure that's a resounding no... So thoughts ideas and plain old critics... I'm five years out ps 345 lowest 180 now 240... Thank you
I am three years out and am working hard to keep my bounce back weight to 5 pounds. I know you are capable of losing the regained weight, but I think you're right about it being more work this time.
When you talk about going back to protein shakes, yogur****er, etc. it causes me to wonder how you are eating now. My eating habits haven't changed much at all since I graduated to solid foods after surgery. I log everything I eat, have one protein shake a day, eat protein first, avoid simple carbs, get plenty of water and stay active. I think you probably know what you have to do to get back on track. You did one of those things by coming to this group for support. Do you have a local support group? Take it one day at a time. You have worked too hard to give up.
I drink diet pepsi every day - some days more than others - and of course I know it's not the best habit in the world. (Oh, but I have so few vices left...!!!!)
Could you tell us what you eat in a typical day? What did you eat yesterday - or day before?
When I started logging my food again I was shocked at how much was "really" going in.
Well, let's pick this apart a little bit. I'm no pro, but here goes. (My 2 cents worth, and worth every penny as they say!)
Is the soda sugar free? If not, that's a problem right there. If it's regular soda, between the pepsi and orange soda you would be taking in over 500 calories and 122 gm. of sugar just in the soda alone.
But let's just say it's sugar free.
The Burrito for lunch gives you 429 calories, and only 15 gm. protein. Carbs? 64 gm. Sodium? Over 1000 mg.
So far in the day you're off track for getting in protein, but way up there in carbs (beans, rice, and the burrito) and sodium.
Dinner - the veggies are good, but probably not enough for your entire day. I am trying right now to eat an abundance of fresh veggies. Spinach is one of the best, nutritionally.
Are you saying that the green beans and spinach are all you are having for dinner? No protein/main dish at all?
Milk - gives you some protein but is also very high in carbs., with basically 1 gm of carbs per ounce. You do pick up another 8 gm of protein here, though.
So here's where it sits:
You're not getting enough protein. 23 gm. protein is what I tally up here - my doc says aim for 64 gm. This means you are not fueling your body properly, and you're going to get hungry.
You're heavy on refined carbs and light on veggies. Veggies are complex carbs and are metabolized very differently than the burrito and rice (and ready type products in general, which break down in the same way sugars do.)
While you might be getting in enough calories for a post op to maintain or lose weight, look at the source of those calories and it seems that the balance is out of whack (protein/fat/carbs)
As I said before, I'm a diet pepsi drinker - but I do make a deal with myself that I'll have the soda in ADDITION to my 64 oz. of water. Every single day.
But if I ate this menu in a day....honestly, I'd be starving.
Adding a protein shake may help the protein numbers come up, but the whole balance needs a good once over. Do you have access to a dietitian through your surgeon's office or hospital system?
Again, I'm NOT one to promote going to shakes only. It's not sustainable. Go back to what you learned about post op eating:
Real food
Protein first
Veggies
Limited fruits and dairy
Water, water, water
Others may weigh in with more detailed opinions - as I said, mine is just based on my own experience and keeping in touch with a lot of post ops.
But please tell me the soda is sugar free.
It is sugar. And it hurts me to say that but it is. It is the safest vice - in the cross addiction area. I am willing to give it up- I worked so very hard to get here. I will eat 3 meals a day and a snack. Lots of water. And if I need bubbles I'll drink soda water with a splash of grapefruit juice. I'm going to go crab free for awhile. What do you think of the 5 day pouch challenge just as a reset?
Ok tough love time.
120 plus gm. of sugar a day is not a safe vice.
It's just a vice.
Like the kind that keeps a vice grip on you and won't let go. Sugar is a horrible addiction and will wreak havoc with your nutrition and health.
At one of my very early support group meetings, a super successful leader said this - and I am putting it in caps for you for a reason, not to "yell":
WHEN WE WALK THROUGH THESE DOORS, WE MUST AGREE TO FOLLOW THE RULES SET FORTH BY A SURGEON. WE HAVE MADE OUR OWN RULES FOR YEARS, AND THEY HAVE BROUGHT US TO A PLACE OF MORBID OBESITY.
So my dear, we can't make our own rules. Dump the sugar and soda today - like you are an alcoholic dumping a fifth of whisky down the drain.
I've never done the pouch test and honestly don't know anyone who's had terrific success with it. (And I keep in touch with some 100 post ops in various places and formats.) Many believe that it's simply a crash diet type thing - no real point to it. I sense that you are reaching for a "diet" type solution that will "fix" all this - but it's not that easy. And we all know the feeling of starting a "diet" and "blowing it" by 2 in the afternoon. I don't recommend things like that.
Your best "reset" would be this for 5 days - this is similar to what my dietitian will recommend for a 3-7 day "detox". However - don't go beyond 5 days or you'll be bored and go crazy, and we don't want that.
Drink 100 oz. water per day
Decaf coffee only with stevia if you want a sweetener
Eat normal food for 3 meals. Protein and green veggies - all you want of these
No dairy
No sugar, refined carbs, or starchy veggies (such as corn, beans, peas, beets, other root vegetables).
Up to 2 Tbsp fat free dressing on salad.
No added salt
Use vinegar and salt free seasonings to taste
No more than 1 small fruit (1/2 medium apple or 1/2 c berries = 1 fruit) per day. Skip bananas and melon for now.
Stay away from fast food. Period.
You're going to feel like total **** giving up that sugar and the caffeine fix from the pepsi. Don't worry about the carbonation - you can get that from other flavored fizzy water.
Now, a little more tough love. You're fooling yourself if you think you're hardly eating anything. You're well over 1000 calories a day and most of it is crap. Log what you eat, the good the bad and the ugly. Use My Fitness Pal. Get in touch with your doc and make an appt with a dietitian who can help you with some accountability. Your thread is entitled "Gaining It Back" and yes, indeed-pie you are and you WILL if this continues.
You've gone through a life altering procedure with your surgery. But it only works if YOU work with it. We all know how we make our own rules. And we can learn the tricks to eating around the limits of a pouch. If this is all just too hard - get to a good therapist who specializes in addiction or eating disorders. There's work to be done.
Please accept my comments in the spirit they are intended. I want to see you turn the corner on this pattern. The old habits lie in wait for us, and wait for the weakest moments to trip us up.
Do your best! Take care of YOU! And I DO want to hear back from you (even if you are mad at me!)
In a word, no, the regained weight won't fly off. Take it from me it comes off like granite that you're chiseling off with the end of your toothbrush.
But it WILL come off.
The temptation to go to a full liquid diet takes us back to our "crash" diet days pre op. While we might lose some weight that way, it's not good for us in the long run and ultimately not sustainable. Our bodies are not swollen and healing the way they were post op. We are past the phase of malabsorption. So the only real answer for dealing with regain is to face it head on and use the skills we have.
First, there is tremendous shame and guilt associated with regain, or there was for me. (I regained 1/3 of my total wt lost last year. Now have lost all but 10 lbs of that.) Somehow we have to move past those emotions and deal with our feelings. For me, I felt as if I was on the fast track to complete failure - and how to handle that? How to handle the fact that clothes no longer fit, etc.?
Secondly, get to a dietitian who can work up a plan for you. You ARE WORTH IT. We all know how hard it is to lose on our own, based on will power and good intentions. I work with a dietitian and weigh in weekly. I also have an eating plan I follow from her.
Thirdly - what to eat is exactly what you KNOW to eat. In a nutshell...
Protein first. Get your protein in.
Veggies next.
Fruit - I have small portions of fruit 1-4 times a week. Not every day. Usually toward the "seldom" end but right now I've got these great blueberries, so it's been more often.
Dairy - I don't use it, but it's only because of personal preference.
Carbs - bread, rice, pasta, etc, etc. - Rarely or none.
Fats - some "good" fat every day. Lately this has been a little sliced avocado on my lunch time salad. I have to steer clear of nuts because I will overeat them.
Water - 64 oz/day
I think that's pretty much the food rundown. But it's equally important for me to log my food. I use My Fitness Pal and love the app.
Exercise is another important element to help kick the metabolism up a notch or two.
See? You know this. You have the most powerful tool there is. Use it. It only works if you use it. If you "eat around" your surgery, the very dangerous trend you are on will not end in a good place.
Best wishes!
