1.5 years out from revision from Lap-Band to VSG...need help - getting fat!

Hi all.  I am about 1.5 years out from revision from Lap-Band to VSG and at first I lost a bunch of weight... Was so close to my goal.  And then I got a divorce, graduated from nursing school, started a new relationship and moved to a new city... and I have gained about 30 lbs! I have forgotten how to eat and what to eat and I need help!  I started working out again, got a trainer, but my eating is out of control and I need some advice.  I have been eating 3 meals a day, and more food than I should.  Has anyone expereinced this?  How did you fix it? What do i do?  Please help!

The best I can suggest is going back to weighing and tracking your foods. Aim for 3-4 oz protein forward meals,/snacks and write everything down. Its a challenge to begin with but get a easier over time. Try eating 5-6 smaller meals spaced out instead of just three meals. Reduce/eliminate refined carbs and go back to high protein, lower carb. Cut out juice and pop, too, and up your water. And wait 30 mins after eating to drink anything.

Prepare meals ahead of time so you can grab and eat without trying to figure out what to make when you're hungry. Measure out veggies and hummus, keep hard boiled eggs on hand as well as string cheese, turkey perpperoni, lower carb foods like that. Have a side salad instead of fries when eating out. Eat just the burger, not the bun.  Could it be your meals are more carb forward instead of protein forward? 

You can do this! Take care.

Are you eating carbs?  I find that carbs cause cravings for me, and I have to be careful to limit my carb intake.  I'm in maintenance now and I've allowed more carbs, and I'm starting to gain weight again, too.  So I am going to go shopping today and make some lower cal foods and cut the carbs and see if I can get back on track. 

good luck,

Carol

Yes, you go back to doing what you were doing post-op that helped you get the weight off.  That is the ONLY way (for ANY of us).  

A little tough love: How have you "forgotten" in just a year and a half how you are supposed to be eating? It sounds like you treated your new food plan like a diet that you could do to get the wieght off and then discard (just like every other diet (which failed)).  You need to treat it as a complete change in how you eat and relate to food, to really embrace the new way of eating as something you will need for the rest of your life if you are going to control your weight.

It also sounds like some of the problem may also be using food to cope with stress/anxiety/loneliness/unhappiness (as so many of us struggle with). 

Put your emphasis on high protein, limited carbs (and VERY few "white" carbs: flour (bread, crackers, pasta), sugar (candy, baked goods), rice, starchy vegetables, etc.), only a moderate amount of fat, and lots of water or other zero-calorie fluids. 

It is probably a good idea to track your food intake for a while so you can actually see where you are going astray.

Lora

Go back to basics.  The resection is still there.  When I feel like I am getting a bit out of control I go back to some of my original meals - protein based even skip the veggies for a little bit.  Protein (dense protein- eggs, chicken breast, beef). Gives me the best restriction.  

Stay at away from carbs & drinking shortly after meals.