I swallowed my pride and contacted my doctor... over 5 years out and dealing with regain

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... 

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 bad carb/sugar temptation and replaced it with lots of protein, veggies, grains 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?, 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, lifting weights. When I stopped, the weight started coming back.  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.

Wow - thank you!  That was an excellent list.

I've just starting using the food tracking app I was using when losing weight (and pre-op).  It's pretty alarming how much all this grazing adds up.  

Once I have an appointment with my doctor's office, I'll ask if they either have a back on track support group - or I might just go back to the regular support group. It's mostly pre-ops and newly-op'ed that go to those meetings, which is why I stopped attending about a year after my sleeve surgery.  But I think it might be good to go.  A lot of this is getting back into that mentality I had when losing.  You are 100% about all the reading and research I did early on, and before surgery.  I need to have that same level of commitment for re-losing! 

Thanks again! 

I'm doing this too.  But I have gained back 100 of 150 loss.  I have been working out consistently for the past 2 years.  I had to stand up and take responsibility for my actions.  Sure, I had saboteurs along the way that made it easy for me to get off the tracks.  2 years after my surgery I faced an abusive husband. My mothers diagnosis with cancer and my father having a stroke - ON THE SAME DAY.  I coped with copious amounts of alcohol.  My husband kept me isolated.  My father was in and out of the hospital for 8 months and had 3 brain surgeries.  My mother underwent 8 months of chemo.  Eventually I lost my house.  I ended up taking my power back and getting sober in July 2012.  I left an über stressful job this June.  I'm now starting to eat right again.  I work out with a trainer 3 days a week, and am using my plate again.  I'm also incorporating proteins again and leaving behind the unhealthy carbs.  I'm talking to my doc about a revision, but maybe I can kick start this tool again.  The one thing I am grateful for is that this group is here for support.

I felt funny clicking "like" because my heart breaks for all the hardship you've experienced.  But -wow- congrats on your sobriety and for taking serious measures to take care of yourself. 

What kind of revision were you thinking about? I think it sounds like you have an excellent handle on this and you likely won't need or want revision, but I'm curious as to what the options are for sleeve revision.

im glad you're here!  I'm looking forward to hearing your success as a re-loser! 

(Sorry for any typos - in on a phone and I can't see what I'm writing!)

I just want my VSG tightened.  I talked to my surgeon and he told me to get an upper GI with a barium swallow so he can see how far my sleeve is stretched, and if it warrants the procedure.  If not, it's all up to me.  

After the chemo, my mother never gained any weight back.  She actually struggles to keep it on.  She is incredibly supportive.  So I feel really blessed.  I think I'm gonna try the 'pouch' test, and see what happens from there!

First off, kudos to you.

I am in - pretty much - the same boat with regain. I had my VSG Dec 2012. I have since also gained 40lbs. My fault. I got too happy and way too over comfortable with the fact that my small stomach can handle/tolerate most/all foods that I love. Slips here and there are not totally 'okay' because, I gained! Slips turned into old habbits. Mine is mostly the love of all the bad foods we should not be putting into our bodies anymore; beer, pizza, sandwiches, etc. I also had plastics - just an arm lift due to me being poor and I took out a loan for it, but it was my worst disgust about my skin. No regrets!

 I wasn't horrible but, the last year and a half has been almost daily with that (but took 2 years to gain this 40, which is bad). It's depressing but, I am also back for help. I am helping myself get back to the new normal lifestyle I (we) should be living. Keep us updated on how it goes with the doctor! I am interested in seeing what happens.

Hi! I'm sorry you are in the same "40-lb-regain" boat, but thanks so much for sharing your experience.

I've spoken to someone at the surgeon's office now and they will be getting back to me about an appointment.  I also plan to start going back to support group, even though they are mostly pre-ops and new patients that go... I just need to really get back head fully back in the losing game, and going to support group meetings is relatively easy and free way to do that.

I've started my own "back on track" program.  I didn't want to wait to talk to my surgeon or dietician because who knows how long it will take to get an appointment.  It's a busy office.   So I was tracking for a few days but decided I needed some sort of formal eating plan moving forward.   I'm going back to a diet plan that is very similar to my early post-op eating plan.  Basically, I'm back to eating 5-6 small "meals" a day, most of which are protein shakes or raw veggies.  Calorie intake is 800-1000 calories a day.

Even though the scale isn't moving quite yet, it feels good to just feel like I'm finally addressing this regain.  Taking control of my food again has been a huge mental relief.  Hopefully, the scale will soon follow with showing some lower numbers!  You can bet I'll post updates here when I have some success.  ;)

Have you contacted your surgeon's office?  They could be a good resource, but some are probably better than others in this regard.  It depends on how robust their follow up program is...   I know you can lose this 40 lbs, and so can I.  Good luck to you!