7 yrs out, regain, protein and getting back on track

Hi all!

Next month will have been 7 years since I was sleeved. It's been awhile since I've been on here, (and actually forgot I was a member here!) But I'm trying to refocus. My starting weight was 288, I ended up at 182. I thought at the time my body just settled there. And I was fairly happy at that weight so I just lived life. I was lucky in the fact that I ate what I wanted, my sleeve restricting me of course and easily maintained for years until becoming pregnant in the summer of 2014. During my pregnancy I gained 25 lbs or so, and it was so hard to watch the scale go up! After giving birth, I easily lost that weight within 3-4 weeks. Since then though, I have slowly gained weight up to 206. Too much snacking, not enough healthy food. For the last 2 1/2 weeks I have tried to get back to basics, following a 80/80/80 plan I follow on facebook. (80 oz water, 80 protein, < 80 carbs.) I realize even more than ever now that I really never did "follow the rules". Sorry for the length of this!

Water has always been a struggle but particularly protein. I don't like protein shakes or smoothies. I'm allergic to eggs, dislike cottage cheese and Greek yogurt. I really would like to get all my protein in with food but still can only eat 3 ounces at a time. 4oz if I pu**** till stuffed.

I would love some advice. I don't know if others close to as far out as I am are able to eat more protein at one sitting than I am. I don't know what guidelines I should be following, or if the one I am following is too much. I have lost 7 lbs the last 3 weeks so water is definitely working but I also want to get back into my pre-regain clothing asap.

So, how much protein are you eating a day? How far out are you? Do you have any protein suggestions besides protein powder or am I ok just getting in 60g a day?

Sorry for so many words and questions! Lol But thank you in advance!

Hi and welcome back!

You're in a great place - you've realized that you need to get back on track, you still have great restriction, and you CAN do this.

If you're not already, I recommend that you measure/weight/track everything you're consuming with something like MyFitnessPal. For liquids, consider setting an alarm to remind you to drink. (I also carry a bottle with me EVERYWHERE, since it's always in my hand/close by, it reminds me I need to drink. And it's obnoxiously colored so I can't miss it. Heh.)

My surgeon's recommendation is 60-80 grams of protein a day, so you're okay with 60g, but the problem there is that if you're eating 800-1000 calories a day, 60g of protein leaves lots of room for other foods. (60 grams of protein is only 240 calories.) So you've got to be super mindful of what to fill the rest of your 560-760 daily calories with.

I'm about 3.5 years post-op and I've currently got a goal of 100g/protein a day due to being in the middle of the reconstructive surgery process.

Dense protein should be your best friend. 3-4 ounces of cow, chicken, fish, or pig 3-4 times a day will get to your goal and keep you feeling sated.

Thank you for your reply! I have been tracking, writing everything down in a notebook. I will check outy fitness pal. Some days I am around 600 calories, some days closer to 1000. I struggle with breakfast, usually eating a yogurt but I feel that's lower on the protein side. The last few days I've just eaten ham and cheese roll ups for breakfast, it holds me longer and is higher in protein.

Should I be trying to eat balanced with fruits and veggies? Or focus mostly on protein? The carbs in fruit scare me. Lol I do usually have a salad with chicken and cheese on top for lunch. Water has mostly been ok, I almost always get 60oz in but aim for 80.

I feel like breakfast is a challenging meal for a lot of people because we have in our minds what acceptable breakfast foods are. :) There's nothing wrong with eating ham and cheese for breakfast! Especially if it keeps you feeling full longer and gives you protein.

While you're working to lose weight, there's really no reason to go out of your way to add carbs to your diet. I work to avoid processed and refined carbs, but I'm happy to have something like stir fry every so often with veggies in it. I don't avoid/seek out fat at all in my diet because fat helps to increase feelings of satiety. Fruit is a very rare treat for me, but I probably eat an ounce or two of veggies 65% of days.

It's good that you're getting at least 60 ounces of fluid. I aim for 64-96 ounces and being hydrated definitely helps me out.

I'm really not a breakfast person but I want to be. Lol Plus the allergy to eggs bums me out since it would be such a great protein source. I don't really eat alot of fruit now, since it doesn't settle well in my stomach. And one of the first things I did was stay out of my snack cabinet, crackers are so easy to munch on while chasing a toddler! I have made a pizza out of flat out when I was craving it. I figure I'm doing better now than 3 weeks ago and knowing I'm not screwing it up too much is a relief! I'm hoping this weight comes off as easily now as it did 7 years ago. Lol

IMO, you do not need to eat more protein. That's well within (even above) what the USDA people recommend for daily protein intake for a woman. And protein is not some magical substance that makes you lose more weight, the more you eat of it. It does help keep you satisfied, and thus keeps you from eating high carb crap, especially if you are eating dense, lean protein like chicken, turkey, lean beef, and so on.

I follow a modified version of Bright Line Eating when I need to lose weight, and an even more modified version when I am in maintenance. Here are the basic rules of Bright Line Eating (with my own little twists to accommodate for having had 80% of my stomach removed)

3 meals per day. Snacks are fresh or frozed fruit and veggies (no canned or dried), nothing like sauce or butter added to the veggies; or yogurt/cottage cheese.

One serving (weighed, not eyeballed - 40 grams) of whole grains daily -- max. And this is true whole grains, not something like a cereal that says it includes whole grains.

Very limited amounts of calorically dense foods such as beans, nuts, avocados, and potatoes.

Limited fats such as butter and olive oil.

No flour (of any kind) -- ever.

No alcohol -- ever.

No sweets or artificial or non-artificial sweeteners -- ever.

Processed foods with sugar are allowed as long as sugar is not in the first three listed ingredients.

While in weight loss mode -- NO EXERCISE.

(I know this last one will raise eyebrows, but there is science behind it and it sure works for me).

So a typical day for me would be: breakfast: 30 grams oat bran (prepared as hot cereal) with 15 grams toasted nuts + 1 T. half & half.

Lunch: 3 oz. chicken + 1.5 oz green veggies + 1/2 T. light salad dressing

Afternoon snacks: small apple, 3 oz green veggies, iced latte made with unsweetened cashew milk and instant coffee

Dinner: pan-fried brussels sprouts, salmon w/ egg baked on top.

After dinner snack: yogurt (not necessarily Greek) with fruit.

This generally keeps me very satisfied at about 1000 calories per day. I weigh/measure my portions and log everything on MFP. Eating like this (and not exercising -- important!) helps me lose 2-3 lbs per week.

If you or anyone else out there is on MFP and wants to be friends, here is my profile:

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/profile/SibylDiane

Thank you for the feedback! I'm liking the fruits and veggies added. I do have a hard time drinking plain water though, but I'm sure if I look around there must be some more natural mix ins. I'm taking in all these tips and hoping I can lose more and get below my lowest weight! Thanks again!

You have already taken the hardest step by saying enough is enough and now I want to get back on track. I maintained 118-125 for over 10 years after losing 200 pounds. Due to a personal tragedy I gained and hit the 190 mark a year ago. After several starts it finally clicked and I am back to goal losing 60 pounds of regain. Here are some steps that helped me and I hope they will help you too! You may have several starts and stops but don't give up, don't beat yourself up. IT WILL CLICK!!!

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.

Thank you! I actually really want to go to a support group, but with it a half hour away and being a single mom to 5, I just haven't had it work out yet. You touched on every point and I agree with it all. I do have my house stocked with plenty of healthy options but unfortunately can't keep out all the bad stuff. But....Since my first week logging and eating better, I won't let myself eat anything out of the snack cabinet. Ok, once while out I snuck some of my daughters goldfish while running errands. Lol but did write it down!

Last week threw me on because I celebrated my birthday. But I'm refocused and ready to get back to business!

Just an FYI......if it's hard to get to a meeting outside the house, you can attend an Overeaters Anonymous meeting online!