Off track

I am 3 years out from Sleeve Surgery. I went from 400 pounds and now bounce back and forth from 199 to 200 I feel like I am off track and need some suggestions to get back on. I still have awesome restriction but I feel like I am off any suggestions from people 3 years and more would be great but I will take all the help I can get. Thanks in advance!!!

You have already taken the hardest step by saying enough is enough and now I want to get back on track. I didn't have the VSG but feel the basics are the same for us all. 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.

If you're not already, the first thing you should do is start measuring and tracking everything you put into your mouth using something like MyFitnessPal. This will help you figure out what you're eating and what you need to change. From there, work on getting back to your basics, here are mine but yours might be slightly different:

1. Prioritize protein and water
2. Deprioritize carbs, especially the refined and processed ones
3. Make the most of healthy fats
4. Eat three meals a day with no snacks
5. Avoid liquid calories (protein shake for breakfast is my exception since I've never liked putting solid food in my stomach first thing in the morning)
a. Don't drink with meals or for 30 minutes after eating
6. Weigh portions and track/log what you consume
7. Eat mindfully and with no distractions aside from real live people
a. Try to eat at a table
b. Eat with utensils
8. Move as much as possible
9. Weigh yourself daily
a. But focus on the trend of your weight, not the day to day fluctuations
10. Be kind to yourself

It is also important to work on figuring out why you're off track and why you're having trouble getting back on track - for me, working with a therapist has been invaluable to get my brain sorted out.

I'm struggling too, and Gwen's suggestions are exactly what I'm working on. I'm two years out. I was maintaining around 175 for a long time, but had some additional life stress thrown at me this summer. On Friday I weighed in at 186, so this weekend I locked things down, focusing on protein, fluids and activity, and today I'm 182. We can do this!

I follow Gwens rules except for #4. I have 5-6 low calorie "meals", though I refer to them as 3 meals and 2-3 snacks. That works better for me to keep from getting too hungry and overeating.

It's always interesting to me how number of meals varies by plan/person. My plan was super strict about ?three meals only, no snacks? although last time I spoke to the NUT I learned that they?re now recommending 4-6 meals a day. Since I?ve been satisfied with three meals a day, I stick to that. But it?s one of the recommendations where I?ve definitely seen the most variation.

Yeah, I think whatever works to keep us on track is best!

Exactly :)

My plan was strict that you had 3-4 meals per day until maintenance, to avoid grazing. I now eat what I categorize as 4 meals (one being just coffee and accompanied stuff) and 2-3 snacks. I worry a lot about it being considered grazing, as I eat every 2-3 hours, but right now it's what I need to do to get in my calories full of healthy, useful foods.

Thanks all I will try I know I can get back to basics!