VGS Veterans at 6 years+ post op (weight maintenance advice)

Are there any active veterans out there with 6 yrs+ post-op experience???

I'm curious about the commonality of weight regain this far out.

1. If you have had notable weight regain...what do you believe is the cause of the weight regain?
2. If you have not had much regain....what do you believe helped you maintain? (tips/suggestions)

Thanks so much!

I'm only 4 years post-op, but I'll answer anyway.

I had notable weight regain after my dad died. I gained about 20 pounds total. The cause was that my dad's death caused my previously undiagnosed Binge Eating Disorder to return in full swing. I sought diagnosis and medication to get it under control. I lost the weight I'd gained and continued losing.

I'm currently maintaining in the 150-160 range. I'd ultimately like to lost 25 more pounds or so.

Things that have helped me - taking care of my mental health, exercise, weighing myself daily, avoiding foods that aren't useful for me, keeping busy.

Thanks Gwen! It's great how you identified the causes and took action. You have accomplished so much and are an inspiration to the rest of us. I believe your Dad is very proud of you.

God Bless

STRESS!

Same triggers I had before, happy, sad, mad, glad. Didn't matter, still working on the same things. I'm 9 years out now, regained almost 90 lbs from a 310 lb weight loss. Lost about 40 of that now, long road ahead of me as a lot of people on here. I never figured something else out for stress relief and didn't maintain some sort of regular exercise I think were my downfalls.

Thanks B. Jones! Being 9 years out it's understandable that some old habits will creep back in when dealing with life's stresses. I will start working on that early on.

Congrats on already losing half of the regain! It looks like you are taking charge of the situation.

:-)

There are many reasons for the regain, but it all comes down to no****ching what you eat. It is 100% possible to slip back into bad habits, even after being sleeved, and that will absolutely lead to weight gain.

To avoid it, you will need to continue to track, weigh, and measure your food every day. Forever.

Hi, I am 8 plus years out and have had about 20 lb regain over the past 2 or 3 years. I stopped tracking, was physically able to eat more, relaxed my rules about no hors d'oevres or candy and drink wine. So its a combination of things. I also had a boat load of stress with family issues that has finally resolved.

My suggestion is to keep tracking food and also to up exercise. Thats what I will do (one of these days). Diane S

I'm five years post-op. At one point I gained 10 lbs, lost it, then a year or so later was up almost 30 lbs which I also lost.

What caused it for me was 1) getting lazy and 2) believing in some way that I could eat "normally."

For me, being lazy meant stopping exercising, stopping even spot checks with my food tracking, and stopping regular weigh-ins.

Believing that I can eat normally means that I think I can eat crappy foods like chips, cookies, candy, anything with flour in it, white potatoes, and excessive liquid calories, and be able to manage both my eating and my weight. For me, these things are not true. I have to strictly watch the types of foods that I eat, as "just a taste" or "dessert on this special occasion" most often turns into several days of very bad eating. I won't ever be normal in terms of food -- for me, thinking I can eat crappy food "occasionally" or "in moderation" is like a lifelong severe alcoholic thinking they can drin****asionally or in moderation. I really had to get it through my thick skull, and I still have to work at stopping my foodaholic brain when it tries to trick me into going off track.

Check my signature date for stats during the weight loss period. I have spent the majority of time at or below goal. I had a brief period where I went a little over goal weight. This is attributed to a large hiatel hernia reoccurance and the increase in acid. In my case, acid mimics hunger and when it is not treated my calories are significantly higher. What has helped me maintain is setting a hard line of if I hit 195 pounds (my original goal weight) I go back in weight loss mode. I prefer being at 185 so by the time I hit 195 my clothes are not fitting well which is an added incentive. I also refuse to buy larger sized clothes. Hence if you see this 6'2'' tall chic rocking summer dresses in February you now know why ;)

I also try to stick to the same types of food that got me to goal. Protein forward, veggies, avoid processed food, avoid white carbs. My struggle area has been sugar throughout all of this. If I am gaining it is directly connected to eating too many sweets, be it from acid issues or not.

I'm 12 year post-op, I've regained 50% of my weight loss, I stopped loosing 3 years post-op, and started gaining 6 years post-op. The most of my regain has been last 3 years, I've had 2 knee surgeries (last 2 month ago) and I've been without exer**** (included walking) for 2 years.
I've started taking metformine 2 weeks ago, in this 2 weeks I've lost 4 lbs, my doctor says my problem is insulin resistance, surgery corrects it for 2-3 years but it apears again after this period of time. For now I can say it works, I don't know what will I say in 6 month.