Need to hear from people who have overcome regain

Hello all,

I had VSG 12/7/15 and lost 70 pounds before becoming pregnant in early 2017. I weighed 274 the day of surgery. Now I am back up to 265.

I'm not blaming the pregnancy for this. This has been the direct result of me never changing my eating habits. I am extremely addicted to sugar.

I am 44 with a 5 year old and a 1 year old, both of whom need me to be healthy. I am starting to worry about my health. Lately I notice that sometimes when I eat a lot of sugar, I get heart palpitations or feel a little disoriented.

I haven't gone to my primary doctor since before the surgery and I can't stand to go back because he was against the surgery from the get-go and I don't want to hear "I told you so". So I am in the process of changing doctors and am eager to get some bloodwork. Part of me is wondering if I might be diabetic or on the verge at this point.

I could really use some guidance and some advice from people who have been where I am now. I wonder if I have completely ruined the surgery or if I can still turn it around. I don't know where to start.

Hugs. It is tough. I had RNY 10.5 years ago, but any surgery is just a tool. If I don't use it properly, I gain, or don't lose when I want to get rid of regain.

In the 10+ years I had some regain, at one time close to 35 lbs from my lowest, or 25 lbs from my personal goal. It is so easy to gain. A bite her, a bite there, not weighing daily, not paying attentions to what and how much I eat.

I turned that around but .monitoring what I ate and how much. De- carbing is always a challenge. My body screams for sugar and carbs. But typically 3-4 days of really struggling, it get so much better. Sugar and carbs can cause an addiction like state. I know for me they do.

When I gained weight, I started putting control on what and how much I ate. I first got clean from carbs, and sugars. No cheating. The first week was yough, but I compensated by eating when my body was craving food. In the first week , I did not limit qty, as long as my choose were proteins and very low carbs veggies. I made a few dishes of food I just can grab and eat. Cold cuts, roasted beef and pork, burgers, roastevof baked chicken, eggs, fish, etc. Veggies for me were cucumbers, low sugar pickles, cellery, avocado, zucchini some green beans, etc. .(I have IBS and some high fiber veggies can cause a lot of gas and pain,)

I stayed away from starchy veggies. But allowed myself to have some lower carbs nuts, like walnut, pecan, Brazil nuts, etc.

After one week, when the craving got under control, I started to limit how often I ate and how much. Usually by that time my appetite was under control. And when I felt "hungry" I would have a large glass of water or tea, to see in the hunger was just a thirst.

I was able to lose the first 15 lbs in roughly 2-3 months, the rest, within a 6 months from starting to take control of my weight.

Most likely - the losing regain is much slower and more difficult than the freshly post op

I lost 61lbs this year to my lowest weight in 12 years. I made a plan, zero bread, pasta, potatoes, rice or processed foods, no alcohol - basically meat, non root vegetables and dairy. I eat 100gm protein and salad almost every day. Don't expect to go back to liquids etc and be successful in the long term and that's what you should be aiming for.

I'm lucky that I can lose on 1200 calories per day - your mileage may vary.

I also incorporated exercise - minimum 3 miles (60 min) walk x 5 times per week and aim for 10k steps per day.

I log EVERYTHING that passes my lips into MyFitnessPal to ensure accountability.

The first week was tough, but after I saw the pounds drop off, it became easier. It's amazing how well our tiny stomachs work when we treat them right!

I love reading your posts as it gives me hope, not as easy as one may think and I seem to move one step forward and two steps back. I will not give up though , I am so close and yet it seems so far away. Thanks for the positive reinformement that f we stick to plan, we are successful.

Losing regain is waaaay harder than initial weightloss. For me, it was 95 per cent head game and only 5 per cent tiny stomach.

Accountability and support are key. I joined an Accountability Group here (which ran for 3 months) and my partner committed to 6 weeks total support - THAT was a game changer. He's not had surgery, but he gave up alcohol and white/processed carbs and he's also lost about 40lbs this year too.

It really helped put my head in the game and that's what you must have to keep at it.

As long as you never let yourself get to the "fuck it" stage and keep plugging away, even if you slip backwards now and again, you will be a success.