Rebound

I weighed 320 when I mentally decided to pursue WLS. Goal was 180lbs.W 255 on date of surgery.

Hit my goal within 6 months of surgery. I'm 7 months post op. I've been at 165 lbs for a few weeks which I'm more than fine with. Anything lower than 180 was just a bonus. I joined a gym about 2 months ago. I go 3 times a week and work with a trainer. Joined the gym to try to combat back pain. I thought maybe strengthening certain back muscles and my core would alleviate my back pain. So far no dice. Gym has been mostly instructional and I seldom break a sweat much to my disappointment. Wasn't sure if the gym would make me lose weight or gain it but overall Im now focused on becoming more tone and regaining some of the muscle that vanished with the weight.

My question is, once you hit your low weight how much did you regain before balancing out? Did you know you hit your low at the time? As my portion sizes increase I feel weight gain is inevitable to some extent.

Portion wise, I eat 3 meals a day each being about 6oz or less. I do 2 shakes a day. I don't count calories. I just focus on keeping things high protein and low sugar and moderation. I do lots of veggies and pieces of cheese. I do indulge with a few chocolate covered raisins now and then but I'm not really worried about becoming morbidly obese again. Made a lot of life style changes in the past year.

Thanks for your input and sharing your experiences.

it's not inevitable, but it happens to most of us. I gained 12 lbs after hitting bottom.

Weight gain is NOT inevitable, and not counting calories is a surefire way to regain. Very few of us were good with "moderation" before WLS, and there's no reason to believe it would be any more successful post-op.

The folks here on OH who've been most successful in the long term continue to weigh, measure, and log all of their food for life. The successful folks seem to keep their maintenance calories between 1200 - 1500, still protein-forward low carb.

If you're not breaking a sweat at the gym, you need to work harder. Just showing up isn't enough; you'll only get out of it what you put into it! If you're doing weight training, you can increase the weight and/or do more reps. If you're doing cardio, work to increase your heart rate by doing higher intensity work.

I posted my question because I often see people put LW = 150 and Post Op Regain = 170 for example. Not all people put these stats but enough to make me think it's a plausible scenario.

I understand what you're saying about weighing food and logging it. I've fallen in to a pattern of eating the exact same stuff over and over so I don't weigh it each time but for example, I know I can eat 2 eggs and stay within the realm of where I should be oz./protein/sugar wise. If I start gaining weight I'll resort to the basics and crack down.

Fortunately I do feel great about my new outlook on moderation. The surgery taught me first hand that hunger doesn't come from your stomach, it comes from your mind. Initially if I was craving something real bad I'd brush my teeth or do push-ups to distract my mind or get it to associate things differently. Seems to work well for me. Rather than use food as a reward, I now use an activity. Food is simply sustenance that enables me to live life. Some of my big issues were food addictions. Once I eliminated those foods from my diet, the cravings disappeared too....eventually. Every person is different I suppose.

Great advice on the gym. Just because I'm paying a trainer doesn't mean I'm off the hook. Today was my last session. I'll take what I've learned and rinse/repeat and I'm sure gains will follow. Starting pilates with the wife tonight. Looking forward to adding that to the routine and involving her a bit more.

Thanks for the reply.

It's great that this works for you now-- but remember, you're only 7 months post op, and your body is still in "honeymoon mode" where it is very easy to lose weight or maintain. The further out you get, the harder it is-- both physiclaly and mentally-- so winging it may not work forever. :)

I'm 13 years out, eat protein forward (but other things too) and regained 25 lbs. I stay there quite effortlessly.