Weight regain

Hi I am a new member and I am so desperately hoping l that by joining this group it will be just what I need to get me back on track. So my question is, what did I do wrong? I lost 80 lbs. in all but my goal was to lose 150 lbs. now I have regained 15 of the 80 pounds lost. I always felt like from the begining I was able to eat more than it was stated that we would be able to. I even spoke to my surgeon about it who said and I quote "I was very aggressive with the size I made your stomach.

What surgery did you have?   I think the different surgery boards have a daily "what are you eating today" thread and it would give you a great idea of what people who are losing or maintaining are doing.

It's a shame you didn't lose to goal, but its entirely possible to lose weight, even after the so called honeymoon period so you could lose the regain and then some if you really put your mind to working your WLS tool

I to have starting gaining weight.  I am 3 yrs out and did not reach my goal of 180lbs, my SW was 330lbs  I got down to 220 and  am currently 248.  Soooo I had to look at my current food intake.  It was horrible I have slipped into my old eating habits.  Except for the quanity,  I still can only eat about 1 cup of food at a sitting but I eat constantly.  So crap....  I did  not go thru all this to regain my weight.  Remember the surgery is only one tool in our wt loss journey. I am trying to kick start myself with 900 cals/day for 2 week all protien/veg/some fat.  And get my water in.  Excercise will come later I have some heel spurs acting up right now (geez really? with the weight increase no surprise there.)

 Anyway I am looking for a buddy are you interested?

With regain, it results from returning to bad habits that we had before surgery.  Some of the bad habits include grazing, eating more carbs - simple carbs, stop or decreasing exercise among others.  

To get back on track, return to the healthy habits you had when you were losing weight.  You've taken a big step by joining OH and reaching out in your post.  Start today by taking on at least one of your bad habits and change it.  

You can also join the Back On Track Together OH Group for additional support too.  Your profile doesn't show what WLS procedure you had.  In addition to this board, check out your surgical board as well:  DS, RNY, VSG, Lap Band.

Keep telling yourself that you can do it!

I'm 6 1/2 years out and initially lost 70 lbs.  Wanted to lose another 20 but was comfortable at a 70 lbs. loss.  It was much better than where I started.  In the last year I gained about 12 lbs.  It was from grazing and eating a little of this and a little of that.  I got careless.  I kept intending to get back to eating what I should but didn't.  Then I started working a temp job and found that my dress slacks with a zipper and waistband just didn't fit.  That did it.

For the past few weeks, I've been doing much better.  I stopped the grazing.  I plan my food for the day and spread it out over the day.  I fill up quickly at meals but get hungry between meals.

You can lose the regain.  It does help to look at the menus posted on various boards.

Good luck!!

For me it's getting BACK TO THE BASICS!

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 carb/sugar temptation and replaced it with lots of protein, veggies 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, fiber, 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, lift weights. When I stopped, the weight came on.  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.

Thank you Kathy for all the insight. I know that this is entirely my fault that the surgery failed and the sooner I realize this the sooner I can get back to basics. I made the excuse of buying chips, cookies, ice cream, etc., because I have a 10 year old I am raising and my 5 year old  grandson that I keep everyday. My problem was I would eat the snacks as well. I found myself even though trying to shop healthy buying the same bad snack foods every month. Feeling as though I was cheating the children from fun snacks all because I had a problem weight. Anyway I now know what I have to do. And I have joined a back to basics post surgery weight loss group. So I am optimistic.

For me, I realized that I was addicted to sugar.  When I ate sweets and/or white bread/buns/bagels/etc. I just constantly craved "more". So I gained weight back. So I totally abstain from these and now the cravings have gone away.  I have found for me that if I don't eat these things (even once in awhile), then I don't "CRAVE" them.  I have now lost the weight I gained back. You might want to try this. One day at a time! All the best.

You are so right I have been researching addictions mainly food, and I even came across how to overcome alcohol addictions and they all said the same thing one of the things to stop eating are sugars because they build on the cravings for other items such as alcohol and fatty foods that make weight control harder to achieve...