Weight regain

Hello I'm 6 years out and have regained about half the weight I lost back due to medications and illness, stress, and another back injury that has left me unable to be active. Can anyone help me with some tips to restart my weight loss again.  

First, you experience is average, based on the research I have been reading, so you are a success and you can recover.  I am only 9 months post Surg, but I have a recovery plan in place for if I need it.  I based it on the videos of Dr. Matt Weiner - a bariatric doctor - both surg and non-surg, in Michigan.  He is not my doctor (in NJ), but I think he has the best approach to continued long term success.

http://drmatthewweiner.com/

Please let us know how it goes and what you find helpful. 

I have also made weight training a key component of my exercise to rebuild the lost muscle mass and make maintenance easier.  I find few people use weight training - with a trainer to build muscle mass - not lifting 5 pound weight 100 times.

Thanks for the information

Although not being active and taking certain medications can certainly contribute to gaining weight, ultimately it is the amount and types of foods that you put in your mouth that actually cause the weight creep.  Stress, in and of itself, doesn't cause weight gain... it doesn't change your metabolism… it just causes you to either eat too much or make pour food choices. (We've all been there!)

The best way to restart your loss is to start tracking everything you eat (every single bite that goes in your mouth!), and going "back to basics": focusing on eating mostly dense protein, no "white" carbs, limited other carbs, and drinking lots of water.  In the end, it means decreasing the number of calories you're eating.  If you are able to increase your activity, that's great, but it really is all about the calories.  Most people grossly overestimate the number of calories burned during physcial activity.

I have never known anyone to NOT lose weight by going back to basics and making the hard(!) food choices. It may be slow, but it WILL happen.

Lora

Same problem here, except I had gotten back on track and was exercising and not losing anything. A member suggested I try the Atkins induction. It really has helped a lot. I am down 16 pounds since Sept 6.

The other thing I did was openly publish what I was eating. It was all good stuff, but my total carbohydrates in the day were too high for my body. I am just carb-sensitive unfortunately. I hope you find what works for you. You can do it!

Hugs,

K

The short and long of it is that you need to eat fewer calories than you are currently eating.  Go back to your post-op eating regimen.  I was on bed rest for 10 months last year and maintained my weight with zero exercise.  I just had to be sure that I ate protein forward and didn't eat more calories than I burned.  I can be done - but it can be hard sometimes.  Hope you find what works for you to get back to where you want to be.

You have already taken the hardest step by saying enough is enough and now I want to get back on track.  Here are some steps I hope will help you. They helped me...  Also, be sure and join the Back On Track Together group link in my signature area.  

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

Since my surgery I have been through taking care of my husband as he battled cancer, then becoming a widow.  I have had to take a neighbor to court and have lost two jobs.  I have had several surgeries and issues with medication.

An accident this summer left me unable to exercise for several months.  I have never gained an ounce due to these stressors.  What has caused me to gain has been eating foods that I should not eat.  That causes weight gain every time.

Everyone goes through medicines, illnesses and other stressors.  They do not cause weight gain.  Only eating more than you can burn causes weight gain.

Eat less. There is no magic bullet. I suggest you count calories and be honest with yourself about how much you are actually eating. Get out the measuring cups and the food scale. Cut back on crappy carbs. Make better choices. You can do this!!

And if cutting carbs and watching your calories proves ineffective, you may have a very thrifty metabolism, one that can run your body on fewer calories than the 'average' person needs. If that turns out to be the case, you can look into revising your RNY to a Duodenal Switch. The DS makes a dramatic, permanent change in how the body metabolizes food.