Two weeks to my 1 year mark and not at goal!

I feel like such a failure.  I am two weeks away from being a year out and I have not reached my goal.  It has been slow going for me from the beginning.  I was a revision from lap band to bypass.  I set my goal to 125, with 134 being just at a normal BMI.  I am at 141.  I was down to 137, but slipped back a little in December and January.  I know I was stress eating due to the fact that my husband was diagnosed with cancer.  I also had a problem with my foot, which i thought was minor and turned out to be major tests to determine that at some point I had a small stroke.  Another stress related issue.  

Hopefully I am now back on track.  I am so close to my goal. I am just really sad that I won't make it by the 1 year mark.

Quit beating yourself up.  Don't look back unless you are headed there.  Stress is a hard one to overcome, especially when we are dealing with a loved one being sick.  Stick with the basics and get back on track.  Here is a list I created when I put on stress related weight.

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. 

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

Who you are is not a number on a scale, you are more than that. You will get there- you have done amazing!

It took me 18 months to get to goal and I am still there eight years later.

Are you kidding me? You are doing awesome! You should be so proud of yourself. 

Wow, don't be so hard on yourself. Is there some unwritten rule that we have to reach goal in one year? Yes you want to lose as much as you can the first year...but that doesn't mean goal for all of us, including me.

Life happens....stick with it and you will reach goal.

Like others have said - do not be so hard on yourself AND WHO said that you had to be at goal when you reached one year out??????????????

My doctor told me that they expect their patients to lose 50% of their excess weight the first year. You are way past that!

Goodness Girl stop being so hard on yourself! You didn't make it to goal at the 1 year mark, AND?, what? Did you give up? No, you kept going. You slipped up a couple of times & who hasn't. Hell I'm making my way to 2 years & I haven't reached goal, maybe I'll reach it by my surgiversary date, maybe I won't, but I don't give up & neither should you. 

You'll get there, but do get some help/advice on the stress eating. Stress comes and goes, having some strategies in place to help you not to turn to food will help tremendously in the long run.

Sorry about the news concerning your husband - important now to take care of yourself.

Don;t know where you got the idea that a person would be a failure if they didn;t reach goal wt in a year??  Does your surgeon support your 125 goal  - what is your % bodyfat - MRI may not be the best way to set your goal weight.

Sad, schmad, there is no magic to one year - this is a one day at a time for forever thing - your body will lose it when it will - but keep your focus on your eating and exercising through this time, the scale will take care of itself.