9 years later I gained half my weight back! Shame on me! HELP!

I will have my 9 year anniversary on May 30th and I can't believe I have gained half my weight back and just in the past year I can see the health issues before my eyes! I have a job that doesn't require much moving around and I can't seem to motivate myself to exercise.  Has anyone else had this problem and was able to get it back off?  PLEASE HELP!  I have brought size 18 back to my closet! :(  NOT GOOD

Hi Cathy  

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

Join us on the RNY forum!  Great support and tons of fun!

Revision Weight Loss Surgery Forum

What happened do you think that led to the weight gain? I had a huge regain of 90 lbs or so and have managed to take off 50 lbs and counting. 

I joined OA to deal with my overeating and sugar addiction and it's worked miracles in my life. If you're interested in knowing me, I'm happy to share. 

I have also regained weight 

Sadly, exercise alone won't make an appreciable difference for weight loss.  It's all about calorie intake.  

Do you measure and track what you eat?  If not, consider using an app like MyFitnessPal.  Until you know what you're eating, you will be resistant to make significant changes.  

I wish you the best in turning this around.  It can't be pleasant after all the hard work you put into losing weight initially.

What weight loss surgery you had? I don't see you mention that... 

At the top of her post it says RNY 2007.

I think she's asking Green Tea Spammer ;) LOL

I am glad I am not the only one who  thinks that...