Weight gain

I had gastric bypass in 2010. I lost 70 pounds and have gained 50 of it back. I started gaining weight 2 years after surgery. I am 68 years old. What should I do?

95% of people who lose weight without having surgery have gained all of it back by five years later. 

50% of people who lose weight with surgery have regained at least half of it by five years, some regain all of it and more.

Regain starts in the second or third year after surgery.  The body recovers from its forced starvation and weight comes back very quickly.  If that did not happen, we would not take in enough calories to live on.  The body is smarter than that.  It learns how to absorb calories again and how to gain on far fewer calories than before surgery.

I am 68 years old and had bypass in 2007.  I fight regain daily.  When it happens, the only way to lose it is to go back to eating very low calorie for a very long time.  My metabolism will let me lose one pound a week if I stay high protein and under 900 calories a day.

What you need to do is set up goals and new habits.  First see a surgeon and make sure that your bypass is working and there are no physical problems.  Find a diet plan you can stick to.  Find a support group.  Weigh****chers and Overeaters Anonymous are excellent.

Get a good scale and use it daily.  Get a fitness tracker and increase your exercise.  Track your food and weight everyday. 

Set realistic goals.  In one year from now, you can have those 50 pounds back off, one day and one pound at a time.

 

 

 

Thanks, your words are very encouraging. I'm going to follow your advise. Next year this time, I WILL be 50 pounds lighter.

5% who lose weight without surgery have gained all of it back by 5 years?  I think it is more like 95% of people.

Thanks, I fixed that typo.

I totally agree. You definitely need to go back to the basics. I'm 2 years out and have to workout and watch what I eat or gain just like I did prior to having the procedure. The surgery is definitely not a forever fix and everyone has to learn how to change their previous lifestyle in order to be maintain success. I tell folks, losing weight the 1st year is EASY, the procedure pretty much does it all for you but if you don't change your eating habits/exercise level, you will gain it all back. I see this happen everyday as a healthcare professional.

Go back to basics. Recommit to giving it 100%effort as you did when you first has your surgery. 

Protein first, low carbs, lots of fluids, exercise. Log / keep track of everything you eat. Lower calories. 

 I regained 27 pounds and I am working hard to lose them again. Down -8 pounds in 2 months, it's slower than right after surgery, but the scale IS going the right way. 

Keep focused. I check the forums and read everyone's posts in General discussion and in my surgery type forums. Helping others, helps me remember what I need to do :) 

See if you surgeon has a support group or if there is an OA (over eaters anonymous) for support. 

If you aren't already, you should start tracking every thing you put in your mouth with something like MyFitnessPal.  That will let you know what you're currently eating and what you need to change.  

As others said... Some of us saw regain after year 2... I stoped paying attention..stoped weighing daily and at one time I had 25 lb regain... It took me a overvavyear to lose that (the last 10 lbs was very hard) and to maintain.  I have been in my current maintenance for over a year... And I try to weight daily..and adjust my eating when I see the scale, my weekly average creeping up.

I see daily weight fluctuation.. Even up to 3-4 lbs.. It could be water retention...constipation.. Inflammation (like when I introduced some new exercises.)... I try to weight myself daily at about the same time every day wearing similar clothes... That shows me my progress... 

I use fitbit - step/exercise monitoring device to help me asses how well I move around ..and how well I sleep.. 

I have days with over 10,000 steps and days when I am so stationary that I have less than 3000 steps... Imo - simple movement - like walking , yoga...can help our body much more long term...than very hard gym work out..that not only can be hard on our body but can cause blood sugar fluctuation and cravings.. 

As for diet - lower calories, with calories cycling (google that) , moderate proteins, healthy fats, non starchy veggies, low sugar fruits once in a while (like berries) keeps me in line and limits my cravings... Fats - think meats, fish, avocado, olives..eggs, full fat cheese...etc... I also try to avoid "Franken foods" : manufactures, severely procesed protein shakes, bars..etc. It is so easy to overdoe on them..and they really are not a very good choice for me... I do use nuts, low sugar jerky, and some other minimally processed foods for when I run erra fs, or travel and I need a snack.  But mostly I cook all of my foods, and either canned them or freeze them.. So I can have a quick meal when I get home or for work lunches. 

Having variety of meals - changing my menu, making new dishes all the time, keeps me interested in real food.

 

 

 

There use to be a diet on the graduate forum that dealt with jump starting weight loss.

From memory, it was something like 2 or 3 days of just protein shakes, then a week of just puréed foods, then slowly introducing low carb foods back into your diet.

It was supposed to help make you feel restriction again. I had the DS, but I know when I don't eat the whole day or eat very light for a few days, i get fuller faster....if nothing else, just drinking protein shakes should help you feel fuller and lose a few lbs.

Scott