Regain

Gwen,

Thanks for the help.

Mary

Mary you don't say what type of surgery you had but by your discussion I'm assuming the RNY.

I can't speak specifically to your regain issues (I had the DS) but have you considered professional assistance. It sounds like you're expecting (or expected) the surgery itself to be the only help in avoiding sugar and fat. Obviously that didn't work so you need to change your behavior. I realize you're many years post-op but your tool still works but you have to understand your addiction - your word, not mine.

Talking to others in the same position could help, but I truly believe that professional assistance is a lifesaver (on many levels).

Mary,

I dump on too much sugar. Too much is relative. In the beginning - It took 5-8 gr if sugar for me to dump. But as years pasted and I was nibbling on this or on that- my tolerance to sugar increased. I no longer dump on a reasonable amount of sugar. My body - my digestive track got used to sugar. A bite here and there.

I believe the more we test the waters - the more our body may adapt to carbs and sugars. Today I can eat a LOT of dessert before I get really sick. How much - I don't know. But I know it is a lot. I get RH - which for me is much worse than dumping.

I have my pouch - and as long as I make good food choices - I get restrictions.

I had some regain and it took me along time to lose it. Now I am at goal and most of the time I follow a very strict diet. I allow myself one "whatever" meal a week - as long as I am at goal or below.

I eat meat, fish, non-starchy veggies, nuts and good fats. I try to stay away from grains, dairy, and soy. I try to avoid most starchy veggies. I get some carrots, and some squash, but not a lot.

The BOTT group is not very active. But the daily menu on RNY forum is very active and probably can help you with your eating and motivation. I don't participate, but I often read it to get ideas for new dishes when I get bored with my eating habits.

Hala,

Thanks for your feedback. I am lucky that I do still get restriction from my pouch, so I don't eat much...it's the choices of what to eat that are the problem. I have had therapy, and it boils down to self-worth, and finding out how to let go and understand it's not about control anymore. I have to just feel my emotions and not lean on food/sugar to avoid them or get through them. It's very hard.

I would love to study people who make the change permanently and long-term to truly understand how they found their path to self-efficacy.

Still getting there ;-)

Mary K.

Having a lot of choices that I can "snack on" when the urge to eat gets to me is important. I try to keep slot if "snacks" at home and at work: low sugar cold cuts, NSA (no sugar added) or low sugar -pickles, olives, avocado, good quality mayo, celery, HB eggs, etc etc.

When I get stressed and the food is calling me I have choices I can pick from. When I think I am "hungry" I can chose from the selection. If it is not what I want - I may make nice tea (picking green tea with natural flavoring is not only nice, but the smell satisfies my cravings for something yummy).

I also snack on nuts. They are high calories items but a few can go a long way.

I am not perfect and I do get off track once in a while. Unfortunately. But when I notice things are getting out of control - I know I need to decarb. This is a process that is IMO difficult. Eating sugar make me crave more sugar, and when I eat a ow carb meal I still want something sweet or carby to feel satisfied. It is crazy. I may be full yet "still hungry" (hungry for sugar)

When I am decarbing: I don't limit how much I eat but what I eat. So I don't feel deprived.

I allow that type of eating for up to a week. Typically - after 2-3 days my body adapts and I naturally start eating less. Eating slowly and chewing my food is very important. I have tendency to eat very fast- not chewing my food enough. When I am decarbing,- I make that like a job for me. Be mindful when I eat

Sure there cravings can be crazy. That's why I have "a cheat meal". One meal - that I can eat whatever and as much as I want, but for now longer than 30 min. I had to put restrictions on my time - because it is easy to eat non stop for 1/2 day and call it "one meal".

When I really want something- i.e. my partner pizza, or the yummy PB balls, or chocolate, or some yummy desert- I tell myself - not now, not today, I can have that on "Friday evening meal " (Friday evening - is most of the time my "whatever" meal) . Knowing that I have physical restrictions- I know I have to chose some food. Any ok they can go into my bag or shelf for "whatever meal". In a way I have my own "sin space".

Knowing that if I really want something I can have it on my "whatever meal" really helped me with realizing that there are no "good or bad" food. There are no forbidden foods. Food is food.

You may need to find a method, by yourself, or with a counselor that works for you.

Fyi- I make a lot of "muffins", "cookies", and "custard" deserts using low carb stuff that are "legal" for me, and I can eat that at any time. My muffins are made with almonds, coconut, eggs, stevia. Etc.

Check eggface blog for very interesting recipes.

Hala,

Thanks for all the invaluable tips, and for the recipe site. I like how you compartmentalize your whatever meal and time box it as well. Years ago, I did the carb addicts diet, and that has a similar premise of two low carb/no carb meals, no snacks, then balanced third meal with carbs for one hour. I might start with that approach and work toward yr once weekly example. Baby steps lol.

I have ADHD, so I get this weird thing where I hyper focus on something I like, whether exercise or particular foods until I am tired of whatever it is. So I have to be careful and plan, hope my medications help me as far as impulse and focus, and just move forward. Support from everyone here is helping.

Thanks,

Mary K.

I'm in a very similar position. I was really successful, then got pregnant, and gained even more weight after pregnancy after letting my eating habits slip. My son is 2, and I'm just now getting a really good handle on things.

The big difference for me has been accountability. MyFitnessPal just hasn't worked for me, for whatever reason, since my son was born. So I decided to give Weigh****chers a shot last month. Their advice isn't on-track with the standard post-WLS regime as it allows unlimited fruit/veggies and some carbs, but I find that it's working for me. While I had no hard-and-fast "limit" in MFP, I have a hard point target to work with using WW and it's been really helpful. I've lost 5lb since Christmas, and I feel really good.

Julie,

I never liked WW, because where I am, it's always different people every week and it's expensive. I switched to TOPS, Take Off Pounds Sensibly, and highly recommend them as a support group. I had to stop going because of my work schedule :-(, but I would be going if I could. They have the weekly weigh-ins, and the comradery is nice. I lost about 30lbs with TOPS, but now, the rest is sticking on because I just am not able to lock in my good behaviors combined with a positive spiritual focus. I'm trying now using LoseIt to track, riding 15 minutes a day on the bike, and praying/meditation. I will improve the food choices as soon as I have the tracking going strong...the accountability is a big one.

Thanks for your feedback and sharing :-)
Mary K.

Hi Mary and Welcome To OH

Here is what I share with those that post about regain and getting back to the basics. This was key for me losing regain. Let us know how we can help!

You have already taken the hardest step by saying enough is enough and now I want to get back on track. I maintained 118-125 for over 10 years after losing 200 pounds. Due to a personal tragedy I gained and hit the 190 mark a year ago. After several starts it finally clicked and I am back to goal losing 60 pounds of regain. Here are some steps that helped me and I hope they will help you too! You may have several starts and stops but don't give up, don't beat yourself up. IT WILL CLICK!!! Our tool works if we work the tool and get back to the basics we stopped doing.

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.