After Weight Loss Surgery, what has been your greatest struggle?

I should have kicked myself sooner but I am doing OK now...still a struggle. Glad that you had the strength to work through it all early on and sounds like you are doing ok!

It?s funny that I pay a big price for daring to b honest about these struggles.

I KNOW there are many people out there who don?t dare speak up - nor would I risk the lifelong stigma within my family or work if I couldn?t post honestly over the ? " anonymous " ? internet .

Yet even here some people think it?s ok to reject and judge and even block that person from posting if it?s within their power

My biggest struggle was realizing after losing all the weight that the baggage I carried into surgery came home with me. I just weigh less now.

This is such a true statement. My program had a good mental health component but I definitely benefited from some additional therapy after!

lol! agreed

REGAIN. I was 161 at my lowest and am 211 today. That's right. 50 effing pounds. I started at 285. I'm so depressed and feel defeated. I never thought I would be in this position. But food habits creep back up if you're not careful. I see my surgeon next Tuesday and he will be shocked :(

Weight loss surgery lets you take weight off quickly. Most people lose about 100 pounds during the first 18 months after surgery. Then they often maintain until about three years after surgery. Maintain, but with a 20 pound bounceback. That 20 pounds can happen even if you are not eating things not on the food plan.

Probably half of weight loss patients go back to eating junk food and gain about 50 pounds by year five. And by year 10 it is not unusual to regain it all and some extra.

The good news is that you can go on a diet and lose the weight, just like before surgery. I have done it a few times and so have many others. I find Weigh****chers is a great way to get going on weight loss.

The surgery changes your body, but not your brain. You are still human and still capable of taking control of your body and your eating.

But Ur not. Ull get through this ... exercise and post everyday... we'll support U (((())))so many hugs I TOTALLY understand the frustration ((()))

If you eat like you always did ( pre WLS) you're gonna get what you always got ( FAT!) regardless of the lifesaving surgery you had .

White Dove is RIGHT - Calories taken in determine the size of our bodies !

And we were WARNED pre WLS via required nutrition classes ... that we would have to reduce portion size severely and that certain foods like fast food and high calorie " slider " foods would have to be FOREVER off the menu if we wanted to keep our " new" slimmer bodies.

Once in a while I'll indulge in a fast food cheeseburger ... ( 350 calories so its not that bad ... theoretically ) but it sits like a brick in my nauseas stomach for HOURS because im not used to the fat content .

And because I still malabsorb fat many years post -op ( Thank God ) , the next day I see the results in the toilet ( which I have to rush to ) so its not an experience I repeat often.

Thank God I no longer am tempted to indulge in sugar ( a few times post op I suffered really badly) ... but I like the IDEA of everyone's favorite slider food- gelato and ice cream sometimes. But I physically don't DARE having had my butt kicked so severely . Its funny because my mind indulges the idea of " just a taste " but my body literally recoils. And its a colossal waste of money too to buy a pint and eat a spoonful .

The best thing to do is not start ( and that of course includes the empty sugar calories in alcohol too )

Welcome to the losers bench Leona !

What helped me to drink my water at first was just to have a huge, cold water cup/bottle with me at ALL times.. even when I wasn't thirsty, I'd take a few sips. IF I was watching TV, I made it a point to take another few sips every commercial break. Struggles down the road were also mental.. I never could accept the new me when I looked at the mirror. I was always paranoid if a new love interest loved me for me or just because I was 1/2 my size. Now at 15+ years post-op, I did regain about 80 pounds after years of successfully keeping it off.. so in June 1st of this year, I re-centered myself.. ate like I was newly post-op, upped my exercise and practice low-carb all the way.