Are you concerned about gaining weight?

Ummm...4 years Mack...not 4 months lol.    Shidddd....you lose 200 in 4 months, you sho nuff bad! 

DAMN - gotta stop typing WHILE sippin......

good catch lady - going back to edit now..... LMAOOOOO

I am almost 3 years out. I have gained wt back and lost it again. Currently  This is a life long trip. You have to keep working. If you don't change you old habits you will fail. The surgery is a tool. "not magic"

I am one of those people that have had some bounce back weight gain, and you know what?  Even if I gained back every single pound I would not tell anyone not to do this!  Because even then I would still have the tool to lose the weight.  I would just have to work harder to get it off, but I would know deep down in my soul that I could to it, and before WLS I did not have that.

What I have now that I did not have then was this tool and HOPE, and I know that if I go back to taking vitamins, drinking at least 4 bottles of water a day, and exercising, the weight would go bye bye, and I would not trade that feeling for the world! 

I will be 5 years post op from RNY in May.
I have lost 160 pounds and for the most part have kept it off. I have had some small gains (less than 10 pounds) and when those times roll around I just have to tighten things up and get back down to business. I have also had a child since my WLS, got pregnant 17mos post op. I think the thing that many 'newbies' don't realize is how much harder things become down the road. Not everyone ends up being a dumper, and over time the capacity of your pou*****reases. You move on with life and your new level of health and it is easy to 'fall off the wagon.' I eat healthier now than I ever have, but I still like what I like even if it isn't part of the plan. That is why extreme vigilance is SO important, especially the further out you get.Yes, regain can happen, but you can keep it off as well.

Does some of the weight comes back regardless of if you work the plan?

I gained back 30 lbs but that was because I stopped exercising and eating whatever I wanted to eat.  So I wasn't working my tool. 

Do you think most people are just not admitting that they are eating too many calories and are calling the surgery a failure?

Possibly, maybe some think that the surgery was going to keep the weight off forever.  Before I had my surgery I started seeing posts from people saying they had gained all their weight back and I started not to have the surgery.  Because I thoujght once I had it, the weight would just stay off since your stomach (pouch) was so small. 

Is there ANYONE out there who had the procedure more than 5-years ago and have maintained a successful weight loss without any health problems?

I had 5 years in January 09 no health problems.

Lia D

Hey There,

I will be 6 years out come June.  I loss 108 pounds within the first 2 years.  I maintained that  loss for 3 years.  It seems like withing the last year I start to pack on the pounds.   I have gained 20 pounds. Some if the weight I think is a bounce back weight, but then I also know that I had slack up on excercise and eating more junk.  Currently working on it. Since Jan I have manage to lose 8 pounds.  Losing that eight is just as hard as before surgery. Like others say this will be a lifetime committment.  The surgery is not a majic pill.  This is something you will have to work at forever through a good diet and excercise.  The surgery will help you get the weight off quickly in the beginning, but it will be all up to you if you can maintain the loss. The further out you get the more you will be able to eat.  So, Now is the time to build some healthy habits to follow forever.

I had RNY 3 years this Aug. I gained 10 lbs. back and I was devastated..........................not to mention "scared".  I started feeling the gain and all of a sudden I also started feeling like a person who had never "had the surgery"................I don't think I had really grasped the fact that RNY is just a TOOL.  Having said that.............................I started eating like a person who was on a lifelong diet, and I've also started exercising.  I now realize I have to do all of these things as a WAY OF LIFE.....................Seriously..............................because I just couldn't handle gaining the weight back.  I hated hated hated being close to 300 lbs.  and I know now that it could happen.  I now watch everything!!!!!!!!!!!!  Always remember that the surgery is just a "tool"-- to give you a "kickstart" for weight loss !

I'm 5 1/2 years out, have lost between 130 and 150 pounds (depending on which b4 weight I use) and have maintained that loss for the most part.  I tend to fluctuate between the same 5-10 pounds up or down, but I start really checking myself when I get over a certain number (about 7 pounds up).  I'm about 35 pounds from my personal goal, but have always believed that I will reach it--I guess because my tool is still very much intact (sp?).  I know someone who gained back 100 pounds, and have a relative who gained it all back.   I consider my surgery a success just on the strength that I havent gained 5-10 pounds every year like I used to do...