Weight Gain AFTER surgery? Scary!!!!!

Hi, the Dexa scan thing sounds really good, but I'll tell you what I told Willie, is that when you start working your way down you have to play with the numbers & cut back on the calories to get the scale moving again. I also am 2 years out & things definitely slow down but 1700-1500 calories is way too much for the losing phase, I don't think people in maintenance has calories that high.

I usually stay closer to 1000 calories & generally try to get closer to 800. You can go to this site that Julie created for ideas & get the scale moving again.

https://fivedaymeattest.wordpress.com/

Mind you things do slow down the further out from surgery. Check out the What are you eating threads to get an idea of the calorie range people aim for while losing as opposed to maintaining.

Good luck to you. 

Oh btw this forum is really, really inactive, try posting on the main boards to get more answers. I go to the site Julie created whenever my will starts to fade/carb monster starts to rattle his chains. lol

T,

You are right--I am gradually bring the daily calories down.  My PCP wants me to decrease my calories gradually.  Right now, I am doing 1500 for June.  If all goes well and my PCP gives me the OK, I will drop down to 1200-1300 for the month of July.  

I've checked out the five day meat test--looks like my daily meals already.  Meat, cheese and yogurt.  

So far, I've lost 2 pounds so I am not complaining too much.  

Thanks for the advice.

Hey,

Thanks for the "MeatTest" suggestion! Just what I needed to get back to low-carb! Although I kept trying to eat low carb I would always cheat and let the carbs creep in! But doing the 5 day Meat Test which is basically no carbs, after 2 days I found I was not hungry and actually extended it to about 8 days, then coming off not eating more than 30 carbs a day. In the interim I lost about 6 lbs and am now back to where I was at my lowest. Although I can do extremes for short periods I still have a problem with any kind of moderation long term which I know is essential for this journey. Anyway, I'm sticking with the low carbs, find myself not very hungry, have energy and haven't had a low blood sugar episode! Again, thanks!

-Willie-

Maybe you should evaluate what you are eating. At 2 years out, it may be really hard to go back to eating only 600-800 calories, so look at how much water you are drinking, your carbs, fats, sugar, see if you need to make any changes there. Ten pounds is not a terrible gain, so I am sure that you will be successful in getting it off. 

Thanks for the response. I agree, eating 600-800 calories for the rest of our lives is not reasonable nor realistic. We had surgery because we tried everything else and let's be honest-moderation was not our strong point!  : )

The surgery was on our tummies not our minds, so it is VERY easy to revert back to that mindset after a couple of years. Yet 1200-1500 calories using healthy proper food with exercise and activity is doable. I know that journaling our food helps, also having support as we find on these forums, and as you mentioned-the kind of food intake regarding our carbs, fats, and sugars.

My real concern was my mindset because in the beginning we are so motivated but the real challenge in this journey is at or around the two year mark where weight does not come off any more, where as the tool (Surgery) has done it's job as promised (50%-70% of weight we need to lose) and now it is on US.

I'm not whining or complaining, I'm extremely happy where I am. I'm healthy, can do things again, don't feel self-conscious, have extreme confidence, etc.  I just don't want to go back to where I was and that is why I reach out on this forum for help and suggestions. I REALLY respect those who have done this 2 years and over and have stayed committed and within their goal weight or still heading that way. It did not just come to them automatically, I know they had to work at it-probably harder than they ever worked on themselves than ever! So I know its not about just having surgery and all problems go "poof!", no I still have a lot to do!

Although I feel I'm still in the game, I also know how easily we become complacent and overly confident, and eventually back to where we were. How many times have we lost weight, felt good and then regained it? And I've seen it happened with a few that have had gastric bypass! So this forum is where I beseech advice and I listen to all that you and others have said.

Although people do things different ways, getting a DEXA scan, checking our Resting Metabolic Rate, going to a Nutritionist, Support Group, O/A, or merely checking this web sight daily or weekly means that we are still in this to win it. See, our mindset is changing, we are fighting back now.

So while 10 lbs regain may not seem much as opposed to what I lost, it is a few steps backwards that I needed to correct before it became 50 lbs and so forth. And that is why I came here and I'm encouraged to say 6 of those 10 lbs are back off! It is a battle and I'm not going to get down on myself when I fall off the horse as I MAY do from time to time but I will make myself accountable.

Thanks for the suggestions! Just a few things I've learned here.

Exercise or at least be active, involved.

Eat the right kind of foods-healthy, not junk.

Watch your food intake-calories, carbs, sugar, etc.

Never become complacent-always work on improving something even if not just pounds, sculpt your body, attitude.

Drink water. Take vitamins, minerals

Journal your food intake

Reward yourself for goals reached

Pay it forward-Reach out to others, help others.

Listen to those who have been there!

Prepare for succeeding, plan, make food in advance

Make yourself accountable!

Again, thanks.

Willie, 

You are spot on! We need to include more weapons in our arsenal, so to speak.

I would love to have in person support but this is proving more difficult--even just 1 person would be great.

Reaching out here helps.

I will continue to post and I thank you for updating your progress.

We are doing this one day at a time!

Hi, I hardly ever come to this forum because it is very inactive, some forums are just like that which is why I stick with the main ones. You might want to try this to help get back on track.

Julie created the site but it has been helpful for whenever your will starts to fade.

https://fivedaymeattest.wordpress.com/

I also am 2 years out & the one thing you have to do while working down is to cut back on the calories. Of course you won't stay in the 600-800 range while in maintenance & it becomes much harder to stay at those numbers while losing. You'll have to play with the numbers to see the scale start to move again. Maybe as a guy you can have a higher calorie range but 1200-1500 seems too much. That sounds more like maintenance which is why you might be stuck right now.

Check out the What are you eating threads to see the range they stay in while losing as opposed to maintaining. I'd stay close to 1000 calories or less, up the protein & water.

Good Luck to you. 

Hi Willie,

Congrats on your original weight loss. Most people experience a 10 to 20% bounce up after the initial loss, so nothing out of the ordinary here.

Regarding calories, everyone needs are different. I'm a guy and eat way more than many of the posters but most of them are woman and I'd expect them to eat fewer calories. Your surgery type versus other people's will also influence how many calories you need in maintenance mode.

Lastly, I don't think it matters what anyone's goal weight is. Your body gravitates to a natural point of equilibrium. 

Good luck with your journey!

Hi Willie,

I said I would check in with you so how goes it?  

I am holding steady around 1500-1600 calories.  The doctor has diagnosed me with Reactive Hypoglycemia which means I eat every 2-3 hours.  I have small meals--yogurt and meat around 200-250 calories per meal.  Too many carbs at one meal can really put me out for the day so I am super diligent about planning my meals.  Sometimes, I do want nuts but they tend to be my trigger food.

My body is really liking 169-171 pounds--I don't mind at all.  I just continue to work at it daily.

Hope all is well with you.

bruindiva92