Weight bounce back

So after hitting my lowest ever weight of 156 my weight has (unhappily) increased to between 170-180.  I am not happy with this and want to get down to 160-165, because all the clothes I purchased fit me better at that weight not to mention the fact that I feel like a freaking failure and it's affecting my self esteem. I know, I should not define myself based on the number on the scale, but when I put on a pair of capris that were basically falling off of my hips to fitting like they should it doesn't help. I'm really struggling with this.

What is the average bounce back weight and have you been able to get back down and stay down?  Any suggestions?

My lowest weight was around 150 (or 147...for 2 seconds, maybe).  I am weighing usually in the range of 165-170 these days. 

I don't know how I feel about it.

I feel like 165-ish is so much easier to maintain.  I was really having to exercise and low carb to maintain 150.  At 165, I can eat a lot of fruit, desserts occasionally, and really, I know that I don't even have to exercise to maintain that weight.  I enjoy exercising for the way it makes me feel, so I still do it, but I don't feel a strong pull to the gym just for the sake of my pants fitting every morning.

And then...I'll see pictures of myself at 150 and I think, man, I like the way my legs looked or whatever.  For some reason, genetically, I gain weight in my KNEES of all places, and I can tell in my photos that my legs got bigger.  I wish, of course, the fat was going to my boobs or butt, but you can't have everything, can you?  haha

Anyways, I'm perfectly at peace with the bounceback, most days.  I am eating such a great range of foods and it is really enjoyable.  I don't eat anything I want, but I do eat a big variety of foods and that is something I really enjoy about life...eating, trying things, etc.  It does upset me when something that used to fit no longer does, but that's just the way things go.  Clothes come and go, and luckily I love to shop, so there's more where that came from.

I would just try to focus on where you have been and what kind of lifestyle you feel you can maintain for life.  Is it better to bounce back and forth between the weight that's easy to maintain and the weight you actually wish you were, or to be the same weight everyday?

Oh dear, now that is quite a mental image....padded knees!

I gained weight in my saddlebags, which is a new and different thing for me. It used to go to belly and inner thighs first.

My experience:
Lowest weight 139.  I loved loved loved that weight.  I have a closet FULL of clothes for that weight.

At that BMI 5 lbs means a clothing size.  Literally. 

I am now boucing around 145-147 and am up that size and not happy.  I have tried low carbing for two months and have not lost a pound.  I got down to 143.5 one time but it stays over 145 95% of the time.

I am not really exercising. 

So I don't know.  I think if I had not gotten serious 2 months ago that I would have seen even more weight creep back on so I am glad I stopped it where I did.

But no the weight did not just drop off me because I started low carbing.

I will be 2 years out from a virgin DS on Sept 30.

~Becky

I could have written your story to a T! I also would like to get back to 160 at the most and having very hard time with the psycological impact of seeing the scale higher than I'd like. My clothes don't all fit and I feel FAT! I've tied everything even super low carb only to take 4 months to loose 12 lbs. Very discouraging!  I knwo my problem is that I have too much time to eat. I stay home with the kids and get bored easily. It is really hard not to reach for food when I'm bored! I don't know how to help you but, know there are others in the same boat. I really feel bad when I read all the posts of people who flew below their "goal" and are maintaining in the lower normal BMI range while, I hit "nomal" at 156 for about a month, then got pregnant and bounced around 160-165 untill this last year and a half which has been pretty tough. Now I'm "overweight" and HATE IT!

I was at 125 at my lowest.  I think that lasted about two months.  I got up to around 135 and stayed there for a few years, although I've gone as high as 150.  Right now, I am up and down but hover around 140.

I know when my clothes get tight it's time to get off the sugar.  The good news, for me, is that if I watch - it comes off pretty easily.

The biggest challenge for me has always been the mental one - accepting the ups and downs as part of life.  All my non-WLS friends go through the same thing.  We have a leg up - and know exactly what we need to do to deal with it! 

You have a DS.  It will continue to work.  Stay strong.

Sharon

HI, I am 3.5 yrs out and I got down to 115 because of serious complications and I looked like death at that weight as I'm an athletic build 5ft 6. I then went up to 128 for a while and stayed there, then i went back to 136 and was really great there, that is what I consider to be my happy weight ya know??
anyway, for some reason my weight has done a number on me and it shot up to 147lbs, I have been low carbing and exercising like a demon but so far have only lost 3lbs!! Its a bummer.
However, I am determined to get back down as it messes with my head too much not to, so I am going to continue to low carb, up my protein and water and hopefully I will get back to my 136lbs and my size 4's wo;t be so snug.

I think its very personal, there are some posters here who believe that those of us who strive to keep our weight down in this way are obsessed or vain (this has been thrown at me a few times following low carb threads). I for one did not go through this surgery and the horrible complications I had, to allow my old bad habits and laziness to prevent me from being where I want to be.
On the other hand, there are those who take a much more relaxed view of all this and this works for them and makes them happy. I guess we are all different in this respect.

Yorkie xx

The average bounce back is around 15% of your excess weight. Yeah, it's a bummer when the jeans get snug :-/. But you have been through SO much. Please don't beat on yourself for this.

If you are eating the kind of diet you can live with, I think that's important to consider. I've just spent five weeks really cutting back my carb consumption, since I'm in beef heaven, and I'm exercising more than I am likely to be able to incorporate at home. Depending on the time of day and whether I've taken a dump, I'm down between five and ten pounds according to the scale. There's very little change in the fit of my clothes.

So I'm kind of looking at the bottom line for me, which is that I'm unwilling to reduce carbs more than I'm doing now, especially once I'm back in NJ and don't have a freezer full of beef upon which to feast. My lifestyle there is one that makes it necessary to do "official exercise" (mostly at the gym) in order to move around much. It looks like, for a while at least, I'm at a new normal for me. And that's okay. I'll get rid of the size 10's, store the size 12's and be happy rocking my size 14's and an occasional 16. I'm healthier than I've ever been before and life is good.

Remember, attitude is everything.

EN,  you can get great meat in whatever quantity you want for your freezer in NJ...

Oh, I missed a word in that post: FREE beef in unlimited quantities :-D. My BIL's family has a setup where their beef is a benefit for the "employees" and therefore tax deductible for the corporation.

Tonight I'm taking a break from yummy steak and having yummy trout fresh from the river half a mile or so away. Not caught or cleaned by me, so it tastes even better. I do NOT like to fish.