Getting back on track... you can do it

The following is an excerpt from a response I made to someone who asked about getting back on track. This person has been very successful in her weight loss journey, but has recently experienced some regain. Statistically, her regain is within the norms for 'bounce back' weight, but it was how she regained that distressed her and it was nearly a mirror image of what happened to me a few years ago. I really felt her distress and fear and wanted to reassure her that all is not lost, that we always have our tool and we can get control of it now, even when we couldn't for so many years before. So if you have have arrived at maintenance and are struggling with some unwanted regain or if you are only thinking about WLS or in the process of losing and want to know if you can and will be able to maintain your weight after you lose it, read on...

Okay, so the real question is how to get back on track and if it's a realistic possibility and probability. I'm here to tell you that it is both possible and probable that you can reverse the tides and get back to where you are happy and be able to stay there. I have to tell you that I too was just terrified because I knew from my previous experience that 'diets' just don't work for me. I'm an overgrown 3 yr old and if you tell me I can't have something, then.... I will. That scared the proverbial pants off of me. After mulling it over a bit, I decided to try a new tact. One to get the unwanted extra pounds off and another, related tact to keep my weight where I want it to be.

So, to take off the weight, the two biggest things I did were to log my intake and activity and to cut back on simple carbs... cut back, not cut out. I made sure to 'take care of business' with every meal and snack, making sure I was eating 5 to 6 times a day. When I say 'take care of business' I mean that I made sure that I got in  4 to 6 ounces of protein, then followed that with colorful, complex carbs. I also made sure that I wasn't drinking any fluids within that 30 min window before, during and after my meal so that I could allow my tool to work for me and help me really regulate my intake to ensure I wasn't taking in more calories than I needed. I maintained a caloric intake of about 1000 to 1200 calories a day when I was working on losing the weight. Logging really helped me think about what I was ingesting and if it was supporting my goals or undermining them. This helped think of things in a positive light. Is this choice going to help get me to where I want to be or submarine my attempt to achieve and maintain a healthy and active life? If not, I often would think twice and let it go without the burden and baggage that comes with feeling deprived. I have to say that I did occasionally indulge while I was losing, but not often because I had my eye on the proverbial prize and I was delighted at the result I was getting; most of the time the 'indulgence' I wanted at the moment faded when I 'weighed' it against my goals. To be honest, the weight came off relatively easily. Much more so than I thought it would.

Now that I've taken the excess weight off, I don't really log anymore unless might weight ticks back up out of it's normal range. If that happens, I start logging again and am able to easily trim off the few pounds.

I honestly think that losing the weight and then maintaining it all comes down to awareness and accountability. If you think about it, I'll bet that you've been playing a bit of 'hear no evil, see no evil, speak no evil' as it relates to what you are consuming. You 'know' you are going off track, but tend to not want to see the evidence of it. We all have to find ways to be aware and accountable and to be honest what works when we are losing is not necessarily what works in maintenance and I think that this is one of the main reasons we tend to falter in maintenance. Whatever we did to maintain awareness and accountability in our weight loss phase doesn't really work for us anymore and no one has told us that we need re-evaluate how we are going to remain aware and accountable as we work to maintain or new found weight and it's resulting health and quality of life benefits. It took me a while to find what works for me. It may take you a while to find what works for you, but I'm sure that you can and will.

Sorry, is this for the RNY board or the DS board?

No apologies necessary.

I have a number of friends and members of my support group that have had the DS. Since this topic is relevant to my DS friends too, I posted it here because I know that many people only read their own surgical board and may not check the Main board. 

Wishing you all the best in your journey,

I love the message and the reminder.

Thank You

My pleasure!

Wishing you continued success,

 This information is wrong, and could be downright dangerous for a DS'er.  

1200 calories a day?  A DS'er would darn near starve to death on that.  Frankly, I stopped reading at the pushing of complex carbs, and the no drinking with meals.  

This does not belong on the DS forrum. Shame.

I am only sharing my own personal experience. I assume that the reader will use their own good judgement to determine what would work best for them. I shared my own experience, but I am not advising someone about what their own caloric intake should or should not be. It is not my intent to inflame or insult, but rather to say that if you don't get to where you want to or you find yourself backsliding, that we can each employ our tool of choice, to get to where we want to be in our own journey.

The problem is that your signature line indicating that you are an ObesityHelp Coach and Leader might lead people to believe that what you are saying is accurate and true - for their own surgery since it is on the DS Forum. 

The problem is that pre-ops read here as well, and many of them are just learning how the different surgeries work. This post gives an unrealistic idea about post-DS lifestyle.

I know you meant well, but you REALLY need to remove this from the DS board---it simply doesn't apply.

 Barbara,
The issue is the signature under your name that indicates you're an Obesity Help Coach and Support Leader.  I dont know exactly what that means, but many people will presume that you have some type of particular expertise on this subject.  It is entirely irresponsible of you to post something like this on a forum where following the advise will actually harm people.  

If your intent was to say that people can get back on track by following the guidelines of their surgery type, that message is certainly not what is coming across in your post.  If the mods wont remove your post then you should do the only responsible thing which is to delete it yourself.