Coming back for support...after nearly 7 years and plastics...

I'm not Dawn, but I'll answer because Dr. Sauceda is a genius and DSers flock to him. :)

Plus he's way cheaper!!!

Dr. Sauceda ROCKS hard core! He's AWESOME and SO affordable! I needed A LOT done, and I got it done for WAY cheaper in Mexico. He's an amazing surgeon and man, and I highly recommend him!

Hi Dawn,

We are sorry to hear you are gaining but glad you came back to your OH family.  I am not a DS'er but this plan has worked for me whenever m carbs got out of control.

 

I did this cleanse plan to help me get off carbs.  You can decide how long you want to do this.  I have done it twice and it worked well, and I did it for 2 weeks.

 

*No alcohol

 

*No artificial sweetener

*Only water, tea, and coffee.  You can have low fat creamer. You can flavor water with lemon.

*Veggies include: broccoli, peppers, spinach, tomatoes, zucchini and yellow squash.

Breakfast Picks:

-1/2  cup egg beaters with 1 cup veggies

- ½ cup skim milk/1 cup ice/ ½ cup berries mixed into a smoothie (berries can be strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, or mixed)

-½ cup oatmeal, 1tbs slivered almonds/1 banana

Snacks (2 a day)

-1 cup lowfat yogurt

-14 almonds

-2 rice cakes with 1tbs of peanut butter

-1 piece of turkey rolled in lettuce with mustard

-string cheese (low fat)

Lunch

-2 cups lettuce/ 4 oz of lean meat/ 1 cup of veggies tossed with vinaigrette

-whole wheat wrap with lettuce, mustard, and 4 oz of lean meat

Dinner

-6 oz of any lean meat 

You can use salmon, beef, pork, or chicken as long as it is lean.
You have to have protein and the veggies

-2 cups of steamed veggies

Good Luck!

I am always trying to lose.  It can be done.  You'll lose better and faster without the wine.  It will just take longer.  Seriously, you know how to do it!

What makes it easier for me is just not keeping 'bad' foods in the house.  I KNOW if there is ice cream in the freezer I will eat it!  Simpler if it just never comes in the door.

Diet changes alone will work but exercise would help too.  Anything you can add would be good!

Thank you SO much to my DS/OH family for the support! I know I can do this! I've lost 2 lbs. already...28 more to go! I know what to do...I think. LOL You guys help inspire me and keep me on track! Thanks!

--Dawn

20 lbs is a molehill compared to what you have already done.

I would not drink alcohol every day if you are trying to lose weight.  It's not just the sugar (which is 4 calories per gram), but the alcohol, which has 7 calories per gram.  I would limit to something manageable.  Say, one glass 2 days per week.  Think of wine as dessert.  It's essentially the same thing.  Calories with no nutrition.  So, think of how often you might have a piece of cake while you're trying to lose weight.

Hi Dawn,

I am happy to see after so many years, 20 lbs is all you gained. If it happened to me, I could handle losing 20, but 50 lb gain would send me into a deep depression. I am only 18 months out, but have gained control of my weight by having lots of steak, protein fruit drinks sipped all day, and double scoop protein shakes with 1/2 heavy cream, no carbs there. In my purse I have jerkee protein, low carb protein bars, nuts and a tiny bottle of water. I never need to drive through" fast food", avoided them for the past 7 years, other than grilled chicken salads. Be sure to fill up on protein first, then veggies." Fruit is not your friend" they told me, in a losing phase.  Maintaining yes I eat fruit, but not carb high fruits- I eat cherries, berries, a few baked apple slices. Yogurt shakes with heavy cream and blackberries, raspberries, strawberries- my nightly snack, instead of ice cream.

Every AM, I mix up 3 protein drinks in 16oz Thermos cups, keep in a small cooler bag, keep it in the car. I am on the go all day, can't get home to have protein shakes. Premier has ready to go shakes, cases at Sams and Costco. Keep very cold to improve flavor, and shake lots to dissolve the lumps. During my losing phase I was advised by my Dr to keep the carbs under 50g a day. I aimed for 20-30. Atkins was my go to food list. I like my bariatric vitamins with chromium. They really cut my appetite. Pre surgery, I used Chromium for dieting. High levels made me aggressive, and mean, way out of character. If I skip even one vitamin, I head for the carbs- cookies, not fruit.

Wine- current thoughts about women drinking one glass a day are leaning toward not being very healthy, as they thought in the past. Research on your part would be a good idea. If I had any drinks, I would not be able to stay away from carbs. Find another non alcoholic, no calorie drink substitute. Last summer, I added vodka to Jay Robb Pina Colada protein shake, lots of ice. All in moderation, is my motto.

I am sure you can drop 20 lbs in 2 months with the Atkins all protein plan. I weigh every day to keep a handle on the direction of my gain/loss. I just had plastics 7 weeks ago, circumferential body lift, butt lift/augmentation, BL/BA. I was wondering what my body would look like if I gained any amount of weight. Its in such good shape now, I'm trying my best to maintain. I can see after many years, the initial motivation would diminish. Having this forum to read and post, has contributed to my mental focus on maintaining, and ultimately staying healthy. Glad to have you back.  ;-)

The first step is already done .. you recognized you needed to do something and you've done it. Woohoo!

I posted this to someone recently in my support group and you might find it helpful as well.

 

Regain is not something we hear talked about in most DS circles. I've never truly understood if it was because people believe it doesn't happen or if people like to keep it a secret. Either way, it does happen and CAN be corrected.

One thing Dr. Rabkin has said to the group is that when we regain weight, we're very lucky that we have the DS because it is so receptive to dieting. I know, dieting is such a four-letter word but it is a tool we have at our disposal. 

As we get further out our bodies because more efficient and start to absorb more nutrients from our food. Darn those vilii! It's one reason why many DS Dr's will recommend a lower fat diet for their patients, it's not because they don't know what our bodies does but they do know what it does later on. If you become accustomed to eating certain way then it's harder to break those habits to lose weight weight (if you regain). It's often why we all ended up having the surgery in the first place.

But it is fixable.

The first thing we want to do take a look at what we doing and not doing. 

1) When was the lab time you had your times labs drawn? How were they?
2) Are you compliant on your supplements? What are you taking daily?
3) How much protein are you getting daily? In what forms?
4) Is your daily eating carb-centric? If so, what foods are you eating most often?
5) How much do you eat at one sitting? Are you are "normal" pre-op amounts or do you still eat small amounts?
6) How frequently do you eat each day? Are you a 3x/day eater or a "every two hours" eater?

Once you take a look at these basics you can start to formulate a plan to get the extra weight off.

Some of us had smaller stomachs made with longer common channels (for DS'ers) and some of us had short common channels with larger stomachs. The stomach itself is made up of two distinct areas/textures and the area left behind for us is less stretchy that the outer section of the stomach (where RNY pouches are formed). Because it is less stretchy it takes longer to stretch out, but it still happens. 

If you aren't sure how much capacity you have right now, you can take the cottage cheese test. It can be an eye-opening experiment to see just how much food you are able to eat at once. The further out we get the easier it is to forget what it was like in the beginning when an ounce or two was tough. This is typically recommended for RNY patients but it's just as valuable for us DS'ers as well.

Here's the "Cottage Cheese Test" if you are interested:

1) Purchase a container of small-curd cottage cheese.
2) On a completely empty stomach, usually first meal of the day, begin eating the cottage cheese at a quick pace until you feel full. It should take less than five minutes (in average). The small curds don't require a lot of chewing and you want to get your stomach (or pouch) full before it begins to move out.
4) After eating your fill of the cottage cheese you can place water on top of it in the container until it reaches the top. The amount of water used indicates the volume of your stomach. 

Example: if you buy an 8oz container of cottage cheese, eaten until full, and then pour in water measuring 6oz then your stomach volume is currently 6oz.

By the way, RNY research has indicated that stomachs up to 9oz should have no difficulties in continuing to lose and/or maintain their weight. We don't have studies like this for DS patients that I'm aware of or do not have access to.

Now, let's get to the nuts & bolts ..

The first thing I recommend EVERYBODY do, whether they are 10 years or 10 days out:

30 grams of protein (minimum) within 30 (up to 60 minutes) of waking up.

If you build that solid foundation the rest of your day should go smoother. I also recommend that the protein be in shake formula because it's already in an easy to access format for our bodies and we get as much of it as we can. I know quiet a few people who are proud that they've never drank a shake in their entire surgery but I don't consider that an accomplishment since I know what they've done for me that eating protein from regular food hasn't.

I'm one of those with the smaller stomach and longer common channel. I just can't/don't/won't eat enough "real" food to get my protein in on a daily basis. I also like to eat 3x/day when most people are on the every two hour track. I find that if I eat 3x/day then I eat less food overall (I know, sort of a 'duh' comment but …) and I feel better. If I eat every two hours not only do I eat more food but I start craving food that isn't good for me.

If I start with a protein shake, which I generally make with two scoops of protein (48 grams total) plus 1/2 cup heavy cream that gets me going and keeps me going until my normal lunchtime. I have reached the point where I wake up craving my protein shake. My body likes it and so do I. 

Now what?

Now you look at the list above and you take an honest look at where you are in your post-op life. A ship must make a thousand corrections while traversing the ocean just to keep a straight course. We're not any different than that ship. It takes a lot of work to keep going on our path.

 

Dawn- I read your posts on Dr Sauceda's board as I'm having plastics in MTY in 3 weeks :)   I'm 6 yrs out and over the past 2 yrs dealing with a more significant regain @ 25% of my lowest weight / 40lbs....few changes in my life which I believe assisted the gain..ofcourse a very loose diet I'll give that the first 20lbs and to be honest I willing accepted that fluctuation given my dietary freedom LOL  However, I believe the remaining friends joined after turning 40 and hormonal shifts (i can fluctuate 5-15 lbs during a cycle) and in the past 2 yrs I've completely stopped exercising going from over 6hrs cardio/strength trg a week to almost nothing.  It's a bit confusing going into plastics at this weight but I'm hopeful it will have a positive impact and refocus me on my physical wellness. 

I remain grateful for my DS ....I lost over 180lbs and even a maintainance of 140 of those over 6 yrs is something I could never have accomplished without it.