Didn't lose to goal and have gained 25 lbs- have any of you been in the same sit and turned it...

Hi all,

I had surgery in 2013. I went from 320 to 185 then bounced back to 210. I was very strict the first year and the weight loss was very slow regardless then I started to poop out and eat carbs on and off after that. I'm trying to course correct now. I'm only 5'2.5 so my goal was to get down to 145 or lower; however, that didn't happen. Feeling disappointed in myself. For those of you that have not hit goal or have gained weight, were you able to course correct and get down to goal? If so, how did you do it and has it been difficult to keep it off once you got it down? Any input on how to course correct would be great. My doc did a one size fits all procedure-100 cm- and 5 0z sleeve. I spoke to him about my situation and he stated that I should get a fit bit and won't redo surgery.

Is it possible to turn things around once you have screwed up?  I'm now 2 years out so I'm wondering if it's doable or not. Would love to hear your thoughts. 

Go back to basics, focus on water, vitamins, protein, and fat. Walk 3-5 times a week at a brisk pace. 

I think think you can turn it around but you must focus on what you're putting into your body  

Yes, it is possible for you to reach your goal but you have to decide to take the steps necessary to do so. Surgery is not magic. We must limit what we eat. Cut back your calories. Focus on protein, limit carbs. Weigh and measure your portions and track every bite. Be honest with yourself about how much you are eating. Get a fitbit and walk at least 10000 steps a day.

You must believe you are worth the effort.

Yes you can definitely turn it around, but you have to do the work.  Like someone said, this was not a magic pill.  You must get and walk, a fit bit is an excellent idea or just go walk.  You can keep up with how far you walk yourself.  You now have to learn how to live the life you were meant to be.   Drinking protein shakes certainly helps curve my appetite, and making sure you are not deficient in your vitamins and supplement. Because if you are deficient you are always going to be craving bad stuff too. Take one step/day at a time and make realistic goals on the way.  Say no bread, or lite bread once a day....  Chips, bread tend to cause me to pack on the pounds....as I eat this dounut with my coffee...lol.

It's never too late. I'm going into my second year & am still going strong even though there have been bumps in the road. I'm still making my way to goal. You have to concentrate on what you're eating, go back to basics, weigh, measure, log & track everything that goes into your mouth. Cut back on the carbs, for me too many carbs led to more cravings for it & it made me hungrier more often.

My plan is protein first, followed by carbs from veggies & then a little fruit., plus my vitamins. I go for 80oz of protein, 80 oz of water, carbs under 50, but most times try to get closer to 30, but I don't malabsorb. I had the VSG. You'll have to look back at your paperwork to find the right numbers for you.

First - your doctor is an ass.  I would flame him for you if I could.   It's the old knee-jerk blame the patient mentality that is lazy and wrong.  And saying something like that to you is a long, long way from "Do no harm."  You might want to go to one of the great bariatric surgeons and get them to do a full workup to figure out what's going on.  If your original surgeon screwed up, of course he would tell you to blame yourself.  

Something weird is going on, but what and why?  I don't know and so I can't answer your question.   I've read that some rare people can absorb calories in their long intestines, in which case the DS would help, but not solve the main problem of being God's Own Super-Absorber.  But there are lots of HEALTH reasons why people are overweight and not getting enough exercise is NOT one of them. 

The truth is that there are billions of people that don't exercise, don't have a fit bits and are not overweight, so why not you?  Relying on exercise does not work in the long run in the real world with injuries and old age.  It is a solution for the people that have to lose 10 lbs every year, but exercise and diet are generally agreed upon to be a FAILED weight loss strategy for people with lots of weight to lose. 

There is a medical saying -- "If you hear hoof beats, look for horses not zebras."  What it means is that most people will live and die and never, ever have even one slightly interesting health occurrence.  Doctors will maybe meet one or two unique or rare situation in their entire career.  They are strongly taught to keep their head down and focus on the common.   I think you have become a DS zebra, but you are going to have to take some extraordinary steps to prove it to a doctor enough that they will truly look and think.

The answer -- track everything.  I hate to say it, but I sort of agree with the fit bit suggestion, but because we have to document enough things to figure out what is going on.   I would go for a Microsoft Band over a fit bit, LOTS more and better data.  And all your food should be entered into http://www.myfitnesspal.com.  MSFT & MFP have the electronic handshake figured out, so the two will work together. 

I don't know enough to know what the variables you should be playing with are.  Carbs seem like an obvious one, but so does sleep, stress, allergies...  Get a physical, do extra blood work, see every doctor in your rotation and see if you can get one of them to become a little curious.  Talk to an old RN, because they generally have the best practical advice.     Maybe what ever it is will be obvious. 

I could be wrong, but since the next step, no matter what, is track your diet and exercise, it can't hurt to gather a ton of data.  Stage one Adkins is something like 25 carbs a day with 18 of them from veggies.  How you respond to that for a few weeks will be interesting. 

Good luck!

Fill up on protein and fat. Drink lots of water. Stay away from carbs. Try that for a few months before you worry about seeing another surgeon.

Hello, I am another failure. Worse than you I think. Never lost a pound after DS, just gained, but probably not the fault of the surgery. My own fault. Just let it be known, DS is not a cure-all. Please read my blog, in all it's patheticness.

I'm sorry that you didn't lose after the DS. I have heard of some folks who first had a sleeve then converted to DS not losing as well. It seems kinds of odd though to not lose anything. Perhaps you should look at your surgery report