Need to start over!!!!

I am now two years out and all in all, my rouxen-y has been a great success. In the past year, I have backslidden on the basics and at times feel as if I'm headed back to the awful place I came from. At my two year appointment, it was discovered that I gained thirty pounds. Granted, it could have been a lot worse, but even moreso, it could have been so much better.

My wife had gastric bypass two months before me. She hasn't had the success that I have had and she certainly doesn't have the willpower that I have so her weight continues to come back on and it is very disappointing.

I have decided that I have to take care of myself and do what I need to do for ME. I am going to start the five day pouch test tomorrow morning. The first two days are all liquids.

Thanks for posting all that you do. Even though I don't post very often, I do keep up with reading them.

Now it's time for me to be a little more proactive with my weight loss and work the rest of the way to my goal.

Trent,

First step in fixing a problem is to recognize having one to begin with.  Having accomplished that step you can get back on track.  Hopefully seeing you have success again will help motivate your Mrs. to do better herself!

Thanks for the post. Stories like yours prove that WLS is not the "easy way out" that many people think it is. It is a tool we use with  many  others. Your story also proves that this new lifestyle is a lifelong commitment.

Trent, I'am sorry to hear of your backslide.  Our support group had a good discussion on that.  I am a year out and have not reached my goal.  Close, but not there yet all my fault.  My biggest fear is regain, transfer addictions and meds routine. I've seen many pics of 2-5 year post ops and it looks like there is significant regain in over 50%.   In fact my Doc said the women will often regain up to 30% of there weight back.  I think some of these stats are hidden due to marketing concerns.  A perfect stat is 75% of the obeseity weight in 12 months.  Great.  If the olds habits come back the Docs are off the hook.  WLS is a tool like Jenny Craig ramped up.  If You dont change the food choices, protein and carb intake and exercise routine, fatland is around the corner.  I know Losttexn got down to the thin zone and is holding and the running crowd will forever stay down.  But for me, its exercise and intake period.

  I had a Papa Johns pizza craving Sunday.  I toughed it out and won.  Bought a crab cake instead.  Thank you "thin" God.  Am tracking intakes on My Plate and will continue the fight.
Good luck

Trent you are doing great.  We all slide, catching it and relizing that you can control the problem is a big part of it.  I always give the same advice in this situation.  Journalling your food intake will open your eyes to your daily mistakes and may keep you from eating a few things that you don't want to write down.  I know how hard it is to talk about these things with the wife, but maybe a journal for 1 week may help her.

Good luck on your pouch test and your future weight loss, I know you will do it.

My old food addictions came back fairly quickly after surgery also.  I've been (un)lucky as I NEVER get "sick" off of food and can eat pretty much what I want to. 

I've been very lucky thus far to have reached goal (195) and stay within 10 pounds or so.  What helps me is knowing what I weigh.  I weigh EVERYDAY.  I know opinions vary on that, but that's what works for me.  That way I can catch a 5 pound gain and react before it becomes a 15-20 pound gain. 

As for cravings.  I don't resist anymore.  I eat what I want (and what I can handle).  Resisting and making ANY food "off limits forever" will only lead to a breakdown where you find yourself sitting in the kitchen floor in your underwear with an empty bag of snickers "fun size" beside you.  Not that I'd know anything about that :)

Good luck!

Jason

I certainly appreciate all of your support. It is funny how when I had surgery, everyone (family, friends, coworkers) was about as excited about my weight loss as I was. Then over time, the honeymoon period ended and the weightloss stopped. People just kinda forgot about it and stopped asking. Then there wasn't the accountability anymore.

Some people can do this alone, but I can't. I need the accountability. I have a "My Plate" account and began journaling in it this morning. I am going to bring some sugar free popsicles up here to work so I can run down and grab one or two out of the freezer every once in a while when I'm wanting to munch on something. It got me through my presurgery diet and it got me through the first 6 months. After that, I guess I began to venture out a little much.

I am still very excited about my weight loss and what the surgery has done for me. I would not have accomplished some of the things I have accomplished without that tool.

I'm enjoying the posts guys..... Keep it up. I find something useful in every one of them!!!!

Good luck Trent!

I hope it all works out for you.  I agree that over time it gets harder and harder to maintain.  The ability to slip back into old habits and becomes easier and often you don't even notice it until it jumps up and hits your in the face.

Stick with it bud, you can beat it.

Scott

 Thanks for posting and sharing your story.  My wife and I are about seven months out.  I've often asked why people fail.  That is the thing that's worried me the most about WLS.  I'm not really worried about health complications.  I'm worried that I'll get pass the honeymoon phase and start putting the weight back on.  I just keep telling myself that I won't fail if I stick to the guidelines, eat properly, and get plenty of exercise.  Good luck to you and your wife.

Duane

Duane, the thing about passing the honeymoon is sticking to the guidelines like you said. If you do what you were trained to do in the beginning, you won't gain your weight back. Those of us that walk past the pantry and grab and handful of chips, because they don't fill us up or experiment with the wrong foods to see if they make us sick or not, or drinking the wrong beverages that we were told not to drink are hte ones that have to worry a little more after hte honeymoon period.

My eyes never changed with surgery. I still see the same foods that I always loved. However, now when I eat them, it isn't near as much fun. You're doing GREAT!