Combating Regain - How Goes It?
Happy Monday! The beginning of another work week for many of us . . .
So how is everyone who has had any weight gain post-WLS doing? Are you fighting the good fight? Protein, veggies, fruits, fluids, vitamin supplements? Exercise playing a role in your life? Staying within the known guidelines of what can aid you long-term, or are you like I did, thinking hmmm, now that I have arrived at a place, let me see just how much I can get away with? Do you think anything like I did? I had this thought process that it would be easy to maintain my weight loss, hah, was a wake up call I got when my clothes got tighter and not wanting to know the real deal, I avoided the scale, I mean my clothes still fit, but tighter and then guess what, they got so tight I had to buy the next size. So angry I was at myself for allowing this to happen. Well the anger was not a good thing for me, as anger is an emotion I ate over for many years, but the good part is, I attended support groups and I got on the scale and made a decision to take charge of what was happening and it's been a little while now, but I am back to doing what I know to work and those are the very same things that worked in my first wonderous year post-op.
So if you can relate to this post in any way, take whatever you are feeling and turn it around, put the energy of those feelings into positive action and take charge of what lies within you, for that tool your surgeon gave is still there, it works, trust me when I say that since I started back on doing what is right, I am paying attention and the signal to stop is there and I listen and I don't graze on things that I know will do damage to what I am trying to accomplish.
Ok, so it's not just a number on a scale or a size that I want to wear, but those things matter too, what I am trying to do today is live a healthier life, making food fuel to be healthy, instead of using food as a tool to quiet the nagging feelings that I ate over. I am using my body the way it is meant to be used, giving it an outlet to be active, via regular exercise, for if I stop doing these things, then I become lazy and disgusted with myself and that for me is a bad place to be, I've been there for most of my adult life and I really do have choices and today I am choosing to live life fully engaged, as opposed to living on the sidelines and feeling left out.
Happy Monday, it's all in your hands, make it count!
Laureen
So how is everyone who has had any weight gain post-WLS doing? Are you fighting the good fight? Protein, veggies, fruits, fluids, vitamin supplements? Exercise playing a role in your life? Staying within the known guidelines of what can aid you long-term, or are you like I did, thinking hmmm, now that I have arrived at a place, let me see just how much I can get away with? Do you think anything like I did? I had this thought process that it would be easy to maintain my weight loss, hah, was a wake up call I got when my clothes got tighter and not wanting to know the real deal, I avoided the scale, I mean my clothes still fit, but tighter and then guess what, they got so tight I had to buy the next size. So angry I was at myself for allowing this to happen. Well the anger was not a good thing for me, as anger is an emotion I ate over for many years, but the good part is, I attended support groups and I got on the scale and made a decision to take charge of what was happening and it's been a little while now, but I am back to doing what I know to work and those are the very same things that worked in my first wonderous year post-op.
So if you can relate to this post in any way, take whatever you are feeling and turn it around, put the energy of those feelings into positive action and take charge of what lies within you, for that tool your surgeon gave is still there, it works, trust me when I say that since I started back on doing what is right, I am paying attention and the signal to stop is there and I listen and I don't graze on things that I know will do damage to what I am trying to accomplish.
Ok, so it's not just a number on a scale or a size that I want to wear, but those things matter too, what I am trying to do today is live a healthier life, making food fuel to be healthy, instead of using food as a tool to quiet the nagging feelings that I ate over. I am using my body the way it is meant to be used, giving it an outlet to be active, via regular exercise, for if I stop doing these things, then I become lazy and disgusted with myself and that for me is a bad place to be, I've been there for most of my adult life and I really do have choices and today I am choosing to live life fully engaged, as opposed to living on the sidelines and feeling left out.
Happy Monday, it's all in your hands, make it count!
Laureen
My Mantra is that I do not determine my success by the number hanging in my closet, nor will I let the scale determine that success either. . . It is through trial and error I will continue to grow and succeed. . . Laureen
"Success is a journey, not a destination." Ben Sweetland
Good Morning Laureen,
You put your thoughts in print so well. I read your post daily tho I don't take time to comment. Just want you to know that you are taking the time to do something that is worthwhile.I know you are doing it to help keep you in line. When I share things with others it does really help me to "see the light" so to speak.
July has been absolutely crazy as I knew it would be. Wonderful crazy but crazy none the less. Housefull last week. All are gone this week including Mike. He's in Chehalis painting Erin's house.
With a sprained ankle I cannot do much exercising. That could easily become an excuse but I will not let that happen. I can still eat right and take in only the amount of fuel that my body needs to run efficiently. Funny thing how sometimes we take better care of our motorized vehicles than of this vehicle called our body that must last us a lifetime.
Living fully engaged. I like that. I agree it is s much more fulfilling to be a part of life instead of watching it pass me by as it did for so many years.
Have a great day Laureen. You are missed!
Karen C
Thanks Karen,
I read about your sprain and that is a bummer, but at least if it had to happen, it happened after the wedding and you got to enjoy that. Take it easy and once the sprain is behind you, you just get back to doing what you can, for now making good food choices will keep you from losing ground.
I miss you too and so many others :(
Hugs, Laureen
I read about your sprain and that is a bummer, but at least if it had to happen, it happened after the wedding and you got to enjoy that. Take it easy and once the sprain is behind you, you just get back to doing what you can, for now making good food choices will keep you from losing ground.
I miss you too and so many others :(
Hugs, Laureen
My Mantra is that I do not determine my success by the number hanging in my closet, nor will I let the scale determine that success either. . . It is through trial and error I will continue to grow and succeed. . . Laureen
"Success is a journey, not a destination." Ben Sweetland
Little Sis,
Thanks for always sharing your insights. I find myself nodding in agreement.
Today I solved one exercise dilemma. My client HATES any sort of exercise. Not good because she has CP which means if she doesn't use her muscles, they will atrophy and life will not be so good.
Today I asked her if she wanted to walk by the lake. The immediate response was NO WAY. Then I asked if she would like to take Baxter for a walk in the park. Oh yes!
So, she got moving, I walked, and Baxter got good and tired. Granted it wasn't a brisk walk, but it was a walk.
Kisses
Nettie
Thanks for always sharing your insights. I find myself nodding in agreement.
Today I solved one exercise dilemma. My client HATES any sort of exercise. Not good because she has CP which means if she doesn't use her muscles, they will atrophy and life will not be so good.
Today I asked her if she wanted to walk by the lake. The immediate response was NO WAY. Then I asked if she would like to take Baxter for a walk in the park. Oh yes!
So, she got moving, I walked, and Baxter got good and tired. Granted it wasn't a brisk walk, but it was a walk.
Kisses
Nettie
Annette 
Hey Nettie,
Of course you came up with a great solution!!! Baxter getting good and tired is a good thing, keeps him from getting into too much mischief (lol).
Hugs, Lil Sis
Of course you came up with a great solution!!! Baxter getting good and tired is a good thing, keeps him from getting into too much mischief (lol).
Hugs, Lil Sis
My Mantra is that I do not determine my success by the number hanging in my closet, nor will I let the scale determine that success either. . . It is through trial and error I will continue to grow and succeed. . . Laureen
"Success is a journey, not a destination." Ben Sweetland
Hello Laureen...you can't believe how sorry I am to read of your travail. Your problem is my greatest fear. I will be having surgery very soon. Can you tell me what kind of surgery you had and when? Thank you...
Most and I do mean close to all I have read on this forum and the main one have been so encouraging, hopeful, and insightful...so I am wondering how did this happen to you? I want to understand so I do not make the same kinds of mistakes. Most folks even have said that after a few weeks your desire for wrong foods slacks off. Not true for you?
I am 75 and don't have a lot of time here and my decision to have surgery was to spend my last 20 or so years in a more comfortable body...I am 270 and have 8 morbidity factors. I hope you can now understand why your story affected me so deeply.
Take care young woman ... you do not really want to carry more than your body can deal with...do you? Not to mention how much better you will feel and look... Stay in touch here
everyone wants to help you meet your goal and maintain it.
I send you my support and some hugs....Sam
Most and I do mean close to all I have read on this forum and the main one have been so encouraging, hopeful, and insightful...so I am wondering how did this happen to you? I want to understand so I do not make the same kinds of mistakes. Most folks even have said that after a few weeks your desire for wrong foods slacks off. Not true for you?
I am 75 and don't have a lot of time here and my decision to have surgery was to spend my last 20 or so years in a more comfortable body...I am 270 and have 8 morbidity factors. I hope you can now understand why your story affected me so deeply.
Take care young woman ... you do not really want to carry more than your body can deal with...do you? Not to mention how much better you will feel and look... Stay in touch here
everyone wants to help you meet your goal and maintain it.
I send you my support and some hugs....Sam
Hello Sam,
Thanks for your support and please know that I understand this as being your greatest fear, after all most of us do not arrive at this place with a sense of anything but hope that this is the last time in their lives they will be morbidly obese. Everyone has that fear inside them whether or not they admit to it. However, surgical intervention is not the sole solution, as there are both physical and mental challenges to staying the course.
I became 254 lbs. because I LOVED all kinds of good tasting food, it helped me to feel good and there were times I felt plain disgusted about my physical appearance and I dieted many times, successfully to a point and then when it came close to a place of comfortability, I did what any good food addict does, I slowly thought I could handle some of the things that I had cut out of my diet to lose the weight and the consequences showed up and each year found me heavier and trying to lose weight again.
So fast forward to 2007 when I hit my highest weight ever and my life was spent wishing I could do this or that and what stood between me and those things were primarily my weight related issues, there was a solution to that and while to some it was extreme, to me it brought hope of a healthier, more active lifestyle, one I had experienced in the not too distant past and so I decided to see if I qualified for it, now mind you I had researched this surgery for a number of years prior, but thought of it as a "cop out". Low and behold I was approved, jumped through my hoops and became willing to do whatever it took, which also meant incorporating a component I had never willingly done, EXERCISE, and on October 16, 2007 I had RNY.
Prior to my surgery I had people tell me, you're not that heavy why not try this or that diet. I laughed thinking to myself, I had tried them all and though I now realize a good point was that I was never willing to exercise along with any diet, I also thought, well I lead an active lifestyle, I don't need to exercise. Then there were those who told me, well I know so and so and they had the surgery and regained all their weight, what a shame. . . I swore that would not be me, I knew that if I could only get to the place where I needed to be, I would be able to maintain it.
I attended support groups prior to and am still a very big proponent of support groups, even leading some of them now, however, my surgery was not on the brain, but the body and the body, along with my help did get to a healthier place, but 52 years of loving food did not change and I mistakenly thought I could eat a little of this and a little of that and most of what I ate was "healthy", but too many calories in and having had a bad case of poision ivy last April that took over a month to recover from, summer was here and I am more active in the summer so I figured I'd be ok and I was until last fall. Believe me when I say, on a bad day my caloric intake was no where near what it used to be, but the body is older and the metabolism slower and less forgiving of such things, if one does not make the right choices and/or takes in more calories then are burned, weight gain occurs.
I also knew, from my research, that there is what is called a bounce back weight for many, however, I also know that is only about 5 to 10% and so when I gained that back, I actually felt I looked better and was fine at that weight of 163/165 lbs., but these last 15 lbs. gained over the winter, have scared the heck outta me and I NEVER want to step on the scale again and weigh 200 lbs. or have to shop in the speciality clothes department and so I am not a failure, but a WLS person working on herself.
Two months ago at my support group, people 2+ years were wanting to talk about it, I am very open about my struggles and believe by doing so I have helped some come forward who previously felt ashamed and alone, which is why I am trying to do this thread 2x weekly and whether or not people want to openly post to it, or just get encouraged by my sharing about it, I am doing it to help myself and if it helps others, so much the better.
Sam, we all start out with the expectation that this will take us where we ultimately were never able to go before and to a large extent that is true, but once that surgeon does his part, you become the master of your destiny and what I hope you understand is, you do not have to regain anything, but if by chance you do, don't freak out over it, know that it is not uncommon and there are people who can support and encourage you.
I wish you all that you dream when you undergo your surgery and that the outcome is beyond your wildest imaginings, but it is not without ups and downs and we here will help you get through those.
Laureen
Thanks for your support and please know that I understand this as being your greatest fear, after all most of us do not arrive at this place with a sense of anything but hope that this is the last time in their lives they will be morbidly obese. Everyone has that fear inside them whether or not they admit to it. However, surgical intervention is not the sole solution, as there are both physical and mental challenges to staying the course.
I became 254 lbs. because I LOVED all kinds of good tasting food, it helped me to feel good and there were times I felt plain disgusted about my physical appearance and I dieted many times, successfully to a point and then when it came close to a place of comfortability, I did what any good food addict does, I slowly thought I could handle some of the things that I had cut out of my diet to lose the weight and the consequences showed up and each year found me heavier and trying to lose weight again.
So fast forward to 2007 when I hit my highest weight ever and my life was spent wishing I could do this or that and what stood between me and those things were primarily my weight related issues, there was a solution to that and while to some it was extreme, to me it brought hope of a healthier, more active lifestyle, one I had experienced in the not too distant past and so I decided to see if I qualified for it, now mind you I had researched this surgery for a number of years prior, but thought of it as a "cop out". Low and behold I was approved, jumped through my hoops and became willing to do whatever it took, which also meant incorporating a component I had never willingly done, EXERCISE, and on October 16, 2007 I had RNY.
Prior to my surgery I had people tell me, you're not that heavy why not try this or that diet. I laughed thinking to myself, I had tried them all and though I now realize a good point was that I was never willing to exercise along with any diet, I also thought, well I lead an active lifestyle, I don't need to exercise. Then there were those who told me, well I know so and so and they had the surgery and regained all their weight, what a shame. . . I swore that would not be me, I knew that if I could only get to the place where I needed to be, I would be able to maintain it.
I attended support groups prior to and am still a very big proponent of support groups, even leading some of them now, however, my surgery was not on the brain, but the body and the body, along with my help did get to a healthier place, but 52 years of loving food did not change and I mistakenly thought I could eat a little of this and a little of that and most of what I ate was "healthy", but too many calories in and having had a bad case of poision ivy last April that took over a month to recover from, summer was here and I am more active in the summer so I figured I'd be ok and I was until last fall. Believe me when I say, on a bad day my caloric intake was no where near what it used to be, but the body is older and the metabolism slower and less forgiving of such things, if one does not make the right choices and/or takes in more calories then are burned, weight gain occurs.
I also knew, from my research, that there is what is called a bounce back weight for many, however, I also know that is only about 5 to 10% and so when I gained that back, I actually felt I looked better and was fine at that weight of 163/165 lbs., but these last 15 lbs. gained over the winter, have scared the heck outta me and I NEVER want to step on the scale again and weigh 200 lbs. or have to shop in the speciality clothes department and so I am not a failure, but a WLS person working on herself.
Two months ago at my support group, people 2+ years were wanting to talk about it, I am very open about my struggles and believe by doing so I have helped some come forward who previously felt ashamed and alone, which is why I am trying to do this thread 2x weekly and whether or not people want to openly post to it, or just get encouraged by my sharing about it, I am doing it to help myself and if it helps others, so much the better.
Sam, we all start out with the expectation that this will take us where we ultimately were never able to go before and to a large extent that is true, but once that surgeon does his part, you become the master of your destiny and what I hope you understand is, you do not have to regain anything, but if by chance you do, don't freak out over it, know that it is not uncommon and there are people who can support and encourage you.
I wish you all that you dream when you undergo your surgery and that the outcome is beyond your wildest imaginings, but it is not without ups and downs and we here will help you get through those.
Laureen
My Mantra is that I do not determine my success by the number hanging in my closet, nor will I let the scale determine that success either. . . It is through trial and error I will continue to grow and succeed. . . Laureen
"Success is a journey, not a destination." Ben Sweetland
Oh my dear new found friend, you are the first person that has answered my post with such heart and thought, except for MsBatt! She can always be counted upon to steer you to good answers (grin)! I too have loved all kinds of food, my favorite TV show is the Food Channel, my husband finished culinary school and got his degree at 78 yrs old!!
I am just going to have to ply the places where I can come up with allowed recipes for me! And OMG! Excersize!
My favorite is yoga, I used to teach it! But now I can't get down or up from the floor...that will change for sure and I am looking forward to a bath, too!
may I ask ...will you be a special cheerleader for me? My most heartfelt wish is to not gain..ever again, but I do realize that maybe staying within 5 lb limit might be a good idea..what do you think? I do hear ya about the body-brain thing, I do know that after sugery it is up to me. Have you got an on line support group?
What would you think about us being friends on this site ?
Ah.. oh, am I beginning to sound too needy? I will not infringe on your time often, just when I need to know something. My surgery will be in St. Augustine at Flagler Hospital, I live in Daytona, I wish I lived closer, they have all kinds of support on the premises, even a work out- room!
I have the greatest surgeon, he has done 7000 WLS operations. In fact he had it himself a few years ago! God I am so anxious to get threre that I am having stomach trouble... nice knowing you and again thank you for your attention...luv, hugs and blessings on your continuing journey and share with me any time...and with everybody on this forum....Sam
I am just going to have to ply the places where I can come up with allowed recipes for me! And OMG! Excersize!
My favorite is yoga, I used to teach it! But now I can't get down or up from the floor...that will change for sure and I am looking forward to a bath, too!
may I ask ...will you be a special cheerleader for me? My most heartfelt wish is to not gain..ever again, but I do realize that maybe staying within 5 lb limit might be a good idea..what do you think? I do hear ya about the body-brain thing, I do know that after sugery it is up to me. Have you got an on line support group?
What would you think about us being friends on this site ?
Ah.. oh, am I beginning to sound too needy? I will not infringe on your time often, just when I need to know something. My surgery will be in St. Augustine at Flagler Hospital, I live in Daytona, I wish I lived closer, they have all kinds of support on the premises, even a work out- room!
I have the greatest surgeon, he has done 7000 WLS operations. In fact he had it himself a few years ago! God I am so anxious to get threre that I am having stomach trouble... nice knowing you and again thank you for your attention...luv, hugs and blessings on your continuing journey and share with me any time...and with everybody on this forum....Sam
I am familiar with the area you are in, as I've been going down to Florida for the past 30 years and St. Augustine is a very nice area, as are parts of Daytona. Your time will come, this is part of the roller coaster ride associated with WLS, but before you know it, you will have gone through it and then you will be sharing different things about your journey. I will be among many here who will cheer you on, but for sure if there is anything I can impart toaid you along, I will do so, as I am not shy for speaking up about things, though my age has taught me a few things about choosing my words (lol), I am after all of Italian descent and was raised and lived in New York most of my life, so I generally don't pull too many punches, but as I've stated, I've learned to be asked more often than not, rather than offer my unwelcome opinions. I have the support of many of the wonderful people who populate this board, as well as the PA Forum where I also go for support since I live in what is considered a suburb of Philadelphia and had my surgery in Langhorne, PA, besides the NJ Forum, while populated with nice folks, is not very active and now that you have arrived, I have yours and you mine!!! Life post-WLS is so much more about living our dreams. . .
My Mantra is that I do not determine my success by the number hanging in my closet, nor will I let the scale determine that success either. . . It is through trial and error I will continue to grow and succeed. . . Laureen
"Success is a journey, not a destination." Ben Sweetland
Thank you so much for starting this thread Laureen! I am at the 1 1/2 year mark since my surgery and I love how great I feel. But I have also found I am doing the creep back up. I never did reach my goal, but was very satisfied with how I did and felt. Now my pants are getting tight again and I find my self eating foods I know are not good for me. I feel like I am sabotaging myself!
I am only one, But still, I am one. I cannot do everything, but still I can do something. And because I cannot do everything, I will not refuse to do
the something that I can do.
Edward Everett Hale
Onederland 1/26/2010
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