Gained almost ALL the weight back, RNY 2010

 Desperate here.I never lost all the weight I wanted, I was about 40-50 lbs away. But I was content to stay where I was since I had spent mad money on clothing that was about a 10-12. I had no exercise program after i did jazzercise for awhile with my sister and when she quit, I quit. I was able to stay on track when I was doing the cooking, I would make tiny portions for myself. Then we decided to go vegan after learning about it, and juicing for maximum nutrients...SOOO I will never forget telling someone what I was doing and she said she had tried juicing and vegan and gained soooo much weight. Well long story short, I did, and then was diagnosed with MS and put on medication which made me gain even MORE. Now I am back where I started. I would love some input. I am depressed and mostly in bed because i gained so sudenly my knees hurt like hell. I also have vertigo, and muscle spasms and its difficult to walk because of the "MS hug" which feels like someone squeezing me around the waist and hips. I have needed a wheelchair the last several outings. ANy advice is appreciated.

I'm glad you are posting.  We have had several people who have expressed an interest in the vegan lifestyle and juicing.  When we have tried to tell them that it is a recipe for failure, they don't believe it.  Thank you for being brave enough to talk about why you have not had success.  Maybe they can learn from your experience.

What you need to do is go back to the basics.  Start eating dense proteins and veggies. Limit fruits to one serving per day (and remember that a serving is actually 1/2 an apple or banana, or 4 strawberries).  Cut out ALL processed carbs (pasta, bread, crackers, rice, potatoes, sugar, etc.) and don't let them into your house until you reach goal.  It will be white knuckle while you detox from these carbs, but once you get them out of your system, your cravings for them will go away.  Eat 6 very small meals( 200 to 300 calories) daily.  That means you will be eating every 3-4 hours.  ANYONE can wait 3 hours to eat again.  If you feel hungry IGNORE IT.  Hunger is NOT and EMERGENCY.  You will not starve if you feel hungry.

Drink at least 64 ounces, daily.  This is the MINIMUM amount.  Many of us drink 120+ ounces daily to stay hydrated.  Sometimes you register hunger when you are really thirsty.  Try drinking something with zero calories before you try to feed your hunger.  If you are drinking with your meals, STOP!  Drinking with your meals will allow you to eat more food at one sitting, causing weight gain.  Wait to drink for at least 30 minutes after your meal.  The common denominator in re-gain is drinking with meals and letting processed carbs back into your life.

Portion sizes creep up on us over time.  Obese people have a skewed view of what a proper portion looks like.  Get out your measuring cups to get a good idea of exactly how much you are eating.  You should never eat more than 1 1/2 cups of food at one time.  You can and will gain weight, even eating healthy food, if you eat too much.  I will be 5 years out this year and STILL measure my portions out.  I can not trust myself to eyeball a portion size.  I know I will over-eat if I do.  Don't eat until you feel full.  Many of use the full feeling as an emotional crutch.  Eat only what you measure out and STOP EATING.  Eat only until you feel satisfied, not full.  That will require you to eat slowly and mindfully.

TAKE YOUR VITAMINS.  This is not an option.  Your life depends on it.  Your RNY bypassed the area in your intestines that absorbs most of the nutrients in your food, so juicing for nutritional reasons was pointless.  You were drinking your calories, without the health benefits of the fiber from the fruits and veggies, and absorbing every calorie.  We absorb calories after a few years, but never regain the ability to fully absorb the vitamins.  We need at a minimum, 200% of the daily recommended vitamins, plus calcium, iron, and B12.  You should schedule an appointment to have labs run to see where you need to supplement.

You might want to have a doctor take a look to see if everything is still functioning as it should.  If your pouch is still working, you can still get back on track and lose the weight.  It won't come off as fast as when you first had surgery, but you CAN LOSE THE WEIGHT!

Last, but not least,  You may want to add a therapist to your weight loss team.  Many of us face food demons that need to be wrangled in before we can truly be successful.  Coming back to OH is a great start.  Participating on this site will keep you focused, but you may need more help than we can provide.

YOU CAN DO THIS!

 Edited to change wording to make it make sense.

I have to say this has to be the best read I honestly ever took time to read the 3rd time , thank you for this post  every word you spoken of here makes sense and  is a good refresher for everyone ,    I truly am a woman who appreciates  the time and  effort you put into this  im sure this will help a lot of people thank you

Awesome, specific advice. Thank you. 

So glad you posted!!!! Regain is a REAL issue and as much as newbies love to say "100 lbs gone forever" - well, life and habits and lots of things can creep up on us. 

Without a doubt, the MS and medications complicate things for you but the best course of action is indeed "back to basics." Not much magic or mystery to it, but I was looking down the barrel at 35 lbs. of regain last November and have tackled 25 of those pounds so far doing the following:

1. Fluids - 64 oz. of non-caffeinated beverages a day, preferably water. 

2. Log your food. I use My Fitness Pal and have gotten truly hooked on it. It's a great app! But a pen and paper work too. Be accountable for EVERY bite, lick, and taste that goes into your mouth. Size up where you REALLY are on food intake. 

3. Protein first. It still works - have your protein first, and veggies next....and even if you "want" a starch, you won't have room! (Flip side? If I come home hungry after work and start off with half a baked sweet potato....I'll eat two baked sweet potatoes before I even figure out what's for dinner! TRUTH!)

4. No refined carbs. None. Zero. Nada. That means rice, pasta, bread, cereal, all that. No junky carbs either - chips, cookies, crackers, snack foods. 

5. Fruit only in moderation. 

6. Dairy in moderation or as you tolerate it. (I don't consume dairy any more....it just sort of worked its way out of my life, but you can see how it sits with you.)

7. Measure your servings and portions. Our old habits have taken hold of us and we have rounded off the corners for too long. 1/2 cup isn't what you think. Measure and be specific! (See "log your food" above!)

8. Exercise as you can, even if it is light upper body exercise. I did Jazzercise for several years and loved it - loved the music and had a great instructor! Download a few of your favorite songs from those days and even if you can just do a few stretches, bicep curls, etc. it will definitely be a step in the right direction as you do what you can for YOU!

And finally - where can you turn for support? I had a great support group in PA even though I had to drive 90 min to get there. I've moved, work on the road, etc. now so it's very challenging to find a support group for me....but I've come back to OH and it has been a great help. As you work toward regaining control, please share your experience. It will be a great help to others.

You may also find the WLS Grads forum helpful. Not overly busy but lots of good conversation about this very topic! Best wishes to you!

The two replies above are well done.  Adding a friendly suggestion to read them OUT LOUD many times each day. Just maybe inching toward less excess weight will help the burden of MS get less, too.

Hello All,

I have not had my surgery yet; however, I am already thinking about how I eventually always gain my weight back after my never  ending diets.  Thanks for the positing.  My surgery is May 18th.  I truly value what I'm reading.

Sorry about your MS diagnosis. That's a difficult one. If you are on steroids I understand completely how easy it is to gain weight. 

You can lose it again. It won't be like the first time..rapid and effortless. 

What is helping me was to get off the quick carbs. The digestion of those starts in the mouth. I look at it as bypassing the bypass. It's a quick way to gain a lot of weight. Detox off the carbs. It's hard. I had to just white knuckle it through.

I'm also tracking my food. It actually makes it easier for me to eat. I see that I'm on track.

Good luck and keep posting.

Deb T.

You've gotten excellent advice.  I highly recommend you journal your food and keep track of calories, grams of protein, grams of carbs and ounces of water.  We fool ourselves if we "think" we've stayed on plan for the day - when I keep track I think twice before making food choices or putting a specific food in my mouth.  Keeps me mindful and in the present moment.

Counseling/Therapy and dieticians are a real help.  I also keep reading about nutrition and health to keep my health at the forefront of my thoughts.

You can click on my name or picture and find a reading list of books that helped me those first few years.

I am currently rereading "The Beck Diet Solution" - it isn't about a diet but about changing our thought processes and you can do everything the book recommends on your bariatric eating plan.  I go through this book every year and it helps me get my thinking about food "back on track".

Best wishes to you,

Penny

Your post made me rejoin this site.  We have almost the same exact experience, except an unplanned twin pregnancy with mandatory bed rest is what put me down for the count. 

Thank you for posting your story.  I feel re-invigorated to try to get back on track.