I had surgery 7/3/12 and by 6/1/13 i lost 141 pounds. then in a year i gained 25 pounds and now i'm up to 326. I feel like a utter failure and at wits end. I think i was better without the surgery to be honest because this is horrible. its seems as though when I had gall bladder surgery and double hernia surgery, the weight just piled back on. Now, i can eat regular and seems as though I cannot get full. any advice is welcomed. Now I did make a appointment with the surgeon for june 22nd for checkup but worried about what he will say. I guess i messed up and can't get a revision. 

I haven't been in this long, but have you taken inventory of what your eating? Maybe a back to basics, protein shakes in place of a meal or two. How's your exercise been? 

Good for going to follow up with the doc... Shaming yourself away from him won't get you any help. Do you still follow up with a NUT?

i did and you know whats weird is that i actually maintained and fluctuated until 3/14 when  had my gall bladder taken out and the 7/10(ish) i have a double hernia repair and thats when the weight soared

Celebrate the weight you have kept off and move forward from here. Take responsibility for your eating. Track every bite. Weigh/measure your portions. You have been through a lot the past few years but it is time for you to take control of your life. Only you can decide to do that.

Best wishes!!

We had surgery about a month apart, so I can certainly agree that we can eat just about anything, and quite a bit, too. I need to watch what I eat very carefully, or I can start to gain.

What works for me is I log all my food. Every bite. I weigh all my portions on a digital kitchen scale. Portion sizes can easily creep up over time, and estimating doesn't work very well.

It all comes down to what we eat. You aren't a failure, but you'll have to work hard to turn this around. You can do it.

I agree with Grim's approach.  I track everything I eat daily using My Fitness Pal - the good, the bad and the ugly.  And I recently replaced my old dial scale with a digital scale to really keep myself honest.  As someone who was SMO, I had no idea what a normal portion size is.  I still don't.  I think I can eyeball it, but when I weigh my food I find that I'm always over what my eyes estimate.

I bought this digital scale from Amazon for $20.00 and it works great.

Don't give up hope.  Just get back to the basics and you CAN lose the weight.

It's funny how our eye always thinks something is 3 ounces, when it's really 5 ounces. It NEVER goes the other way.

We always got a ten minute break at work. 110 people. Buzzer sounded, conveyor belts shut off all at once. When break ended, buzzer sounded, conveyor belts started up all at once. We never, ever got a full ten minutes. Always 9, 9.5. Never, ever, 10.5 or 11. They claimed it was a rounding error, but it was always one way.

When you eyeball a portion, you always, always think it weighs less than it really does.

I have found that I am pretty good when it comes to solid protein (chicken breast, steak, fish), but I'm kind of hit or miss about things eaten in a bowl or cup (e.g., chili or refried beans and cheese) unless I use the coffee cups from my old dish set.  

Those were what I was using when I first had surgery and I guess my brain saw the portions in those cups enough (and I was paying very close attention to the portion size then, of course) that I know what is 1/2 C vs 1/3 C (or 2/3 C) in them... but in a bowl or a different cup/mug is another matter entirely.

You are, of course, correct that we always underestimate the portion size. 

Lora

Oooh... I like that scale.  Gotta get me one of those.  I'm using the old fashion kind and it's not as accurate as this one would be.  Thanks!

I agree with her. Eyeballing and estimating are dangerous.

If you are in a place where you cant keep a scale for weighing (like at work) I actually keep little dip bowls.  One bowl holds a cup of food, the other hold 1/2 cup.  As long as my food fits inside these bowls, I know i have not exceeded the portion sizes set forth by my surgeon.

If it falls out, or overflows, it has to go into the garbage. I have exceeded my prescribed amount.