50 weight gain

Actually I was very successful with the weight loss.  I lost 70 pounds.  My start weight was 232.  I followed the rules and was doing fine until I got the bad news about my heart.  I got stressed and started eating wrong.  Thanks for your input it was much needed as well

You are not the first person to gain back your weight.  The stress and lack of exercise did not cause you to gain weight.  The only thing that makes you gain weight is eating more calories than you burn.

After surgery there is a honeymoon period where you lose weight no matter what you eat.  The body is not absorbing everything that you put into it.  That malabsorption goes away and now you will absorb everything that you eat.

So it is going to take a lot longer and a lot less food to lose the weight again.  Life is always going to have stress.  People get sick and die.  Financial setbacks occur, jobs change, the weather changes, marriages change, family members share their problems.  None of these things cause you to gain weight unless you stop following your eating plan.

Make a new food plan and stick to it.  Get the best and smartest scale you can afford.  Get on the scale everyday and it will keep you out of denial. Treat your weight loss journey like a college class that you must excel in.  Track your food and exercise.  Use an app like My Fitness Pal and examine your calories, fat, fiber, carbs and protein intake everyday. 

Understand and accept that this is going to take time, probably about on year to lose fifty pounds.  

Food choices are easy.  Eat protein and little else.  If I fix my family a spaghetti dinner, I have a bowl of meatballs and a salad.  No pasta,  no bread, no desserts. 

If I make beef stew, I have a bowl of just the stew meat and a salad.  When I make pork chops, I have a pork chop and some spinach.  For breakfast I have an egg with no toast or just some cheese.

I do not eat rice, potatoes, crackers, cereal, pasta, noodles, bread, sugar, pastry, candy, ice cream or cookies.  I do eat steak, beef, pork, chicken, fish, turkey, hamburger, beans, ham, bacon, eggs, lettuce, spinach, tomatoes, celery, cucumbers, squash, and green peas.  I did not eat the vegetables until after I lost the weight. 

For the first 30 month after surgery I only ate dense protein.  Losing weight was more important to me than eating.

Just to add support to this excellent post:

I have lost 200 lbs with little to no exercise and eating exactly as White Dove has advised.   

You are a great friend to the human race White dove. I could print and post this as a guide to living this lifestyle. My surgeon charges a great deal of money to advise people like this.

I hope that you understand how important this is to us.

When I was 21, the Sunday Parade magazine cover was the Desiderata poem by Max Ehrmann. I saved that page for many years and read it often.

I had just finished beauty school and a Dale Carnegie course and was doing hair.  I talked to so many people who were struggling with life.  Their stories were so similar, but unique to them.

I fought to remain cheerful in spite of what people had shared with  me.  The poem helped me remember what is important.  I set a goal to read one book a month that inspires me. 

Dale Carnegie, Napoleon Hill, and Steven Covey are my favorite authors.

I learned to shut out the noise of other people's discords and to keep a place of peace inside of me.  When I forget and try to control or change others, I just end up unhappy.  I accept each day and know it is my job to take care of myself first and do what I can to help others.

White Dove, you are a very wise person!  

Mary

Wow, thanks, this is very powerful information.  Thanks.

Kim is right about the protein shakes.  Give them away or throw them away.

I maintained for many years without exercising. Now I walk daily for my heart health because I know staying active is good for my heart (but I know my calories consumed determines my weight).

I recommend you get a fitbit or other activity tracker to track your steps. It was eye opening for me.

Perhaps meeting with a nutritionist would help you make better food choices, but limiting your portion size is key.

Best wishes!!

So glad that you are here. OH offers so much help. Keep moving and do what others have said about the protein. Get back to what made you so successful.

Good luck and so glad your heart is better.

Robin