8 yrs post op.... Need to lose 60 Ibs of regained weight....

Hi! Here it is. I'm just going to go ahead and re-post it. I have no magic secret, believe me. I had just started to think maybe I was spamming the board when it comes to addressing regain. But for the record, here you go: =)

okie doke - you asked for it! haha ;) It's a long one. But's it's basically what has worked for me and I've actually kept the second (and hopefully last) regain of 50 pounds off and then lost 10 more:

I'm feeling pretty lazy tonight so I'm just copying the text from one of my prior "regain" posts. My answer is still the same regardless. And fortunately for me I've yet to have a third regain which I know is probably 99& attributable to continuing with the following so here you go:

"1) The number on the scale. Resolve to yourself that you will not, under any cir****tances allow it to go higher. Give yourself a couple of weeks at that number, to reassure yourself that yes, you can hold the line and you do know how to stop the gain. Do whatever it takes. Stop the disappointment of stepping on the scale and seeing even a .2 pound gain. You can do this.

2) Meat. Protein. Non-starchy veggies. The end. That's what you feed your body until you are back where you want to be. It's not forever, but it will take awhile and I actually think that's a good thing. By the time you are back to goal you'll have truly integrated that way of eating. No diets. I don't count calories or proteins or carbs or anything. (Other than sugars - because of severe dumping and RH. But sugars won't be much of a part of your life while you are losing.) I'm not dieting. I didn't go through surgery to spend my life dieting. I just eat differently now.

3) Fluid. Get in as much as you can. I typically drink two to three liters of water a day. That's on top of my diet coke (yes, I drink it daily) and anything else I might drink. It's imperative to flush out built up toxins and keep them flushed out. You don't want a bunch of sludge in your body but if you're not drinking enough water I can guarantee you've got a lot of it.

4) Expect to lose slowly. About four or five pounds per month. It took awhile for you to re-gain 60 pounds. Give yourself that long to lose it. It sounds so desperately slow I know. But slower is better. As I said above, you're building in habits so that you won't be in this spot again. We all know how to lose 30 pounds in month or whatever. And we all know it takes only a week or two to come right back. You are in this for the long term. You will eat this way the rest of your life - with a little more wiggle room when you get to your goal.

5) So much of this is a head game. We feel like since it's going to take a few months we will be in whatever size we are in right now, feeling horribly huge and discouraged, until the whole however many months are over. We tell ourselves that it won't be until then that we feel and look better. Wrong! You will feel better with every pound lost. You will lose clothing sizes along with that horrible worthless feeling all throughout your journey. Yes one day you will get on the scale and see the number you have been waiting for. But things will just be getting better and better during the weeks or months or whatever leading up to that day.

6) Exercise if you want to. Move your body every day even if you don't. Not to earn extra calories to eat, or to burn extra calories. Just because bodies need movement to avoid atrophy. And because it feels good. Walking is great and is all of the exercise I need to be successful.

So that is what I did. Both times I've had to lose regain, that is how I've done it. Obviously I'm human because I had to learn the lesson twice and the second time was even more weight than the first! Life happens and I don't think anyone here would deny that. But we can change. We can do hard things."

Hopefully this helps in some small way. ~amy

Hi B_B

You have already taken the hardest step by saying enough is enough and now I want to get back on track. Here are some steps I hope will help you. They helped me...

Planning/Preparing

Remember when we were preparing for surgery? How many meetings, classes and such did we attend? We were told the more prepared we were the better our chances were for success. And they were right. Go through the house, car and work place and get rid of trigger foods. Stock up on foods that will keep you on track. I removed every bad carb/sugar temptation and replaced it with lots of protein, veggies, grains and fruits.

Journaling

Get back to journaling. This will help you identify when you feel like eating, stress factors and any triggers in your life. Once you identify these factors, this will help you put tools in place to keep you from eating. It became clear I was not taking time for me anymore. I worked my day job and then spent the rest of my time caring for my husband. It was easy to reach for fast, prepackaged food. Since I purged my home I have to eat clean as there are no other options LOL

Use a tool to track you're eating and exercise like Getting Started with Health Tracker. Once I started to track ever bite and drink it became clear why I had gained.

Goals/Rewards

Make a list of goals for yourself. Make them realistic and small. Some of mine were move more, purge all junk from my home, eat more protein.

Food

In general, a long term post-weight loss surgery eating plan includes foods that are high in protein, and low in fat?, calories, and sugar. Important, vitamins and minerals are provided as supplements. (if you had a different surgery adjust this to your food plan).

Water

Water is our Best Friend. I have to say I never went back to pop or any bad drinks, however I was drinking tea like crazy. What is wrong with drinking tea? I was either using sugar or 3 equals and 3 sweet n lows per 32 ounce glass. So I was either pushing to be diabetic or get cancer. I found once I started carrying a bottle of water around 24/7 (yes had one at my bedside) I lost the cravings for the sugar and I KNOW those artificial sweeteners are not good for me. Look I am old and if you add up all the artificial sweeteners I have consumed I am sure I am at the rat in the lab getting cancer threshold.

MOVE!

I can't say enough about how key this was for me. The reason I kept my weight off for almost 10 years was no matter what, I kept moving. If I could not go to the gym I would walk. I loved Zumba, bootcamp workouts, lifting weights. When I stopped, the weight started coming back. So for me I am starting slow to avoid injury by walking and using some of the workouts on my Demand TV. Find something you love to do and it won't feel like a pain in the *** to do daily.

Support

If it's an option "run" don't walk to a support group.

Keep me posted on how you are doing.