Oh Man :/
5-1/2 years post op. Had been easily maintaining between 172-178 for several years. Then, I suppose "life intervened."
After caring for my mother (Alzheimer's patient" for seven months until her death, I supposed I took my grief the wrong direction, and started late-night "snacking" as a form of comfort ("comfort food," my eye). In the intervening 2 1/2 months, have shot up 20 pounds - MY fault; can't lay the blame anywhere else >.< . I had stayed away from the scale except for an occasional look to see that I was still within the 170 - 180 range (what I considered "appropriate," even though my original goal was 200 even). Currently at 191 as of yesterday - I stepped on that darned scale 3 times, each time expecting it to be a bad battery or some such.
Nope. The doc's scale was not lying.
So now I am within 9 pounds of what I consider my "alarm weight" of 200. Ordered my wife to clear the cabinets of ALL "bad for you" snack foods, sitting down with our copy of "Life After Gastric Bypass" to write up a shopping list of what IS okay (instead of what I might WANT), broke out the food scale and placed it in a highly visible position on the counter, broke out the journal to start recording EVERYTHING I take in to keep things above board (as well as track protein, fats, and carbs), and asked the kids (as well as the wife) to please, be patient, as I am heading the wrong direction with this and may need some help (as well as moral support!) to turn this back around. >.
on 6/17/18 3:28 pm
You have taken first step reaching out here.... keep reading here and go back to basics.... you are not alone. At least you caught it now and taking important measures getting rid of the crap. You can take it back off if you really want to. My advice to myself too! ;). Protein first and lots of water, all the rules that we did in the beginning. Best to you.
UPDATE: June 15th - 191.7 pounds...this morning (June 25th) - 182.5, net loss of 9 pounds and change, by getting back on the wagon, limiting portions (as I had been taught), keeping a "food diary" of everything eaten, proteins before carbs, throwing away all the garbage with very limited snacking, and the tolerance and understanding of the family. Control - (re)achieved! :D
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. If you didn't make a Weight Loss Surgery bucket list when you first had surgery do it now. GREAT reminder of all the things you can enjoy in life after losing weight.
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. I found once I started carrying one of the metal bottles of water to keep it cold I drank water all day.
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. Grab a cart and walk all the isles at your local box store. 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. Come here on OH daily for support and participate in one of the food threads. It helps you be accountable and also great ideas for food prep.
Keep me posted on how you are doing.
HW:330 - GW:150 - MW:118-125
RW:190 - CW:130
TY SO MUCH for your detailed pot, Kathy! Have already implemented several of your suggestions, but NEED to implement more. NEVER AGAIN - I remember how miserable I was, and vowed never to place myself in that position again! Re-started the food diary, but broke out my "speckled notebook (from grade school, lol) to start the journaling process (which my doctor today requested I do, as well).
Again, thank you for your response - will be back frequently to check in and gain further knowledge!
The one thing that got me, was no matter what I ate (off eating plan) it never tasted as good as I remembered. I tried to let that burn into my brain, Kathy those chips really don't taste as good as you think. Remember last time? It really helped me, also there were times I felt sick. So that darn tool was still working even after 14 years.
YOU GOT THIS! 
HW:330 - GW:150 - MW:118-125
RW:190 - CW:130
