12 1/2 Years Later - 110 lb regain

54 pounds Kim. You are my hero!

I would say to go hardcore all protein very very low carb, like protein and low carb vegetables. Eat more of those Foods if you need to in the beginning to keep yourself from eating the carbs. Like if you are really struggling and need to eat something having some chicken breast and really filling yourself full of dense protein can really help. I'm two years out so not nearly as far out as you are but I already noticed that I can eat carbs all day long. They just don't stick with me at all. But dense protein still fills me up for a long time. Get back on the protein train. You will probably see some significant loss just from the doing that, though eventually you will need to limit your calories more and more to keep losing. Check in here every day on the accountability threads. It really does help!

Hello Rachael,

We are so sorry for all you have gone through Sounds like you have gone through one challenge at a time and came out on the other side stronger than ever!

You have already taken the hardest step by saying enough is enough and now I want to get back on track. I maintained 118-125 for over 10 years after losing 200 pounds. Due to a personal tragedy I gained and hit the 190 mark a year ago. After several starts it finally clicked and I am back to goal losing 70 pounds of regain. Here are some steps that helped me and I hope they will help you too! You may have several starts and stops but don't give up, don't beat yourself up. IT WILL CLICK!!! Our tool works if we work the tool and get back to the basics.

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. Take care, Kathy

Not to burst anybody's bubble but coming from a place of health and sustainability, I would NOT go directly to eating sub 1200 cals.

Right now you are most likely eating upwards 2000-3000 cals / day to have gained weight. The last thing you want to do is drop quickly where you might loose at first but after weeks or months your metabolism will adapt and you will plateau. The best would be to track how many cals you're eating now, cut that by daily increments of 200-300 cals per day. Once you plateau, at least you have wiggle room and can reduce a little more. The reason most people experience regain after years is because it is not sustainable to eat 700-800 cals for the rest of our lives. Eventually we need to start increasing our cals slowly so that it does become sustainable. For example,

I am 5 years post op and have always maintained between 138-140 for the past 3 years. I'm very active and have built quite a lot of muscle mass (body fat is at 14%) and maintain on approx. 1800 cals. Which means if I have a "bad meal" here and there, I can fit it in my daily cals ans my body will not hold onto those calories because it knows I'm not in starvation mode.

What our doctors tell us after surgery is so incredibly dated and not sustainable. They need real dietician to teach us the real mechanics of food and our bodies.

I will respectfully disagree with you.

It's great if you can maintain your loss on 1800 calories, but there's absolutely no way I could. I gain at anything over 950 cal/40 g carbs. To lose at a decent rate, I must be under 750 calories. I am sure of my numbers because I have over 1800 days meticulously logged.

Starvation mode has been proved to be a myth. It doesn't exist. If it did, anorexics and concentration camp victims would be chubby.

I have lost 220 pounds and maintain between 132 and 140 pounds at 5'5" eating what you describe as "unsustainable" -- going on five years.

Again, I don't doubt your experience, and you are very fortunate to be able to maintain as you do -- but it is not the truth for everyone, nor arguably the majority.

I could have never jumped from under 1000 cals to 1800 right after losing my weight. It's not starvation mode, it's metabolic adaptation. It's a very slow process but by gradually increasing in tiny little increments over time, you can adapt your body to sustain on more (or less calories).

All to say on the case of the person asking the original question... LAST thing I would do is go from what's she's eating now (assuming it's 2000-3000 cals) and drop to under 1000. She needs to go gradually cause once you plateau, you have nowhere lower to go.

Again, I won't deny your experience.

However, this is definitely not everyone's.

I would not go on all shakes - you need real food. I think it is important to keep your protein numbers high- at least 100g a day so if you use a shake as an in-between meal while still eating food, for me that works.

I would keep a food diary even on paper and just evaluate what you are doing now. Personally I would do a step down method with calories- shave 500 off to start then see how you are doing, keep cutting back to find a level that works for you.

Dense protein first will make a difference.

Hi, letting you know this website has a new article to read regarding regain. Click on "latest articles" under the "Resources" tab. Also, type in the word "regain" in the search bar and you will have even more interesting read. To answer your questions: "Should I go back to original regime?" If you think it would help reset your way of thinking and help you remember what the post-op lifestyle is all about, why not? Maybe doing so would bring back memories of how strong your determination was and can be again. "Has anything particular worked for anyone else?" Yes, seeing a therapist helped one support group member recently. Another support group member reported joining a medically-ran weight loss program---she lost all 50 pounds of regain within six months time. "...is metabolism trashed after a certain amount of time..." I think what trashed metabolism might be referring to is the honeymoon period where malabsorption of calories is highest the first 12-18 months after WLS. After that, it is back to the usual quality of calories in and degree of calories burned.

Congrats on your continued recovery.

There is no doubt that you can lose regain -- there are many people here who have. It's hard work, but you absolutely can do it.