What's on your Wednesday Menu?

Agree. For the right person it can make a huge difference in mental health. There are whole days where I wouldn't have gotten up if not for having to take care of the pups. Not everyone loves dogs, and that's okay, but they can definitely be great activity companions and isolation-busters.

Along with what Grim said--adding that something I do, which I know I shouldn't, is after I am full, wait a little, then keep eating. Last night for example, since I hadn't eaten anything all day, when Grim made me dinner, I was starving, so I asked him to give me extra. My tool worked as it should have and I was full long before the plate was clean, but I kept the plate nearby and as my food digested through the pouch, I kept eating more. It took me an hour to eat as much I could have eaten in 10 minutes pre-op, but the calories are the same if you eat it all. There was no reason to keep eating after I was full, except that my head told me "I deserved it" since I hadn't eaten all day.

And the cat, crying at you for more, the whole long while.

I've been doing that because of protein goals. Can't eat enough at once for that so end up with second lunch and such. It's a slippery slope, for sure!

My program told me to stop eating after 30 minutes no matter what and just start the next meal with protein.

From my reading and from people I know have had the surgery, most lose about 100 pounds the first year. That stays off effortlessly for another year or so. Then the body goes into a rebound stage where 20 pounds come on quickly. This may coincide with increased eating, in my case it did not. I started gaining a pound a week. I laughed it off at first but after 12 weeks I took myself back to weigh****chers.

Since then I count calories and always weigh every morning. When people stop weighing they go into denial and finally are afraid to get on the scale. Though the years at Weigh****chers I learned what I can eat to be satisfied, not feel hunger, and not feel deprived. I 100% agree with Grim that 100 excess calories a day equals 10 pounds in a year. About half of people regain 50 pounds by the start of year five. By year ten they have gained more. One day you may look back in disbelief at how little food it took to feel satisfied during that honeymoon period that is the first two years.

It does not get easier. It gets harder. Always be aware that the weight can come back and resolve to fight it for life.

And we all had some underlying reason why we gained so much as to need surgery. Surgery doesn't fix those underlying causes. If we don't address them they will still drive us to overeat.

I regained last fall, a year post surgery 8/9/21. I started eating filler food l like popcorn and got into an afternoon break of Dunkin sugar syrup coffee. I thought what could it really hurt, I'm eating well for my meal****ting protein and liquid goals. I wasnt stepping on the scale. Fast forward a couple months without getting back on track. I was already dealing with depression but it worsened. I stopped posting here. Life became extremely difficult to function. I turned it around at the beginning of winter. Full steam ahead. The support here really helped and continues to help.

That's it in a nutshell.

Off track happens. For a day, a week, a month or more. The important thing is the even harder work you've done at getting back on track. It's a massive mental effort, and you're rocking it.