1 Year Anniversary = Discouraged

I will be one year post surgery on April 14th and I thought I was doing great.. I had lost 86 lbs and was feeling amazing and in the last 2 months that has totally changed. I have started gaining weight back.. I had started running again only to have to quite due to an injury.  I no longer get full on 3 bites of food so now I feel like I am eating to much and with the weight gain I certainly feel like I am doing something wrong. Anyone having the same struggles?? or could let me in on your daily menus and habits??

I'll bet you're going to get a bunch of replies to this one! Yes, I definitely have similar struggles, as so so many people that I've seen on this board.  In my case, I think it's a combination of diet fatigue (so sick of tracking everything!) and carb-addiction sneakily working its way back into my life. It's amazing how a little bite here and a little bite there add up and start to cause problems.  Also, exercise doesn't seem to help me with weight loss much, but it helps with overall fitness, so focus on the food first.

Regardless of why it's happening, the only solution is to get back on the horse and go back to weighing and tracking everything like you did after surgery, with emphasis on protein.  It's really hard to do after slacking for a while, but I'm working on it (2 yrs post-op).  

Others have said that drinking tons of water is super helpful - I've never been successful at drinking mass quantities, but I get my 80+ oz in between coffee (lots) and water.  I suspect that the sugar-free creamer in my many cups of coffee is triggering some cravings for me, but that's a tough one for me to give up!

You're super smart recognizing this issue so quickly, so you'll be nipping it in the bud if you can make a correction and get back on track - this is a life-long endeavor.  You've got lots of company. :)   Good luck!

Oh for sure diet fatigue is such a real thing for me.. I hate weighing everything and counting calories and trying to figure out how may calories each item is. I know that I still can't eat much but it was like a switch was flipped and I can eat double what I could 4 months ago. I try to eat slow and once I feel that I am getting full I stop. Weight has always been a huge struggle for me. And to top the weight gain off I have a few friends that have had the same surgery and its hard to compare myself to them because I get very disappointed as they have done amazing.  

Thank you for your support and kind words!!

Jaime 

Hi again Jaime,

I just read your other reply where you describe what you're eating.  One thing that I noticed is the coffee with fat-free creamer.  Fat-free or low-fat usually means massive-carbs because they have to add something yummy to make up for the lack of fat.  Can you switch to a sugar-free creamer?  Your overall carbs look really high.  I'd suggest skipping the whole low-fat thing and focus on going really low-carb and of course control overall calories. For me, carbs make me crave more carbs and also put me in a funk for a while (which makes me want to eat too) - I realize not everyone has the same reaction, but something to consider.

In terms of the quantity that you're able to eat, it could be that you're slipping into eating "slider food" instead of dense protein.  Frisco has a wonderful post that has been reposted numerous times, so search for "pyloric valve 101" on this board for an excellent lesson on how to maximize the benefits of your sleeve. Finally, be sure to use a tracker like myfitnesspal to get an accurate measure of your daily intake - it can so easily get to be way more than you suspect!

Hang in there!! :)

Scott I'm glad you're reaching out. You've definitely got some serious red flags here, with the first and most important one being that you're actually gaining and the second being that you don't seem to know how much you're actually eating. This combo means that you're eating waaaaay too many calories at this stage. 

Before we can offer any concrete advice, could you give us an idea of what a day's food looks like?  Choices and approximate amounts of you know them? Also how much weight have you gained over the past two months?

Sure thing!! First off its Jaime but this sight was being picky with my name..  My daily food.. Yogurt or oat meal every morning at 5 am.. Large coffee (24oz) with a fat free flavored creamer.  A handful of mixed nuts at about 10 to 1030 to hold me over until 12 and then usually my lunch is salad with chicken and beans (1 cup) or sandwich meat and cheese approximately 3 slices. Then I don't eat until dinner which is anywhere from 5 to 7 at night and dinner all depends but I make sure I use a small plate and/or a small bowl. I do have a terrible time drinking enough water I force myself daily to drink at least 40 oz not including coffee.  I know that my down fall is having a ****tail here and there probably 3 times a week. I have gained 10 pounds over the last 2 months and I know that isnt huge however it is when weight is a constant struggle. 

Thanks Jaime!  a few comments for you to consider. The first is going to be a heavy and that is to gain 10 pounds in two months is a lot. An awful lot!

It tells me you're eating a lot more than you realize and you need to start weighing and measuring to ensure correct portion size. Your choices are also rather light on the protein front and there's not a lot of dense protein in the mix either. Start with a couple of weeks of eating nothing but dense protein and then start weighing out 3-4 oz. You may add a small portion of low carb veg after that.

The ****tails are not conducive to weight loss and are likely a factor in your early regain. They are loaded with empty calories and alcohol often leads to unplanned eating too. Would you mind sharing your starting weight, what you weigh now and your goal weight?

I started out at 236 and I am now at 160 and my goal was 140 to 150 I had gotten down to 150 but I am now back to 160. Can you please elaborate on what Dense Protein is?? I guess I thought that since I was adding beans and chicken to most of my meals that I was getting the protein I needed. 

Okay, so you're within striking distance of your goal, which is great. If you make some changes now, you should easily be able to lose those 10 pounds you gained and as many more as you would like to lose. 

By dense protein, I mean primarily cooked servings of meat. Any kind of meat. Fish is okay too, but not as dense as meat. Meat will really show you your restriction, while yogurt (soft protein) will not.  If you want an egg for breakfast, make an omelette topped with shredded meat.  Focus on eating 3 oz of meat per meal, add a few bites of low carb veggies if you want. At your current weight and knowing where you want to go, you should be eating 800 cals max daily. It's actually not hard to eat 600 if you're only eating dense protein. 

Hi Jamie,  first, cut out the drinks - you know which ones.  those are taboo!!! I'm a big drinker - well used to be.  It was nothing for me to polish off a bottle of wine - and when I would pour myself a glass of wine - It wouldn't be 4 oz's, but closer to 8 in a nice tall glass, so be careful, if you're going to drink, keep to the 1oz of booze and 4oz of wine.  keep to the portion sizes.  I also find when I drink, I eat mindlessly - forgetting that i already ate and I would start grazing..  grazing can be another issue, that might be going on that you're not aware of.  1 other thing, I would pop a cheese stick in before dinner.  that seems like a long time to go without food, that maybe you're overeating at dinner.  hang in there, do what others have said.. weigh and measure.  you've got this and we're all here for you!!