Been gone awhile-Have a few questions??

I had my surgery March 2004.  I have gained and went back to my old ways.  I started the 5 day pouch test today.  What vitamins, etc. do you recommend I get back on??  I have quit everything that I learned but I want to get back on track.  Any help getting me back started would be appreciated. I have spent the last 30 minutes reading posts to get back motivated.  I never lost down to where I wanted to lose and just got depressed but I am ready to get back on track! Susan

Hey Susan, looks like we gained the same amount....I too quit everything I learned, but found it all coming back to me after some serious refocus. My best peice of advice to you would be protein, protein, protein. As far as vitamins, what did you take originally? I could think of no better place to get motivated!! Godo Luck

Thanks for helping me! Susan

I like building blocks, and vista vitamins .  Both are on my profile under vitamins. Vista vitamins come in packages so you can take them with you. I'd go back to the basics...and clean out the junk from the house.  Join an accountability weight loss group and admit , that like me, you are a food addict.  You have to find out your trigger.  Why are you eating?  What are you hiding from?  Why are you deliberately hurting yourself? Getting over years of bad behavior is hard...butnot impossible. I know you can do it.  But do it for you.  You are worth it. have at least two protein drinks a day, and stick with dense proteins.  No white carbs, no puddings, potatoes, starches....just stay away from them.  Protein, fruits and veges only. you can do this..... cheering you on! Blessings, Tami

This was very helpful!  Thanks!

Susan, You're SO not alone!  If you've been reading the Grads board, you KNOW how many of us are struggling to maintain or to re-lose weight and get back on track.  I am dealing with approx. the same amount of gain as you are, and I'm not giving up!   I so regret letting the bad carbs creep back into my life (I did great until close to 2 yrs. post-op) because  it's been a struggle ever since.  Unfortunately, I don't dump.  And, unfortunately, as long as I try to fool myself into thinking I can handle bad carbs in moderation, I know I'll continue to struggle.  It's hard for me to face the fact that I really can't handle them and just flat-out need to go back to how I ate at a year post-op.  I take a very basic vitamin regimen, which probably makes some Grads gasp, but all I take each day are 2 Chewable Centrum vits  and 1000-1500 mg (depending on how well I remember) of calcium citrate w/ magnesium.  (Divide the calcium into 3 doses, as we only absorb about 400-500 mg at one time, and don't take them at the same time as the multi-vitamin.)  Several times a week I take a 500 mcg sublingual B12.  I just had my 3-yr. labs done, and my stats were good in all areas except my folate level (folic acid), so right now I am also taking a daily 1 mg tablet of folate.   Keep coming to this board; I think it helps me to know everyone is going through this.  Well, not everyone--there are some who have found a very successful maintenance lifestyle--I greatly admire them and try to use their success as an encouragement.  Good luck to you!

Thanks for all the info!!  This was very helpful!!  Coming here will help make me accountable- Susan

Hi, Susan!  I'm just over 2 years out and, so far, am still losing 2-3 pounds per month, and have managed to avoid any regain (other than regular day-to-day weight fluctuations).  Here's my tips for getting back on track and staying there: 1.  Keep track of your food intake every day.  Find a way to make it easy, like using fitday.com or sparkpeople.com.  If you have a PDA/Palm Pilot, you can buy tracking software from calorieking.com.   2.  Go back to basics.  Eat lean proteins first, then veggies, then good carbs (whole grains, beans, fresh fruits, fresh veggies, etc.).  3.   Detox yourself from processed carbs; go cold turkey (no white breads, chips, pretzels, pasta, potatoes, rice, cookies, cakes, etc.).  You may get to a point where you can eat limited amounts of these things, but if you are like many folks, eating some processed carbs leads to eating more processed carbs.  That, in turn, leads to weight gain for many of us.  I eat processed carbs as an occasional treat, but they are not part of my day-to-day food plan.  4.  Start exercising.  Whether it's walking, riding a bike, going to the gym, etc. - find something you enjoy and start doing it!  I've been exercising 5-6 times per week since I was about 2 months out, and frankly I think continuing to exercise is the key for keeping off the weight.  It has so many health benefits - improved cardiovascular health, increased metabolism, burns off calories, etc.   5.  Make a daily food plan in the morning and stick with it.  I eat 6-7 times per day, 150-300 calories at a time (fewer calories for snacks, more calories for meals).  I take 5 minutes in the morning to make a plan for what I'm going to eat that day, then I pack those things to take to work, and I'm out the door.  It took me a while to figure out what worked for me, and I eventually landed on eating smaller amounts every 2 hours or so.  This keeps me from ever getting super hungry.  It also helps keep me from grazing, because I know I've got another planned meal/snack just around the corner.  As a bit of additional background, I started at 396; I currently weigh 197 and would like to get down to 170 before having plastics.  I eat around 2000-2200 calories per day; if I were not exercising 6-7 times per week, I estimate that I would have to cut my daily calorie intake down to around 1700-1900 calories per day.   I hope some of this information is helpful.  Good luck getting yourself back on track! Kellie

Thanks so much for the information!!!  that was really helpful-Do you take any type of vitamin/calcium etc.?  Also, what do you snack on?  I am an elementary teacher and it is hard to find something to snack on during the day.  This was really helpful! Susan All the others were very helpful too!  Thanks for the support-

Susan, it's me again.  I agree w/ everything Kellie said above--great post! I too want to emphasize the importance of exercise.  I HATE . . . and I mean really hate . . . exercise, but I make myself do it.  I belong to a nice gym, where I either just go do my own thing (cardio and/or strength/weight machines) or I go to some of the classes, which are free to members.  The ones I go to are either the circuit (combo cardio/weight) or body sculpting.  I have to force myself to go each time--LOL!  I really like the people there and like the gym itself, but I just hate to exercise, in spite of the multitude of benefits!  My first 2 years post-op, I was very faithful to it, going 5-7 times a week; however, at this point, I've slacked off and only go 3-4 times (probably more often only 3 and occasionally a really bad week w/ less).  However, each week I really try to get out at least once and take a long brisk walk for about an hr.  Over the summer, a couple girlfriends & I also rode bikes in the evening once or twice a week--not "speed riding," just casual--but at least it was activity!  I know that if I didn't exercise at least as much as I do, I'd be in worse shape than I am as far as re-gain goes. Also, the calcium citrate I take is liquid.  I hate the big c.c. pills that are out there.  Mine is called "Liquid Calcium Magnesium Citrate" and the brand is Bluebonnet.  I don't have the exact link, but I get it on-line from House of Nutrition, so you could Google that if you're interested.  I get a 16 oz. bottle for anywhere from $8-$12, depending on if they're having a promotional (which they are right now).  They have a couple different flavors; I prefer the blueberry.   As far as snacks, for shear ease of eating, I absolutely love the South Beach High Protein Cereal Bar (rather than the SB Meal Replacement Bars).  At Walmart, they're in the cereal aisle.  They have 140 cal/10 g. protein.  Of course, I always think "real food" is probably the best--some cheese w/ couple apple slices, a handful of almonds eaten slowly one at a time, or even a s.f. pudding w/ some choc protein powder added.  When I'm eating right, I always make sure a snack has some kind of significant protein. Best of luck--hang in there--we all have to just keep fighting the fight!