7 YRS POST OP: Sometimes Life just Happens and you lose control!
Well I now have two dogs both new since surgery- mwe lost the other two.
the oldest spca rescue is a lab-american bulldog with hypothyroidism- a big boy 85 lbs
the newest spca rescue is an Egyptian Pharoah hound mix that is the fastest thing on four feet I think he could outrace a greyhound...........skinny skinny thing..
so the answer is if I worked out more like Bolt the pharoah hound than like Blaze the big boy I would be skinnier too.
the oldest spca rescue is a lab-american bulldog with hypothyroidism- a big boy 85 lbs
the newest spca rescue is an Egyptian Pharoah hound mix that is the fastest thing on four feet I think he could outrace a greyhound...........skinny skinny thing..
so the answer is if I worked out more like Bolt the pharoah hound than like Blaze the big boy I would be skinnier too.
Gratitude is my attitude 
Amanda-DS October 2001
highest >350/342 start of wls journey/ 192 @8years
Amanda-DS October 2001
highest >350/342 start of wls journey/ 192 @8years
Hi everyone, this is a great thread. I am new to this board. Had open gastric bypass in March, 2004, so closing in on 6 years. My weight at a.m. of surgery was around the 360 mark; lost down to 138 (lowest weight) and am now staying between 155 and 160. Would give anything to get back to 140-145 but it seems no matter how I eat, no matter how much exercise I manage to get in, the scale won't budge - except to go up a few lbs. I am trying to let go of my discouragement and fear and focus more on acceptance. The only absolute constant in life is CHANGE. Nothing ever stays the same, including what the scale says. I believe a lot of how successful we are at the maintenance stage depends on several factors: how much we weighed before surgery (the more we weighed, the easier it was to lose but the harder it is to maintain); how long we were super morbidly obese before surgery (in my case, more than 3 decades at a weight that vacilated between 350-400 lbs.) - these things will dictate how your metabolism is working - or not - now...my metabolism is shot to hell, my body just doesn't know what to do in response to any of it anymore; so the struggle is almost impossible for me. But I will not give up. I still hope to get back to 140-145, but in the meantime, I must ACCEPT gratefully where I am right now, this minute. And move my body, often, and hard, and in a way that brings me joy. This is my measure of success - I am able to move. I wish you all peace in your continued journey. Thanks for this post. Maureen
Heather, I hope you'll read this and not discount the advise just because I'm not as far out as you...
First, congrats for doing a great job - according to most surgeon's you are a success, so don't allow youreself to think differently.
My suggestion would be to go back to the basics... I may not have walked in your exact shoes and still have those years ahead to face, but can tell you that I know all about school, studying, sleeping; rinse, lather repeat each day. Only difference is, I did as a single mom and working full time. You just have to decide to make changes and plan your meals out better. Not easy, it's hard and takes additional effort.
But, sometimes by looking back you can plan ahead. If you have a journal from that early time, take a minute and go back to read what you wrote - what was your mindset, what are you doing differently then from now?
1) Track what you're eating - you can't fix what you don't know is broken. Basics number one - focus on protein, get processed carbs out, no soda!!! You need to determine exactly how manya calories, fat, carbs, protein, etc. that you're eating daily. Track a 'normal' week for you to see how your impression stacks up to reality.
2) Go back to weighing what you eat - portion it the night before into snack sizes ziploc baggies. To increase my iron intake, I've recently added Cheerios to my diet - I measure and package 1 cup into a baggie a day. Takes care of the crunch craving I have and it's a healthy snack.
3) Eat more fruit if possible - high in fiber, keeps you full longer and it's good you plus easy to carry when at school. I know it's a 'duh' thing, but amazing how many people don't think about it
4) Eat on a smaller plate when at home - if you've reverted to full sized plates, go back to salad plates. It really does help with portion control - mind thing I know but effective.
Please don't flame me for responding and I hope you can find some nugget of information here from this "honeymooner" as you've referred to others...
First, congrats for doing a great job - according to most surgeon's you are a success, so don't allow youreself to think differently.
My suggestion would be to go back to the basics... I may not have walked in your exact shoes and still have those years ahead to face, but can tell you that I know all about school, studying, sleeping; rinse, lather repeat each day. Only difference is, I did as a single mom and working full time. You just have to decide to make changes and plan your meals out better. Not easy, it's hard and takes additional effort.
But, sometimes by looking back you can plan ahead. If you have a journal from that early time, take a minute and go back to read what you wrote - what was your mindset, what are you doing differently then from now?
1) Track what you're eating - you can't fix what you don't know is broken. Basics number one - focus on protein, get processed carbs out, no soda!!! You need to determine exactly how manya calories, fat, carbs, protein, etc. that you're eating daily. Track a 'normal' week for you to see how your impression stacks up to reality.
2) Go back to weighing what you eat - portion it the night before into snack sizes ziploc baggies. To increase my iron intake, I've recently added Cheerios to my diet - I measure and package 1 cup into a baggie a day. Takes care of the crunch craving I have and it's a healthy snack.
3) Eat more fruit if possible - high in fiber, keeps you full longer and it's good you plus easy to carry when at school. I know it's a 'duh' thing, but amazing how many people don't think about it
4) Eat on a smaller plate when at home - if you've reverted to full sized plates, go back to salad plates. It really does help with portion control - mind thing I know but effective.
Please don't flame me for responding and I hope you can find some nugget of information here from this "honeymooner" as you've referred to others...
Lisa from Texas - Go Aggies Go!!!
Before/atWLS/Current
313/290/150
Heather, I'm 7 years out too. My RNY was 9/02. I lost 170 pounds initially, from a size 32 down to a 12, which for me was fabulous. It's odd I see some people wearing a size 12 & they look really large, it must be the way you carry the weight.
About two years out I gained 12 pounds and went up a dress size. I kept telling myself it's just 12 pounds, I'll get it off. I didn't. Then I was put on medicine that made me gain 30 pounds in a little over 6 weeks. I cried & cried, told the doctor I could have been eating donuts if I'd wanted to gain weight. Anyway, I joined Weigh****chers, lost about 10-11 pounds and went off the program.
Looking back I realize I had put so much energy into dieting & just emotionally couldn't do it again. So eventually I was up to a size 18. Now a 20 & it's tight. I decided time to STOP! I tried the 5 day pouch test, made it almost through the first night and was so hungry I couldn't stand it.
So I ate some cheese & two sugar free Popsicles. Yesterday I had around 75-80 grams of protein, with all the protein shakes I consumed. The result.........this morning I'd dropped 4 pounds.
I think you just have to get the mindset I'm not going to be one of those *****gain EVERY pound they lost. I don't want to be fat again & I'm feeling it. So I'm determined to get it off. I'm back on the protein train, which seems to be the only thing that really works for me. I tried low fat, etc. & I need high protein.
So please, think about where you're going to be 6 months from now if you don't stop eating. Instead eat the right foods for us, carry cheese with you, hard boiled eggs to munch on. I bought some little bags of Babybel cheese which are 6 grams of protein & carb free. Carry a can of Atkins shakes in your purse. They have 15 grams of protein & only 1 carb. And blend up whey protein shakes. The PROTEIN makes the difference for us. We have to get back to the original mindset we had 7 years ago when we risk our lives to have this surgery. We have the tool, we just need to use it. I hope this helps, I soooo understand how you feel.........Nancy
About two years out I gained 12 pounds and went up a dress size. I kept telling myself it's just 12 pounds, I'll get it off. I didn't. Then I was put on medicine that made me gain 30 pounds in a little over 6 weeks. I cried & cried, told the doctor I could have been eating donuts if I'd wanted to gain weight. Anyway, I joined Weigh****chers, lost about 10-11 pounds and went off the program.
Looking back I realize I had put so much energy into dieting & just emotionally couldn't do it again. So eventually I was up to a size 18. Now a 20 & it's tight. I decided time to STOP! I tried the 5 day pouch test, made it almost through the first night and was so hungry I couldn't stand it.
So I ate some cheese & two sugar free Popsicles. Yesterday I had around 75-80 grams of protein, with all the protein shakes I consumed. The result.........this morning I'd dropped 4 pounds.
I think you just have to get the mindset I'm not going to be one of those *****gain EVERY pound they lost. I don't want to be fat again & I'm feeling it. So I'm determined to get it off. I'm back on the protein train, which seems to be the only thing that really works for me. I tried low fat, etc. & I need high protein.
So please, think about where you're going to be 6 months from now if you don't stop eating. Instead eat the right foods for us, carry cheese with you, hard boiled eggs to munch on. I bought some little bags of Babybel cheese which are 6 grams of protein & carb free. Carry a can of Atkins shakes in your purse. They have 15 grams of protein & only 1 carb. And blend up whey protein shakes. The PROTEIN makes the difference for us. We have to get back to the original mindset we had 7 years ago when we risk our lives to have this surgery. We have the tool, we just need to use it. I hope this helps, I soooo understand how you feel.........Nancy
Heather, I am 5.5 years out and I totally understand. I am 5'4 and got down to 145 (and since I'm kind of large boned) I looked really thin and could wear a 10 easily; sometimes an 8 depending on the designer.
And I stayed under 150 with minimal changes, virtually no exercise, etc. for nearly 4 years.
In the last 18 months, I've gained 20 pounds and I've crept up to a 12-14 and I'm not liking it much..
I'm going to be brutally honest about myself and tell you that I have fallen back into the fast food, sugar, no exercise routine and I KNOW that's killing me. And while I swore I wouldn't do it, I've quit taking my vitamins and supplements. I think that not taking your supplements the way you are supposed to may have a big impact on your metabolism, weight gain and hunger issues.
I made up my mind this morning to get back on track. I've watched my calories, got my (larger) derrier back on the treadmill and took all the supplements as ordered. (Ridiculous that I don't do it more regularly since they're in my desk drawer here in my office).
Life just gets busy - and we fell normal - we forget where we came from and why we had surgery in the first place.
You're on track with the quanitity of walking, but is it "intentional" or just as it happens? And you may need to change to a different activity as our bodies get accustomed to the routine and get way more efficient at not noticing or responding.
Hang in there - post occasionally and I'll try to check in periodically too. It's tough to find people this far out who are willing to talk and we need the mutual support.
Julie
And I stayed under 150 with minimal changes, virtually no exercise, etc. for nearly 4 years.
In the last 18 months, I've gained 20 pounds and I've crept up to a 12-14 and I'm not liking it much..
I'm going to be brutally honest about myself and tell you that I have fallen back into the fast food, sugar, no exercise routine and I KNOW that's killing me. And while I swore I wouldn't do it, I've quit taking my vitamins and supplements. I think that not taking your supplements the way you are supposed to may have a big impact on your metabolism, weight gain and hunger issues.
I made up my mind this morning to get back on track. I've watched my calories, got my (larger) derrier back on the treadmill and took all the supplements as ordered. (Ridiculous that I don't do it more regularly since they're in my desk drawer here in my office).
Life just gets busy - and we fell normal - we forget where we came from and why we had surgery in the first place.
You're on track with the quanitity of walking, but is it "intentional" or just as it happens? And you may need to change to a different activity as our bodies get accustomed to the routine and get way more efficient at not noticing or responding.
Hang in there - post occasionally and I'll try to check in periodically too. It's tough to find people this far out who are willing to talk and we need the mutual support.
Julie
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