Can't stop eating!
Help me, friends! I am only a few years out. I have gained about twenty pounds in the last few months. It is all my fault because I can't stop eating. I want sugar all the time and literally know what it is doing but can't stop.I feel like a piece of crap with tremendous guilt. I feel like I did before the surgery. I can't get in control. Any suggestions?Thanks!
Mary Catherine
on 1/30/11 3:17 am
on 1/30/11 3:17 am
First this is normal behavior. For almost everyone, the lowest BMI reached after RNY is attained at 24 months. By 30 months the whole novelty of losing weight has worn off and sticking to a program is boring. In the beginning the inability to eat much, the malabsorption from the RNY and the whole excitement of losing weight and having people make a fuss over that makes the journey fun and easy.
After two years, people are used to how you look, you are used to the new life, and you also have an elated sense that you have been totally CURED of the disease of obesity. You now feel that you can go back to eating like a normal person and that means lots of sugar, simple carbs, and larger portions. You no longer are content with one taste of birthday cake, you want the whole piece and maybe one or two more pieces. Dumping generally wears off of becomes quite controllable. I dump, but know exactly how much I can push the envelope and avoid it.
The loss of calorie malabsorption during year three after the surgery results in an average weight gain of 20 bounceback pounds. That leaves you feeling pretty upset about all those small size clothes that are now too tight. There are no easy answers. For me, I cannot motivate myself to go back to basics and eat like I did after my surgery. I don't want the protein drinks anymore.
Here are some answers. I don't know which will work for you, but think it over. I went to a therapist and talked though the issues. I also went back to Weigh****chers. I work out for several hours most days. I just finished reading the new book by Gary Taubes, Why We Get Fat and What To Do About It.
I do know that if I don't get back in control, that I am in danger of regaining everything that I lost and more. Knowing that can happen does give me the incentive to work on fixing things for myself.
I have not lost the extra 15 pounds that I picked up last year, but I have lost the guilt. I am still eating sugar and crackers and just not eating healthy meals. I get away with that because I live alone. I know that is the wrong thing to do, but I am allowing myself time to work through these issues without guilt. I still know what I have to do and am working on getting it all figured out so that I do not gain anymore weight and so that I can once again eat healthy. I truly believe that everyone who has RNY has to deal with this phase and that it is just another part of the overall journey to keep a lean and healthy body.
After two years, people are used to how you look, you are used to the new life, and you also have an elated sense that you have been totally CURED of the disease of obesity. You now feel that you can go back to eating like a normal person and that means lots of sugar, simple carbs, and larger portions. You no longer are content with one taste of birthday cake, you want the whole piece and maybe one or two more pieces. Dumping generally wears off of becomes quite controllable. I dump, but know exactly how much I can push the envelope and avoid it.
The loss of calorie malabsorption during year three after the surgery results in an average weight gain of 20 bounceback pounds. That leaves you feeling pretty upset about all those small size clothes that are now too tight. There are no easy answers. For me, I cannot motivate myself to go back to basics and eat like I did after my surgery. I don't want the protein drinks anymore.
Here are some answers. I don't know which will work for you, but think it over. I went to a therapist and talked though the issues. I also went back to Weigh****chers. I work out for several hours most days. I just finished reading the new book by Gary Taubes, Why We Get Fat and What To Do About It.
I do know that if I don't get back in control, that I am in danger of regaining everything that I lost and more. Knowing that can happen does give me the incentive to work on fixing things for myself.
I have not lost the extra 15 pounds that I picked up last year, but I have lost the guilt. I am still eating sugar and crackers and just not eating healthy meals. I get away with that because I live alone. I know that is the wrong thing to do, but I am allowing myself time to work through these issues without guilt. I still know what I have to do and am working on getting it all figured out so that I do not gain anymore weight and so that I can once again eat healthy. I truly believe that everyone who has RNY has to deal with this phase and that it is just another part of the overall journey to keep a lean and healthy body.
Very well said!!! 
God bless! 
Mary Catherine
on 1/31/11 12:36 am
on 1/31/11 12:36 am
There are many people who eat all of the time. Years ago, Weigh****chers used to have lectures about eating styles. People who ate all of the time were grazers. They suggested that grazers break down the food that was needed for the day into small grazing sized portions. What that meant was that if you ate five snacks during the afternoon that had enough calories for half of your dinner, then you had a dinner with the other half of the calories.
If you were going to have a 500 calorie dinner and then had 250 calories in snacks during the afternoon, then you would have a 250 calorie dinner instead. This was years before their points system. Weigh****chers could be a good tool for you to use right now. Being weighed by someone that is writing it down can be a great motivator to control your weight. Their points system is extremely flexible and I have no problem adjusting it to my lower carb and higher protein requirements.
There are always ways to work with your body to attain your goals It does not have to be a punishing routine. I live alone and almost never eat a full meal. I prefer to graze. I have learned that if I want to really control grazing, then I cannot have crackers or candy available to me. If I graze on protein, like a turkey breast, then I am not very hungry and do not gain weight.
If you were going to have a 500 calorie dinner and then had 250 calories in snacks during the afternoon, then you would have a 250 calorie dinner instead. This was years before their points system. Weigh****chers could be a good tool for you to use right now. Being weighed by someone that is writing it down can be a great motivator to control your weight. Their points system is extremely flexible and I have no problem adjusting it to my lower carb and higher protein requirements.
There are always ways to work with your body to attain your goals It does not have to be a punishing routine. I live alone and almost never eat a full meal. I prefer to graze. I have learned that if I want to really control grazing, then I cannot have crackers or candy available to me. If I graze on protein, like a turkey breast, then I am not very hungry and do not gain weight.
good morning i am starting my bad habits again i am 4 years out i have gained back 20lb in this last year i was thinking about going back to ww also can you let me know how you are doing i know i can eat about anything right now so i think if i try th ww system it would help thank yo so mych for your response have a good day
Mary Catherine
on 2/4/11 8:31 pm
on 2/4/11 8:31 pm
The Weigh****cher system probably is the smartest thing that we can do for ourselves. Many of us seem to tend to be all or nothing dieters. We are either on a strict system or we are eating everything in sight. Weigh****chers has changed their points system so that there is no problem using it with weight loss surgery food restrictions.
At the moment, I am not going. I seem to have also stablized my weight. I am trying to make sure that I eat good meals with mostly protein, Carbs do not often cause me to dump, but they do cause me to crave more carbs.
Weigh****chers gives you a good way to track what you are eating and your exercise. It gives you the accountability of being weighed every week. It also helps because you go to meetings, learn many recipes and tips for eating well and also can develop friends at the meetings who you enjoy seeing.
Our pouches are tools. Weigh****chers is a tool. A hammer is a tool. If you don't pick up the hammer and use it, then the tool is useless.
At the moment, I am not going. I seem to have also stablized my weight. I am trying to make sure that I eat good meals with mostly protein, Carbs do not often cause me to dump, but they do cause me to crave more carbs.
Weigh****chers gives you a good way to track what you are eating and your exercise. It gives you the accountability of being weighed every week. It also helps because you go to meetings, learn many recipes and tips for eating well and also can develop friends at the meetings who you enjoy seeing.
Our pouches are tools. Weigh****chers is a tool. A hammer is a tool. If you don't pick up the hammer and use it, then the tool is useless.
I'm struggling too, but I did notice on my pre-surgery weight loss that the less I ate, the less hungry I became. It wasn't until I cut my intake by half that I was fairly satisfied. I think it was because I was (and still am) diabetic. I was getting incorrect signals from my endocrine system or something like that.
Now that I am a year out and eating more, I am more Hungary than when i was on the way down with the baby pouch.
Now that I am a year out and eating more, I am more Hungary than when i was on the way down with the baby pouch.
55# Lost pre Surgery on 2/15/10, 100+ # lost post surgery
I suggest appyling the principles of "French Women Don't get Fat" to everyone. EAT - eat good stuff and don't feel guilty about it. But as a rule, watch your portions and make sure you're getting in good quality protein and fats. The feeling of defeat and guilt are extremely counter productive and they sabotage your best efforts. Savoring food, deciding that you're worth nothing but the best produce, meat and chocolate - eating slowly, (at the table I might add) and not drinking your calories on a regular basis? That all DOES work.
I focus on eating lean proteins and veggies - and let the rest be. But I also track myself on myfitnesspal.com. Complacency equals gain. I'm not saying 'go on a diet' but you really do have to monitor yourself. Our problems with obesity never go away. Just like an addict of other substances have to be dilligent so do we!
Forgive yourself. Instill healthier habits. (Get to the gym!! Quit eating those slider carbs!) and move on. The weight will take care of itself. Whatever you do - don't crash diet. You set yourself up for failure. You can't eat for happiness and beauty and have it turn out any other way than positive!
I focus on eating lean proteins and veggies - and let the rest be. But I also track myself on myfitnesspal.com. Complacency equals gain. I'm not saying 'go on a diet' but you really do have to monitor yourself. Our problems with obesity never go away. Just like an addict of other substances have to be dilligent so do we!
Forgive yourself. Instill healthier habits. (Get to the gym!! Quit eating those slider carbs!) and move on. The weight will take care of itself. Whatever you do - don't crash diet. You set yourself up for failure. You can't eat for happiness and beauty and have it turn out any other way than positive!
If a man does not keep pace with his companions perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer. Let him step to the music he hears, however measured or far away. - Henry David Thoreau
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