15 months out and starting to battle regain

Hi all,

I haven't posted on OH in a very long time. I spend a lot of time in a couple of groups on Facebook. But I'm facing something new and I wanted to stop in and check with all of you.

In case my stats don't show, I started at 253, low was 127. I hovered at around 131 for several months and it seemed like overnight I was up 5 pounds. I am NOT going to let this get out of hand, so I'm getting hyper-diligent about tracking everything and I'm dialing up my exercise. I had lap RNY on 1/26/11.

For now, I just want to say thank you for being here. And for those of you who experienced regain, be honest. Did your habits change or did your metabolism catch up to you again?

Welcome in Mocha, you are smart to jump on staying on track...

Honestly - regain - a little of both : my habits did/have changed, I do not make as good a choices as I did 1st yr PO while I was trying to get to goal - real sugar was non-existent, carbs very low, almost never ate fruit, only LF meats, cheese & butter...All these were things I let back in as I was trying to settle at a maintenance weight & over the next 5 yrs mentally accepted as OK to be part of how I eat...BUT...metabolism is part of it too - Mine is way screwy, I can go  2 weeks eating 800 cals or less + exercise and still bounce around in the same 3lbs up & down...

From what I've heard from alot of people who have had regain (including myself cuz I have recently experienced alittle regain)..it's eating habits that creep back into your plate..the pull of those white carbs is really bad..

Yes to both.  We all have to reconcile to the "new" normal of eating.  Can you cut out the grazing?  Can you consistently eat low-fat, low-carb?  As I got closer to goal, the body got used to the new normal, and the metabolism slowed, I stopped losing at 18 months post-op.  I had to double my cardio workout just to keep from regaining.  With that I bounced around between the same 10 lbs over the past year.  At this point, I feel like I have the same difficult problem losing that last 30 lbs that a "normal" person does.

Portion control is also an issue for me.  I have allowed some white carbs back, but I also have to measure portions once in awhile to remind myself how much I should be eating.  It's very easy to add that extra tablespoon, ounce, etc. 

I use exercise to keep it under control.  I have about a 5 lb range that I bounce between, and I consider that maintenance.  When I'm on the top of that range, I do more measuring and counting!!  I also step up the movement at that point--more mileage on my runs, more stairs, etc.

I actually logged on tonight for just this reason! I've been right around goal for about 3 months now, and it's amazing how easy it is to fall back into those old habits. I was wondering what other folks have done to keep this from happening. I do NOT want to be one of those people that you hear about, you know, the ones that lose the weight and then gain it back plus some. I've decided to try to get back to low carbs and being more strict with calorie counts.

I found that I had to return to what I was doing soon after surgery and that I had gotten a little lax. I have re-introduced shakes to my daily routine and the energy and weight loss is AWESOME. Check this out -- http://blessedhands.myvi.net . I started with one shake per day and it reminded me of how I ate right after surgery. I didnt want to feel like I couldnt eat whenever I wanted -- but I also didnt want to gain. If you want to lose -- I moved to the Transformation Kit and I am excited at the weight loss. The best part is my Personal Trainer has done a lot of research and my Nutritionist supported it.

Best Wishes!