Beating the "weight gain" horse in the ground

I haven't posted on here for quite sometime (a few years maybe) but I am "lurking" on here again and hearing others talk about the weight gain they too have had.  I knew at some point it would happen so it wasn't a surprise.  I don't mean that in a bad way either as I know if we do what we were told to do initially there should be minimal gain.  However, I too, like others found that I creeped back to old habits.  I did it knowingly at times and other times I did it unknowingly .. So there is no one to blame except for myself.  

It's been way to long for me to remember the exact "basics" but I do know that we need to always have protein, water, and our vitamins (which I suck at being faithful to) and then of course we can have fruits and veggies .. Along with we need to exercise .. something else I have put off (due to having broke my wrist and sprained the other one) .. Let me clarify that though - that was a year and a half ago and I allowed it to cause me to lose my motivation to exercise .. Honestly, it was another excuse I used to give myself "permission" to not do what I needed to do .. Meaning I could have walked and that would not have affected my wrist ..

I'm not going to beat myself up over it as that in and of itself won't help my situation.  What I need to do is start planning what I need to eat each day and make sure that is what I eat each day along with what exercise and how much I do each day and when I do it.   I tend to be a "black and white" person with no gray area so I can be anal at times.  Meaning if I do the above for each day and stick to it then I should be back on the "losing" side even though it's been 9 years (this year will be my 10th year) .. So I've said all this  to hopefully get myself motivated and in gear and to not let another day go by without making a conscience effort to get back on track of this lifestyle I choose and wanted and was blessed to be allowed to have.  Ok I'm off my soap box and I'm getting fired up to get back in the saddle and do what I need to do and want to do and to see the results of doing the above .. Guess I just needed to put it out there publicly for myself .. Thanks for listening!  (reading)      Rhonda

hang in there... it is a continuous process...i too am struggling..but by no means am i the person i was pre bypass...and we have to give ourselves credit for the changes we have made...

Thanks, I totally agree that it's a continuous process and we need to give ourselves credit for changes we have made .. Something I wouldn't have done before .. smile .. However, for myself I have/had become tolerant of my doing things that weren't correct or right and so by my own choices I went backwards per se .. And so now I am wanting to change that and become intolerant of myself (in a positive way) and live intentionally (is that a word .. smile) .. And as you stated for yourself I too know that I am definitely not the person I was before my RNY .. smile .. It has been a work in progress and will be for the rest of my life .. Thanks for your response .. I am going to intentionally hang in there

It is really hard after a long time, isn't it?  I have been eating right around 1600 calories for almost a month now, and have not lost anything.  Good news is I haven't gained either.  Also, have not been exercising.  We just bought an elliptical trainer and will be putting it together this weekend.  I will see how the addition of the exercise helps me lose, and I'll keep my calories at the same level for a while, until I see how it goes.  

Honestly, at this point, I am not concerned with appearance at all.  I am concerned, however, with my health as I get older.  I have bad knees and back pain (spinal stenosis), and I'm sure getting a little weight back off will help that.  Arthritis is figuring into this as well, and as I've been reading about anti-inflammatory foods, I am finding that a lot of my diet has been too high in foods that promote inflammation.  So I am working on finding a balance with that.

I had GBP in September 2003, lost from 259 to 160, and then now have gained back to 220.  I didn't pay attention for too long, and it just got away from me.  My fault totally.  Now I am paying attention again, because I have to, and really do want my remaining years on earth here to be as healthy as possible (I'm 55).

Best wishes as you work on making your improvements.  I hope to see updates here.

Carla

Hi Carla,

Thanks for your response!   Yes it hard after a long long time .. I can't say what my calorie intake has been but I do know it wasn't what it should have been .. Usually each morning I have a SF Carnation Instant Breakfast with 2% milk .. that usually fills me up and I don't always drink it all .. Probably leave a couple three drinks (mouthfuls) in the glass .. So I'm still doing that as it's my habit and trying to change hasn't worked for me so as the old saying goes if it ain't broke don't fix it .. ha ha .. However, this week I have taken to work with me 1 Chobani greek yogurt and strawberries I've cut up and some grapes and a stix of Weigh****chers cheese .. I eat one or the other during the day and then I bought some Tyson chicken that was already cooked and spicy and would put a few of them in a baggie and at lunch I'd nuke them along with a frozen combo of Green Giant corn and peas .. That's pretty much been it .. Drinking water is a biggie for me I usually drink Lipton diet white tea raspberry .. for the 16.9 ounces there is a total of 170 mg of sodium and 26 mg of caffeine otherwise there are no calories or sugars or carbs or proteins so not sure if that's ok and can count for the water I can't seem to get in or not .. I can usually drink 3 - 4 of them in a day .. so if it counts toward my water then I should be doing fairly good .. In the evening I seem to do fairly ok but that seems to be my horrible time .. I start off ok and then the middle of the evening I have snacked on something or if not then when I go to bed I tend to get something right before .. I'm talking like Cheez Its .. I think if I'd stick to yogurt or fruit or the SF pudding I have made I'd be ok but I tend to veer off on another path :(

My plan was to write things out and FOLLOW it but that plan went down the tubes .. So I'm going to take the time tomorrow to write out what I want to eat each day for one week (7 days) and then just follow it .. And write out what amount and type of exercise I want to do EACH day and do it .. I'll evaluate where I'm at at the end of the week .. what worked and what didn't work ..  and if I can maybe include what time I ate .. my job is one where I'm busy the entire day and taking 2-15 min breaks doesn't exist .. not because we can't take them as we can but again way to busy .. Lunches are usually cut to 30 min and at our desk for the same reason .. With the weather getting nicer I may have to re do things and maybe eat "lunch" during what should be break time and on my lunch get a 30 min walk in so I can at least get some exercise during the day .. and if I can get some in before or after work then great! :)     These are just thoughts I'm saying out loud (or writing out) for myself .. So it's definitely doable but I just need to do it!

You mentioned, Carla, something about foods that promote inflammation and anti-inflammatory foods .. I haven't heard of that or those .. I mean I had no idea so guess I'll need to check that out too ..

So I'm off for another week and will repost what has happened .. I am determined and will be intentional to head a new direction! :)   

Rhonda

Also forgot to mention I do have some variety with my foods as I do include a 3 ounce can of tuna and have mustard, mayo and pickle relish at work and only use a sparing amount of each for taste so that helps .. I'm not one that does anything with major changes or trys to change up my menus .. As bad as it sounds I despise cooking .. I joke with my kids (grown adults) that my pots and pans are there for looks only .. smile .. and to have to fix or cook something is more work than I care to do .. not lazy just not interested .. so should make it easy, right?!   Guess that's one of my downfalls as then it's easier to go to something easier that's ready to eat in a box - crackers, chips etc .. uggghhhhhhhh ... But I will as I stated make some changes - But don't expect a full blown meal .. ha ha .. I don't like to do dishes either so like my microwave and paper plates .. I do wash my dishes each time I use them as one should so don't want any one to think I'm a slob cuz I'm not but again dislike cooking and such .. so till my next post

I'm not completely faithful about writing stuff down - or logging it on myfitnesspal.com (the one I'm using now).  However, it really does help to get you "on track" and thinking about what goes into your mouth.  It's so much easier to overeat when you don't make yourself accountable that way.  The other thing I have been trying to change is that I don't eat after dinner.  We are early-to-bed, early-to-rise people, so I usually have dinner between 5:30 and 6:00 most nights, and we are in bed by 8:30 most of the time.  I know that seems really early but my hubby gets up at 4:00 and I follow at 4:30.

I am frustrated about not losing anything at this point.  So this week, I am going to try to tweak things a bit, maybe try to again lower my carb/sugar intake and maybe lower my total calories to 1500, and see if that will help.  We got the elliptical that I mentioned on Saturday, and got it put together in a couple hours.  We both tried using it on Saturday and again yesterday, and all I could manage was 5 minutes, then a short break and another 3 minutes.  So I am really out of shape!

I would probably not cook as much as I do, but I'm old-school in a way, and that means the "wife" cooks!  LOL  My hubby does help, but in this way, we're pretty traditional.  It's good for us, though so we don't eat as much junky stuff when I make a nice dinner.  So I try to do that at 3-4 times a week.  We usually eat out one night, and one night we'll get take-out.  

Not snacking is tough for me - only because I got into that bad habit again, and ended up where I am now!  Change is hard, for sure.  Stay in touch!

Carla

Well it's been a bit since I posted on this .. I did good at first and then I started slacking .. hence my weight problem .. smile .. So I was going to journal on paper as that tends to work for me but that didn't work .. I have FitDay on my phone and some other apps .. didn't stick with it .. I had My FitnessPal as well .. but haven't used it in quite sometime .. However, since I have had several mention it and a friend tell me she's using it I decided to go back and try it .. Amazed at how easy it really is .. So it seems in the last 4-5 days I have lost 3-4 pounds .. Not sure that's anything to shout and holler about but it's a start .. for me .. ha ha .. My daughter and I have started walking in the evenings when I get off work .. That's been nice but irritates me that I've gotten so much out of shape but I've always loved to walk so I'm keeping it up .. I think we've done approx 2 miles a night .. so not to shabby ..

In what I have tracked it seems my bad time is "evening-night" time .. I do well during the day as my job is so busy that trying to find time to take a lunch is hard but I do eat things at my desk - greek yogurt, fruit, tuna salad .. But the evening time comes and I'm not willing to wait to fix anything so I tend to eat things that are bad for me and most of us .. like Cheez Its and chips .. not that its a whole lot that I eat but still it's not good for me .. and I know it so am trying to find something quick to grab when I get home .. like fruit til I can decide what to eat or fix .. It's just me at home so it's not like I need to eat for someone else or what they want .. Have thought of going back to the protein shakes only for a week or so til I can cut the bad carbs out but that hasn't happened yet either .. :(            So needless to say I'm still trying to see what works for me or not ..

So I haven't really said much here except give an updated rambling ..  .. Think I'll see what and where I can tweak things and see if by changing things up I can start losing and keep off the 3-4 I have lost .. And think I'll stick with My FitnessPal and see how it and I hit it off!

Carla - I hope things are going well for you and hope that the snacking has gotten less .. I know how hard it is to stop .. I think too if I try to get more sleep than I tend to get that it will also help .. Stay in touch, too!

Rhonda

I'm in a weird spot right now.  I'm frustrated because I haven't lost any weight since I started doing all this "new" stuff.  I also haven't gained, which is a good thing, because for a long time I wasn't paying any attention to the scale.  I've been weighing myself several times a week, so just seeing that can be motivational to keep from eating "bad" stuff or too much of it.

You mentioned wanting to find "quick" things in the evening for dinner/snacks.  Recently I started eating these Lean Cuisine Salad Additions for lunch.  They are really good, and quick to get ready.  That might be something you could try for a quick dinner, instead of the snack foods.  I try not to overdo on the Lean Cuisines and that type of thing because they are heavy in sodium, which causes me to swell a bit.  But they are good for several meals a week anyway.

I've been off MyFitnessPal again, so I think I need to resume that.  It was really helping me keep some control.  I think I got discouraged when I didn't lose anything after sticking to 1600 calories a day or close to that.  Unfortunately I will probably have to reduce the calories per day.  We did also start using an elliptical trainer that we bought, and I'm building up on that.  At this point, it's not enough to help weight loss, but I knew I would have to start slow with my knee issues.  Good for you on the walking - that's great!  Keep up the good work.  I know exercise is a huge part of what we need to do, but I always have problems being consistent with it.

Thanks for responding to my post.  I hope to continue the conversation, and get others to join it as well.

Carla

Hi,

I suggest that you go back to following the pouch rules http://www.healthcentral.com/obesity/c/276918/139125/bariatric-tools and plan your meals using FitDay.com http://www.healthcentral.com/obesity/c/276918/135786/life-calculators.

You may have metabolic syndrome, which is what I have according to a nutritionist I worked with to lose weight. She said, "I see it all the time. It doesn't matter how little you eatr and how much you exercise. If you do not balance your protein and carbs 2:1 at every meal then you will not lose weight." I used FitDay to plan my menus because I could balance protein and carbs meticulously that way. She wanted me to start out with 80g protein and 40g carbs and I think 40g fats per day, about 1200 cals. Then she wanted me to build up to 100-120g of protein. I will tell you that it worked for me but it is not easy.

BTW things like corn and peas are high in carbohydrates. The menu that you describe sounds like it is high in carbs. Perhaps see if this is holding you back. I am not a healthcare professional, just saying what worked for me based upon what the nutritionist recommended for me.

You also may want to learn the primal blueprint diet (or paleo diet) I did it and lost weight almost effortlessly http://www.healthcentral.com/obesity/c/276918/149743/transfo rmation It is a grain-free diet. And you can replace the grains (carbohydrates) in your diet with flours made from almonds or coconut because they are higher in protein (if carbs are making you fat) http://www.healthcentral.com/obesity/c/276918/157197/25-thanksgiving 

Lastly, drink water to loose weight and forget about the aspartame-laden teas and lemondaes and vitamin waters. I believe the update guidelines say taht women need at least nine 8-oz glasses a day http://www.healthcentral.com/obesity/c/276918/155085/drink-weight. You can make your own great tasting flavored waters that do not have any harmful fake sweetners in them http://www.healthcentral.com/obesity/c/276918/154546/weight-bariatric 

I hope this helps!!!