Failing :(

Hi everyone,

It has been 4 years since I had my RNY. I started out at 340 lbs and at my lowest I was 169 lbs. I have gain 18 pounds in the last year and half and feel like a total failure. I am now 187 lbs. I need to get back on track and loose this weight again. My original goal was 150lbs and I still want to get to that goal. Is it possible. How do I get back on track. Any advice would be appreciated. Is anybody else in the same situation I am in that would be willing to share there struggles this far out of surgery.

Thank you

Angie

I'm not going to be able to give you advice but I certainly can relate to your struggle.

I had surgery in 3/2010 lost 200 lbs. and got below my goal by 20 lbs. Now I've gained the

20 back plus 10 more. I've been to see my doc recently and he tells me I'm still doing ok.

He says its typical of most WLS patients. They initially lose their weight then experience a 10%

weight gain. They typically level out at after. I'm working on that 10lbs now. I go back to see my doc in Nov.

I'm trying to get back to the basics and eliminating some of the snacks that have creeped back into my

life. Walking more too.

We'll get there! you can do it!

http://www.obesityhelp.com/group/backontracktogether/discuss ion/

Hi Angie.

I know it's tough...I have a regain of about 30 pounds after 5 years out of RNY surgery.  The best help for me was to become a part of the group Back On Track Together.  I included the link above.  It's a great place for information and encouragement.  Just thought I'd throw it out there for you.  Good luck.

Gaby

Hi Angie,

I am in the same boat as you are, It's been 5 years since my surgery.  I went from 236 to 136 and in the last 2 years have regained 25 pounds.  The shame and self hatred i am feeling is overwhelming. I can't believe after everything i went through I could let myself regain these pounds.  Total failure is an everyday thought for me. I need to get back on track also.  I felt so incredible at 136 so much self confidence, self esteem, looked great in everything I wore and no physical complaints.  How did I let this happen?........again

Suzette

Hello,

I had VSG surgery in October 2010. I was 198 lbs at that day.  4 years before that I was 257 lbs and lost 117 by following the WW plan. I had gained almost 60 lbs back and was well on my way back to "morbid obese" land. I thought my only option was weight loss surgery and took the trip to Mexico to have it done. All went fine. No problems at all. I easily lost all the weight I gained plus some more in like 4 months. I was very happy. Now 3 years after surgery I am weighing 183 lbs. I feel exactly like you do. A mayor loser and failure. Such a disappointment. I can also eat allot more now that I could the first year. There is still restriction but way less than before. Every Monday I decide to start a new diet but 9 out of 10 times that goes down the drain on the same day. Then I say to my self that I will start next Monday and totally pig out on the most horrible foods that week. Last week I started again. Even went cycling with my (super sporty grrrr) friend. I thought I had done good. Really watched what I ate. I consumed about 1100 kcals a day and did not lose one ounce!!!! I also don't know what to do. I know that I lost those lbs after surgery because I only consumed about 600/700 kcals a day. Is this what it takes again for my body to decide to shed the pounds?Anyway, this is my story. I really feel for you guys who have done everything, even surgery, to lose those pounds. You are not alone!! I will definitely check the link mentioned above. I hope all of you can find the "inspiration" again!! Good luck!! 

I can so relate to your post. My weight has gone up and down since my RNY surgery 7 years ago. I started at 230 pounds and lost 100 pounds. Then I had some medical issues which caused me to lose another 20 pounds. I was underweight and dropping. I got scared and forgot everything I learned about eating after WLS. I started eating everything and anything to get back up to a healthy weight. I did it so well that I gained back to my original 130 pounds plus an extra 25 pounds. I tried to get back on track with my old plan. I ate one or two protein bars for breakfast, a Healthy Choice or Lean Cuisine meal at lunch and snacked on carbs in between. I tried cutting back on the carbs but that just made me want them even more. It was not working. After struggling for a few years, I accepted that I would have to live with the extra weight.

One day, a couple of months ago, I was listening to public television and I heard Dr. Fuhrman speak about nutrition. He didn't talk about losing weight. He talked about getting and staying healthy. His advise was to eat a lot of fruits, nuts, legumes and vegetables, no sugar or flour and very little or no meat. I found his website on-line and read thru a lot of his articles. I liked what he had to say and I decided to give it a try. I work during the day so it was easy to follow the plan during the day. Because my husband is a meat-lover, my evening meal includes a little more meat than is recommended. I decided that I could live with being a part-time vegetarian. It was better than my old plan and I was rarely hungry. In fact I was too full at times. Oatmeal with walnuts, flax seeds, Splenda and berries for breakfast. Bean soup or a salad with sunflower seeds at lunch. Herbal tea, fruit and veggie snacks between meals. A long walk after work. Then meat and veggies for dinner. It's only been a month and I've lost five pounds. It isn't a lot but it's a start. I plan to stick with it and see where it goes.

One caveat. If you decide to give Dr. Furman's ideas a try, don't be surprised if you hear people tell you that nuts, beans and seeds are loaded with fat. It may be true. I don't know. But I do know that along with oatmeal they are also loaded with fiber. Fiber fills you up without adding calories.

Hi Angie and everyone else who has replied to this post,

My name is Dawn and I will be 7 years RNY post op in January. I know the struggles and I know you can overcome it. I want to help. I am starting a blog for that very reason, but more importantly I would like to get to know everyone's story so maybe I can help more one on one. Please feel free to message me or I have set up an email specifically for more personal contact. It is [email protected].

Hi Angie,

Amazing how we label our small setbacks as such failures. It has been almost 3 yrs since my VSG.

Having been big all my life I know the mental issues, low self esteem, negative talk and core beliefs I have. It is a huge struggle to change the mind and it's thinking. This past year has been proving this for me big time and I sought out help with therapy and taken some programs to help me with this. I had a regain after an emotional upset a year ago that threw me into binging and then into a severe depression. It has been a long road out but with the many programs that I have taken I can honestly say I am thankful and better for it.

Without our setbacks, we wouldn't learn and grow. Notice I said setbacks. I use to say i was a failure... now imagine saying you feel a failure for gaining 50 when I lost 396?? but that is how i felt and it was an all or nothing mentality and my low self esteem that could have kept me in that negative thinking to gain more but i didnt. I didn't give up. .

It is utmost importance to never give up on ourselves... to be gentle in those negative thoughts about ourselves and build up our self esteem to be able to achieve anything we want.

Work on YOU... YOU are NOT a failure!! You know how to do what you have to do. Believe in yourself!!  there will always be setbacks in life... but you CAN overcome anything!!