How do you break the graze?

I am about 4 and a half years out from RNY.  I lost 112 pounds and was thrilled with my size (although in my mind, I guess I never truly at goal-140-I made it down to 155). For many reasons, I went through lifestyle changes that led to bad habits creeping back in and I have regained some, probably 35-45 pounds (not sure how much, can't quite bear the idea of getting on the scale). My attempts thus far to lose weight have been lack luster.  Obviously, I know the high protein, low carb part.  I wonder if the calorie part is the problem?  How many calories. Also, I graze and I can't stop!  How do you break the habit of grazing?

How do you break the habit of grazing?

Drink more water or tea

Don't have food around you - pre-measure a portion and eat that.  put the rest away.(i.e - I like nuts - it feels like my body needs nuts - I make sure I get 1.5 oz of nuts - and I make that my LNS or a snack. Eat slowly.  I make sure the rest is high in the pantry and I need to use a ladder to get it. )

I also have " free food" that I know I can eat as much as I want - anytime I want: i.e. NSA pickles, SF jello, celery sticks, cucumbers, seaweed snacks (sheets, dry seaweed) . .. etc... 

I wrote down your free foods - I will try them when I just want to chew lol 

Seriously though regain scares the **** out of me!  I am 2 lbs above my lowest weight and it freaks me out that I cant get it back down.  It is the principle, not the number.  I am early out still, only 14 mths so I don't want to start gaining already.

Lol Hala! Drink more tea, made me laugh because it is so simple and SO true.  I have started using peppermint tea to help break the snack habit .  Planning my food and only eating my plan helps, when it am willing to do that.  I am working my first plan which the doc gave, mind only the protein grams each day and reach 80 using the lowest possible fat and carbs, no sugar at all and no calorie counting. It really is a lot of mental work, and really easy to give up on.  Hang in Brandi, and make a small change you Are willing to stick with, build on little successes and try tea!

Yay you lost 112 lbs that's fantastic! I recommend going back to basics and focusing on proteins. You might do the 5 day pouch test to see if your pouch will shrink and to get rid of the cravings for carbs..........Plan your meals and keep yourself busy between the meals. Measure portion sizes, drink a lot of water and tea, and exercise.  You can do this. Perhaps keeping your hands busy at night could be really helpful too.  :P

Hi Brandi,

Just wanted you to know that you are not alone.  I'll be four years out next month and these last two years have been bad, especially the last year.  I did great the first two years developing new habits, exercising.  Then went through a couple sets of surgeries, and after the last one (gallbladder out plus getting some adhesions and an internal hernia fixed), I haven't been able to get my head back around and have been grazing way too much too, and watching the weight creep up (too embarrassed to say how much).  So I'm trying to find ways not to graze also.  And cut out the sugar and treats.  It's not easy.  I'm also trying to exercise more, or at least walk more, to motivate me.  Good luck.  We're in this for the long haul. 

I suggest that each week, take one bad habit and work on that one.  Like not grazing after dinner.  Small steps.  If you try to do everything at once, it's overwhelming.

Good luck.

Jan

You are definitely not alone, Brandi!  I'm 9 1/2 years post-op now and especially after those 2 post-op pregnancies, I've tended to mindlessly graze.

Lately, it's gotten better than it was for a while, but I've really increased the water.

Good luck!  It'll come to you!!

~ Renae

There does not have to be any lifestyle changes, surgeries, relationship problems, family drama or troublesome reasons for the old habits to come back.  Boredom is reason enough.  After about two years, the novelty of staying on program has run it course.

The pouch gets bigger, malabsorption goes away, dumping is gone or extremely rare.  It is easy to go back to the old ways.  One thing I do every day is get on the scale.  Even if I don't want to, I refuse to not know what my weight is.

Calories are the main element in regain.  If I need to lose, then I need to limit myself to about 800 calories a day.  That gets rid of a pound a week.  I cut out most of the meats and get my protein from things like quinoa, Greek yogurt, flaxseed and ricotta cheese. 

If you need to lose 40 pounds, then you are looking at about a a year of being on a low calorie plan.  That sounds discouraging, but remember that you will feel better and look better with every pound lost.  It is never again going to be like right after surgery when weight just melted away.

Now the body has adapted to the surgery and will be good at holding onto weight, but you already know that.  I learned how to fight regain and that is by tracking calories, exercise, and weight.  Set up your goals and work on them.  It does work and the hardest part is getting started.

I am just about 8 years out of RNY  now, and struggle with exactly this issue.  For me it is not knowledge it is behavior.  I know what i it is I need to to do but I struggle with re- habituating the behaviors that will let achieve my goals. Twice now I have hit my goal of 220 or less, but have allowed bad habits to reenter my life. (food as a reward,  feeding  guilt with sugar all the Usual stuff)  In fact I logged in here today because I am in the 3rd day of limiting my eating to only every 3 hours and measured portion and reinstitution exercise. So Brandi I am with you here in the bounce. 

This is what works for ME it may not work for you, I eat three separate and distinct meals and sometimes an extra snack. I limit my snacking by not keeping snack foods in my house, or at work. I know I'm the kind of person that can't have chips in the house, or a candy dish or basically anything like that because I will it it. 

I'm willing to bet the grazing is what is killing you! 

The best story or comment I have read on this site in the last 1.5 years is this: Before surgery I was an emotional eater, and my binge of choice was bread. When I felt that stress come on I would eat an entire loaf of white bread in one sitting. Post-op I'm still an emotional eater I can no longer eat an entire loaf of bread in one sitting but I sure can have one slice at a time throughout the day. 

I believe that comment this woman made (I wish I could remember who it was) is a perfect portrait of the WLS journey it perfectly illustrates that WLS is simply a tool that we can manipulate and  that many of us have struggled with emotional eating, 

Most importantly it shows that this is just a TOOL and yea it works really well in the beginning but it gets sort of rusty and less efficient so it requires more work from the user. So my suggestion to you is to acknowledge that you have a tool and be thankful that you're not where you were 5 years ago. Also to respect that every time you reach in to the fridge or the pantry realize that you have a choice in the matter! 

or it could be liquid calories?