4 years out of RNY and up 30 lbs from my lowest
I have been trying everything since January and have only been able to drop 8 lbs. Then the very next day went up 2 lbs and can't seem to get the scale to move anymore than 1 or 2 lbs either way. I have been feeling nauseous after eating, struggle with constipation and am becoming very anxious and depressed. Do weight loss programs like Atkins or Keto, Paleo or low carb/high fat work for people who've had bariatric surgery? I'm also retaining a lot of water. My fingers are so fat that I can barely wear my wedding ring. In fact I'm not even wearing it right now. Are these things normal? Should I revisit my bariatric surgeon's office for some sort of check-up? I don't know if I should still be eating my recommended 65-75 grams of protein or if after 4 years I need more or less? What about carbs? I just have so many things running through my head that I can't even decide how to eat. Any experience, advice, similar struggles or successful breakthroughs would be helpful and appreciated. Thanks!
First, always check with your MD when things aren't right.
After you have done that, this is what happened to me and what I did. I am almost 4 years out and between years 2 and 3 I regained 19 pounds. It has taken me most of year 3 to figure a few things out. First, I get more than 100 grams of protein a day and try to keep my carb intake under 100 grams. If I have a carb heavy day (i.e. crackers, chips, popcorn, sweets), I will be up 2-3 pounds the next day-clearly having not consumed anywhere near the requisite calorires!. I believe the simply carbs make me retain fluid and it takes my body the several days to a week to reset. I take Miralax every day to combat the constipation issue and it works well. Over the last 2 months I have worked hard at reducing my caloric intake to around 1200 (maintenance calories are around 1500), keeping my carbs under 100 grams and my protein over 100 grams. I also keep a fast for 10-12 hours from my last snack (in my case a protein shake or Greek yogurt) of the day to my first meal the next day. I also increased my walking from 3-4 miles/day to 4.5 to 5.5 miles a day (not all at once) and try to do around half of that before I eat in the morning so that my body has to pull from its fat stores for energy. Don't, however, make the mistake of not eating. That will only screw up your metabolism. This gives me a calorie burn between 1850 and 2000 each day. These things ended up being the breakthrough I needed and I have dropped 5 pounds in the last month.
I hope this helps. Let me know how things go.
Hi-
I have not posted in ages but I am four years out and up 25 lbs from my lowest (I originally lost 200lbs) and it has me crazy. I too have gone back to a low carb diet. My issue is not as much what I eat but lack of exercise. My work life is crazy and I am in the last stages of my MBA. All of this said, I reconnected with my pre-surgery bariatric therapist and see her now every two weeks. She is helping me with the psychological aspects and how to think more positively---not to accept the gain but not beat myself up over it either. I am increasing my water intake and trying to take stairs vs. elevators etc.
What I find strange is that I seem to be harder on myself now than I was before surgery. I am also working with my therapist on that as well. I continualy have issues between what the scale says, what my clothing size says and what I SEE in the mirror---as there are large discrepancies.
I don't have any enlightening news but know you are not a lone and it is a journey.
Best-
PinkSparkles
I too am almost 4 yrs out and have regained over 30 lbs. I can relate! I think more intensive counseling would have helped me. I eat for comfort, and as I could never lose weight on my own before surgery, it stands to reason that I can't lose it on my own now. I eat way too many carbs, and unfortunately have no problem with eating anything. Nothing makes me sick. I had all these beautiful new clothes that I can't wear anymore. I get depressed often and that leads to overeating. I can't understand why I can eat so much! My pouch must have really stretched. Has anyone else had problems like this? I wish I could give you some advice, but I can't even help myself. 
