I never thought this would happen to me

Just wondered how you are doing Therese!

Thanks for checking.  I made an appointment with my bariatric doc, they can't see me till June.  I'm having a hard time finding threads that address how to start over.  I know people have done 2 protein shakes and a meal each day, or gone back to 800 calories a day for a while, I just can't find the threads.  Can you help?

Yes if you're ready for a LONG post!

First step. Face it. Brutal facts. It's very hard to do this because of all the guilt and shame that come with facing up to regain. But it's very, very necessary. I mean, we had surgery right? And even that didn't work forever? I felt like such a failure. But I knew if I didn't take action I would truly keep moving the wrong direction. So yes, there's some work to do to handle the emotion of all this. 

Second - a few thoughts on food and eating and back on tracking:

Avoid crash diets such as "2 shakes and a sensible meal..." blah blah blah. Ditto 5 day pouch test. These are just crash diets like we've tried a million times before. 

DO pull out your post op eating guidelines and get back to those. Here's what I am doing:

1. Water. 64 oz. minimum a day. 

2. Vitamins. Yes. According to your doc's directions. 

3. Protein. Eat protein first at every meal and plan on 2 snacks with protein every day. Right now I can manage with 1 snack but I like to have the option. (Truthfully the thought of being hungry makes me really anxious.) For now, skip the beans and legumes. I eat very little red meat, but prefer seafood and eggs. As crazy as it sounds, hard boiled egg whites are one of my favorite snacks - amazing how filling that dose of protein is mid-morning. 

4. Veggies at every meal. This provides complex carbs and keep you full and regular. Avoid the starchy veggies like corn and winter squash. 

5. Starch/carbs. You do need some of these but be careful. I have a baked sweet potato about twice a week - it's the perfect starch, in my mind. But I can't do it every day. 

6. Fruit. I'm careful with fruit servings and fruit choices. I have some fruit every day, but just a small serving such as 1/2 apple, a clementine, or some blueberries. For now, skip the bananas - they are starchy, sugary fruits. 

7. Fats - I seldom add fat but use Pam spray for cooking. Occasionally I use a bit of olive oil but I probably only use butter (on a roll, for example) about once every 2 weeks. 

8. Dairy - I don't use dairy personally but a Greek yogurt is an excellent and filling snack - go with the ones that are under 100 calories. 

9. Shakes and such - I do use protein shakes 1-2 times a day but be careful here. Keep the following guidelines in mind: Under 170 cal/serving, less than 5 gm sugar, at least 15 gm protein. Bars have guidelines too: under 200 cal., under 5 gm sugar, at least 15 gm protein. But I stay away from bars because even the best of them (Pure Protein and original Quest are 2 of the best - not the Quest bars with a lot of sugar alcohols because those set me off!) - anyway, even the best of them can trigger me to eat too much. I have had a shake for breakfast almost every morning for years, and keep a shake "on call" at work in case I need a 2nd snack during the day. 

That's the food part. A typical day for me would look like this - pretty much today's lineup. 

• Breakfast: Shake
• Snack: 6 hard boiled egg whites
• Lunch: Lean protein (shrimp today) and veggies. Maybe a dinner roll a couple times a week. 
• Snack: Optional most days, but if I need something it would be a protein shake. 
• Dinner: Lean protein and veggies. If I didn't have a starch at lunch I might have 1/2 baked sweet potato at dinner. Possibly some fruit if I'm really hungry. 

I do have "big eating days" when I am genuinely feeling more hungry than other days - but it all seems to work out. 

And yes. Log your food. I hate it too. But I've gotten hooked on My Fitness Pal and use it all the time now. By the end of the day, I know where I stand with regard to protein, carbs, and overall calories ****ep a flexible target of 1000 calories). I also log my weight daily because I know that as I gained weight, I avoided the scale. It's accountability! And even though losing is slow (and I mean really really slow) the 2nd time thru....it allows me to see progress. 

I hope this is all helpful! Keep in touch!

Thank you. Good solid advice. 

If your surgeon had good support options, I would reach back for those. Mine still has a twice monthly support group as well as an on staff nutritionist. A good way to get back at it is to "start with the basics".

24lbs is very doable... you lost much more before that. You realize there is an issue (step 1), you are admitting it (step 2) and asking for help (step 3)... so you are well on your way.

I lost my appetite for quite some time, it is back but not near anything close to it was pre-op. For the first 2 years post-op I trained myself to eat three meals three snacks a day (that's *my* plan, doesn't work for everybody! to each their own)... that's how I got the protein/calories etc I needed.. now I stick to it for the most part.. my body is "trained" to get hungry certain times of day.. sometimes I don't need a snack, so I don't eat it. Sometimes I want a snack, then another snack.. Ill eat it. I weighed daily for for 7 years give or take, now I can "feel" how much I weight and still jump on the scale to keep myself in check... if I start noticing pants getting tight I know I need to reel in the eating and be more diligent about exercise etc.

You can turn this around still, I hope you do! Good luck to you! :-)

For me knowing the rules and following them were two different things.  It was about getting myself to the point of believing I COULD do it and wasn't a failure that took all the hard work.  I went into surgery thinking I believed I could do it but I realize now there was always a voice in the back of my head that didn't believe it...after all, I had gained and lost weight so many times in the past.  It has taken a lot of work (head work) to finally find the  belief that I CAN do this and am WORTH doing this.  

1) know that you are not along

2) you are human...I think it is a rare bird indeed that doesn't have SOME sort of regain

3) don't give up - the really successful long-termers are often those that have had some regain and have learned from their mistakes

4) Make use of any and all resources/supports around you - every little  bit counts

5) take a serious look at your lifestyle - eating/activity/sleep and see where you can start making REALISTIC changes

Wishing you a successful journey!

Andrea.

I had surgery many many moons ago :-) I'm with you.  I've been you!  (more than once!) Can I give you the one piece of advice that I always come back to when I get myself in a situation where I'm feeling my life/eating/weight etc is out of hand?  It's so simple, it's stupid.  CHANGE ONE THING YOURE DOING AND CHANGE IT COMPLETELY, RELIGIOUSLY and DEDICATEDLY.  Just one thing. And leave the rest for now.  Eventually, you'll address 'all' the other things.  Right now, you're just picking one. 

Now… it should be a pretty important thing… not a passing thing (like, oh, I occasionally put sugar in my coffee) Often, when you get in this situation what happens is you start trying to change everything and doing that makes no difference so you get frustrated and quit.  Or, you try to go back to 'perfect' and you can't achieve that, so you quit.  Know what I mean?

So, pick your one thing.  For example, you mentioned that you stopped exercising.  Maybe that's your one thing?  Start.  Do it EVERY DAY.  Do it like it's your religion. Forget the rest.  Just exercise.  Exercise until it becomes a part of you!

Or, maybe it's calories.  Are you not counting and keeping to a goal?  Maybe calorie counting is your one thing?  Again, do it like it's  the most important thing in the world.  ROCK that calorie counting and calorie goal like a BOSS.   Get that under control and let the rest be for now.

Eventually, usually in short order, you'll be feeling GREAT about what you're focused on and you'll be seeing progress.  Then, you can start to think about one OTHER thing.  One thing at a time.

I hope you'll think about it.  Best of luck to you.