Nip it in the bud

I'm on the regain train.  I originally had a lap band in 2007.  Due to infection had to be revised in 2008.  I originally lost 100lbs.  In the past year I have regained 20lb.  I think a lot of it has to do with my age (42) and the habits I have slid back into.  So, I am trying to get off the regain train.  I have been reading some of the posts on this site and they are very inspiring.  Thank you all for sharing.  I need some sort of accountability.  Here I am.  Please walk with me as I try to get back to the basics.  I feel like I have been trying every fad diet lately.  I need to remember that I have a tool not many people have.  I just need to use it.  

Laura

Hi I am in the same boat. 2008 had RNY  lost 165lbs have now gained 25lbs back in the last 2 years.  It is like I have forgotten how to do this.  I know the rules but I have gotten hooked on sweets again and it is hard to get off of them. Kind of like my form of crack. No pun intended.  I would be interested in walking this path with you and maybe we can get some help from the others on this site.  

I would love to help each other. I am going back to the basics of protien first then veggies,no drinking until at least 30-60 min after I eat, increase my water between meals to at least 64oz. once I get that under control I may try to increase my activity also

It is so hard to explain to people what it is like to have gained then lost so much weight then to struggle again with re-gain.  It is difficult to describe for someone who hasn't been there the headspace we are in, the cravings we fight etc.  I am not as far out as you are but have been struggling to fight those feelings and urges for months now.

I think you should applaud yourself for doing something at 20 lb and not 120!  You are right, there is no fad diet or magic 5 day plan that will help.  There is nothing wrong with our pouch.   We have to commit, do the work, fail and get up again and start again....it is honestly the hardest thing I have ever done but I am determined to not give up.

Wishes you success and health.

Andrea.

Thank you for your support. I may try to do the five day pouch test but not as a test more as a way to focus myself on paying attention to when my pouch feels full. I have completely lost that

Honestly there is no magic.  Any low calorie diet will work but we have to keep a focus on our protein.  The trick is getting ourselves motivated and able to do it.  It is about getting our head and our heart on board (at least in my case).  I have 40+ years of developing poor habits/neural pathways that crave food/eating/stuffing myself.  It is the painstaking work of sifting through the emotional, working at establishing the new habits and re-enforcing all of this through repetition, and learning to get back up and start again when we inevitably slip.  It is one of the hardest things I've ever done but feels really good doing it.

One of my problems is mindless eating. I get bored or just find myself eating for no reason. I'm really trying to focus on that and be more mindful of what and when I eat. 

This is such a difficult journey for all of us.  No one knows unless they walked a mile in our shoes!  One day I'm 100% and the next I'm -100%.  The sweets are my enemy too.  Ironically, I didn't eat a lot sweets before my WLS!  Anyway, I gained about 15-20 lbs back about five years ago.  I buckled down and did total low carb and lost that plus. It's the hardest thing in the whole world!  Good luck! 

JA

RNY 7/21/2004 -100lbs

Good for you. If I go to low-carb my stomach is upset because I no longer have a gallbladder. I have to be very careful how low-carb I go. That is the best way for me to lose when I am really serious about it though

Good luck :)