Question from Al Roker.............

Cathy, I don't want to sound judgemental but I suspect that those who gained & said they had stayed the course, if they were totally honest, would admit to grazing or eating foods they probably shouldn't be eating. I'm guilty of both. I have sworn up & down I was compliant (my surgeon's word for following all his rules) but at the same time I was thinking of the candy that used to be in the pantry, the piece of cake I snarfed at 10:00 am, the potatoe chips(and not just a few.) Oh,ya, I've gained a couple pounds here & there. Fortunately, I've lost them again right away but it has prevented me from even getting to my goal weight. I'd be there & beyond if I hadn't gained, considering all the 1 & 2 lbs I've had to relose. But to get back to your original question, I firmly believe that this surgery & subsequent diet, messed up my motabolism, although my PA claims it doesn't. I cannot understand how I can eat only 1200 calories a day, burn much more than that amount, and not lose weight. It doesn't make sense. I'm eating enough that my body doesn't think it is starved. I can't use that excuse. What I've found is that it is easy to gain but so very hard to lose it again but then again, that always was the case. Dixie

Careful Dixie, Next, you'll be saying the King has no clothes... Tek

You mean, he's not really naked? I thought he was just a perv. Dixie

I agree with your notion that our metabolisms are messed up. I think each diet attempt (and I had millions of them since the first at age 10) created more havoc in my metabolism. I think I've put my body through so many really strict diets that my body is holding on for dear life to the pounds I have left. Sue O.

Hey Dx... Well, you've done it again, another thought provoking post...LOL...I have to say first off that I feel bad for Al, and Carnie and any other celebrity who has WLS and has some amount of re-gain; no matter how slight, the mainstream media/public opinion about "our" surgery jumps all over the poor person, and sends out all the negatives about WLS; you know---the "you mutilated your body and you're going to re-gain it all anyway"...blah-blah-blah...totally ignoring the thousands and thousands of success stories there are out there... I myself, am just over 4 yrs out with NO regain. I don't attribut it to anything other than a few simple rules. Yes, I am a slave ***** I weigh myself EVERY day...I get up in the morning, go potty and hit the scale. IF, for some reason, I have been "naughty" and eaten junk that I should not have eaten, and I see even the slightest jump up in the scale numbers, then it is on to phase two of my "no regain" program. That's when I go back to basics...I get very very strict on myself. I will go back to basics...liquids only for a week...non-caloric liquids. I am convinced that that shrinks the pouch some, since the volume I am able to eat definitely is much less than before I did the week of non-caloric liquids. Then it is a week of behaving with high protein and only "good carbs"...lots of dense meats with veggies and fruits...snacks (if I allow it) are protein bars ONLY. All the while, water/water/water/water/water/water...until I swear I am going to float myself down the River Nile... I stick to that for 2 weeks or more...depending on how long it takes me to lose whatever re-gain has creeped up on me. Since I am such a scale ***** it really doesn't take any longer than that. So that is what I attribute to keeping myself weighing in at 120 lbs and at a size 4 for more than 3 years now. I hit goal and I will not allow myself to ever look back. I don't want to sound like I am such a maniac as to say that I don't ever get bad...I drink regular coca-cola...I eat cake (small piece)...I've eaten candy...I eat pizza and pasta, crackers and even cookies...but...I am so careful to maintain myself and off-set when I am naughty so as to have had only a 5 lb regain, at the absolute most. So...that is what is working for ME...and I will continue to make that work for me...for the rest of my life, however long that may be. I am 36, almost 37 and hopefully that will be a LONG time... Have a Sparkling and Great Day!!! MustangCAE