newbie question-what has changed about you to make this WL work?

I mean i have loss weight and gained it back numerous times. I would like to know what you are changing in your life and/mind to not gain the weight back this time.
April

now i attend support group meetings(with great leaders) and come here for online support.so far so good

I could not loose pre op.  Even after wls every pound is a challenge.  That's what keeps me on point.  It does not come off easily and I can gain ten pounds in a week while sticking to plan. 

It took me five years to loose 50 lbs before wls.  Post op, 508 days to loose 97.7 lbs.  I work out hard almost every day and manage my calorie deficit yet I still struggle with weight gain. 

When post op wl is this hard you work at keeping it off.  When weight gain is rapid and unexplained, you work at re loosing it immediately.  The "metabolically challenged" can not afford to relax. 

 Having my stomach permanently reduced by 85% and my guts re-routed is sure to help me not regain much!  

I lost a lot of weight and kept it off for a long time until I got sick with a big illness.  After I got treated, I couldnt' lose the 50 or so lbs I had gained.  I think I was just feeling so depleted in terms of energy and focus, and overwhelmed emotionally that I couldn't stick to a plan.  To reduce my chances of recurrence, it is important for me to keep my BMI in normal range.  I pursued surgery for that reason.

I went for the big gun--the duodenal switch--to make sure that I not only lost weight, but I keep it off long term.  I don't have metabolic problems (that I know of) or an eating disorder, but I do have a bit of body dysmorphia.  I am getting some counseling around that so I can spend time enjoying my weight loss success instead of obsessing about losing 10-20 more lbs.  That obsession is sure to show up in my eating someplace, and I don't want that.

Well, I am a week post-op from surgery, RNY. Maybe it is too early for me to comment on your question as I have not had the experiences the other folks that have commented have had. I look to them to help me and so grateful they do comment and let us in on the long term commitment and issues along the way. 

Like you, I have yo-yo'd for years. I am now 44, soon to be 45. I think what is different this time for me, in terms of attitude, is the fact that I had done my homework and had to level with myself, not tap-dance or skirt issue. I think I will need counseling at some point as well. Once you strip the layers away, it comes down to choice. We chose this surgery, which is elective. There obviously medical indications for the surgery, making it no longer elective. I lost 45 pounds prior to surgery. I made it a mission to get into the "zone" mentally prior to surgery. I had a medical emergency last year involving a surgery which derailed my original gastric bypass surgery timeline, but I believe it is all for a reason. After that scare, and my multiple co-morbidities, I got myself together mentally and said, enough is enough! I am tired of living my life this way! I am too young to be feeling this way! So, I have been on a mental journey as well as a physical one, but I do feel that psychologically, this will be wearing over time, with set backs, fall-downs, dusting myself off, and getting back up. It will be the getting back up piece and continuing on that will always be my struggle. Not getting derailed in the quagmire of my own mind!!

Ok, so now you know my take. I wish you the very best. Take some time to inventory what is important, why it is important, and set your roadmap. It gives you something constructive to follow and re-evaluate if it does not go the way you planned.

God Bless,
Stacey

 In order for my wls to work, I needed to make educated, concious changes in my life the way i used food.  I was addicted to food and was using as a 'drug of choice' if you will.  But unlike cigarettes, alchohol, or drugs, as a food addict, you still need to eat.  I needed therapy to change my whole entire relationship with food BEFORE I had my RNY surgery.  I used food to squelsh my feelings no matter what they were (sad, happy, stressed, depressed, angry, etc.) and during times of boredom, and during times of joy and celebration.  My tool helps keep me in check and reminds me (in a painful way) should I overeat.  There have only been a handful of times as a seasoned postop (i'm now 2 years out) that I have had to vomit due to overeating.  3-4 bites is all my pouch can manage even today.  You need to learn how to listen to your body, feed it the appropriate things (this will be cruicial when you are re-introducing food back after surgery to listen and do what your nutritionist and surgeon tells you to the LETTER!)  Any 'cheating' in this new way of life will result in weight gain.  Exercise is a major componenet also especially once reaching the maintenance phase of your journey.  Water and supplementation are also important. 

So do the following:

Get into therapy/couseling to combat your food addiction should you have one
Work with your PCP in finding a great wl surgeon
Work on beginning to incorporate exercise into your life gradually and slowly, even if it hurts (get up and go for a walk to the mailbox to start)
Make sure you have lots of people who support you to talk with during your journey

Good luck with your journey!!

Mallisa

If all I did was work out all day I could probably manage my weight.

I'm 46, premenopausal, work a full-time job and at least 3 volunteer jobs and a husband and dogs.

At this point of my life I needed a new tool in the tool box. WLS is now that tool.

I started individual therapy prior to having surgery. It's already helping, even though I have a ways to go. I just feel ready to keep this weight off now, when even 2 years ago I didn't feel that way.