Good morning. If you've gained a little back how did it happen?

I think I've been as much as 10 pounds over goal weight and that's at least 5 pounds too much. I did it by adding too many carbs and  volume of good foods--I'm a grazer.  I can eat too much of a good thing. There's no telling if there is one food that's the culprit. I've recently brought myself back into the acceptable 5-pounds-over-goal range and I'm good with that. My surgeon told me based on my EWL and size that 3-5 pounds of regain would be normal and expected. I just need to maintain that threshold. 

At our last support group we talked about metabolism and what happens to it post-op. There isn't any definitive research that accounts for the huge jump in metabolism immediately post-op--a lot of theory and pontificating but no real research. {sigh} Anyway, the dietician thinks it does go back to a more normal level after a couple of years and that may be contributing to the regain we see. It's a YMMV thing and dependent on the amount of exercise you do everyday but she thinks it slows down significantly after a few years.

Y'all have a good one!

--gina    

I'm exactly 10 lbs over my goal weight.  I would be happy losing another 5 lbs.  The last 5 lbs I put on, I believe, from the fruit I was eating....

How did it come on?  By drinking my beer - I've recently heard alcohol called "liquid carbs" - which is SOOO true!!.  The volume of food we can eat increases also as well as our malabsorption stops - so it's even more important as you get 2+ years out to be cognizant of that.  I remember pushing the envelope with it when I was

Very interesting. don't I wish I knew.

I looked back over my calendars where I try to remember each Sunday to write my weight down.  Looks like last year I was 114-119 back and forth, inching upward. Then Dec / Jan I got into the 120s and have been there since.  124 seems to be my new happy spot for my body, whether I like it or not. 

I know I am eating more but still stay pretty darn clean and 1.5c is about it, sometimes less.  A lot a lot of that is veggies, salad, green beans, etc. Still very low carb.  I do have 4 meals a day and 3 protein drinks on most days.

Exercise hasn't changed much.  Normal horse stuff and 3-4 classes of cardio / weights a week.  We never talked about metabolism changing due to surgery at classes.  I always thought the rapid weight lose in the beginning was just because we were consuming so few calories, not because our metabolism actually changed.

Surgeon at the last visit said 120s would probably be where I ended up and that has been what it seems.  Also on the body scan, even though I am on the edge of overweight, I am well into the underfat range 19.7% when normal is 24-36%.  I guess I really do have heavy bones and the loose skin has to count somewhere. 

So although I would still like to be around 120, I am keeping on keeping on with 124 evidently.

I honestly think my malabsorption period lasted longer than most do and I got lazy and thought I could eat whatever and continue to lose or stay the same.  Then one day that stopped-shocker!

I find that now I really have to put an effort into this and make good choices.  I like to graze all day too.  Protein Drinks help with that a lot because if I'm drinking I won't be eating.  Night times are the hardest for me.

I also got slack on my exercise this winter and am having a hard time getting back on a schedule with it. 

The most I have gained from my lowest was 5 pounds, but I want that off.  I wish now I had gone lower than I did before I started adding things in.  I gave myself 5 1/2 pounds to play with and that is not enough for the regain that happens.  I do not want to be in the overweight category again.  I have lost 1 1/2 from the highest but still need at least another 3 1/2 - 5 gone.

Linda

Linda - I think my malabsorption lasted longer too - and I had the exact same thing happen!  And it was almost like a switch turned off - and BAM - it was done....

Regain is crappy but it's going to happen!!!

 My weight loss journey has been pretty easy.  I dropped  from 203 to 106 (97 pounds loss....I am so jealous of those gold apples) and got scared and instead of listening to others further along than me who told me to go as low as I could,  I started increasing my calories so I would stop losing.  I didn't increase my calories a lot and I didn't add in bad carbs but with the malabsorption it was just enough to make the scales start to climb. I stayed around 112 for about a year and then the further out I got I climbed to the 117-119 range.  I am happy at 119 (anything under 120 is ok with me but in the summer when I swell more I'm usually at the 120-122 mark and I am not happy during that time. I fear that when the fall comes I won't drop back down. The only good thing is that I really watch the carbs during those "higher" months.

I've been wearing the same clothes for a couple of years now (not sure they fit the same) so I try to concentrate on that.

I hit my head. This led to two things: couldn't exercise and my brain was sending me these restless signals. I felt "hungry" more than my calorie burn would justify. (I knew this because I started wearing my BodyMedia FIT again.) Since I had been training for a marathon at the time and I kept eating like I was still doing that training, I gained 5 pounds pretty fast and then I slowly creeped up a few more.

But when my head didn't get better fast enough on its own, my neurologist put me on Topamax which got rid of the Restless Brain Syndrom and also now I can workout more. As a result, I dropped most of the weight I gained.

I actually think I'm a bit on the thin side now in fact though I'm not at my lowest weight. So I'm trying not to lose any more.

So far I've been pretty lucky.  My weight has been stable +/- about 5 lbs for nearly 2 years now.  I will be 3 years out next month but I know that regain could happen at any time.  The only real consistent thing I have done is avoid refined carbs, sugar and gluten.  I eat pretty much the same thing every day but it is always evolving.  I may have a protein coffee for breakfast for months and then I get sick of it and have Greek yogurt instead.  I have my phases like having popcorn daily until I no longer feel like it and then nuts daily until something better comes along.  I have hungry days and days I forget to eat.  My only steady things have been at least 100 grams of protein a day, at least 100 oz of fluids, no drinking with meals or 30 minutes afterwards and of course no sugar and no gluten.  I don'****ch my carbs at this time but I know I may have to eventually.  I eat a lot of fruits and whole grains and of course dairy carbs.  The carbs I eat are mainly from natural sources.  I eat a lot of cheese, sour cream, Greek yogurt, butter and milk as well as meat.  I am usually eating every 2 or 3 hours and almost always protein, although I do allow myself one snack a day that isn't protein, like popcorn, a gluten free bagel or oatmeal.  

I still wouldn't mind putting on a few pounds but I have come to accept myself at this size for now.  I don't think I look my best at this size but since I don't seem to be able to do anything about it right now I just accept it.  I am glad that I have the room for bounce back if or when it comes because that means I wouldn't really worry about it unless it was more then 15 lbs or so.  With my history I don't know what the future will bring so I just take it one day at a time.