Losing hope, 85 pound regain

Hi. My name is Kimberly. I am a single 35 year old mom to one fur kid, my Shar Pei Champion. I am an RN by profession. I am 5'10" tall. I had my Gastric Bypass in Jan of 2011. I started at 341. Currently am 270. I was down to 185 for a day about 20 months post-op. Have been regaining ever since. The more I try to do better, the worse I seem to do. Last year I gained a whooping 45 pounds, it was awful. While I have only lost 7 pounds from my highest weight this year, I am thankful that overall my weight is only up 3 pounds from January 1 of this year. So even though, it isn't much I am not gaining hardly anything which is progress over last year.

My struggle is crappy carbs. If I eat them I crave them like crazy and gain a ton of weight. If I don't eat them my blood sugar goes to 30. This has happened several times at work and it is not safe as I need to be on top of my game taking care of my patients.

I joined weigh****chers 4 weeks ago, thinking maybe being with others that struggle would help. Knowing I have to weigh in every week is helping some. I am only down 3 pounds in 4 weeks though. So frustrated.

Did anyone else suffer this much regain and lose it for good? Any pointers would be greatly appreciated.

Welcome Kimberly!

I know I have trouble with carbs too. I have not had the low blood sugar problem though. But I got off of them, I felt like crap for a few days for sure!

Are you still in touch with your program, I wonder if your nutritionist would be able to help the blood sugar issues. Or maybe you will need to eat more frequently until you get rebalanced. I am a nurse also, and I know some days it is impossible to get a break.

I am an optimist and feel that you still have your tool and you can loose your regain and be successful. For myself, I just need to figure how maintenance works and stop my regain sooner than later. Maybe a 5 pound window and that will be it!

I know getting back to journaling every thing I eat and drink, helps. Some days still, I dont get enough fluids in. The days I get more in, I eat less.

Glad you are at weigh****chers, support is key. I need to do some thing more than online, but it sure is better than feeling so alone and ashamed.

Pointers? well,

Protein first and not drinking 30 minutes before or after eating makes a big difference for me also.

I am trying not to get discouraged because the regain is coming off slowly. I figure if I do not give up, I can not fail.

Great job on the 3 pounds! Great place to start!

Welcome Kimberly,

Regain is such a challenge, but you're doing the right things. BOTT and the whole OH site is such a great help in our journey and WW is a good support group also. Much of what I've read and experienced is that losing regain is a slow process, but totally doable. Things I've found helpful to keep me on track are logging everything I eat and journaling especially when my emotions want to take over.

I used to have trouble with my blood sugar dropping into the 40's and 50's about 5am at work (also a nurse). My surgeon told me I was probably eating a high carb meal or snack and that can cause this to happen. Since I've committed back to higher protein and less carbs, it hasn't happened. Also eating every 2-3 hours helps keep me from getting too hungry.

Good luck!! 

Hi Kimberly,

Welcome to BOTT.  Most of us have dealt with weight regain at some point in our WLS journey.  You aren't alone.  Unfortunately, regain is very common.  

For me, the habits that I went back to were grazing, eating way too many carbs, eating the simple sugary carbs and not eating protein first at my meals.  What old habits of yours have returned?  Being honest with yourself and aware of those habits will help.  

As a suggestion.....so your blood sugar doesn't drop, can you eat a piece of fruit that is a lower glycemic fruit.  Eating carbs is a vicious cycle - the more we eat, the more we want.  Also, the more we eat, the more we gain.

What helped me to get back on track after being way off track for awhile was to start logging my food.  If I didn't want to log it, I didn't eat it.  Getting back on track can feel overwhelming all at once.  Try one thing at a time.  Those old habits that have creeped back into your life, nix them one at a time rather than all at once.  Check out the 16 Ways To Get Back On Track for support and take one at a time.  Try to stay off the scale.  The scale can be frustrating when losing regain.  

You can relose regained weight.  It is different than it was one-year post-op.  It comes off slower - sometimes 1 pound a week.  Consistency and persistence are important with losing regain.  

Hang out here on BOTT.  Post every day or every hour if you want.  We support each other!

Keep your head in being on track!

I'm so glad that I visitd this site today as I too am struggling with weight regain...if it doesn't move I eat it. I had my surgery in 2007 and it's really hard staying on track.  I will take your suggestion Cathy of eating every 2-3 hours and see if that helps.