Fear of Food/Regain

So, I just read the study that Mini posted and wanted to talk a little about our regain/food fears. 

I think my fear of regain (mind you I'm not even done losing yet) revolves around having more babies.  With my first pregnancy I only gained about 15 lbs and it was all gone by the time my daughter was 2 weeks old.  I was feeling really confident that I had "beaten" the baby weight and perhaps I let my guard down a bit.  While I was nursing I was soooo hungry all the time and ended up gaining 20 lbs.  Here I was heavier on my own then I had been with a baby on board, this is when I decided to have surgery.  My daughter is now two and we're anxious to keep growing our family as soon as it is deemed safe for me to conceive.  Clothes have always been my big gauge to my weight, as they'd get tight I'd reach for the "fat clothes" in the back of my closet... when I ran out of those I'd diet.  I'd lose 20 lbs, get into my smaller clothes and carry on with life.  I'd bounce between a size 14 - 18.  As part of my "plan" to maintain I've gotten rid of all my clothes that are too big along the way.  The only thing I've kept is jeans one size larger than I am currently wearing for the sake of early pregnancy and the early postpartum period.  I guess my fear however is that while I'm in maternity clothes my size will get away from me with my main tool for accountability (the fit of my clothes) taken away from me.  I don't want to "diet" while I'm pregnant or nursing and risk harming the baby, but it is scary for me to think about letting the scale go up.  I don't plan on being one of these pregant people who "eat for two" and put on 70 lbs, but I'm afraid of finding the balance between how much is too much or not enough.  Trying to balance all of this with maintenence being pretty new really scares me! 

Don't blame you for being a little worried as so many women seem to develop their weight problems during or after pregnancy. (not me, i have no kids and was fat when i was 8).  But of course you are not going to let that fear interfere with having the second child you want. Maybe the thing to do is get your surgeon's dietician or some other professional dietician or nutritionist  to help you outline a plan for eating during pregnancy and nursing. I suspect it will be still to head for the protein when in doubt and keep some variety (plus keep those pickles handy LOL) and keep the sf popsicles around and not ice cream. Maintaining weight loss is a constant every day balancing act for all of us so you are not alone and while the pregnancy adds some extra challenges, you are better equipped than most to deal with it. So wishing you the best. You will get through it just fine I bet. Diane

I can understand your fears, that is when i gained alot of my weight after each pregnancy.. There is a pregnancy board here on oh maybe you can stop by and bring your fears up there, they might have the answers to help with some of your fears.

They may have suggestions or ideas of what has worked for them.

Never having been or the possibility of being a breeder - I cannot say personally about the pregnancy weight gain, but I sure can see the scariness of it!

I just wanted to ditto MiniMe's suggestion of the pregnancy board! 

Good luck with the balance finding!

I think you are right to be worried about this.  I gained most of my weight during my two pregnancies.  I do think you have a better fighting chance than most other woman now.  This is true not only because of the VSG but because of your awareness and desire to be in control of the process.  If it was me in you situation, I would plan my pregnancy food very carefully.  I would become very controlling over my food at this time.  I would talk to my surgeon and dietitian and make a very detailed plan of eating along with calories, protein, carbs and vitamins I need to have the most successful pregnancy both for myself and my baby.  I would use the fact that the baby needs me to eat like this as a great motivator to stick with the program.  I would also check in with my doctor, nutritionist quite often to keep on track.  I needed to do something like this with my second pregnancy as I developed gestational diabetes.  The knowledge that my baby needed this to be healthy kept on track like you wouldn't believe.  I think you need to attack this as a short term, but very important project and you will be successful.  Most of all, don't hide the weight gain from yourself.  Use the scale to chart the weight gain and bring it with you to your doctor appointments.  Also talk to your OBGYN about your concerns before hand and make sure he/she will not just tell you all is fine if it's not.  Chose one that will tell you just how much weight you should gain and no more and will keep you accountable.  Those are some of the things that would help me keep it real.