New to the forum

Hello my name is Chris and I am new to this forum. Hello all.

I had surgery 6 years ago. Day of surgery i weighed 495lbs. my lowest weight after surgery was 248lbs. since then Ive had trouble keeping it off and have regained 100lbs back. I am lost as to what i can do to save my self so if there are any suggestions I am all ears .

Ive always said that this surgery trains your stomach to eat but it doesnt train your mind. Im scared that ive gone to far to throw it all away but my appetite is still that of a bariatric patient. some days i can only eat a little and some day i feel like im never satisfied. PLease if there is any help out there let me know.

Thanks All for hearing me .
Chris Hubert
Austin, tx

Welcome to BOTT Chris   
You have already taken the first step to helping yourself.  Since I am still a work in progress, I can only say that this support group is helping me get back on track.  We are all here for you.  Since you have successfully lost over a hundred pounds you know what to do and since you are ready to continue losing we are hear to encourage you along the way.  Take care,

Z

Chris - know that you are no different from the rest of us here.  Some days are so easy it seems to take no effort to be compliant and some days even 5 minutes of compliance is so hard.  First of all - thoroughly and carefully review the guidelines Cathy has posted for us at the beginning of our discussion page - many of us have found this so helpful in getting us started  (and keeping us) on track.  Then write down all the reasons you were so excited about having the surgery originally.  Next I would suggest you find a therapist who understands our thinking and have a few sessions.  Our problem is about .01% physical and about 99.99% mental and emotional.  We used food to soothe (for all kinds of reasons) and when we remove food as an option for soothing (and it is vital we replace that with a non-food way of soothing ourselves) all those triggering issues rear their ugly heads and if we do not deal with them, we are doomed to go back to food for we all need soothing.  Food DOES NOT = love - they are like salt and pepper - you often find them together but they are not interchangable.

We know little or nothing about "tummy" hunger but  we know a WHOLE LOT about "head" hunger.  So......whether or not we think we are hungry is the poorest indicator possible for whether or not we need to eat.  Every body's body is different so this may not work for you, but what works for me is to know my calorie limit to maintain (when I was still losing it was knowing my calorie limit to lose) and WRITING DOWN my food plan at least one day ahead and it works better for me to write my plan two or three days ahead.  I may modify it when that day comes, but I stay within my calorie limit.  Do I every overeat - c'mon now, I'm human, of course I do.  But the tool of my surgery has allowed me to get back on.  Now I'd guess I follow my plan about 99% of the time.  About two years after reaching my goal I did gain, but, with the help of this group I got back on and lost a little bit below my original goal and am maintaining FOR THE FIRST TIME IN MY LIFE!!!!!!!!!!!!!

If you are comfortable, please post often and allow us to share your journey.

WE CAN DO THIS TOGETHER - YES WE CAN