Question:
Are we right back where we started?

Hi everyone- There have been a lot of questions lately about regaining weight post-op. My question is, if someone regains a lot of weight several years post-op, does it put us back to square one? By that I mean, will you have just as much of a struggle losing the weight as you did pre-op, where no diet plan will be successful? Or are you more "normal" and can lose the way most people do, thru sensible diet and exercise? Do you always need a revision to lose a large amount of regained weight after WLS? Thanks a bunch, Mea    — Mea A. (posted on November 3, 2003)

November 3, 2003
A couple months ago I gained 10 pounds stress eating oreo cookie bars. Threy were yummy but not worth it. I lost 8 pounds in nearly 2 months getting back to basics, protein first no junk food. Loosing again was WAY easier than pre op. But I stopped and lost again BEFORE I let it get out of hand.
   — bob-haller

November 3, 2003
Boy I'm barely six months post op and have no answers, but I can sure say that these questions are an eye opener. I believe we have to get into ourselves and find out why we stress/emotional eat. When you are losing, you have a lot of forward momentum and you think "nothing can stop me now". Thats a deception. However, our "tool" does offer us an advantage we didn't have when we were pre-op. I think it would be easier to lose any regain because of the surgery. I think the mentality of "all or nothing" has sabotaged many of us our entire lives. Now we have something we can use to correct our mistakes. I believe in support, I believe in counselling, most of all I believe in God, who through prayer and many tears, provided this means of help for us all. Never lose sight of what we've been given and never lose hope!
   — Happy I.

November 3, 2003
I hope this doesn't sound sarcastic, I don't mean it to sound that way, but if you read posts from people on this website who have gained weight, most, but not all say that they were eating wrong foods (high carbs, candy, ice cream) or not getting enough excersize to burn excess food consumption. It is not due to their stomach getting big again. People who need revisions, usually need them because they were not transected, they didn't have a duodenal switch and needed one and for other medical reasons. They don't need revisions because they are gaining if it is due to eating snickers bars. The object is to realize that your new stomach is merely a tool and that you have to change your life to keep the weight off. Better food choices, excersizing and sane portion control can help you keep your weight in check for life. My best wishes -
   — M B.

November 3, 2003
Mea, During the first year you will lose weight inspite of what you eat. The first year is also the time to arm yourself with good eating habits and lifestyle changes. At almost two and a half years out, I find that I bounce around the same 5-7 pounds...sometimes it's on others times it's off. I know others who have gained anywhere from 20 to 30 pounds and are struggling to take it off( and it wasn't from eating snickers and junk)I cringe every time a recent post op says their pounds are "gone forever" The losing part is much easier than the maintaining part.
   — Pamela B.

November 3, 2003
Hi Mea, Great questions.... I don't know if I have the answers for you, but I can direct you to a Yahoo group/web site with some really great people on it who - I'd be willing to bet - the answers. http://groups.yahoo.com/group/DS_Revision/ . Hope that helps! dina
   — Dina McBride

November 3, 2003
I have to disagree with the poster who said that it is the ones that are making poor food choices that gain the weight. This was not true for me. If you read my profile, you will see that I blame fruit for my weight gain. I completely changed my eating habits from eating junk pre-op to craving healthy food. Nutrition has somewhat become a hobby for me. It has been a lot of fun trying new healthy dishes. And yet I still managed to gain a few pounds. I had still wanted to lose another 10 lbs. too. I was not happy about a weight gain when I hadn't changed a bit of my eating habits. I didn't understand it. It seems as if a lot of post-ops that are at the end of their journey, their body tries to find exactly where it wants to be, and will fluctuate up a few pounds. I really haven't seen many who gain a LOT of weight post-op, and like someone else said, the ones that do probably had some mechanical failure. Each journey is different. You just have to make the best of the tool that has been given to you, and be grateful for every pound lost.
   — Cheri M.

November 4, 2003
The pouch rules has a story about a woman who went to the surgeon and had gained all her weight back. He taught her how to use the "tool" correctly, and she proceeded to lose all the weight again. So yes, I would say the tool is still there to help, but we'll never have it easy like the first 6 - 12 months again! I think there is difference categories of re-gain as well. It looks like it's common to have SOME bounce back, but then there are people who go back to being MO. If your tool is intact, then I would think you could at least stay out of the obese category, even if we don't get as low as we'd like.
   — mom2jtx3