Question:
can you gain all the weight back?

i was told that with the rouex en y bypass you can gain all your weight back if not carefull.is this true?and if you only have this small pouch as your new stomach how can all the weight come back????please help i am due for my sugery on the 13th of feb and i have never heard of this before.    — jadeyface (posted on February 4, 2002)

February 4, 2002
My doctor told me there are two ways to "eat out" the surgery. One is drinking too many high calorie liquids, the other is grazing or snacking on high-calorie, high-carb foods. <P>He believes in 3-4 meals a day. Many others say 6 small meals a day. Either way, snacking between designated meals is not a good idea. <P> I've also heard that drinking liquids with meals or soon after "washes food out of the pouch". You get hungry sooner and consume more calories. <P> If you read and follow the "pouch rules" or 10 Commandments of WLS, you will be fine. Good luck.
   — [Anonymous]

February 4, 2002
I have a friend that is 15 years post op and she is within a few pounds of her goal weight for many years. This gaining the weight back thing is new to me. I am 17 months post op and still losing about a pound a week. My doctor has a different opinion about drinking and eating. He says that if you drink while you eat it causes you to eat less. I have lost 331 pounds in 17 months. I eat small amounts of the foods that satisfy me so I don't find myself needing to snack as often. I drink about 100 oz of water a day and the biggest change that I made in my life, except the portion control, is that I eat healthy snacks like pickles, sf popsicles, fresh fruit with cool whip. You will be fine.
   — DeeDubbs

February 4, 2002
With older versions of the RNY, it used to be fairly common for people to gain weight back. With newer versions, though, the success rate is 95%+, meaning most people get off between 60-80% of their weight and keep it off 5+ years. I am 11 months post-op and have already lost about 75% of my excess weight, putting me in the "success" category already. Now all I have to do is continue to maintain my great loss by eating as my doctor has recommended. Good luck - I'm sure you'll do fine like so many before you.
   — Terissa R.

February 5, 2002
I lost 150lbs. after my rny and according to my surgeon, I don't have to worry about ever regaining all the weight. But, if I return to old eating patterns...drinking sugary drinks, eating lots of simple carbs, snacking throughout the day, eating sweets.....I most certainly will regain a significant amount of the weight I loss.
   — [Anonymous]

January 24, 2005
Yes, you can. I am 2 1/2 yrs post-op for a proximal RNY and I can eat almost as much food as I could pre-op. I am seeing a therapist who handles eating issues and works extensively with post-op WLS patients. She states this is very common after 2 years post-op. My surgeon said I would never be able to eat more than 1 cup of food at a time. Not true for me. I followed the rules to a T the first year to year and a half - I mean not one SPECK of sugar passed my lips. Tracked all my food. Carbs kept to less than 10% of total calories. Did my protein shakes and vits. Exercised. Lost so much weight that all my ribs showed and I couldn't have a period anymore. Maintained that weight about 1 yr. Then I thought I was normal, real life kicked in, and I started doing things like eating carbs and drinking wine. I don't mean a binge - I mean like a normal person. And I could hold it. And I only dump maybe 1 time in 20 on the same food. I gained 50 lbs. I am back to protein shakes and nothing but meat - though it's about 1 1/2 - 2 cups of lean meat twice a day now. 1/2 cup of cement wouldn't make me full now! Sorry this is so long, but I wish someone had told me this when I was a new post-op. I would have gotten into therapy BEFORE the regain.
   — ediecat

January 24, 2005
Absolutely you can gain all the weight back. I wish in education programs when people start this process they would stress that fact. My surgeon's office said it best: this gives you the tool and a 'honeymoon period' of about a year to learn to eat and modify your behavior where you can get the weight off and keep it off. After that it's discipline, vitamins, exercise that keeps it off. I'm terrified of regaining and so far I've done well. But this is a tool that gives us the chance to modifoy our behavior. Grazing, high-calorie foods and other bad behaviors absolutely can put it back on.
   — Cathy S.

June 17, 2005
I to have gained back lots of weight and feel like such a failure! I had lots of post-op problems, some of which continue today afer 4 years (surgery was 12/2000). Trouble did not start until 2 year, I gained some, but not too bad in 3 rd year. Last year I gained more and now have gained back 50% of what I lost. I eat much less than pre-surgery -- but way more than I thought I would. Slowly, slowly my pouch streteched and I ate a bit more and more. With a very slow damaged metabolism it is too much. And as pre-surgery I am very resistant to weight loss. Even at 1,000 calories per day nothing happens for weeks -- then I give up. I am back to constraining eating to where I feel hungry and stressed to just not gain more! Yes, I did add back more foods, including carbs. Overall I eat much better and less than pre-surgery, but it isn't good enough. I am trying to start a diet now, but am very discouraged right now.
   — LindaMe

September 9, 2005
I don't know about gaining "All" of it back, but I did gain about 25-30lbs back (WLS 09/02). It's a little discouraging, but as previous responses have said...it is a tool not a solution. At lot depends on your metabolism. I have been overweight my entire life. My metabolism is nothing. To lose weight I have to eat less than 700 cals a day. It is very discouraging. But is a choice I have to make. Even if your pouch stretches, it still would take a lot to eat like most of us used to. At 3 years out, I am re-learning to listen to my body and make conscious decisions on what is right for my body.
   — Carole J.