Question:
I know people tend to start re-gaining weight after 3 years. Can anyone tell me WHY?
Is it laziness? Do we get used to eating certain foods and slowly build up the quantity? Do the cravings come back? I am curious because I know 2 people that have gained all their weight back. I am starting to notice in my own diet, more cravings and a feeling of never full. I want to nip this in the bud and not succumb to my old habits. I certainly can't eat anywhere near my pre-op meals, but I am concerned enough now to take serious notice. Any suggestions? Thanks in advance. — K S. (posted on September 11, 2005)
September 11, 2005
Hi. I am a little over 3 years out. I went from 269 pounds to 128. Now I
am 135 pounds, but I started weight training, so I think that is the extra
(my clothes are the same). Yes, it's true, I have to fight bad habits
coming back and I can definately eat alot more now then when I first had
surgery. Still, as you say, not nearly as much as pre-op, but still. I
have to use the WLS "tool" as they say. I do fight hard to
maintain my weight now and if I do not eat right and exercise, I do see the
pounds creep back. I think at some point, your body figures out how to
"beat the system" that was set in place with surgery (the
malabsorption). That combined with your pouch inevitably getting larger
somewhat will spell weight gain again if you do not maintain yourself
correctly. I just keep reminding myself that I did not go through all that
to gain weight again and I have no problem working hard to maintain my
current weight. I would just keep on top of yourself and continue to eat
healthy and exercise....its in your hands to keep it off and I'm sure you
can do it! :)
— emilyfink
September 11, 2005
I have a cousin who had RNY (not sure what surgery you had) and she has
starting gaining a bit back and is only a year out. From what I've read
RNY'ers often have to DIET all their lives. Can't imagine having to do
that, and I am sure not all do, but I've researched alot in the last year
as I was deciding which surgery to have (chose DS) and it seems tons of
folks who had the RNY had issues with weight regain. Not all do of
course...as all of the surgeries work for the most part. We must work with
what we have eh? LOL. How far out are you? Sometimes I wish I wanted to
eat. Imagine that! Right now I don't even want to eat, I have no hunger
pains, and a few bites will do me. I need to eat more!! Gotta figure that
one out. LMAO.
Good luck,
— T S.
September 12, 2005
I have followed some of this and have noticed the ones who have gained back
weight are the one's who's stomaches were not cut, they were stapled only
and at some point and time they gained back use of the "other"
stomach.(staples failed) I understand that those who are cut (like me)
don't usually gain back, at least no where near to their original weight.
— teresagrooms
September 12, 2005
I think the regain is the same as with anything else. Once you achieve
success, you have to maintain it. You cannot continue to be successful by
simply not trying. People who are thin do not eat whatever they want every
minute of their lives. They may say they do, but if you watch someone
24/7, you will see that the consumption of food is different than ours.
Saying that they can eat anything is a correct statement, and so can we.
The problem we have is that we want to eat everything NONSTOP. I watched
my skinny friend and in fact did a test about 5 years ago (without her
knowning). We walked downstairs from work and each bought a KitKat candy.
We came up to the 9th floor in an elevator and by the time we got back to
our desks, I had finished my KitKat (a normal event, nothing special).
This was at 11:00 a.m. By 4:30 that afternoon my friend was still
"nibbling" on the KitKat and enjoying every morsel. Drove me
crazy. She claimed she could eat anything at anytime, and she was right,
she could, and so could I, but I just never put a lid on it. This surgery
has allowed me to put a lid on it. I try every day to stay on track; every
time I put something in my mouth, I try to stay on track; and I know that I
will have to do that for the rest of my life. I don't mind too much
because WLS got me down to a size that no dieting would ever get me (125
pounds, size 4, from 268, size 22-24) and making myself accountable for my
actions is not a bad prize to pay. I don't condone anyone who has gained
and I thank my lucky stars every day that I have been given the will to go
yet one more than with the will to be successful and stay on track. Just
my 2 cents worth. Missy
— Missy H.
September 12, 2005
My 2 cents (from my own experience): I was pretty much always overweight my
entire life. I have hypothyroidism. And at 3 years out, I have gained
about 25 or so back. I work out and I try to eat healthy. I can eat more
though. But I think a lot of it has to do with the fact that for many of
us, WLS or not, we have really bad metabolism. I have found my ideal
calorie intake for weightloss is 700..to maintain..about 900...at 1000
cal/day I can gain. That's just me, but I have talked to other who feel
that their metabolism is playing a part in the weight gain. I don't think
that everyone who gains some or most of it back is lazy. But after a
lifetime of living one way, 2 or 3 years may not change all habits. I find
the best thing to do is remember what lead you to decide to go thru all
that you did to do WLS and try to refocus. Even "normal" folks
need to watch what they eat.
— Carole J.
September 12, 2005
I'm over four years out and I've had some regain (10 pounds, was more, but
I lost some of it again). Yes, I can eat more, but I don't think that's
the issue. What's caused my regain is allowing refined carbs back in my
diet (white sugar, white flour). I have an addiction to these foods, and I
over eat (and eat, and eat) when I indulge. I think there's a
misconception about thin people that they eat whatever and as much as they
want. None of my thin friends can pig out and maintain their weight. They
ALL make careful choices. Their one advantage is that they can eat ONE
cookie and be happy. I eat one cookie and want ten, but that's my
addiction, my disease if you will. I spoke to a woman the other day that
had surgery the same day as me. She says you'd never even know that she'd
had it since she gained her weight back. She also admitted that she never
changed her eating habits. You HAVE to change, but I've never thought this
is a bad thing. No one should be eating that processed junk that's out
there. We should all be eating low fat protein and lots of veggies, fruits
and whole grains, post-op or otherwise. So, I think it is up to us to do
the work and choose a healthy lifestyle. Sadly, after awhile we become
complacent.. with food choices, exercise, water, whatever, and that's when
we get in trouble.
— mom2jtx3
September 13, 2005
I am 4 years out and am 10lbs above my lowest post op weight. The reason I
have regained is because I have lost my fear of food. I am able to eat
more in one sitting, but typically don't. For me it is the bad choices,
nothing more. I do not fear sugar, carbs or breads...so one bite wont kill
me, right? The one bites add to 10lbs. Not everyone is the same, but this
is my story and I'm stickin' to it. : ) Rebecca
— RebeccaP
September 14, 2005
Hmm, I wonder why it's only those who say they've gained back but a wee bit
of the pre-op weight who've responded to you? Where are all those who've
put back fifty pounds or more, fifty percent or more of those pounds that
were supposed to be "gone forever"? I know they're out there.
Yet they never seem to post on AMOS, except in those "Does anybody
know a doctor who does revisions..." questions. Otherwise, seriously
regaining post-ops either are not to be found here, or not to be heard
here. I suspect it's the latter. Anyway. You now can eat more than you
could in the easy early post-op phase, and it takes fewer calories to
maintain your lower weight. And, in addition to our sliding back into old
habits (how dare we be human), our bodies "learn" after several
years to compensate for the surgery. It gets better at absorbing. It may
not be able to get all those pounds back, but it will certainly try.
Remember how quickly pounds returned after a diet? It wasn't just your
lapse into old habits; it was your body's desperate attempt to return to
its set point. Research has proven that. So to all of you who are
virtually abstemious from sugar and bad, bad foods like that forever after
your surgeries, I salute you. Meanwhile, I continue to be glad I chose a
surgery that allows me to be a little less than a paragon, and still not
pack the pounds back on.
— Kay B.
September 15, 2005
The people who regain all their weight are the people who didn't pay
attention to the fact that gastric bypass is a tool not a cure for obesity.
The majority of us worked extremely hard to get where we are today. For me
I am 5 years out and I admit that I regained 6 pounds in 5 years. I went
from 262 to 136 in about a year. It was hard to maintain the 136 and my
family didn't think I looked healthly. After the initial 6 lb gain to 142,
I put on the brakes and if I gain a few pounds I go back to the basics!
Extra water, an extra hour of exercise, I cut out all un-necessary carbs
like pototoes, bread, popcorn, rice and pasta. It's all about setting
limits for yourself and working with the parameters you were given. I
didn't want to say "it's only 10 pounds" because before long it's
only 20 pounds and I never want to be that unhealthy and unhappy again!
Good Luck! Szuy
— Suzanne H.
September 15, 2005
Uh...did I type "virtually abstemious"? I meant "virtuously
abstemious." Maybe I can't type it because I'm not it.
— Kay B.
Click Here to Return