Gaining Weight after Rouxen Y surgery

I am post op 3 years now, My first two year check up was great I never gained any weight. Now my 3 year check up, I gained 25 lbs in a year...eeeekkk....Has this happened to anyone. I think alot of it had to do with me mentally checking out before I eat. I stopped being aware of eating my protein first. But need support to get myself back on track..

Lots of people gain by year 3. Get back to basics. We can eat a lot more as time goes by. I have to be careful or I can gain 5 pounds in a week. Daily weighing keeps me in check.

I believe maintaining is something we all struggle with afterwards.  It's the never ending battle.  The battle with the little voice in my head that tells me, it's ok to eat that donut for breakfast or why not have that burger instead of the chicken breast.  It's when you stop listening to that nagging voice that tells you it's wrong..when we start to gain weight. 

I think after the thrill of losing all that weight and all that's left is the hard work of maintaining....we start sliding back into our old habits.  After 6 years of losing and then maintaining.  You would think I would have this demon conquered but I don't think I ever will. So far I have not regained any major weight.  But I understand how one could.    

You just have to stop giving your self that little room to cheat.  Go back to the basics.  Write it all down.  Get strict.  Go for walks.  Ride a bike.  Get out of the house every day and do something extra active.  Drink lots of water.  Eat lots of protein.  It's only 25 lbs...you can do this!!!!

Most people gain weight steadily and then realize it when they finally step on the scale.  If you truly gained 25 pounds in a week, then you can lose it just as quickly.

The one thing that I always do is step on that scale every single morning.  If I am up a pound, I address that. 

There are many people who are too skinny during the second year after surgery, but it is extremely rare to find someone too skinny by the third year.

After the honeymoon it is abou****ching your calories and watching your weight.

Yes, it is very common for people to start regaining during the second and third year!  The caloric malabsorption is gone, all the attention/compliments/excitement of the losing phase is gone, and food and your weight are no longer something you obsess about so it is easy to get complacent. It is also very easy to let the portion sizes creep up and to let too many carbs creep back into our diets.

The good news is that you know how to stop the gain and get the regained wight back off: back to being diligent about what, and how much, you are eating. Protein first, limited carbs, lots of water. It won't come off quickly, but I have never heard of anyone who honestly went back to basics (including measuring and tracking your food for a while) who did not eventually lose weight.

I am almost 8 years out and gained a few pounds after having knee replacement surgery, and even though I have not regularly tracked my food since I was 6 months out, I have gone back to it in order to get the extra weight off.  It is coming off very slowly -- I am only down 3 pounds in as many weeks -- but it IS coming off.

Lora 

Lora,

I lose a pound a week when I work hard at it.  It is slow but the good part is that it stays off.  Years ago, I could lose seven pounds in a week, but they would be back by the next month.

I'll be 7 years out next month.  I maintained my loss until the last year.  I retired in 2012 and went back to work as a temp in 2013.  I've worked since August 2014 and just finished my last job last Friday.  During that time I gained about 12 lbs.  I grazed a lot so I stopped that.  Sitting all day and doing no exercise added to my problem.  I also ate more carbs than I should.  Now, I plan my eats for the day with snacks at certain times when I'm working.

I've lost a few lbs.  Make sure you get in sufficient protein, drink your water and take your vitamins.  You can take off the 25 lbs. 

Hi 

 

You have already taken the hardest step by saying enough is enough and now I want to get back on track.  Here are some steps I hope will help you. They helped me...  Also, be sure and join the Back On Track Together group link in my signature area.  

Planning/Preparing

Remember when we were preparing for surgery?  How many meetings, classes and such did we attend?  We were told the more prepared we were the better our chances were for success.  And they were right. Go through the house, car and work place and get rid of trigger foods.  Stock up on foods that will keep you on track. I removed every carb/sugar temptation and replaced it with lots of protein, veggies and fruits.  

Journaling

Get back to journaling.  This will help you identify when you feel like eating, stress factors and any triggers in your life.  Once you identify these factors, this will help you put tools in place to keep you from eating.  It became clear I was not taking time for me anymore. I worked my day job and then spent the rest of my time caring for my husband.  It was easy to reach for fast, prepackaged food.  Since I purged my home I have to eat clean as there are no other options LOL

Use a tool to track you're eating and exercise like Getting Started with Health Tracker

Once I started to track ever bite and drink it became clear why I had gained.

Goals/Rewards

Make a list of goals for yourself.  Make them realistic and small.  Some of mine were move more, purge all junk from my home, eat more protein.

Food

In general, a long term post-weight loss surgery eating plan includes foods that are high in protein, and low in fat, fiber, calories, and sugar. Important vitamins and minerals are provided as supplements. (if you had a different surgery adjust this to your food plan)

Water

Water is our Best Friend. I have to say I never went back to pop or any bad drinks, however I was drinking tea like crazy. What is wrong with drinking tea?  I was either using sugar or 3 equals and 3 sweet n lows per 32 ounce glass.  So I was either pushing to be diabetic or get cancer.  I found once I started carrying a bottle of water around 24/7 (yes had one at my bedside) I lost the cravings for the sugar and I KNOW those artificial sweeteners are not good for me. Look I am old and if you add up all the artificial sweeteners I have consumed I am sure I am at the rat in the lab getting cancer threshold

MOVE!

I can't say enough about how key this was for me. The reason I kept my weight off for almost 10 years was no matter what I kept moving.  If I could not go to the gym I would walk. I loved Zumba, bootcamp workouts, lift weights. When I stopped, the weight came on.  So for me I am starting slow to avoid injury by walking and using some of the workouts on my Demand TV.  Find something you love to do and it won't feel like a pain in the *** to do daily.

Support

If it's an option "run" don't walk to a support group.

Keep me posted on how you are doing

You didn't gain 25 lbs in a year.  You gained about 2 lbs a month for a year.

I also weigh myself daily and try to nip things in the bud.  When I see my weight up a few lbs for more than a few days I take a look at what I am eating.  It isn't hard for me to pinpoint what the culprit is (or are).

I also write down my weight daily.  That way I can see trends.  I realized that I was also gaining about a pound or two a month.  It hadn't gotten out of hand but it was getting there if I didn't do something about it.

I took a long, hard look at what my eating habits were and saw where I had allowed somethings back that I thought I could handle in moderation but in reality what was an occasional snack was becoming a daily routine and the portions were getting bigger.

So I decided to cut out one thing that I thought was the biggest problem and see what that did.  Hopefully it will reverse the trend and I can stay at a stable weight.

Maintaining after a period of time demands diligence.  The things that we did that got us morbidly obese can always work their way back into our lives if we aren't careful.  I try to keep my eyes open to what I am eating and what I am weighing because in the past every significant weight gain came after I stopped watching what I ate and what I weighed.

I also cannot eat spontaneously.  I have to plan out my meals and make sure I am prepared.  I like what I heard once.  "Fail to plan and plan to fail."

Very well said!