Very Discouraged

 I was reading on here today about how some people regain their weight.  I have surgery Sept 2nd and I am now rethinking it.  I know this is just a tool but to hear the stories of the weight gain is very discouraging.  I want to lose the weight and keep it off and be healthy, but I'm scared that the old habits will come back after awhile.  Any suggestions?

After about 2 years most of us can eat a lot. You have to learn good habits and keep following them to keep it off. The surgery is not "magic".

Laura

You have to have the mental fortitude to follow protocol.  Some minor wt regain of around 10-15 pounds is not uncommon ONCE you've reached around 2 years.  Goal wts set before surgery may or may not be attained.  Wt loss of some post ops is done at 6 months, but most are around 12-16 months. It took me 24 months.  There are protocols you must follow during the first 6 months to adapt yourself to a new lifestyle. Taking daily supplements Forever, doing some form of exercise daily or 3-4 times a week if you have a busy lifestyle, eating better high protein diet, using portion control, drinking 64 oz or more of water daily, etc. UNLESS you are willing to make these changes after surgery, you won't have very good success.  Most wt regain (over the 10 pound potential "bounce back" issue) is the results of returning to poor eating habits again. UNLESS you honestly think you can make these changes, your surgical outcome will not be as good as it could have been.  The major suggestion I would make is to attend one or more support meetings per month. These meetings are where you'll meet other post ops who have gone through challenges of early post op and can offer a multitude of suggestions to resolve your issues.  Healthy comes at a price post op. This includes $$ for supplements and dit change, and the "price" of giving up your old unhealth eating practices. DAVE

well said Dave,,(but then you always say things well,),you have to be able to make the commitment Raynae,,it's a continual work in progress of just eating healthier and treating yourself better,you can't go in it with the mind set of"when i lose the weight that will keep me motivated" it won't,,you have to be motivated before you go into to it,,i suggest you do some more soul searching and speak with your counseler on whats expected for you to suceed,,i have heard alot of folks(most with no weight issues by the way) say this is the easy way out for weight lose,,it is just the opposite,,it takes commited work,,it's no cake walk..

Regain is a reality.

At the same time, let this help you put it in perspective:

I am five years out.

I lost 145 lbs.

Regained 15.

Would I say that it wasn't worth my rny because I had regain!???

I think I'll stick with the 130 lbs.

I'm only 5 months out but I'll tell you that losing over 100 pounds is an amazing feeling.  Do I have the same fears as you?  Absolutely!  But I'm willing to work on this every single day of my life to make sure that I AM a success story.  You have to work on the mental aspect of this journey before, during and and for the rest of your life.  Am I always 100% in control?  No but every day I strive to be and I make sure to find other things to reward myself.  I need food to survive but it doesn't run my life anymore.  Look deep into yourself but don't give up this amazing opportunity.

Your thoughts are very normal!  I had the same reservations.  The way I dealt with it was to find something athletic that I loved to do.  As soon as my weight dropped enough to do it (in my case backpacking), I rearranged my life so I could incorporate it on a regular basis.

Nine months after surgery I have lost 95% of my excess weight and achieved a normal BMI.  I pursue my passion with gusto, really enjoy it, and become more and more capable as my level of fitness increases.  As long as I continue, I know I won't regain.

In short you change your habits by using your new capabilities that come from WLS to do new things.  The more you do, the more you can do and the less food you need.  It is just the opposite of what happens when you become obese and your body requires ever increasing amounts of food and has less and less capability.

I am still pre op, like you.  I am looking at it this way... I am addictied to food.  I figure this must be the hardest addiction to  break as it is the only thing I can think of that you need to survive and can be addicted to.  I am going to use this "tool" to help me break the addiction. Once I lose the weight, I am not going to allow those foods back in my life.  I know that some people say that they do and are sucessfull doing so.  But I do not feel that I would be able to do moderation after years of abuse.  To me saying I can have just one piece of cake is like an alcoholic saying I can have just one shot. 

Plus you have this great support group to help you along the way!!!! 

You can do this!!!!

raynae,
Dont be discouraged, just because we have  this surgery doesn't mean we dont have to do anything to keep it off... We still have to maintain a diet . We will always have to do that. The surgery doesn't do everything for us.  Believe me it is worth it. I had my surger May 19th.  Its been hard but i have lost almost 60 lbs. At first i wanted to eat food so bad. and my brain wanted food.. and i got depressed really bad. but finally i feel i have overcome it. 
It is still a diet but u will lose the weight.  just following ur diet and take ur vitamins... and drink lots of water and ur protein drinks...
k

Well, it's true that some people regain.  This surgery is not a magic fix that fixes things forever.

Maybe you can focus on all the ways you'll use this tool to keep from gaining weight back.