I'll be 13 years post op in February. I had a regain of over 50 pounds at almost 10 years post op. 2015 was a horrible year. My sister died, I had heart surgery, my father-in-law died, my daughter had a serious medical condition, my cat got cancer, and we bought a new house. This was all in a six month period.

i did not handle the stress well. I went back to soothing my angst with sugar. I did not exercise. I was in such a bad place. It wasn't pretty. I'm surprised I only gained 50 pounds.

My wake up call happened in December of that year. My A1C was 12. I knew I had to do something. I went back to eating like I did the first few years post op. I focused on protein first. This worked for the first 20 pounds and it took almost 2 years. This sucked.

i joined weigh****chers this year I've lost the other 30 and 20 more I'm smaller than I have been my entire adult life. I needed the login hog my food and the accountability of the meetings to keep me on track.

Now, don't get too excited about WW. The last 20 lbs was due to my inability to keep food down At almost 13 years post op, I had a Petersen's Hernia that had to be repaired These are becoming more common and now almost always happen to RNY patients.

You can do this. Try keeping a food journal Go back to focusing on lean meats, fruits, and veggies. WW makes that easy and the new point system rocks. I've got so good at this that I can easily feel full and stay within my points.

Good luck. Holler if you need help.

I've tried it and I like it.  I even bought some.  You can put it in hot or cold water.  I made my own iced coffee with it.  I can't tell the difference.  But I'm not a coffee connoisseur.

My husband was laid off in February.  I've been working 60+ hours a week between two jobs.  I get a day off about once every 6-7 weeks.  The Y wants me full time starting August 1st.  I'm hoping since they will give me health insurance and we won't have to stress about cobra, I can cut back some.  I hope he goes back to work soon so I can quit my non-Y job completely.

Aww ... sweetie.  At least you've recognized what you're doing.  That's the first step.  (hugs)

Eight of the longest days of my life before I pooped.  Hang in there. 

Guilty here!  At 3 years post op, my ferritin had dropped to 4.  Normal for women is 15-200.  I tried getting my iron levels up on my own.  I was taking 6x the normal dose of iron and my levels continued to drop.  The only thing the iron did was made me constipated.  I had an iron infusion in March.  I just had tests and I'm already back down to a 16.  I see the doctor again in a few weeks.  It looks like I'm going to need an infusion every 4-6 months.  I just can't absorb iron like I should.

They are giving all the trainers at the Y a pedometer tomorrow.  It's one that will upload our steps into a computer system each time we come into work.  I'm going to be interested in how many steps I take a day.  I'm on my feet running around like a mad woman the first part of the day and sit on my bottom the second part of the day.  I'll let you know what I average.

Because you are working out, you have more muscle.  It's more dense and you can weigh MUCH more and be the same size/build.  I've gained a lot of muscle since I started working at the gym and got my workouts back on track.  I'm up almost 12 pounds and still fit in my size 10 Levi jeans at a whopping 195 lbs, 5'6" tall.

From sparkpeople.com:

Q: I just started exercising to lose weight, but I've gained weight. Why did this happen?

A: It's true that many people either gain a little weight or don't see any change on the scale for as long as 4-6 weeks after making a significant change in their level of exercise. This is often explained as "gaining muscle while losing fat" but that isn't quite accurate. This extra weight is usually water.

When you start doing more exercise, your body begins storing more fuel in your muscle cells, where it can be used easily and quickly to fuel your workouts. The process of converting glucose (carbohydrates) into fuel that your muscles actually store and use (glycogen) requires three molecules of water for every molecule of glucose. As your muscles are building up glycogen stores, your body has to retain extra water for this purpose. That's what causes most of the initial weight gain or lack of weight loss. This is a good thing—not something to worry about.

However, despite what the scale says, you are actually losing fat during this time. The extra water retention will stop once your body has adjusted to its new activity level. At that point, the scale should start moving down. You'll end up with less fat, and muscles that can handle a larger amount of work.

If you REALLY want to freak out, go into some of the high end clothing stores that still use the old dress makers sizing.  I was shoping for a dress last summer in Talbots and about died. 


I'm on the left in a size 12 or 14 ... don't remember which ... just remember it was double digit size.

I started walking in the hospital before I came home from surgery.  By a week post-op, I was walking a mile or more every day.  At 2 weeks post-op, I was released to start doing water exercise again.  And, at 8 weeks, I started strength training.  I don't think I've slowed down since then except when I was recovering from my plastic surgery last year.

As a personal trainer, I tell people to listen to their bodies.  If it hurts, then STOP.  I don't mean the soreness you get the next day, that's normal.  I mean the "OMG this REALLY hurts" you would get while doing the exercise.  Stay away from ab wor****il about 6-8 weeks out.  Ease into it slowly and make new healthy habits.

I was a year post Lower Body Lift this past Friday and I still swell.  I had swell hell though ... to the EXTREME.  I would say it was at least 6 months before the worst of the swelling was gone.

To get Dr. Q to do his LBL?  Oh wait ... that's why he crossed the BORDER!