15 months out - Getting back to Fundamentals

I weighed 455 pre-op and weighed 255 on my 11 month surgiversary. I stayed at 255 through about 13.5 months and then started gaining. At first I thought, "This is that rebound that people talk about." But then last Monday I weighed 264. This was a weight gain of 9 lbs in a little under 2 months. That's some of that pre-op bull**** right there. So I did a little bit of self-examination and looked closely at what I was doing, and realised that I was snacking on granola and hot chocolate to the tune of about a thousand calories per day. So I went cold turkey on the granola and hot chocolate, and coffee too since my BP is still borderline high, and this morning weighed 258.8. I also kicked the water and the walking back up to the levels that I was at during the first 10 months or so. That's a 5 lb loss in one week, which I'd take any time,. But to lose that much that quickly at 15 months out ,with as much damage to my metabolism as losing 200 lbs in under a year has to have done, was pretty encouraging. Last Monday I kinda mentally gave myself the whole month of march to take off that 9 lbs and get back down to 255. Hell, I think I'm gonna get it done in 2 wks. I might as well keep the pedal to the mettle and see how far I can go before this carriage turns in to a pumpkin.

I feel your pain brother.  I hate those weight fluctuations, but it is good to get your mind back into the game.  Hang in there.  I am 16 months out and I've been where you are for a little while now.  I started focusing on what I'm eating and went back to the basics and now the pounds a slowly but surely going to come off some more.  I am not going to stop until I reach that goal and you shouldn't either.....   Keep posting.  It will help you focus.

Hey JFish, I have a question.  Thought I'd ask you what you think since we seem to be on a parallel path on this WL journey.  I am almost 11 months p/o.  Lost 192 lbs.  Been stuck at around 270 for what seems like a month or two.  My low was 267 then bounced back to 275 and now holding steady at 270.  I exercise 1.5 hrs 4-5 times a week.  Easily burn 1000-1200 cals a day.  Some days I take in less and am in a deficit.  Most days I avg 1500-1600.  I've been reading alot about stalls and metabolic setpoints and the magic 'do not fall below 1200' net calories or you go into starvation.  I have another 50-70 lbs I'd like to lose and not ready for this thing to end.  Problem is I can't really kick the exercise up any more and am eating pretty balanced with my meals.  Am a bit of a fanatic on tracking the intake.  Lots of folks are saying I need to up my calories to get net closer to 1200 a day.  Definitely avoid the deficit days.  So if I cut back on the exercise some and get calories to 1800-2000 per day.  That should put my net in the 1000-1200 per day range.  How much do you think folks in our p/o range should be consuming.  Just looking for a litte honest feedback.  The concept of eating more really freaks me out but I know it may be a necessary evil in order to continue to lose.  I've hit the 2000+ mark maybe 4-5 times since p/o.  To think I need to hit closer to that everyday, that just seems impossible.  I know I could eat a lot of junk to get there but I've worked so hard to learn good eating habits and it takes a lot of work to plan meals and eat right.   Also had a Basic Metabolic Resting rate test done about a month ago and it said my burn rate was 2600 cals a day.  What do you think?

Sounds like there's a real good chance your stalled out due to starvation mode. The only experience I can share with you that might relate is about 7 months out I hit my first week with absolutely no loss. I was eating about 1500 a day, but was walking 4-5 miles every day, which equates to 1.25 to 1.5 hours worth of exercise. Partly through weather, and partly through being busy as hell at work, I only managed to get 2 nights of walking in the next week and each of those were 2 miles or about 40 minutes. I dropped 9 lbs that week. So I say there's something to the metabolic suppression theory.

My advice to you is to experment around. I'd probably up my intake before I'd back off of the exercise even though it was backing off the exercise that kick started me.

My brother is an exercise fanatic and never had a weight problem.  But, he told me that he gained weight on his first charity bicycle ride a few years ago going from Boston Commons to Central Park in NYC.  Sounds impossible doen't it.  He said he was actually burning less calories than he thought he was. 

I'd suggest that you try to eat around 1,600 cal per day and see if your weight changes.  Don't get caught up in the math of allowing yourself more food because you feel you'll be burning off the calories.  You want to lose weight.  So, if you are not hungry at 1,600 cal, you should lose more weight.  If you have a problem with actual hunger, you may want to increase your complex carbs especially through vegetables.  High protein/ low carb protein shakes -- like the Syntrax Nectars at 100 cal and 23 g of protein-- may help you to get in a lot of protein with little cal ingestion. 

You are doing an exceptional job with weighing and measuring your food and getting in your exercise.  See if this jump starts your weight loss.  You can increase your calorie count through additional protein intake if you are still hungry.  Get in a small dose of grains each day.  But, see if you begin losing more weight before you start eating some more.

I just came off the post op board and they had a reply on weight gain at the 2 yr point.  A Doc said the intestine changes and is able to hold more food etc etc and he recomends going 20lbs below your target to absorb this gain.
Never was told about this  I got heredity, over eating and a bunch of other stuff to fight.  Never new that an internal rearrangment was added to the list
Guess its back to the "Pouch rules for Dummies" ffor life

Fish
Thanks for this. It is my story almost to the dates and pounds. It is actually frightening that after all this time, there could be two men on opposite ends of the country experiencing the same, almost exact experiences. I have, like you, been struggling with the few extra pounds. For me, one difference is that I recently started at the gym. A lot of you guys near my age and surgery date got into the gym early. I did not. I only did some walking and the weight fell off. Now I am not sure what is real gained weight and gym weight, but it really doesn't matter. I am back on extra protein and will continue at the gym until I am back to 255 and then I can work on the next 10 pounds. I am hoping that the spring and the bike will help with that part. This is where I really miss Boner and his biking motivation, but at least the ones who are still around can still help each other, whether we know we are doing it or not.
Thanks again for your post. It couldn't have come at a better time for me. Good health to you!

Lou