Ok everyone, let's have a frank discussion about regain...

We need to have a frank discussion about regain. Cuz frankly? Your comments (yes the newbies in particular) scare the shizz out of me.

You can’t imagine how someone can regain? I may sound harsh here, but HAVE YOU LEARNED NOTHING FROM A LIFETIME OF BEING FAT????

 

Eating, to the average human brain, is only partially about hunger. In our former lives we had the ability to override physical fullness and eat until our minds were soothed. Freud called it the “pleasure principle" and named that ability our “id" (the ability to override need in favor of want).

 

Just because your stomach is smaller, doesn’t mean that you can’t still do this. I’ve heard of people doing it right out of surgery. I have friends in person who eat things they probably shouldn’t KNOWING it will make them sick and that it could cause regain or slow weight loss.

This is not an entirely physical battle. It is not up to our pouch to protect us from regain. If you depend on that, you are a sucker. Yes, I said it and you can curse me if you want to but if you depend solely on your pouch to maintain your weight loss you are A SUCKER.

 

It’s a head game too. Which is why you need to address what made you fat in the first place. Because eventually you CAN eat more. Eventually you CAN convince yourself to have the carb first and the protein last. Eventually you CAN slack with the exercise, the water, the vitamins. Eventually you CAN override fullness cues. And, yes, eventually you CAN regain the weight.

 

This is not a death sentence. For all of you who are panicking reading this, consider whether or not you might have a bit of the “magic wand" syndrome. This process is work. It’s lifelong work. It doesn’t end with the loss. In many ways maintenance is where the REAL hard work begins.

 

So don’t be a sucker. Don’t depend on your pouch alone for weight loss. And don’t be so judgmental of those who have regained. Instead let them motivate you not to make the same mistakes. Learn and move forward.

LMAO was waiting on a thread about this... you seemed to intense in one of your replies LOL...

The "I can't imagine..." mentality sort of ****** me off. It perpetuates regain because when we say that and then, in turn, regain, we beat ourselves up which causes us to eat poorly, which makes us beat ourselves up, which causes us to eat poorly...see the cycle?

I can totally see how someone could regain.

I dump on sugar, I am currently well below goal weight, and I have been nauseous a lot lately, but I can still see it.

Like, carbs stay down real well for me right now.  A protein shake might make me queazy but Cheez-its?  No problem.  Even though I can't eat a whole box of Cheez-its right now like I could before surgery, I can sure eat enough that if I ate them every day along with some other less-than-good stuff, I could regain.

I'm not really having trouble preventing regain right now, but I can sure see how it could be easy to do it.

Kelly

Thank you for posting this. I believe it needed to be said. I'm a newbie too, but I'm on the opposite end of that spectrum...I'm afraid everything I do will cause regain lol.
I knew people who had this surgery many years ago and 2 of them have regained all of their weight from, by their own admissions slider foods and milkshakes... cuz as we all know the dumping goes away after a while in most people) But, knowing that I decided I wanted the chance to give it a shot on my own and try to learn from their mistakes. Everyone needs to remember 1. this isn't a magic surgery  2. we are HUMAN and recovering addicts who do make mistakes  3. It's a tool that can be used for some time and we just have to follow the instructions.

AMEN!!!  I could not agree more with this post.  Nik is spot on.

In my case, I have been in therapy working on mental issues that caused my problems.  WLS was only a step in the right direction and not the "magic wand".  Great advice here, folks.  Listen to it.

Thanks Nik....I totally agree with u....people need to wake up and smell the coffee even though i don't drink the s#$%...but anyway...i woke up feeling the same way...wls can regain the weight...i admit I have not had regain but i am thankful tha II am still losing after 2 years post op be it slowly but I lost it slowly because of some of my choices and I own up to that.  Life is stressful and not tipping through the damn tulips.  WLS is a big decision and not the easy way out and when u wake up out of anesthesia they did not operate on your damn mind.  Yes, I am a foodie...i love food...yea i said it...I am hormonal....I crave carbs....I have a family I cannot spend 4-6 hours of my day in a damn gym or in front of a flat screen doing workout dvd's but this is my life...I am healthy, my comorbidities are gone and I know...I know that when I make a wrong choice it is me and not the surgery failing me...That being said you have to live and thank GOD that we are the blessed ones to have been affrded te opportunity to be rid of tens to hundreds of pounds of death taking fat that we would never have been able to have the discipline to get rid of on our own.  So if I still have a bag of chips or a godiva chocolate bar when it is my TOM that does not make me a failure...I agree Nik...u can regain the weight and u can outeat your pouch by grazing...so we have to be mindful daily not just after we reach goal...and you never know what hand life may deal u next to play that can cause your emotional eating to get out of conrol so we have to be in que to what our body, mind, and outside stressor are saying.....losing the initial weight is not the total victory...we fight this battle for the rest of our lives.....INDIVIDUALLY!

Godiva aint never wrong.

Damn it, woman - this was so needed (and I shall be forwarding it to many people I know)! One coworker mentioned to me the other day (she is barely a year out): "I just don't see how people can gain it back."
Um, really? I logged about 2300 calories yesterday and had to cut myself off ---seriously.

Yes, it takes a lot of sugar for me to get sick but I still don't full fledge dump. For me, the hardest part started right around the exact 2 year mark and I'm sure it's not going to get any easier.

At a maintenance support group I attend, there's about 15 regulars and several have gained 50+ pounds (some more) but some 25-30...if they're happy - GREAT! but one message is consistent: "I wasn't aware I could gain it back.." -- until now.

oh yes, friends - enjoy those days of "eating repulses me" or I don't even think about food. Now, some keep that going at many years out and if so, yay! if not, welcome to the club.

It's a day by day thing, sometimes an hour by hour thing for me. I've gotten flamed over my obsession with the little-holiday-treats-that-shall-rename- nameless b/c I was insensitive to newbies. Really? I mentioned that to an in-person group and they were actually proud that I've learned moderation. I never forget where I came from - **off the soapbox now**

I so totally get where you are coming from about "not eating properly for WLS".  I am 3.5 years out from surgery and I don't eat healthy all the time BUT I learned moderation.  I no longer have to clean my plate or eat until the food is gone.  I eat until I am full and that's it.  I can eat just one Oreo now instead of the whole damn bag.  I can have just one slice of pizza as opposed to half of a large.  Being this way now didn't come overnight and not without it's fair share of heart wrenching emotions.  I have maintained being a size 2 for about 2.5 years now because of moderation. 

Thanks for your post!!