Gaining back some weight after RNY- 4 yrs post op

Ok, question for all you RNY'ers.  In the past 2 months, I've put on like 10 lbs and am not sure what I'm doing wrong! 

I had RNY 4 yrs ago this month in June and went from 270 to 143 in 10 months (I am 5'3").  I got pregnant with #3 and gained 27 lbs during the whole pregnancy.  I lost all that weight within 6 days and then gained that baby weight back in just a month or so, due to getting on meds for post partum depression (that made me hungry as a horse!!).   Got off those meds and never got back down to the weight I was (around 143) and stayed at around 170 for a bit.  In the past two years, I went from that 170 and am currently 185 now.   So I've gained back 40 lbs since my RNY four yrs ago!!

We are trying to get pregnant with #4 and I have had a chemical pregnancy back in Dec and then m/c at 9 wks last month in May.   But in the past 2 months (but mostly 1 month), I went from 175 to 185- how in the crap can I gain 10 lbs in ONE MONTH when I have the RNY?!!  Are my hormones crazy from my m/c and that's why?

I am so scared of gaining the weight back (any more or all of it), it seems to be coming on so quick in this last little bit!!  If I'm not careful, I gain a few lbs in just a few days or on a weekend!   Since I got to 175, I've noticed that my feet are starting to hurt from carrying around the weight again.   Could there be something wrong with my thyroid from gaining weight back so quickly or what is this????  I am worried in like 2-3 yrs, I will be up to like 230 or something... I'm really scared!

When I get pregnant again soon, I am worried that with me being 185 already, I will get up to above 200 lbs and will be dying with all that weight on my feet!  I would love to lose 20-25 lbs but don't think that's possible in 2 months to lose.   Is there anything I can do to help lose this weight?  I know it's normal for RNY patients to gain back 20-30% of the weight they lost after a few years.   I just don't want to gain any more if I can help it before I get pregnant!!  I know I probably can't get back to 140 ever again, but 165 would be GREAT!!  

I've tried doing protein shakes but am just so starving that I have to eat something during the day!!   What is the most I could lose per week or month if I really cut down my calories and diet??

Thanks!!

 It sounds to me as if maybe you might have some hormone whackyness going on. Have you seen your PCP to get some labs done (or your GYN?). 

Meds and pregnancy and a host of other factors can throw you out of balance.

As for taking the weight back off, it will come off much more slowly than the first time around, although I expect you know that. The basics really do work. Eat LOTS of lean protein, veggies, fresh fruit, get your water, vitamins and move your body some kind of way! That's the formula that works. It's not gonna be fast but it'll work if you stick with it.

Good to see you again!

If you haven't had your thyroid checked lately, it would definitely be worth getting it done.

You don't say anything about your current diet or how much activity you get.  I wouldn't try to do protein shakes instead of food because liquids don't make most people feel very full for very long.  Instead, I'd eat lean protein and lots of veggies and a little fruit.  You can eat lots and lots of salad and other veggies/fruit that have high water content without getting too many calories.

Can you provide a sample eating plan? what you eat - how much, etc.

I am also 4 year post op - I gain weight when I introduce carbs into my diet. And there are a lot of hidden carbs, as I found out the hard way. Some "fiber" or "net carbs" or just a marketing strategy by some companies.
I do lose weight when I go on  real food diet - plus one or 2 proteins shakes (low carb, water or unsweet coconut milk  base).
And real food  means eggs, fish, meat and veggies... maybe some cheese, some raw nuts...or natural nut butters ( no sugar added), and make sure I eat every 2-3 hrs.
Just calorie counting never worked for me well.. But carb counting plus calories... modification - you do need to be realistic that too many calorie s- it is too many calories.)

I can lose weigh eating 1200-1400 cal with very low carbs (and never just carb for a meal or a snack) but I may not lose or gain of 1000 cal - when the food has more carbs, less fat and it is processed.).

 

If you do not already use it, I would sign up on my fitnesspal.com.  There you will log your ht., wt. and goal weight.  It will calculate how many calories you should consume on a daily basis in order to get to your goal wt.  You track your food intake by entering every bite you put into your mouth.  It has a large database, and it is a great site.  There are others.  You can also track your exercise.

Like one member told me when I was gaining...I had to be gut level honest with myself about what I was eating.  I did not use an online tracker at that time.  It amazes me how quickly I can use my daily allotment of calories...and that is when I'm only eating very healthy foods. 

We all know what we have to do calories in versus calories out.  We cannot consume more than we burn that leads to excess wt.  I know for me, if I do not walk on a daily or almost daily basis, keeping my weight down is a little more difficult.

I also have to eat small meals throughout the day.  If I do not eat every so many hours, even if it is only applesauce, yogurt or something like that, I will overeat.  You need a plan, and I think tracking your food will allow you to see what and how much you are eating on a daily basis.

You can do this.

I'm thinking it could be your hormones being out of whack. The same thing happened to me last February. I have been having a bit of medical drama myself and my hormones were all out of whack. It seemed that every time I stepped on the scale I was a pound or two heavier yet my eating hadn't changed. It was so depressing and discouraging!
My goal weight (being 5'9) is 165. I accept 170 and anything over that I know I have to kick my butt to not let it get out of hand. Before my hysterectomy and ooph 3 weeks ago I had actually on one day read 183 on the scale. I nearly died!
This morning I stepped on the scale and I am 170.5.  
I remember you having a lot of problems with PPD. I had that really bad with my first born. Are you worried about the possibility of that happening again? Are there things they can do to lessen the chances it will happen again?  My kids are older now so I don't know if there are preventative things you can do, I just know when I was contemplating having my second I was scared to death to have PPD again.

yeah the thing is, I haven't changed my eating habits from let's say a year ago, and if I eat a little more than normal, I gain like 2 lbs in a day!  lol   I do think it's my hormones but we dont' have the money to get any blood test done right now.  But when I get pregnant, hopefully that will help balance things out!!

And I have developed insomnia since I went off my birth control pills last Oct, I went back on them a few times and the insomnia goes away soon after that!  But the bcp's make me crazy, so I would rather stay off them.  I just take simply sleep every night to fall asleep and I'm fine (an otc sleep aide, it's the sleep part of tylenol pm- it's basically the same ingredient as benadryl!).  I know there is a little something off about me right now and it's hormonal!

I did get ppd with each of my babies, but this last time I had it, I got a new doctor that is really good.  He really listens to me and helped me find the right dose of zoloft for the PPD that really worked (pediatric dose acutally- 25 mg!), and FAST (within 6 days)!!  So I am going to get on the meds about 2 weeks before I deliver the baby and I know that will help quite a bit with the PPD.   The ppd that I had with #3 was 10 times worse than the other two, so I know it can't be worse than that and I can survive, lol!!  Besides, this is the LAST kid, so I will be glad to get that out of the way once we do have the baby- no more PPD again after that!

Hi, Christie!! I remember you well from the early days. I had my RNY a few months after you and your journey always inspired me along the way. You can do this. Track your food. I eat 1700-2000/day to maintain and cut back to 1200-1500 when I need to lose a few. 

Laura

Hey, I can totally feel your pain. I'm 4 years out last march, and the weight seems to creep back on when I don't blink enough to burn off the calories. I've done a lot of soul searching and calorie counting and the following sort of chronicles my "journey" or the key points.

Summer 2007 - weighed 350 lbs decided to look into WLS
August 2010 - Hit goal and started to get lower than goal. (I am always using a lot more energy in the fall as the school year begins). Got down to 146 (8 lbs below goal) and stabilized by upping my calories.
March 2011 - I had ****ygectomy, gained 9 pounds that I never lost over the 8 weeks of recuperation and doing NOTHING day after day. I believe that I lost a LOT of muscle mass. The weight continued to creep up and I was back to my optimum weight at 165 (11 above goal) and stabilized there for a while.
August 2011 - I expected to lose weight as school started, but didn't have a major weight loss with the beginning of the school year. In fact, I started to average higher and higher weights. 166. 168. 170 (gasp!). My smaller clothes didn't fit me any more. WHY didn't I lost at the beginnign of this school year? WHAT was different.
Now I'm pushing 180, and I want to get mad at myself for breaking the rules.... only I'm not breaking them. So why the freak am I gaining weight? 

Ultimately my theory is: 

With the loss of muscle mass, my metabolism slowed. I didn't use as many calories at rest as I did with better muscle mass.

With the resumption of school, believe it or not, I blame the economy on my LACK of losing weight. I began the school year with two classes with 52 students, and one class with 42 students. My classroom was built for 30 kids. Pretty much all the floor space in my classroom is taken up with students. No room to walk dynamically up and down the front of the room. No room or space to hurry anywhere in my classroom. It's more like a slow crawl picking my way through land mines. I just could NOT use my school day as a sort of super-lazy-person's cheap exercise regime. I just wasn't burning as many calories as I should have been, and I wasn't geting back much of the muscle mass I lost with my ****ygectomy.

So i was loss of muscle mass due to near-immobility for two months coupled with lack of even the normal exeercise simultaneously. Overall my balance is off. I'm not eating a maintenance diet based on my muscle mass and exercise or lack thereof. I have to cut back on calories (my current diet is pretty spare, I don't see much I can cut out -- especially with the REactive Hypoglycemia), or I have to start burning more calories. Exercise. Since I'm not all that keen on cutting calories or expending more, I'm sort of in a catch 22.

I think that overall it's important to start to analyze the character of your calories. Focus on more filling foods that will keep you full longer (I plan to, but they haven't had it on special lately, and it's like $10 if I don't buy it on sale, and $1.50 if I do buy it on sale, so it's hard to spend the money) Also focus on foods that are close to zero calories (like cucumbers). And of course, upping calorie burning helps too.

It's not nearly as simple as it used to seem. Follow the rules and you won't gain. Not NEARLY as simple.

Today, I've had: 1 serving of quiche, 1 protein bar, 1/2 serving of snap peas, a serving of ruby red grapefruit, and some Fage full-fat yoghurt with raspberries. I'll likely have another couple hundred calories today (oh and I've had three protein shakes). I'm not eating too much. But the weight is being totally crazy.