Is regain after WLS inevitable?  Is it true that "your body finds the weight it wants and there's not a lot you can do about it?"  Is it possible to stay at goal if you really stay at a certain calorie and protein level??  I've heard a lot of myths and I really want to know the truth.

The center for weight mgt I went to repeated several times to expect a 10-20% regain at some point...repeated several times, no doubt, because they get a lot of panicked losers freaking out when that 10-20% kicks in!

I don't believe regain is inevitable. I reached my personal goal at 14 months out. I purposely ate more so that I would not lose more because I look gaunt in my face if I get any lower (even though I would love to weigh 10 pounds less). At the 2 year mark, I gained about 10 pounds practically overnight. I was eating 2500-2800 calories a day at that point but my honeymoon period was over. I had to cut back to lose the 10 pounds, but have maintained since then (I now consume around 1800 calories a day to maintain and cut back to 1500 if I need to lose a few- I never let myself get past 3 pounds over my goal weight).

I do believe some people reach a certain set-point no matter what they do. That being said, I do believe just about all of us are capable of getting to a BMI under 30, maybe not all to under 25 but certainly under 30 if we follow the rules.

Your goal weight should be something you can maintain while living the life you want to live. By year 3 you should be able to figure out what that takes and if you are willing to sacrifice to get to a weight under your "set-point".

I really love what you said here:

"Your goal weight should be something you can maintain while living the life you want to live."

That is a really healthy and fantastic way to look at our "goals" --- so often we get stuck on certain numbers, BMIs, sizes or comparisons to other people, other WLS losses, etc.  Thank you for posting this.

Sure, it's possible to stay at goal.  How hard it will be to do that depends on what your goal is and how realistic it is for you and your body.

I'm a few pounds over my goal weight right now - haven't weighed myself in a while but my goal was 140 and I think I'm probably about 145.  Yeah, I could lose five pounds and stay at 140.  I'd have to exercise more or be more strict about what I eat.  But I'm comfortable at 145 and the only exercise I have to do to stay here is walking my dog and I make healthy food choices but I can have treats when I want them.  I'd rather not have to exercise more and give up my treats. 

You have to decide what's important to you and how hard you want to work to maintain a certain weight.

If interested, please see my profile page regarding my RNY weight loss journey.

They say that after the malabsorption winds down, around 1 1/2 to 2 years, you will gain a little weight even if you eat the same amount of food but I have seen people with the VSG have a bounce back even though they have no malabsorption.

I lost more then I intended and I was advised not to worry about it, unless it got to underweight levels, because it would give me wiggle room.  I haven't really intentionally tried to lose or gain weight in over 3 years but I did get too low because I was still eating what I had been eating when I was losing and that wasn't enough.

Pre WLS if I managed to lose weight I remember that there was always a time when the amount burned matched the amount consumed and I just stopped naturally with no changes and I would maintain my weight by continuing to do that.  Of course I wasn't able to continue that very long, thus the regain.  I practiced that lesson several times, never maintaining a normal weight for even a year I think.

Anyway, it is all a matter of burning what you consume, so if you have a bounce back it is because you are doing that.  If you don't want to gain any weight then you will have to decrease what goes in or increase what goes out (exercise).  Exercise alone hasn't seemed to be effective in avoiding bounce back but it works in conjunction with the diet.

My bounce back since my lowest is about 10 lbs with no change on my part.  Since I had gotten lower then I wanted it was welcome and I wasn't interested in stopping it.  That happened in the course of a few years.  My plan is to have an upper weight range that I was to stay under and if I flirt too close to that number to cut back.  I haven't hit that number and I really have a little way to go so for now I just make sure I am getting enough protein and avoiding sugar and gluten and I will see where that takes me.

Ack! When does this kick in?  I have only lost 20% of my body weight?  I am about to be 6 months post op (i.e. 61 lbs in 6 months).

If I gain back NOW ...my weightloss wont be very much!

I pretty much stay the same... I know how much exercise I have to do per week and about how many calories I can have... I don't crazy count but I do stick to similar sized planned meals/snack regimen and typical exercise schedule to stay at the scale # I feel comfortable at. Now if I become ill or immobile (knock on wood) or something like that I guess adjustments would need to be made in my eating plan to compensate but if you are able to find you personal window of exercise/lifestyle/calorie balance you should stay put (not counting slight 1-2 lb water, poop, time of month issues that happen occasionally) you should always ask about any medications/birth control changes and find alternatives if possible if the side effects are weight gain.

Word of advice... make changes you can live with forever and let the scale number land where it needs to.

I believe we are in complete control of how much we regain.  I'm 5 years out and have "gained" since my lowest weight-but much of it is muscle weight because I embarked on a serious workout plan about a year out....I'm maintaining around 170 and am still wearing the same clothes I had at my lowest weight.  I know when I'm getting up a few and I cut back a bit and up the cardio.  I tend to put on a few around the holidays, but as soon as it warms up outside and I can run more, it comes right off.  I COULD be even smaller if I was committed to it....but I'm not.....I like being able to eat basically anything I want.....but I know how much I have to work out each week to burn it too!!!