Trouble with being hungry/weight gain

I had my surgery in April 2012 and originally lost 115 lbs (from 282 to 167).  Over the past two and a half years I have completed my degree in nursing and have passed my RN boards.  During this time, you can say I fell of the wagon and lost my motivation.  In the past year, I have gained 30-35lbs due to eating the wrong things and no exercise.  I need some help on getting motivated.  It was near to impossible to eat right and have time to exercise when you are going to school 3/4 time, working full time and taking care of your family...I feel like my pouch is stretched, or maybe the opening is stretched.  Not sure.  A normal meal for me would be consistent to 3-5 ounces of meat, vegetables, 1/4-1/2 cup of a side dish (potato/pasta).  Yes I do snack in the middle and have gotten into a bad habit of eating after 7pm.  Usually within an hour or so, I feel hungry again.  I know what you are going to say.....stay away from the pastas and potatoes.  What can I do to curb my carbohydrate cravings...please help me.  I feel like such a failure.  I went through all this and felt wonderful at 167...22 lbs from goal and then started gaining weight.  I promised myself I wouldn't weigh over 200+ lbs and here I am today at 211....this is so discouraging because I was doing so well.  Please, please, please help me.  On a good note, I did go out and walk with my daughter yesterday and we walked 1.5 miles in 32 minutes. 

I'm 6 1/2 years out and have gained about 12 lbs. in the last year.  I got myself back on track this week.  Some of my slacks are too tight and I refuse to buy new clothes.  I picked up some old habits from my old life and I need to stop.  Cookies taste really good at the moment but they really aren't worth it.  I know avoiding carbs is difficult.  They taste so darn good.  Remember, a moment on the lips, a lifetime on the hips.

Remember how great you felt weighing 167.  You can do it again.  You have accomplished a lot having received your degree in nursing.  You want to be healthy and set a good example for your patients.

My surgeon said I would need one or two protein shakes daily for the rest of my life and I continue to do that.  Look at the menus posted here and you can get ideas for your meals.  My meals are small but snacking was a problem for me. 

I'm planning my day's food out and allow a snack at 10 a.m., 3 p.m. and in the evening but I try to avoid the evening one unless I'm really hungry.  If you feel hungry, drink some water.  Sometimes that helps.  I tend to think I'm hungry when I'm bored. 

Taking a walk yesterday was a good thing.  Try to exercise daily.

Good luck.  Hope this helps.

The good thing is you've caught it and are motivated to do something about it before getting back up to your start weight. You sound very discouraged and, quite frankly, worried. This is also good in it's own way - perhaps those feelings will help you get the motivation going again.

Carbs and cravings for said carbs are a real ***** I have found that eating carbs causes increased cravings for them and when too many of them have snuck back into my menu the only way to rid myself of the cravings is to cut them out completely (as possible) for a while. The fewer I eat, the less I crave. It's hard and you're going to have to "white knuckle it" for a bit, but it can be done.

I can only suggest what has worked for ME since my RNY surgery 9 years ago (and for reference, my start weight was 290 pounds and today I weigh 120 pounds and continue to easily maintain a 170 pound loss after all these years):

1. Make a menu plan each and every day, write it down, and stick to it. No bites, nibbles, tastes, etc.

2. Divide your day into 6 small "meals" - breakfast, snack, lunch, snack, dinner, snack - to avoid feeling "hungry" in between.

3. Protein first, always. At least 75g per day.

4. Limit carbs (even complex ones) to between 30-40g per day. NO refined sugar or "white carbs" at all.

5. To make all of this easier and more organized, use a tool like myfitnesspal.com that will record and track your nutrients for you. You will also have a very clear picture of what you're putting into your mouth.

6. Participate in a "what are you eating today" thread for accountability and support.

I understand how being super busy and stressed can play havoc with proper eating. To help with this, I do a lot of prep work (cutting up vegetables, cooking meats to be used in a few meals, cooking "go to" snacks like muffin tin meatloaves or muffin tin crustless quiches, etc.). Not only does it save me time in my busy day, it prevents me from standing in front of my open fridge staring like a deer in headlights trying to decide what to eat. ;)

If you would like some WLS friendly recipe ideas, feel free to check out the Ontario Recipes forum (link in my signature).

Good luck :)

Congratulations on passing RN boards.  So far, I have stayed on track by routine, making life as stress-free as possible, and constant vigilance.  (I have a hunch taking on demanding tasks like earning a nursing degree, being a mother of smaller children, and other difficult situations people are in would have me writing the same words you have.) Every breath I take feels like selfish devotion in making the WLS lifestyle work. My advice will be almost impossible for a new nurse like you to do, but here it is:          G  E  T         S E L F I S H  !!!!!!

I know what you are going through is hard and very very real. I also went through a nursing program as an adult instead of when I was college aged and it's no joke to be sure. Add in a full time job and the responsibilities of family life and I can see how your own personal health ended up taking a back seat. 

However..... You deserve to put the same amount of time, care, energy into yourself as you have done for your work, school, and family. You are worth it! It's hard to cut out the carbs. We have all been there. I remember crying once when I was detoxing off the carbs because I couldn't believe I was losing a fight to a chocolate chip cookie. It shouldn't have been a life or death battle but it sure felt like it at the time. But here's the good part.... Everyone here wants you to succeed. Each and everyone of us is personally rooting for you. I know you can do this.

I think that just getting back to basics and maybe leaning on the back on track forum will help. I am by no mean a vet so I am more here just to remind you that you have a good support network here.

Good luck you got this!!!!!!

Angel

Angel,

Thank you very much for your encouragement.  Fighting the carb craving is no joke and I think that is part of the reason I gained weight to begin with. Could you let me know what you used as a detox because ultimately I think that is what I'm going to have to do. I have thought about going back to the basics and doing things when I first had the surgery. I am just worried that either my pouch is stretched too much or the hole has gotten larger. Regardless I need to change. I have started walking with my daughter 1.5 miles daily and my legs are actually sore from something as minimal as that. My husband also bought the bow flex Max and I did that one time and after five minutes I thought I was going to die.  This just shows how out of shape I have gone over the last couple years. Again thank you for your advice and I will move forward with fighting those carb cravings.

Wanda, there isn't "something to use as a detox" - that was my point to you in my previous post where I listed several behaviours and changes you could make to help get you back on track.

I have done the 5 Day Pouch Test.  Some people frown on this but it worked for me.  I have Kaye Bailey's book, The 5 Day Pouch Test.  I have shakes all day and in the evening have a meal of protein and salad or veggies.  It really helped me to clear out my carb cravings.

You said it yourself... it's the carbs.

Carbs make hungry.  It's true. They are delicious but they make you hungry.  

Good luck - I would try a carb detox first and foremost. Don't try to do it all at once, we fail at that right? Just try to cut the carbs out hard core. If you are hungry eat protein.  You will carb crash for about three days. Then work on adjusting the calories down and the exercise up. It is not a sprint it is a marathon.

Set a goal and make it realistic.  Our bodies get very efficient at holding on to calories after a few years.  The body has been starved and is smart enough to learn how to not let that happen again.

Set a goal weight and put a date on.  It will take hard work, but you should be able to lose a pound a week by cutting out 500 calories a day.  To maintain 211 means you are eating more than 2200 calories a day.  I have to go to 900 to lose weight.  That takes time and planning but I do it when necessary.

You need to allow 30 weeks to get to 181.  Plan your menus and mark your calendar each week.  I would cut way back on the meat or divide the five ounces into two or three meals.  Get a food scale to be sure. 

I stick to six small meals a day and make sure they are 200 - 300 calories.  When you start seeing results on the scale your motivation will increase. 

The important thing to have a goal, give yourself the time needed and then go to work on that goal.