Help regarding weight loss

I'm five years post op RNY. I had originally lost 90 pounds but I have gained about 40 of it back. I recently started a new job where I will be working Monday through Friday 8-5pm. You know, normal life hours. I was on midnights before that. However, due to lack of sleep, poor diet, and generally feeling like crap, I made the decision to get a new job.

I will admit that my eating habits got out of hand but I have made some changes since the new job. No starbucks or takeout. I'm not looking to be scolded like a child. I know I messed up and I have to fix it.

So for those that are in a similar situation, do you find you are having a hard time losing weight? I do some form of exercise each day (Spin, Crossfit, HIIT, walk my dog, bike) and I've been following a more paleo diet. I just don't seem to be seeing much results or maybe it's just too soon to tell.

Do you find that the longer you have been post op, the harder it is to lose weight?

You can easily hit a point of no return, but you seem to be OK so far. My doctor had told me that if I fasted for two days and went back to the 1 month post surgery diet, that it was like a restart.

Jim, by fasting do you mean the traditional definition of the word, that is, water only for 2 days, followed by first month protocol? Thanks.

Exactly.

Weight loss is always going to be more about what you put in than what you put out. I use the Lose It! app to track my intake. I have it set to lose 1.5 lbs a week and I find that does me pretty well. You can certainly up your activity for better cardiovascular health, but don't count on eating back those calories if you want to continue to lose.

Go back to your post-op protein forward plan and keep carbs and snacks to a minimum. If paleo helps you do that, fantastic. You still have a good tool, it's just up to you to use it :D

Jen

Everything jenorama said.

The importance of weighing and tracking everything is that even if you do follow a low carb diet, paleo, keto, whole 30 etc, if you eat too many calories, you'll still gain weight.

for example, 100 calories of almonds doesn't look that different from 200.

ive seen plenty on here who are successful at managing regain. It's not easy or fun, but definitely doable.

signed,

a newb.

It was more difficult for me to lose regain than to lose weight fresh from surgery.

But it was doable. Tracking - lower carbs- more proteins and fat. No cheating, limiting calories. No "just this one time" "a bite will not hurt" etc. Moderate exercise for me were better than really hard ines. The moderate burned fat - the hard cardio often burns sugar and caused my BS to drop and made me very hungry. Fast walking, yoga - that were the best exercise for me while I was losing weight.

Really counting calories and carbs. Measure everything. It is so easy to overeat.

No alcohol. Even glass of wine or 2 once or 2 times a week would stall my weight loss. It took me a while to realize that. Only when I gave up alcohol completely I was able to lose my last 15 lbs of regain.

Prevent constipation. Constipation allows food to sit in the gut longer and bacteria can work on fiber turning it into sugars - that we can absorb and crave more carbs. Count total carbs- not net carbs. Net carbs are basically BS, IMO.

I could not lose on low fat diet. Low fat diet did not work for me. Fruits- are natural sugar - I eat fruits when I try to gain or maintain my weight. While losing - I may allow 1-2 serving of berries per week. And only with more fat - to offset the sugar. I gave up grains and starches when I wanted to lose. Protein and low carbs veggies, plus fats. So many things can be made from that. Look at sugar added to condiments. They can upset the sugar balance ,(cold cuts, jerky, dressings, pickles, even balsamic vinegar, etc..)

Low carb diet - you need to make sure you get enough salt- magnesium and potassium - or you may be dealing with serious muscle cramps and low blood pressure.

My problem is calories. Not sure how many I should be eating. I have MFP set for 1800. Is this too little? I stay low carb as much as I can. I don't eat dairy, bread, pasta. Alcohol is a problem. Not like I need AA problem but I do drink a glass or two of wine on the weekend and think nothing of it. I will cut it out.

1800???? Wow.

When losing I initially set my calories goal to 1200, then reset it to 800-1000 for the last 15 lbs.

I maintain at 1500 per day now.

I lost my first 18 lbs of regain in 3 months. The rest - it took me close to a year before I really got dedicated and become really determined to lose.

I can't imagine being able to lose on 1800 calories. Unless you are a male, 250 lbs.

Someone once told me : take your goal weight. Multiply that by 10. That is close to calories to maintain. So if my goal was 150 lbs *10= 1500. To lose up to 1 lb a week - East 500 less per day. That was 1000 calories for me. Initially my average daily calories was 1200. I tried to have different number daily - so my body would not get use to it.

Once I got down to 160 lbs and water to lose 15 more - I set my daily to 1000. With said I would eat 800 and days I would have 1200.

That worked.

I think 1500 would be too few. I would worry about plateau. I walk my dog in the morning and I workout at night.