Vets Vantage Point: The Value Of Support

I believe in you, and your ability and drive to get back to your ideal weight range. Get enough sleep, make sure your BM's are normal, (don't get constipated - that shuts down my weigh losing phase) and laugh a lot. Laughter and Happiness is so good for us.

Thanks, Hala

I believe in myself, and I KNOW that I have lost over 150 lbs and maintained that, so I don't know why 25 seems so tough. I think it's because I have to restrict a LOT, over many days, to lose a lb. And then I fall back into snacking or whatever. I need to mentally commit to it and not go up and down a pound week after week, month after month...

Well,

If that is a case, then we need to talk. Seriously.

My food is really restricted, so I already feel deprived even when I am not trying to lose weight... but I can lose weight ... Ill send you a pm

Wise words! Laughter is priceless! Amid the life turmoils that we all encounter, it's great to find the spaces and places that bring genuine laughter and contentment!

Thank you for coming back and sharing your experience. I am still early out but rely so much on the support here! It's tremendous and important!

Hi, I am back too. Coming up on my 6 year surgerversary and have fallen into old habits and have gained 18 pounds. First day back to protein first and no sugar. So far so good!

Welcome back and nicely put. For a relative newbie like myself it's very sobering reading and hearing from vets like you, because it prevents me from becoming ****y with my success and thinking it won't happen to me. Need to be vigilant at all times. Looking forward to reading your posts.

Welcome Back Lynn,

I maintained at goal for over 10 years after losing 200 pounds. Due to a personal tragedy I gained and hit the 190 mark a year ago. Once I started thinking about my regain I had gotten away from all the basics that got me to goal and helped me stay there. After several starts it finally clicked and I am back to goal losing 70 pounds of regain. Here are some steps that helped me and I hope they will help you too! You may have several starts and stops but don't give up, don't beat yourself up. IT WILL CLICK!!! Our tool works if we work the tool and get back to the basics.

Planning/Preparing

Remember when we were preparing for surgery? How many meetings, classes and such did we attend? We were told the more prepared we were the better our chances were for success. And they were right. Go through the house, car and work place and get rid of trigger foods. Stock up on foods that will keep you on track. I removed every bad carb/sugar temptation and replaced it with lots of protein, veggies, grains and fruits.

Journaling

Get back to journaling. This will help you identify when you feel like eating, stress factors and any triggers in your life. Once you identify these factors, this will help you put tools in place to keep you from eating. It became clear I was not taking time for me anymore. I worked my day job and then spent the rest of my time caring for my husband. It was easy to reach for fast, prepackaged food. Since I purged my home I have to eat clean as there are no other options LOL

Use a tool to track you're eating and exercise like Getting Started with Health Tracker. Once I started to track ever bite and drink it became clear why I had gained.

Goals/Rewards

Make a list of goals for yourself. Make them realistic and small. Some of mine were move more, purge all junk from my home, eat more protein. If you didn't make a Weight Loss Surgery bucket list when you first had surgery do it now. GREAT reminder of all the things you can enjoy in life after losing weight.

Food

In general, a long term post-weight loss surgery eating plan includes foods that are high in protein, and low in fat?, calories, and sugar. Important, vitamins and minerals are provided as supplements. (if you had a different surgery adjust this to your food plan).

Water

Water is our Best Friend. I have to say I never went back to pop or any bad drinks, however I was drinking tea like crazy. What is wrong with drinking tea? I was either using sugar or 3 equals and 3 sweet n lows per 32 ounce glass. I found once I started carrying one of the metal bottles of water to keep it cold I drank water all day.

MOVE!

I can't say enough about how key this was for me. The reason I kept my weight off for almost 10 years was no matter what, I kept moving. If I could not go to the gym I would walk. Grab a cart and walk all the isles at your local box store. I loved Zumba, bootcamp workouts, lifting weights. When I stopped, the weight started coming back. So for me I am starting slow to avoid injury by walking and using some of the workouts on my Demand TV. Find something you love to do and it won't feel like a pain in the *** to do daily.

Support

You hit the nail on the head with this one! If it's an option "run" don't walk to a support group. Come here on OH daily for support and participate in one of the food threads. It helps you be accountable and also great ideas for food prep.

Keep me posted on how you are doing.

When live takes over, with it's daily wants and needs, we often don't have enough energy, time and strength to cater to our needs. Our pouch still semi control our qty, sometimes reminding us that we don't have "normal" guts. We stop weighing, and start wearing comfortable clothes and shoes, because our busy time is 16 hours, and we have the rest of the day, or 8 hours to take care of us, and that 8 hours also includes sleeping. That also means we don't get enough sleep. The weight gain is almost guaranteed.

Did you know that lack of sleep can induce insuIin resistance? That then may cause carbs cravings and weight gain?

In a way you were lucky, or you still were little careful, that your regain is only 25 lbs. I know bunch of people that don't wake up at that number, but at much higher regain.

I no longer attend my bariatric group support, but one of my major support person is my PCP. He doesn't allow me to gain too much, and for both of us 25 lbs regain is the "O ****" mode. When I regained that much and went to see him (I had a nasty cold, flu like,) he noticed the gain, told me to lose at least 15 lbs, and come back to see him after 3 months. Since then, when he noticed that I am not doing good, weight or otherwise, he schedule my appointments every 3, 4 the most, months. That really helps me.

Being on OH helps a lot, but often people don't get enough real life support.

I had many excuses why I gained my first regain of 25 lbs. And with a second one.

Most of my docs who weigh me are in the same network than my PCP, so he can see my weight fluctuations as the year goes by.

To add, I can't stress enough alcohol avoidance post op RNY. Not only we can cause a severe damage to our liver, but alcohol can affect out digestion, and it can affect how much and what we eat. Beside empty calories, I could eat more at dinners I had 1 or 2 glasses of wine. Alcohol also can weaken my strong will and allow me to eat food that I wouldn't otherwise.

I am glad you are back.

For the record- I am down to my ideal weigh range. It took time and effort, but I'm worth it.