Trying to get back on the wagon

Christina, good for you for wanting to get back on track. In the general WLS forum I started a thread about my own journey with losing some regain (mentioned elsewhere in your thread as well). Here's my 2 cents worth:

I had a couple of false starts. I wanted to see fast results and didn't, and threw in the towel. After a month or two I had regained more.

I know that the minute I stop logging my food, I'm headed off the path. Be it good, bad, or ugly - everything has to go into my fitness pal.

Exercise helps, and it helps a lot. This is my own weakest point. When we exercise, our metabolism burns calories more effectively even when we're sitting still.

Start with purging the refined carbs (including sugar, breads, crackers, and such) from your diet. Purge the cupboards. Toss stuff. Give it to the neighbors who have kids. Unopened stuff - take to a food pantry. Get it OUT of the house. This may be hard - because the desire to keep it around is food addiction talking to you.

There's no need to focus on using a lot of shakes, protein bars, etc. - I find I'm actually doing better with a diet of 100% "real" food.

Take your vitamins. That's one of the easier components of being back in the groove.

Drink water. And water. And water. Not always my choice, but truly one of the easier parts as well.

Do you have access to a nutritionist? If so, call him/her! If not, pull out your post op diet materials and refresh your memory. The advantage now of course is that you're well past the immediate post op limitations such as soft foods, but can refocus on protein first, veggies, and a little fruit.

We all have fears. At some point, you may want to talk to a counselor or a surgeon or another vet about the skin issues. To quote Lee Ia****a, "We'll jump off that bridge when we come to it." For now, the eating is the more significant issue. Gotta start somewhere, right?

I was 30 pounds over my goal at the beginning of 2019. I joined Weigh****chers and lost 20 by June 1. Then I quit Weigh****chers. I swim all summer and stayed the same. Once the pool closed I gained back five. Then over the holidays another five. By January, 2020, I started Weigh****chers at 20 over goal. I have lost 6 since January 1 and plan to be at goal again by June 1.

Of course I miss the way weight used to fall off right after surgery, but that is gone now.

Now I am very happy to lose one pound a week and that takes dedication. But I like the Weigh****chers program because I can eat things like bread, pizza, rice, rolls, Fiber One cookies and brownies. I have small measured portions of anything I want and carefully count my points.

For me the secret is being on a plan and sticking to it.

BTW - when you find "insulted " but honest post in response to your own words, maybe you need to think why? In your own words "you lack the motivation". Lack motivation is our way to say we dont want it bad enough to do whatever it takes.

A Few Good Men (1992) - Jack Nicholson as Col. Nathan R. Jessep - IMDb Jessep : You want answers? Kaffee : I WANT THE TRUTH! Col. Jessup : YOU CAN' T HANDLE THE TRUTH! Sometimes it's difficult to face our own limitations.

OH has "block" option you can utilize freely. We all do. I would not care one way or another if you block me. Good luck to you to find your mojo to get where you want to go.

I agree, with what the VERY WISE responses, you have already received, so not need to repeat them...

One thing, to add...words I was given, long ago, that stuck with me...

EMPTY skin is better than FULL fat, ANY day !!!!

Love that !

I need to turn this into a sign to hang on the fridge ;)

There was nothing mean or offensive about any of the replies to you.

This lifelong journey is hard and most of the vets here have dealt with regain (myself included) because it's more common than never regaining.

I'm not sure what motivation you need, but I think if you were less defensive, people would be more forthcoming with help and advice.

What do you need from us? I'm more than happy to help if I know what your true expectations are.

I'll raise my hand to support those who have spoken to how much better we can do when we allow ourselves some flexibility in our diet, including a full range of foods. So often on these boards I see post WLS folks seeking the next crash diet, pouch reset, all liquids, yada yada. And it simply won't work - it just takes us back to the pre op disordered eating and search for a quick fix.

We all know where that got us.

Every day I eat quality proteins, fresh veggies, a little fruit, and some kind of starch (most lately I am loving baked sweet potato). I take my vitamins. I drink water, and even an occasional diet pepsi. True confession there!

Had an interesting conversation with my sister yesterday. She is also obese, and 2 weeks ago had to go into the hospital for gall bladder surgery. Typically this procedure takes 30 minutes but for her it was 2 hours. Typically she would have gone home the same day but she stayed in the hospital for 4 days. Her surgeon said, "You gave me a hell of a time" and told her "The extra weight will chase you down in ways you can't imagine." Now she's home and her solution is to eat Lean Cuisine meals twice a day. That just won't work for me - and I dare say it won't work for her, but she will need to work that out for herself.

Anyway back to our original question here: fresh, simple foods. All the food groups. Regularly scheduled meals and snacks.

I appreciate you wanting to get back on track. The final weight goal should be up to you. You can change whenever you are ready. It's your call.

With that being said, may I suggest what others have said and done: join WW. There are three versions of the same plan: green, blue, and purple. You'll take an assessment to find out which would be best for you in the beginning. Like you, I had some regain (43 lbs. to be exact) and have taken off 22 lbs. so far. Like you, I've started working out. It will come off. I didn't put back on overnight and it won't come off overnight.

With all the responses, please understand that we care about one of our own. Anyone who has done bariatric surgery understand each other and want the best for each other.

I feel you. I reached my goal of 151lbs and I saw the loose skin and did not much like it. I found I looked good at 158 and revised my goal. Now I am nearly 9.5 years post op RNY and I am 7lbs above my goal. I know I can lose the weight because I have before. I just have to make a few tweaks to my diet and I will see a difference. I do admit to being atypical somewhat, or at least just completely honest; I do not engage in any regular exercise, I have always enjoyed carbonated beverages since my surgery and I have eaten sweets daily since I was about 4 months post op. Do you eat late at night? Eat desserts? Eat many snacks? If so, try eliminating one of these or making a healthier choice when you do. This is what works for me when I see the scale creeping up. I wish you all the luck in the world!

I'm saddened to see this member has left; I think none of us wished for that, instead just hoped to guide the author to a healthier version of sustainable weight loss that might provide longer lasting results.

As an update, my unconventional cutting down on cake to only once every other night has paid off--I've lost 4 pounds in 3 weeks! 3 more pounds to lose and I'll be at my GW!