Maintaining the loss

Hey there Mike, I am four years post-op and that period of time has given me fresh insights.  Let me say this:  Don't pay so much attention to short-term weight gain and the "magic number" on the scale.  DO pay attention to the scale and how your clothes fit you over an extended period of time!!!  I had major surgery, unrelated to the gastric bypass, a year ago and lost about 30 pounds.  I was soooooo happy I was down to my all time low of 149 pounds, but I was SICK!!  I had two surgeries and two subsequent hospitalizations! After I got healthy again, I vowed I was going to join a gym (again) and maintain that fabulous size 8.  Guess what?  It took me a whole year before I got back in the gym and in that year, I regained those 30 pounds and, more than that, just feel a lack of energy and feel lazy.   But........... I am still a size 10! How good does that feel after being a size 26 most of my adult life!!!??!!  So now I am back in the gym for a total of 2 days and I feel great.  Look at the bigger picture and don't let anybody tell you you are "getting fat again" or "putting on a few extra pounds, eh?" People seem to be more diligent with you when they know you've lost a lot of weight, so to put on maybe 20 pounds, after you've lost 100+ pounds, seems like a big deal to them.  Don't you make it your issue.  Just maintain............. Good Luck Bro! melissa

The way things were explained to me were that our body has to find a set point.  Everybody has a set point that is the right weight for their body.  And if we follow the doctors instructions our body will find that ideal weight for us.  But in finding it, the body will usually go below that set point and hang around for a little while, then creep up a little at the time until it gets to its set point.  A nutritionists told our group that usually you will lose about 10 more than your set point and to expect to gain about 10 back without changing a thing.  And I am about 6 to 8 pounds above my very lowest number on the scale and have maintained this weight now for about 2 years pretty easily except for when night time grazing gets me up a couple of pounds.  When that happens I drop the calories and up the exercise until I am back down the couple pounds.  Now how much truth is in all that set point stuff I don't know.  That is just what was explained to me when I was panicing over my weight creeping up when I was being a compliant little WLS patient.  But I do understand about the night time grazing.  And lots of us suffer from that.  I wonder what it is about us and night time because I know that at least once a day I read a post on here where someone is struggling at night time with snacking.  Wish they would find a cure for it LOL.  Sure would make lots of us post ops lives much easier, wouldn't it?  Good luck to you. Melissa    

Melissa, Thanks for the reply, I have to remember that R-N-Y was just a tool and not the fix.  I know it is important to have a plan and work the plan. Thanks again, Mike

I am 3 years post  op and up 18 lbs from my lowest. The first 10 came the second year which surgeon says is normal. The other 8 came from bad choices and nighttime eating. I decided enough is enough and started phase 1 of south beach diet and after the 1st day I didn't want to eat at night. It seems that by only having 1 or 2 choices as something to snack on wasn't very appealing so I have nothing. I used to have a big bowl of fruit,sf candy,sf pudding and so on. It was just a habit. Now if I want something I only allow myself sf jello (boring) so most of the time I have nothing. Don't get discouraged and dont do what I did, which was gain another 8lbs. Worst mistake because now it is taking me months to get if off. Good luck!

I'm bad about grazing too, especially at night.  I have found that if I buy a big salad for lunch at work, I will graze all afternoon eating the salad.  It really fills you up.  I will then not feel like grazing so much that night. 

I centainly don't feel I have the answer for this one yet, as I'm only 21 months post-op.  But I have maintained my weight loss very steadily now for 3 months.  Up a few pounds over the holidays, but then they came off again.  I am hoping my current weight is my "set point". Yes, the desire to graze is always with me, at night, but I try to control it by keeping my hands busy knitting, really, really asking myself if I'm hungry or just bored/anxious/whatever, and then deciding whether to eat something or not. I try to snack on only a couple of foods: First choice:  a cup of hot chocolate protein.  I've written about this before.  I am lucky to truly enjoy my protein.  I drink it warm with extra cocoa powder and various SF flavored syrups.  I find it relaxes me, and tends to take away the desire to snack on anything else. Second choice:  a grapefruit.  They have been so tasy this season, and I take my time peeling and eating the sections slowly.  Because it takes a bit of time to do this, it keeps me busy, and I get the full satiation factor of eating it.  By this I mean, I try to satisfy several of my senses at once.  It isn't mindless eating.  I taste the grapefruit, enjoy the smell, actually hold the sections in my hands.  Sometimes I think when we just mindlessly shovel food in our mouths, we eat so much more.  By slowly enjoying the food, we don't need so much. Third choice:  popcorn.  I pop plain popcorn in a microwave popper and mix it with a bag of flavored microwave popcorn.  I mix it two batches of plain to one bag of buttered popcorn.  This does make a big bow, which I share with my husband.  We still have leftover, which I snack on through the week.  I think the fiber from the popcorn helps with regularity. Fourth choice: soy crisps, maybe with a tablespoon of natural peanut butter and a very small dollop of SF jam. Of course, these snacks should be part of a total healthy eating plan, with the calories from the snacks figured into my daily total. So far, these things are working for me.  If I have the overwhelming need to keep snacking in the evening, I just make myself go to bed early.  I can't snack and sleep at the same time. Debra M. 351/141

Debra, The grazing is the worst part to break. I had gotten in to a routine of having pop corn around 8:00 and then peanut butter before bed. I am breaking one at a time and i started with the PB. I will work on the pop corn next.  Thanks for the reply. Mike

Mike, I am 3 years out, and let me tell you from experience, get a hold on that grazing.  I did not and now I have 60#s to relose before I can work on my goal again.  I too started out by grazing only at night  and then got to grazing in the mid afternoon.  Then i just started eating a little more at meals, and the a little more of the wrong things.  You know "one bite wont hurt",  but it does,, because one bite leads to another and so on.  Start out by grazing on clear liquid things, SF Jello and SF Popsicles, that is where I am at now.  also went back to 600-800 calories aday and stay closer to 600. Good luck Darlene Hughes

Darlene, That is what I am affraid of, I want to make the change know, and head in the other direction. It is good to hear from others who have the same challenges. I guess the most important thing is to make the changes before it gets worst.  Thanks for your reply. Mike

All of this is so disheartening.  It is depressing to think that the weight can find its way back so easily.  I had my surgery in December of 2005 and definitely can eat more and want to eat more already.  This is really scary.  I know this is a tool and I guess it's really time to start working the tool before things get out of hand.   Linda