former_vbg

This couldn't be further from the truth. All a person has to do is DRINK their calories and that can come in MANY forms... soda, McDonald shakes, and lots of other things.

This couldn't be further from the truth. All a person has to do is DRINK their calories and that can come in MANY forms... soda, McDonald shakes, and lots of other things.

Back off Amazon....you can't say that, you have no idea what research she's done!! & she is TRYING to learn more here! If you can't be supportive then be quiet!

I don't think you are going to get a definitive answer on here because everyone is a little different. This is because it varies whether you are male or female, 20 something or 50 something, your exercise level, height, etc, etc... The best thing to do is be sure to weigh yourself daily and track what you are eating (carbs/ calories) and your body and scale will tell you what you need to do to continue losing. There is a big debate on whether counting calories or carbs is more important. For me, I have always chosen to count carbs and it has worked for me and I will be 2 yrs out this June. What works for one person may not work for the next.
Just listen to your body, watch the scale and you will figure out what works best for you.

I don't think you are going to get a definitive answer on here because everyone is a little different. This is because it varies whether you are male or female, 20 something or 50 something, your exercise level, height, etc, etc... The best thing to do is be sure to weigh yourself daily and track what you are eating (carbs/ calories) and your body and scale will tell you what you need to do to continue losing. There is a big debate on whether counting calories or carbs is more important. For me, I have always chosen to count carbs and it has worked for me and I will be 2 yrs out this June. What works for one person may not work for the next.
Just listen to your body, watch the scale and you will figure out what works best for you.

I would say part of what you said was correct, but there are plenty of people who have gained more than 5# back. It often takes people a lot of courage to come back to a site like this and admit that kind of failure, but we have had some people come back posting their struggles. Having a good support system is critical, but I also know someone who had the good support system but REFUSED to change her lifestyle/ eating habits. In fact, she never even came close to reaching goal because of it.
When we go through these surgeries, and get through the initial shock to our body, most of us tell ourselves we will never let ourselves allow this to get out of control again, but we are all human and not everyone will succeed unfortunately.
We just have to try to reach out for help when we need it and not wait too long to do it.

I would say part of what you said was correct, but there are plenty of people who have gained more than 5# back. It often takes people a lot of courage to come back to a site like this and admit that kind of failure, but we have had some people come back posting their struggles. Having a good support system is critical, but I also know someone who had the good support system but REFUSED to change her lifestyle/ eating habits. In fact, she never even came close to reaching goal because of it.
When we go through these surgeries, and get through the initial shock to our body, most of us tell ourselves we will never let ourselves allow this to get out of control again, but we are all human and not everyone will succeed unfortunately.
We just have to try to reach out for help when we need it and not wait too long to do it.

I think we can all have differing opinions without being disrespectful to each other...... Can't we?
There are a few posts in this thread that are completely uncalled for. Please think about what you post, posting inflammatory statements or taking pot shots at another member accomplishes nothing except calling attention to yourself.

I'm surprised you went through with it - it sounds like the whole thing just makes you angry. I'd appreciate no more comments about it being absurd I'm having it done as all you're doing is making me want to delete my main source of ongoing support & information.

My goodness! Who in here has any right to judge whether someone else qualifies for or should have surgery. We're all here for support and to share information. Simply appalled right now.

No, I have never even lived in TX. I had a revision and it was difficult to find a surgeon who had experience of revising VBG's to a sleeve All the surgeons within a few hundred miles of KC either wanted to do a gastric bypass on me because that was the "easy way" out for them. I wouldn't settle for that and so I had to travel there to have the surgery. The surgeon did a good job on the surgery for the most part but he has the personality of a DONKEY!

Truly amazing!

Good for you! The first time I had WLS, I didn't quite reach goal, but had settled around the high 160's and was ok with that because I started at 307#. I met a guy shortly around the time I got to that weight and he had horrible eating habits. I tried to get him to not eat so much junk around me and he refused. He just didn't understand how it affected me. We lived together for a year and I gained about 30# in that time. Not saying its his fault, cuz I own my own choices, but he sure didn't make it easy.
I'm still single, but one of the things I will no longer tolerate in a relationship is someone who won't respect my wishes to eat healthy and try to "get me" to eat the same way they do. Ideally they will eat more healthy so it's not an issue.
Darn men!!!

this is soooo juvenile, but it works for me. If we are sitting in a restaurant and I am finished and there isn't anything I'm taking, I'll pour salt on it, food, bread, whatever. Not fit for consumtion!!! LoL Just an idea!

I will agree with you that not all "normal" folks have to watch their food intake like we do. I am in my 40's and while it seems many of the younger ones tend to watch less what they eat, I have learned that they pay the price for that as they get older because I've seen it. Maybe not to the same degree that many of us have experienced but I also have friends up through their 60's who while they may not eat huge volumes of food, etc... they don't pay attention to what they eat and manage to stay at a healthy weight with little to no effort.
Not everyone is the same. There will be a few of us who have had the WLS that will be lucky and fall into that category of it being "easy peazy" to maintain but I don't think that will be the majority of us IMO.

You are not alone in your struggles! I have gained back 15# and I am a little more than a yr and a half out. I have gotten control from it getting worse and need to be diligent about exercising because it doesn't come off as quickly as it did before.
We all have stuff that happens in our life that can side track us despite best of intentions. I was recently laid off my job and I knew it was going to happen about 2 months before it did. I reverted back to some old habits which is the reason for my gain. Like you, it's not a good excuse- but things are what they are... I am going back to setting goals for me to get back to my original weight loss. It's a learning process, one I know will be life long.

I will agree with you that not all "normal" folks have to watch their food intake like we do. I am in my 40's and while it seems many of the younger ones tend to watch less what they eat, I have learned that they pay the price for that as they get older because I've seen it. Maybe not to the same degree that many of us have experienced but I also have friends up through their 60's who while they may not eat huge volumes of food, etc... they don't pay attention to what they eat and manage to stay at a healthy weight with little to no effort.
Not everyone is the same. There will be a few of us who have had the WLS that will be lucky and fall into that category of it being "easy peazy" to maintain but I don't think that will be the majority of us IMO.

I know this is not what all 'normal' thin folks do. I have a friend who is 5'5" and about 115 soaking wet. She has NEVER watched what she eats, she'll probably die of a heart attack!! I've known her since 1984, she was 28 years old. She almost always has something 'sweet' in her house, she loves to bake. I vividly remember one time we were on the phone, mid-90's and she couldn't decide whether to pop popcorn or have a piece of apple pie she'd baked. So, what do you do when faced with a tough choice like that???!!! Of course, you have BOTH!!!! Obviously it is something that has stuck with me all these years!!! Other than things like that, I feel like I eat like a normally 'thin' person, but my friends....the thin ones, I cannot think of ONE that hits the gym. I take that back, I have ONE friend, we've been friends since 6th grade. She isn't skinny, she is thin, naturally thin......she and her husband JUST joined a gym about two weeks ago.

I'm 1 yr and 8 mths out and I have been struggling with this some as well. The key is that you realize what is happening and ready to put on the brakes. I'm still about 10# to get back to when I reached goal, but it doesn't come off as quickly as it did that first 6 to 8 months.
I'll offer just some thoughts you might consider.
1. Remove all the "bad" food from your house. If you have others living there, try to work it so that "those" food items are in 1 or two cuboards that will just have to be off limits.
2. Think about what started your gaining trend. Are you going through some stressful events in your life that is causing you to find food again? Maybe find a counselor to try and identify those things and work through them.
3. Do 3 to 4 days of no carbs to get your system cleansed of the processed foods, sugars, etc. Then, go back to the dense Proteins, try to drink lots of Water. And, depending on whether you went low carb or focused on calories (whichever path worked for you) and follow that to guide you on your eating plan.
4. If you aren't incorporating some form of exercise into your routine, try to start this. Whether its walking a couple miles a day, doing aerobics at home (you can buy different exercise DVD's at Walmart or about anywhere), or if you have the time / money, join some exercise classes at the YMCA or local gym.
Just remember, this is a journey and I think the majority of us all have to remember that food will always be a challenge for us.Coming here to the boards is a great start.

I'm glad to see more people joining this thread, who are not in their first year.
Everyone in the beginning seem to be so convinced that they have changed their eating habits so much, that they will never go back to their old ways.
I don't think it was until after I was 2 years post op that I really started to struggle with not being able to lose anything I gained if I went "off plan" for a few days.
In the beginning, I could go right back to Protein first and I would drop anything I had gained. Now, I have to be very careful because if I decide to eat something that I know will make me gain, I'll be shopping for new clothes.

I have gained 12 pounds. I'm truly upset about it. My emotional need to eat has not gone away. I am 18 months out so I can eat much more than I did in the beginning but when I stick to Protein first, it seems I can eat a lot less. My real problem is I like to eat. I need to replace this behavior with something else. The other problem is I love to walk my dog outside and we used to walk 2 miles a day. Not anymore. The average temp outside for the last month has been 18. My husband used to walk with me everyday. He has developed RA and is having a hard time getting around. Excuses? Yes, they are. But it's really hard to get back on track because of my love of eating and these two changes.

Thank you Carol!! I will add that to my list!!

your welcome genealogy and Mormon libraries have a world of info. So does courthouses, Courthouses have marriage records that have a world of info on them.. Mormon church libraries have alot more info alot of times. I use to do genealogy.At some courthouses they have death and military records.

I didn't ask for your opinion on whether I should or shouldn't be doing this. You don't know the details of this situation. I simply asked for people's advice on doing research. There is nothing inappropriate about what I'm doing. If you don't like it, then don't read the thread.