Strangefruit

Sorry, ReallyRosy - I didn't notice you had already posted that article ... my frustration is that - no, I didn't think after losing weight after surgery I would be able to eat anything I wanted ... but I did think I would be able to eat a normal amount of calories for someone of my height and activity ... I was not prepared to have my calories restricted almost as much as my pre- surgery Liquid Protein fast! The only reason I could do that was I knew it was temporary ... but I cannot go the rest of my life existing on 800 calories or less per day AND working out 6-7 days a week. I walk, I exercise, I do yoga... but I also work full time and have kids... for my lifestyle (and yes - some people manage to do it) working out 7 days a week and eating less than 800 calories per day is not why I had the surgery ... and honestly - had I been told that THAT is what was required for maintenance (I was told to adopt a "healthy eating (normal) lifestyle and exercise ... had I known this was required for maintenance I would not have had the surgery.

I had the surgery fall 2012... The first year was great... The end of the second year, I have gained 18lbs and went through menopause... I am wondering if this is common... I still average about 1300 calories a day, but cannot seem to shake this weight gain... On 1/15, I started doing the 5:2 Intermittent Fast Diet... One week out, I am finally down 3.6lbs... I am committed to doing this 5:2 plan for at least a month to see if this gives me the results I need... I have read that a weight gain after menopause is not uncommon, but I thought 18lbs was quite a bit for one year. ????

Sorry, ReallyRosy - I didn't notice you had already posted that article ... my frustration is that - no, I didn't think after losing weight after surgery I would be able to eat anything I wanted ... but I did think I would be able to eat a normal amount of calories for someone of my height and activity ... I was not prepared to have my calories restricted almost as much as my pre- surgery Liquid Protein fast! The only reason I could do that was I knew it was temporary ... but I cannot go the rest of my life existing on 800 calories or less per day AND working out 6-7 days a week. I walk, I exercise, I do yoga... but I also work full time and have kids... for my lifestyle (and yes - some people manage to do it) working out 7 days a week and eating less than 800 calories per day is not why I had the surgery ... and honestly - had I been told that THAT is what was required for maintenance (I was told to adopt a "healthy eating (normal) lifestyle and exercise ... had I known this was required for maintenance I would not have had the surgery.

So it's been about 4 1/2 weeks since I posted that I had gained 43 pounds. I have been going back to the post op way of eating and trying to exercise more and more. So far I have lost about 8 pounds of the regain. I know if's not a lot but I know I can keep going since I have stopped the "REGAIN TRAIN". April 3rd I weighed 217, today I weighed 209. I find that my sweet spot as far as calories go is 1200-1300 per day. Some people who have had surgery think that's a lot but I have to make the changes that work for me. Please help me Celebrate feeling better and working harder.
Every day is a struggle but I can make it. To everyone else who has regained: I swear that if I can make it, YOU can too. Get up and move just a little bit more than you did yesterday and cut out one thing at a time that you shouldn't be eating. We still have our tool, we just have to use it. I'm feeling pumped up and beautiful again.

Strangefruit
I cited the artice to 2Anne. My cardio thinks the wt l8ss,on biggest looser was faster than we lost after surgery.
I disagree. I think both are the same relatve rate of loss.
What do u all think? Yes, i csnt lose unless i severely restrict caloric intake. I started higher than most so probably reached that 'fighting plateau " sooner than thise who had less to lose.
D*mn

I am sorry to read about your struggles, but I have to admit feeling a little better that I am not alone in my struggles... it's HARD and very frustrating.

The title of your post says "Remind why..."
So I'm gonna focus on that rather than its content...

Being fat is ****...
It hurts
Knee pain
Ankle pain
Sick in the stomach
That irritating thing that happens with your lower back every now and then
I’m sure you know the one
Well, they all happen because we’re fat…
Being fat is shit…
It's expensive
How much do (did) we spend on take-away food?
What about when we (I) have to go to the ‘big and tall’ section/shop/website just to get a plain old black polo shirt
And then they want to charge you (me) $50 for it
What about the extra seat on a plane
These things happen because we’re fat…
Being fat is shit…
It’s embarrassing
The sideways looks
The snickers from strangers (no, not the chocolate)
What about the lady here in Australia yesterday, who sought, and was granted, an official apology from an airline because as she boarded the plane, the air hostess asked her for her medical certificate.
The woman asked why she needed a medical certificate…
She was then told that pregnant women need a medical certificate to fly
She wasn’t pregnant
This happened because she was fat (and because the air hostess was an arse!!)
Being fat is shit…
It’s unhealthy
A healthy person doesn’t tire or get puffed from walking up a single flight of stairs
A healthy person doesn’t work up a sweat whilst drying themselves after a shower
They don’t have to choose their restaurants based on the type of chair that is there
That kinda stuff happens if you’re fat
Of course, I’m not saying that all, or any, of these things apply to you
But you were looking for reminders of why you don’t want to be fat
I’ve now given you a few
And they’re just the tip of the iceberg…

@@Strangefruit
I totally hear ya. I've been at this for almost 15 months, just going into maintenence, and it's not easy. I get "battle weary" some days, and have the EXACT same thoughts you have had. I think "Fuck it. I'm 48 years old, I want to enjoy the time I have left and EAT WHATEVER I WANT. I don't mind being pleasantly plump. I'm middle aged, I'm SUPPOSED to be plump!"
The problem is if I just ate what I wanted and paid no heed to what I was eating, the pleasantly plump turns into morbid obesity. I've been there, and it takes a toll on my health unfortunately. High blood pressure, diabetes, sore joints....you name it, I had it. For me, that's the motivation to fight to maintain a normal weight. Let's face it, obesity affects us differently the older we get. It's not just a vanity thing anymore...it's really life and death for us. I would like to live longer than both my parents did. They both died untimely deaths due to heart issues. I cant do that to my kids...I WON'T if I can prevent it.
Good luck and I'm rooting for you!!

So... I'm three years out ... I'm up 25lbs... I am reading - and planned to start - the 5 Day Pouch Test Owners Manual... it is supposed to help sleevers like me who have fallen off the wagon get back to eating correctly and "reset" their pouch to fullness.
But ... more and more I am thinking I am tired of counting calories and watching what I eat ... life is stressful and at aged 55, I should be able to come home and have a glass of Merlot of I like and some Brie and triscuits... the holidays are coming and I WANT to have Cookies and muffins and an occasional hot chocolate...
The angel on my shoulder reminds me that 25lbs ago, my back, feet and knees didn't hurt... I could use stairs easily and not get winded ... I loved the feel of having collarbones!
But then, I think, "Why not be fat? You can buy larger clothes- you're still smaller than you WERE!"
*sigh* I need a little more than a nudge ... I am not sure I want to be healthy as much as I am tired of BEING ON A DIET of some kind.
I had planned to start the 5 Day Pouch Plan on Saturday ... I'm reading the book first, and am already dreading two days of only Protein Shakes and broth. When I did it pre-surgery, I really believed I would never go back... now, I'm not so sure anymore. Thoughts?

I am sorry to read about your struggles, but I have to admit feeling a little better that I am not alone in my struggles... it's HARD and very frustrating.

This discussion is for people who are several years out from the surgery and ARE experiencing wt gain enough to make us worry. It is not for recently op'd or for just 2 or 3 yrs out. Its not for newly sleeves or even 18 months. Most of us were good the first couple of years. Get it?

I would like to add something I think that my surgeon and others don't take into consideration enough. There was no individualization of care planning We are all just "Sleeves". I am sure that part of my lack of results from my surgery is my age. At 57 my metabolism, with all my comorbids has only been negatively effected by major surgery. As a RN I should have known this would be the case. A 30 year old body is going to react differently to stressors. So not everyone is going to have a great sucess story. I just wish my surgeon had been honest with me instead of saying all his his patients lose 30 pounds in the first month.

@@MichiganChic that was very well said, and I think you must be a very good mom to those three lucky girls.

@@globetrotter You've lost about a pound a week. Good for you. I think you've established you have a slow metabolism, and now I think you've established you know what to do to lose weight, and that you can lose it. That's good news for you!
My advice is to stop stewing in the fact that it's slower than you want, and a lot of hard work, because when you are fighting yourself, that just makes the weight loss battle that much worse. If you were my daughter (and I have 3 of them whom I love more than anything) I would tell you to stop wallowing in your own self pity because you are making yourself miserable. I always remind them not to be a victim. We choose our happiness. But since you are not my daughter, I won't tell you that.
Having said all that, I do understand where you are coming from. Most of us got dealt a bad hand when it comes to weight management. Whether it's a genetic predisposition to weight gain, a lifetime of bad habits, or something else resulting in weight gain, there is not one WLS person who doesn't have to battle. The realization that it's going to be a lifetime of rigid dieting and there is no wiggle room is a little disheartening. It's probably our worst nightmare on so many levels to experience regain. Staying thin is not as simple as "a new way of life" for me. It is a full time job for me, and I consider it job one, all day, everyday. I wish that weren't true, but it's my reality. I've learned to be happy anyway.

I am sorry to read about your struggles, but I have to admit feeling a little better that I am not alone in my struggles... it's HARD and very frustrating.

I am sorry to read about your struggles, but I have to admit feeling a little better that I am not alone in my struggles... it's HARD and very frustrating.

I agree with everything you said. I was 296 when I started and my lowest was 169. I had surgery May 21, 2012. It has been three years. My husband passed away in June of 2014 with cancer at the age of 48 which most of you know. I started gaining back after diagnosis from drinking frappes and lattes which gave me a high from the sugar and caffeine. He was very ill and I was his sole caregiver. I hardly ate but drank ready made Protein shakes and coffee. I started gaining back and by the time he passed away, I had gained up to 189 from 169. Now since, I gained to 224 and was able to get back to 207 then gained back to 215 where I am now. It is so hard and we aren't like normal people. You are so right. It gets really hard after the first year and it takes more work than people realize. SO, newbies be very careful because you will be able to gain easily and you will be able to eat more as time goes by. The full feeling is there but not as in the honeymoon stage. liquid calories is the devil. So be careful.
I'm so scared that I will continue to gain if I don't stop with the stupid sugar in coffee. I will say that I think if I hadn't had this surgery, I would have gained a lot more by now. SO it is worth it with all the complications I have with severe GERD, esophageal spasms, bile reflux, and almost drowning in my own bile while sleeping because I had yogurt too late at night.
I'm doing my best to get back on track but it isn't easy.

Rosey I didn't realize you were in the "senior" group. I'll be 63 in Oct.
There is no magic answer. I have a friend who was sleeved a week after me and eats nothing but crap. Cookies, candy, (tons of candy) chips, etc. She rarely eats a normal meal. She is a size 4 and is under 120. I can't even go over to her house anymore. It's just too much temptation.
I am really struggling because exercise has been taken away from me. I'm having another back surgery in a few weeks. I'm lucky that I've eaten the Atkins way most of my life. I went on Atkins at age 13 for the first time. It's really easy to let sugar and carbs back into my life though. It's a daily struggle to live in this world when everyone else IS eating crap.

Samelton68...yeah that prickled.

Perhaps you came off as harsh when you assumed others were eating "crap"
I would suggest that you diet should almost be its own topic that way those interested in it can discuss it there.
Happy you and others are doing great on it but that type of food causes issues in my body so I could not do that and I am like most others on this thread focusing on high Protein.< /p>

Sounds like a lot of starch which I do not believe would work well for me

I also think LauraK is an exception... Please don't assume if we are struggling we're eating "crap"... 1500 calories a day causes me to gain. I MUST limit my intake to 1100-1200 AND workout 4-5x a week or I gain. Consider yourself very lucky. It doesn't work like that for all of us. I am 5'6" and also started at 240... my lowest weight was 172 and I'm struggling now in the 190s.
sorry for the double post... my tablet froze and it appeared my original comment didn't post...

I'm 3 years out, I've gained about 35lbs back from my lowest of 172, and really wish I did have. supportive surgeon... My guy is so much if a dick, I actually call him Dr. House (from the Hugh Laurie character)... He's rude and abrasive - I would never have selected him, but with Kaiser Permanente, I didn't have a choice of surgeon ... He's thin as a reed, which really makes my wonder why he went into Bariatric surgery, but he's such a dick, he made me cry in the hospital when I was dehydrated and couldn't even eat ice chips.
I bought a Bowflex Treadclimber hoping to help with my exercise - I absolutely hate it, but continue to use it because I don't want my family to say, "I told you so"... I've stopped using the elevator at work, I walk around the building at lunch time, I log everything I eat in My Fitness Pal and still cannot get the scale to move. Reading about others opinion that this surgery messes up our metabolism is comforting while at the same time depressing. *sigh*

Well I'm hypothyroid too and I don't gain weight that easily. And guess what, I eat a plant based diet...no meat, dairy or eggs. Also no added oil to cooking. I live on Beans, potatoes, rice, Pasta, oats and lots of veggies and fruit. The trick is no added fats. I eat as much as I want. I also exercise. I don't gain on this way of eating and I also have a sleeves friend that follows the same and she too is very slim after 5 years.

Laurak712 u seem to be the exception that proves the rule. I wonder if people who started at a lower weight have a better chance of keeping it off. I wonder if younger people have a better chance. Ir maybe a combination of the two.