FieryPhoenix

RNY April of 2012, so that makes 9+ years out. My surgeon no longer practices bariatric surgery and most likely isn't even in my state any longer. I have had to make due with visits to hematologists, psychologists, primary care docs and more recently, went to a different WLS center for a consult and also to an endocrinologist to address the weight creep up that has taken years to put on--really can't blame the Covid, but rather letting a combo of sloppy habits and less intense exercise run the course to the expected outcome: the dreaded regain. To complicate matters, I have been so exhausted that I have been trying to get to the bottom of that as well. Ruled out anemia (I have had to get iron infusions three times), ruled out thyroid (although I do take NP thyroid and the endo upped the dosage a little bit), and while menopause is a factor, I got on bioidentical hormones to try and feel better. Somewhere in the middle of this, I had the brilliant idea that perhaps I should wean myself off antidepressants because they might have contributed to the weight gain as well. Uh. This is not the year to get off antidepressants, being all stressed out at work with all the students back to in-person learning and no clear direction about how to distance kids who seem determined to sit on top of one another, etc. After the new bariatric consult, where I was basically told that because I had open gastric bypass and then had incisional hernia repair and fleur de lis abdominoplasty, my insides are too messy to do any kind of revision, with the adhesions and all. But what I NEEDED to hear was what I have been doing: back to basics. Push that protein--90 grams. Watch the carbs and fat. Exercise. And eat less calories. 1200-1400. Since that visit I have tracked my intake on MFP and gave myself one day a week to have a higher calorie day and some kind of splurge. The rest of the week I do two very high protein meal replacement shakes, a Greek yogurt, a couple of hard boiled eggs and something small but proteiny and veg for dinner. I have to say, keeping it boring has kept the appetite at bay. And so far, so good. Nearly back to Onderland again, and I plan on keeping going until I get back to my lowest weight, which hilariously still has me in the overweight category according to the BMI. In addition, since not crawling into bed as soon as I get home is one of my major goals, I went back on the antidepressant, at a little higher dosage after explaining my symptoms of exhaustion. All this to say that the work is never done and I wouldn't have it any other way! This is my first post and I figured I would just throw it all out there and include the juice, since that is what it is all about for me and I have been very much enjoying reading all the posts here. Didn't want to be a freeloader with nothing to contribute