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How to get back on track -13 years after my bypass?



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Well, greetings all, im now 41, had my gastric bypass back in 2000. (13 years ago), and while I start out over 500lbs, I dropped down to 280.... and slowly over the last 13 years went back up to 360. im back to eating normal portions. and seriously trying to figure out how to get back on track!..... any suggestions?

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Well' date=' greetings all, im now 41, had my gastric bypass back in 2000. (13 years ago), and while I start out over 500lbs, I dropped down to 280.... and slowly over the last 13 years went back up to 360. im back to eating normal portions. and seriously trying to figure out how to get back on track!..... any suggestions?[/quote']

Well I'm still new to this as well since I'm a little over 3 months out. And I'm sure theres a lot of advice that you could me as well. 13 years is a long time however and I know a lot of times when people want to get back on track they do the liquid diet all over again but if I were you I would make an appointment with your surgeon or a new surgeon who definitely has experience with your type of situation because I know that it is very common. I hope this helps and please share any tips and experiences you may have.

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Well' date=' greetings all, im now 41, had my gastric bypass back in 2000. (13 years ago), and while I start out over 500lbs, I dropped down to 280.... and slowly over the last 13 years went back up to 360. im back to eating normal portions. and seriously trying to figure out how to get back on track!..... any suggestions?[/quote']

Try the five day pouch test. It's pretty much the first six months after surgery compressed into one week. I heard that it almost restarts your stomach. Just google it and the guidelines will pop up.

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Do you maintain a food log? If not, now is the time to start. You will be amazed at the results. Join us on the thread "Food Logs Discussion". Just enter that title in the Search box near the top of this page on the right and select "Forums" to search. Next to your pouch, logging is the single most powerful tool you can have in your arsenal. Study after study has shown that loggers lose more weight, lose it faster, and most importantly of all, are much more successful at maintaining your goal weight long term. Join us! You're gonna love the new you!!

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DL, I know you are right about food logs. My goal is to make food logs a habit. It will take me some time to get there. How long have you been maintaining a food log? Did you find it easy to make it a habit? Did you find it annoying at first? I know food logging is natural for you now. But did you find starting to use food logs difficult?

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DL' date=' I know you are right about food logs. My goal is to make food logs a habit. It will take me some time to get there. How long have you been maintaining a food log? Did you find it easy to make it a habit? Did you find it annoying at first? I know food logging is natural for you now. But did you find starting to use food logs difficult?[/quote']

I just started a food log - DL sort of wears you down after several post - lol

I found it easy to get started and after a week it was almost an addiction. With all the new technology your food log goes with you on your smart phone. I have now been doing it three weeks and it gets easier and easier and just part of my meal now. Instead of desert I log my food.

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DL, I know you are right about food logs. My goal is to make food logs a habit. It will take me some time to get there. How long have you been maintaining a food log? Did you find it easy to make it a habit? Did you find it annoying at first? I know food logging is natural for you now. But did you find starting to use food logs difficult?

I started logging shortly after my surgery so I've been logging for almost two years. I didn't find it difficult to get started. You're excited about the surgery. You're committed. Motivated. But in all honesty, I think everyone goes through a period, sooner or later, where logging gets tedious. I've found it helps tremendously to give yourself an occasional break from logging. For example, I usually don't log when I'm on vacation. There's never any doubt in my mind that I will resume (it truly is addictive), but taking a break is relaxing and a breather from the normal routine. That's what vacations are all about!

Another thing I've found is that the longer you log, the more valuable it becomes. Logging immediately after surgery helps keep you on track following the protocol. But your choices are limited. It's when you're back on a regular diet that logging really starts to shine. And unfortunately, it's when a lot of folks stop logging. It's all too easy to fall into the "I've got this, it's all downhill from here!" trap.

It's only when you progress back to a regular diet that you begin really making your own food choices. You start to understand your new relationship with food. And logging changes that relationship in ways you never imagined possible. You discover that you really are in control. You discover that you really can enjoy that special occasion, that special meal, and get right back on track. Your confidence soars. You come to the realization, often for the first time, that you really can manage your weight. And that's reinforced, every day, again and again and again. For me, that is the very definition of the all- important - lifestyle changes.

Is it easy to make it a habit? I don't know that there's a one size fits all answer to that question. But the reality is that loggers are in the minority. Many start, get tired, bored, frustrated - fill in the blank - and stop logging. Losing weight takes commitment. So does logging. Bypass surgery is a tool. So is logging. Tools are not synonymous with "easy". They are synonymous with "easier". In my mind, the more tools I have, the easier it becomes to reach, and to maintain, my goal. I believe that logging made it easier for me to lose more weight, lose it faster, and maintain my weight. And I think that those who make the commitment will discover the same. Simple as that.

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Would start slowly, make one change. Once it becomes easy to stick with, then do another. Look for a support group in your area, using this is great, but being around others face to face help ... even if you are embarrassed, it will help in the end.

It hasn't been 13 yrs since I had my gastric by-pass, only 4 yrs, but I gained a good amount of weight back. But being around others going through this (face to face) is something I found to be helpful.

Good luck .... just keep trying, and don't give up.

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I'm still a pre-surgery gal, but the counselor and nutritionist have been stressing the food logs to me, so I'm logging everything thing through my "Fitbit"and it makes it so much easier than writing it down. The suggestion of "The 5-day pouch test" sounds logical (if it really does work), I'm bookmarking it "just in case" for later.

You can lose again, look what you did last time! :)

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    • Alisa_S

      On day 4 of the 2 week liquid pre-op diet. Surgery scheduled for June 11th.
      Soooo I am coming to a realization
      of something and I'm not sure what to do about it. For years the only thing I've enjoyed is eating. We rarely do anything or go anywhere and if we do it always includes food. Family comes over? Big family dinner! Go camping? Food! Take a short ride or trip? Food! Holiday? Food! Go out of town for a Dr appointment? Food! When we go to a new town we don't look for any attractions, we look for restaurants we haven't been to. Heck, I look forward to getting off work because that means it's almost supper time. Now that I'm drinking these pre-op shakes for breakfast, lunch, and supper I have nothing to look forward to.  And once I have surgery on June 11th it'll be more of the same shakes. Even after pureed stage, soft food stage, and finally regular food stage, it's going to be a drastic change for the rest of my life. I'm giving up the one thing that really brings me joy. Eating. How do you cope with that? What do you do to fill that void? Wow. Now I'm sad.
      · 1 reply
      1. LeighaTR

        I hope your surgery on Wednesday goes well. You will be able to do all sorts of new things as you find your new normal after surgery. I don't know this from experience yet, but I am seeing a lot of positive things from people who have had it done. Best of luck!

    • Alisa_S

      On day 4 of the 2 week liquid pre-op diet. Surgery scheduled for June 11th.
      Soooo I am coming to a realization
      of something and I'm not sure what to do about it. For years the only thing I've enjoyed is eating. We rarely do anything or go anywhere and if we do it always includes food. Family comes over? Big family dinner! Go camping? Food! Take a short ride or trip? Food! Holiday? Food! Go out of town for a Dr appointment? Food! When we go to a new town we don't look for any attractions, we look for restaurants we haven't been to. Heck, I look forward to getting off work because that means it's almost supper time. Now that I'm drinking these pre-op shakes for breakfast, lunch, and supper I have nothing to look forward to.  And once I have surgery on June 11th it'll be more of the same shakes. Even after pureed stage, soft food stage, and finally regular food stage, it's going to be a drastic change for the rest of my life. I'm giving up the one thing that really brings me joy. Eating. How do you cope with that? What do you do to fill that void? Wow. Now I'm sad.
      · 1 reply
      1. summerseeker

        Life as a big person had limited my life to what I knew I could manage to do each day. That was eat. I hadn't anything else to look forward to. So my eating choices were the best I could dream up. I planned the cooking in managable lots in my head and filled my day with and around it.

        Now I have a whole new big, bigger, biggest, best days ever. I am out there with those skinny people doing stuff i could never have dreamt of. Food is now an after thought. It doesn't consume my day. I still enjoy the good home cooked food but I eat smaller portions. I leave food on my plate when I am full. I can no longer hear my mother's voice saying eat it all up, ther are starving children in Africa who would want that!

        I still cook for family feasts, I love cooking. I still do holidays but I have changed from the All inclusive drinking and eating everything everyday kind to Self catering accommodation. This gives me the choice of cooking or eating out as I choose. I rarely drink anymore as I usually travel alone now and I feel I need to keep aware of my surroundings.

        I don't know at what point my life expanded, was it when I lost 100 pounds? Was it when I left my walking stick at home ? Was it when I said yes to an outing instead of finding an excuse to stay home ? i look back at my last five years and wonder how loosing weight has made such a difference. Be ready to amaze yourself.

        BTW, the liquid diet sucks, one more day and you are over the worst. You can do it.

    • CaseyP1011

      Officially here for a long time, not just a good time💪
      · 0 replies
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