I had DS in March of 2014. I was 290 pounds at the time, down from my all-time high of 328 pounds pre-insurance requirements. I'm 5'3" tall, single, female, and in a demanding graduate school program which will wrap up in May of 2017.

I am now at 215 pounds and have hovered around this weight for several months now. I am disappointed in myself for only having lost 75 pounds though when it has been almost 2 years since my surgery. I would like to get down to a healthy BMI and do not care as much about the size that I am, but I do want to get rid of my "hanging apron" stomach as I think it really messes with my self-esteem.

I know that others have had much more dramatic weight loss and have probably given more attention to this process than I have. I also stress eat junk food -- Doritoes, donuts, etc. basically, I am a terrible post DS person! I know there is no excuse but I am in a demanding graduate school program and travel back and forth to take care of two sick parents, one of whom has stage 4 cancer. I chose to get the DS while I was working and still had good health insurance that would cover it knowing that I would be selling my place and moving across the country 5 months later -- so I was prepared for the fact that a lot of different changes would be occurring in my life but thought that I could still focus my energy and attention on this aspect of my life as well.

Unfortunately, I am not doing so well. I am overwhelmed at school (though earning mostly straight A's) and struggling with depression -- thinking about my parents, my general dissatisfaction with my life (I'm resetting my career but will be 35 by the time I graduate next year, unhappy that I am still single, and do not feel good enough for guys because of my current weight, and feel like I only have a handful of good friends in my program, and many of my friends who I left behind are now married and starting families and busy in that transition. Also I am not one to go out binge drinking and my Masters program trends about 5 years younger). The only thing that seems to be turning around is my career, and I am starting to find some good leads for what I can do when I graduate in spring of 2017.

Over the past few weeks, I have been trying to turn my life around when it comes to my health and have tried to focus on myself rather than to be sad about not having as many good friends anymore. (I have enough that I have someone to spend time with at least 2 times a week and really need to just be okay with that). I came to grad school to change an aspect of myself that I was unhappy about (my career) and feel that I should also focus on the other aspect of myself that I am unhappy about (my weight) as it could affect my long-term health, chances of developing cancer and heart disease (like my parents). I am starting to cook more, which I previously did not do. I joined a gym and go for 3-4 hours a week. I need to learn how to use my DS "tool" to my advantage though. I know that I lose when I eat a lot of Protein and less junk food. But I don't understand how much I should be eating to lose, as before I was losing about 2 lbs/week without thinking about it much. I went to see a nutritionist but she is unfamiliar with DS and could not give me any insight. I have seen her twice and gotten some general cooking advice and strategies for planning meals out on the go (since I am at school from morning -- like 8 AM until 8 PM at night some days). I also no longer live in the city where I had my DS and thus do not have access to those nutritionists.

I am trying to focus on the positives like how I reversed my GERD and diabetes and am in much better shape But I am also mad at myself for letting assignments/grades and what is going on with my parents has caused me to revert to old habits and stress eat. I also feel like I barely ever have enough time to sleep let alone do anything else. Hence, I am trying to implement small changes. This week, that has been to try to avoid eating donuts and muffins and to instead give me a weekly allowance of 2 sweets but to have them in a smaller, calorie-controlled format.

I welcome and appreciate any advice and support people can provide, as I am starting to feel pretty hopeless that I have come so far and am just "stuck" now.

I highly recommend looking into B-12 injections. Has made a huge difference for me.

I've found that even though I might gain some weight back since the surgery I can easily drop extra pounds just by getting back on track. Before surgery I could starve to death and never lose even one pound. We're all going to have to struggle with binge eating and other eating disorders because that's how we got into this position in the first place. My Fitness Pal is the best way to start. Log everything you eat because it can add up quickly and you can see where you have to cut back. You can do it!

Sent from my N9560 using BariatricPal mobile app

Hi! I am 15 years out from DS. I will tell you what I was told not only by my surgeon but more or less everyone in my support group. I say from my support group because when I had surgery there was no DS Surgeon in our state and everyone left the state to have surgery, hence I don't think any of us had the same surgeon other than a married couple. EMBRACE THE FAT!!!! Number one rule! If you don't see fat in your toilet your not eating enough. My skin gets extremely dry any time I cut the fat. I am shocked that you were told or assumed that low fat was great for you. Protein should be about 100 grams a day split up in 20-25 gram servings, so any fatty meat is good!!! Avoid sugar. Sugar isn't as bad for DS'ers as it is for RNY, we don't dump. However, we absorb 100% of the sugar we take in. I am also surprised you can eat bread at all. Most DS'er will have bloating and serious gas issues from bread. For me (and from most I have heard from) the gas hits at the night so you may not be aware of it. For me it has been so bad the stink wakes me up at nigh, thank goodness I can blame the dog Try going flour free for a month then reintroduce it to your body, if you have a reaction please stop.

To make your diet easy for you, the order you should be eating your food, fatty meats,non starchy veggies with butter or olive oil, if your still hungry go back to fatty meat you didn't eat enough!!! Go easy on the starchy veggies. IF you need bread and desserts, no more than a bite or two. But as my surgeon says, if you still hungry by the time you get to bread and dessert your out eating your surgery! As for malabsorption, you absorb about 20-25% of fat, 50ish% of protein and 100% of sugar (carbs are sugar, stay way from carbs that are not veggies)

You need to go back to experimenting with your body, bread...flour based food give me gas, bloat and in the end a lot of time in the bathroom. I also feel like I have the flu. My husband will look at the cookie in my hand and will ask me if I have plans for tomorrow and is it worth being sick on the couch for. Most of the time it isn't! I also have issues with rice, it will clog me up. I have heard of other DS'ers with that issue with rice too, but many more with flour. Sugar will cause the scale to go up. I still eat sugar, but it is a rare treat, not a daily ,weekly or even monthly treat. Mostly a yearly treat at this time of year. But I still very easy on it because to much will cause bloating and gas too. That is normal for humans who don't eat sugar, not just DS'ers. On the sugar note, if your craving sugar your going thru withdrawal or some protein drinks will cause cravings or you need to up your vitamin Bs special B12.

Ok, what to eat on the go. I drive for a living so I have this down. My favorite is meat and cheese roll ups. What ever meat and cheese is on sale at the deli. In the roll up I will put a slice of red pepper or a some cream cheese or a smear of spinach dip (fat is your friend!!!) Jerky and beef sticks are great! Nuts. Costco has parmesan cheese chips, LOVE THEM! Tuna salad eaten with a fork with a cheese chip on top. I get the fatty tuna and a bit of crunch from the cheese chip. Love it! Salad with LOTS of meat. I can do chicken strips, bunless burgers, salad at any fast food place. Be careful of yogurt, most are low fat and high sugar. Actually in general avoid any food that is low fat, the sugar is crazy high. If you want yogurt, plain and add your own fruit or sugar free jam to it. You can eat fruit, pick higher fiber ones just be aware of the amount of sugar your eating. I do apples slices and berries mostly, easy to pack for the road. These are treats, not staples.

Depression, I never had depression issues before surgery and was not prepared for it after. It hit me about a year out. I take lexapro now, it does not cause weight gain. I have noticed that when I eat more fatty fish, salmon or can tuna in fat (hard to find anymore) I feel better. I upped my omegas when I caught that, so now I am taking those with my vitamins. I would suggest talking to your primary about depression and then getting a therapist or councilor to talk to. Not only for everything going on in your life, you have a lot! but also for food addiction. Surgery will not fix food addiction and if you don't get a handle on it, you will eventually out eat your surgery.

@Tink11 Such good advice! And I can relate to the rank smell of gas waking you up at night. Been there several times. I'm a year and a half post-op and currently maintaining, but I plan to go back on plan soon. The DS has worked miracles helping me to maintain since summer (my eating habits haven't been on point), and I'm so grateful for this tool. There's no doubt I would have gained by now without it, especially this time of year. It's a gift that keeps on giving. Thank you for the eating tips. They're a good reminder.