Please HELP! Weight Gain at the 6-7 Month Post Op Mark

[ellie123 374]

Folks, I cringe to read the title of my own post. I think it's every Baratric patients nightmare. The mix of embarrassment, guilt and resentment that I feel is horrid. Especially because my lapband failed and the Sleeve was supposed to work.

Now I'm not saying it did not work, I'm saying that I have seriously fallen from grace and need your help and compassion to get back up again I was doing great, working out North of an hour a day and loosing weight steady eddy! At my 4 month appointment my doc could not be prouder, he told me to keep doing what I'm doing and he'll see me in another six months...by month 6 I'd lost a total of 69lbs, and at 204lbs's I was just 1 lb shy of the big 70, and 4 lb's shy of the amazing Onederland that I have not seen in 16 years...life was good. And with my new found confidence, I finally made a move and took my dream job, that is a mix of stay at home and travel, and that was the tipping point...

Although the best career move ever, my new regimen of working from home (moving less), but even worse the travel, with the pitfalls of constant restaurant eating, company functions and buffets, I let my guard down! One carb led to another, and the travel accompanied by sedentary tiredness, socializing and pressures of breaking in and fitting into my new job left me with less focus on my bariatric journey and not much will power to dedicate.

In a short month (between month 6 and 7) I blinked and even though I maintained workouts (albiet no so intense), on sheer food alone, I gained back 10lbs!!!!!!!! Woa? How could this have happened? Surely it's Water or monthly hormonal gain, but who was I kidding...the weight stuck! In complete panic, I cut out the obvious crap that I know I was doing wrong in the carb department, and cut out the diet sodas that crept back in etc, and have lost 3 of the 10lbs in the last few weeks...but it's slow and painful and I'm so down trodden about it. How could I actually GAIN at a time when I should be in loosing honeymoon? I mean I expected this perhaps a couple years out, but the sheer ferociousness with which the lb's jumped back on is beyond scary!

So here's my problem...I've cut out the crap and I'm back to my old workout routine, BUT I'm constantly craving carbs and although I'm eating the right things...I know I'm eating too much of them and in the wrong quantities.., I get full on more than what should fill me...then 30mins latter I'm hungry again, so I pop another Protein Bar, or bowl of cherries, or low at mozzarella cheese stick with a wassa cracker, or cup of lowfat yoghurt and fruit., or some nuts..you get the picture, and on some mornings I can do all of the above slowly via grazing. But I just get SOOO hungry. What happened to all the Grelin being gone?? I also eat late at night as it is when the kids go to bed, I hop on my laptop to catchup on work and I like to have a nice hot cup of tea and something to munch on.

Pals, Iike I said, I know I have only myself to blame and I feel horrid about it ...I've avoided even coming on Bariatric pal (did not want to move my ticker 6lb's UP, which I just made myself do!!!), I want to hide like an Ostrich and pretend this is not happening, I should be loosing, not regaining and trying to loose what I regained!!! ..but...I need you, and if I'm not accountable and if I don't plug into a source of help, well...I don't even want to think where I'm headed for. So any thoughts, encouragement, similar situations, advise...ANYTHING, would be so much appreciated in this time of disappointment in myself.

PS: I called my docs office after re-gaining the first 5lbs...I don't live very close to them. The nurse told me to track all I eat for 3 days and said I'll be fine "you know what to do! You got this!". But then I suddenly had to travel for work events involving TONS of the hardest to resist food, and the 5lb's became 10lbs (3 of which I have spent the last 2 weeks loosing). It's like my stomach can eat so much more now and it's constantly wanting more...I'm quite embarrassed to call my doc's office and tell them I'm further in the hole.

Edited June 3, 2016 by ellie123

[jintycb 721]

Thank you for having the balls to post your fall off the food wagon. Your honesty does you proud. No flannel, just the facts. OK, you know what you should be doing so JFDI!!! You can. Of course you can. You didn't go through serious surgery to start the weight loss marathon to fall at the first mile marker. All I can do is to repeat the old mantra-get your Protein and Water in and stay off the refined carbs. Get a copy of Queen of Crop's book (Amazon), read it, and use it as a handy touchstone. It helped me. Stick close to this site too. Hey, I don't know why I'm even trying to teach you as you appear to know EXACTLY where you have tripped up. C'mon girl. Pick yourself up, dust yourself off and think of all the health benefits AND gorgeous clothes that await you. Go girl, GO!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[ellie123 374]

Thank you so much for the tips. fellow Owl! On silly IPhone app apparently does not have a "like" option, but I LOVE your response!!! And will go "like" it in the am. Will followup with that book too. And seriously, I feel so honored you reached out at this crazy hour. Blessings, love and weight loss to you @@jintycb!!!!!

[ellie123 374]

Found the "like" option on the BP app, now there's a little victory!!

Edited June 3, 2016 by ellie123

[libby43 136]

Have you thought about the 5 day pouch reset, you can google it. Many people use this to get back on track and gain their restriction back. Just think how far you have come and the weight you didn't gain back. Now get serious and you can do this ! I have faith in you!

[MichiganChic 3,262]

You are right - you are living our nightmare. Beating yourself up isn't going to help here, but somehow, we all find a way to do that. Forgive yourself and put your energy into moving forward toward your goal. You do know what to do, and it just comes down to doing it.

I still find at 3.5 years out, stress hunger feels identical to true hunger. In fact, I'd wager it's stronger, and there is no way to tell the difference physically. I had to look for other indicators. I changed jobs about 8 months after my surgery, too. I will never forget after a particularly stressful day, I found myself starved for the first time since I had surgery, as I hit the parking garage. I immediately knew it was stress, so I drank Water and went for a walk when I got home. To this day, when I find myself raging with hunger in the evening, if I've had a particularly stressful day, just knowing its that helps me control myself. Oddly, giving a label seems to squelch it.

More than anything, letting go of work stress by distracting myself from is has been the key to success. I usually find I just have to make it through a few minutes, and then I'm ok. Night eating has been the hardest for me, so staying busy really helps. If I'm being truthful, it is most definitely a struggle to stay on track. It has not gotten easier, and in fact, gets harder all the time. It is a conscious decision, sometimes minute to minute, that I have to make to keep from eating/gaining.

I also understand the dilemma with working from home and having easy access to food, and then the issues associated with travel. In those circumstances, it is always harder for me, too. You are going to have to set yourself up some rules, or boundaries you just abide by. In other words, don't make it an option to go off track.

My advice is to try to figure out how much of your hunger is stress related, and figure out how to deal with it. Then figure out how you will balance your work life. If all we had to do was follow the rules without the demands of a normal, everyday life, weight management would be a lot easier!

[Heather I 500]

I haven't been sleeved yet, but I *just* went through the nighttime eating to stay awake scenario you described and had a little *ting* that I can't do that again. I easily wolfed down 1,000 calories in 10 minutes.

Can you try switching it up, getting up early to finish work? I'm a morning person, and drinking a coffee/tea/water early won't trigger overeating, but forcing myself to stay awake hours after the kitchen is "closed" from dinner -- that's much harder for me to manage.

[NewNewMe 277]

I just came back from a 2 week vacation and cruise. I had gained 4lbs. But the worst part was I was always hungry and eating carbs when I came back. It is a never ending cycle with carbs. Your hungry all the time. After a few days I booted up my fitness pal and forced myself through a day with no carbs. I was back on track after that one day. You need to detox off those carbs. Now I can eat a small amount each day without the constant hunger. I dropped the 4lbs plus 3 more. You can do it!

[Kindle 8,667]

Well, for one thing, the cherries and wassa crackers and fruit and low fat yogurt (low fat = high carb) are only fueling your carb cravings. Go back to absolute strict protein/veggies only and see what happens to your cravings. When I find myself vearing off path, I'll even spend 3-5 days on the good ol prep liquid diet to clear the junk out of my system and get my head back in the game.

Secondly, your next call should be to a therapist or counselor rather than your surgeon's office. Their help and the mental tools they can give you will be far more vital to your success than some preppy nurse's generic response. Long term WLS success is a direct result of changing behaviors, and your sleeve has really little to do with it. Find someone that can help you learn how to get through life without turning to food.

[Inner Surfer Girl 12,015]

Folks, I cringe to read the title of my own post. I think it's every Baratric patients nightmare. The mix of embarrassment, guilt and resentment that I feel is horrid. Especially because my lapband failed and the Sleeve was supposed to work.

Now I'm not saying it did not work, I'm saying that I have seriously fallen from grace and need your help and compassion to get back up again I was doing great, working out North of an hour a day and loosing weight steady eddy! At my 4 month appointment my doc could not be prouder, he told me to keep doing what I'm doing and he'll see me in another six months...by month 6 I'd lost a total of 69lbs, and at 204lbs's I was just 1 lb shy of the big 70, and 4 lb's shy of the amazing Onederland that I have not seen in 16 years...life was good. And with my new found confidence, I finally made a move and took my dream job, that is a mix of stay at home and travel, and that was the tipping point...

Although the best career move ever, my new regimen of working from home (moving less), but even worse the travel, with the pitfalls of constant restaurant eating, company functions and buffets, I let my guard down! One carb led to another, and the travel accompanied by sedentary tiredness, socializing and pressures of breaking in and fitting into my new job left me with less focus on my bariatric journey and not much will power to dedicate.

In a short month (between month 6 and 7) I blinked and even though I maintained workouts (albiet no so intense), on sheer food alone, I gained back 10lbs!!!!!!!! Woa? How could this have happened? Surely it's Water or monthly hormonal gain, but who was I kidding...the weight stuck! In complete panic, I cut out the obvious crap that I know I was doing wrong in the carb department, and cut out the diet sodas that crept back in etc, and have lost 3 of the 10lbs in the last few weeks...but it's slow and painful and I'm so down trodden about it. How could I actually GAIN at a time when I should be in loosing honeymoon? I mean I expected this perhaps a couple years out, but the sheer ferociousness with which the lb's jumped back on is beyond scary!

So here's my problem...I've cut out the crap and I'm back to my old workout routine, BUT I'm constantly craving carbs and although I'm eating the right things...I know I'm eating too much of them and in the wrong quantities.., I get full on more than what should fill me...then 30mins latter I'm hungry again, so I pop another Protein bar, or bowl of cherries, or low at mozzarella cheese stick with a wassa cracker, or cup of lowfat yoghurt and fruit., or some nuts..you get the picture, and on some mornings I can do all of the above slowly via grazing. But I just get SOOO hungry. What happened to all the Grelin being gone?? I also eat late at night as it is when the kids go to bed, I hop on my laptop to catchup on work and I like to have a nice hot cup of tea and something to munch on.

Pals, Iike I said, I know I have only myself to blame and I feel horrid about it ...I've avoided even coming on Bariatric pal (did not want to move my ticker 6lb's UP, which I just made myself do!!!), I want to hide like an Ostrich and pretend this is not happening, I should be loosing, not regaining and trying to loose what I regained!!! ..but...I need you, and if I'm not accountable and if I don't plug into a source of help, well...I don't even want to think where I'm headed for. So any thoughts, encouragement, similar situations, advise...ANYTHING, would be so much appreciated in this time of disappointment in myself.

PS: I called my docs office after re-gaining the first 5lbs...I don't live very close to them. The nurse told me to track all I eat for 3 days and said I'll be fine "you know what to do! You got this!". But then I suddenly had to travel for work events involving TONS of the hardest to resist food, and the 5lb's became 10lbs (3 of which I have spent the last 2 weeks loosing). It's like my stomach can eat so much more now and it's constantly wanting more...I'm quite embarrassed to call my doc's office and tell them I'm further in the hole.

I am so sorry you are struggling. A change in routine can throw us for a loop, especially if we don't take the time to plan.

First, do you have a therapist and/or have you been attending support group meetings? Have you ever considered attending recover meetings like Overeater's Anonymous (OA.org)? It is a worldwide organization so you may be able to find support meetings when you travel.

Second, I suggest you go back to basics. Track your food, eat Protein first, make sure you are reaching your protein target every day, avoid added sugars (especially high fructose corn syrup), starches, and fried foods, drink AT LEAST 74 oz of Fluid a day, take your Vitamins and supplements, as directed, and exercise.

A red flag to me is that nowhere on your post do you mention how much protein you are getting.

Embrace the Stall

http://BariatricPal.com/index.php?/topic/351046-Embrace-the-Stall

[sean72977 43]

What's the fitness pal?

Sent from my SM-G900V using the BariatricPal App

[Inner Surfer Girl 12,015]

MyFitnessPal is a free online app for your phone that helps you easily track your food (especially protein). It also works will with other apps (for instance if you have a fitness tracker).

[OutsideMatchInside 10,166]

@@ellie123

The 6-7 month mark for me was the hardest. It was like a switch flipped and I could suddenly easily eat more and I wanted to eat more. It is called being completely healed, but it is a scary feeling even if mentally you know what is going on.

I would suggest shakes for a while. Keep them in your hotel room and have them before and event and then when you are with co-workers, drink Water THE ENTIRE TIME or unsweetened iced tea, whatever. Just drink the whole time.

Don't think about the food you want and the food you are missing out on. Think about how good you will look/feel at XXX weight. Buy something you can barely fit, and work to make them fit.

[Christinamo7 4,041]

one thing that might help would be to add Fiber to your drink daily, and it's easy to take with you. that, along with good Protein might leave you feeling satisfied for a longer time.

[KristenLe 5,979]

You know what you need to do - that's the first step to getting back on track! You have to go back to basics and clean your system of the carbs and sugars. You can find good options to eat out - you just need to get in control of the emotional eating/head hunger. I'm pre-surgery and going to counseling for this same problem. I strongly recommend it. Think about the results if you stick with your plan. Don't waste the opportunity to get healthy! Stay strong!