Calling All Year 3+ Veterans -- What Happens Next?

[VSGAnn2014 12,992]

Recently, @@Kindle brought up a subject that I think deserves its own thread in the Vets Forum.

A lot of us who've done pretty well in terms of losing our excess weight and learning how to maintain our weight will soon be heading into Year Three post-op or are already there. Some of us are wondering what new challenges we're likely to encounter in the coming twelve months.

There's seems to be some common (if not universal) agreement that Year Three is the year that maintaining your weight can get harder and that regain starts to occur.

How has your weight maintenance gone during Year Three?

If you've regained, what behaviors or other phenomena do you think are implicated in your regain?

If you've not regained, same question -- what do you think has helped you to withstand regain during Year Three?

What other physical, psychological, emotional, social or other changes did you experience during Year Three?

How have you responded to / dealt with these changes?

What do you wish you'd done differently during YOUR Year Three?

What other observations and advice do you have for those of us heading into Year Three?

I'd sincerely appreciate any input you are able to offer. Thank you in advance.

[Kindle 8,667]

Thanks for starting this thread. I meant to do it when I posted in the other thread but didn't get around to it. Looking forward to the replies.

[barbarahadz1 84]

I'm three years post op. I think the biggest mistake I have made was to believe that I was "normal" . I felt good about my weight for the first time in my adult life. People were nicer to me. I was nicer to me. It felt really good. But something clicked in my brain. I was angry for losing all those years that I didn't & couldn't live a normal life. I was angry for losing my Father to Alzheimer's. I was angry that I had to move in with my Mother (my choice but not easy) to help her after my Father died. So what do I do when I am angry? Yep, you guessed it, I eat. All of a sudden I felt as if I had starved myself for three years so I ate whatever I wanted. I didn't plan any meals and I grazed all day. That's what normal people do, right? Anyway I was maintaining for a year ,even though I didn't reach my goal. Then maintenance turned into fighting 3 -5 pounds, up and down, up and down. Then it turned into weight gain that refuses to budge. I'm up 18 pounds and I know what I'm supposed to do but I don't know why I don't do it.

[Babbs 14,680]

@@barbarahadz1

Do you find you can eat more volume at 3 years post? Obviously I was hoping at almost 2 years this would be my "cap" of the volume I could eat, but does it seem to increase even more? (This question is for anyone 3+ years also)

[barbarahadz1 84]

I think I eat about the same now that I did at 2 years. I've just gotten really good at avoiding Protein.

I can do about 3-4 oz chicken. I do have problems with dairy, salad & vegetables. I eat very little of that because its so hard for me to digest. I thought that would have gotten better by now.

[OKCPirate 5,323]

@@barbarahadz1 - I'm sorry for your loss, but I appreciate your insight and sharing it with others.

[AvaFern 3,516]

I will be three years post-op in September. Fortunately for me, I have maintained without a ton of effort in year three. I fluctuate within 3 pounds of my goal weight. My scale ritual every morning is what keeps me at that weight. I am accountable every single day, and the few times I have seen my weight start to creep up, I make an immediate change, that day, and within a few days I'm right back down to where I was. I would say the scale is pretty much my only real reason for success, lol. I would also give some credit to my b*tchy little sleeve that made me puke everything for most of year 2, so now I have very little desire to eat anything bad for me because while it doesn't make it as sick as it used to make me, I am SO sick of barfing that I'm just not interested in junk food.

I don't feel like I had any major changes in year three other than that I got some real ambition back in life. To be fair, I own several businesses and I am ambitious I suppose, but I started working on long term educational goals again, which I hadn't really thought much about. I don't feel like my life is on hold until I lose weight anymore, so all of the time I save coming up with new diets and excessively exercising I now spend on finding new ways to make myself better.

I don't really have anything I'd do differently in year three. This was a pretty good year. It's the first year I've maintained at this low of weight in my entire life without feeling like I was miserable and starving and I've finally really started to feel like a legitimately normal person. I think part of this was being done with plastics. I still tend to buy too much clothing because I am elated it all fits me, but eh, there are worse problems to have, lol.

Oops, I just read your last question...wait, are we supposed to start gaining after year three or during year three? I was all excited that I hadn't gained weight, but I'm going to be bummed if the upcoming year is the one to worry about! My advice though would be to weigh yourself everyday. As soon as you slack off, get complacent and start having too much fun with booze and pizza, you gain weight. Every single day I remember that I can be fat again with very little effort, and I think about that when making decisions. To be fair though, I'm largely not interested in food so that makes it easier, lol.

[Wolfgirl78 266]

I just made 4 years post op.

I'm 5-09, and started off at 276 the morning off my surgery. I got down to my lowest weight of 174 at almost a year after my surgery. My Original goal weight was 168, which would've put me at the top end of a normal BMI. I never made it there.

During the honeymoon period, the first year pos op, I religiously logged my food, concentrated on Protein first, weighed everyday, all the things we are supposed to do. At some point I decided I didn't need to do all that anymore. That was a mistake.

For the last year and a half I've maintained between 200-209lbs. That's right, a 35lb gain. Your hunger comes back, life stressors happen, and instead of keeping on doing what I learned and practiced the first year after my surgery, I turned to old habits. I ate around my sleeve. Carbapalooza.

This past April I decided enough was enough. It was time to get back to my lowest weight, and then continue towards my goal weight I never achieved. I'm happy to report that today I'm sitting at 180lbs, and as my original goal of 168 gets closer I'm thinking I need to be more ambitious and try for mid range BMI weight for my height. I love my sleeve, even though I did the wrong things and gained weight, once I started focusing on Protein first again, I still have great restriction! I'm still only able to eat 3-4oz of dense protein. I've gotten back into all my habits from my honeymoon period, protein first, weighing and logging food, I weigh myself everyday.

That's been my experience.

Sent from my iPad using the BariatricPal App

[Andrew0929 1,101]

This is an issue that haunts me. I'm 2.5 years out, reached goal 9 months out, gained 13 pounds 2 years out, and now 2 pounds above goal.

I worry daily that the sleeve or my attitude will change and I'll go back to my old ways. It's possible that my obsession with this will keep me measuring, logging and exercising.

[MrsSugarbabe 727]

I just made 4 years post op.

I'm 5-09, and started off at 276 the morning off my surgery. I got down to my lowest weight of 174 at almost a year after my surgery. My Original goal weight was 168, which would've put me at the top end of a normal BMI. I never made it there.

During the honeymoon period, the first year pos op, I religiously logged my food, concentrated on Protein first, weighed everyday, all the things we are supposed to do. At some point I decided I didn't need to do all that anymore. That was a mistake.

For the last year and a half I've maintained between 200-209lbs. That's right, a 35lb gain. Your hunger comes back, life stressors happen, and instead of keeping on doing what I learned and practiced the first year after my surgery, I turned to old habits. I ate around my sleeve. Carbapalooza.

This past April I decided enough was enough. It was time to get back to my lowest weight, and then continue towards my goal weight I never achieved. I'm happy to report that today I'm sitting at 180lbs, and as my original goal of 168 gets closer I'm thinking I need to be more ambitious and try for mid range BMI weight for my height. I love my sleeve, even though I did the wrong things and gained weight, once I started focusing on Protein first again, I still have great restriction! I'm still only able to eat 3-4oz of dense protein. I've gotten back into all my habits from my honeymoon period, protein first, weighing and logging food, I weigh myself everyday.

That's been my experience.

Sent from my iPad using the BariatricPal App

Thank you for sharing your story @Wolfgirl78. It encourages me because I've been stuck for about 6 months now and maintaining within about a 5-7 lb. range, never quite reaching Onederland. These days I'm doing what I can to get back into the new habits (ha!) that I developed during the first year following surgery. If they were truly habits, I think I would be having difficulty right now. I still weigh every morning, measure/weigh my food as well as track it (1200-1400cals./day), and exercise regularly throughout the week, i.e. walk for about 25 mins. during my lunch break and workouts at the gym on average 2-3 times per week. I can't help but feel that if I stay diligent, I will start losing again and eventually reach my goal.

Thanks to all you BP Vets out there who share your stories!! They are always encouraging, enlightening, and oftentimes hilariously funny

[Julie norton 2,850]

I wish it only took me 3 years to understand this newer life and the habits that go with it!

Sadly, for me, it took more years for it to sink into my hard head that these eating habits would stay the same.... For my life. And as long as my band will have me...

Headed for my 10 year mark in December... Thinking I might have "gotten" it.

It doesn't feel like a struggle daily anymore and for that, I am so thankful for WLS !

I am very aware that habits can resurface.... (Just read here long enough...)and I do not want to sound boastful....truly...

I do stay vigilant about eating right and working out. And I Try every day on the water!

And I read these boards for info and insight and laughs.... (Ha ha. Bacon in the first week) I know who I like to follow and who just seems to argue... I find it really interesting following the journey of who will "get it" and who might not ....