Almost 2 years out, Wake-up call and back on track!

[heynowkc 329]

Okay so my first year was phenomenal! I did so good! And this past year? Well... not so much. My loss slowed around the end of last year and continued to be slow/creeping for the first couple of months. Chalk it up to holidays, the stress after a move, poor planning, it wasn't a great time. And I should have followed that up with renewed vigor, but instead I re-introduced two things into my life that has made this year, frankly?, a complete waste!

1. Carbs! I started re-introducing them back in February. Just a little at first. But what was an occasional thing turned into an every day thing, turned into an (almost) every meal thing, turned into an (almost) every meal/every snack thing. It's a slippery slope. And the worst part about this is that I don't even enjoy them that much! They're just convenient and EVERYWHERE.

2. Snacking. Before I was mostly doing the strict 5-6 meals/snacks per day. It would occasionally deviate, but for the most part, that was my mainstay. After introducing carbs, the desire to snack became so much stronger. The more carbs I ate, the more I snacked, the more I snacked, the more I ate carbs. It was just a gross gigantic avalanche of snacking/carbing.

3. Facebook! Can I blame the fact that I re-introduced Facebook on this? I recently read (a real article, though I can't remember the name of the publication at the moment! I THINK it was NYT.) that surveys suggest that Facebook takes up more of our time than exercising, reading, and socializing per day COMBINED. COMBINED. That's... INSANE. To know that I've wasted good quality exercising (and reading!) time on Facebook (which I don't even really LIKE, which is why I avoided it for SO LONG.) is mind boggling to me. I haven't deleted the app from my phone yet, but I'm doing it tonight! I'll keep messenger because for some reason people prefer that to texting these days. STILL. This is unacceptable in my world view. How did I allow this to happen?

I have not technically gained weight this year because I looked back and I'm around the same I was this time last year. So that's... something? But with gains and losses, I did gain back about 25 lbs. You could say ALMOST 30, but the only reason I ever dipped that low was because I had mycoplasma pneumonia (the one with gastrointestinal symptoms) for 2 weeks in the middle of the year. Apart from that one week period where I had lost weight because of Illness, I'd been hovering at about 255 for a pretty long time this year. Then, when I stepped on the scale one week ago I was shocked to discover that I was weighing in at 278.5. 23 and half pounds higher than my (non-pnuemonia-induced) lowest weight!

The little progress that I did make this year, just kept being erased by my poor choices! I hadn't stepped on a scale since I'd been sick. I was in deep denial!

I immediately joined a dietbet (which I'm going to lose because I'm losing too quickly!) and started eating right again. No carbs, veggies, Protein (at least 70/day), getting in my fluids, only eating 5/6 times/day. I began losing weight so rapidly that I couldn't believe it. Still can't. That was Dec 1st. When I weighed myself this morning. I'd already lost 12 lbs! This is TWO YEARS out from surgery. I haven't had ANY TIME this week to exercise (though I do babysit after work so I usually get all my steps in.) This tool still works! It still does EXACTLY what it's designed to do! And the REALLY remarkable part of this? Half way into this week, my dentist had to prescribe me an antibiotic AND a steroid. A steroid! Yet I still managed to lose 12 lbs. I feel like I JUST had surgery. These are astonishing numbers even if it's mostly Water weight. Even if I'd just lost 6/5 lbs this week I would have been astounded. 12 is beyond anything I ever expected.

Some things I've noticed this week:

1. I still don't miss carbs (much!)

It's hard to step away. But honestly? I just feel so dissatisfied with what I'm eating when I'm eating carbs. I've always been more of a meat and veggie girl. Carbs are just so abundant, so easily accessible and convenient, and so weirdly addictive even if you don't really love them, that it's just a habit I fall into that is almost exclusively environmental. I just need to REMEMBER that I control my own "food environment" if I make the time to plan!

2. I have to remember to take my Vitamins.

I still have them, I just have lapsed in taking them. Now that I really need them again, it's more important to remember!

3. I am going to the bathroom very infrequently, much like I did the first year post-surgery.

4. My capacity really is not as high as I feared.

When you nibble, stretch out your meals into long social affairs, snack frequently, eat slider foods, it can really be a bit of a mind trick. You start to believe that you can still eat like you used to. But you can't, you're just adapting what you CAN do, to what you WANT to do. If you want to eat more, you'll make it happen. You have to MAKE YOURSELF use your tool the way it was intended.

If I eat good quality veggies and protein, eat from start to finish (no stopping to chat OR BROWSE FACEBOOK for ten minutes in between bites!), I can still only eat ABOUT a solid cup of food before I'm comfortably full. Might take a few extra bites to make me UNCOMFORTABLY full depending on what the food is. I made a double-batch of Skinnytaste's Stuffed Pepper Soup (without rice) last week. Which is not very brothy and more like a stew. Yesterday I had a cup of that for lunch. (my ladle measures exactly one cup). By the time I finished the cup, I was UNCOMFORTABLY full. I actually should have stopped a few bites before I finished. Because it was stew-like, it was way more dense. For dinner today I had about 2 ounces of roasted chicken breast (which doesn't equal a half cup if you cut it up in chunks), about a half a cup of sauteed brussels sprouts, and a little less than a tablespoon full of homemade pimento cheese melted over the top. I was perfectly full by the time I was done. Not too full. Not still hungry. Just right.

5. I'm worried this will not last. I don't mean I'm worried I will fail again. I'm sure I will and I have a plan for that. (Get back on that horse, not 10 months later, but two minutes later!, etc.) I'm worried that I'll somehow do the same thing I did this week and for some reason I won't lose. I think I told myself for a long time this year that it wasn't ME and MY CHOICES that were causing me not to lose. It was something else. So I just have to remember that I am in control and I think these worries will go away. I'm really excited to get back to the gym too. Babysteps!

I'm so thrilled at this NEW START. I wonder if anyone else is in the same boat I am, or is in the same boat I was a week ago? Has anyone had long-term success with a re-start? After a period of not losing or a period of slight re-gain? What are you doing? What's working? What's not? How did you "re-boot?" Did you do the pouch test? What warnings do you have? Etc?

I feel like a newbie. It feels kind of good!

[yelle 4]

Your post has so inspired me. Im two years out and i have fallen to the carb monster. Im with you. We got this.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G935A using the BariatricPal App

[jimmc77 43]

Wow... this is one of the best post I have read in any discussion forum. Very honest, open, educational, and inspirational.

Carbs are evil...lol. I think a lot of people are the same way.

I know I am... I love meat, and veggies. But carbs are easy and everywhere.

I just got banded on the 2nd of December... I will keep this post close.

Thanks....

Jim

[highfunctioningfatman 2,675]

So true with those dang carbs, they are evil and they are everywhere! I won't go into a convenience store because there is nothing in there for me. Good luck with staying on the horse and riding it all of the way!

[blizair09 3,250]

I have eaten less than 20 grams of carbs per day since March, and even once I get to my goal, I will probably always have to keep them low. I am a carb addict. I may not be able to completely eradicate them from my life like an alcoholic does booze, but I will likely always have to keep them low. Maybe not below 20 low, but probably below 50 or 60 low when maintenance comes around.

[Babbs 14,680]

Even with that little bump in the road, you have done a phenomenal job. You have the knowledge of a true vet, and I have no doubt you will get to where you want to be. Great post!

Oh, and I was 2 years out last August I find myself doing the EXACT same stuff you've been doing! What's with that? Something about year 2/3 I always see in these forums. Must just be boredom/complacency? Someone once called it "Behavior Fatigue". I just have to find ways to keep my eye on the prize and stay motivated! We must always remain vigilant!

[Anna Nim 196]

This is a great post and well written too.

It does give me pause to how life will be post Sleeve and ironically is a bit depressing. I had the fantasy that I simply would not want food (like I did the first few weeks I was on Byetta that one time). I had such a deep sense of relaxation, being freed from the ADDICTION of carbs. I see it will be a bit more work. Course I have to remember it is not natural to have that much carbs around, even when I was a child the Evil Carb Hore was not that insidious in society...and neither was Facebook and Youtube,etc.. at least TV shows had commercials and ended every 30 min/hour... You are right, you can not get gas without a gauntlet of nasty temptation.

Keep it up!

[mi75 1,235]

Great job for recognizing what needs to be changed. Keep up the great work!!!

[tinanne 27]

Your amazing! Your article is a must read for EVERYONE.

I'm 9 months out. I've already started sneaking in a bite of this or that (mostly a bite of a cherry pie, those little ones frosted) at least once a week...for a reward. Haven't gained yet but, have been having a month long stall. 168 one day and 170 the next. Frustrated because just like you, I've been going through a move, holidays, stress (I have multiple sclerosis) it's so cold, below zero. I need to exercise. I mean walk. I'm doing exercises to firm, that's it.

Thank you for your post.

Good luck to you and best wishes!

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I317 using the BariatricPal App

[ladyslim2015 74]

I'm trying to get back on track. When I was going through my process carbs were not even talked about all they said is healthier foods and even suggested foods that had carbs. I have been steered wrong? Ugh....so since I'm on this awesome forum I decided to try low carb IT SEEMS IMPOSSIBLE!! They're everywhere I need a complete broken down list of okay foods. What's left to eat?! I'm hanrgy....lol

Sent from my SM-G930T using the BariatricPal App

[heynowkc 329]

Your post has so inspired me. Im two years out and i have fallen to the carb monster. Im with you. We got this.

Yeah! Good luck! We can do it!

Wow... this is one of the best post I have read in any discussion forum. Very honest, open, educational, and inspirational.

... I love meat, and veggies. But carbs are easy and everywhere.

Wow, Jim! Thank you for that complement! I just kind of unloaded! Glad it inspired! Also that. Carbs are EASY and EVERYWHERE! Well put. I mean, they're also way cheap too. So unfair. (Now I'm just going to pout!)

Oh, and I was 2 years out last August I find myself doing the EXACT same stuff you've been doing! What's with that? Something about year 2/3 I always see in these forums. Must just be boredom/complacency? Someone once called it "Behavior Fatigue". I just have to find ways to keep my eye on the prize and stay motivated! We must always remain vigilant!

I am sure that the people that get "behavior fatigue" far outnumber the people that don't. More power to them! The rest of us need a little extra push, I think. I think I personally needed a LOT of extra pushes! But I am nothing if not stubborn!

I have eaten less than 20 grams of carbs per day since March, and even once I get to my goal, I will probably always have to keep them low. I am a carb addict. I may not be able to completely eradicate them from my life like an alcoholic does booze, but I will likely always have to keep them low. Maybe not below 20 low, but probably below 50 or 60 low when maintenance comes around.

I eat too much dairy to get that low I think. Haha. Om nom dairy! If I absolutely had to, I could definitely do it, but yeah I am right there with you. Even once I get to goal, I will ALWAYS have to keep the carbs down if I want continued success. This year has proven that to me.

It does give me pause to how life will be post Sleeve and ironically is a bit depressing. I had the fantasy that I simply would not want food (like I did the first few weeks I was on Byetta that one time). I had such a deep sense of relaxation, being freed from the ADDICTION of carbs. I see it will be a bit more work.

Anna, don't get TOO depressed. Yes it is work. But it's much easier for us than other people. Everything that I did wrong this year I did because of things in my head. My stomach was trying to think FOR me, but my head wouldn't let it. Can you imagine? Keep working and you won't have to worry at all!

I'm 9 months out. I've already started sneaking in a bite of this or that (mostly a bite of a cherry pie, those little ones frosted) at least once a week...for a reward. Haven't gained yet but, have been having a month long stall.

Tinanne, thanks for commenting. Don't beat yourself up TOO much. Everyone deserves a bite of frosted cherry pie now and then. If you're keeping on plan otherwise, it should NOT be a deal breaker. Your stall may have nothing to do with that. If it breaks soon, I think it's probably just part of the natural ebb and flow that happens to our bodies after WLS. If your carb indulges increase, and your stall lasts longer than a typical stall does -- a couple months at most?, then I'd say you need to make a change or two. That's what I did wrong. I just told myself I wasn't in control. It was just a REALLYLONGSTALL and had nothingwhatsoever to do with my increasingly poor eating habits. Hahaha. That car didn't stall! That car drove itself over a cliff bar and straight into mashed potato heaven! I have learned now that I can no longer delude myself like that. It's all about balance. Be honest with yourself and you'll do just fine!

I'm trying to get back on track. When I was going through my process carbs were not even talked about all they said is healthier foods and even suggested foods that had carbs. I have been steered wrong? Ugh....so since I'm on this awesome forum I decided to try low carb IT SEEMS IMPOSSIBLE!! They're everywhere I need a complete broken down list of okay foods. What's left to eat?! I'm hanrgy....lol

I know the oft-repeated word on these forums is that every surgeon and dietician has different rules/philosophies and that you should follow what your doctor has said. But I'm also all about a second opinion. It may be worth it to talk to a different dietician/nurse or even a hotline that your insurance company may have. I only I know what works for me and carbs ARE NOT IT.

Here are a few things that are on the no-no list from my dietician:

grains (rice, corn, wheat, oats, even quinoa which is not technically a grain) and all grain-products (any grain-based flour, corn chips, bread, Pasta, pastry)

anything with more than 9g of sugar per serving (yogurt is a big culprit, read those labels!) including honey/syrup

dried fruit, peanuts, cashews (all other nuts are fine, I was told these are too carby!)

white potatoes, sweet potatoes

Beans of any kind including lima Beans and peas (not including green beans/sugar snap peas)

One I got a little farther out, she said I could have the occasional:

steel cut oats, black beans, quinoa, sweet potato, wonton wrappers (up to 2 at a time, which i used to make toasted tuna melt-type lunches)

I was told that fatty foods are fine and you only really want to start cutting those out if you have trouble getting close to goal/maintenance. For example she told me mayo is better than ketchup as a condiment (Duke's mayo has NO SUGAR and is one of the only ones on the shelf that has no sugar, if not THE ONLY one.) She told me to buy the tuna packaged in oil instead of Water. Eat full-fat cheeses, enjoy a slice or two of bacon, etc.

If you're looking for a more thorough list, I would DEFINITELY recommend checking out the list of allowable and prohibited foods on the 21-day sugar detox by Diane Sanfilippo. At certain levels she allows dairy. That's the level you want to look at. I ignore the whole "organic, pasture raised, antibiotic free, whatever whatever" guidelines simply because I cannot afford that! She also doesn't allow for sweeteners or Protein supplements which I also ignore. Other than those little quirks, it's similar to what a post-bariatric diet would often consist of. Only it's not 21 days for us. It's kind of forever!

Also! Thanks to both @ & @@mi75 for the encouragement!

[heynowkc 329]

Oh! And I'm down 2.4 more pounds today. INSANE. 14.4 lbs lost in 8 days 2 years after surgery. Anniversary is coming up on the 17th!

Edited December 9, 2016 by heynowkc

[chynadoll619 247]

After a couple of years are you able to eat regularly again? Like full meals like before?

[Sai 785]

I know it's been said but what an amazing and detailed post. I copied it and put it in my notes for inspiration. Thank you.

[Djmohr 6,965]

@@heynowkc

Thanks so much for sharing your story. Carbs are nasty little buggers and everytime i fall off and let them back into my life, I gain.

Your story is inspiring and educational. I am so glad you have been able to get back on the plan.

I have read that the tool is always there and it is nice to know that it is from your experience.