Gastric Bypass questions/concerns

[ddeegan2 0]

Hello everyone,

I'm a 42-year old male who's battled weight issues my entire life. I was always an athlete - collegiate football player and shotputter. I've lifted weights since I was a teenager. At my heaviest I was 385lbs. I managed to get it down to about 340-ish over time but my weight more or less just stayed there for years. Without getting into a long, drawn-out story here are my questions and concerns.

I had gastric bypass Jan 15 of 2018. I have lost weight, but really not that much. I'm hungry ALL THE TIME. I can eat way more than I feel like I should be able to. I lost weight for the first four months or so but since then I've been gaining and losing the same 5-10lbs for about a year. Part of me feels like I'm gaining/maintaining weight because of muscle gains due to heavy exercise but not losing any more fat because I simply cannot get through my day with a 900-1200 calorie diet. I just don't see how it's possible to do this. To show my trends, here they are:

1/1/18 - 334
1/15/18 - 319 - Surgery
1/22/18 - 308
2/5/18 - 293
3/12/18 - 276
3/26/18 - 271
5/28/18 - 260
7/23/18 - 252
8/13/18 - 260
11/1/18 - 265
12/1/18 - 262
1/1/19 - 267
2/3/19 - 264
3/3/19 - 262
4/3/19 - 260

My questions are:

1) Do I need to eat 900-1200 calories for the rest of my life to prevent gaining all my weight back no matter what I do? (I've asked this question to my doctor and the staff of where I got my surgery and received conflicting information from various people who are paid alot of money to know).

1a) I work out constantly. If I continue to work out and just eat sensibly, can I operate just like a normal person with an active lifestyle? It's a pretty depressing thought that I need to eat that little forever even if I'm extremely active and athletic.

2) I've been told and read that after 12-18 months, you're done losing weight. At least, the surgery only helps for this long. Is it possible to actually use my surgery 2 years+ out to lose weight, or is it just "eat 900 calories a day and do alot of cardio forever and you won't regain your weight"?

3) Are you as hungry as I am? Is this normal? If this is true hunger and not head hunger then I have made a poor decision getting this surgery. I tried the "drink some Water every time you feel hunger" trick and... no dice. Still hungry!

I realize some people who read this may think "he knew what he was signing up for", and they'd be right to think that. Maybe I just had unrealistic expectations after reading about and seeing people who lose like 200lbs and look like they haven't exercised a day in their life. I exercise and try my best to eat the small amounts I'm supposed to. I don't drink soda and barely drink alcohol, I don't eat poorly (often). I mean I am human. I do enjoy myself from time to time but I am far from what you would consider "non-compliant".

Thanks for letting me vent and any constructive answers are welcome. I have tried very hard to find solid answers to my questions and I feel like it's impossible IE: "Yes, even if you lift weights and run five days a week, since you've had had gastric bypass you must eat 1,200 calories a day for the rest of your life or you will gain your weight back, sorry"

[mousecat88 2,279]

30 minutes ago, ddeegan2 said:

Do you ever measure your body fat percentage and muscle mass? A lot of you may be muscle and not fat if you work out like you say. My trainer is 275lbs and a powerlifter and basically it's all muscle (but you can't see it - he doesn't look buff).

And, honestly, I am a 5'3" female and I am told I need to eat at least 1100 a day just 6 months out from surgery given the amount of exercise I do (I get to about 800 before I am stuffed). Being a guy and working out a lot, it sounds like you need to eat more. I do feel hungry, but that hunger goes away since I stick to 5 small meals a day.

I was also told the surgery "stops working" at 12 months or so and that the rest is up to you to ensure you don't regain. I think you do need to stick to a lower calorie, lower carb diet forever.... but tailor the calorie and carb intake based on how much exercise you are doing. Is there a trainer at your gym you can talk to? Mine is a wealth of knowledge. My trainer gets mad that I am eating "so little" based on "the hell he puts me through". lol. I just can't fit it in just yet. He wants me at 100g of carbs, 1100 calories, and over 100g of protein... my dietitian at the bariatric clinic agrees, given the exercises I do.

Edited April 29, 2019 by mousecat88

[ddeegan2 0]

Thanks for replying! I have a caliper that is very very cheap so I gave up using after it told me I was 8% one time and like 35% the next time (haha) and there's a machine that's at my gym that gives you all kinds of information, including body fat. It rates me between 15 and 18% depending on the day. That is utter nonsense though because by all accounts i am still "fat". I look and feel like I could easily lose 40-50lbs from my abdomen and inner thighs alone.

I was using a trainer for a time and am friends with the training staff at my gym but none of them have knowledge about bariatric patients, including their nutritionist. It feels like two different worlds to me - the gym environment and the bariatric environment. Neither one appears to have legit knowledge about the other. This is part of the reason I've been stressing about this. I need to know where the balance is. I'd also love to know if it's possible for me to actually use this surgery after 12 months for something other than creating a toxic bathroom and buying lots of Vitamins for the rest of my life! You would think that would be covered day one of your consultation, but I feel like it's skimmed over in minor detail, and when I asked the simple question I got five different answers from five different medical experts. If you google something like "gastric bypass two years later" there's next to nothing other than a few weight gain articles and one forum post that says "gastric bypass 8 years later and out of control!" I am also very interested in talking to someone who knows both athletics and bariatric stuff. The nutritionist at my hospital comes across like she mostly deals with older people who cannot/do not exercise and doesn't really know my needs. And I'm scared about how hungry I am all the time. I feel like I did this for nothing :(