5 years out and trying to reset

[tiredmama 137]

Hi all. I just logged on to this site for the first time in years. Yesterday I went in for my annual check-up. I skipped it last year because I was terribly ashamed of how much weight I had regained. When I hit the 5-year anniversary of my sleeve surgery, I decided it was time to face my fears and scheduled an appointment. I've gained back more than half of what I lost after my surgery. In addition to feeling terrible about it all the time, having had to buy bigger clothes because nothing fit and being embarrassed whenever I reconnect with someone I haven't seen in a couple of years, I also now have a set of bloodwork results confirming what I deeply suspected- I have already reversed some of the health benefits of my weight loss. I cried during the appointment and the (new) nurse practitioner was very kind. I was honest with her and shared that I know exactly what I am doing wrong but I continue to turn to food emotionally, eat the wrong foods, and graze. I explained that the surgery helped me initially when I felt a lot of restriction but it did not in any way change my emotional dependence on food for self-soothing. I never found alternative coping strategies that were even close to as powerful for me as emotional over-eating and numbing myself out with sugar and carbs. I told her that I have a complicated and stressful life and, in addition, I lost my beloved father unexpectedly a few years ago and he had been the greatest source of unconditional love and acceptance in my life. The dog I adopted to help me through my grief was hit by a car and died in December. I'm in perimenopause and my hormones are all screwed up. I know intellectually that food won't solve any of my problems but the desire for comfort is much stronger than my willpower. This has been my pattern my entire life. The nurse practitioner listened. She reminded me that regain is extremely common. Not sure what comes next but I appreciate the chance to share my story with all of you.

[GreenTealael 24,849]

Alright.

Dry your tears and get right back to work 💜

Join us here for motivation and accountability

[303nursemom 34]

Thanks for sharing your journey. One of my biggest fears is going through this surgery (and cost since I am self pay) and not being successful in the long run. I don’t have great advice for you since I haven’t even had my surgery, but I do hope you are able to reset your body and mind and find the success you are looking for. I have seen “pouch reset” topics posted here before, but they may not solve the challenges behind emotional eating. Best of luck to you! I’m rooting for you!

[Stella S 612]

You lost it once and know what to do. Get a therapist, check out thread on head work, then drop the sugar and carbs. Also I am with you - a bit of regain to lose It happens for numerous reasons. Get the confidence and support to move on. Not easy but you are worth it. 😉 Be kind to yourself.

[Healthy_life2 8,319]

13 hours ago, tiredmama said:

Hi all. I just logged on to this site for the first time in years. Yesterday I went in for my annual check-up. I skipped it last year because I was terribly ashamed of how much weight I had regained. When I hit the 5-year anniversary of my sleeve surgery, I decided it was time to face my fears and scheduled an appointment. I've gained back more than half of what I lost after my surgery. In addition to feeling terrible about it all the time, having had to buy bigger clothes because nothing fit and being embarrassed whenever I reconnect with someone I haven't seen in a couple of years, I also now have a set of bloodwork results confirming what I deeply suspected- I have already reversed some of the health benefits of my weight loss. I cried during the appointment and the (new) nurse practitioner was very kind. I was honest with her and shared that I know exactly what I am doing wrong but I continue to turn to food emotionally, eat the wrong foods, and graze. I explained that the surgery helped me initially when I felt a lot of restriction but it did not in any way change my emotional dependence on food for self-soothing. I never found alternative coping strategies that were even close to as powerful for me as emotional over-eating and numbing myself out with sugar and carbs. I told her that I have a complicated and stressful life and, in addition, I lost my beloved father unexpectedly a few years ago and he had been the greatest source of unconditional love and acceptance in my life. The dog I adopted to help me through my grief was hit by a car and died in December. I'm in perimenopause and my hormones are all screwed up. I know intellectually that food won't solve any of my problems but the desire for comfort is much stronger than my willpower. This has been my pattern my entire life. The nurse practitioner listened. She reminded me that regain is extremely common. Not sure what comes next but I appreciate the chance to share my story with all of you.

Glad to see you back after five years. You are not alone. Many have experienced regain years out. Several are back on the site for support. Counseling and self help resources are a great place to start to find your willpower. Time to deal with emotional stress eating.

doing the head work link below.

Some things from my weight gain experience to try. (What works for me may not work for you)

• Clear out your home of temptation- go shopping for foods on your real food plan
• Extra carbs and real sugar cause cravings and hunger – Detox off them
• Satisfy sweet and salty cravings with healthy options: Example -Sweet: dannon light n fit yogurt – Salty: Jerky
• Hydrate and exercise/activity
• I’m a sleeve, I have less surgery restriction years out. Eat veggies with all the other item on your plan until full. The bulk and Fiber will help fill the extra space, They keep your calories low and help with hunger.
• Log your food (myfitnesspal) the key is to stay within your weight loss calories and macros.(protein and carb goals) Start at 1200 calories. You can dial the numbers up or down to see where your body loses weight.

People will mention pouch reset. ( Its going back to liquids phase and progressing to real food stage) It does not shrink your pouch. Decide if this is too food restrictive. You can always start real food to reset.

Years out, Find a diet that is sustainable for you long term – Vegan, paleo, intermittent fasting, whole 30, Keto the list goes on. Whatever diet you chose. Log your food and stay within your calories/macros.

People will mention Pouch reset. ( Its going back to liquids phase and progressing to real food stage) It does not shrink your pouch. It may help you feel restriction better. Decide if this is too food restrictive. You can always start real food to reset.

Years out, Find a diet that is sustainable for you long term – Vegan, paleo, intermittent fasting, whole 30, keto the list goes on. Whatever diet you chose. Log your food and stay within your calories/macros

[tiredmama 137]

Thank you for the encouragement and advice- I will definitely check out all the "head work" resources- I didn't know that term.

[Queen of Crop 1,103]

Hello all, Queen of Crop here....almost 8 years out and have a 18 lb weight gain. Haven't been on the site in quite some time but am freaking out about the gain. And yes, it is carbs and sugar and wine and a complicated life. I never thought I would gain it back...I guess we all thought that. Will read the head work...and find a program and start logging. Oh how I wish I could go back to that first year....it all seemed so easy (hard in some ways of course) but at least the weight came off. For me 83 lbs. And when I think about it, when I was at my goal weight I was SO HAPPY AND FELT SO FREE. And now I feel like crap. So time to get a grip. Will check in weekly to let you all know how I do. So interesting that the Veterans Forum doesn't have more of us here. Thanks for the encouraging words and good luck to all of us. I wrote a book called Queen of Crop...maybe I should right a Queen of Crop 10 years after to give me a new goal..hmmmmm...BUT NO I WILL NOT GO BACK!

[Healthy_life2 8,319]

4 hours ago, Queen of Crop said:

Hello all, Queen of Crop here....almost 8 years out and have a 18 lb weight gain. Haven't been on the site in quite some time but am freaking out about the gain. And yes, it is carbs and sugar and wine and a complicated life. I never thought I would gain it back...I guess we all thought that. Will read the head work...and find a program and start logging. Oh how I wish I could go back to that first year....it all seemed so easy (hard in some ways of course) but at least the weight came off. For me 83 lbs. And when I think about it, when I was at my goal weight I was SO HAPPY AND FELT SO FREE. And now I feel like crap. So time to get a grip. Will check in weekly to let you all know how I do. So interesting that the Veterans Forum doesn't have more of us here. Thanks for the encouraging words and good luck to all of us. I wrote a book called Queen of Crop...maybe I should right a Queen of Crop 10 years after to give me a new goal..hmmmmm...BUT NO I WILL NOT GO BACK!

Welcome back!

The veteran’s forum is not very active because many veterans don't stick around. Life goes on after goal.

My surgeon told me a 15 to 20-pound bounce is normal. It was easy to maintain for my first two years. I freaked out with a weight gain my third year. I came back to the site and had great support. It took work to get it back down. Years out, I gain quickly, and I lose at a snail’s pace.

[mi75 1,235]

I'm also 5 years post VSG this year. Dealt with some regain about 3 years ago. Also lost a parent, moved, changed jobs, etc etc etc. My regain was slow and I did the "I can eat everything in small amounts" thing for a while. I went crazy online looking for the magic reset button. I consulted on a RNY revision. I was desperate...then a really ugly health issue (one that I had surgery to help combat) returned and was really bad and I had a very REAL 'come to Jesus meeting' with a doc who told me some cold hard truths.

I went full on Keto and haven't looked back. Got the health thing back under control. Lost my regain. The BIGGEST thing- I had to get out of my own head and realize that I knew what to do, I just had to DO IT. So I started attending support groups again, seeking out all sorts of them that were NOT affiliated with my surgeon, since I was embarrassed to run into someone familiar. I also met with a new nut. psych and NP team. I focused on my health and thankfully, mostly got it back again. I know that this will be an ongoing issue for LIFE, for me the work never stops and unfortunately life doesn't just pick up one day as a 'former' WLS patient. I will forever be a WLS patient, working through my plan, dealing with struggles and keeping the focus on point.

[Stella S 612]

Forever a WLS patient. MI75 that is me to. I will have to fight the fight likely for life. I am ok with it. Log everything especially the occasions. The ride of the loss was spectacular but the work of choosing health is just that work. As an aside I think I am down 3 or 4 lbs of my regain in last month ,Not sure what was post surgery swelling from June but I will humbly take it. Maintenance for me is just that a humble experience. So vets checkin each week. Update?

[FluffyChix 17,409]

5 hours ago, Stella S said:

Forever a WLS patient. MI75 that is me to. I will have to fight the fight likely for life. I am ok with it. Log everything especially the occasions. The ride of the loss was spectacular but the work of choosing health is just that work. As an aside I think I am down 3 or 4 lbs of my regain in last month ,Not sure what was post surgery swelling from June but I will humbly take it. Maintenance for me is just that a humble experience. So vets checkin each week. Update?

Oh my gosh, yes! What @mi75 and @Stella S said! I am only 18months but I know with my personality that "everything in moderation" is a myth. I also have a larger capacity tool, so the myth of restriction/malabsorption isn't going to be a huge help going forward. So I just have to have a game plan and weigh, measure and log my foods daily to make sure I'm staying honest with myself. (Good and bad days.) It's a little terrifying to think of doing that forever. So I only try to focus on today. Tomorrow I'll worry about that later...

[Stella S 612]

Ms Fluffy. 100 percent! Funny thing about tomorrow is it is always a day away!!! Right now is this moment.

[KaysMommy 1,089]

I know exactly what you are going through. 6 years out I had regained nearly 60 pounds. I was so unhappy with myself. I let life struggles, and being busy affect how I ate. About a year ago I started watching what I ate, not yet logging food again, but just making better choices. On June 18th I was back down to 168 but still so upset I was still 20 pounds from the goal I originally set out to be at, and wanted to be there so bad.

Here is what I did. I did a total reset to when I started on real food after the puréed stage. I started logging everything, anything that goes into my mouth gets logged. I concreted on Protein and veggies, and started my Vitamins again. I made protein my priority again, made sure I got at least 60 grams a day. I also stared drinking a gallon of Water a day. Also one of my meals a day, everyday is a Protein Shake. I am now below the 145 that was always my main goal. I am now at 143.6 and couldn’t feel better. I know it has to do with the protein I get in everyday now. No carbs go into my body. My vitamins , help me feel healthy. I don’t get dehydrated. The girls at work are so used to my gallon water jug I bring into work with me, and my daily lunch protein shake mixing. Even my CEO and CMO mentioned in a meeting this week about my water jug, and had only great things to say about it.

The thing is, we may have regained, but we still have this amazing tool that can work for us if we want it to. I mean if I tried to lose over 20 pounds in 2.5 months before WLS, it never would have happened.

Good luck with everything. I know life has stresses in it. We all have them. I changed my obsession with stress eating to obsessive food logging, and healthy eating. I also try to walk on my lunch. That one hour a day is my only me time when I’m not a mom, a wife, a professional, a daughter. You’ve got this, you just have to grab it. It’s great to have the support here, and keeps us in the right head space.

[Stella S 612]

Kay’s mommy - love your take it back strategy Plus you may be my hero today for not working through lunch. That just became my goal for the day - leave my office for lunch to be me!!! 🧡🧡🧡🧡🧡🧡🧡🧡🧡🧡🧡🧡🧡🧡

[KaysMommy 1,089]

On 09/05/2019 at 04:36, Stella S said:

Kay’s mommy - love your take it back strategy Plus you may be my hero today for not working through lunch. That just became my goal for the day - leave my office for lunch to be me!!! 🧡🧡🧡🧡🧡🧡🧡🧡🧡🧡🧡🧡🧡🧡

Thank you. It took me a while, but I grab my “me” time when I can.