I had my surgery in October of 2021 and lost 60-65 pounds. At about the 2 year mark my doctor wanted me to lose another 20-25 pounds and suggested a weight loss drug. I was unsure about it and took a year before I said OK, I'm interested. At that point I was told my my BMI was 37 (Morbidly Obese) and was too low. They couldn't prescribe unless I was up to a BMI of 43. Since then I have gained 20-25 pounds back. They keep setting me up with nutricianists, but that is not the problem. I know the right things to eat. It is the in between eating that is killing me...more of the habit stuff. I can't eat a full meal without feeling sick, but I can snack on **** all day.

Anyone have advice on what I can do to turn it around. I'm coming up on my 4 years surgery anniversary and really can't afford to gain more weight. Any thought are appreciated!!!!!!!!!!!!

DoC

You say you know what to eat but the snacking between is the issue. My question then is why do you think you are snacking? Are you bored, is it out of habit, are you anxious, frustrated, angry, sad, are you craving a specific food, taste or texture, etc., etc.

I wonder if a therapist may be of better help. Many find therapy vey helpful to discover the reason behind their eating and for identifying strategies to help. Some have sort therapy to lose more weight or to maintain their weight loss. Your bariatric team or doctor should be able to refer you to someone who specialises in disordered eating and have worked with bariatric patients.

As we always say, the surgery changes our body and doesn’t do anything about our head and thinking.

All the heart.

PS - I’m surprised you couldn’t be prescribed a GLP-1 medication. Doctors in the US see happy to prescribe them to people with minimal weight to lose or is it an issue with cost and your insurance?

Edited August 31, 2025Aug 31 by Arabesque

Have you tried “Snacking” on the rest of your meals instead of eating junk? Or at least making certain your snacks contain protein and fiber. I found that making the healthy choices easy to grab helped me. I bought these cool containers on Amazon that have 4 small square sections kind of like a lunchable and I make prep things like berries, veggies, cheese and grilled chicken cubes, nuts, etc I will look for the link if you are interested. They were quite reasonable. I have posted it on here a few times and I believe the bariatric pal store has them now. They did a year or so ago anyways. They also make one now with a bigger section that I use for lunches on the go. And if you do have a favorite snack that is less than healthy do some research or post it here to see if others have alternate suggestions or recipe tips to make a healthier version. But also consider the why behind the snacking like @Arabesque suggested and consider a therapist if it’s head hunger. There is no shame in figuring out what is behind the habit and learning tips to help you overcome whatever it is. Personally I would prefer to have a professional help but they also have workbooks that some people have mentioned on here they have helped them with disordered eating.

@Arabesque where do you find the edit button? I can’t seem to find it on this new platform or whatever they call it.

Sadly and boringly it's getting back to the basics getting back to what you know is tried and true. This journey is hellish those easy things that we like to eat are considered slider foods and slider foods do not fill us up and you end up eating more then you should. I learned from a dietitian that when you want to snack just snack on real foods real protein rich foods, go ahead and eat that healthy extra protein meal. Our stomach is already small. It's not gonna hurt you eat a little extra when feeling hungry. To not fill up on slider foods like chips, cookies, and **** that are basically no fillers.

Edited August 31, 2025Aug 31 by Mspretty86

8 hours ago, Mspretty86 said:

Sadly and boringly it's getting back to the basics getting back to what you know is tried and true. This journey is hellish those easy things that we like to eat are considered slider foods and slider foods do not fill us up and you end up eating more then you should. I learned from a dietitian that when you want to snack just snack on real foods real protein rich foods, go ahead and eat that healthy extra protein meal. Our stomach is already small. It's not gonna hurt you eat a little extra when feeling hungry. To not fill up on slider foods like chips, cookies, and **** that are basically no fillers.

Also keep in mind that for many people once you detox from the carbs it’s much easier to not have them. For me, I can have any kind of vegetable or fruit and I’m fine but once I start having a lot of added sugars, suddenly starving.

@ShoppGirl so true. I eat on the abstinence model because I have a food addiction... so I haven't had bread cookies, cakes, pasta, refined sugars since surgery and now that I think back I was never full eating those things like pasta, etc. it was like I was a bottomless pit empty calories for me so you are sooo right...always starving

Edited August 31, 2025Aug 31 by Mspretty86

22 hours ago, ShoppGirl said:

@Arabesque where do you find the edit button? I can’t seem to find it on this new platform or whatever they call it.

Once your post has been published/saved you’ll notice there are three small dots in the upper right hand corner of your post. Click those and Edit is one of the options in the dropdown. 😁

I often find when I sit at my computer for long periods of time I want to snack. So far I have done things like almonds, cheese cubes or small slices, dried crisp apple chips... but no matter what I choose I do them one small bite at a time and chew chew chew, swallow and try to wait 2 to 5 minutes before the next bite. It takes up more time, you eat less and looking at the clock keeps you mind busy instead of thinking about the next bite. I hope you find a solution and get back on track. 🤗