Weight Gain

[BarbCDBaca]

Hi all. I had Gastric Sleeve surgery Feb 2023. I started at 240 and got down to 175. Unfortunately I have gained back 20 lbs. It has really got in my head. How do I get back on the weight loss? How do I manage my food? Food has always been a crutch of mine. Feeling good, food. Feeling bad, food. Food does not care.

Any thoughts, ideas, please let me know.

 

[missyinacage]

Statistically, the majority of people who have weight loss surgery will gain a small percentage back. I think its important to know and expect that, when determining your ideal weight long term.

That being said, you are less than a year out. If you're gaining already, I'm not sure that's a great indication of long term success. There is WAY more to maintaining weight loss than just having the surgery. Unfortunately, all the mental BS that caused us to gain weight/over eat etc doesn't magically go away with the pounds. You're going to have to work on yourself. Why do you need to use food as a crutch? What does food provide that you're not getting elsewhere? It's a tough road. Try finding a therapist or read up on how to work through those issues.

But to answer you our actual question of how to manage try our food/weight loss, get back to basics. Plan your meals in advance. Prep them so that you have healthy, filling foods when you're ready to eat. Keep garbage food out of your house. If you have to have chips, you'll have to get up and go get them at the grocery store. That usually changes my mind lol Weigh and measure your intake and track every bite.

You CAN absolutely do this and be successful long term. But it requires a big commitment, which you make to yourself. Choose yourself and your future. Put in the work. Get back to basics. Keep us posted!

 

[BarbCDBaca]

The negative way you answered my post, paragraph 2, does not help. I came here looking for help and some positive reinforcement. Maybe this site isn’t for me.

I know the mental BS, as you put it, is hard to manage. I am talking to a therapist to get the mind in a better place. I don’t know you and you don’t know me. I know having the surgery is not the answer to weight loss that I would have to put everything into a new way of life, thinking.

I have not bought the cookies, candy, chips, ice cream. I can’t have that in the house and I live alone so no one is buying it.

I need help in what things to eat and what to stay away from. What are good proteins to eat? What has helped others when they have gained weight? I am looking for support.

 

[missyinacage]

The written word can be difficult, as you miss inflection. I am trying to be supportive. The first year is where the easiest weight loss occurs. I am 3 years out and can tell you from experience, it only gets harder. I'm not judging you. I 100% understand it is hard all around.

You are correct. I don't know you. You don't say what you eat or why you think you're gaining. The only thing you shared is that " Food is a crutch." Since you are working on that, you know you need to put in the mental work as well. Hence my mental BS comment. 3 years out, I am still dealing with all my mental BS regarding food.

So again, go back to basics. Measure and weight your food. Track your intake. Focus on protein. Lean meats, fish and beans are great sources of protein. Ask your bariatric surgeon for a referral to a nutritionist if one is not already a part of your medical care team.

Again, I am not judging you. You asked a question and I answered to the best of my knowledge. Support is not always "you're doing good, sweetie!" Real support is " here is where you MAY be having an issue. Try this instead."

Wishing you the best. Missy

 

[BarbCDBaca]

this group is not for me.

 

[BarbCDBaca]

I reached out for guidance and got back that I will not be successful and my mental attitude is crap. I know what I did to gain the weight back. I wasn’t given the guidance of how much to eat, protein or calories. I know it now. It’s a slippery slope. I have to choose better. I wanted to know how others are dealing with weight gain and how they got back on track. I am not able to eat sweets or bread, at least you can manage that, I can’t.

 

[Tokash]

Hi all. I had Gastric Sleeve surgery Feb 2023. I started at 240 and got down to 175. Unfortunately I have gained back 20 lbs. It has really got in my head. How do I get back on the weight loss? How do I manage my food? Food has always been a crutch of mine. Feeling good, food. Feeling bad, food. Food does not care.

Any thoughts, ideas, please let me know.

This sounds like me. I started about the same as you. With in 6 months I was in the low 180. Over the next few months I dropped to my low of 167. 3 years later I have gained 30 back.

No luck on losing it but I also have health and menopause fighting back.

I was once told statistically many gain all their weight back over time. Typical weight regain is 15 pounds.

 

[mam]

Hi Barb,
I am kind of a similar place as you. I had surgery in Jan 2023 and was about 260. I am down to 190 but stuck there. I have consulted with my surgeon who suggested more exercise. I changed up my routine to about 30 minutes of lifting weights and cardio-that got me to 190. I would like to lose 20 more pounds. I am stuck, now the only thing I can do I feel is start changing what foods I eat. For example, I moved to eating turkey and cheese sandwiches mid day sometimes-I am going to stop the 2 slices of wheat bread and swap in lettuce to be more low carb. I think the tough part is everyone loses weight differently-I am thinking I need to maintain a very low carb approach. Prior to surgery, I could eat one slice of pizza and gain 5 pounds from it, so I think my body just needs to subsist on a very low carb approach. I already do low surgery.
One thing I notice is that my appetite has returned the last few months, as have carb cravings, but I think I personally just need to maintain the low carb approach for life. It's really not easy to master this weight maintenance, I am grateful for what I have lost so far, but I would be so thrilled to get to 170. As for controlling carb cravings, I do my best to keep away from chips, crackers, but did incorporate more bread, so my next "experiment" is to eliminate breads again. I'm not sure if my words help you, but maybe if we swap suggestions, we can find different "experiments" to trial out. My new year's goal is to add more exercise, though I'm pretty good at doing 1 hour at least 5 days a week.

 

[trnsmaster]

Hi all. I had Gastric Sleeve surgery Feb 2023. I started at 240 and got down to 175. Unfortunately I have gained back 20 lbs. It has really got in my head. How do I get back on the weight loss? How do I manage my food? Food has always been a crutch of mine. Feeling good, food. Feeling bad, food. Food does not care.

Any thoughts, ideas, please let me know.

Go back to your pre op diet for 2 weeks and restart your journey
Also make sure you get your fluid goal met