Rebound weight
HLaR79
Posts: 1,519 Member
I am creeping up to one year since my surgery. My surgical team/support team has drilled in since day one that a 5-10 lbs weight gain from your lowest is normal and expected at some point (usually after 1 year) and that this would be where you should maintain.
It seems most people “fight” that weight gain, and torture themselves to loose that weight again by going back to old dieting habits.
I will probably get to that point soon as my weight loss as slowed considerably. Did anyone embrace this rebound? Any tips for maintaining there? Did other people’s surgical team tell them this was normal?
It seems most people “fight” that weight gain, and torture themselves to loose that weight again by going back to old dieting habits.
I will probably get to that point soon as my weight loss as slowed considerably. Did anyone embrace this rebound? Any tips for maintaining there? Did other people’s surgical team tell them this was normal?
2
Replies
-
At my one year, my surgeon told me it would happen. I was 142 at that point. I didn't listen and tried to fight it off, then accepted I would be at 155. Then, I lost everything with my skin removal and that's all ancient history. Still trying to get my *kitten* right. I'm at 158 again, from 172 last fall. I'd like to see 145 because of the skin I had removed, but would be happy if I could maintain between 145 and 155.2
-
Thanks for sharing.
although I’m already at my surgeons idea of a successful weight loss my goal is to loose 15 more lbs before I hit maintenance, I see the doctor in a few weeks for my 1 year follow up and will find out about skin removal!
I don’t want to spend the next 40 years dieting, part of the reason I choose surgery was so I could stop the dieting and change my life style all together, it makes me sad to see people still choosing these diets
2 -
Easier said than done. I think the psychological part of these programs are weak. The surgery forces us for the first 12-18 months. After that, when restriction is less, and we can eat more...it's pure will. I wish counseling was a mandatory part of it throughout to help get to the why of why we eat. Oftentimes, that 18 month period is not enough to undo decades.
For myself, I've learned a lot of it stems from anxiety. I need to figure out better ways to cope with anxiety. When I was a kid and the anxiety started, my brother was already in counseling, seeing doctors, and taking up a lot of my parents' time. I remember thinking I didn't want to add extra stress on them. I eventually found comfort in food. No matter the cause of the anxiety, good, bad, social, whatever...food comforted the anxiety. I was 10. I'm trying to find other ways to cope. It's not easy.
5 -
NicoleL874 wrote: »Easier said than done. I think the psychological part of these programs are weak. The surgery forces us for the first 12-18 months. After that, when restriction is less, and we can eat more...it's pure will. I wish counseling was a mandatory part of it throughout to help get to the why of why we eat. Oftentimes, that 18 month period is not enough to undo decades.
For myself, I've learned a lot of it stems from anxiety. I need to figure out better ways to cope with anxiety. When I was a kid and the anxiety started, my brother was already in counseling, seeing doctors, and taking up a lot of my parents' time. I remember thinking I didn't want to add extra stress on them. I eventually found comfort in food. No matter the cause of the anxiety, good, bad, social, whatever...food comforted the anxiety. I was 10. I'm trying to find other ways to cope. It's not easy.
So much this, which is why I had counseling before surgery and I have continued it ever since, and staying on track is STILL a challenge. Counseling is another tool that I know I need.4 -
Yes here we basically only have to attend one or two appointments for counselling, they did not prepare me for how my personal life land my personal relationships, would change so much, when you take away such a huge part of someone’s identity it is a struggle, I’m forever grateful for a husband who stuck it out and for a few close friends who were willing to adapt with me.
I also did counselling on my own outside of the program.4 -
I am creeping up to one year since my surgery. My surgical team/support team has drilled in since day one that a 5-10 lbs weight gain from your lowest is normal and expected at some point (usually after 1 year) and that this would be where you should maintain.
It seems most people “fight” that weight gain, and torture themselves to loose that weight again by going back to old dieting habits.
I will probably get to that point soon as my weight loss as slowed considerably. Did anyone embrace this rebound? Any tips for maintaining there? Did other people’s surgical team tell them this was normal?
Did anyone embrace this rebound? Did other people’s surgical team tell them this was normal?
My team also agrees that most will have a weight bounce. It’s a personal choice if you embrace the bounce or if you choose a lower weight (5-10 pounds). The goal is healthy whatever that looks like for you.
Any tips for maintaining there?
Ask your dietician for your maintenance food plan (all dietitian maintaining plans are different)
You said "It seems most people “fight” that weight gain, and torture themselves to loose that weight again by going back to old dieting habits. I don’t want to spend the next 40 years dieting, part of the reason I choose surgery was so I could stop the dieting and change my life style all together, it makes me sad to see people still choosing these diet "
I’m not sure if you would consider my lifestyle torture. My maintaining plan instructions: increase calories and add low glycemic carbs and keep them at my instructed range. I can indulge within reason. If I gain, I go back to bariatric basics to get the weight off. I maintain in the 130’s
Famous last words from every bariatric patient at goal. “I will never gain weight” Any one of us can gain weight. You may be surprised in the month and years to come. When you hit goal, the weight does not magically stay in range from surgery restriction. Call it a lifestyle or maintaining diet, most of us are on an eating plan because we don’t want to go back to where we were.
3 -
Oh I don’t think maintaining will be simple and I understand that weight gain happens, what I don’t understand is people who go back to the yo-yo dieting, trying whatever is the “hot diet”.
This process is about life long life style changes. I was not criticizing an eating plan, having an eating plan is not a fad diet.
I have my dieticians plan for maintenance, but every experience is different, i just wanted some outside views on maintenance!
I actually have someone close to me that had surgery 1 month after me in the same program and our experiences have been so different it’s amazing how different, so I always like to hear how other people managed
1 -
Oh I don’t think maintaining will be simple and I understand that weight gain happens, what I don’t understand is people who go back to the yo-yo dieting, trying whatever is the “hot diet”.
This process is about life long life style changes. I was not criticizing an eating plan, having an eating plan is not a fad diet.
I have my dieticians plan for maintenance, but every experience is different, i just wanted some outside views on maintenance!
I actually have someone close to me that had surgery 1 month after me in the same program and our experiences have been so different it’s amazing how different, so I always like to hear how other people managed
Your definition of a fad diet is maybe someone else's definition of a lifelong forever diet. There is no 1 true way to weight loss and maintenance and even for that 1 person, they may find the need to change things up now and then.
The secret to not yo-yoing is to know what your nutritional needs are based on your specifics then eating a deeply healthy "diet" or food plan that nourishes you and stays within your threshold for macros and energy intake. But that is very hard to do. The body's hormonal (gut/brain) status keeps constantly shifting, especially when it senses we are trying to starve it. And that shifting usually results in an increase in hunger and a decrease in how quickly we burn energy.
Most of us who made it to the MO level, have extreme metabolic derangement and a pretty *kitten* negative feedback loop (fat thermostat) that may or may not be fully cured through surgery. And to add insult to injury, most of us have some form of craptastic relationship/behavior relating to food that in some way (big or small) has added even more stress to our metabolic health. In times of stress or "as life happens" we often revert to former habits/behaviors/relationships with the same abusive foods we use for self-medication when we were MO.
The secret to not yo-yoing is to not only stay within our macros each day or for as many days as possible, but it's also in continuing to be aware of our extreme ability to lie to ourselves. We need to stay accountable. Weigh daily. Plan, weigh/measure, log our foods. Set a weight window that is tolerable and liveable: 5-10 lbs? If we're at the top of our weight window, we go back to basics. If below it, we add healthy foods and more energy.
It sounds simple but it isn't. And I reject the notion of "automatically" regaining 10-15lbs. This isn't magic bean surgery. It's up to us to constantly be aware of our reality and relationship with food, understanding that none of us are ever perfect and that life does throw us curve balls!! 2 -
HLaR79, returning to your original question. I was told by my bariatric team that 5-10% weight gain was normal but should not exceed that unless I was putting in zero effort. I've gained 10%, which I'm not happy about. When I went in for my 4-year follow up we discussed it. The Doctor was impressed that at nearly 5 years out I've only gained 10 pounds of the 103 I lost. We talked about my fear that 10 would become 20, 30, 40, etc.. So this year I'm making small tweaks to my exercise and nutrition to lose the 10 pounds. I went from 232 to 129. My goal is to get back to 129 by my 5th anniversary. I have nearly 8 months to go but I'm making the changes now with a goal of 1.25 pounds per month.
One other thing you didn't mention was the success rate for keeping the weight off among WLS patients. My Doctor says it's only 5 percent and that for that group they remain focused on eating right and exercising. They also said the longer you can keep the weight off the greater your chance of successfully keeping it off for life.
I don't have a right or wrong opinion about how people lose or maintain. One size does not fit all and each individual has to do what works for them. It's personal and we each live with our choices.
I just recommend having a plan in place so if you start to notice a weight gain you stop the gain before it gets out of control. We all know or have that friend who had WLS, lost weigh and promptly gained it all back and said the surgery didn't work for them. What didn't work for them was putting in the effort to control eating and committing to some type of exercise plan.2 -
So my surgeon, like many, said to expect a 6-10lb weight gain some time between 12mo and 2 years out. Well, that idea can get in the sea! I have invested too much in myself (and a new wardrobe!) for that!
So I have set a weight range, 134-138lbs (61-63kg) and I plan to stay within it. If I am at the high end, I eat a more restricted way for a day or two - and at the lower, I can be a bit more relaxed. But never eat like I used to. I can eat rubbish now (although a big sugar hit gives me mild dumping) but I almost always chose not to. I have come to love things I wouldn’t‘ even considered before - chilli nuts! Egg white omelette! Half a biscuit feels like a treat - and is a treat.
So for me, I don’t want to embrace rebound. I intend to continue to eat and exercise so I don’t have to! Daily weighing and recording means I hold myself to account, and the research shows it is very strongly correlated with keeping weight off. And - set yourself a good tight range, weigh daily, and you’ll only ever need to “diet” for a day or two at a time, ever again!2 -
I certainly appreciate everyone’s view thanks it’s a scary thought to think of putting a few lbs back on, but I certainly see how it happens, and see how easy it is to slip into old eating habits that are hurtful! 1
-
I don't want to scare anyone who is only 12-18 months post-op, but the weight does start creeping back in that second year. I had VSG November 2014. I lost 60 lbs the first year. Then my weight started creeping up - my fault for going back to my sugary comfort foods - and I steadily gained back 50 lbs over the next 4 years. So in February of this year, I met with my Family Practice doctor and talked about weight loss, and weight gain, and what I needed to do to "fix" my head and get a grip on my weight gain.
So she and I set monthly goals (8 pounds the first month, 6 pounds the next etc.) and I see her monthly. Since February, I've lost 27 pounds! Why? Because I'm being held accountable for my weight loss. That has made me reevaluate how and what I eat.
So smoothies, made with high protein shakes and frozen fruit that always includes blueberries (for their antioxidant properties) have replaced two of my meals. The 3rd meal is small portions of what I call "normal food". Since I can't seem to totally stop the carb cravings in the evening, I make sure I have 100 calorie bag of cookies or snack mix available. And I limit myself to ONE!
So this is way more than I expected to write, but my thoughts just kept flowing, so sorry for the long story. I hope it helps just one person reassess their long-term weight loss plan.
2 -
Thank you all for your thougts & insight. I realize there are many people with these same concerns. I always remember a person in my support group that always said that she doesn't eat one piece of food that is not written down. Well, it has worked for her....I must begin doing the same....again2
