New here 12 years out and need support

carpsm1

I am new here. I had RNY June 2002 and went from 340 to 110. I was up to 240 by 5 yrs. out, which kept steady until about 5 years ago when I started a very stressful time. I was up to 282 on July 29, when I decided I needed to do something. I am now 275. I did 1 week fast on Almased and lost the 7 lbs. but the past 3 days have decided I need food. My reason for doing Almased was it was a liquid protein meal replacement, and I was trying to go back to basics and simulate my eating after the surgery. It was pretty difficult and I had NO energy, but it broke the carb cycle for me and made me grateful for healthy food. So now I am eating Almased for breakfast and lunch and then a salad with protein and a little grain for dinner. I am a teacher and want to try this until I go back to school Aug. 18, then transition to a shake just for breakfast, then real food for both meals.

I have been doing some research to understand how my weight got so out of control again after surgery. I knew I was eating pretty much all day, and really fear my new stomach has gotten much bigger because I can eat a lot now. When I am being honest I see the types of things I have been eating have mostly been refined carbs, and I have been eating them addictively. I saw recently that those are like total sabotage for us because they go down so easily we don't get satiety, and it's easy to just keep eating. I am trying to get back to basics and give my new stomach a chance to help me, but am filled with fear that the tool doesn't work any more. I am also sure there have been new findings in the field since the last time I paid attention, and I would like to learn new tips that may have been discovered.

Truthfully, right now I am struggling to get back in touch with what the basics actually are....Like a lot of protein, a little carbs mostly from vegetables, and a little fat. Is this right? Also not drinking for an hour after a meal. Am I missing something?

Susan

toniwalks

Susan,

I too am 11 years out and just started back on the right path about 10 days now. I started off at like 271, lost 110 pounds and got down to 160. I too have slowly gotten back on the wrong path; drinking 1 soda a day, drinking liquids with meals, being inactive, snacking throughout the day....now after 11 years I'm back up 40 pounds. I am a carb-aholic; pretzels, cheez-its, I could put a whole box of them down without a problem, but slowly. I know my pouch has not stretched too much because I still am limited at what I can eat at one time, but grazing throughout the day I have no problems with.

I went to the Dr. 2 weeks ago and saw that I was back up to 200 pounds (I'm only 5'). For me this was a wake-up. I've got to do something or all this will have been for nothing.

What I've been doing, and I may get some flack for this; is focusing on High Protein, Low Carbs and not worrying so much about fats...drinking tons of water and trying to just walk 1 or two blocks, 2- 3 times a week until I regain some stamina. I have done custom setting on MFP to allow for closer counts to what I was given after surgery. I also bought a fitness bracelet that counts my steps and links with MFP.

I would love to share my food diary with you if interested, and be a support buddy if you want one. Maybe we can both get back on track.

pawoodhull

I applaud you both! It is so easy to go back to old habits and behaviors! I wish you both the best of luck in your recommitment to being healthy!

I am 3 years out from sleeve surgery. I am still not to goal but not ready to be done either. I lose slowly and stall often, but figure I will eventually get to that 160 goal, might take another 3 years but that's OK.

Feel free to add me if you want. My surgery was different than yours, but I'm willing to be a supporter and friend.

Pat

Victoria5639

Good for you taking the first step back. Drink water. Be sure you drink enough everyday. Stop drinking water 30 minutes before you eat. Then wait for a good 30 min. After. I'm a grazer also. My doctor told me grazer fail more than others. The trick that helps me is laying out all the food I can eat for the day. Then I can pace myself and make it last. Right now I'm losing very slowly to not at all. Build in snacks. The doctor told me to eat about every two hours. Just eat very small amounts. I've gotten away from that . Looks like I need to go back to that. Good luck. Let me know what I can do to help

Victoria

Dannadl

Well, I can tell you what my surgeon's office says the "rules" are. BTW I'm 29 months post op from RNY. My starting weight was 347.5lbs and I'm hanging around 170lbs right now. I'd like to lose 35 more pounds or so, but it's honestly getting harder.

My surgeon requires 60-80 grams of protein a day, 20-30 grams of fiber a day. We need to eat 3 bites of protein per one bit of anything else. A minimum of 64 oz of water a day in the winter and 100 oz a day in the summer (I'm in Phoenix so we have extreme heat issues here). Stop drinking anything 30 min before a meal, take 20 min to eat the meal and then don't drink for 30 min after the meal. After about a year meals should be around 300 cals each (3 meals a day) with 2 100 calorie high protein snacks a day. Grains should be whole grain only and other carbs should come from low or no fat dairy, fruit and veggies.

Our vitamin program is 3 servings of multi-vit a day, 1500 mg calcium, 36 mg iron, 3000 mg vit. D, and a sublingual b-12 weekly.

Also at least 30 min of exercise a day.

So, how does this translate into reality? I've been pretty stalled for about 3 months on weight loss. My own fault, I haven't been tracking what I'm eating and I've been slacking off on my nutrition. Fortunately, I exercise a lot so I haven't gained any weight, just not lost. In general my protein is a little higher than the 60-80 gram mark even when I'm eating really clean and well. I also drink around 128 oz of water a day on average. I'm very susceptible to dehydration and being in Phoenix in the summer I'm pretty conscientious about it. I didn't start to exercise until a year after surgery. I wouldn't recommend that to anyone, but that's what I did. When I did start I was down 124lbs. In my 1st year exercising I lost 40lbs. I discovered that it's about 80% or more what you put in your mouth and about 20% or less exercise. Don't get me wrong, I now love to exercise (though I REALLY didn't at 1st), and I really like how exercise makes me feel, but it is not the magic bullet for weight loss....good food control and nutrition is. Even though now I can't eat large portions and sugary foods generally make me sick, I can still stall my weight loss through bad nutrition and over eating. I do a 45 min very hard co-ed boot camp 4 mornings a week, I run about 10+ miles a week (and increasing as I'm training for a 1/2 marathon in Nov.), I weight train 2-3 days a week and then on non-run days I do another 60 min of hard cardio in a spin class or on an elliptical or stair climber. I take 1 rest day a week.

carpsm1

Thank you all for your welcome and support, and for sharing with me the "rules." I saw that I had put that I got down to 110!!! That is a TYPO. I got down to 210. I have been doing ok this week, drinking about 9 cups of water a day, and staying under 1200 calories. I remember my surgeon said 3 meals a day with nothing in between but I have built in a snack. I have been getting a little over 80g protein/day.

I had not heard that we should not drink 30 min. before or after eating! I think we were told not to drink for an hour afterwards, which is what i have been doing, but I wonder if I should cut out 30 min. before also. I have been drinking right up to my meals.

Planning ahead all the food for the day is a good idea. Yesterday was my first day out shopping all day since I started getting back on track and after I left the house I realized I had not planned anything, had left my water bottle and supplements, medicine and snack at home! It turned out ok, but it would have been a lot easier if I would have planned.

I need to start exercising. I hate to exercise, but my goal is to do 20 min on nordic track every other day to start. I am very out of shape.

Thank you again and I hope you all have a good week.

Susan

carpsm1

Thank you Dannadl for being so detailed in what your rules are. It really helps me to find out if people who had surgery more recently are being told differently from in 2002. I REALLY appreciate you saying how you did not like to exercise before but now you do. I hope that will happen for me.

Susan