Yes! I, too,failed myself in so many ways. In addition to not following basic wls guidelines, I also didn't take to heart the likely ease of regain. I thought that initial surgical weight loss was going to carry me to goal weight into forevermore... My vitamin use, getting pregnant within the first year post op, consistent exercise, and truly using wls as a lifestyle change (vs just a fad diet) all contributed to my never rescuing goal weight substantial substantial regain over the years.

The good news is... My stoma is still intact, it works well and I'm already seeing weight loss after just five short days here on MFP.

If anyone else is lurking the boards, please please post. I could really use the support and encouraging comradery

Feeling frustrated with myself..has GBP in 2013, got pregnant in 2014 and had my daughter in 2015. Still over 100 pounds smaller than I ever was, but the pounds are creeping, I have no motivation and no energy...help!

Hi Erqueenie

For me, I could feel the fullness after day 3. First day I crammed liquids down my throat every five seconds. I stayed full of liquids so that I wouldn't get as many cravings. I also stayed extremely busy the first three days to help take time away from head/mental hunger.

By the middle of day two I didn't want as much to drink, but I also wasn't craving as much.

By the end of day three I found that I was full part way through my 3-4 oz serving of pureed meat. When I finished day five I was stuffed trying to add any green veggies in with my serving of protein.

I will say that I worked hard to 'listen' to my stoma. I had been eating any and every thing prior to doing the 5dpt.

I do believe there has been some stretching to my stomach because I could eat an entire thing of cottage cheese and other large amounts of 'soft' foods if I try. The more solid the food, the less I can stuff in - that leads me to believe that my surgical stoma is not leaking, nor is it entirely stretched. But I haven't had a barium swallow in many, many years so I'm not sure how it measures up according to a Bariatric Dr.

I hope this helps. Let me know if you need an accountability buddy or a source of daily encouragement if you do the test, I could stand to do it again; I've fallen back into emotional eating and am just restarting my daily logging - AGAIN.

Perhaps enough people are interested this time around for a group of us to check in each day.

Best wishes,

Marie.

Imagine_if wrote: »

Hi Erqueenie

For me, I could feel the fullness after day 3. First day I crammed liquids down my throat every five seconds. I stayed full of liquids so that I wouldn't get as many cravings. I also stayed extremely busy the first three days to help take time away from head/mental hunger.

By the middle of day two I didn't want as much to drink, but I also wasn't craving as much.

By the end of day three I found that I was full part way through my 3-4 oz serving of pureed meat. When I finished day five I was stuffed trying to add any green veggies in with my serving of protein.

I will say that I worked hard to 'listen' to my stoma. I had been eating any and every thing prior to doing the 5dpt.

I do believe there has been some stretching to my stomach because I could eat an entire thing of cottage cheese and other large amounts of 'soft' foods if I try. The more solid the food, the less I can stuff in - that leads me to believe that my surgical stoma is not leaking, nor is it entirely stretched. But I haven't had a barium swallow in many, many years so I'm not sure how it measures up according to a Bariatric Dr.

I hope this helps. Let me know if you need an accountability buddy or a source of daily encouragement if you do the test, I could stand to do it again; I've fallen back into emotional eating and am just restarting my daily logging - AGAIN.

Perhaps enough people are interested this time around for a group of us to check in each day.

Best wishes,

Marie.

Marie, did you do the 5 day pouch reset? Very interesting what you said about taking in a lot of liquids to stay full and keep the cravings down.

Is this group still active?

Louise

rhondamadison12 wrote: »

I just started MFP, and want to be part of RNY regain group for encouragement, and support. Is this the place or do I look elsewhere? I had RNY in October 2012. I lost 190 lbs. Kept it stable for a couple years, but little-by-little returned to bad eating habits and have regained 80 lbs. My appearance is still way better than pre-surgery, but my joints are screaming at me about the regain. I am having a hard time reigning in my appetite at night mostly. I still have a problem if I eat too much volume, or rich foods, and days are mostly good with my eating habits, but night times are a eating nightmare. I wake up feeling famished, drink water, try to talk myself out of snacking, can't sleep until I get up and eat. That and the occasional treating myself to sweets when we are out. Anyway, MFP food and exercise diary personal accountability is a start back in the right direction. Have any of you found success in beating the night time hungries?

I hear you, Rhonda! I'm up 30 pounds from my lowest postRNY surgery, have recently lost 5 and want to lose another 15 to 20. I am a carbohydrate addict. The simpler the sugar, the more I crave it! I'm also a nighttime snacker. What seems to be working for me is flavored, nonfat Greek yogurt. Most nights, I have a 100 calorie container that I put in the freezer for about 20 minutes. A little Splenda mixed in and it satisfies my sweet tooth. Other nights I have a container of fruit-flavored Muuna cottage cheese. Both foods are high in protein. During the day, I'll have cinnamon graham crackers if I need something sweet. Not sure if that's the best choice, but it beats reaching for the candy dish.

It's a daily (sometimes hourly!!) struggle. I wish I had all the answers, but I don't. I know that if I want to indulge a little, I have to pay for it with exercise (and salad ). And because I made pizzelles today, I have a lot of aerobics to do - starting now!!

Hoping for the best for all of us!!

Suzy

rhondamadison12 wrote: »

I just started MFP, and want to be part of RNY regain group for encouragement, and support. Is this the place or do I look elsewhere? I had RNY in October 2012. I lost 190 lbs. Kept it stable for a couple years, but little-by-little returned to bad eating habits and have regained 80 lbs. My appearance is still way better than pre-surgery, but my joints are screaming at me about the regain. I am having a hard time reigning in my appetite at night mostly. I still have a problem if I eat too much volume, or rich foods, and days are mostly good with my eating habits, but night times are a eating nightmare. I wake up feeling famished, drink water, try to talk myself out of snacking, can't sleep until I get up and eat. That and the occasional treating myself to sweets when we are out. Anyway, MFP food and exercise diary personal accountability is a start back in the right direction. Have any of you found success in beating the night time hungries?

Welcome!! Hopefully you will add this spot to your support area! I had RNY in April 2008 - most lost 130# - for the most part was stable at around 100# off. In the last 2-3 years, the weight has crept back on - this year I hit an all-time high of 249.6 - my weight before surgery was 335 (or so). I have been faithfully exercising for over 9 months and I thought I was eating okay. After I gained another 10, bringing me up to that high, I talked to my doctor and she sent me to the dietitian. I was skeptical b/c I figured the military staff would not be WLS knowledgeable. Prior to my appointment, I logged my food for two weeks - that was really an eye-opener how much I was really eating! Just the logging made me eat less and really give some thought to my eating history. The dietitian was great! She was very knowledgeable and gave me some sheets for calories and eating. She said that after WLS, our total calorie needs are less. For me she said that might be 1000-1200. My logging was probably running in the 2000 area (of course I was eating the exercise calories I gained). I told her I would probably have to work my way down because I did not want to feel like I was starving or back on and off a diet rollercoaster. So I tried 1800 for a few days, but could not get that recommendation out of my mind, which I did verify. So now my goal is 1500 - some days I have gone over into the exercise calories. I am losing on 1500 and am very happy with my progress. Part of my plan is to check in here - I also belong to an over 50 weightloss support group and I have been trying to use the blog. I am also trying to plan better for how the day is going to go, especially if I am going off my regular routine. Sometimes I take food with me so that I know I have something good for me to eat. Nobody cares. In restaurants, I am pretty much only eating half - which is what I did when I was losing after the surgery.

Sorry to go on and on - so glad you are here. Right now, Suzy and I are the active ones, but I know more will come.

Louise

Louise, I've been wondering about bread. Yesterday, I was reading an article from a bariatric website. The author said that there should be no bread, rice, pasta, ...! I was surprised by that and more than a bit depressed. Is bread, in moderation, that bad?? There are times when I just want a sandwich. Today I was able to work in one slice of bread, but no graham crackers. Lots of Greek yogurt for protein.

Any thoughts on the great bread debate??

Suzy

Oh, great! I live on Greek yogurt and cottage cheese! So what the heck are we supposed to eat? The article I read seemed to be encouraging protein shakes as meal replacements. Maybe I need to go back and re-read. http://www.bariatriceating.com

I'll check out the links you posted, Louise. Thank you!!

Same here with Wendy's chili - I still enjoy it!! I'm not going to stress myself over things - just watch my simple carb intake, protein and calories. Little steps at a time! My big hurdle is exercising regularly!!!

I also do eat five small meals a day. I guess I'm lucky that I can't consume much food in one sitting. I've read mixed reviews on three meals vs more frequent, smaller meals. I can only do what works for me.

My downfall leading to weight-gain was stress-eating a bunch of junk during the day. And not exercising. I know what I have to do, so that's what I'm going to do. What actually helps keep me on track is a sense of accountability to this group. We can do this, one day at a time!

So, I am on day 6 of the BOT (back on track) program on the bariatriceating.com site. The first couple days were not bad, day 3 was hard and 4-6 have been pretty good. I ordered a bunch of protein from several sources so that I would have many flavors on hand. I will report back. I am continuing to lose!!

IsMollyReallyHungry wrote: »

Thanks for invite Louise...... I will peak in from time to time, but I am going another route right now. I also have seen a gastro doctor about a new procedure to . I am giving myself until January to lose 50 plus pounds. and if I am a good candidate for this new procedure I am going to do it. It will be a another tool to help me keep my weight off this time. If I don't qualify I will keep at it without it. Either way I am determined to get under 300 pounds one way or another. I will have an upper GI test in January.

Everyone keep up the good work and believe you can do it!! We can do it!

What is the other procedure?

Good morning, Louise and Molly! (And anyone deciding to peek in on the group - please join us!!)

I had a dream last night that, in the past, would have my crying when I woke up. Not this time! I woke up mad!! Mad that I ignored the thirty-pound gain. Mad that I don't fit in my clothes from two years ago. Mad that I have used life as an excuse to not exercise. Mad is good - sad is not! Being sad makes me want to curl up in a corner and lick my wounds (or chocolate!). Being mad makes me want to go on the attack! And that is just what I am doing - attacking that thirty pound weight-gain and the extra flab that used to be muscle. Oh, we will get healthier!!

Okay, enough writing - time to get this body moving! Have a wonderfully healthy day, dear friends!!

Suzy

Good morning ladies!! Welcome back to Suzy - hope your vacation was fun!

Deb - Welcome back!! We love seeing an addition to our group! Where is your picture taken? Is that Grand Canyon? I am moving back to Arizona at the end of the month.

I did good on plan yesterday and am doing good so far today. I am working on being mindful of what I am eating, when I am drinking and if I start feeling like I have to eat, to take a look at that feeling!

Talk soon!

Louise

Hi,
I had VSG in 2014 & did great for the first few years and then I fell back into my old eating behavior and regained a lot of the lost weight.
I made a very impulsive decision to have a revision to RNY last year in Mexico and had extreme complications. The day after laparoscopic surgery I had a huge blood clot in my small intestine so they had to open me up with almost a foot long incision and cut through the muscle. Then 2 days later I had an obstructed bowel and they had to reopen the incision again to fix it.

I spent 2 weeks in the hospital in Mexico ( I had an amazing surgery and care and do not blame any of this on going to Mexico so I'm not here to bash Mexico). Upon flying back back home to Canada I went straight to the hospital as I had a deep wound infection and it needed hospital care.
I spent 2 more weeks in the hospital so that was a month in hospital.

When I was released from the hospital here I required a home care nurse to come every day for about 2 months to clean my wound and bandage it up.

The nightmare continued as the complications have let me with a huge abdominal hernia almost a foot long. I have been monitored by the Bariatric Surgeons here but the head surgeon told me he didn't think he could do anything for me. He did offer to refer me to one of the other Bariatric Surgeons and see if you would consider a consult with me. I was thrilled to find out that he would give me a consult.

Long story short, due to the trauma of all I went through and how immobile I was with the hernia (it was almost like learning to walk again) I gained about 30 lbs. after this nightmare on top of the 60 lbs. I had regained before the revision surgery.

The Bariatric surgeon cannot attempt to fix the abdominal hernia at this point. He recommended that I work on weight loss for the following year and that he would reassess my condition in a year. In the meantime he has referred me to a Bariatric Dietician (we call them Dieticians in Canada instead of Nutritionists). He has also referred me to take a course called "Craving Change" which was required for my first Bariatric surgery in 2014. He has also recommended that I exercise but he is aware that with such a large abdominal hernia I can only do walking and swimming for now.

Last week I came back on this ap which I used faithfully while preparing for my first surgery in 2014. They required that we track here as part of the Bariatric program in my community.

I have been tracking for a little over a week and walked about half of the week.

I am here looking for friends who have had complications to weight loss surgery & regain.
I know how great it is to make friends on here to share with, to be a sounding board and to cheer each other on when we have good days.

I used to belong to the VSG group but I don't feel like I belong there anymore. I really want and need to make some friends on here and those also struggling with regain and starting over.

If you have taken the time to read this I thank you. If you can relate to any of it or just want to get to know me better I would love to hear from you.

Thanks very much and I hope to make a friend or two or more to encourage each other.