Thank you. I don’t feel so alone

Don't beat yourself up about a regain. It happens to the best of us. I never thought I would be going in the opposite direction, but driving an hour + back and forth to the city twice a week for my wife's Dr. appointments (high risk pregnancy), then driving up every day for two weeks to the NICU after the little guy was born didn't lend itself to healthy eating habits. It was gas station junk food and crap from the hospital cafeteria. Then, six weeks at home from August 15th through October 1st on baby leave from work spending 24/7 taking care of him with my wife helping but resting (she had a C-section) and topped off with Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas & New Year's and every day (it seemed) in-between with people at work bringing in tons of junk food....I went from 193 to 231. I knew it was happening as my work uniform was getting tighter.

So I refocused myself in early January and jumped right back on the wagon. Did a (mostly) liquid diet for a few days, then ate my calories to lose 1.5lbs per week. Last month (give or take), I've focused on getting lots of protein from my food, protein bars and shakes. I'm back down to 213. Once I cut out the junk food and friggin' soda (damn the Mountain Dew & Coke!), the weight started dropping again. I'm able to prep my food for the day again and have committed myself to not only returning to the 193 I was, but dropping an additional 20 on top of that to hit the "healthy" weight range.

Don't beat yourself up because you had a regain. Just refocus and start back on track!

I’ll be 2 years post op on 4/18. Went on spring break to Nashville last week and while we indulged some, we walked a lot and cooked our dinners at the cottage we stayed in. Today I went to the gym and my trainer made me weigh in which he never had me do. I hadn’t weighed for the last 2 Saturday’s and I was floored when I was up 6.8 lbs...was a bit frustrated because I told him I really didn’t want to weigh, just eating back from vacation and not having any expectation of getting on the scale this morning - after a large cup of coffee and some water.

He told me not to stress it and we will get me back on track but that my lack of sleep along with my stress levels are contributing factors. I have been super stressed with my work situation and it keeps me up at night and I wasn’t a good sleeper to begin with.

Yesterday I did meal prep and now tomorrow I have to go to a work lunch that I found out about this morning. I’m planning to have this salad I like with grilled chicken on it. Either way, I wish I could bow out but have to slap on a fake smile and go...really hoping that I am able to get myself back on track as soon as possible...

Needless to say I think we all have been there and I am trying to remind myself of all the weight I have lost and kept off and that I absolutely can lose another 15-20 lbs

I guess I am what you would call an "emotional eater." I've lived with depression & anxiety disorder for as long as I can remember. My depression usually manifests in me getting angry. Zoloft has kept me most in control for a long time now (as well as other meds since my official diagnosis 18 years ago). I still get angry, I just don't rage out like the Hulk. And when I do get angry I start getting ravenous, seeking out comfort foods. Anxiety spells also trigger me the same way. Yay me. Not making excuses, but being stressed out during the pregnancy and every thing else going on contributed to my weight gain from June through Christmas. And the tighter my clothes got, the more I "eased my stress" with food. Vicious cycle.

And the whole thing is quite strange since I work as a Corrections Officer in a maximum security prison and don't really feel anxiety or stress at work. Go figure.

I’ve gained 14 lbs 2.5 years out. I quit tracking food and got back on carbs and sweets. I still can’t eat a lot but the wrong things are going in my body. I also quit working out. I’m thoroughly mad at myself and started today to get back on track. I lost from 364 to 168. I’m currently at 183. I don’t ever want to be over 200 lbs again! We all are fighting a battle and will never be able to eat what we want to. We can be each other’s support system. Best of luck!!! By the way, I had RNY.

@Stephaniev51697 I feel your pain. I start out every day on the right track. I take a protein shake, protein bar & sensibly-portioned lunch to work and do fine. After work, it's a struggle to not "fall apart" and eat whatever. I've found that doing yard work or some other laborious activity takes my mind off of food and actually stops me from feeling hungry. But as we all know, every person is different and what works for one won't for somebody else.

@Stephaniev51697 That's awesome! Another problem I have is being able to meal-prep. With our 8 month old little man, there isn't much time for anything else. I've been spending between 60-90 minutes every evening lately raking huge piles of leaves (large yard surrounded by 11 acres of woods) while he takes his evening nap. LOL.

I had RNY 4 1/2 years ago. My highest weight was 300+, my surgery weight was 274, and my lowest weight post-op was 178. Like jcavanna2, I was there for about a minute and a half! I had a long-term stall in the mid 180's, then began creeping upward. During all this, and until recently, I worked in my bariatric surgeon's office, so I was surrounded with "best practices" and success stories. In 2015, I went back to night school and my surgeon warned me of the dangers of grazing, eating on-the-go, and mindless eating, since I worked full time while I went to school full time. Boy, was he spot on! Since then I've gained another 30 pounds. I find I am able to eat almost everything, I drink diet soda (through a STRAW!), and I eat more than I should. My bariatric program has an on-staff dietitian and I visited her yesterday. I hadn't climbed on the scale there in about 2 years. I refused to look, then last night, I went on my patient portal and there it was: 217 lbs. I suffer from peripheral neuropathy, degenerative disk disease, osteopenia, and a host of other fun things that limit what I can do for fitness. But I can walk, so that's where I'll start. My dietitian recommended MFP, and I've been a member here for years, so I'm glad I found this group. My circumstances are much different than when I joined MFP! I was so strong back then. I'm starting a new job Monday, downstairs from my old job, so I'm using the weekend to sort of ease myself back into the right mindset and eating plan. I want to see my old co-workers and have them see a difference! And I know losing this regain will make me feel better overall.

StevenGarrigus wrote: »

I guess I am what you would call an "emotional eater." I've lived with depression & anxiety disorder for as long as I can remember. My depression usually manifests in me getting angry. Zoloft has kept me most in control for a long time now (as well as other meds since my official diagnosis 18 years ago). I still get angry, I just don't rage out like the Hulk. And when I do get angry I start getting ravenous, seeking out comfort foods. Anxiety spells also trigger me the same way. Yay me. Not making excuses, but being stressed out during the pregnancy and every thing else going on contributed to my weight gain from June through Christmas. And the tighter my clothes got, the more I "eased my stress" with food. Vicious cycle.

And the whole thing is quite strange since I work as a Corrections Officer in a maximum security prison and don't really feel anxiety or stress at work. Go figure.

This may be strange to hear but I can relate to your post.

I worked in a close custody prison for 15 years. It takes a toll on you mentally and physically.

I wake up each morning:
I have to take steps to manage and work on my bariatric plan and obesity issues.
I have to manage and cope with my mental issues
I have to manage my diabetes.

We all have things to overcome in life. Tackle it one day at a time. When you slip, pick yourself up and push through it.

Without the pain there is no progress

RNY in Oct of 2016. HW 367. Lowest weight 168, for about a week. I stayed around 173 for the two years, then my addiction crept back in my life and I was eating bread, potatoes and eating more than I should. I still don’t tolerate sugar well but I nibbled on it. Last week, I was up to 187. No more. I worked too hard. I did the 3 day pouch reset ( it does work). I’m tracking every thing and exercising again. We can do this!

I started a July challenge to get back on track with my 2018 goals. I'd love to have you join me in finding my January enthusiasm for getting healthy - You can find the challenge at https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10678502/renew-your-2018-resolutions-july-challenge#latest

I'm a newbie (RNY Feb 20, 2018). But like most of us, I've gained and lost, gained and lost, gained and lost. And naively I want to claim the WLS victory of "I'll never regain my weight back again, as God and Scarlett O'Hara are my witnesses!" ROFLMFAO!

Thank each of you vets for coming here and sharing your stories and realities!!! I wish each of you well and pray for blessings to all. I know I can't offer you consolation or advice about what to do as a veteran. I know that I will never be able to lose this weight one last time and not fight against regain or face losing the inevitable regain.

But I am a weight loss warrior and veteran of about 45+ years! LOL. And these are some truths I've discovered that may help some of you? If not, just take it with a grain of salt and ignore me!

The things I know:

1. Once you arrive at the Obesity Ball, weight management NEVER stops. It never stops. We can never "go back to our old ways" or "eat like a normal person with a normal metabolism." We stopped being normal when we hit that range (actually before that but I won't split hairs). So we MUST continue to do things differently--doing what works for each of our individual metabolisms/beliefs/food preferences, etc.
2. Recidivism is THE RULE not the exception--and this is only compounded and more complex if you also suffer with any addiction issues or food imbalances. Humans are MASTER rationalizers as well. We can talk ourselves into any craving with crazy-*kitten* reasoning and circular arguments and strawman arguments with our own minds.
3. One Day At A Time--there's a reason this mantra works for millions of AA or *Anonymous people -- cuz it's a general truth. We can't fix what's past. We can't worry the future into submission. We can only live today taking our "next best step," "our next best bite," "making our next best choice or decision."
4. Weight Regain Is Reality--it's there. My surgeon warned each of us about this at every pre-surgery visit. She encouraged and helped to shape the post op plan for regain even as we were preparing for surgery and continues this educational process at my post surg follow-up during the honeymoon phase. I know I will STILL struggle, despite this preparation and planning! LOL> what a *kitten*!
5. Life Happens--everyday life happens. We ALL have stress. We all have emotional trials, work issues, people problems, griefs. Life's a *kitten*, then you pay taxes, then you die. BUT, we have power and strength. We are not victims of life. We have power IF we choose to exercise it.
6. Success comes from MANY SMALL actions done repetitively and routinely every single forking live-long day. It's not the grand slam. It's the daily grind. It's getting out of bed and doing as @fit_chickx does every day. And as in Bull Durham, "Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose, sometime it rains..."

I found this Dr. Weiner on YouTube today. Good stuff about the reasons for weight regain, how much, why, etc. At least a little "regain" happens to almost everyone. I don't know one single person who lost all the weight they wanted, stayed there the rest of their life and lived happily ever after.

But there are lots of things we can do to prevent too much weight gain and set backs. I think the important thing is to nip it in the bud and change lifestyle/habits.