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.

HLaR79 wrote: »

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.

HLaR79 wrote: »

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!!

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!

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.