Poll! How much did you regain and when?

[Settledownnow]

Just another thought.... I believe we need to be realistic about individual goal weight. It is not appropriate for most of us to aim for a weight we were in high school or in college. Rather, we need to find a goal weight that allows us to be healthy and physically active (or at the very least not hinder mobility) and then focus on maintaining that weight. That may mean carrying a little more weight than a "normal" BMI. I know some say to try to lose as much weight as possible and go below goal so that you are "normal" at the regain but that just never made sense to me. I am a 5'3" female, age 56, and it is not realistic for me to try to weigh 120 as I did when I was in my 20's. I also do not want to have to be on a chronic diet to try to maintain an unrealistic weight.

All of this is to say that perhaps at your age and height Marquis Mark maybe 240# is a good weight for you (or 235# or 230# or ?) and now your focus needs to be on stopping the regain and maintaining your weight. I do not know. It is just another way to look at things.

 

[DianaCox]

http://bariatricfacts.org/threads/realistic-goals-and-personal-responsibility.934/

 

[Settledownnow]

BTW, I'm asking because I have really been packing it on lately.

Surgery was 2 yrs, 8 months ago.
I
BUT in the last 4 months, I've gone from 228 to 240!

Don't you usually walk quite a bit during the school year? Could it be that daily walking has helped keep your weight gain to a minimum and now with school out you've gained some?

 

[southernlady]

Just another thought.... I believe we need to be realistic about individual goal weight. It is not appropriate for most of us to aim for a weight we were in high school or in college. Rather, we need to find a goal weight that allows us to be healthy and physically active (or at the very least not hinder mobility) and then focus on maintaining that weight. That may mean carrying a little more weight than a "normal" BMI. I know some say to try to lose as much weight as possible and go below goal so that you are "normal" at the regain but that just never made sense to me. I am a 5'3" female, age 56, and it is not realistic for me to try to weigh 120 as I did when I was in my 20's. I also do not want to have to be on a chronic diet to try to maintain an unrealistic weight.

All of this is to say that perhaps at your age and height Marquis Mark maybe 240# is a good weight for you (or 235# or 230# or ?) and now your focus needs to be on stopping the regain and maintaining your weight. I do not know. It is just another way to look at things.

Very true. Although as an adult, pre DS, my lowest weight was 147. Even in high school, I weighed in the 140’s. And while I enjoyed seeing 121 on the scale for 10 seconds, I knew that wasn’t realistic for me. Staying in the low 140’s is fine. Would I like to be between 135 and 140, yes, but not enough to work at it. Staying where I am takes no real thought other than making sure I get enough protein, enough fat, and keep my carbs under control.

My goal, back when I was losing...was first to reach my lowest adult weight (147), then to reach normal BMI (145), then just ride it down as long as I could before I settled into my normal.

 

[k9ophile]

It is not appropriate for most of us to aim for a weight we were in high school or in college.

Absolutely! I graduated high school and started college at 135#. Had the flu or something and lost down to #125. Dropped out and due to a long story about my f'd up relationship with my dad, got down to 115#. My surgeon's goal was 145#, which is one pound over my lowest post-op weight. It's also 10# over my current weight. I like 155#; it's 200# under my highest weight. Saying I lost 200# is a nice round number.

 

[Marquis Mark]

Don't you usually walk quite a bit during the school year? Could it be that daily walking has helped keep your weight gain to a minimum and now with school out you've gained some?

Working this summer so still walking 3 miles a day, most days. It's got to be the carbs. It's just not as easy for me as it seems to be for some of you guys to avoid them consistently. If it were, I wouldn't have gone the full monty on WLS. But, now that I have, and there's no other solution left, there's no other option.

Mind you, at 6'3" and 240 I look pretty good (according to others). No one would describe me as fat. But my dream of becoming a Chippendale's dancer isn't going to happen and I would like to be 30 pounds less than I am.

To go back to my original concern: If I have to live at 240, I can, and I'll be grateful. But I'm just wondering where the regain ends. It seems like for a lot of people it was about 3 years out?

 

[Settledownnow]

To go back to my original concern: If I have to live at 240, I can, and I'll be grateful. But I'm just wondering where the regain ends. It seems like for a lot of people it was about 3 years out?

The point was that the weight gain may not stop automatically or magically. You may have to stop it yourself by cutting back on carbs. Some people gain a little, some more, and some have gained all back.

 

[Kristaz]

Thanks! I am healthy like horse. And no deficiencies ever. Part of me thinks you NEED deficiencies to be a successful DSer.

Do you not have any deficiencies? I don’t either... no need for ANY vitamins etc. I was a “lightweight”/revision from an RNY lost initially but if I even look at fat or carbs I gain.

 

[Charris]

Do you not have any deficiencies? I don’t either... no need for ANY vitamins etc. I was a “lightweight”/revision from an RNY lost initially but if I even look at fat or carbs I gain.

Kristaz how long ago did you have surgery. When you first have surgery you have enough reserves to hold you over for for a few month. So dont get comfortable and make sure you are checking frequently so that if and when your stores are used up you will not bottom out and have to try getting them up which is HARD VERY HARD.

MAYBE we can meet up 1 day. DianaCox is also in AZ.

 

[LizJ]

I had my regain when my mom died at 2 years 6 months out. It wasn't a lot, just 15 pounds but my dog training pants all of a sudden didn't fit and I freaked out! So back on program and I've just lost it all and I'm going for a bonus 5 pounds. I watch what I eat and do less than 50 carbs a day, get my protein in, and kinda watch my fat to make sure I'm eating enough. It doesn't feel like dieting for me because I'm always eating just not carbs.

 

[Kristaz]

Kristaz how long ago did you have surgery. When you first have surgery you have enough reserves to hold you over for for a few month. So dont get comfortable and make sure you are checking frequently so that if and when your stores are used up you will not bottom out and have to try getting them up which is HARD VERY HARD.

MAYBE we can meet up 1 day. DianaCox is also in AZ.

3 years ago in May.

 

[Munchkin]

Do you not have any deficiencies? I don’t either... no need for ANY vitamins etc. I was a “lightweight”/revision from an RNY lost initially but if I even look at fat or carbs I gain.

Not a one. But I still take all my supplements every day. I pretty much stick with vitalady.

 

[Georgepds]

Re" My eating habits haven't really changed since getting the DS. "

Don't you find the restriction keeps the quantity down? I simply cannot eat like I did before, I'll throw up

As to carbs... what type? Even before surgery I'd cut out bread , potatoes, rice, cereal, candy cookies, cake... generally all the processed stuff plus the mostly pure carb veggies . But I get plenty of carbs.. carrots, squash seeds, cherries, apples, peas, etc are often on my plate, some of which would make the keto crowd gag.

My weight loss is still episodic, loose a bit, stay the same, loose a bit more. I dread the bounce back.

 

[Spiky Bugger]

**I thought I posted this a week ago...duh.”


I don’t think there's a “how far out” component to my gain-lose situation. For me, the see-saw thing will probably go on forever. I’m just better equipped to go into Lose Mode.

As of this morning, I weigh about 5# more than my lowest post-op weight.

In BMI terms, I never made it to “not obese.” But since I started at a BMI of almost 54, I can deal with ONLY getting down to a 32 or 33, especially considering my diet.

Over the past 14+ years, however...I have, a couple of times, gotten to about 30 pounds over that lowest weight. To combat that, I filled the fridge with ready-to-eat “cheese trays,” chicken wings, and low-rent-district charcuterie plates. I did not stop...probably because I’m insane...eating my main food groups of carbs and carbs. And carbs. But my deal with myself was that every time I headed to the kitchen...a non-stop activity in my life...I would FIRST eat the protein stuff. Then I could eat “the good stuff.” Which is, of course not actually good.

I am the worst DS poster child. I never count calories or carbs. I hate cooking so I always do easy stuff. And, because of other medical issues, I have a VERY restricted diet in terms of traditionally “healthy” foods. My gut does better when I live on meats, cheeses, eggs and avoid most veggies, fruits and high fiber foods. Unfortunately for my weight, my gut does just fine with ice cream, gluten-free donuts/cookies and candy. Just fine. (But a salad ruins me for a day or more.)

 

[Sheanie]

Best to start tallying your carb intake. Including simple sugars. Look at labels, AGAIN. They change ingredients, you might be eating more carbs than you think.

Are you on any Rx which has the side effect of sleep-eating?