As you know... I am preop... But my thoughts on the subject is this... Old habits die hard. Many of us use(d) food as a coping tool thru struggling times, and over many years (for some of us, that equals more years than others! ha!) we have reinforced these behaviors. They are easy to fall back on. Sure, while we are losing and its all exciting, I think it is easier... but that long term, when the 'fun' is over and we are just living life, those old habits can creep back in. We must FOREVER stay diligent, and if we get a little lax on that... a pound becomes 5, becomes 20.

I don't think its much different than when we lose preop. I've lost 100's of pounds over the years... just to gain them back. A couple of those times I kept the 100 lbs off for several years, but then when life hit the fan, and I had struggles, it was too easy to go back to my old ways of coping.

I think as soon as we get complacent it can happen. We must stay forever on alert for old habits to sneak back in. We are human, we slip. So we must learn new coping tools... and ways to keep guard.

In an eating disorder class I took we learned that people who lose weight and keep it off tend to have 3 things in common,

1. they exercise 5 or more times per week
2. they track EVERYTHING they eat
3. they have a support group of some kind to help keep them on track.

:) Just my thoughts....

p.s. ;)

Just about anyone will tell you... losing it is the easy part, its keeping it off that is where the real hard work begins.

I think it happens the same way it did for all of us the first time. There is not a single person on here that went to bed thin and woke up morbidly obese. Surgery is a tool to help get all of the past indulgence reversed, but they don't offer brain surgery at the same time. So the head games that took you to this stage to begin with, will also take you back just as easily. Like Becca said, it will be really easy to say, hey it is just 5 lbs, and then 10, and suddenly you wake up and realize you have gained 40 and it becomes a chore to get it off again, so you let it slide the number grows. Just because you had surgery does not mean you have a get out of jail free card for life. You have to make a commitment to watch every dang bite you put through your lips every single day for the rest of your natural life. You will never be able to eat like everyone else in the world eats.

I don't know about you, but my inner self never believed I was too heavy and fat. Yes, the scale said so, the Dr. said so, even the pictures taken of me said so, but I myself didn't feel as fat as I looked in those pictures. It took me years to finally admit to myself that I was fat and ugly!

It wasn't until this past year when my Dr. told me I had liver disease that if left untreated would kill me in a matter of a few years. I'm 56 years old, my mother is 75 and my father is 80 and still going strong. I really didn't want to die before they do. So, for me this surgery is a lifesaving tool that I will honor for the rest of my life. Yes it will be difficult at times, but before I even started this journey I went cold turkey and cut out all carbs other than vegetable carbs. This had to be the hardest thing ever for me. This coming from someone that could eat a whole loaf of sourdough bread with butter in one sitting and still go back for more. I was so hooked it was pathetic. I soon realized after getting off the carbs (bread, rice, pasta, potatoes) I didn't have the cravings anymore. What a revelation! So the more carbs and fat I ate, the more I wanted!!!!

I still don't want or crave carbs and I have come to like sweet potato a little. So I think in the long run I have found (finally) what will help me to get to a good healthy weight, and I'll be happy about it.

BTW two and half weeks from surgery my liver is back to normal. No more NASH disease! First goal met!!!!

YAY BANSHEE!! YOU GO GIRL!!

Betsy

I am looking for new coping mechanisms as we speak. As a child in the DSS system I faced a great deal of abuse including starvation and eating whatever I could find. I don't ever remember being skinny so I don't know when the fat began but I could never take it off. Going on a "diet" was like a telling a squirrel winter is coming....I am planning on seeking counseling for this in hopes that old issues don't stay with the new me. I am hoping and praying that exercise will be the new coping mechanism...we have a 24 hour gym just 20 minutes from the house.

The big issue with most people is emotional eating. It's not eating because of actual physical hunger. For that reason, it's really important to begin to deal with your emotional eating:

1) recognize what your triggers are: fatigue, stress, loneliness, anger..... we're all unique.. . You'll have to discern your triggers by being aware of what is driving you when you are moving toward the refrigerator.

2) develop several alternative actions you can take when one of your triggers fires rather than eating: take a walk, take a nap, call a friend, get out of the house....

Lastly, I'd just like to say that some of us have more severe emotional problems that underlie our obesity than others have. I had a lifetime of ignoring my emotions, ignoring my fatigue, and eating instead of feeling or resting. There are others whose emotions are related to years of abuse and/or worse. They may have a greater struggle than I did.

However, I have found that when you ask for help, God responds in one way or another, and you get what you need. One of my great resources has been this group here on DS. :)

I responded to this yesterday but I don't see it showing up. Others have covered most of what I said so I won't repeat it.

However, I would like to add one thing to Becca's list of the three things people who keep weight off have in common. I've read that following up with your surgeon is a key factor. Multiple times during the first year. And after that, my surgeon said I will see him once a year for life. I am sure many people do not both with follow-up. I can foresee perfectly good reasons why not--i.e. surgeon no longer there, people move, etc. But it is something to keep in mind. It might fall under #3 of her list since it really is a form of support. And it also provides accountability.

This is all good information Mia... thanks for thinking to ask. It is much better to have as much info and find ways to prevent a slide vs struggling to figure it out after it happens. Proactive! YEAH! :)

I think I am going to add this thread to my journal.... Hopefully others will add to it as well :)

If they operated on your brain as well as your stomach it would be 100% successful, lol
I am over a year out and can eat just about anything.... I gained 15 lbs and am now on the 5 day pouch test to kick it back into gear.
Your mind plays terrible tricks on you as we have all seen which led to obesity... You still have to exercise, and eat healthy to maintain the weight loss after surgery...life goes on. Its worth it and the best decision I made but its not without work. ; )

It's easy to stay on program and plan while your loosing. It is an exciting time. When you reach you goal then start the maintenance level is where old habit can creep back in I feel. You have to eat more cals to not loose more weight and maybe not make as good as choices. The WLS is only on your gut not your head. If you don't do some head work before WLS people can run into trouble. I am thankful my WLS program has team members that have to agree you are ready for surgery and they all have to agree before you get a surgery date or your insurance paperwork is sent in.
I am in maintenance now. I was told to eat 1500 cals a day and to eat back my exercise calories back so don't continue to loose more weight. I did that last week and found myself not making good choices sometimes. I did gain weight but didn't go over my personal goal of 130. I decided to go back to 1300 cals a day and not eat back all my exercise cals burned. I didn't freak out when I gained but when I gained almost 4 pounds in one week it was a bit scary. do weigh myself every day to keep myself in check.
Good luck!

This thread is almost a year old... but I came across it in my journal and decided to bump it up as its a good read! :)

I wonder if now being a year out the OP has figured out why people gain after all they go through to loose.........My thought though is this surgery is to be healthy..........why is the question why do people gain instead of why do people leave themselves open to getting sick again possibly dead shortly........I never saw this as WLS because I never could see myself smaller let alone in single digit cloths size. I thought this surgery would save me from an early death that was my mothers fate.

So on the gaining issue life happens........we take steroids for bronchitis or antidepressants to help us over a rut or any other med that can pack the pounds without help from us feeding it.........we hurt something preventing us from exercising. we let the evil voices in our head that come back from time to time telling us your worthless your going to fail. no one wants you thin or fat. we celebrate our child's graduation, wedding, first born. ........life can make you gain if you don't watch where it is going.

This is an old post but since it has been bumped I would like to add what my Nut told me.
She said 2.5 hours a week of exercise to lose the weight. And 5 hours a week to maintain that loss.

I know not everyone would have to do that. I know people who got to goal weight and never exercise. But on the average person who has this surgery do they realize they will have to exercise more to maintain it then they did to lose it?