4 years out and I need some help

[Persiankity33]

So I had surgery in February of 2013, I was 265 to begin with and the lowest I got down to was 171 during the summer of 2014....well then I got pregnant....had my son April of 2015, then we had a surprise pregnancy when he was 4 months old. I had my daughter in May of 2016. So now I'm 203...I'm feeling horrible!!!! I hate that I've gained weight and I don't know what to do. I saw my surgeon a few months ago and he was basically unforgiving and didn't really help me with anything. I can definitely tell my sleeve has stretched but I don't know what to do. Protein shakes do not fill me up like they used to before I got pregnant. I try to get in 80 grams of protein a day. I'm also a end up eating an early dinner and getting the kids to bed early so then around 8pm I'm starving. I eat a bag of light popcorn but I know that's a slider food. I need ideas of what to eat at that time. I feel disgusting for not being able to lose this 30 pounds I put on after. Org pregnancies but I have been eating protein as much as I can and staying away from carbs but I've been trying to loose weight since October and it hasn't gone very well. Also I hit a 10k per day in steps so I'm trying to be more active.

How can I get back on the wagon and lose these 30lbs I put on and the additions 20 I wanted to lose to hit my goal weight.

[Christie13]

Try this. It is the pouch reset for people who have gained weight after the sleeve.
http://www.obesitycoverage.com/the-p...weight-regain/

Hope this helps you! And I am sorry your surgeon was such a jerk. You did have 2 babies back to back. But you can do this. Just recommit yourself. Good luck!

[Shirl]

I'm far from being a veteran sleever, but I do know when I'm being hard on myself.

You have had two babies in the last 2 years, so be a little patient with your body to catch up.

30lbs you are holding on could be hormones and or stress related.

Try to remember (and write it down) what you were doing post op when you lost your weight. Did you meal plan? Did you prepare meals ahead? What did you eat? When did you eat it? Did you keep a food and exercise log? What tools did you use to stay accountable? And remember that these were pre kids, so you are going to have to make some major adjustments.

Remember NSV? Start measuring remember the scale are just numbers.

If you are doing 10k a day you are definitely have built some muscle, and start adding five minutes of anaerobics like sit ups, push ups, add some weights to get that muscle to start burning fat stores. Add a weekly yoga practice if possible.

If you have access to a gym, go into sauna for five minutes for some "you" time. Let your mind and thoughts rest too.

You got this!!!

[Pam G]

are you drinking a small lake every day?

[Leslieann]

What a jerk your doctor is...sorry. I really can't add to the previous posts. Great advice. You have this!! Congratulations on your beautiful babies!!

[Sandra3]

It took you almost 18 months to reach you lowest weight after the sleeve and you say that you wanted to loose 20 more pounds. You might be a slow looser (like me and many others) so just try to relax and give yourself some credit here. First you just had two babies! And you only regained part of what you lost. The sleeve restriction is still here. You just need to think in a different way.
Plan your food in advance. It's normal to be eating at 8PM, especially with young kids who probably keep you up at night, you must be starving (not sleeping=starving).
If I was you I would plan my day. Have several small meals dense in protein. Boiled eggs and chicken are my favorit to stop hunger. Eat lots of vegetable, I like to eat raw carrots, the crunch is always nice and I can snack on it anywhere. Same with almonds or even pumpkin seeds. I only have 1/4 cups per sitting but it's great to stop hunger.
Try to avoid pop corn. It's not just a question of calories or carbs but the "slider food" you can eat more of it of course, but it will also keep you hungry and could trigger cravings. Same with artificial sweetener, it's better to avoid it as much as possible.
I prefer to eat fruits if I eat carbs. At least I will have the vitamins. But did you have a blood test recently? Two pregnancies could get your iron level really low, and low iron =cravings.
Try to relax. You have two beautiful children! yes you did regain weight but for a good reason. The weight will go away, just give it time.
After all my pregnancies my blood test was always bad for six months, anemia (and I was starving because of it) but also high cholesterol (usually it stopped after six months) but I was feeling tired and quiet stressed by the weight situation, I wish I had a sleeve to help.
You do have your sleeve!
Try not to stress, do some yoga if you can. it's better to focus on getting you a good diet to help you cope with the busy life of a mother of two babies. And if you need it, see a nutritionist: they might have good ideas for planning your food. Good luck and take care.

[N2DVN]

Whenever I feel like I need to get back on track, I do the 5 Day Pouch Test. It works very well for me. (I will be 5 years post-op, next week.)

http://www.5daypouchtest.com/plan/theplan.html

[Emmeraldas]

Your surgeon (like many surgeons) is a jerk. They tend to focus on doing thier task and expecting you to never deviate from their commandments. I may sound a little harsh but ?I have worked for decades with surgeons and have seen their attitudes when the patient strays from the plan. In truth, your body has been through some massive back to back changes. You lost almost 100 lbs! amazing! Then back to back pregnancies! You are the woman! BUT...your body has not recovered fully from any of that. your hormones don't know what to do yet. They are probably still stuck in the post surgery stage...The surgeon might not be your go to person for advice here. If he can't operate and fix it, he might be a little lost. The 5 day pouch test sounds like a good place to start. Talk to a nutritionist. Talk to the surgeon's bariatric nurse. AND...... take care of yourself. with two little ones in need of your attention, it is easy to forget you. Get enough rest, sleep whenever you can. Make sure to drink 64 ounces a day. Did I tell you to get enough rest? Being fatigued will trigger negative eating patterns faster than you can buy a candy bar. Good luck. Hang in there, you did it once and can do it again, you just need to get back on track.

[mjscbetancourt]

Hello Persiankity33,

I have to say congratulations on your new blessings with your children. You can not be so hard on yourself. Just remember how you felt before you had the surgery and what motivated you to do it and change your life. I am almost 5 years out. I have lost a total of 250lbs and thru the 5 years I a have experienced so much with my health and have had 4 surgeries in the processes. I am now like 45lbs over weight or over my goal weight of 200lbs. But you or I can let that bring us back to that place of being unhappy with our weight. That being said, change your eating pattern. Eat every 2 hours something really small.. mainly protein if you can.. or veggie or fruit.. Some times we have to trick our bodies to trigger it back in to fat burning mode.. I wish you the best of luck and If you need any more help I am glad to help..

M.B.

[Pam G]

WOW! you really need to update your ticker! lol

Hello Persiankity33,

I have to say congratulations on your new blessings with your children. You can not be so hard on yourself. Just remember how you felt before you had the surgery and what motivated you to do it and change your life. I am almost 5 years out. I have lost a total of 250lbs and thru the 5 years I a have experienced so much with my health and have had 4 surgeries in the processes. I am now like 45lbs over weight or over my goal weight of 200lbs. But you or I can let that bring us back to that place of being unhappy with our weight. That being said, change your eating pattern. Eat every 2 hours something really small.. mainly protein if you can.. or veggie or fruit.. Some times we have to trick our bodies to trigger it back in to fat burning mode.. I wish you the best of luck and If you need any more help I am glad to help..

M.B.

[Persiankity33]

Thank you everyone for your support. I have a lot on my plate with 3 children and I'm also a teacher and have 22 children in my class. I actually do have low iron after my pregnancies so thank you for telling me that it can cause cravings, I didnt know that. Chocolate and sweets are my weakness so I have been craving them the most. I think it's also hard to lose that emotional connection with food too. I know when I'm more stressed out I tend to make poor decisions about what I eat. I have gotten back to weight things...yes some of my favorite go tos are hard boiled eggs, cheese sticks, and Greek yogurt. It's just scary to see that u are heavier than before....it's terrifying to think gaining weight again, it makes me think I'm getting back to my heaviest again. I do try to hit 80-100 oz of water a day and get 7-8 hours or sleep each night. Recently I've had a lot of trouble going back to sleep after waking in the night with my 7 month old. So the restless nights I'm sure aren't helping. When I did see the surgeon I asked him about the pouch test and he basically dismissed it too. He is a bit arrogant but the nutritionist for his office is very supportive. Thank goodness for her.

[Ree]

Ive heard people have had great luck with the 5-daypouch test.

[sraebaer]

You are burning up tons of calories and exercising just caring for those two precious children, if you're nursing, even more. 30 pounds should come off in no time, your body is in shock at the moment. Just enjoy those kids, and when you're hungry try to grab something good for you, low-fat greek yogurt, carrots with hummus, low fat string cheese, nuts, etc. And drink a lot of water.

If you have a gym membership I know my grown kids use that for some "me time," they work out or take a class while their little ones are in babysitting.

I'm three years out, and it's true, I can eat a lot more than before. Those two bites and I'm full days are over. Now it's just a matter of choosing the right foods. Enjoy the kiddos! Enlist help from anyone who offers! Just being tired and not sleeping contributes to weight gain, and I can imagine you are tired.