Considering Endoscopic Suturing: 6 years out / regaining despite diet

[OYNYC]

Hi guys,

I did my surgery in 2011 (230 --> 160) and have been doing great for the first 4 years. After that, I've been on a strict Low-carb diet for the last 2+ years, consuming under 25 gm carbs/day, consistently in ketosis. I take a few days off this diet when I go on vacation, but that's only 3-4 times per year. My normal diet consists of meat, fish, eggs, cheese, yoghurt, cream and nuts. Once in a while (2-3 times per month) I'll add low-carb tortilla wrap, or a bit of low-carb/soy pasta. Can't eat salads after a sleeve - it feels like a rock in my stomach. Haven't had soda since just before surgery. I do drink some water with meals, which is an issue, but hard to give up. I use a bit of Monk Fruit sweetener in my coffee/tea, and periodically have bite of low carb dark chocolate from Trader Joe's, but thats about it for bad dietary habits. I also increased my physical activity by powerwalking 40 min/day.

None of this is stoping the weight from creaping back up. I regained about 25 lbs since my lowest (160 --> 185). Have been reading about Endoscopic Suturing and am wondering if anyone here has done it and willing to share their experience?

[tinman]

Instead of putting yourself through another procedure, have you given any thought to changing how you eat? In other words, if the low carb thing isn't working for you anymore, try introducing more carbs and fat into your diet mixed in with a very healthy increase in your protein. You seem to be eating protein, but, I can't tell if you are eating enough.

Your metabolism runs off of the energy stored in carbs and fat. The protein you eat causes your metabolism to "wake up", but, without fuel, it'll shut down. In effect, and in my opinion, what you are experiencing is a stall. Since you are at goal, that stall will manifest itself as weight gain, not delayed weight loss. This is a pitfall all long time vets will eventually face. What works for us during our losing phase will not be fully effective once we've reached maintenance and what we do on maintenance will always need to be tweaked to compensate for changes our bodies go through as we age and our activity levels change.

Also, I would suggest you track how much water you are drinking every day. If you are chronically dehydrated, your body will also treat that as a perceived attack and will shut down just like it did during the losing phases. Chronic dehydration is, again in my opinion, the number one undiagnosed cause of stalls that exist. This is true for newbies as well as vets. If you are drinking 64 oz a day and have upped your exercise, you need to up your hydration to compensate for the fluid loss you experience during your power walking.

I am almost to five years post op. I find myself having to constantly change how I eat in order to compensate for how my body is changing as I age. I would like to suggest that you take a look into tweaking what you are eating first and see if that doesn't do the trick before you submit to another invasive procedur.

Good luck to you.

[OYNYC]

Thank you for your response Tinman!! I'm definitely not drinking enough water and have been working to increase intake. Prior to starting low-carb, I tried a more balanced diet like Weight Watchers, Jenny Craig, Mediterranean diet, etc. Weight gain was even more noticible and switching to low carb slowed it down. I consume plenty of fats (cooking with coconut oil, snacking on nuts, heavy cream, full fat yoghurt & cheese etc), so am thinking water might be a more likely culprit. Will certainly wait a little bit longer to see if increasing it could help before making any additional surgery decisions.

From what I gather, Endoscopic stitching is far less invasive than the sleeve. Not a walk in the park of course, but would love to know if anyone had experience with it.

[Shirl]

I have limited post sleeve knowledge, but I have a lifetime experience of trying low carbs dieting which was not sustainable long term. Pre-op I started incorporating a more balanced way of eating, I moved away from the processed carbs, which included carb-free, sugar-free, and fat-free anything! All those foods have hidden ingredients that may cause toxicity in your body that your body cannot metabolize and store as fat.

I also learned that eating more whole foods in their natural state was conducive to my overall health. I tend to follow a balanced diet of lean proteins and complex carbs, I ate/eat vegetables and fruits in the low starch and low glycemic index, and I eat whole grains, seeds, beans and nuts closer to their natural state. That's not to say I don't eat processed foods, but they make up a small percentage of my weekly and monthly intake.

In regards to exercise, I have learned that your body will respond less and less to repetative activity. If you want to burn fat you have to start adding different forms of exercise and get your body to start building muscle and burning fat and calories. In fact, I have read Mr. Tinman above say in other posts "It's not a race, but a marathon." and I have been considering doing a half maybe a quarter (LOL!) marathon, and guess how they train? They run for five minutes, and they walk for a minute and they do that continuously throughout their training. Body builders also use a similar method, fast/stop, to build muscle.

Best of wishes, and congratulations on getting back on track!

[Donald G]

I would love to hear more about your exercise routine in total noy just adding in power walking as that could be the completely wrong exercise to have added in.

[Christie13]

I agree with Tinman that you need to shake up your diet a bit. I know you said you snack on nuts but that can be dangerous depending on how much nuts you are consuming throughout the day. Have you tried to use a tracker app to track your macros? I think that may give you some better insight.

[Kindle]

I agree with every one else about changing how you eat and DEFINITELY the part about drinking more. Ideal Weight loss occurs when you drink 1/2 your body weight in ounces PLUS whatever you lose through excercise. Looking at your profile that means 90+ ounces/day if you do nothing but sit on the couch. With power walking I'm thinking 120ounces would be a better number.

As for having another surgery, How many ounces of dense protein can you comfortable eat at one time? If it's under 8-10 ounces I don't see how a second restrictive surgery could help. If it's more, then you may want to go back to basics of measuring your food so you don't overeat. Also, have you talked to your doctor or an endocrinologist? Had your hormones checked? On any meds that cause weight gain? If you are truly consuming an appropriate number of calories but still gaining weight there could be another medical explaination.