I am so mad at myself!

[mrsv]

Hey y'all! I have posted in a while but I am always around. I had my bio-metric screening and everything looks great. I am almost at the 3 year mark an all the blood-work was great, my blood pressure great, my BMI is 22, my waist is 28 inch. I know what you are thinking, "what tha heck does she have to be mad about"? Well, here is the clincher, I have gained 8 pounds, or 5 pounds if you consider that I teeter between 140-143. I can't even be happy for all the good due to that one thing. Actually the nurse was happy with the weight, but not me. I weighed in at 148!! I was mortified and almost cried. The only reason I didn't was because I was going to work afterward and didn't want to mess up my makeup (can you tell I am a girly girl).
OMG! I cannot believe I have gained that much. Now some would say, I am being too hard on myself , that 5 or 8 pounds is not that big of a deal. Well, it is to me. If I let 5 pounds slip by , then I will let 8 slip, then 10, and so on. I cannot ,NO , I will not gain back the weight that I've lost. I refuse to do it. I think what got me was I still have a lot of restriction , even after 3 years. So, I do not eat a lot due to the restriction and I sure as heck am not going to make myself eat more when I am full just to "eat more". It will make me literally sick if I do that. So I am thinking, if I don't eat enough how could I possibly gain weight? It must be what I have been eating,or rather not eating.
I stopped getting my protein in due to the fact that I can hardly stomach meats. The only meat I can digest is beef ground really fine. Some chicken, but it is a hit or miss. Tuna is ok, but can't eat it dry and I can hardly stand mayo anymore.
I was so mad and perplexed at how this could happen. Well, I know how it happened, I stopped doing what I was taught in the beginning. It's on me and not anything else.
I stopped with the protein, and started eating the foods that were easier for me to digest. Instead of finding different ways to get in the protein, I started eating a cookie at lunch instead of maybe lightly breaded chicken strips (hey it's protein) because a cookie was easier for me to handle.
As I reflect over the small, yet substantial weight gain (to me), I know I have to get back to the basics if I want to now lose the weight I have gained and then continue to maintain. I have gone back through post that have inspired me from some of the vets in this group like ANN2 and Tinman and they are full of great advice and a little scolding (we all need a kick in the ass at times).
I know I can do this ! I am going to figure out the protein thing, whether it is drinking it (as my doc says "if you can't eat it, drink it") or just eating the same things and learning how to spice them up. No matter how, I am going to win this battle.
I appreciate y'all letting me ramble and vent. And as always , I appreciate all input even if it is "tough love".

[Missy1974]

I can suggest maybe doing powder of protein on your foods to add it to them or cook it in to them or just like you said drink them .. isopure is few flavors 40grams a bottle and i find i like them .. fruit punch, raspberry lemon and few others .. found in gnc hope this helps . im still new but i know what you mean on how easy it is to want the simple food but knowing you should have your protein first

[ghost_ryder]

I don't get down on yourself. If you punish your thinking, it leads to getting completely down on yourself and that leads to failure. Be proud of what you have done. Positive thinking is very beneficial to your ability to get more.

[Christie13]

I completely get it. I weigh myself every morning and night to make sure I know exactly what my weight is doing. I agree. I have no desire to gain any of the weight back. I know people will say weighing twice daily is obsessive. But honestly, I need that sense of control. It keeps me on track. I am not nearly to your post op period. So maybe my advice isn't warranted but I will put it out there anyways. You are already on track. You know what you need to do. Now get to it. You got this. You can do it!! You did not work so hard to go back. Remember what you went through. Remember that you have to give your body the best nutrients possible. But give yourself a little treat now and then too. Good luck.

[Cale]

I think the tuna packed in oil is less dry than the tuna packed in water. I also like Worceshire sauce on mine. (Zero carbs.)

How about scrambled eggs? Worceshire sauce isn't bad on those either. I use butter flavored Pam to cook them in.

Have you tried ground pork? Ground turkey? Both go down smoother than ground beef.

Do you like braunschweiger? Almost no carbs. Decent amount of protein. I love the stuff myself, but it's one of those things you either love or hate. It goes down pretty easy.

[Dutchie]

Thanks for this post!
I love to hear from vets like you.
I'm sure you will get back to the weight that you want, it sounds like you know exactly what to do.
You got this and you can do it!

[mrsv]

Your input is very much appreciated. I know , I have been doing this for a while,but obviously, we vets can have our slip ups. This is the first time since my sleeve that I have experienced a weight gain like this. I am getting back to the basics and keep my treats limited.

[sraebaer]

I can totally relate, as I've been about 5 pounds above goal (give or take one or two pounds) for 9 months now!

[mrsv]

Cale, I do like eggs and tend to get burned out since they are what I eat the most, but using different seasoning may help me not to get tired of them. I may try Worcestershire on them to see if I like it. I actually have ground turkey on my grocery list . I have heard it is much better in texture and I have tried ground pork (sausage) and I can digest pretty good as long as it is cooked fine. I do not know what braunschweiger is so , I have not tried it.
Thanks for the input.

[mesnermx]

Do you have trouble digesting meat? I.e. A physical problem or are you tired of eating protein?

[Ann2]

mrsv, somehow i missed seeing this thread until today.

How are things going for you now?

Anything we can do that might be helpful for you at this point?

[mrsv]

Hi Ann2! I'm doing well. However, I do get in conundrum at times with not really knowing what I should eat. I'm not big on protein/meat as I still have alot of restriction(which is good) but it makes it hard to get in enough food. With my sleeve I had a pretty big esphosigal hernia repair, so I still get hung up on textures. I am not complaining as I haven't eaten rice or pasta in three years because of it. Now, I have eaten cookies , which is bad. I stick to eggs cheese and soft protein but I don't eat enough still. I can't make myself eat more than my tummy can handle or I will be sick. I really don't want to eat most days but I do. I would like to lose the 5 or so pounds that I have gained plus a few more,but everything I do doesn't work. Plus, ok guys, this may be TMI, but I was just diagnosed premenapausal. Soo that could contribute to a little weight gain. I am confused on what to do or just eat what I can eat and try to excercise more. My hubby says I stress to much about it but I don't want a few pounds to turn in to 20 pounds. Any way that's where I am at. I am happy and have no regrets, just confused on what I need to do if anything.

[Ann2]

mrsv, you can lose these 5+ pounds. And IMHO, you are very smart to get on it before it becomes 10-15-20 or more pounds.

What I observe is that most people simply don't want to track their food and never find out how much in terms of calories they're actually eating. I don't have that problem and plan and track all my meals on My Fitness Pal. As a result I have learned exactly what my maintenance calorie budget is.

I've also observed that individual WLS patients' maintenance daily calorie budgets vary considerably, depending on their size, gender, activity level, what kinds of foods they're eating, meds they're on, diseases and medical conditions they're dealing with, and the luck of the metabolic draw. You just have to find out how much you can eat and not gain weight. And then be willing to eat that amount, on average, and no more.

Interestingly, when I'm eating lots of veggies and fruits (8 a day the last 3+ months) I can eat about 100 calories more every day than if I'm not eating those high-fiber foods in as much volume. I can't imagine this is true only for me, although I know about only my experience.

Re protein, here are some more high-protein foods to consider (which I'm sure you know already, but might inspire you to put your thinking cap on):

Greek yogurt
Fairlife (protein-enhanced) milk
Cheese
Black beans

Most mornings for breakfast I still drink a GNC Lean Shake (chocolate), which has 170 calories and 25 grams of protein. It's very satisfying to me -- taste-wise and satiety-wise. May not work for you, but it continues to work for me.

I would also suggest that you look carefully at how much exercise you regularly do (or don't) get. Regular (5 days a week) exercise is one of the greatest correlates of long-term weight maintenance of WLS patients. Are you exercising 5 days a week? Every week? How much?

Are you getting good sleep? If not, what's your "sleep hygiene" like? How could you improve your sleep hygiene (without taking sleep meds) and get more / better rest regularly? As we've all heard, not sleeping well or enough contributes to weight gain. For one thing, you're subject to nighttime snacking. And you may nibble more the next day because you feel tired.

Finally, you can't eat what you don't have. You've mentioned cookies several times. Do you have cookies in the house? Can you get rid of them? Can you stop buying them? It may require some serious conversations with other family members -- or maybe you're the one buying them and bringing them into what should be your "safe zone." Make your home safe for YOU. You deserve that, and you can do that.

Those are a few thoughts. The bottom line is that YOU already know how to clean up your eating and get back to the kind of discipline that helped you lose all your excess weight. That's the same kind of discipline required to maintain your weight long-term.

They weren't kidding. Our long-term success will be due to our lifestyle. Not short-term diets, but our overall lifelong lifestyle.

[sraebaer]

I have been up 5 pounds from goal for almost a year now (after being at goal almost 3 years), and the weird thing is I eat almost only protein. I follow the rule I was given about protein first, then veggies then carbs if room. So basically I eat protein and some veggies. I'm wondering if I should throw some good carbs in, like whole grains and fruit. (I almost never eat fruit.)

I feel like I'm "stuck" as I weigh the same whether I climb mountains for a week or take 4 days off exercise due to sore knees. I weigh the same if I eat perfectly (like I typically do) or if I have the occasional mess up (like Halloween for example). Same thing happened when I stayed at goal for so long.

I understand being upset about 5 pounds, but at least it's not more. It still bugs me. And my pants are a little tight with just those 5 pounds.

So I'm the protein expert! Have you tried seafood other than packaged tuna? Fish is my friend, shrimp, salmon, scallops, redfish, sea bass, snapper, any variety. It is so much softer and easier on my tummy than meat. When eating out it's always the ahi tuna appetizer. Pricy but delicious and healthy. Ceviche is another restaurant favorite.