Question:
DESPERATE! Please help me....Im gaining too much weight back!
I am 3 years out from Proximal open RNY. I am 5'5 and weighed 301 lbs. pre-op and got down to my lowest of 138 lbs. last summer. I looked great, felt great...and was happy. Shortly after my surgery, I got pregnant and had a baby, everything went well. I didn't gain any weight at all while I was pregnant, and actually continued to lose weight well after I delivered. I have been lucky. I haven't had to count calories or carbs or even watch my sweets. I have been able to eat ANYTHING I want since surgery (just smaller portions of course.) Nothing was really off limits to me. I never really exercised, and the weight still fell off of me. I thought this was a magic pill for me despite all the warnings out there. This last December, I noticed the scales move from 138 to 146 or so. I didn't freak out too bad....and shamefully ignored it actually. My size 4's still fit and I didn't notice it in the mirror. Then in the beginning of Feb, I weiged around 156. Then I freaked out. My clothes were too tight. I felt miserable. I went on Atkins right away and even took some Trimspa...I didn't cheat at all! And after two weeks, I hadn't lost a single pound! I felt horrible. Then to top it all off...I found out I was pregnant again! So, I went off the diet pills and Atkins and decided to eat healthy for the baby. But, the weight just piled on after that. I weighed two weeks ago and the scales said 169! How can this be? I haven't been gorging or anything! It can't be the baby yet...I am only 17 weeks pregnant. I have gained a whopping 30 POUNDS since DECEMBER!!!! I am so upset and ashamed. I refuse to see my friends, go out in public at all, I even cancel my doctor's appointments because I am so embarrassed. No...it is not twins either. At this rate, I will be well over 200 lbs. by delivery! I am already "overweight or obese" again. I feel hopeless...so much so, that I am drinking slim fasts and only eating small salads, and boiled eggs every day. I know that isn't good for the baby...but I am so desperate and so petrified to gain so much weight again. I can understand maybe gaining 5-6 pounds so far in my pregnancy...but this is not right. Please help me. What should I do??? I thought about just trying to maintain what I am currently at...but it seems either I have to lose or gain...nothing in between works. PLEASE don't bash me and tell me I am a bad Mom...I know I am being a little selfish...but I can't seem to stop now that I have started this "diet" Any advice? — Jane S. (posted on April 19, 2005)
April 19, 2005
I completely understand your frustration. I weighed 278 at age 20. I had
my surgery on Feb. 25 2002. Today I got on the scale and weighed 170, I
want to cry I notice the difference in the mirrow and in my clothes. I'm
drinking my atkins shakes and taking natural diet pills from GNC. I'm so
frustrated. I blame it on the stress in my life of going to school and
working two jobs. My sister had the same surgery and she was my support
system and she just passed on Dec 7, so I feel all alone. Just keep eating
healthy for you and your baby avoid lots of carbs and take your vitamins
and do cardio.
Good Luck!
— mamita093
April 19, 2005
I forgot to include what I got down to which is 150 those extra 20 pounds
crept up on me pretty quickly.
— mamita093
April 19, 2005
Hi Jane,
I can imagine how scared you must feel but you need to regain control and
approach this problem logically. First off, you need to go to the doctor
and have everything checked out because you can start to gain water weight
for other reasons during pregnancy. Your weight gain may not be fat.
Secondly, you need to see a good nutritionist who can put you on a
regimented, balanced plan of eating that will preserve your babies health
and prevent you from gaining excessive weight. I know you can stick to it
when you think about what's at stake here. You will have far bigger
problems if your baby isn't receiving adequate nutrition. You don't need
to gain weight to make that happen though. The exercise is really
important. I never understood this until now. Start a gradual walking
program or pregnancy work out. Approach this like a health nut not a
person with an eating disorder and everything will turn out ok. Try not to
panic. You are not a bad mom, your hormones are probably all over the place
and you are tired and scared, but you can do this! Good luck to you and
don't saddle yourself with shame. Empower yourself with knowledge and you
will do great!
Love, Sue
— sueboo
April 19, 2005
Have you lookd at the ingredients in the Slim Fast? Unless they've changed
their formula, that stuff is LOADED with sugar. I'd suggest you get the
South Beach diet book and start following level 2 of that until the baby is
born. It is a good, solid plan that allows a variety of foods and helps us
avoid being hungry. It isn't really like a diet at all but a really
sensible way of eating that will take the weight off and keep it off. I
know that if I was drinking Slim Fast, I'd either be dumping or I'd be
gaining. Example: I started drinking a protein drink (which shall remain
nameless) because it was really good and said it had no sugar. I didn't
check the ingredients carefully until I gained six pounds then I started
checking everything. The second ingredient was dextrose.........SUGAR. I
quit drinking the stuff and the 6 pounds came right off plus I lost two
more. You admitted you weren't following the rules so it sounds like you
know how to do this. Get your mechanics checked and if that is all right,
get on the pouch rules and you'll be fine. Congrats on the baby and I know
you want to do what is best for the baby but for you too.
— scbabe
April 19, 2005
Hi, I can easily relate to the stress, fear, and embarrassment caused by
your weight gain. I am three years plus two months out and I have put on
over 20 pounds in the past five months! A total of almost 30 pounds since
my lowest weight . And; I haven't even been pregnant! I had expected some
bounce back, and quite frankly was okay with those first ten pounds. But
this getting ridiculous. It's almost summer again and the clothes that fit
me perfectly on a November trip to the Caribbean do not come close to
fitting now at all. To be honest with you, I have been reading with more
and more frequency about long termers who are experience the same thing and
WORSE, and have been completely convinced that over time this surgery can,
in fact, be defeated, no matter how good you are for your first year or so.
I started at 314 and by the end of year one was down to less than 160. I
mean, I was goo-oo-od. But, then I guess I just started to fall into some
bad habits and just like the "old" me, was able to get into a
pretty strong case of denial. I would love to get myself checked out by my
doc, but have found myself without benefits. I think that is a very good
start for you though - especially with the baby. Other than that, I have
started to PAY ATTENTION again, to what I put in my mouth, when and how
often things go into my mouth, and how much I am putting into my mouth.
Oh, and I started exercising every day for an hour. Basically? Back to
basics. Down 6 pounds in 9 days, only 23 more until I reach
"goal"! See? I put myself back into a newbie frame of mind - like
coming back to this board daily after a year away. It's working. Good
luck to you! Please email me if you just want share your "new
journey" with someone in the same boat!
— PaulaM
April 19, 2005
Jane, exercise is key here. With me I setteled at about 135 and held that
for over a year. Without changing a thing I gained 20 lbs in just under
three months. I wanted 10 of them, but not the rest. I started
restricting my eating, exercising like crazy and still gained. My weight
leveled off at about 155-160 and I held that for a couple of months. I
scaled back the exercise and quit dieting. No gain. At the end of summer
I started walking 30-45 minutes 5x per week. (throughout the day, not all
at once)and joined WW. In a couple of weeks I was down to about 145-150.
I got lazy again and quit dieting. No gain. So here I sit, just weighed
yesterday at 147. I've started exercizing more, walking more, eating
better. Here's for hoping I lose down to 140, get lazy, quit and not gain.
LOL. Chin up dear, eat healthy, walk walk walk, and after the baby go get
checked out. REbecca
— RebeccaP
April 20, 2005
Dunno nuttin' 'bout birthin' babies here, but I do recognize that pesky old
"all-or-nothing" diet mentality when I see it. Those of us who
forget the past, and reach for old failed diet traps claiming there's
nothing else that can or does work, are doomed to repeat our old mistakes.
Not surprisingly we will see the same (old failed) results. <P>But,
the all-or-nothing thing is just not true. Choices are greater than that.
Consuming dense protein foods, followed by nutritious carbs, and little or
no processed sugar (and avoiding liquid calories), plus regular exercise,
is pretty much what works for many post-ops. Make adjustments to that as
they suit you personally. On the other hand, doing little or no exercise,
and eating a little bit of whatever you like (especially sugar, my
nemesis), left you apparently learning little or nothing about how to
"work" your surgery once the early, relatively easy weight-loss
phase ended, which is what the problem is here IMHO.<P>How about
seeing a nutritionist who specializes in WLS patients, who can guide you
through this challenging period? Given the pregnancy concerns, maybe
that'll keep you from falling into the all-or-nothing trap or engaging in
funky diet behavior that's gotta make you worry about the pregnancy. There
are plenty of healthy options out there, and once the baby's born, you can
decide how to arrange those options more conservatively, later on, to
achieve weight loss.<P> Healthy weight gain (or loss) shouldn't be
confused with unhealthy weight gain (or loss). To be blunt, you're kiddin'
yourself if you think Slimfast, salads, and eggs are gonna get and keep
your weight off at any point. Why bother with WLS, and the tools it gives
you, if you're going to fall into the same old traps that never worked
before?
— Suzy C.
April 20, 2005
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Graduate-OSSG
That's the link for the Grad list. Several have successfully delivered
healthy, happy babies AND lost their "baby wt". Someone there
can guy you to the pregnanacy list and breastfeeding list, as well as help
you thru the nutritional parts now.
— vitalady
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