Obesity Discussion Forums

[Aries]

Hey,
I'm a 33 year old woman from Belgium.I've found this forum because my life is turning into pmy worst nightmare. 10 Years ago I had a gastric bypass.I lost over 50 kilo's.I also had plastic surgerey on my belly and stomach(to much skin due to losing weight).
Now i gained 15 kilo's in the last 8 months!!!! And my life hasn't changed.
I mean,i can eat only the same amount of food since the surgery. I have been to several doctors and guess what there answer is....go on a diet!
That's the last thing i can do, cause i can hardly eat anything now.
Are there people out there who have (or had) the same problem. I seem to be the only one at the moment,it's like nobody can help me.
Ant suggestions that anyone has,please tell me,cause I'm getting very depressed and I would rather die than be fat again.
Please help me?

[Obesity Discussion]

Now correct me if I'm wrong, but you've been eating the same amount of food ever since you had the surgery, you started off by losing weight, and all of a sudden with no changes to your lifestyle you've gained 15 kg? Welcome to the site by the way!

[sass63]

I had a gastric RNY in 1999 and I lost a lot then gained but that was do to eating habits,
I also just had the skin removal this past Dec and have had nothing but complications from that.

Do you measure your food or just eye ball it?
Do you nibble at all through the day?

I found myself doing those things and not realizing just how much extra I was eating.

[Aries]

Exactly,I have no idea why this is happening.And I have to nibble through the day,
a normal meal is to much.So I have 2 or 3 bites of something en a while later the same.
It's the only way.

[Obesity Discussion]

Originally Posted by Aries

Exactly,I have no idea why this is happening.And I have to nibble through the day,
a normal meal is to much.So I have 2 or 3 bites of something en a while later the same.
It's the only way.

Would you mind walking us through an example of what you'd eat in a typical day? This would help us get a better idea of what you're going through.

[Aries]

I have a cup of coffee with 2 slices of bread or i have a bowl of cereal.I hav a yoghurt befetween 10 and 11 AM.For lunch i have 2 slices of bread with spread on it( non fat) and one slice of cheese.During the afternoon if I get cravings I eat anothe yoghurt or sultana cookie.(dry cracker with fruit in it). For dinner I try and eat some chicken or pasta.This is hard,cause the moment i eat just a boit to much,I have to throw up.I have trouble with meat products.After dinner I have another coffee or a light dessert or yoghurt.I really don't think this is to much that I am eating.A normal person eats more then this right? Also I must ad that I am always very tired.I have no idea why,I sleep all night and still I feel tired.It's like I my body won't wake up?
You think this is related to my weight gain?

[bigdaddy38]

Originally Posted by Aries

I have a cup of coffee with 2 slices of bread or i have a bowl of cereal.I hav a yoghurt befetween 10 and 11 AM.For lunch i have 2 slices of bread with spread on it( non fat) and one slice of cheese.During the afternoon if I get cravings I eat anothe yoghurt or sultana cookie.(dry cracker with fruit in it). For dinner I try and eat some chicken or pasta.This is hard,cause the moment i eat just a boit to much,I have to throw up.I have trouble with meat products.After dinner I have another coffee or a light dessert or yoghurt.I really don't think this is to much that I am eating.A normal person eats more then this right? Also I must ad that I am always very tired.I have no idea why,I sleep all night and still I feel tired.It's like I my body won't wake up?
You think this is related to my weight gain?

a couple reasons your feeling tired, one is that coffee revs you up for about 15-20 minutes and then drops you like a bad habit so you will feel even worse then before you had the coffee, also if depending on your weight you may have sleep apnea, sometimes you have it and don't even know, I did not know I had it until It got so bad I would wake up gasping for air, once I got diagnosed and got a bipap sleep machine I felt like a new man.

[jblack]

Originally Posted by Aries

Exactly,I have no idea why this is happening.And I have to nibble through the day,
a normal meal is to much.So I have 2 or 3 bites of something en a while later the same.
It's the only way.

Maybe I am weird, but I can't do that... I had RnY almost a year ago, and eat small meals only twice a day (lunch and dinner), but am simply not hungry much at all between 12 and ~5:30 each day.

I am NEVER hungry anytime in the morning, no matter if I get up at 8 or 10.


Although, even before surgery, I was never a breakfast eater and seldom was hungry before lunch time.

[cynskin]

It does seem odd that you gained weight after 10 years of maintaining a weight loss and not changing your eating habits. How ever that might be what you need. You are right in that the amount of food is not a lot. I do think there is a change in YOU in 10 years and your metabolisim. You may want to stop eating the crackers and eating more protein. Do you eat fruits and vegetables? Do you excersise? I am 46 and I the weight loss comes off a lot slower than it used to!!!!

[victoriac7]

I am 2 years out and feel the same way I am always hungry and I always want and things that I should not eat/ I lost 100 lbs and started gainged I have gained 15 lbs and I can't get back on tract and I still need to loose 50 more lbs I am still obease
Nothing is helping me I which I could go for the new ROSE procedure to tighten up the poch I have been researching this and I want it badly But my surgeon does not do it and insurance does not cover I feel your pain

[cynskin]

Well I think after hearing and reading a lot of stories from people that I am just going for the bypass. None of that adjustment stuff and and it does do some thing to your horemones in stopping to send signals of hunger to your brain. The success rate is higher, the weight loss is greater and the prep time is less.....There's more I know. I was going to get the band simply because it was removable. Well so is this form of by pass. Short-limbed Roux-en-Y Gastroenterostomy. So that's it.

[monique]

Cynskin, it seems like if you lost 20 pounds since December and are only 85 pounds overweight you could just keep doing what you're doing and be at your goal within 2 years. If you kicked it up a notch to lose 2 pounds per week you could be at your goal in 42 weeks which is probably the soonest you could have and then recover from surgery anyway. Just my two cents, but WLS surgery seems a bit extreme for someone only weighing 220 pounds. You're not even "morbidly" obese.

~Monique

[Jasmine130]

I agree -- Aries, you might want to back off on the carbs and increase your protein. I'm 21 months out from gastric bypass as of today. I'm eating 1300-1400 cals/day, 80-100 grams of protein therein.

Also wondering, are you drinking with your meals? You probably know that will cause your pouch to empty much sooner and lead you to feel hungry.

For me, even at 21 months, I still have restriction such that when I'm careful to eat my dense proteins first, especially chicken! -- it's all I can do to finish my portion.

[Jasmine130]

That is a good point about the hormones Cynskin. It appears that one of the helpful side effects is the decrease in the release of ghrelin, a hormone that stimulates hunger. Most of the cells that release ghrelin are removed when the stomach is cut to create a small pouch.

For many people, eventually hunger returns. I am one of those whose hunger was "turned off" when I had my gastric bypass. I have not since had hunger pangs or growling tummy. I eat 3 meals and 3 snax per day but in the rare instances I have not regularly eaten, I get a sort of "body hunger" that clues me into my need for nourishment.

[Jasmine130]

Another thought I had, Cynskin. Do you record your caloric intake? I was a pro at underestimating portion sizes and calories and started using FitDay.com (sparkpeople and dailyplate are good too). No guesstimating for me anymore, it really keeps me grounded in reality.

[johnita36]

Cynskin I'm with Monique on this I don't think I'd do weight loss surgery with only 85 pounds to loose. In fact from some things I've read I don't know if you could get approved for it or not with only needing to loose 85 pounds, I think I had read somewhere you need to be at least 100 pounds overweight but I could be wrong on that and each Doctor could be different to what their requirements or for the surgery.

I wish you the best in which ever way you decide is the best for you to loose the weight you want to loose.


Johnita

[victoriac7]

Well to be approved for gastric bypass you have to have over 100 lbs to loose I thought

[Obesity Discussion]

Originally Posted by Aries

I have a cup of coffee with 2 slices of bread or i have a bowl of cereal.I hav a yoghurt befetween 10 and 11 AM.For lunch i have 2 slices of bread with spread on it( non fat) and one slice of cheese.During the afternoon if I get cravings I eat anothe yoghurt or sultana cookie.(dry cracker with fruit in it). For dinner I try and eat some chicken or pasta.This is hard,cause the moment i eat just a boit to much,I have to throw up.I have trouble with meat products.After dinner I have another coffee or a light dessert or yoghurt.I really don't think this is to much that I am eating.A normal person eats more then this right? Also I must ad that I am always very tired.I have no idea why,I sleep all night and still I feel tired.It's like I my body won't wake up?
You think this is related to my weight gain?

I do see a lot of simple carbs involved which aren't the best in any eating plan, as they leave you feeling hungry again shortly. I'm sorry to hear you're having all these problems with certain types of foods, did you ever see your doctor about this?

[Obesity Discussion]

Originally Posted by cynskin

Well I think after hearing and reading a lot of stories from people that I am just going for the bypass. None of that adjustment stuff and and it does do some thing to your horemones in stopping to send signals of hunger to your brain. The success rate is higher, the weight loss is greater and the prep time is less.....There's more I know. I was going to get the band simply because it was removable. Well so is this form of by pass. Short-limbed Roux-en-Y Gastroenterostomy. So that's it.

Well I wish you the best of luck with it...this is the most common procedure performed, and is very popular due to its low side effects and mortality rates.

The one thing I try to remind people, is that this isn't an end all process. This is not an escape or a work around to eating healthy and with control.

You're going to have to change your eating habits before the surgery, and you will still have to do so afterwards. The surgery will help you with your cravings in the short term, however you will have to change eating habits permanently. The number one reason for people gaining weight back after surgery was that they went back to their old eating habits, and were surprised because they thought the surgery would cure this forever. It doesn't.


Keep us posted on the whole approval process and surgery, and I wish you the best of luck!!

[cynskin]

I absolutely agree. I have been changing my eating habits slowly. I say slowly because (if anyone can relate) I usually want to diet and start it NOW. What ever it is I am impatient and impulsively will go about things. I had to go through the I Can Change Program through my insurance co. That made me wait and think and change. I have a long way to go but smaller steps lead to longer roads. The only think left for me to work on is getting rid of the caffine. I don't have coffee every day any more but I still need to let it go. Thanks for the advice!