I had my Duodenal Switch weight loss surgery 3 years ago. Last year at my two-year follow up, they said, "You are at goal, you should stop losing weight now." Then in the week following, I lost another 5 pounds, so they put me on digestive enzymes. I lost ANOTHER 5 pounds while we adjusted how much of the (ridiculously expensive) enzymes I needed. I maintained for 2 weeks.
Then we went into the Christmas Season, full of treats and lots of eating. I felt I had free reign to eat "whatever I want", since I was in danger of continuing to lose too much weight. Well, by January 1st I had gained back that extra 10 below goal weight, and was back to "goal." I backed off the enzymes, taking none for a few weeks to see what happened. I maintained, so I stayed off them. But I was still in the "I can eat anything" mind-set. I had incorporated a lot more sugar and starches into my diet than I had been eating in the 2 years prior. Slowly that has had an effect. In addition to the added carbohydrates I was taking in, I was also being more social, going to more parties and therefore drinking more booze. All of these extra "empty" calories has lead to a gain of another 15 pounds over the last year. Meaning, I am 15 above goal and 25 above my lowest weight! I cannot let this continue!
I decided I would go off starches for the week, just this week Monday through Friday. I forgot what it was like to feel like an addict. I have been "having what I want" for so long, than I didn't notice it might be some addictive behavior. BUT, I notice that I am seriously craving the starches now that I have deemed them off limits. Even when I am NOT at all hungry, I am fantasizing about bread!
I have always HATED feeling like I am on a diet. Right now I am feeling like I am "dieting", though I have no quantity limits in mind for my eating. I can eat as much meat, eggs, cheese fish, and veggies as I want. I am also allowing myself 1 -2 pieces of fruit and some beans / edemame / soynuts and other nuts. These have higher carb content, but also have good fiber, and other than the fruit, have decent protein along with the carbs. Most important to me is staying away from bread, rice, pasta etc. But I sure love bread, rice, pasta, tortillas.
So, I am noticing a bit of obsessing, and acknowledging to myself, yes, these things *are* addictive to me. I think I can have them back in my food plan once I am back at goal. I just need to be a little more moderate than I have been, and pay closer attention to my protein, veggie intake, and keep bread etc to just 1-2 servings a day, rather than 1-2 servings per meal, as I was in the habit for a while.
Also, I need to get more exercise. I am getting a little bit of walking in, but no real cardio to speak of. And definitely no strength training. I have a few friends that are available to go to the gym, so I will probably take them up on it. While I would rather work out in the morning, but being obligated to someone else helps me not flake out, so that might be worth going in the evening. In the end, going is better than not going.
In the past, I would have really beaten myself up over gaining a bit of weight. But things are different for me now. It's really quite common for most weight loss surgery patients to gain back 10-20 percent of the weight lost. I also know I still have my tool, and I can use it to drop those pounds easier than the average woman on the street. Surgery is not an "easy fix", it still requires I take care of business for the rest of my life. Yes, there is a wonderful honeymoon period when everything is easy, requires little effort. Well, my honeymoon is over and now it's time to behave like the average person .... most adults have to watch what they eat. Hopefully most of them just have to pay attention, be moderate and not go crazy and they do just fine maintaining a healthy weight. They can have occasional indulgences with little ill effect because they are diligent most of the time with making healthy choices. I can do that too. Once I am back at goal, I am completely confident that I won't need to constantly "diet". I will need to be mindful and make healthy choices most of the time. And occasionally I can have a treat. I have always said what I wanted was to be normal.
Well, this is what normal looks like.
