17 Months Post-Surgery: Small Weight Gain and Trying Not to Panic

In January, I decided to stop tracking my eating. My intake was so consistent over days and weeks and months that tracking felt useless. I had been planning to update this blog with that information... and now there's some new, less pleasant news. I've re-gained some weight. 

I'm concerned, and trying not to panic or obsess.

Since hitting my lowest weight of minus-50 pounds, my weight has fluctuated within 3 or 4 pounds of that weight. From everything I've read, that is normal. The lowest weight after bariatric surgery is not usually the final destination; most people re-gain about 10% of their total weight loss, and settle there. Since I lost 50 pounds, I thought gaining 3 or 4 was not a big deal. 

But now I've gained a few pounds over that. And this is really scaring me. 

Some people do re-gain weight after gastric sleeve surgery. How much weight, and the cause of the re-gain really varies.

Is this new, slightly higher weight my "true" new weight, and I need to accept that? Or have I been eating too much? Did the few times I was uncomfortably full after eating stretch my stomach pouch? That is possible to do -- but I imagine that everyone who has had bariatric surgery sometimes gets uncomfortably full, while they are still adjusting to their new capacity. How much repeated fullness would it take for the pouch to permanently expand?

These questions are spinning around in my head, and there are no clear answers.

I'm still getting a lot of exercise, and still eating well and healthfully. I have identified a few eating habits that I can tighten up, a few little eating habits that have gotten away from me. Those are easy enough to tweak. But my past experience with the effect of small diet tweaks have on my weight are not at all good.

I guess the only thing I can do is ensure my diet is meeting the post-surgery standards, and try not to obsess on the number. The former, easily done. The latter, a much greater challenge.

June 1 Weigh-In: Reaching a Milestone, Working on Not Being Obsessed

Pounds lost since last weigh-in: 1

Total pounds lost so far: 50

I did it! I lost 50 pounds! I don't know why the difference between 49 pounds and 50 feels so good... but it does!

* * * *

As I inched towards the 50-pound mark, I started weighing myself more frequently and was beginning to obsess again. 

I went back and read this post: What Is My Ideal Weight? Why I Don't Have a Weight Goal. I need to read this frequently. I don't want this experience to turn into a diet trap, the "trying to lose that last 10 pounds" scenario that I struggled with for so many years. 

Here's what I need to do.
1. Buy a few more clothes that fit at the size I am right now.
2. Continue eating and exercising the way I have been.
3. Weigh myself monthly.
4. Stop writing this blog for a while, unless there is a significant change. 

My weight-loss may end at 50 pounds, or it may continue moving slowly but downward. Either way, I want to focus on the positive, and not on losing more weight.

Thank you for reading and for all your support. 

May 1 Weigh-In

Pounds lost since last weigh-in: 2

Total pounds lost so far: 49

I've lost another two pounds and I'm very pleased!

I'm especially pleased because (a) I was mentally preparing myself for a plateau, and (b) we were away for a few days this month, and I ate differently. I didn't overeat -- I can't -- but I did let myself loosen the reins a bit on food choices. I was prepared to declare this worth it, even if it slowed down my weight loss for one month. 85% thinking, right? But I despite this, I lost two more pounds. Yay!

I am now 11 pounds away from my "soft goal" weight.

That weight, by the way, is still 20 pounds more than my supposedly ideal weight. But that weight -- 70 pounds lost -- does not seem possible or sustainable. So I'm sticking with current weight minus 10 as my "soft goal". 

But if I don't lose another 11 pounds, I'm fine with that. I promise. I'm feeling so good, and losing (almost) 50 pounds permanently is reward enough.

April 1 Weigh-In

Pounds lost since last weigh-in: 2

Total pounds lost so far: 47

It seems my weight loss has now slowed to my "normal" rate, what I was capable of losing if I hadn't had surgery -- 0.5 pounds per week, or 2 pounds per month. The difference, however, is that in the past, those 2 pounds meant being hungry all the time -- literally all the time -- which would ultimately make the diet unsustainable.

I do feel disappointed that I didn't lose 5 pounds over the past month, as I had in previous months. But I have to move beyond that. I'm eating very healthfully, not overeating, getting more exercise than I ever have, and feeling really well. My fasting blood glucose level is back to normal. I must focus on the larger picture, and consciously not focus on the number on the scale.

Is this the beginning of the end, the signal that I will soon plateau at a new weight? Or will I continue losing 2 pounds per month? 

My secret goal weight, my "soft goal," is 13 pounds away. Most people who've had this surgery lose weight for 12-18 months, so it's possible. But I want to prepare myself mentally that it might not happen.

March 1 Weigh-In

Pounds lost since last weigh-in: 5

Total pounds lost so far: 45

February 1 Weigh-In

Pounds lost since last weigh-in: 5

Total pounds lost so far: 40

My weight loss has slowed, but the rate is still twice what I'd typically lose in the past. I'm mentally preparing myself that future weigh-ins may show only one or two pounds per month. That's why I'm doing monthly weigh-ins, instead of weekly.

I wish there was a way to know where my weight will settle, how much I'll lose altogether. But there is no way to predict. So, I'll just be happy in the moment. 

Forty pounds! Pretty cool.

January 1 Weigh-In

Pounds lost since last weigh-in: 7

Total pounds lost so far: 35

I'm very pleased. Losing seven pounds in one month is amazing to me. When I dieted in the past, a half-pound per week, or 2 pounds per month, was the most I could hope for. Even if the weight loss slows down more, I'll still be happy. Weight loss after surgery is supposed to continue for 12 to 18 months. I have time.

Also, Happy New Year! Thanks for reading, and for your support.

December 1 Weigh-In

I lost 28 pounds.

Wow. 

The hair stylist I mentioned in this post -- who used to be very heavy -- estimated I lost 30 pounds, but I couldn't believe that would be true. She was right!

Wow.