Many of our bariatric doctors will tell us that we can “expect” a 10% regain after a couple of years.  Most of us conveniently forget we ever heard, or read, those words anywhere, as we get to the point in our journey where we are at our goal weight loving our new life, and all it means to us. 

Then something happens.  Whether we “forget” that we are weight loss surgery patients, or just get complacent in all of our daily actions, and no longer track our food, water, or exercise, the ounces start creeping back on. 

If we remain in our Lifetime Maintenance Range (our goal weight +/- 5 pounds) all is good.  It’s when that 5 pounds more becomes 10 pounds more and… well you get the picture; we are now in a bit of trouble.  Suddenly we find ourselves 10, 20 or 30 pounds higher than our goal weight, or even our lowest weight to date if we haven’t ever reached goal.  What do many of us do?  We go hide because we don’t want anyone to know that we have “failed”.  I hear over and over again these words:  “I am embarrassed to go see my doctor or my nutritionist; I am so disappointed in myself; “this works for everyone else, but not for me - I am a failure.” These words, and this negative self-talk, will get us nowhere.  All they do is to set us up to continue to struggle, lose faith and belief in ourselves, our weight loss surgery tools, and the process.  This post weight loss surgery life is a journey, and like all journeys will have its high and its low points.

What if you changed the voices in your head?  What if, instead of saying I am ashamed, I am embarrassed; I am disappointed in me you were to say: 

• I want to lose the weight I have gained
• I want to be healthy
• I can change my daily behaviors
• I need help
• I need support
• I have kept off xxx pounds and I am a success
• I can continue my success

How would those words effect your actions?  How do they sound in your head?  To me they are not only kinder and gentler words, but also empowering thoughts and phrases. 

I have been fighting with a regain which varied from 5 pounds over my lifetime maintenance range to as much as 30 pounds since 2013.  The very first thing I did was notice I was hungrier, eating larger portions easily and in retrospect making food choices that weren’t the best.  The next thing I did was clean up my food to include protein and low carb vegetables, and within a couple of days much of the hunger went away, as did a couple of the pounds.  I did this several times over the course of a few months and would go up and down 5-10 pounds.  This was crazy.  For 10 years I had kept it all together, and something was different now.  I called and made an appointment to see my bariatric surgeon and we started the process of figuring out what was going on.

I have told the story of ME over the past year, and now I have a new band, and I am steadily losing that 30 pound gain.  My lowest recorded weight is back in sight again, and when I get there I will re-evaluate.

My point in recounting my story is twofold:

• First, there is NO SHAME in regain.  It can happen to anyone.  Start by seeing your bariatric doc and making sure all is as it should be with your WLS tool.
• Second, there is NO SHAME in needing help to refocus on YOU as your priority on your journey to health.  We all need help and it takes different forms.  We need education, support and coaching from not only our other WLS friends, our family, but from trained professionals who can help us change our daily behaviors.  Is that your bariatric doctor?  Your dietician?  Your counselor?  Or, our WLS Success Matters BACK ON TRACK program?  Only you have that answer.  It could be all of the above.

The important thing here is to get that YOU ARE POSSIBLE and YOU CAN DO IT!