Help..way off track 5 years out? Anyone else had this?

I agree with the above poster take time to find out why you had the regain.  I regained all of my weight after a lap band procedure that helped take 50lbs off me.  I regained it all back because I went back to my same old habits.  Starbucks in the morning, cookies at bedtime, chips in the afternoon.  Before I went to my doc and said lets revise to VSG I had to have a come to Jesus with myself and find out what was wrong with me.

I decided my primary issue was sugar/carbs.  For me I'd start the day off with them, and just continue with my carb crazed addiction all day.  I never overate like those "fat" people on tv! In my I'm ignoring this brian I was able to say to myself you're not going to gain weight with this one cookie, or this bag of chips, or this whatever it was.  I somehow rationalized that I wasn't overeating because I wasn't taking down a carton of ice cream, a SAMs size bag of chips, or a 12 pack of sodas.  

But I had to get real with myself.  In one day having a Starbucks latte with 60gms of sugar, chips and salsa at the mexican restaurant at lunch, pizza for dinner, and cookies before bed is no way to try and maintain much less loose weight.  So when I got real with myself I had to put a hard stop on all of those foods and decide those foods were going to cause me health problems associated with my weight.  I've stopped them all and will not be returning to them.  They are an addiction just like smoking or alcohol can be. Once I decided that, things have been better.  I am just not able to control myself with those sugar/carb high foods.  On my current 800 calorie plan there isn't any room for them anyhow! 

Be happy you stopped this train at 40lbs and not more.  Be kind to yourself and be honest.  Write down the foods that cause you trouble and then make a plan to remove them for a specific duration of time.  I choose a year because for some of the foods I couldn't imagine never eating them again, so I said fine, then for 1 year post op you will not lay your hands on these items.  Once that year has passed you can reevaluate your decision about cupcakes but not until then.  I did vegetarian for a year and that was really helpful and I found a lot of new dishes and new veggies I never knew I liked.  I can do almost anything for only one year.  My hope is after a year without that silliness I won't even care or the benefits of weighing less will be enough to say no to them for as long as necessary.  :-)

What is a 5 day pouch test??

If you use the magnifying glass (search feature) & type the words 5 day pouch test, you'll see plenty of posts on the subject.

One version is that its basically a mini version of the stages that we went thru after surgery. Starting from liquids to purees,to soft foods to dense protein. I believe the original test was to test the fullness/restriction for people with pouches, but sleevers have decided to use a modified version of the test for themselves.

The problem as I see it, is the constant resetting or the constant need to mentally get back in the game by mimicking something that was only done right after surgery because we were healing from it.

An occasional mental reset becomes a diet/fad pretty quickly when one does it everytime they gain back a few pounds or they get off track. Instead of embracing the lifestyle change wls requires, it's like trying to recapture the moment/feeling when they could only eat a couple of bites of food & feel full, its a fleeting feeling & the work needed to lose the weight kicks in. No more magical moments sadly.

Getting to goal takes work to get there & stay there, but some still need the mental reset to get back to work. 

Many people have weighed in on their opinion of the 5 day pouch test. I am not here to debate whether it is a "diet" or a restart or a fad. I am just going to give you my honest report of what it did for ME.

I had surgery 2 1/2 years ago. Weight come off slow but steady (I was 52, post menopause and I guess considered a lightweight at 235). I almost reached goal in a few months, but started eating foods I should not have....we all know, individually, what foods we are prisoners to. I stopped tracking, stopped weighing myself (hello red flag!!!) and was in complete denial, until none of pants fit any more.

Every day I vowed to stop with the junk, eat less...yada yada. And every day by 9 am, I had eaten something I should not have only to convince myself that TOMORROW I will be better. Every night I would lay in bed, beating myself up and convinced I was a failure.

I had read about the 5 day pouch test way back when and remember thinking....I will NEVER be one of those people! Well I am...was...whatever. I figured what the heck...worth a try. OMG....did it change everything. I am not saying it was the 5DPT, I am saying it did someth;ing to MY psyche. It literally empowered me, gave me hope, put me back in the "I can do anything" mode.

I needed to detox all the carbs and the healthiest way I could think of was protein shakes (because I knew if I tried food I would put more on my plate, add ONLY a half  roll or scoop of potatoes...I just knew my past history). I do not enjoy protein shakes...so it was very difficult to drink them, but that was part of the success. I did not over eat or eat anything for that matter. I was very strict and took it to a week vs 5 days. On day 6 I very slowly introduced dense protein and healthy vegetables. Let me tell how GREAT that healthy food tasted after 5 days of shakes.  It has been almost 30 days and I have lost 16 pounds (water...probably...yes ...but pants are loose), feel fantastic and have ZERO carb cravings.

Many people can get back on track just skipping the 5DPT and go back to the dense protein first, that healthy way of eating that we were introduced to after surgery. That did not work for me. I needed a MIND reset. So far, I am happy with my choice.

You have to do what your mind and body tell you to do. The people's opinion and advise on this board should not be ignored. There are so many veterans and newbies that have such valuable information about their personal journeys.....but you are you and you know your mind and body better than anyone.

Good luck in your new journey. You are strong, you are determined and you can do it!

go to the vsg maintenance group (see my signature). read posts by Kairk.  he has dealt with this effectively and has good insights.    diane s