Have you never reached your weight loss goal post-bariatric surgery?  What were your reasons? 

• Was your diet the issue?
• Did you get more active post-surgery?
• Was it due to stress?
• The pandemic?
• Did you reach the goal and then slowly gained some back?
• What was your story?  I want to know your “why”.

I also want to give you some suggestions on how to get back on track and reach that goal of yours. 

Most of the time, your tool is still intact.  Is it your diet that has derailed you?  We have total control every single day. We decide what goes into our meals and our mouths.  Sometimes we just need a gentle nudge to get things moving again.

I find that the easiest way to stall the scale or to experience regain is to add back snacks and grazing.  If we are all eating 3 meals a day without snacks, it is very hard to gain weight.  The pouch is there to restrict portion size.  This is like an internal brake but, if we continue eating between meals, this is when it gets tricky.

If we are eating 3 meals a day and feeding ourselves between meals, it becomes very easy to gain weight.  Sure, we are eating more calories, but we are also raising blood sugars and insulin levels every time we put something into our mouths.  High insulin levels make it much harder to lose weight.

If high insulin levels make it harder to lose weight, what happens if we have beautiful low levels of insulin?  BINGO – it makes it easier to lose weight.

So, let’s try to keep those insulin levels lowered if we are planning on jumping back on the weight loss train. 

How do we keep insulin levels lower?  We choose wisely when we eat our meals, and we don’t continuously snack and graze throughout the day. Our meals will consist of protein, fiber, and healthy fat.  With a plate that looks this way, insulin levels will remain steady or slightly elevated.  We feed ourselves correctly and set ourselves up for weight loss success.

I often receive text messages, and emails from my clients who have experienced a regain or scale stall.  They are very worried and unsure as to what to do.  I always say, “look to your diet”.  The answers are there.

If it is a regular post-op 3-week stall.  There is nothing to do but push through it.  It is normal.  But, if you are a year post-op, not at your goal, and the scall has stalled for two months… it’s your diet.  It’s time to tweak it and start logging everything you are consuming.  The answers are there.  You just need to search a bit for them.

I often post food plans that you can try to get the scale moving again. I’ve attached 3 links to those meal plans.  I encourage you to take a look at them and choose one of them to get back on track.  Sometimes, keeping things super simple, will break a stall and kick regain to the curb.

Sheri’s Slim Down Summer Plan – Bariatric Edition

Free Ketogenic 6 day Bariatric Menu – Bariatric Edition

Re – New Your Bariatric Commitment Meal Plan

If you choose to try one of my simple meal plans, reach out and let me know about it.  I can help you to stay accountable along the way.

Healthy Hugs.

Ever hear the expression “skinny shaming”?  I bet that most of us would be tickled pink to be skinny-shamed.  What concerns me more is how it affects us and what it does to our weight loss goals.

Let’s paint the picture.  Mary has bariatric surgery.  She starts out at 245 pounds. She’s 45 and stands 5’6” tall. 

4 months post-op, Mary is doing GREAT!!  She’s just approached onederland.  She now weighs 197 pounds.  She is feeling fabulous.  She’s off her blood pressure medications and her anti-depression meds.  She’s started a walking program with some yoga classes twice a week. She’s sleeping better, happier overall and she has almost no pain in her joints.

Mary bumps into Karen.  Karen looks her up and down and says “WOAH, you have lost some weight Mary”.  Mary smiles and says, “thanks so much”.  ‘

Karen then says “be careful because you are looking very thin.  You can start to look older or sickly if you lose any more”. 

Like WTH?!?! 

Why do people say/ do this to their friends/ relatives? 

It’s obvious that Mary is not yet at her goal weight.  She set her goal at 150 pounds.  That’s 48 pounds away.  Mary starts to worry that she is looking old, sickly, unwell.  She is still in the “obese range” for her BMI so she starts to feel confused. 

Next stop. Mary picks up her son at school.  The teacher who is organizing pick-ups that day, Dolly, mentions to Mary that she is looking great!  Then she says something else.  She asks Mary if she is planning on losing any more weight.  Mary proudly says, “just 48 pounds more to go”.   Dolly leans in and says “be careful because you are looking awfully tiny. Plus, if we get too lean all our wrinkles show”. 

Mary pulls away from the curb and thinks to herself, “maybe I should have ordered that Frappuccino instead of the plain coffee with cream this morning.

BAM – see what happened there?  Karen and Dolly maybe have just sabotaged Mary’s weight loss efforts.

Mary orders the Frappuccino the next day.  She orders it the next day also.

Hmmmm, her weight loss has stalled out a bit?  What’s going on? 

Not only has she switched her morning coffee routine, but she’s also started to join her regular work crew at the “snack table” at 11 am.  What’s the damage that a cookie or two will do? 

….. and this is exactly how it starts.

Why am I telling you this story?  I want to talk about it.  I want to put it out there because if this has not yet happened to you, it WILL.  I promise. 

I also want to put it out there because it’s happened to me personally.  I know what my perfect weight is.  It’s the place where my hips don’t hurt, and I feel great in my own skin.  I feel more energetic, I sleep better, and I want to do more activities.  If my 140 pounds at my 5’7’’ height bothers you, then look away.  What else can I say? 

Skinny shaming isn’t exclusive to the weight loss surgery community.  It also belongs to anyone who loses weight with diet or exercise.  It’s out there and it is playing with people’s heads.

Skinny shaming leads to regaining.  I guarantee you that if you get two “you look too skinny” remarks, no matter what your weight is, those French fries start to look really good!  Donuts? Sure, why not?  “I’m skinny anyways”. 

Please beware.  Put on some blinders and don’t allow those skinny shamers to ruin your road to GOAL.  It’s like a speed bump that is placed in front of you when you are cruising along.  Jump over it and just continue along your way. 

If it’s happened to you, and you want to vent, hit me up.  I get it.  I can set you straight again.

Healthy Hugs