Quick rebound after failing your diet

The beginning is easy

It all started like a fairy tale. It was all so easy, so smooth, so straightforward. Failing your diet seemed almost impossible. There was no need to focus much on anything. The food simply didn’t fit in, you had severe restriction, and you were literally scared to eat, so you followed your diet as it was supposed to be.

A few months later you found yourself eating things here and there, going out, some pizza here, croissant with coffee there, but it all seemed under control. What bad could happen, right? It was a small exception, a small joy in your dull life of eating meat and veggies all the time. And before you knew it… 5 kilos up!

Nasty wake-up call

“WHAT??? How is it possible? I didn’t do anything bad! This is unfair!” I guess this is the very first thought that crossed your mind. This should never have happened. The surgery is a fake, it doesn’t work! You should be still losing and now this! A complete opposite of what you were hoping for.

Ok… things happened. You gained some weight back. Yes, I get it, it is mind-blowing, you feel like the biggest failure in the world, everybody will know, and they will judge you and laugh at you. They were right. It was complete nonsense to undergo surgery to lose weight, you will gain it all back again in the end. It has already started.

First, breathe…

Right. So before you indulge in this inevitable stream of thoughts that will flood your head and make a complete mess there, stop and think. But first of all, process your emotions. I get it, it is HARD. Like VERY hard. All I can tell you is that thinking with your head completely messed up with emotions, never brought anything good and it will be the same again.

So first breathe out a little the anger, the disappointment, and fear. It is acceptable they are there, they flooded you like a tsunami and they are making up the worst possible scenarios. I have good news for you, it is unlikely they will happen. Just calm down.

Assess the situation

The first step is to sit down and think about what happened. “I gained 5 kilos, that is creepy!” Completely understandable. But how did it happen? What did you do? And be brutally honest with yourself. The best idea is to take out a sheet of paper and write it all down. Did you follow your diet? Did you do your exercise? Are you taking your vitamins? What about protein? Are you drinking enough liquids? And no, orange juice doesn’t count there much.

I am convinced that your paper started to fill up quickly. A little here and a little there, the exception that became a seemingly innocent habit. Cutting corners with exercise, skipping your protein, the list goes on. Can you see it? And that’s the point.

The harsh reality

It is not the surgery that is failing you. It is you failing the surgery. They told you this a million times over. The surgery works if you work. And now the crucial question: Are you putting in all the required work? Are you doing what they asked you to do? Again, be honest. Yup, there is the problem.
So now what?

Well, no need to beat yourself bloody. Things happened. You gained some weight. But it is not the end of the day. It happened to many people. Take it as a learning experience. I know it is hard and you are freaking out, but it is ok, trust me.

You have identified what led you to this point. So you are halfway back on track. If you know what happened, you can easily repair the damage. There is no need to go back to a liquid diet and torture yourself with the initial stages after the bariatric surgery. Just go back to doing what is required and be patient. The weight will correct itself. You will lose it again. But don’t expect that things will happen in a week.

State of deep despair

It is crystal clear that you feel all the emotions, they are coming in waves and they are burying you meters deep. It is ok. I swear many of bari patients have been there and have gone through this stage. We all have thought we had things under control, that we were doing things more or less, and that it was good enough. The wake-up call was the same for everyone. It happened to me too. I confess.

It will likely happen to almost everyone at some point. We are people, we are not machines and we are not perfect. The only question in this story is: How fast can you get back on track and repair the damage? The sooner you start, the shorter the way back will be. This is obvious. So don’t wait and start now!

It is not that bad

What doesn’t help at all is this all-or-nothing thinking. “I gained some weight, so it is not worth it to keep fighting, I messed it all up and I am doomed.” Don’t do it. It will only make things worse and you are throwing away everything good that is left. Take it all as a starting stepping stone and go on building up again the castle.

It may seem to you that you are building something over a ruined city, but the bases are still there. Don’t allow them to disappear altogether. The longer you wait, the bigger the damage. The more you will forget your new good habits and you will have to start building them all over again. Don’t let this happen.

It is ok to slip. None of us is perfect. The crucial difference between those who were able to lose again the newly gained weight and those who failed completely and gained all the weight back and some more is, that the first ones were willing to accept what happened and that it was their fault, their mishap and they actively did things to recover the previous lower weight.

It is all about you

It is not easy, you have to swallow your ego, stop blaming everyone and everything around you, and accept what happened, and that you are to blame. This is the first stepping stone and you start building again. You can do that. Why? Because you had done it before and it was there. So why not now? You have the skills and you have the knowledge. Use it and things will be fine again.

Bariatric surgery is a wonderful tool to help us to have our weight under control. But it is the problem. It is a tool. It is good to nothing if it is lying around and we don’t use it. To be a successful loser long term, we have to use our tools. The castle won’t build itself. It is we who have to put the work in. And once we do, we might even surprise ourselves with how great our new reality can be.

Don’t give up on yourself. You have come this far. Pick up what is left and start over again. You can do that!