Jenny12

Congrats on hitting goal! I'm still trying to adjust to maintenance myself. It is a mind bender! I'm terrified of gaining anything back, but I know that small fluctuations are normal. I'm up to about 1600-1700 calories a day (without exercise) and I got on the scale yesterday to find I had lost another pound. This is how maintenance has been for me so far. Having a hard time finding my maintenance calories. Every single time I think I have it figured out, I lose weight.

I don't use Greek yogurt. I hate all yogurt unfortunately. Same for guacamole. I want to like it so badly, but I just don't!

Many people on here will suggest the 5:2 diet to you, so I will let them sing their praises for that. I know it's probably a last resort , but is another surgery an option? The DS maybe? If not, the biggest thing you can do is just be self disciplined. It may take longer to get to goal, but every little ounce of trying your best will eventually get you there. Try to detox off of the carbs, maybe try a paleo type eating plan. Good luck!

Not sure where you are on your food phases (how many carbs you're eating, etc), but I'm a year out and in maintenance. So my grocery lists are a little like this usually: Rotisserie chicken Veggies to make salads Feta cheese for the rotisserie chicken salads Hidden valley ranch packet and light sour cream to make veggie dip Sargento reduced fat Colby Jack string cheese (60 cals) Boars Head turkey pepperoni Fiber One Cereal (I eat this for Breakfast daily now) Skim milk (only for the cereal) Crystal Farms brand three cheese omelets (240 cals) I eat them on occasion, once every two weeks or so A few Amy's brand organic meals (kind of high in sodium, but I like them when I'm in a pinch) High fiber/low carb tortillas Deli meat Luna blueberry/vanilla fiber bars Lots of vegetables Maybe a couple pieces of fruit, but I don't really like fruit, so usually not Ground turkey Chicken breasts for stir frys Brown rice

I never really lost my hunger, but I noticed an obvious increase at 6 months out. Now, I get hungry about two hours after I eat. Kind of annoying, really. I just try to limit my snacking, but I find that I usually have to have an afternoon snack and an evening snack. I want a snack between breakfast and lunch but I can usually talk myself into waiting til lunch.

I weigh daily in the morning, and sometimes at night.

I agree, dressing for men is not true. When I'm buying nice clothes, putting on flattering clothes, doing my hair and makeup, I'm never thinking "I bet this attracts guys!" Even if I'm not thinking it, it's very far from the truth. Looking nice daily has absolutely nothing to do with male attention. Looking nice makes you feel good and more confident....which just makes your day a little happier in my opinion. Makes you not so self conscious. To the OP, I know what you mean about the "stare you up and down" thing, even from women, and it is certainly a little creepy.

I can eat more now than at 6 months. Not a lot, but noticeable.

I'm a year out and I can eat two pieces of a small papa johns pizza at one sitting. You'll probably continue to find that you can eat more than you want to be able to eat. Try to eat clean. This is where the hard part comes in.

Mel, I am so happy to hear things went well and smoothly for you too! I haven't had a single problem. I hope you continue to have the same experience! Keep me posted on your progress!

No, at least not for me. I don't overly chew my food. I eat just like I did before surgery....as far as chewing goes. I probably eat too fast actually, but it hasn't really affected me negatively or anything. I'm a year out and haven't had it overly chew my food for a very long time.

It is a fad diet which involves severe calorie restriction for two non-consecutive days a week and normal eating the other five days, which originated and became popular in the UK, and spread in Europe and to the USA. It is a form of intermittent fasting. Many people here swear by it. I'm not one of them, but to each their own. Hope that answers your question.

I was out a week.

Get off of those pills immediately before you gain even more. From my own experience, the weight just keeps going up. Find a different birth control that won't do that to you. Perhaps one with less hormones. I am extremely sensitive to BC pills and they all made me gain, but I have been on Lo Loestrin Fe for nearly two years now and it does not have that effect on me.

Thank you all for your kind words.

A cheat day, absolutely not. Why cheat for an entire day? Sounds like a big fat recipe for disaster. Cheat meals, yes. Not many, and I made up the calories elsewhere. I did have treats, but healthier treats. Not a Snickers bar.

Read my above reply about the exercise. As for carbs during weight loss, very little. Max of 25 I'd say. I eat much higher than that now to maintain. My dietician and surgeon are very serious about carbs during weight loss.

I cannot really contribute my weight loss success on exercise. During weight loss, honestly, it was very light. Usually only Pilates. And not a lot of it. I was just lucky and don't really have loose skin. I just started doing squats to firm my butt up a little, but otherwise I'm not really flabby anywhere and I have a pretty tight tummy too. I'm about to start running though, but mostly because I have so much energy now and I need to get it out! I know that sounds silly. But starting running will mostly only be because I want to be in the best cardiovascular health. And by the way, I don't encourage others to exercise as little as I did. I have just always been in the mindset of diet 90% and exercise is 10%. It isn't like that for everyone. I think I just got lucky.

I did eat very low carb during the weight loss phase. As I got closer to maintenance, I began adding more carbs so that my body wouldn't freak out once I got to goal and suddenly increased carbs. I did it gradually. I average 130 carbs a day now. My original goal was 125, and I reached that in 10 months. I of course went on to lose 9 more, but I hit my original goal in 10 months.

To the OP, I think a lot of it is genetics. This is just my opinion, but I think there are a LOT of WLS people who do in fact look pretty bad when it's all said and done. Sure, that's better than being super morbidly obese and unhealthy on the verge of death. But.... That also doesn't change the fact that not everyone looks good after such drastic weight loss. They may think they do....but.......hehehe. Like I said, it's better than the alternative. That's why there is plastic surgery I guess. I find the most obvious places to really particularly look bad on a lot of WLS patients is their face.

Highest weight and starting weight: 206 lbs Goal weight: 125 lbs Current weight: 116 lbs I'm 5'2". I consider 116 my new "goal" I guess. I'm happy here and don't want to gain even though it is 9 pounds under my original goal weight. I had surgery January 9, 2013. It took me 10 months to reach original goal of 125. I'm not sure what else got me here besides the sleeve except major determination and willpower.

I had to stop my weight loss on my own. I'm in extra small shirts and size 0 pants. 5'2" and 116 lbs. If I didn't actively try to maintain, I could easily be in a double 0 pants by now (I'm embarrassed actually to say I have one pair of 00 pants!) I am eating 1500 calories right now and no exercise. I'm still slowing losing at 1500 so I'm not sure where I will land. But I'm afraid to start exercise back up because then I will firstly, lose more, and secondly, not really know what my calorie limit is if I do not exercise for a few days.

Fiber One original cereal has been a miracle for me. I was going two weeks with no movement and would then have to take a handful of laxatives for a whole year. Now I eat 1/2 cup fiber one for breakfast and go daily. Can't believe it really works....I'm still amazed!

I take a multi, Vitamin D, Vitamin C, and fish oil. I took all of those except fish oil before surgery too.

I don't really have much advice. Eat as much protein as you can, but I found that it really didn't matter. My hair fell out anyway. It will eventually stop.