Oliver's Mom

I add a little bit of Oikos greek yogurt dip and a spoonful of Pickle Juice.< /p>

Funny. I've never considered myself lying nor have a felt guilty about my answer. I don't expect people to tell me all the intimate details of their lives nor do I need to share mine.

To tell or not to tell! Such a personal decision.

Great thread. We are all on this journey together but at the same time taking this journey alone. Our bodies are all different - it's not a good thing to constantly compare yourself to others. Compare yourself to your past attempts at weight loss. We've all tried over and over again to lose weight. I lose, I stay the same, I again back a lb and the next day I'm down, I decided if I follow the plan given to me, it will work and my body will decide when the lbs come off and when it stays the same. Wishing all of us a wonderful 2013.

Great thread. We are all on this journey together but at the same time taking this journey alone. Our bodies are all different - it's not a good thing to constantly compare yourself to others. Compare yourself to your past attempts at weight loss. We've all tried over and over again to lose weight. I lose, I stay the same, I again back a lb and the next day I'm down, I decided if I follow the plan given to me, it will work and my body will decide when the lbs come off and when it stays the same. Wishing all of us a wonderful 2013.

I have gained back 8 lbs. I blame this on both my allowing carbs back into my diet & not exercising for 6 months due to should surgery recovery. I got un-motivated after 4 weeks of not being able to really doing anything & then continued not even walking. It's funny how 8 lbs seems like 80. My clothes still fit, but a little tighter in the waist.
I never stopped tracking my food intake on MyFitnessPal - and only was eating 1300-1400 calls a day. I think I must be hyper carb sensitive.
SO today - I AM RECOMMITTING. I put it in caps to emphasize to myself that I am dedicated. I haven't been on this site for a while and now will follow this thread and other veteran threads. Thank you for starting this.

I have gained back 8 lbs. I blame this on both my allowing carbs back into my diet & not exercising for 6 months due to should surgery recovery. I got un-motivated after 4 weeks of not being able to really doing anything & then continued not even walking. It's funny how 8 lbs seems like 80. My clothes still fit, but a little tighter in the waist.
I never stopped tracking my food intake on MyFitnessPal - and only was eating 1300-1400 calls a day. I think I must be hyper carb sensitive.
SO today - I AM RECOMMITTING. I put it in caps to emphasize to myself that I am dedicated. I haven't been on this site for a while and now will follow this thread and other veteran threads. Thank you for starting this.

I'm so happy I found this thread. I have continued to track everyday, but my carbs crept up & my exercise decreased (medical reasons - but cleared fully for exercise now!!) I need to weigh everyday again. It only takes a second and it really does keep me informed. Happy to be back on the site.

I'm so happy I found this thread. I have continued to track everyday, but my carbs crept up & my exercise decreased (medical reasons - but cleared fully for exercise now!!) I need to weigh everyday again. It only takes a second and it really does keep me informed. Happy to be back on the site.

If I need to take off weight, I follow something fairly close to my plan's pre-op diet that I followed when waiting for the surgery, eating lean Protein first, then non-starcy veggies, whole grain, and fruit in about that order with 2 servings of nonfat dairy or soy milk per day. It's basically how I eat period, but if I'm at goal, I have treats and cocktails here and there too. It looks like this:
Breakfast: 1 dairy, 2 Protein, 1 fruit, 1 fat, optionally 1 starch
Lunch: 2-3 protein, 1-2 veggies, 1 starch, 1 fat
Dinner: 3 protein, 1-2 veggies, 1 starch, 1 fat
Snacks: 1 dairy, 1 fruit
I'm smaller, older, and less active so I have to really ratchet the calories back to lose. I stay at goal at around 1300 calories per day. To lose, I cut that to around 800 per day.
Lynda

I agree about the idea of focus. I do track on a spread sheet daily, and also track what I'm eating. Every bite. Those are two of the strategies I use for success. I'm visual, so those are tools to help me stay FOCUSED. I joke about it being an obsession, but it's not. I'm an informatics nurse, so it's perfectly natural for me to track health related things on spreadsheets. It takes about a minute a day, at most. I weigh, log, and move on. I am really happy I did it, though, because on days I'm struggling or irritated due to stalls, I can look at that as a positive reinforcement. It's like a bit of a reward system for me, too. Again, a tool to stay focused.

I think that if I don't stay FOCUSED I will regain. Obsessive is when you are miserable, are emotionally unhappy and torturing yourself. I am happy that i am sucessful. I compare myself to a work colleague who is training for a triathalon. Focused. I am in a marathon for the rest of my life - to keep my weight under control at a healthy weight. It isn't obsessive, it is necessary.

Weigh everyday.
Regular exercise.
Eat greens, fruits, Beans, and nuts. If I get off track, I juice fruits and vegtables for a few days until I start to crave to eat vegetables again.

Yes, the trials are so much greater in maintenance. And as a slow loser anyway, it can seem like an insurmountable challenge when I need to lose a "mere" five pounds. I have said it over and over again but it will never sink in to a newbie until they're there themselves. The real struggle is not losing the weight. It's keeping the weight off. Maintenance requires so much more diligence than loss.
I forget this myself at times but the very most important thing a person can do is WEIGH.
Do not avoid the scale. Weigh every single day in maintenance, or every few days at the least. If you avoid the scale, it's easy to "forget" your weight or dismiss poor eating habits until your pants get tight. And with those stretchy jeans for women nowadays, that can mean you've packed on ten pounds before you realize it!
Tracking calories and planning meals comes secondary. It's that scale (or your measurements, or how your clothes fit, or whatever you use to measure yourself at goal) that tips you off to a problem immediately. I'm not saying expect to see the same number every day. But find that happy range and stay within it, and make adjustments when overdo it and step over the line. This way you catch issues immediately and don't have a ten, fifteen or twenty pound regain to tackle.
~Cheri

This is a good thread to keep going....I am 2.5 years out and reality is just hitting me now. Losing the weight and getting to goal was easy compared to now. I have gained 6 lbs and cannot seem to get it off. I seemed to think I was invincible because I ate small portions....well, I guess they aren't small enough!
Need to get back to the gym and make better decsions.
But my one piece of advice....I got me a FitBit and I love it! Any FitBit users out there? I would like to Friend you on my FitBit site....I find it very inspirational to see how I am doing compared to others. Right now I only have two people and they are kicking my butt! (Granted they are young kids....). So if you have a Fitbit, let me know!
Thanks for starting this!

If there is a secret to my success it would be changing my thinking about goals. I kicked out any remnants of half-way goals such as.."I'm losing weight so I'll look good for the reunion" , "I'm getting in shape so I'll look good", etc.
My goals became permanent life directives.
Health and power for living became the primary goals.
The implementation:
For the rest of my life: eat smart...train like an athlete.
Simple but set in stone.
Eat smart always, always in training.
No more yo-yo. The sleeve gave me a powerful tool. I'm using it.
A mind made up creates a body made right.

I would like to start a thread that encourages long term vets to share their success patterns. It is an open discussion of strategies, NSVs and day to day habits that define your success in being able to maintain or even improve in terms of weight, health, activity or anything else connected to this journey. Life as a vet is where the real work happens so let's share in a way that motivates both new post ops for the future and current vets for the here and now. We have a whole new chapter in our lives to engage in positively as movers and shakers. Let this thread be a beacon of encouragement for all. We have a chance to make real positive differences in the lives of others we interact with.

For the recipe, I should refer you to the source, so she gets the credit (and the site hits!) Just search Bing or Google for "just one" oatmeal cookie no flour and you'll find Linda Farnsworth's EatingWellLivingThin blog site. I usually triple her "just one" recipe, and add a bit more oatmeal (or sometimes some PB2 or pb Protein powder - otherwise the dough is a bit wet), chopped pecans and sugar free chocolate chips, and I usually use "whey Low Gold" (alternative brown sugar-like sweetener). With all the additions, I make 6-7 Cookies out of a "3 cookie" base recipe. With the additions I think they're every bit as good as a "real" chocolate chip cookie (if you like oatmeal in them). She has a "just one" Peanut Butter cookie recipe too.

Every day is a conscious commitment for me, too. I wake up and focus on my current weight, eating strategy for the day, etc. It is a full time job for me. I know there are people who can succeed by "listening to their body" but I'm not one of them. It's work for me. I had a few extra calories over the weekend (like 1800 Saturday and 2000 Sunday) and I was up almost 4 pounds by Monday. Some of it was Water, but I know that if I kept it up, I'd be right back up to 300 pounds. So, I'm committing with you! It's so worth the effort!

I've managed to get off track. I've gained 15-20 pounds back after reaching my goal (lost 100 lbs) because of stress and boredom eating - eating tons of simple carbs and drinking calories.
So today, I'm publicly recommitting to going back to the basics. This week, I've already given up the caloric drinks and started back exercising. The last step is getting back to smaller meals consisting primarily of Protein and dealing with stress in other ways.
I'm proud of myself for catching it before gaining too much weight. If anyone else is in the same boat, join me in recommitting to looking and feeling fabulous.
Pamela

bad news
i also struggle sometimes with the fact that i eat faster than i should, or that i don't get all my Water in
i also should change my foods up, variety is key???
good news????
i now realize that "I'm the only one" with this prob or that
i see i'm in good company
all we can do is keep plugging away and do our best
kathy

So, I've pretty much been an open book about being sleeved. But today I had a client that I hadn't seen in about 6 months. About half way through her service she says... 'You know, you really look great. It looks like you've lost some weight'. FINALLY someone that didn't already know is noticing! Yay me

Best thing I've read in a long time.

At the beginning of my body change the sleeve and attending concerns enveloped the majority of my attention. The struggle to get it going, establishing guide lines, noting progress, mourning slow downs, and in the end, rejoicing exceedingly about my new body.
Now, coming up on my second year, my attention is being diverted by life itself. I am maintaining near my low weight and activity is at athletic level as I promised myself at the beginning. I had an empty feeling period when I asked myself the question, "Now what?"
This new body is just a part of who I am. It is no longer a hindrance, it now best serves me by not drawing attention to itself. It has become a vehicle to take my mind and soul to destinations and tasks. I have energy to express my heart and my body no longer blocks my reaching out.
I no longer have my body to use as an excuse for inactivity and introversion. I no longer hide behind shame. Now is the time to explore the other parts of myself and my relationship with those around me and the world in general. I have made a friend of myself and in so doing have deemed what love I have to offer as worthy to be shared. I have discovered that giving love is the quickest path to getting it.
I have a default eating, drinking, and exercise policy. I may step out for a bit but return to default quickly. I don't kick my butt for it, I am my friend now. If I don't have fun being me I won't be any fun to be around.
My grown daughter called me contagious the other day. It was one of the best things my ears have ever heard.

I don't know. I see people using the phrase "new normal" all the time. Perhaps that is what we need to find. A new normal that encompasses all the needs of our life and still honors the needs of the ones we love. It does not have to be one or the other.
Remember part of loving someone else is giving them what they need not what they want. Your family needs you to live and be healthy (amongst other things). And they need you to have the energy to participate in their lives.
My wife doesn't like it that I spend time congregating here with people that get me. She'd rather I be with her more. But I'm giving her many more years of marriage and the energy to enjoy those years that I wasn't giving her before. Surely I would have died young had I not made the choices I have. And she knows this and is looking forward to it. Gone are her fears that I will die of obesity. And she no longer has to hike alone. She has a husband who can and will dance in public now. She likes that a lot.

Yes, the dance of trying to live the balanced life. This is one of the reasons I think it is so important to be as compliant as possible early on. We must develop new habits and new reactions to the curves life throws at us. We need to keep repeating these behaviors until they become the natural way we react.
I don't have to think about grabbing a Protein shake when I go to work out, it just happens naturally. My freezer is ALWAYS stocked with good, healthy, home-made Soups which again, I naturally grab on my way out to work. When stuck in a situation where I need to order food at a restaurant, choosing the option which has the best nutritional impact is easy now and I do not mourn not getting the chicken fried steak with mashed potatoes and gravy with a roll and ...
If it is still a struggle, then continue to fake it until you make it. Old habits die hard and my demons will always be there waiting for any sign of weakness. But, with the help of the sleeve, and some time under my belt developing these new habits, it is easier to make better decisions naturally.
Stress is one of my big red flags and I am smack in the middle of a very stressful time myself. I know that it will get better and no amount of (fill in the blank) will make it be any better. As a matter of fact, it will make it worse as now I would get to add the guilt of being bad onto my plate.