VSGAnn2014

I'm newly (6 weeks) at maintenance. It's a strange head game. But I've been reading that a lot of people go through mental gymnastics as they transition from trying to make the scale go down to trying to make it stick at one place. I recently asked a "room" full of very smart bariatric patients who are mostly in maintenance, "How many calories a day do you eat to maintain your weight?" Their answers were all over the board: * 900 - 1100 for a 120 pound woman * 1800 for a 145 pound woman * 1100-1200 calories for a 150 pound woman * 1800-2000 for a 160 pound woman * 1600-1800 for a 170 pound woman * 1200-1400 for a 180 pound man * 2500 for a 230 pound guy Some patients who weighed the same could maintain only by eating 500-600 or even 800 calories less than others near the same weights. I don't know how you figure this out without tracking, although I'm sure some have. I plan to keep tracking for some time. And tonight I found an old thread on maintenance that's very interesting and describes the struggle that maintenance can be for many people. If you haven't seen it yet, check this out: http://www.bariatricpal.com/topic/183655-official-maintenance-thread/

Just read this whole thread. Wow! What an eye-opener. I'm almost 6 weeks at / below my goal. Obviously, there's a lot to learn about maintenance. One thing for sure -- whatever it is now, it will be different in the future. Great thread. Thanks to all who've contributed long-term to it. Really, thanks!

They are the good carbs and to cut all these out is very unhealthy. That was exactly my point. Sorry I didn't make it clear enough.

Apparently, not everyone here knows yet that: 1. Vegetables are carbs. 2. Fruits are carbs. 3. Whole grains are carbs. 4. Dairy products (milk, cottage cheese, cheese, etc.) are full of carbs. And some of the above also have Protein. And/or fat. But they all contain carbs!

Like @@Miss Mac I was a hair under a BMI of 40 at my first weigh-in. And then (on my own) I lost 12 pounds and then the pre-op diet took another 8 pounds off me. So I was 20 pounds down on the day of surgery. Now here's a secret -- don't tell anyone! On all the intervening appointments between my first weigh-in and my pre-pre-op diet, I loaded up my bra, pockets, etc. with half-pound weights so I wouldn't weigh in "too light." So sue me!

I disagree with the majority of posters on this thread. Doesn't mean they're wrong. But they're also not necessarily right -- as in there are multiple ways to lose and maintain weight after WLS. For the record, I never went low-carb to lose my weight post-op. Yes, early on we can't eat that much (500-800 calories/day) and do focus on mostly Protein for the first month or so -- to get all our protein in. But "focusing on protein" is not nearly the same thing as "no carbs." As soon as I could eat veggies and fruits, I was focused on eating as much of them as I could--after I'd eaten all the protein I was supposed to eat. Even when I was eating only 800 calories/day, I was getting in just as many or more grams of carbohydrates as grams of protein. At Month 5 I bumped my daily cals target up to 1,000/day. At Month 7 I bumped up to 1,200 cals/day. When I hit my weight goal (at 8-1/2 months post-op) I raised my cals to 1,400 cals/day. And at each of those levels I was eating more carbs than protein grams -- which at 1,200 cals/day was about 100 grams of protein and 100+ grams of carbs. But by "carbs" I don't mean massive amounts of the "white carbs" and certainly not sugar. Carbs are in veggies, fruits, whole grains. Those are GREAT for us--so full of nutrients and Fiber. As an example, today I'll eat 1,485 calories of food, which will include 142 grams of carbohydrates, 38 grams of fat, and 106 grams of protein. My food today will also include 19 grams of fiber (women need 21 grams/day, but 19's good enough). So there's a different perspective. P.S. I plan my daily menus and record all my food eaten in My Fitness Pal, so I do know what I'm eating and how much and what my food's macronutrients are. No guessing going on here.

No comment.

Gimme a break.

^^^^ Sounds great to me. If your clothes are fitting great with a 10-pound gain, that's got to be muscle you've gained. Congratulations! And yes, entering maintenance is also weird to me. But in 6 months we'll all be old pros at this too, eh?

I think we were just a little worried about you. But you sure have taken the "feedback" well. Respect!

To the OP's issue -- finding new goals that interest and motivate us -- and to the other issue mentioned above about the seduction of continuing to lose weight, either out of habit or obsession .... Yes. Uh-huh. Me, too. Amen! I'm now 4 pounds below goal. And trying hard (at least some of the time) to stop losing weight. My avowed new goals are similar to others' -- reduce my body fat / increase my lean body mass, get stronger, faster, leaner (but not lighter), etc. The pattern that I'm following now (may have to shake this up) is to eat 1,400 calories during the week (with equal calories from Protein, carbs and fats) and then eat 1,700-2,000 on the weekends. I'm still using MFP to plan and track all my menus / food intake. I expect to do that most of the time to not let this "get away from me." My nutritionist and exercise consultant and I think that my maintenance calories will be around 1,600 - 1,700 at my current exercise levels. We shall see what happens. On the regain issues ... my shrink works with a number of bariatric patients and has seen many people go through this process. Back in January (over four months ago) I asked him, "What issues do you see patients struggling with who regain weight? And by that I don't mean that they're eating too much. I'm really asking what's going on inside them that leads them to regain?" After thinking a moment, he said: "What I mostly see is that they're struggling to find new reasons and new motivations to focus on their weight and fitness. "After they hit their goal weights, many of the rewards they got while losing weight go away. They're no longer motivated by seeing the scale move down. After a while, their family and friends get used to what they look like and stop commenting on their weight loss or weight. Even people who were their strongest supporters during the weight loss phase no longer offer supportive comments. And when this positive reinforcement disappears, that has a negative effect on the patients. "So then they must find new goals and new motivations to maintain their weight and to be fit. And for some folks that's not easy." So that's one shrink's brief observations about the cause of WLS patients' weight regain. Maybe that will ring some bells for other readers.

Thanks, @ for that story. I sure don't mean to represent that I've never driven "impaired." It's the rare person who gets through life without having done that. But over time I've certainly learned much--and continue to learn--about how my body responds to every substance I put into it: food, alcohol, OTC meds, Rx meds, all of the above. Certainly our driving is also impaired by too little sleep, too much stress, people distractions, electronic distractions, etc. It's hard being perfect. But it's not hard to learn and improve. After all, that's what we're all here doing, eh?

I shopped out of my closets all the way down to size 12. Prior to WLS, I never threw away any clothes that were nice. And then ... I had nothing to wear! So I started shopped at two types of place: (1) lower-priced joints, e.g., TJ Maxx, Target, Ross Dress for Less, JCPenneys, etc. and (2) a high-end consignment resale shop where I have found eeeee-mazing pieces for $10-$60. I'm talking St. John, Escada, etc. What deals! Now that I'm a size 8 (still staggered by that development!), I've bought a few mid-range pieces at department stores and dress shops. But I'm keeping those purchases simple, classic and from sale racks. I've also invested in two good bras from Victoria's Secret. Ready for the sizes? 34DD and 34DDD. Good freakin' Lord! I refer to each of them as "The Bra." It's definitely time for new panties. I've continued to buy new shoes and don't worry about those becoming too big. Unlike some others, my shoe size has NOT changed. Yes, my shoes are a little looser these days, but frankly, my old shoe size finally really fits me. Truth is, I really need to get my head used to these new sizes. They still seem surreal.

I thought kids that young were not allowed to make hospital visitations.

With respect, how we feel when we're drinking is not a good gauge for whether it's safe for us to drive. Or make some other decisions. Please consider this, and note the 5/4 rule: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Binge_drinking

You raised those girls right! Congratulations. And I adore how well and wisely you responded to their feedback. No wonder they turned out so well.

LOL! SCREAMING here! Sorta like I do when I get a mammogram!

@@gowalking ... I didn't know your background. Your success is so much more wonderful, now that I know you starting story. Enjoy your wonderful trip to the UK. What a beautiful reward for your hard work and accomplishments. WLS has also been a miracle for me. I'm so, so grateful.

Confession is good for the soul. Or so they say. But there's also a whiff around threads like this of "I'll tell you what I did bad, if you tell me what you did bad, so we can give each other permission to keep being bad." At best, that's juvenile. At worst, it redefines (not in a good way) the boundaries of what's appropriate behavior for WLS success. My two cents' worth.

There's an odd phenomenon I see on WLS boards: People who are newly sleeved, still recovering from surgery, not eating all foods yet, and with just a few weeks or a few months of experience at being sleeved for some odd reason assume that their current condition / experience will be their permanent condition / experience. That's not true. What your experience is 10 months post-op has little relationship to how you felt / what you could do when you were a month or two months post-op. I suppose it's no different than being a teenager and thinking "Life will always be this way." No, it won't.

Y'all make me smile. Thanks.

coffee is good again. But I'm talking about coffee -- not the monster sugary versions of it available in most drive-thrus and at Starbucks. From the NYTimes May 11, 2015 issue: http://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/12/upshot/more-consensus-on-coffees-benefits-than-you-might-think.html?WT.mc_id=2015-MAY-KWP-AUD_DEV-0501-0531&WT.mc_ev=click&ad-keywords=MAYAUDDEVFB&kwp_0=16510&_r=0

No hot dogs? No sausage? First I've EVER heard of that instruction. I've already had both. With no problems.

It's an interesting topic. My experience (can only describe my own) is that initially post-op food started getting less tasty by which I mean I could differentiate tastes less well than I once could. But now at about 9-1/2 months post-op my taste buds are coming back. Last night we had an amazing meal -- a great oaky chardonnay with massive waves of finish, mussels cooked in wine/cream sauce (just shockingly tasty!), a jalopeno muffin (ye gads, that thing was great!) and for dessert, a single chocolate truffle (those things have NOT abated in their deliciousness). Needless to say, we do not eat like this every night or even every week! However, fast foods are not nearly as tasty to me as they were pre-op. I eat them only in a pinch. But lately, they taste so blah I'm avoiding them even in a pinch. In other words, I've become a gourmet and am no longer a gourmand.