Rogofulm

Hi! I haven't posted in several years. I'm 5.5 years out from my sleeve surgery, and maintaining at about 10 lbs above my "perfect weight" goal. Still down 105, though, and trying to exercise the ten pounds back off. So I consider my journey thus far to be a major success. I eat everything I want EXCEPT sugar and white stuff. Period. That's my secret. No refined sugar, ice cream, fruit juices, alcohol, bread, rice, potatoes, Pasta, and rarely fruit, corn and peas. Other than that, I eat whatever I want.
So here's my best tip: If you decide that you will NEVER eat any of the foods listed above, then you never have to decide whether or not to eat something. If it's on that list, it's a NO. If it's not, it's a YES. Every food decision is pre-made. How simple is that? And once you leave those foods behind for a while, you don't miss them anymore. As long as you don't ever open that door, the boogeyman can't tempt you.
Two other tips: Get your 64+ ounces of fluids in every single day, and ALWAYS HAVE A PLAN whenever you're away from home. I never go to a party, get-together, or even a long drive without bringing my Crystal Lite iced tea and a bag of almonds. Those two items can carry me through any situation. (And they have, many times!)
So that's my system. It's worked for over 5 years with excellent results, so I don't see any reason to change it.
Good luck to all in maintenance!!!

Hi! I haven't posted in several years. I'm 5.5 years out from my sleeve surgery, and maintaining at about 10 lbs above my "perfect weight" goal. Still down 105, though, and trying to exercise the ten pounds back off. So I consider my journey thus far to be a major success. I eat everything I want EXCEPT sugar and white stuff. Period. That's my secret. No refined sugar, ice cream, fruit juices, alcohol, bread, rice, potatoes, Pasta, and rarely fruit, corn and peas. Other than that, I eat whatever I want.
So here's my best tip: If you decide that you will NEVER eat any of the foods listed above, then you never have to decide whether or not to eat something. If it's on that list, it's a NO. If it's not, it's a YES. Every food decision is pre-made. How simple is that? And once you leave those foods behind for a while, you don't miss them anymore. As long as you don't ever open that door, the boogeyman can't tempt you.
Two other tips: Get your 64+ ounces of fluids in every single day, and ALWAYS HAVE A PLAN whenever you're away from home. I never go to a party, get-together, or even a long drive without bringing my Crystal Lite iced tea and a bag of almonds. Those two items can carry me through any situation. (And they have, many times!)
So that's my system. It's worked for over 5 years with excellent results, so I don't see any reason to change it.
Good luck to all in maintenance!!!

Hey @@Olarance75 – Congrats on muscling the weight back down! I figure that's going to be the story for the rest of our lives. But you caught it and did something about it before it got completely out of control, and that's really admirable! Do you feel that your restriction has returned to help you for a while?

Ding, ding, ding... Ladies and gentlemen, we have a winner!!! Congratulations, I'm so happy for you!!!!

When you're doing "plank" exercises without a shirt on and the skin hanging down looks like drapery fabric... but you don't even care because, guess what? YOU CAN DO FREAKIN' "PLANKS" NOW!!!

When clothes shopping doesn't suck!
When you can actually buy clothes off the rack, and they fit without alterations.
When you tuck in your tee shirts because it looks sleeker.
Heck, when you even have the guts to wear shirts that aren't oversized tents.
I'm tellin' ya, this procedure makes a whole world of difference!!!

You and your 10-year-old kid can BOTH fit in your old sports coat.... and button it!

Corollary... When you're on your way back from the bathroom and decide on the spur of the moment to do a lap around the stairs just to kick-start your metabolism! (My legs still burn every time, though.)

When your wife says that you feel "bigger" because there's less separating you!

When you're doing "plank" exercises without a shirt on and the skin hanging down looks like drapery fabric... but you don't even care because, guess what? YOU CAN DO FREAKIN' "PLANKS" NOW!!!

I'm afraid you don't have much choice. Chewing food to death is part of what we signed up for. Whenever I eat too quickly, it gets stuck and has to come back up. Besides, eating too much, too fast is part of what got us here. And as for not being able to eat the things we used to love.... Well, that's kind of the point, isn't it? I doubt that many of us got here by loving only lean Protein and green vegetables. Don't meant to be harsh, but changing our old patterns is the only way we're going to succeed. Of course, it's hard while managing the little ones, but many others have done it. So search around this forum and maybe you'll find out how they did it. I wish you all the success in the world!!!

That ain't gonna happen!

I agree! This morning the scale was up a half pound. Still within my 5-pound bounce range, but it bumped over a number ending in a 5, so I want to knock it back down under that 5. Irrational? Slightly. But continuing to play the game may be part of what keeps us honest. Maintenance is a new period of discovery, ain't it?!!

When you volunteer to take the seat next to a large person at the theater – because you know how uncomfortable they feel, and at your new size you can squeeze over to give them some extra space.

For the first time in 48 years, my New Year’s resolution is not “lose weight”. Forty-eight years!!! I love my sleeve! For those of you on the front end of this process, keep the faith, follow all the rules, and always try to make good choices. You can get there too! Happy and Healthy New Year!!!!!

When you start tucking your shirts into your pants because you realize that you look more slender that way than untucked, and you want to show off your new bod.

Before WLS, my driver's license weight was off by 60 pounds. It still is... but in the other direction!

Is that really so different than, "Wow, you look great!" (where the "now" is implied)? Seems to me that Grandma intended it as a compliment, even if it's somewhat clumsy. If we've lost weight, we all know how we used to look, right? And we know, firsthand, society's biases against heavy people, right? So the natural reaction when people lose weight is to think they look "better" than they used to. Try remembering what you thought when a friend or family member lost a lot of weight. Didn't you think they looked "better"? I think that's probably what Grammy had in mind. Of course, I don't have a history with her, so I could be totally wrong. But keep in mind that if we're successful on our journeys, we're going to hear a lot of compliments. That's part of the fun of this and helps keep us motivated. I've found that it's much easier (and nicer) to just accept compliments graciously, and feel proud of my accomplishments. At first I would reply, "Yeah, but I've still got such a long way to go." After a while, it became, "Yeah, but I'm getting so many wrinkles that I look 10 years older." And finally, I realized that the best answer is, "Thanks! I've been working hard at it." And everyone feels good about the exchange. Just a thought....

When you're doing "plank" exercises without a shirt on and the skin hanging down looks like drapery fabric... but you don't even care because, guess what? YOU CAN DO FREAKIN' "PLANKS" NOW!!!

As a corollary.... When you don't waste time driving around the parking lot looking for a closer space, because it's faster (and healthier) to grab a farther space and walk in. Furthermore.... When you run upstairs to get something – whenever you need it – rather than waiting until you have a bunch of reasons to climb that mountain. Okay, one more.... When you compare the weight you've lost to other heavy things -- I've lost just about 3 bags of mulch! I mean, think about that... I'd have trouble picking up two bags of mulch, let alone three. Imagine carrying three bags of mulch everywhere you go, including upstairs! Ouch!!! And freakin' YAY!!!

When clothes shopping doesn't suck!
When you can actually buy clothes off the rack, and they fit without alterations.
When you tuck in your tee shirts because it looks sleeker.
Heck, when you even have the guts to wear shirts that aren't oversized tents.
I'm tellin' ya, this procedure makes a whole world of difference!!!

You and your 10-year-old kid can BOTH fit in your old sports coat.... and button it!

Corollary... When you're on your way back from the bathroom and decide on the spur of the moment to do a lap around the stairs just to kick-start your metabolism! (My legs still burn every time, though.)

When your wife says that you feel "bigger" because there's less separating you!

For the first time in 48 years, my New Year’s resolution is not “lose weight”. Forty-eight years!!! I love my sleeve! For those of you on the front end of this process, keep the faith, follow all the rules, and always try to make good choices. You can get there too! Happy and Healthy New Year!!!!!