Thinkingthinner1109

I feel getting into the maintenance stage was the hardest thing for me to do. My head said if you stop losing you will gain. February 2015 I hit and surpassed my stretch goal. I am 5'9 and weigh 124 pounds. I was scared to eat or add anything to my diet. I still struggle with it every day. My hunger has returned 10 fold so I have to make very careful choices. Or I could be back in the same boat as when I started this journey.

I get hungry all the time and it's not from lack of Protein or Water. It's not head hinge either. I am just dang hungry I am 14 months post op. I have been hungry for about 6 months. I didn't really experience hunger before

My surgery because I was always eating. Lol. Now I eat at regular times but I do get hungry.

Nope I am over a year out from surgery and I still have it.

I was diagnosed with it after my WLS about 6 or 7 months. I don't have it bad I am on the lowest dose. It does make me feel more like myself and not so dog tired everyday.

Maybe I'm totally missing something, but what did you do "wrong"? You ate a hamburger without the bun, a small piece of banana cake, and three ribs. I would think that those were perfectly acceptable holiday cookout choices.

In my mind, being in "maintenance" means to maintain my current healthy weight by eating in my new normal way. I do NOT want to get wrapped up in the dieting mentality. Eat Protein first. Stay super hydrated with Water. Stay away from simple carbs. Eat an occasional dessert without guilt. Normal eating, not strict dieting.

Guilt is a bad thing. Regret is okay. Guilt is a shame based emotion and if you engage in that guilt/shame/blame cycle you may end up doing the same things to either punish or reward yourself as you did pre-op....mostly by eating bad comfort foods. That's how guilt affects me, anyway.

You didn't eat a hotdog (which is a horrible choice!), or skip the burger and go straight to the cheesecake. You didn't suck back a giant soda (which is as bad or worse than a hotdog). I think you did okay.

Thank you. I didn't end up eating the cheesecake. Lol. Got mad at my husband because he didn't eat it right away and the temptation was there. I am a baker and I love to bake it's a stress reliever for me. I love to be in the kitchen. It's somethjng I and my extended family and coworkers enjoy too. Lol. I will get this most things I can pass up and I do and will continue to. You guys are all right. I just needed to hear from some of the vets. I am new at this maintenance thing and it's going to take me a while to get it.

Now that you are in maintenance, you are now in the "rest of your life" stage. The beauty of all the hard work you have done to change your eating habits to a healthy new lifestyle is that you can now CHOOSE to have that occasional piece of banana cake or cheesecake with NO GUILT, NO LABELING OF CHEATING, NO BEATING YOURSELF UP. When you plan each day with good, whole, nutritious foods, there is room in your life now for a little "junk" (if you want it). Because you have done it right, these foods don't have power over you any more. YOU control THEM. That is what is so different than your life pre-surgery. I find that my desire for junk just isn't there nearly as much when I consider what my other choices are to give my body nutrition. Sure, I had to learn to play a lot of head games--still do. When I'm particularly tempted, but REALLY don't want the particular piece of temptation, I say to myself, "I don't eat that anymore." For me, the more I've said it to myself over the past 4 years, the more I feel it has helped me to take that pause and really evaulate whether I want it.

You said you've been hungrier the past few days--eating those simple, processed carbs turns on the hunger hormones big time for many of us. The more you eat the more you want.

"Not wanting to gain an ounce" is not realistic or healthy thinking. I know you know that. Establishing a 5-pound bounce range is very realistic. Whether or not we have had bari surgery, our bodies naturally vary in weight week-to-week. IT IS VERY OK. You are still learning and practicing to achieve that TOTAL CONFIDENCE in yourself that you can weigh once a week for the rest of your life and maintain your 5-pound range. Living in fear over weight regain is no way to live.

Remember and Celebrate your awesome achievements. You don't have to "hate" maintenance. It doesn't have to be stressful. You are free, and that is such a gift that we sometimes lose sight of.

Wow! Awesome advice. Now to practice that! Thank you!

So we had to return a piece of 4 x 8 sheer of breadboard to Menards today. My husband said lean against this board it was against the side if our enclosed trailer. So I did. The wind caught the board lifted me off the ground and threw me back to the ground. Scraping my hand and my knee. THAT WOULD HAVE NEVER HAPPENED AT ALMOST THREE HUNDRED POUNDS! But at the same time it made me feel good at 5'9 and 139 pounds that the wind blew me away. Lol. So when people tell me the wind will blow you away. I know now it literally can. A big NSV I could have done without.

I weigh at the same time everyday immediately when I get out of bed in the same pajamas. Lol. I will even change the pjs to the weigh in ones. Lol. I am

Very meticulous. Oh on the same scale in the same

Place on the floor. I posted in haste. I know I was sticking to my plan. I after my surgery I never stalled nor did I ever gain only stayed the same once in 7 months. So the Water gain could have been that my PCP told me I had to add more salt to my diet because my BP runs low. Not

Confident enough to weigh once a week yet. Maybe in time. But I am

Going to work on not stressing.

Whatever my husband cooks for me? I know we're planning to go grocery shopping tomorrow. I think all we have in the house right now is some frozen lemon garlic shrimp, some turkey kielbasa, and some poultry italian sausage. So I imagine tonight it will be one of those things for dinner.< /p>

I love turkey kielbasa!

Ask him every morning what his strategy is for the day to be a respectful, loving husband. Sounds like to me he has just a hard of time doing that as we all on this forum have had a hard time losing weight. Geeesh! I have been i. Both a physically abusive relationship and a verbally abusive relationship. Neither is acceptable but the bruises healed the mental abuse never did. Now I have the most awesome husband ever! He supports me in everything I do or want to do!

I am seven months post op and at goal. We had baked chicken last night and I can still only eat two ounces. Which I think is a good thing. However..... I was at goal 9 pounds ago. I am trying to figure out how to eat enough to stop losing without over eating or eating the wrong things.

One multi Vitamin a day

One Calcium plus Vitamin D

And one Vitamin A

That's it for me and my labs are great!

Don't let some people ruin your experience with this forum. Sometimes you just need to vent. And you do t need a bunch of so called experts ruin it for you. People seem to think that because what works for them then it is gospel. It's not! We are all very different, we all go through the surgery with different experiences. You will work it out, I have good days and bad days. Sometimes I wish I could just eat a piece of cake. A big piece of cake not a couple bites. Lol. But when I go shopping for new clothes or out on my designer jeans and they look good. That makes me happier than the sadness that I can't eat like normal people. Keep your chin up. And just ignore the remarks that are not kind. You can do this, It's not even a day to day thing....its a minute to minute thing.

I have to admit I also am scared to death of even gaining 2/10ths of a pound. It feels like I don't have control over my situation. I am 5'9 weigh 144 pounds. Probably 8 pounds of that is skin. Lol. I log ever single bite i eat. If I cannot determine how many calories is in something I don't eat it. It is definelty a mind game. I will get it and relax. But the maintenance thing is a challenge. I drink at least 100 ounces of Water a day. If I let myself get too hungry my mind will wander Nad I think oh this or that sounds good and I start to crave foods that I should not eat. I do not eat them I do grab something with Protein usually a few nuts. I like the salt and since my BP is running low my doctors said go ahead and eat more salt. She said to me She couldn't believe she was telling a patient to eat more salt. Anyway I know I got off track here but YES I FEAR OF GAINING WEIGHT. my husband has spent way too much money buying me cute new clothes to gain any weight back.

Seven months out and have had the issue since day one.

I count calories and I limit carbs. Carbs are also very addicting to me to. I am at goal and I still can only eat about 800 calories a day and I am still losing. I am trying to get my calories up so I stop losing now. I will always count calories. I use MFP also but I set my own calories. I change mine manually, I also manually set my Protein goals on MFP.

Do you take your Vitamins on an empty stomach? That makes me nauseous. Idk. I do t get that randomly out of the blue. Jsut one time when I took my Vitamin without anything in my stomach.

Well first off we were all different in some way. I don't remember much of my hospital stay. Thanks to the pain pump. I was able to sip in the hospital and I didn't real start to have issues until I got home. Then crushing my meds was all but impossible. I could taste them in anything I out them in. And I ended up with the most awful headache I have ever had. I think it was the liquid pain med I was sent home with. The compression garmet for around my waist helped tremendously, so if they will give you one of those it certainly made my life easier. Easier to sleep, get up out of bed, etc. to this day and I am nearly 7 months post op and at goal I have Constipation. I went back to work which is a desk job in two weeks. I Stick to my plan religiously. I get all my Protein and fluids in. In my own experience the first two weeks were the roughest for me. I was unable to tolerate the Protein Drinks that I drank before surgery immediately after surgery as they made me nauseous. Zophran helped with that. My surgical team was a God send. So there is my story. I found a new norm for me. I was lucky to not have vomited. I don't get slides or dumping. Exercising is really important too. Best of luck to. You will soon be here with us on the losers bench.

The best place I have found to buy Nioxin is on Amazon. I use it whenever I wash my hair which after surgery is every other day. I also use the Nioxin scalp treatment.

Yes I am almost 7 months post op. Had this problem since day 1. It's frusterating.

Been there in a violent relationship in the past. RUN FAR, FAR AWAY! You are a better person than that! You can do this! My prayers are with you.

Hahaha! Great! I have not had the same experience. I am not losing hair but I am not growing hair either. Especially in the places it doesn't belong. I take 30000 mg of Biotin a day! I would rather wax it off it does grow where it's not supposed to. But I am nearly 7 months out and haven't had any issues. Good luck!

I'm the rebel who is sipping my coke zero through a straw as I read this.

Drinking through a straw will not stretch your sleeve nor will carbonation. I'm fairly certain I'm proof of that as I am almost 2 years out and still only et 1/4 to a 1/2 cup at most meals. It's rare that I can eat a full cup of food and never if it's all Protein.

Go ahead, tell me how horrible I am. I can take it.

I say good for you! That's great news!

Thanks for the feed back. I don't have any issues with them. I only drink Water from straws. I don't drink any carbonated drinks. And I am able to drink a lot more if I use a straw.

I have no problems drinking from a straw. I doubt very much it can stretch my sleeve. So why can't we? Or why aren't we supposed to?