Sleeved36

If I can lose 4 more pounds before the 10th - One big reward for reaching Onederland - a spa day while on vacation - I can hear the masseuse calling my name.
My first official goal would be reached in 7 lbs - not realistic to think that can / will happen in a week... that would 40lbs lost since day before pre-op - reward - Extended weekend away with the BF.

My non food reward was to buy a motorcycle! I did not want to be heavy on one so I always told myself if I lost enough weight I would finally get one!

At 90 lbs down I treated myself to a new fall coat and 3 new pairs of shoes.

Hey, does anybody want to share their non-food rewards? I hit 60 lbs down today and I'm going to take a long lunch break from work and go see Night School. I've also just scheduled a massage and facial. Whee!
Anybody else? I'd love to build a list of non-food rewards that we can turn to when we deserve a treat but cheesecake is NOT it!
xo
Ally

I have a charm Bracelet (in the Pandora style, but it isn't Pandora-branded) that I'm adding a charm to, every time I lose 10 pounds.

Oh I didn't realize you were in Germany!
Well I'm definitely a closer to couch potato but definitely not an emotional eater. I'm also busy with life and this can't be my everlasting focus so want the simplest ways to maintain (sanity) lol because I have a lot of other thing I have to focus on coming up. I promised myself I was only going to give this 1 hard solid dedicated year of focus then it needed to be easy peasy so I'm looking for short cuts...

It took awhile for that worry to go away. I needed proof that I don't need to adhere to e. g. tracking and daily/weekly weighing to prevent weight gain but once I had proof... well, life feels more relaxed in the food/weight/exercise section. It's actually quite nice not to worry about how many calories you might burn when doing yoga or going out for a bike ride.
Not having a bad conscience when eating certain foods because they're "bad" or skipping an exercise session because you feel like collapsing at your door after a hard work day and not calculating how much you're "allowed" to eat for dinner now because you didn't work out - this is priceless and liberating.

But it is and it was to be expected.

This. And what's very interesting is: other users applaud them on their behavior, even envy them.

Lol
It can be about the losing and maintenance phases.
Absolutely everyone is welcome to answer especially from their own perspective. No matter how divergent their path is. That's really what im looking for, alot of personal views on what people are really doing.
Im totally trying to avoid drama at this point, stress raises cortisol levels and cortisol blocks fat burning 😂😂😂😂😂
I just want to find the most information I can and maybe leave record of it on the site for others. I truly value the exchange of information this site provides.

Did I miss something?
I thought this thread was about how to achieve balance in the maintenance phase? And how we order our lives.
I am allowed to speak about how I want to order my life.
Calm down. I thought the main person who liked to start arguments left this site.

Oh, no! Please don't hear me wrong. I was not criticizing you.
I LOVE my workouts and they are totally essential for both losing and maintaining. I am NOT criticizing gym goers.
We all know people who go a little extreme with both diet and exercise and I don't want that to be me.
We all have a friend or coworker that doesn't stop talking about every meal or thier gym routine. I don't want that to be me.
Worrying about every calorie and obsessing about every workout isn't really healthy in the long run.

I am still in the losing phase. Haven't dealt with maintenance yet, but it sounds nice since that means you have met goal!
Great post. I am definitely interested in how everyone gets to thier own version of balance. I do not want to track obsessively for the rest of my life.
Sometimes when people describe the things they do it starts to sound like disordered eating, not new healthy habits.
I totally relate to the last thing the Summerset said.
In social settings, I do not want to be known as "formerly fat". My identity is much more than that.
What I can and can not eat should not dominate the conversation everytime I am out with friends. Eventually I won't have any.
I do not want to miss events or fun things in life bc I can't mess up my gym routine.
But none of that means I do not want to have a reasonable, healthy life of moderation.

Oh, no! Please don't hear me wrong. I was not criticizing you.
I LOVE my workouts and they are totally essential for both losing and maintaining. I am NOT criticizing gym goers.
We all know people who go a little extreme with both diet and exercise and I don't want that to be me.
We all have a friend or coworker that doesn't stop talking about every meal or thier gym routine. I don't want that to be me.
Worrying about every calorie and obsessing about every workout isn't really healthy in the long run.

Did I miss something?
I thought this thread was about how to achieve balance in the maintenance phase? And how we order our lives.
I am allowed to speak about how I want to order my life.
Calm down. I thought the main person who liked to start arguments left this site.

Did I miss something?
I thought this thread was about how to achieve balance in the maintenance phase? And how we order our lives.
I am allowed to speak about how I want to order my life.
Calm down. I thought the main person who liked to start arguments left this site.

Did I miss something?
I thought this thread was about how to achieve balance in the maintenance phase? And how we order our lives.
I am allowed to speak about how I want to order my life.
Calm down. I thought the main person who liked to start arguments left this site.

Oh, no! Please don't hear me wrong. I was not criticizing you.
I LOVE my workouts and they are totally essential for both losing and maintaining. I am NOT criticizing gym goers.
We all know people who go a little extreme with both diet and exercise and I don't want that to be me.
We all have a friend or coworker that doesn't stop talking about every meal or thier gym routine. I don't want that to be me.
Worrying about every calorie and obsessing about every workout isn't really healthy in the long run.

I take the capsules from procarenow.com

A lot of Vitamins make me terribly nauseas. But I now take Whole Foods Prenatal that my surgeon's PA recomended. I can take it on an empty stomach no problem

I am still in the losing phase. Haven't dealt with maintenance yet, but it sounds nice since that means you have met goal!
Great post. I am definitely interested in how everyone gets to thier own version of balance. I do not want to track obsessively for the rest of my life.
Sometimes when people describe the things they do it starts to sound like disordered eating, not new healthy habits.
I totally relate to the last thing the Summerset said.
In social settings, I do not want to be known as "formerly fat". My identity is much more than that.
What I can and can not eat should not dominate the conversation everytime I am out with friends. Eventually I won't have any.
I do not want to miss events or fun things in life bc I can't mess up my gym routine.
But none of that means I do not want to have a reasonable, healthy life of moderation.

I'm not really sure how to interpret the words I made bold in the quote. Do you want to be maintenance as "natural" as possible or are you looking for ways to view "being strict" as a normal part of everyday life? If it's the later you can save your time and stop reading here.
---
I personally think to maintain effortlessly (though I think "effortlessly" means something different for different people) you have to learn to ride certain dragons instead of trying to avoid them.
You also have to find a lifestyle you can maintain without much hassle. You, not your neighbor, your colleague, Aunt Ruthie or the Instagram ab-girl that posts about a dozen selfies and food pics per hour so giving tips feels always a bit weird to me.
You also need to be (emotionally) flexible enough to suit your needs in different situations, e. g. ideally you respond to phases of lower physical activity with less appetite, e. g. you usually ride your bike to work but during a few weeks in winter it would be too dangerous because of slippery roads and you go by train or car during these weeks. Are you willing to accept a temporary slight weight gain or do you want to seriously interfere with your eating habits and/or up your non-NEAT exercise?
Learn to let go of the "tracking". How many thin people do you know in your life who give a flying f*ck about "tracking"? The only people I know who care about tracking calories and burnt calories are people who try to lose weight. You aren't. You want to maintain the status quo.
Ask yourself who you want to be. "The WLS patient"? "The formerly obese person?", "The person who doesn't want to be obsessed with this stuff anymore"?, "The health and exercise nut who gets a nervous breakdown every time something interferes with her food or training schedule"? And then act on it.

I want to hear tips from people that maintain effortlessly. I thought maintaining would be easier.
The transition from weight loss into maintenance was interesting. It was hard to let go of weight loss phase after living that way for so long. Just took time to adjust.
How have you ordered your life to make the entire process easier - for loss and maintenance phases?
Four years out. Living healthy comes naturally. Grocery shopping and cooking is a breeze. Gym is my stress relief. Instead of weight loss goals I have fitness goals. I live life and indulge once in a while. When I gain, I go back to basics. I have chased the same ten pounds up and down the scale. (with the exception of my third year)
Are you still struggling to find balance?
I am settling into the fact my weight bounces around. I know how easy it is for me to gain. I experienced being stuck at a sixteen pound gain in my third year. Basics stopped working ( I have no idea why) Fourth year basics are now working well. I dropped back into my maintaining zone.
Prefer complexity to simplicity?
I prefer to do both
I take breaks. I don't log and I workout less. Right now my goals are distance running driven. To stay healthy I log food and train.

Click bait!!! (Not really) This post is about simplification.
I'm almost a year post op and the further out I get, the more I refine what I'm doing.
(I feel like at this point I should be searching for a sugar daddy instead of sugar content but that's another post...)
How have you ordered your life to make the entire process easier - for loss and maintenance phases? Are you still struggling to find balance? Prefer complexity to simplicity?
Eventually I want it to be so easy and effortless that I just don't think about it anymore. You know, lifestyle.
Drop some tips below that are really working for you!

I am almost 5 months out and down almost 70 pounds from my highest weight ever. I do have a ways to go and I do see some loose skin developing but that is fine with me. I feel 100% wonderful and would not hesitate to wear a swimsuit on a cruise. The thing about a cruise is that you see all types of bodies and no one really cares. Besides, you can always wear a cute coverup over you suit if you are uncomfortable.
I would ignore your sister and focus on yourself. Exercise and hydration are your friends moving through this process. Look at Joyce Vedral's website for some awesome free weight exercise program that focus on women.