maintenanceman

I'll start with a question for my maintenance buddies: Do you ever "forget" you had surgery and it becomes a new normal? I think about my sleeve/food all the time... as much as I did when I was actively losing. I'm always aware that I've had surgery, and I'm always trying to figure out when and how to eat. It's not a bad thing.. just a thing.

There's no one place on Bariatric Pal that houses questions/comments about maintenance. There probably should be separate forum for maintenance, but I'll start a thread here. For those of you in maintenance, where are you in your journey? Any lessons learned?

I love this. You will achieve all of these and more!

Peanut butter is calorie dense. A little goes a long way given your very low calorie restriction right now, so watch your portion size. --- Note: this isn't the best thread for this question as it's focused on non-scale victories. There are other threads about post-op food choices. https://www.bariatricpal.com/forum/1048-food-and-nutrition/

I agree. It's all trial and error. I stay in and around 2000, and I have been maintaining since December. When I started maintenance, I tried to stay below 1600, but that wasn't enough. I ended every day too hungry. More than anything, listen to your body. It will tell you when it needs more food (or needs less). Post-op, most of my head hunger is gone. My body does a good job of telling me when its hungry. I watch my weight like a hawk, weigh every morning. I know some people advise against it, but it works for me.

She and I are the same height, so BMI targets are the same. The BMI formula is the same for women and men. We all know BMI is a less than ideal measure, but it's a reasonable approximation of what a "healthy" weight is. 130 is really scraping the bottom of the "healthy" BMI range.

Same. It's what keeps me from overeating. The downside... well, not really a downside... is that I am always very aware of my sleeve. I spend a lot of time thinking about food and how my stomach will respond to various foods. I never forget that I have a sleeve. That's a good thing overall, but it is something to be mindful of.

This is interesting. It seems to me that maintenance for me right now has more to do with metabolic adjustment than straight CICO. I notice that no matter what/how I eat, my weight remains stable. That's not to say that I'm indulging in garbage food, eating large quantities, etc... but my weight doesn't seem to depend strictly on what I'm eating. It seems that my body has arrived at a set point that it's trying to maintain. My weight pre-op was also rock solid stable. No matter what I ate, I hovered around 235 for most of my adult life. I'm curious if the same dynamic will apply to this new weight.

Hey there veterans! I'm 18 months post-op, in maintenance for 9 months. My weight has remained rock solid stable with maybe a 1 lbs. regain. I'm very pleasantly surprised... and... I don't want to be lulled into complacency. For those of you who have had significant regain, when did your regain start? What do you think led to the regain? Thank you for your insight.

It actually took me about 9 months to lose it. I'm sure you're going to do great! Folks who start with a relatively low BMI tend to perform very well.

I'm 18 months post-op, and my stomach still makes all manner of noises on occasion. I always say, my sleeve is like a box of chocolates. I never know what I'm going to get.

5 mile hike today! Would have been inconceivable pre-op. I was so terrified to do anything physical because I never knew if my body would cooperate. Feels great to know that my body is now my friend, not my nemesis.

Things shift around once you reach maintenance, and it no longer hurts to sit.

My starting weight was 5'7", 235 lbs... so close to the same BMI as you. Similar to you, I wondered if I was "big enough" to get the surgery... but I had increasing health issues... diabetes and sleep apnea. I am SO GLAD I DID IT. I lost all of my excess weight, my diabetes is in remission, and I no longer have sleep apnea. And I love the way I look. The reality is, even though you're not morbidly obese, the likelihood of you losing and keeping off a substantial amount of weight is near zero (as you've discovered). Weight loss surgery is the only evidence-based means of losing and maintaining the kind of loss we need to achieve a healthy weight. Here is a video about Low BMI weight loss surgery outcomes. You can also search these forums for "low BMI." There are lots of us who have gone through the same questions you have.

My weight loss dramatically slowed down by month 8, but I did lose a little more. My body was done by month 11, and I was happy with where I landed. Keep pushing until you reach the 12 mo mark, if you can. I bet you have at least another 5-10 pound loss ahead of you. That said, when your body is done, it's done.

So great that you're tracking your body fat. I have done three body fat DEXA scans. I was down to 18% when I hit my goal weight. I wish I had started earlier so I knew what my baseline was.

Thank you. I'm proud of you, too. Down 76 lbs. in only 4 months. Go, you!

Before I lost the weight, I cringed any time I saw a camera and lived in fear of photos being posted online. Now, I'm like, take all the pictures you want. I'm constantly posting selfies and pictures of myself with others online. It's so much fun. One of my favorite NSV.

Thank you. Are you glad you did it? Happy with the results? Any regrets?

I'm 51 yo male, considering a full extended tummy tuck (loose skin from WLS) and chest lift w/ nipple grafting (gynecomastia). At what point (weeks/months) am I likely to be fully recovered, feel "good as new" / "back to normal"?

Are you required to lose weight before the surgery?

I can more or less tolerate anything now, but there are a surprising number of things I don't want anymore. I lived on fast food pre-op. Now, I have zero interest in burgers, fries, and such. I might have the occasional pastry item, but it is very easy for me to go to a bakery and not get anything or see a plate of cookies and not grab one. Unheard of pre-op! On the flip side, I never was really keen on ice cream pre-op. Now, I love it. It's one of the few sweets that goes down easily.

Don't be jealous. My food funeral was super disappointing. The stuff we're saying goodbye to is mostly garbage. Once you're in maintenance, you'll be able to eat most anything you want in moderation... but you likely won't be as interested as you think you might be.

One of the best things about WLS is that it releases you from the hold food has over you. I know it's hard to imagine now, but food becomes so much less important. It's weird. You find yourself eating less than most everyone around you... and not really wanting more. At times, other people seem positively gluttonous. I'm 16 months post-op. I get hungry, but it's a controlled hunger that's based primarily on what my body needs, not social cues. I just don't have a taste for garbage food anymore, and I don't equate eating with having a good time. It's very liberating. How you feel pre-op isn't a good indicator of how you will feel post-op. Trust the process. Soon you will be on the loser's bench and sharing your stories with others.