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Official Ongoing Gastric Sleeve Maintenance Thread



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Maintenance is so tricky

It sure is for me. I am at about 129 lbs now which I can live with. To stay there I see a nut, go to Overeaters Anonymous and eat no sweets. The weight is gone but the obsession is not.

I tried the 5:2 and it just didn't work for me. I would binge on my food days. I know that's not what I was supposed to do, but somehow it set off my food obsession even more. It's too bad because I think intermittent fasting is healthy, but I can see that nothing is one-size fits all.

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Man, I need to get my head on straight. I weighed 152 this morning...yikes! Yes, still under my goal of 158#. My clothes still fit. But, I liked 140ish ALOT better. I have no excuse. Life is good, I am happy, I am content in many ways... perhaps THAT is the problem. Life is good, living is easy... just another reason to get complacent, right?

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You don't have to follow 5:2 completely. There was a thread in here about an alternative. I believe it was only eat between certain hours. I think it was 8 hours. After a certain time, like 7pm (or whatever time you choose) it's the cut off point. Then you can fast for 12 hours.

It's the grazing that's bad for me. That's why 5:2 worked so well for me. It stopped my night time snacking. To stay at goal, I have to be very regimented - 3 meals and one evening snack.< /p>

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Thanks so much feedyoureye!

Can you share more about your experience on 5:2. It sounds like it is a permanent way of eating and not just a diet? I feel like every month I am craving carbs and making poor choices with little to no control or restriction and I've learned how to eat around my sleeve and I'm worried.

Additionally, I feel like my body fat composition is changing significantly more than my mere 5-7 lb weight gain, so it is depressing me. I used to be a size 4 and now and a solid barely size 6. Overall, I'm still happy with that but do feel "heavy" like I used to before WLS. I just feel like I can "get away with it" and therefore I CAN make the poor choices that I'm making.

Basically, I need a reality check and need to get my eating back in order so I'm thinking I need to do the Pouch/sleeve test and then do the 5:2.

Can you share your experience with 5:2? what do you eat on your 5 days and what do you eat on your 2 days? Do you have a good official website? anything sleeve related to know about doing the 5:2?

Thank in advance for sharing!

Lisa

Glad you found the 5:2 thread... do watch the documentary... it tells a lot. What some of us did during the 5:2 was keep our regular Spartan diet during the "feast days" I stayed at 1200-1400 cals most days, and 500-600 on fast days when I was rocking it to re-lose the final 22 and get to goal. When I just eat anything I want to on fast days, (like right now) the results are not as dramatic... I fell off my routine when my mom died a few months ago, then when I got back on, I had gained 6 pounds... now I to am getting back on the wagon. I truly believe that without the 5:2, I would now be much higher above my goal than I am. I'm sure its not for everyone, but some part of it may be good for you too.

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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!

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I chew alot of sugarless gum to keep me occupied. I also find if i drink hot tea or coffee that seems to ease the hunger.

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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!

I'm glad to hear that. That's the reason I am still here after 9 years. I know that I was one of the first people sleeved here because I was a member of Lap band talk before sleeve talk was ever started. I couldn't wait for more people to become sleeved. I can't believe it's been 6 years since my band was removed.

Maintenance is still very tricky and a slippery slope if you don't want to gain weight back. i am really struggling now that I can't exercise because of back problems. :(

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After a great weekend. I let myself indulge. I do not do this often. I am back at my goal weight. I reset my goal to a better weight gain bounce. Its always a reminder for me that I am not exempt from weight gains. I'm doing what I need to do. I'm looking forward to challenging myself to a new goal.

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I have a real issue with this. I'm 5'6 and 122 pounds. I still feel food on,y when I lose and want to lose another 7 pounds to be at 115 even though everyone says stop. It's a mental battle from years if wanting to lose and not being able to. When will it be enough?? I don't know. I'm fixated on numbers and fear of gaining. Maybe at 115 I'll finally feel done.

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VSGAnn2014- thank you for posting. I'm 17 months post surgery and currently struggling with this issue as my medical team (PCP, surgeon and dietician) has decided that I have developed an eating disorder. This article was very insightful. Thanks again

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      On day 4 of the 2 week liquid pre-op diet. Surgery scheduled for June 11th.
      Soooo I am coming to a realization
      of something and I'm not sure what to do about it. For years the only thing I've enjoyed is eating. We rarely do anything or go anywhere and if we do it always includes food. Family comes over? Big family dinner! Go camping? Food! Take a short ride or trip? Food! Holiday? Food! Go out of town for a Dr appointment? Food! When we go to a new town we don't look for any attractions, we look for restaurants we haven't been to. Heck, I look forward to getting off work because that means it's almost supper time. Now that I'm drinking these pre-op shakes for breakfast, lunch, and supper I have nothing to look forward to.  And once I have surgery on June 11th it'll be more of the same shakes. Even after pureed stage, soft food stage, and finally regular food stage, it's going to be a drastic change for the rest of my life. I'm giving up the one thing that really brings me joy. Eating. How do you cope with that? What do you do to fill that void? Wow. Now I'm sad.
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      1. summerseeker

        Life as a big person had limited my life to what I knew I could manage to do each day. That was eat. I hadn't anything else to look forward to. So my eating choices were the best I could dream up. I planned the cooking in managable lots in my head and filled my day with and around it.

        Now I have a whole new big, bigger, biggest, best days ever. I am out there with those skinny people doing stuff i could never have dreamt of. Food is now an after thought. It doesn't consume my day. I still enjoy the good home cooked food but I eat smaller portions. I leave food on my plate when I am full. I can no longer hear my mother's voice saying eat it all up, ther are starving children in Africa who would want that!

        I still cook for family feasts, I love cooking. I still do holidays but I have changed from the All inclusive drinking and eating everything everyday kind to Self catering accommodation. This gives me the choice of cooking or eating out as I choose. I rarely drink anymore as I usually travel alone now and I feel I need to keep aware of my surroundings.

        I don't know at what point my life expanded, was it when I lost 100 pounds? Was it when I left my walking stick at home ? Was it when I said yes to an outing instead of finding an excuse to stay home ? i look back at my last five years and wonder how loosing weight has made such a difference. Be ready to amaze yourself.

        BTW, the liquid diet sucks, one more day and you are over the worst. You can do it.

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