Anyone who is in maintenance - how long did it take for your body to get past the ups and downs of carb weight gain when you added them back in at maintenance? I am where I would like to maintain but as soon as I add in carbs, even staying well within my calories for maintenance I gain 3-4 lbs! I am sure this is a blip but it completely freaks me out and sends me straight back to a strict low carb diet.

I have had to stay away from carbs still. But for me it is good, I think they trigger bad eating habits for myself...my maintenance had an initial gain if about 4 lbs but it has been steady more or less...I still fluctuate within 2+/- depending on several factors. I am getting ready to go off maintenance however, to see if I have it in me to drop another size or two, to be sure I am where I want to be, and maybe get a bit more weight off for my knee.

It is also the type of carb, and how it is added.

Everyone is different but I am the same way at two years out. When i eat a lot of carbs my weight goes up.

Right now I sit 7 lbs higher than my lowest weight since I eat potatoes, chips, rice, Beans, bread and all the other stuff including candy occassionally. Listen, I had this surgery to be healthy first above being skinny. Skinny is good but not at the cost of being miserable. I look at it as I am okay being a size 6/8 rather than a size 4/6 if I can enjoy my life and not be militant about every bite. I am still well within a healthy normal BMI range. Still about 10 pounds under surgeons goal and with menopause going on now, this is a miracle. So I chose to be healthy and happy, not just skinny. Once a week I try to have an all Protein diet (under 20 carbs that day) so I can eat the carbs the rest of the week.

Now, you have to make a decision: What do you want?

Best wishes! No regrets, I love my sleeve.

I guess my issue is my goal IS my normal BMI - as in, just inside the range. So any gain pushes me outside of it.I want to maintain HERE, not 3-7 lbs more, you know? I can't lose track of the number on the scale as that is how I gained all my weight + some after reaching goal on Weight Watchers.

I think you can plan food enough that you can "plan" enjoyment.

I have actually turned my Quest for healthy food into meeting new friends, and learning to prepare good food (nope, still can't cook - but I can prep delicious whole food recipies that good for me).

I always ate well, my enemies were savory food,cheeses and oils and nuts and grains! oh my! baked breads full of nuts and such, and tons of fruit and veggies, so I have kept what I knew I needed, but modified it to where I can live.

Carbs take water to metabolize so when you eat them, your body holds on to the H20. If you want to eat them regularly, aim for a weight 3-4 lbs below where you want your goal weight to be if you eat carbs. It's just a mind game with me--I gained 2 lbs in the past two days and I know that I didn't eat 6600 more calories than usual, so it's just water. I did have saltines and quite a lot of cheese...