How much of ur long term success is from developing healthy habits or actual restriction?

[marfar7 1,533]

I'm 10mths post op and still heavily rely on my sleeve restriction. I can only eat so much without being in extreme pain. I'm wondering if the longer I go, will the restriction still be my main goal or if the healthier habits I should have picked up by now take over?

What do u think the secrets of ur success r attributed to? I know I should pick up healthy habits just in case I lose the optimal retriction I now enjoy. I guess I'm holding on to the hope Ill always be able to eat very little and that I can continue eating whatever I want. A girl can dream can't she?

[joatsaint 2,814]

For me, it's hard to separate the two (restriction/healthy eating) in determining which I rely on more for success. I pretty much ditched all my unhealthy foods right after surgery and then relied on my restriction to keep me from over eating on healthy food.

After the 1st year, I let some old habits (eating when I'm not hungry or just eating out of boredom) creep back in. Even though I was eating really healthy stuff (Beans, lentils, low glycemic vegetables and lean protein) the calories stared adding up and my weight loss stopped from December 2013 to March 2014.

I had to get back on track and go back to carefully watching my caloric intake. And when I wanted to eat, I had to think on it and decide if I was really hungry or was I just bored and wanted something to do.

Now, I'm no healthy eating purist, I still let myself eat a little dessert here and there. But I know that if I take in too many calories of any food, my weight loss is going to stop.

[McButterpants 2,846]

This is an interesting top - thanks for starting it!

I think it's a little bit of both...restriction and new habits. At least that's how I'm feeling now.

I ate 1/4 of a bagel the other day (one of my favorite things to do on Sunday morning pre-op was to eat Bagels and drink coffee on the back deck with my husband....). I knew when I toasted that bagel that I wouldn't be able to eat much of it, thus only making 1/4 of a bagel. I felt the restriction just as I was taking the last bite, so I was happy. My problem came from the rest of the day - I craved carby things all day and had a hard time controlling my hunger. My take-away from that experience...I probably am not going to have bagels any more! :-)

I feel like the restriction and the fact that some foods feel better in my tummy than others, along with better decisions will help my success.

I also feel that the same "excuses"/rationale/ reasons for not exercising prior to surgery are coming back...I need to watch that I do not become as sedentary as I was before. That's a slippery slope for me.

[gamergirl 4,610]

At 9 months out, I know I could "eat around " my restriction if I choose to. I have to rely on healthy habits, and on low carbs to keep my hunger down, and to keep losing. It's very easy to pack on calories on the odd days where I let myself eat more, I can hit 1100 calories without even trying, and still have room for more. Most sleeved women I speak to seem to maintain at 1200-1300. I can eat beyond that and not feel restriction based on the choices I make, and how often I eat. If I choose to graze on little pieces of cake all day, I'm sure I could do some damage.

More and more research is showing it's not the restriction, it's the metabolic re-set that causes weight loss. My fear is that if I eat high carb foods like I did before, or graze, I will lose the metabolic re-set the sleeve gave me.

[Fiddleman 4,376]

For me, long term success is definitely weighted on the side of healthy habits. It has to be. From a macro perspective, I believe this is how WLS is designed to work. It gives an individual 6 months of help where healthy habits can be formed. After 6 months, not so much. It becomes easier to eat larger portions, even those that are focused on the so called dense Proteins. If you figure out the good habits over the first 6 months, then it will not matter when restriction lessens or, in worse case, goes away completely.

[Nicolanz 1,484]

At 19 months out, healthy habits weighs in probably 80%. It's really easy to eat around the sleeve. Yea, I still have great restriction at one sitting but if i ate a cheeseburger and fries over 4 hours instead of 30 minutes. ....it really doesn't make a difference.

[CowgirlJane 14,261]

I lean toward healthy habits but I still have great restriction and do not keep eating... stop when no longer hungry... so they go hand in hand.

[ProudGrammy 8,322]

longer I go, will the restriction still be my main goal or if the healthier habits

@@marfar7

when i was early early PO and could feel total restriction........i thought cool this is gonna be great

MAYBE as long as 10 months i did feel that great restriction

unfortunately - ,2.5 years PO - i don't feel that restriction as much

can not rely on my tummy telling me when to stop

i know the portion i should put on my plate

eating too much feeling my tummy really hurts

i have eaten too much (really only a few times) and my tummy is not happy, but thats way after I should have stopped eating

at the very beginning my surgeon jokingly, but true - said to me to eat until i'm full, but stop two bites earlier

as we always say - we're all different

i have heard on the forum from some people - after a long time they still have that marvelous restriction

i wish i did too

but my sleeve is still wonderful, helping me - and makes my life much better

my lifestyle/eating habits i've learned - remain in tact

as with some/many/most i will indulge in a couple (or three or four) bites of something that is not really Kosher

but..........we sometimes/always tell OP that we will be able to eat anything PO

shouldn't deprive ourselves

i will eat much smalllller quanities

bottom line, you should/must continue to eat, healthy continue with the good habits you've learned

and watch how little you eat

97 lbs lost

holding the door open for you to enter the century club

keep up your great job!!!!!

kathy

Edited May 18, 2014 by proudgrammy

[LipstickLady 25,682]

I love love love my restriction, but I had VSG, not just to get lose weight, but to get HEALTHY.

We all know thin people who never exercise, have horrible high blood pressure and cholesterol because of of their eating habits, always have indigestion and heartburn, etc. They are doing horrible damage to their bodies that they can't see because they "look good" on the outside.

My goal is to be healthy and to look healthy, so I choose not to test out my restriction but to make great choices to feed my body by giving it great nutrition. I spent 20+ years abusing my body with bad food choices, excessive portions, carb loading, etc. I was very fortunate to be as healthy as I was when I finally had surgery, despite my morbid obesity. My choice to have surgery was my commitment to myself to finally start taking care of ME from the inside out. Do I have treats here and there? ABSOLUTELY! Do I ever feel guilty anymore about what I eat? No way in hell. I am making great choices 95% of the time and when I choose to eat something "naughty", I do it with intent, I enjoy it, and if it wasn't planned, I add a few more steps in my day or an extra Zumba class to make up for it.

I guess it all boils down to WHY you had surgery. Did you have it to look thin or did you have it to be healthy? The answer to that question will answer your topic, IMHO.

[Fiddleman 4,376]

I might have mischaracterized my restriction above. It is still present, but different from, say, post op 3 months, 6 months and even one year. At 3 months, I could not eat more than 2 ounces, at 6 months more than 3-4 ounces and at one year more than 5 ounces of chicken. It also depends on speed of eating and moisture content. Today, 5 ounces of chicken is all I can do before being full. However, I can eat a huge salad as in 3-4 cups. Big difference. I make a point of always eating low fat dense Protein first before a green. Rarely do I eat carbs unless it is intentionally planned (breakfast or after working out). Let me say Protein Bars are sometimes a trigger (read: problem) for me. They do not cause restriction and, in my earlier post op life, I ate a lot of them at once (a binge). So I have since decided not to have them around because I know they will be a problem. Just always remember dense protein first and you should be fine long term.

[Chelenka 827]

What he said...

Alas I don't feel the restriction nearly as much at 15 months post-op. Though I do feel it of I over eat and it's misery. I think everyone's advice here is great. It's very important to retrain your eating habits and lifestyle. It's also important to enjoy your life. So I try to enjoy my food so that I feel satisfied. Then I'm less likely to overeat or go grazing in the kitchen. Boredom and stress are big eating triggers for me and the emotional eating behavior and food addiction is what I am finding the hardest to address effectively.

[Georgia 2,911]

Okay, I have a question in regards to restriction vs healthy eating habits. I still have GREAT restriction and usually am completely full after only a smaller amount of food at any given meal but here is my question - how many of you get hungry a few 2 or so) hours later? And it doesn't matter if I have Protein Or not.

I'm four years out. This has only been occurring in the last few months. I can't decide if I'm experiencing REAL hunger or head hunger. I don't have any reflux symptoms so doesn't seem like excess stomach acid (which I'm told can mimic hunger) but I'm also told that there is "silent" reflux. Any thoughts?

[Fiddleman 4,376]

Happens to me Georgia. I get hungry 2 hours later after last meal. I just eat again, keeping meal calories small enough so I hit my daily calorie quota and not go over. If I am "hungry"again for something immediately after eating I will wait it out because it may not be real hunger.

Edited May 20, 2014 by Fiddleman

[Chelenka 827]

I started to experience hunger within 3 hours of eating at about 8 months post-op. Doesn't seem to matter what I eat. However, my recent efforts to eat more slowly seem to help a little. Not sure why except maybe the food stays in my stomach a little longer and thus I get more of a sense of satisfaction. Some of it is definitely head hunger but discerning the difference isn't very easy for me. I'm a serious head-case when it comes to food! LOL!

[gamergirl 4,610]

I routinely get hungry 3-4 hours after my last meal and my meals are largely Protein. I think that's quite "normal"?