I had my one year post-surgical follow up appointment today. My surgeon was very pleased with my lab results and confirmed that I am now healthy. His only caution was that he wants my weight to stabilize, since I lost a few more pounds since my 9-month checkup. It would not be healthy to lose anymore. This is not news to me. I don't want to fade away -- I want to stay healthy and vital. But I am worried about adding calories to stop the weight loss. In the past, when I loosened the reins on my self control, I lost it and slipped back into my old eating patterns. Have I really learned anything this past year or am I still the same person? I will keep checking in here and updating my food/exercise log on MFP. These are new behaviors that I hope will reinforce my determination not to backslide.

You can do simple things that won't really change your habits. If you have dairy, make sure it's full fat (2%milk not skim, full fat yogurt and cottage cheese not 0%). If you do Protein bars, switch them out for some whole grain bars with more carbs. Add in just one more healthy but high calorie snack to your daily menu... 1/2 cup of nuts, a banana, tuna or crab salad made with real mayo and served with crackers, whole grain Cereal with whole milk, a cup of raw veggies with dip or ranch dressing, etc. this is what I did when I hit goal and wanted to stop losing.

Are you seeing a therapist or have access to a counseling group? Being afraid to eat more in order to stop losing weight is just as much of an eating disorder as eating too much.

I've lost another pound over the past few weeks. I increased my calories by about 150 and loosened the reins on my carbs, but I also started walking daily at around the same time. I guess that canceled out my extra calories. I don't want to lose anymore, but I don't want to start gaining, either. I know that for me, gaining weight would be automatic, if I go back to my old ways. But on the other hand, it's not good to be underweight when you're over 60. I need to get to the right balance. It's a learning process.

I'm newly (6 weeks) at maintenance.

It's a strange head game. But I've been reading that a lot of people go through mental gymnastics as they transition from trying to make the scale go down to trying to make it stick at one place.

I recently asked a "room" full of very smart bariatric patients who are mostly in maintenance, "How many calories a day do you eat to maintain your weight?"

Their answers were all over the board:

* 900 - 1100 for a 120 pound woman

* 1800 for a 145 pound woman

* 1100-1200 calories for a 150 pound woman

* 1800-2000 for a 160 pound woman

* 1600-1800 for a 170 pound woman

* 1200-1400 for a 180 pound man

* 2500 for a 230 pound guy

Some patients who weighed the same could maintain only by eating 500-600 or even 800 calories less than others near the same weights.

I don't know how you figure this out without tracking, although I'm sure some have. I plan to keep tracking for some time.

And tonight I found an old thread on maintenance that's very interesting and describes the struggle that maintenance can be for many people. If you haven't seen it yet, check this out: http://www.bariatricpal.com/topic/183655-official-maintenance-thread/