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Motivation and Awareness for the long haul



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Now that I'm getting close to my weight loss goal, I'm starting to realize that I need to think and strategize for the " maintenance"

Phase of weight loss. What and how are my fellow VSG and RNY recipients doing or planning to do to keep focused on eating right and exercising after reaching your goal? Please share any tips, tricks or words of wisdom!

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Congratulations!

I am not close to maintenance myself, but the first thing I plan to do when getting close to maintenance is to make an appointment with my NUT to talk about strategies.

Keep us posted on how you are doing.

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I'm dealing with this right now. It's much harder than I thought to stay motivated, but I'm working on it! My excersise has dwindled down to 2-3 days a week, although I'm still eating healthy 90% of the time. Instead of a weight loss goal, I will just have to make fitness goals for myself. I also have invested quite a bit of money in new clothes for my size 6 body, so being able to wear them for as long as I can is also great motivation for me.

You gotta get it where you can find it! :)

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I've been in maintenance phase since April. I think the one thing that has helped more than anything else is weighing every single day. I started gaining a little bit back in October but because I knew about it right away, I could fix it right away. It took me almost 2 months to lose 5 pounds, so that makes me even more motivated to not gain again. Also, clothing...I love clothing and if I gain weight my entire closet will not fit me, lol.

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I have been maintaining for awhile. Here is my mindset...goal weight isn't the "end" it is more like the beginning of the REAL challenges. While I do eat more, and follow rules less strictly than I did during the weight loss phase, I still strongly identify as someone who is actively managing weight, fitness and health. I still set goals, I weigh for accountability, I have non scale related goals and victories, I surround myself with active fitness oriented people, etc. This is a fundamental shift for me from my old ways of thinking when I was either dieting and losing weight or not dieting and eating in a disordered way.

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    • LeighaTR

      I am new here today... and only two weeks out from my sleeve surgery on the 23rd. I am amazed I have kept my calories down to 467 today so far... that leaves me almost 750 left for dinner and maybe a snack. This is going to be tough for two weeks... but I have to believe I can do it!
      · 0 replies
      1. This update has no replies.
    • Doughgurl

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    • Alisa_S

      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.
      · 1 reply
      1. LeighaTR

        I hope your surgery on Wednesday goes well. You will be able to do all sorts of new things as you find your new normal after surgery. I don't know this from experience yet, but I am seeing a lot of positive things from people who have had it done. Best of luck!

    • Alisa_S

      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.
      · 1 reply
      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.

    • CaseyP1011

      Officially here for a long time, not just a good time💪
      · 0 replies
      1. This update has no replies.
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