The Maintenance Thread

[FluffyChix 17,410]

17 hours ago, Cheeseburgh said:

I am officially in maintenance. Saw the surgeon today and they don’t want me to lose anymore weight. He is the nicest young guy, he is so excited at how well I’ve done. He and the nutritionist both suggested I gain a few pounds because of my age and health history (cancer). I explained why I don’t want to do that and he understood I was ignoring his advice.

Here is a video of him, he’s so cute I want to stick him in my pocket. (He reminds me of my oldest son)

Matthew Pittman

Congrats girlie!!!! Wooohoooooo!!! I think you look so healthy and vital and agreed! Weight gain after cancer is not so good for us! (psst-he's adorbs!)

[2Bsmaller18 435]

I’m 6 months post bypass. The most volume of food I can eat in a 15-20 minute sitting is 1/3 to maybe 1/2 cup. Today I had 1 egg, about 1/4 cup of veggies and shredded cheese on top. The veggies cook down so it’s a half cup. I can eat half of it in a few minutes then have to wait and come back 10-15 minutes later to finish it.
If I eat yogurt I can get a cup that’s 5-6 oz in 5 -10 minutes easily.
Is this about the same for you?

[ms.sss 14,732]

@2Bsmaller18:

I'm 10m post op, so a little further out than you, but I am a verrrrrrry slow eater.

These days I normally take about an hour to eat a full on meal (which is way faster than the 90 mins it used to take me). Hard to say volume-wise as I eat ALOT of salad greens and I normally use weight vs volume to track.

But to get an idea, here's what I fixed for myself to eat for my first meal today (I ate about 2/3 of it in just a little over an hour and will eat the rest in a couple more hours):

• 29g spinach leaves + 24g romaine lettuce + 23g carrots + 17g cucumber + low-cal vinaigrette
• 29g walnuts
• 118g pan fried chicken

P.S. I probably eat slowly more out of habit than necessity now though, but I will still get foamies/barfies/pain if I eat too much too fast.

Edited August 24, 2019 by ms.sss

[Cheeseburgh 3,075]

Figuring out maintenance is a head game. I’m still working on wrapping my head around the fact that I’m no longer trying to lose. I set my calories to 1200 on MFP but I feel guilty if I go over 1000. I lose weight slowly and I worked HARD to get to this point. I know it will take a little time to adjust but ugh!

Anyone have tips or suggestions? My BMR is 1260 according to my clinic.

[FluffyChix 17,410]

I officially called maintenance this weekend, thanks to my BPals and my surgeon. And it's a total mindfu*k to be honest. Cuz even now, it feels like I'm "faking" and just horning in on y'alls thread (you know the people who are bonafide in maintenance--the club I don't belong to cuz I haven't gotten there yet)...so weird.

So far it doesn't feel very different than when I was in WLM--foodwise?

[ms.sss 14,732]

26 minutes ago, Cheeseburgh said:

Figuring out maintenance is a head game. I’m still working on wrapping my head around the fact that I’m no longer trying to lose. I set my calories to 1200 on MFP but I feel guilty if I go over 1000. I lose weight slowly and I worked HARD to get to this point. I know it will take a little time to adjust but ugh!

Anyone have tips or suggestions? My BMR is 1260 according to my clinic.

So cliche, but TIME. Give yourself some time to get used to your new status and find a new normal routine and you will eventually find your head in a better place.

Trial and error will get you there!

[VIKING 0424 1,105]

10 minutes ago, FluffyChix said:

I officially called maintenance this weekend, thanks to my BPals and my surgeon. And it's a total mindfu*k to be honest. Cuz even now, it feels like I'm "faking" and just horning in on y'alls thread (you know the people who are bonafide in maintenance--the club I don't belong to cuz I haven't gotten there yet)...so weird.

So far it doesn't feel very different than when I was in WLM--foodwise?

i second this

[ms.sss 14,732]

10 minutes ago, FluffyChix said:

I officially called maintenance this weekend, thanks to my BPals and my surgeon. And it's a total mindfu*k to be honest. Cuz even now, it feels like I'm "faking" and just horning in on y'alls thread (you know the people who are bonafide in maintenance--the club I don't belong to cuz I haven't gotten there yet)...so weird.

So far it doesn't feel very different than when I was in WLM--foodwise?

Yay, new maintainer (and you are a REAL one, lady)!

Once you start loosening up your food menu plan, I suspect it will feel a little bit different ❤️

[FluffyChix 17,410]

Just now, ms.sss said:

Yay, new maintainer (and you are a REAL one, lady)!

Once you start loosening up your food menu plan, I suspect it will feel a little bit different ❤️

LOL, ok, so here's the question though. If the way I've been eating has resulted in this chart where I gain/lose the same lbs each week, aren't I already ON the forever plan? And there won't be any "loosening" cuz if I loosen, don't you think that will result in a gain? Here's my weight loss graph from this past year. LOL. It kinda sucks!

[ms.sss 14,732]

(EDIT: I was in the middle of writing this and was going to ask for maintenance updates from others when the posts form Cheeseburg and Fluffy came in...we are on same page this morning, literally LOL )

----------

Ok, meant to write this up a couple days ago on my 10-month post-op "month-aversary, but better late than never, I guess.

Anyhoo, an update on the maintenance path so far:

I'm now about 3 months into maintenance and I'm feeling the groove. Yeah, I lost 2+ lbs this last month, but I'm not sweating it. I'm still in a healthy BMI range, feel and look great, and comments from the annoying 2-3 people now roll off my back for the most part (though on my less patient days I say a silent "eff you" underneath my understanding smile).

Not counting my record-breaking calorie intake when on vacation this month, when I was upward of 3000+ cals a day, I'd say I've been averaging about 1500-2000 for the non-vacation days. But I think my sweet spot is still a liiiiiitle bit higher based on my exercise level*.

I notice the loosening of my restriction. I still can't eat very much nor very fast compared to people with normal stomachs, but I'd say I can eat about 25-35% more in volume than 3 months ago...specifically, I can eat about 6-7 bites in a row now before feeling the need to take a break.

*My exercise level has increased. I suspect I transferred my focus from weight loss to fitness/exercise. I am obsessed with running a 10K consistently and have been super motivated by the results of my arm & stomach toning efforts to keep it up. I often see people doing stuff and think, "hey, I can do that too", and then I do it or keep trying. I'm reverting to being the annoying little sister my siblings complained about who lives by the anything-you-can-do-I-can-do-better mantra. What is happpppennning??!? Mr. loves it though, he is totally digging that I'm interested and doing all his fave things with him (well except cycling, I will never love it...it hurts my bony butt...so not sure about a previous lofty goal of completing a triathalon next year...but I digress).

Finally, I am trying to wean myself off my PPI. It has not been successful. I find that I can go without for about 2 days and then I get to too acidy. Have an appt with my PCP this week to discuss.

Would love to hear/read other maintainers' updates ❤️❤️

Edited August 26, 2019 by ms.sss

[Cheeseburgh 3,075]

8 minutes ago, FluffyChix said:

LOL, ok, so here's the question though. If the way I've been eating has resulted in this chart where I gain/lose the same lbs each week, aren't I already ON the forever plan? And there won't be any "loosening" cuz if I loosen, don't you think that will result in a gain? Here's my weight loss graph from this past year. LOL. It kinda sucks!

I kind of feel like that too, however, I haven’t hovered around the same weight as consistently as you. I told my dietician last week that even though I’m not eating 1200 calories my weight has been pretty stable.

Her response was; That is your body telling you you’ve reached the weight where you should be. Gradually add calories and continue working out.

As you can see I heard what she said, I just haven’t wrapped my head around it.

[ms.sss 14,732]

16 minutes ago, FluffyChix said:

LOL, ok, so here's the question though. If the way I've been eating has resulted in this chart where I gain/lose the same lbs each week, aren't I already ON the forever plan? And there won't be any "loosening" cuz if I loosen, don't you think that will result in a gain? Here's my weight loss graph from this past year. LOL. It kinda sucks!

Hmmm...I suppose our bodies have the final say. Only time and experimentation will tell?

The one main takeaway I got from all this is that there is no exact scientific cause-effect explanation to every situation. At first I upped my cals to ~1000 and lost almost 9+ lbs the first month. Then I upped it to ~1200-1500 and lost 2+. Then I did 3000+ cals daily over the course of a week and post-poop lost 2 lbs.

For now, maybe go by how you feel and/or your inches measurements and/or how you look in the mirror vs that number on the scale? (though in your case, Fluffy, get a second opinion on your assessment of your mirror image cuz you seem to think you are bigger than you actually are ❤️)

[2Bsmaller18 435]

I agree that the scale jumps around a lot. My weight has been within the same 1-2 pounds for the past few weeks but I just took measurements and I am down 1/4-3/4 of an inch so obviously I am building up muscle and loosing fat and my body shape is changing. My jeans and shorts (and bra unfortunately) are also suddenly looser at the same weight.

[sillykitty 10,708]

2 hours ago, FluffyChix said:

LOL, ok, so here's the question though. If the way I've been eating has resulted in this chart where I gain/lose the same lbs each week, aren't I already ON the forever plan? And there won't be any "loosening" cuz if I loosen, don't you think that will result in a gain? Here's my weight loss graph from this past year. LOL. It kinda sucks!

I'm combining this, with your comment on the IF thread (I missed it in my reply on there, but I think it fits here better anyway)

"My 5lb window will be set between 130-135lbs. I know that sounds like it's only a "reframe" of goal 130lbs. But it's baby steps. I may later decide to make my 5 lb window be 135-140. I just know I feel better under 135. (Yes, I can feel those extra 3 lbs lol.)"

I think your maintenance window is too low. You are at 133.4 now and got there at least partially as a result of your twisted bowels and subsequent "reset" type diet. I REALLY REALLY don't think you should set window so low it will be a constant struggle. It will be far too easy for you to go over 135, and then you'll feel like you've failed.

You want to stay below 135, but your body doesn't seem to agree. I think the only place you feel those extra 3 lbs is in your dysphoric head Why fight your body, your MD & RD, to get to this mythical weight that you will finally feel like a success at?

Another reason why I think you need to raise that upper maintenance limit is gaining and losing a couple of lbs overnight is completely normal and expected, as you well know. It isn't real weight gain, as you also know. I'm afraid you're going to drive yourself crazy fighting false gains.

You need some room to play with your diet, upping your cals etc.. I think there is a good possibility your body doesn't want to get to 130, and is fighting it tooth & nail. So even if you dropped down to 400 cals/day, you'll still maintain. The other side of that coin is you very well may be able to increase your calories far above what you think you can. But you need some room at the top of your range. You're going to bounce up, and you need to be ok with that. The test will be if it bounces up and sticks around. To me, it then becomes quality of life issue. Do you want to fight your body everyday to stay under "goal". Or can you be happy, and feel like the rock star you are, at a slightly higher weight, that you know is a healthy BMI?

We've established you need a goal & and challenge. How about a goal of shattering that dysmorphic fun house mirror. I guarantee you that everyone now sees you as a thin person. Can it be your goal to see yourself that way?

Tough love I know, but still love! ❤️ 😘

[2Bsmaller18 435]

I saw the surgeon and nutritionist yesterday. They were both happy with where I am at. I stood on a scale that measures muscle and body fat etc. Luckily according to it I have only lost a half pound of muscle in 6 months. I just started back to lifting more weights last month so I am confident I will get back or improve where I was initially anyway. It said for peak ratios I should lose 3.5 pounds so I am not going to purposely try to drop weight but if a few pounds comes off slowly over the next few months I am not going to stress about it. I also am going to watch that the pounds don't go up. The scale said my BMR was 1300 calories. I am getting around 1000 now and have been the same 1-2 pounds for 3 weeks now but the nutritionist said my body is probably still in a starvation mode and will probably level out in the next few months. She anticipates that my level will be around 1200 calories to maintain long term.

She said long term on 1200 calories I should be at 40% carbs, 30% Protein and 30% fat. Right now that seems so high in carbs. The nutritionist suggested I start adding in some more carbs slowly. Things like a half cup of oatmeal or a half piece of grainy toast to get extra Fiber. That just seems crazy to me at this point so I will have to test that.

The hand outs all say to wean away from Protein Shakes but they were both fine with me drinking 1 a day indefinitely. Their concern is that it's a slider and if my appetite increases then it would be better to get protein from food that fills me up but at this point to get my calories and protein in it it's fine.

I talked to the MD abut Hair loss and he said there are so many Probiotics etc that get destroyed with surgery as well as the low calorie and protein that it affects you for awhile. We talked about supplements and he said a probiotic would be beneficial. He also personally likes to Coromega liquid to get more Omegas in.

Has anyone tried these?

He said to come back at 9 months or wait until the 1 year mark. My blood work was fine so we will check it in Feb. and annually there after. I asked them about long term issues and complications. They both said when people stop Vitamins or go into the hospital for other issues and don't get the vitamins it can cause issues but they felt like I had a handle on everything.