So thought I'd start this thread for those who are currently in maintenance (or are trying to be ), there are not as many active maintenance-ers on here, but I'm hoping for the ones that are, they can chime in and impart their wisdom for those are trying to achieve that coveted balance of weight stability.

...or we can just chat about whatever. LOL.

12 minutes ago, sillykitty said:

Right now I just eat pretty freely. The only things I do that are "bariatric" is weigh myself everyday I'm home, and log everything. I also inadvertently IF a lot of days because I don't get around to eating until later in the day.

*Required disclaimer

I appear to an outlier. I had an easier surgery, easier recovery, lost weight quickly despite being "off plan" frequently and rarely exercising. I totally recognize I've been incredibly lucky. I don't post a lot about it on here because I don't want people to hate me ?. I am also fully prepared to adjust my diet and exercise when I start to regain. I believe I'm still in my honeymoon period, and this can't last forever.

...if only we could ALL be outliers *sigh*

(and i don't hate you )

Edited June 4, 20197 yr by ms.sss

38 minutes ago, ms.sss said:

...if only we could ALL be outliers *sigh*

You are already an outlier ... 110 lbs in less than 8 months .... just saying!

Edited June 4, 20197 yr by sillykitty

well i guess im in this phase a s well now have made my dr s goal and my personal goal still feel i could loose 10 more or soo think i will just keep doing what i have been doing and see what happens with out increasing the calories and increasing the exercise see how i feel and where the weight wants to be i still weigh every week and keep a record of what i consume daily water and food never hungry so i eat on a clock not when i would feel hungry otherwise i would not eat at all lol

9 minutes ago, VIKING 0424 said:

well i guess im in this phase a s well now have made my dr s goal and my personal goal still feel i could loose 10 more or soo think i will just keep doing what i have been doing and see what happens with out increasing the calories and increasing the exercise see how i feel and where the weight wants to be i still weigh every week and keep a record of what i consume daily Water and food never hungry so i eat on a clock not when i would feel hungry otherwise i would not eat at all lol

I miss not being hungry!

That is the downside of grazing all day. The more I eat, the hungrier I am.

I was convinced I was going to be an outlier and lose weight very quickly since I had such a good metabolism most of my life. It took me at least 5 months to accept that is not the case with me. I’m happy for everyone that loses faster than average and happy for everyone that keeps plodding along. We are all in the same boat, some of you have motors and I have an oar. ?

21 hours ago, ms.sss said:

Do you ladies find you eat more food overall (lots of healthier options), or just eat more foods with higher calories (adding more treats and off-plan items)? Or a combination of both?

I guess I’m an outlier. I hit goal in six months. I struggled to up my calories. I added low glycemic carbs (sweet potato, brown rice, whole wheat bread/pasta *nothing white or processed*). Sweet potatoes were easier on my sleeve restriction. I still can’t eat brown rice. I feel bloated as it expands

I eat a combination. Most healthy options and I indulge within reason. 1300 to 1500 is not a lot of food for me to get in. I eat small meals every 3 hours. I can eat this calorie range in healthy foods (protein veggies fruit low glycemic carbs) It just took time and practice.

My diet changes when I distance run. I eat a lot more calories and carbs. It surprises me that I can 2500 to 3000 with surgery. I eat all day long. When I gain a bit, I go back to eating weight loss mode calories.

On 6/3/2019 at 11:05 AM, catwoman7 said:

like a tablespoon of peanut butter)

i used this one to pop up calories.

watch those labels. should read peanuts and maybe salt if the list keeps going find another brand

@Healthy_life2, @allwet @sillykitty: as Sleeve maintainers, do you still wait 30 mins to drink after eating.

(I'm not convinced this rule is applicable to maintaining sleevers as the pyloric valve intact...??)

I sometimes take small sips, like if I'm having wine with a meal, or eating spicy foods. But in general I wait longer than 30 minutes. Not because I'm being "good" just because it is uncomfortable for me to put liquids on top of a full stomach.

5 minutes ago, ms.sss said:

@Healthy_life2, @allwet @sillykitty: as Sleeve maintainers, do you still wait 30 mins to drink after eating.

(I'm not convinced this rule is applicable to maintaining sleevers as the pyloric valve intact...??)

could be - not sure since I'm an RNY'er

24 minutes ago, ms.sss said:

do you still wait 30 mins to drink after eating

i still do because my restriction is still very much there and i feel way to full after eating to add any liquid.

I sip with my meals. I'd rather fill up on food. Than fluids

Sent from my SM-G930T using BariatricPal mobile app

I've been in maintenance for just under a year and had hit goal really quickly (6-8 months), so still had a large restriction when I started. I switched my diet to nutrient dense foods and try to eat stuff that I really like.

Even now I'm still very restricted (5 oz of solid stuff max per meal and if it's like meat it takes a long time to digest (~hour). I'm really active so I have to get in enough calories or I lose weight and if I move off my current weight I just don't feel good. My BMI is still on the high side, but I'm not a good BMI body type (lot of muscle) so the DR's are very happy with me at this weight.

Food wise I'm consuming about 2300 calories per day with a range of maybe 1500 - 3k depending on what I'm doing. I tracked in great detail for the first year. Now I still track but only spot check days here and there. My big tracking is a weekly weigh in and as long as my weight is within a 5 lb range I'm happy. If I'm low I make an effort to eat a little more, if I'm high I make an effort to eat a little less or more lean stuff. Foods for me consist primarily of protein with limited carbs and very minimal fruit and vegetables (I would love to eat these, but I don't have time / room and if I eat them then I don't get enough calories).

I generally eat when I feel hungry and this works out to 3 meals and 3 snacks per day. Here's an example of what I might eat on a normal day:

• Breakfast: 2 eggs, 1 slice american cheese, 1 bagel thin with butter
• ~10am snack: Apple fritter (450 calories - yeah not the greatest...)
• lunch: 4 oz chicken salad with light mayo, 1 bagel thin with butter, sometimes 1 oz of crackers or pretzels
• ~3pm snack: 10 crackers and 3 oz of cheese slices
• Dinner: steak 4 oz (or 1 sausage or repeat lunch or breakfast)
• ~8pm snack: Plain popcorn with salt or bagel thin, or crackers and 3 oz of cheese or italian ice or if I worked out a lot or am starving repeat a meal
• I shoot for 64 - 100 oz of water

I don't eat every snack / meal every day and on days when I'm running a few miles, biking or other calorie intense exercise I'll eat more. If I get busy I forget to eat or run out of time so am low on calories. If I feel like I'm eating too much I'll have something that fills me up quickly like 1/4 cup of rice or steak or something else that makes me full and won't let me eat additional foods. I generally don't eat potatos, pasta or rice as I'm immediately full with these and can easily end up in pain.

Great thread and hope this helps someone. I'm really happy with my new lifestyle and don't feel like I'm missing out on anything food wise and generally just eat when I'm hungry.

I noticed that most of these posts are about the struggles trying to increase calories to stop from continuing to lose weight. I find that interesting. I'm 9 months post sleeve and still have about 15 lbs to go to reach goal. This last month or two it's been real slow to come off. I just can't imagine getting to a point where I have to try to stop from losing.

2 minutes ago, rs said:

I noticed that most of these posts are about the struggles trying to increase calories to stop from continuing to lose weight. I find that interesting. I'm 9 months post sleeve and still have about 15 lbs to go to reach goal. This last month or two it's been real slow to come off. I just can't imagine getting to a point where I have to try to stop from losing.

I think part of it depends on body type, activity level and muscle mass. If you're very active or a larger body type / muscle mass getting calories can be hard with the restriction. I also think some people have more mal absorption than others with the sleeve, I can definitely tell I don't absorb stuff the way I used to. If I eat fatty stuff it goes right through me and isn't being absorbed, so much so that I need to be really careful or bad things happen (fried food is OFF the menu). Others don't have this issue. Not sure if its related to sleeve size, how the procedure was done or just the luck of the draw. I've had dumping with the sleeve a couple times (it was absolutely horrible), which is pretty unusual too