I’m a little over a year since surgery and there is pretty much nothing I can’t eat. It’s kind of scary and I sort of wish it was more of a pain for some things. I’m maintaining at about 6 lbs above my ultimate goal weight. I know I’ve developed some bad habits but it really doesn’t affect me. I keep wondering, did I just get really lucky or if I don’t get back very strict (I’m not THAT bad) will it all go downhill soon. I know I need to follow the docs orders. Just thought the hard times would persist longer. I am recognizing that maybe I am overly confident and too slack with my diet. I wonder if the folks that have re-gained weight, did it seem like they could not be as strict and not gain and then all of the sudden the bad habits caught up. (My fear)

just so you know, the malabsorption wears off by about two years out, and many (most) of us gain 10-20 lbs during year three. It's not inevitable, but it happens to most of us. So I wouldn't slack off too much and let bad habits sneak back in - otherwise it'll be hard to pull back if/when that rebound happens. I thought it would never happen to me, but it did. I'm about 17 lbs higher than my lowest weight, and I was convinced I would NEVER gain that weight back. WRONG. I did. But even though I hate to admit it, I probably look healthier at my current weight. I'd gotten a bit too thin before.

I gained 10-12 pounds during COVID and I'm slowly, SLOWLY, getting it back off. But I was eating candy bars and cookies and totally disregarding my diet. Now I'm refocused on protein and water and no sweets.

I have been on some sweets too. I need to get off it for sure. Thank you catwoman for the feedback. This helps reaffirm what I was thinking.

Im a sleeve, but i’ll throw in my experience in here too, if that’s ok.

I notice that when I stop paying attention to my weight (daily morning weigh-ins), and/or stop tracking what I eat in terms of total calories, and to a lesser degree slack off on exercise, my weight will start to creep up.

I went on an extended vacay 4 months into maintenance last year and came home 5lbs heavier. Went back to my routine and lost it in about 2 weeks.

This year, I gained 6lbs between Jan-Mar. It took me about 4 weeks to lose it.

Since the beginning of pandemic to about mid-summer, I gained back those 6 lbs. It’s been 4 months since “trying” to lose those lbs, and i still have 1lb left to get back to my “normal” weight.

Now, i don’t think its because my sleeve isn’t working anymore nor has my metabolism changed in any significant way. I am just not as “gung-ho” about losing the weight as I once was. I know I could have dropped the extra lbs in a much faster rate by eating less calories, and I have no doubt in my mind that I could do it, I guess just don't want to try that hard. So that’s not my sleeve losing it’s effectiveness, its just me having different priorities.

I will add though that I do have a certain weight (+5lbs) that triggers my “ok, time to ease up on the calories” mode. So long as I keep going into that mode when I reach a certain weight, then I suppose I’m all good.

I also admit though that I am contemplating upping my acceptable maintenance weight by 5lbs. 120lbs is basically effortless to maintain for me it seems, and 115lbs involves more frequent adjustments. We’ll see...

Sorry this was long!

P.S. I’m 2+ years out from wls surgery

Edited December 6, 20205 yr by ms.sss

I would warn you this my brother got all the way down and due to work stress building a house and three kids went off the wagon. He quickly put on 25 pounds and he has been working his ass off to get it off. Guess it comes off quicker and easier the first time. He was right at 2 years

Sss that is good info. I too have a weight that triggers me but my fear is that it will no longer be as controllable. I’ve been about 5-10 lbs from my ultimate goal which I kinda like because it means I’m never quite finished (mental thing I guess). We all know the rush you get when stepping on the scale and knocking off a chunk of weight you thought you were stuck with for life. That make the counting calories and everything more important. When u kinda stabilize, it does seem easy to stop weighing, etc. it’s amazing how much of this is mental in addition to the physical tool we chose to take advantage of. Thank you everyone for your thoughts. It really does help to hear from others!

2 hours ago, JTSC said:

I too have a weight that triggers me but my fear is that it will no longer be as controllable.

^^ If there was any one single maintenance-after-weight-loss tip I would wholly advocate, it is this.

Having an established “red-line” as a warning to re-evaluate your habits works to keep you on track (or get back on track). This red-line doesn’t have to be a number on a scale: it can be a certain size of jeans, number of km’s run without feeling winded, body fat percentage, etc.

Nobody gains 25 pounds so fast that they didn’t see it coming. Nor will they go up 2 pants sizes overnight. You’d have to get to +5lbs or current tight pants first. It is so much easier to drop those 5lbs earlier vs the 25lbs later if one is keeping track.

Edited December 6, 20205 yr by ms.sss

I'm almost 1 year out from Bypass and was just thinking about this today.

With the exception of LOTS of sugar (I had 2 early dumping episodes and have been really good at staying away from it for the most part) I can eat anything. Any, I can eat a "regular" portion (not as much as before but I really over ate before). I rarely get that full/stuffed feeling (I try very hard not to eat a bunch most of the time, but on occasion my head gets the better of me and I fall back into old eating patterns for a day).

What I have noticed is: I physically don't NEED to eat that much. Before surgery, I would have been physically hungry pretty much all the time unless I was stuffed full. Now, I can eat a protein shake and coffee for breakfast, then 5-6 oz of food for lunch and dinner and be physically satisfied.

So for me, that means now that I am further out I need to put more focus on the headwork (to get the last 15 lbs off and to be in a good state to maintain).

5 hours ago, loridee11 said:

I'm almost 1 year out from Bypass and was just thinking about this today.

With the exception of LOTS of sugar (I had 2 early dumping episodes and have been really good at staying away from it for the most part) I can eat anything. Any, I can eat a "regular" portion (not as much as before but I really over ate before). I rarely get that full/stuffed feeling (I try very hard not to eat a bunch most of the time, but on occasion my head gets the better of me and I fall back into old eating patterns for a day).

What I have noticed is: I physically don't NEED to eat that much. Before surgery, I would have been physically hungry pretty much all the time unless I was stuffed full. Now, I can eat a Protein Shake and coffee for Breakfast, then 5-6 oz of food for lunch and dinner and be physically satisfied.

So for me, that means now that I am further out I need to put more focus on the headwork (to get the last 15 lbs off and to be in a good state to maintain).

I still love my protein shakes. They said you would get sick of them but I enjoy the latte. I still do 2 a day and a meal. I can’t eat much for dinner usually but I can eat as many slider foods as I want. (Sunflower seeds, junk,) that’s where I need to be careful

Btw I hate the thought of “going out” anymore I’ve done is several times and get sick every time where food is restricted and I end up throwing up. the Covid has actually helped from that standpoint since most things are closed A positive in a terrible situation

I'm quite relieved to read this post. I am at 19 months and have also found that I can eat almost anything and in much larger quantities than I could even at one year. I also sort of wish that I still felt the same restriction (and lack of appetite) we all experienced early in this process.

Like all of you, I re-gained about 10 pounds from my low weight, and I think I actually look and feel better as a result. I am still pretty vigilant about avoiding carbs, sugar and fat, and I also eat what could be considered "normal" sized portions for a person without a large appetite. I do slip up from time time (particularly when invited to dinner at friends' houses) without any ill effects. So far it hasn't had much of an impact, but I do worry whether this will be the case for the next 10 years or longer.