I’m struggling with maintenance. I have exceeded my weight loss goal and am currently at the bottom of the healthy BMI scale, but I’m very wary of weight gain because four years after my surgery I had regained almost half of the weight I lost. I’m currently adhering to the dietary recommendations given to me in the first year, but it has me losing slightly every week. I don’t seem to know how to maintain. I’m either gaining or losing.

Congratulations on losing your re-gain. I can't really offer any suggestions since I haven't even had surgery yet, but I know that some people increase by 100 calories every few weeks till they stop loosing.

Are you able to have a visit with a nutrition at your surgeon’s office to develop a maintenance plan?

yes - maintenance is/was new to me as well. Prior to surgery, all I ever did was gain and lose weight.

I give myself an acceptable range, knowing that fluctuation is normal (because of water levels, how full your intestines are at any given point, hormones, etc). So having maybe a six lb or so acceptable range is good. The high end of that is my drop dead level - the point at which if I go over it, it's all hands on deck until I back comfortably within the range again.

3 hours ago, catwoman7 said:

yes - maintenance is/was new to me as well. Prior to surgery, all I ever did was gain and lose weight.

I give myself an acceptable range, knowing that fluctuation is normal (because of Water levels, how full your intestines are at any given point, hormones, etc). So having maybe a six lb or so acceptable range is good. The high end of that is my drop dead level - the point at which if I go over it, it's all hands on deck until I back comfortably within the range again.

So the truth is you just have to stay vigilant and expect to go back to weight loss phase periodically when the regain reaches an unacceptable level. There’s no perfect equilibrium. My past mistake was waiting too long to go back to weight loss phase. I guess I knew that. I just want a different reality. ?

15 minutes ago, IcanMakeit said:

So the truth is you just have to stay vigilant and expect to go back to weight loss phase periodically when the regain reaches an unacceptable level. There’s no perfect equilibrium. My past mistake was waiting too long to go back to weight loss phase. I guess I knew that. I just want a different reality. ?

yep. That's pretty much what it comes down to. I'm in my 60s. I battled with my weight for decades. I can't even tell you how many times I lost weight - and sometimes a lot of it - and then kind of slacked off on paying close attention - and then it would gradually drift back up. I'd regain every pound I'd worked so hard to lose. Not happening this time...but to make sure it doesn't, you really have to keep on top of it and spring into action when your weight goes about your "oh crap" level...

A lot of it is keeping track and making adjustments.

First, figure out how many calories a person of your weight, gender and activity level burns in a day. A nutritionist can help you. (there are a lot of Basal metabolic rate calculators online that might help, too)

Then, try to eat that many calories, and see what happens to your weight. If you lose, go up....if you gain, go down. If you adjust by 200 or so calories each adjustment....eventually you'll find the sweet spot.

For me, it's about 1400-1600 calories and 10,000 steps a day....and the occasional trip to the bariatric therapist if I find myself self sabotaging and falling back into bad habits due to emotional triggers.

Don't get addicted to starving yourself....it's just another version of an eating disorder. Eat a healthy, nutritious, balanced diet.

Best wishes!

We’re the same height & about the same weight. I struggled to find my maintenance point too & lost about another 12kgs. I’m only 2yrs out but it took me a year of increasing my calories to find the right balance & stop losing. As I couldn’t really increase my portion size for my meals (I physically couldn’t eat any more) I added snacks - what felt & still seems like lots of snacks. I was eating 5-6 nutritionally beneficial snacks a day. Now I eat 3-5 a day just depending. I’m pretty consistent in what I eat.

My lowest weight was 48.2kg but for the last 6 months I usually sit at about 49kg (swing 48.5-49.5). I have dropped a bit lately (been 47.9 a couple of times) because I haven’t been overly hungry or interested in eating. I’m sure this will pass. If not I’ll have to work harder at getting in my 1200 calories which seems to be my golden number.

Are you still tracking & weighing your food? Do you have a caloric goal or average number you consume in each day? I do random checks to ensure I haven’t misread caloric or nutritional information or am misjudging portion size - it’s easy to under or over estimate. I suggest going back to your dietician & revising your daily food intake for a few weeks with them. There may be something you’re missing & they should be able to recommend or advise on a plan forward.

My medical team were concerned at first especially when I was still losing but they’re ok now cause I’m stable. I’m pretty small boned so I don’t mind being on the lower end of the BMI scale. (For years I was told I was big boned but it was just fat - lol!)

Congratulations on losing your regain. Good luck.

I am about to pass the one year streak on MyFitnessPal. It has been the most crucial tool for weight loss, but I don’t enjoy being tied to a routine that feels unnatural and overly precise. I wrote initially hoping to find others who have transitioned out of a hyper aware diet into a natural, healthy eating style. That was one of my main goals when I chose weight loss surgery. The reality is less simple. Even though my appetite is much less, my ability to ignore consequences when I’m not paying strict attention has not really changed.

So the answer for me seems to be eternal vigilance. Onward to the second year of daily food logging. No more whining. My health is so much better now than it was pre-surgery, I really should just be grateful for that and not self sabotage by seeking an imagined nirvana.