There's no one place on Bariatric Pal that houses questions/comments about maintenance. There probably should be separate forum for maintenance, but I'll start a thread here.

For those of you in maintenance, where are you in your journey? Any lessons learned?

For those of us in maintenance, how would you describe your hunger now? Are you still less hungry than before? Has your hunger increased?

Edited October 11, 20232 yr by maintenanceman

I’ve been struggling with maintenance lately (last couple of months) not able to reset the “mindless” eating trend I see slowing creeping back. I feel like I have to eat something every 2-3 hours. Whether it’s carrots or some string cheese. I’ve had an increase in stress lately as well. I keep track on the scale too much now too. Ugh ….

I’ve been struggling with maintenance lately (last couple of months) not able to reset the “mindless” eating trend I see slowing creeping back. I feel like I have to eat something every 2-3 hours. Whether it’s carrots or some string cheese. I’ve had an increase in stress lately as well. I keep track on the scale too much now too. Ugh ….

1 hour ago, maintenanceman said:

For those of us in maintenance, how would you describe your hunger now? Are you still less hungry than before? Has your hunger increased?

Increased which alarms me

1 hour ago, maintenanceman said:

For those of us in maintenance, how would you describe your hunger now? Are you still less hungry than before? Has your hunger increased?

Increased which alarms me

2 hours ago, TRAVELRN said:

I keep track on the scale too much now too.

What is "too much"? Why is this a problem? I weigh myself religiously every morning, and I have since day one pre-op. Works for me.

Edited October 11, 20232 yr by maintenanceman

I was down to 150 - had surgery 12/22/22. J fell and injured my ankle and need surgery. I have been down since beg if August 2023 and Ive gained 17 pounds back. I cant exercise and I was walking 5 miles a day and actually had finally started running foe he first time in 15 years. I am so frustrated and dont know what to do other than live on protein shakes. I need this thread so thank you for starting it!

Aah the how often to weigh debate. The responses seem to swing from very rarely/never to daily. I weighed every day for the first two years or so but now weigh 3 or 4 times a week. In the past if I thought I was putting on weight I wouldn’t go near the scales. If I didn’t see the number on the scales I could believe I wasn’t putting on weight even if my pants were very tight or bought the next size. So me weighing as I do now is about what I need to do to keep myself honest. I say you know you best & weigh yourself as you need to keep yourself motivated & on track.

Has my hunger returned, yes. It did so slowly. Has it increased since it fully returned, no. There are still odd days or times I’m not all that hungry at all. (Wish that happened more often ?.) I try to eat very much to a routine & not eat outside of that. If I think I’m hungry I consider if it’s real hunger or head hunger. Such as when did I last eat? Did I eat a smaller portion at my last meal? Is it almost time for a meal? How am I feeling - bored, sad, annoyed, stressed, etc. It can be an ‘interesting’ discussion I’m having with myself. ? This helps most of the time.

I’m sorry about your injury @huskymama especially after achieving so much. But you didn’t have to go back to shakes to lose your weight just go back to how & what you were eating before your injury though smaller portions as you can’t be as active at the moment. Meet your fluids & protein goals. Eat your protein first then vegetables & last any carbs you’re allowed if you are able. Return to lower fats, carbs & sugar. Check with your dietician for ideas & guidance. Focus on upper body exercises because of your injury. Search for some exercises for those with limited mobility online. You can do this.

On 10/12/2023 at 2:56 AM, maintenanceman said:

For those of us in maintenance, how would you describe your hunger now? Are you still less hungry than before? Has your hunger increased?

Do you mean before surgery or sometime after surgery?

5 minutes ago, SleeverSk said:

Do you mean before surgery or sometime after surgery?

Now that you're in maintenance

On 10/11/2023 at 7:52 PM, TRAVELRN said:

I’ve been struggling with maintenance lately (last couple of months) not able to reset the “mindless” eating trend I see slowing creeping back. I feel like I have to eat something every 2-3 hours. Whether it’s carrots or some string cheese. I’ve had an increase in stress lately as well. I keep track on the scale too much now too. Ugh ….

Oh I agree, it's definitely a lifelong commitment to use our sleeve TRAVELRN. I also need to eat every 2-3 hours at this point if I haven't planned protein based meals in advance, which seem to keep me full for longer - then the pressure is off (for me anyway) and I can eat 3 meals a day. It's so very hard to keep on track though.

22 hours ago, huskymama said:

I was down to 150 - had surgery 12/22/22. J fell and injured my ankle and need surgery. I have been down since beg if August 2023 and Ive gained 17 pounds back. I cant exercise and I was walking 5 miles a day and actually had finally started running foe he first time in 15 years. I am so frustrated and dont know what to do other than live on Protein Shakes. I need this thread so thank you for starting it!

Totally agree with @Arabesque in that a diet of shakes might be hard to sustain huskymama, particularly if you're slow to recover from your fracture. If you can revert to protein first, veg second, carbs (a long way behind) third you might be able to claw back your previous weight loss. I know it's rubbish to regain for whatever reason and I hope you can get it sorted while you recover.

4 hours ago, maintenanceman said:

Now that you're in maintenance

I'm less hungry and eat less than before surgery but hungrier and can eat more than up to 12 months post surgery

On 10/11/2023 at 12:56 PM, maintenanceman said:

For those of us in maintenance, how would you describe your hunger now? Are you still less hungry than before? Has your hunger increased?

I am 2 years post-op and I don't feel like my hunger has ever truly "come back". I feel like my capacity is still that of someone who had the procedure about 6 months ago.

On 10/11/2023 at 12:56 PM, maintenanceman said:

For those of us in maintenance, how would you describe your hunger now? Are you still less hungry than before? Has your hunger increased?

if comparing pre-wls me vs post-wls me, today, (5 yrs post) im not sure if im more or less "hungry", because looking back, im convinced i wasn't actually as hungry as i said i was back then, i think i just wanted to eat. lots. i think i enjoyed or chased that "stuffed" feeling? i dunno.

now, i HATE that stuffed feeling. so yeah, i do get hungry still, but i tend to not overfeed that hunger cuz i dont want to feel the icks.

i do remember feeling ravenously hungry before. i haven't felt that since.

however, if we are comparing 1st year post op me vs todays 5-yrs post op me, im definitely hungrier now that those first few months cuz i had food aversion for a while.

Edited October 17, 20232 yr by ms.sss