Maintenance

I find myself struggling with the concept of maintenance.  I have always been kind of an "all or nothing" person.  So when I had the surgery, I followed the doctor's orders quite well.  I lost a little over 100 pounds in six months.  

Now, at 15 months, I have gained about 5 pounds.  The doctor said this was bounce back and not to be concerned.  Easy for him to say.  I am concerned.

My question to all you out there who have experienced this, how do you wrap your arms around the concept of maintenance?  How do you keep from drifting back to unhealthy behaviors in regards to eating.

I appreciate your willingness to share what you are doing.  Thanks ahead of time.

Steve

  I'm a newbie RNY, but I'm interested to read the responses you get Steve.
Congrats on your weight loss.

Steve-
Wish I knew the answer for you.  I also have a 5 lb bounce back.  Doesnt matter if you are 15 months like yourself, or 5+ years for me.  It is always a concern.  I am about to go back to basics for awhile as my son is getting married end of May.

I will keep checking back to see responses.

 A little bit of bounce back is normal. It's finding the happy medium that is the trick. I am 3 years out and what works for me is setting a high point that I won't allow myself to go over. If I see myself approaching that number then I know I have to cut back on carbs. It's the carbs that ultimately cause you regain. My range is only 5 pounds so it never gets out of hand for me. It's a lot easier to scale back 5 pounds than it is 40.

You just have to keep catching yourself, for me when the jeans get tight I stop eating as much, simple as that.  I do weigh more then my lowest and about 7lbs for then my goal but I can maintain here without giving up everything, so I guess 145 it is.

I think you are asking a great question, and here are a few things that work for me.

1) I weigh myself everyday no matter what and I record the weight. 
2) I have a range that I stay in, if I am over my range, I cut carbs back to about 40g. a day.
3) I stay active on this site.
4) I go to support group meetings to keep my head in the game.
5) I except that this is a life long journey and I will never be able to take my eye of the scale or I will gain.
6) I don't drink my calories (well almost never, I do have a drink once in a while).
7) I use bowls and plates that are appropriate for the amount of food I eat in a meal.  I mostly use bowls that I already know only hold about one cup of food.
8) When I go out to eat, I order the item on the menu that will nourish my body best.
9) I allow myself treats after a normal meal.  This means I only have room for a few bites.
10) If I fall down, I don't stay angry at myself, I just review my plan and revise it if necessary.
11) I am totally open to change any of the above if I need to in order to get the results I want.
12) I drink tea with low fat soy milk and splenda all day long.
13) If I am eating out of head hunger rather than real hunger, I notice the behavior and deal with the underlying issues.  (Many different strategies go into this one, I could write a whole post on this, maybe a whole book).

Steve --

I attend Weigh****cher's meetings as part of my maintenance plan.

I started back about 6 weeks post-op, but did not start really following their eating plan until I got to my goal weight.

The weekly accountability really helps me -----

I also follow a tip from Dr. Oz ---- I make sure to put on my smallest pair of jeans at least once a week -- and zip/button them -- if they are too tight, I spend a few days being really diligent to my eating/drinking habits

It is normal for me to bounce between 2 - 4 pounds at a time -- so I can;t use the scale as the only measure ------ sitting in a pair of jeans that are uncomfortably for an hour or 2 gets my attention!

Steve,

Congratulations on your weight loss!!  Great job!!!

I am in the same boat as you are.  I am almost 2 years out.  My goal weight was 140 lbs and my lowest post-op weight was 135.  About 3 weeks ago, I finally stepped out of "denial" and accepted the fact that I had gained 11 1/2 lbs from my low weight.  My pants were getting tight and my underwear was starting to pinch.  I was not happy..... and I was scared.  Some of the old habits were starting to creep in.  The mindless eating.   Nibbling as I prepared my food.  Eating insane amounts of butter (I don't dump on fats).  

I finally got honest with myself and got out my old food journals from when I was still losing.  I realized I had to go back to the calorie level I was at then if I was going to lose the 11 1/2 lbs.  So I started doing this 2 weeks ago,and so far I lost 4 lbs.  Of course, it isn't easy nor is it fun.  My mind is screaming for the more relaxed way I was eating that got me to gaining the weight.

I am no longer angry with myself for my re-gain.  I was never successful at maintenance EVER in my life as I was a perpetual yo-yo dieter.  So I can't expect to get maintenance "just right" the first time.  When I lose the rest of my re-gain, I am going to approach maintenace a little more carefully this time by adding calories slowly so I can really find out what my maintenance calorie level is.

Maintenance is scary to me..... and it's HARD.  I think the most important thing is to catch a re-gain before it gets above 5 to 10 lbs.  It's much easier, obviously, to lose 5 to 10 lbs than to deal with a much larger gain.

I wish I had an answer for drifiting back to those unhealthy behaviors.  I guess it's a lifelong battle we all face.  Especially for those of us who are older and who may have been obese since childhood, it means a lot of years of bad habits to deal with.

Coming back here to OH helps so much!   We know we are not alone.