How hard is Maintenance?

I want to thank all of you for your advice and input.  You continue to give me hope

I've lost 100+ more times then I can count, seriously.  I could lose weight okay, at least in the beginning, but I doubt I ever kept it off even a year, if that.

This is the fourth Summer for me in this size.  Unprecedented in my life.  Is it hard, sometimes, but it least it is possible, unlike any other time in my life.

My life doesn't revolve around what I eat or what I weigh but it is something I have to kept in mind.  I do what just about everyone else has to do to keep weight off, eat less and move more.  Now I have some help, at least in the eating less department.

I have rarely gotten hungry in the post 4 years, at least not in the same way as before.  Before when I got hungry all bets were off.  Once I was hungry nothing was off limits.  In fact, I often ate a lot to avoid hunger.  It was like a fear of hunger kept me overeating.  Now I don't fear hunger but I listen to it.  Now I can make good choices in spite of being hungry.

I consider myself a compulsive overeater, an addict when it comes to some foods, mainly things with sugar and gluten.  Like an alcoholic, I don't consider myself cured.  I am in remission.  For some reason I have the 5 year point has being a sign of being successful.  But I know from past experiences that I never will have this thing beat, that I always have to be wary of the addict inside me breaking loose again and taking control of my life like it did for the majority of my life.

Thank you for sharing this with me.  Pre surgery for me was like I could never get full.  I am really going to try to change my eating habits forever, but fearful that I do not have the strength.  Thank you for the inspiration!

My goal now is to be satisfied, not full.  Full now is very uncomfortable and I am at the point now where I know the next bite with be the one that crosses that line.  Sometimes I still take it but rarely one after that.

Even now, when I see my meal, my mind still says "That will never be enough."  It just looks so tiny compared to the amounts I was used to eating.  So I tell myself to just eat it and if I am still hungry I can have more.  And 9 times out of 10 I can't even finish my serving, much less get more.  It really takes adjusting to get used to eating little.

That is why I followed my doctor's plan until I hit goal, and weighed, measured and tracked everything.  Because I didn't know what a normal portion looked like it was important to me to weigh and measure out the food to see what I supposed to be eating.

I remember trying an experiment.  I poured what I thought was a cup of cereal (not for me) and then I measure out a cup of cereal.  Big difference.  What I thought was a cup was at least 2 cups.  That is why it is important to get used to having the correct portions.

LadyTazz, I think you just really summed it up !  I sort of feel the same way.... I am about 21 months post op now. I have lost a 100 lbs total and seem to have settled at 185. I do go up and down no more than about 2 lbs on any given week... do you think that is "maintaining" or is that bad? Sometimes I stay exactly the same weight too..... But I have a sit down job and an hour commute to work each way. I only get to exercise on the weekend, twice.  But I will always be afraid of going "back" to the old ways, which keeps me conscious of this journey.....  I find your posts to always be just what I need on that day.... keep it up!  Thanks...

It sounds like maintenance to me.

Are you comfortable with how you are eating?  Keep in mind that some of us have some bounce back at around 2 years out so that may put you where you aren't comfortable.

What is your eating like?  Do you get in enough protein?  You may want to replace some carb foods with higher protein choices and that may help get the weight loss going again.

I'm a bit over 5 years out.  Still wearing the clothes I bought when I got to "goal".  As a pre-menopausal woman that works out quite a bit, my body is constantly changing. For instance, due to running for 5 years now, my legs are bigger due to muscle growth, so some of the early shorts I had no longer fit in the legs....and most of my pants had to be replaced after my lower body lift.  

I was always starving before surgery.  Now when I get hungry, I guess it is what "normal" hunger feels like.  I don't really struggle in maintenance, but I am ever mindful.  At this point the amount of exercise and control over what I put into my mouth is my normal life, so I'm used to it.  When I do feel my jeans getting a bit snug, I just cut out the extras.  

You can NEVER go back to the old way of life and expect to maintain weight loss.