Questions about maintenance

[shann_ds]

So, I'm 18 months out now and I have a few questions about maintenance.

1) how do you know when it's time? I've lost way past my initial expectations dispute pretty much eating whatever I want, focusing on protein first of course (and making sure I get 150ish grams of it a day) Beyond that, I eat whatever I want. So, am I in maintenance if I'm not actively trying to lose weight, even if I never actively tried to lose weight? (I think that sentence even confused me.)

2) Do I try to stop my losing or do I wait for bounce back to happen? I weigh 127ish and I'm 5'5" so my BMI is within the normal range. In fact the BMI chart says that I could lose another 10 pounds or so. I'm happy with where I am in fact I think I looked healthier 10 pounds ago, but I'm scared to change anything because I feel like any minute the other shoe is going to drop and regain is going to happen. I figure somewhere in the next 6 months I'll start bouncing back and then I'll be one of those people fighting to lose 20 pounds that has just suddenly reappeared.

I don't want to talk about this and make people Feel bad who are fighting to get to their goal weights or who are struggling, but if anyone has any advice I'd love to listen!

[Deleted]

I just kept doing what I was doing. I dropped just a few pounds into discomfort, then bounced back. That was in year three. Then I floated up further and have been living very normally with a ten-pound window. I go up and down between 175 and 185, so I call myself maintaining around 180.

Fifth anniversary was in December and it's been that way since before the third one. There's nothing I'm doing any differently from along the way, except that I added a bit of exercise to build a bit of muscle mass.

[Happy DSr]

your body seems to know. As I approached goal weight, the loss slowed and I became less stringent in my eating regiment. I started to eat pretty much "normally" in type of foods and in quantity. SO I lost my weight in just over a year, then held for a year, then the 10 pound bounce back and maintaining ever since. Now at 4 years.

I often wonder how long I will stay at this level given how much food I continually eat. I am a grazer. I wonder if I stopped eating so much whether I would lose and drop weight. But since I so enjoy eating, this hasn't been a real concern

[beemerbeeper]

Amost everyone reports a bounce back and/or regain. So I chose to keep losing until I stopped losing.

At 5'8 or 9 I got down to 139. I was pretty tiny. I now am bouncing around 147 and I prefer to be under 145.

I have to work to stay under 145 which I usually am able to do but the holiday stress got to me as usual.

So my advice? Ride the weight loss as long as you possibly can. Let your body tell you when it has lost too much and then you will level out.

Your fat will redistribute over time too. My sagginess has improved over time with no help from that "E" word.

~Becky

[Deleted]

I just keep an eye on things, like if my jeans are getting snug and I weigh myself every once in a while.

The first 2 years, I weighed every freaking day. I thought I was done losing and was waiting for bounce-back. Then in year 3, I lost 35 more pounds without changing a thing. That made me a little nervous. lol. Now at 6+ years out, I have not experienced any regain but it is easier to hold on to the 5 # that I TRIED to gain. I looked like a skeleton covered with a little skin at 130# and 5'6".

We are all different, I suppose. I never post on Bites and Vites cuz it would be detrimental to newbies to see the crap I eat! (after protein, of course)

I just feel lucky!!! ;D

[Joanne]

Like the others said, I just kept doing what I was doing and my weight loss leveled off. I'm 5'6" and weigh in the mid 140's. I'm 26 months out, and have maintained this weight without trying to hard for about a year now.

[Deleted]

Like everyone else, I've just maintained the DS way: get the minimum amount of protein and fluid & more on better days. Keep up with my vitamins. I will say that when I had my knee replaced, I lost down to 155 from 170. It was very scary because my protein was way off and I know how important it is for maintenance let alone the healing process for my knee. Somehow I survived with my labs no worse for wear. Now I'm happily back up to 165. I guess if my range is 165 +/- 5 pounds, I stay relaxed. Just get a little nervous if it goes beyond that. My body seems to have found its "set point".

[RedSkittles]

Same as everyone else. I lost to 145/150 but wasnt eating much variety and was exercising a lot. I got to a more reasonable eating amount and less exercise, bounced up, and stayed there. I float around 165-170, though I'd prefer to be 155/160 again...I really like bread and chips a lot more.

You just start gravitating toward your ideal lifestyle, then you stop losing and may even gain a few.

[bronwend]

I lost the first 120 pounds fairly effortlessly, then the last 30 just kind of dribbled off over the course of my second year. I haven't had any bounceback, and just kind of landed "here" where I fluctuate between 149-153. I like it here. I could lose more if I wanted, but I'd rather stay here where I'm happy and can eat cake than be a wraith and miserable because I can't have cake. Stuff it, I want cake!

[Deleted]

Like everyone else, I just kind of stopped losing. I got to goal in 14 months, and then shot right past it another 20 lbs. Then the weight just stopped coming off and leveled out. I'm 5'8" and weigh 145. I am like you, eating protein first and whatever I want after that. I've maintained this weight without trying for about 18 months now. I'm almost 3 years out.

[valgroce]

Okay, so at 5'5", you think you could stand to lose another 10 lbs from 127? YIKES! I'm thinking of myself bouncing in the 140's and quite happy. When I get closer to 140, I start getting comments that I look sickly and need to eat a sammich. I'm afraid I'd look a mess that small. Stick with what you're comfortable with for weight and ignore those stats. They don't consider the bone density of someone who's been MO for a long time, either.

For maintenance, continue protein goals first before you get 'naughty' with the rest, and you should keep yourself in check just fine.

[kirmy]

I had a new revised goal weight of 130 lbs from my initial "I'll never be thin" weight of 180lbs. I am bouncing between 133lbs and 140lbs like a yo yo. I'm doing very intense muscle building right now on my scrawny frame so some of my bounce back is water but some is my hideous comfort eating. I'm trying to reel in the carbs but I'm fighting myself every step of the way. The truth is I've been consuming vast quantities of junk food every day and my sugar addiction has become my not so transferred transfer addiction.

What shits me about low carbing is that positive foods like orange juice, vegetables and milk will take me well over 80 grams a day. I hate feeling guilty about having healthy foods. Grumble grumble . Day two detox rant over.

[texasgirl1966]

Hi Y'all ;)l! I'm the new girl so here goes. I will be 4 years out March 24, 2012. Had lost 125lbs in the first 1.5 years but have recently gained back 20ish. Does anyone still get sick if they eat too fast? Did that last night with chicken. Anyway guess I am back to watching the carbs and upping my protein intake. The weight came off effortless the first 2 years but now not so much. I know the DS works for you for a short time but eventually you have to work for the DS in the long run. I got down to 168lbs, my lowest weight in years, but I looked too gaunt. Is there happiness to be had in weighing between 175 - 185? I started out at 301lbs day of surgery, BMI of 50.

[Deleted]

Feb 18, 2012 19:27:18 GMT -5 texasgirl1966 said:

Hi Y'all ;)l! I'm the new girl so here goes. I will be 4 years out March 24, 2012. Had lost 125lbs in the first 1.5 years but have recently gained back 20ish. Does anyone still get sick if they eat too fast? Did that last night with chicken. Anyway guess I am back to watching the carbs and upping my protein intake. The weight came off effortless the first 2 years but now not so much. I know the DS works for you for a short time but eventually you have to work for the DS in the long run. I got down to 168lbs, my lowest weight in years, but I looked too gaunt. Is there happiness to be had in weighing between 175 - 185? I started out at 301lbs day of surgery, BMI of 50.

Howdy and welcome . I can say there's plenty of happiness to be found between 175 and 185 because I live there! Voice of experience talking ;D.

Yes, I can make myself sick, five-plus years out, by eating too fast. I did that a couple weeks ago. Bleh.

The DS is not a free pass for ANYTHING. The best we get is a chance to have a "normal" metabolism. Normal people, especially as age progresses, have a tendency to broaden a bit. So they adjust their food intake and increase their movement a bit, and things even back out.

This means, you got it, watching the carbs and upping the protein. It means vigilance for life, because the risk of malnutrition is permanent. It's the price we pay for our shot at normalcy in other ways. We will NEVER EVER be truly normal. We have medicalized ourselves, by which I mean we have given ourselves certain specific risks for health conditions which have to be managed forever.

That's the tradeoff. I don't know about you, but it's a pretty wonderful tradeoff thus far!

[yorkie]

Hey Guys, I am 5ft 6 and due to complications a long time after my actual surgery I went down to 115 which made me look super scary, then I hung out at around 136 for a long time and I was SO happy at that weight. I have had alot of personal stuff with bereavement and business issues and over the last year I have gained about 8-10lbs which I am trying to combat. I am a size 6 pretty much consistently but they can get tight at the top end of the 10lbs if ya know what I mean lol
I am like Kirby, sugar is my addiction,( I am truly grateful that I did not cross over to a more damaging transfer addiction, as god knows I have an addictive/Compulsive type personality) no doubt about it...so I maintain an ongoing war with the sugar slut as I won't let her beat me lol

My weapon of choice is now 2 protein shakes a day, I have one at breakfast time and one later in the afternoon and then something sweet in the evening like fage yoghurt with splenda.
I feel like my DS put me on a level playing field and now I have to do battle with the more normal "10lbs" like everyone else instead of the 140 I had to lose lol

Yorkie xx

[valgroce]

Like the others, my body leveled off where it wanted to be. I'm also 5'5", and I'm wavering between 140 and 150, size 8. I went up to 165 and didn't like it. I eventually regained control and got back into my comfy zone.

[shann_ds]

Val, I didn't see your original reply and missed your question. No, I don't think I need to lose 10 more...I think I could gain 10 more! Of course, I've gained a few since I posted that and seem to be hanging out in the 130-135 area. I think I would be very happy at long as I stay below 150 but my PCP told me that was "dangerous" thinking. He doesn't want me accepting any regain at all. Meanwhile, my surgeon's staff is telling all his DS patients that they should never go below a 24 BMI (or something like that...)

[Deleted]

Mar 13, 2012 19:48:48 GMT -5 shann_ds said:

Meanwhile, my surgeon's staff is telling all his DS patients that they should never go below a 24 BMI (or something like that...)

Yeah, that's what has got our surgeon all weirded out over me. According to them, my BMI is 23, and they are going nuts telling me I need to gain weight!!!! The nuts words were, "none of our DS patients are to be under a 24 BMI".

The line between a 24 and a 25 (overweight) for me is only FIVE lbs.

My pcp is fine with my weight and thinks my surgeon is being too conservative. As long as I stay over an 18.5, my pcp is fine with my weight.

Liz

[wildewoman]

I still say hang the BMI. Dr. Rabkin has a Tanita body composition analyzer, which tells me way more than the scale or the BMI chart. Example - I hover right around 175, up or down 5 depending on time of the month and whether I've indulged in a carb or two. But my body fat percentile is only 21.1%, which is the low end of desirable. I'm in a size 8 jeans. My non-WLS surgery friends tell me things like "jeez, at that weight, I'm a size 16!" because of course, it comes down to frame and build.

Also, if I lost down to what I needed to be at in pounds alone to meet the BMI criteria for normal, I'd no longer have enough body fat to have a period. Or probably a heart beat. So yeah, screw BMI!

That said, I got down to 19% body fat after my TT/hernia repair in November. That WAS a little scary. I looked like a gaunt skeleton, and someone needed to throw me a sammich! I'm back up to healthy now, and it's pretty damn effortless. 2 years out, btw.

[starfighter]

To me it seems our body finds its own healthy weight depending on our frame. like the Goldie locks theory just right in the middle

[rosiehawk]

I'm like many others here...lost my initial weight fast (8'ish months) and then continued to lose even though I was eating whatever I wanted...high fat/ high carb and still went down to 118 within the 1st 2 years. I'm 5' 6.5" so 118 was unhealthy looking & feeling and people commented constantly. At one point there was even concern that if my weight didn't stabilize medical intervention was going to have to happen! At about year 3 I was still eating whatever/whenever but I noticed that I was starting to gain some weight and the scale climbed up from that horrific 118 to 122-130 and seemed to stay there (highest I hit was 135 but it didn't hold). I will say that I was eating junk to get that additional weight on which then created a monster! I'm a total junk food junkie now which is not good. I may not see dramatic jumps on the scale with regards to weight gain but I feel like crap! I'm currently working on that addiction of mine (yes addiction as I crave sweets now).

So IMO I'd ride the wave and see where it takes you providing you don't go too low because there will be some bounce back at some point. Also, I'd watch the whole eating whatever you want thing as it may set you up for bad habits (like what happened to me) which might not affect you on the scale but just how you feel!!!!!