Tips on Weight Maintenance

Hi Ya'll! I haven't posted in a while, but I have lurked! Anyway, now that I am 2.5 years post-op and almost one year plastic surgery post-op, life has returned as before WLS in many ways. I attend four support groups each month and each one has had neat things to offer me to stay on track and I thought I might share some insights for those who struggle, like me, to keep the weight off. I attended the OH Conference in NJ in May 2005, and was honored to hear Dr. Terry Simpson speak. He had several very good points that I would like to pass on. First of all, he said that he has been seeing aging post-ops return to soft foods......and since they go down the hatch so easily, they are not filling us up and we are eating more. Think about your diet....are you reverting to a lot of soft foods, too? Try to go back to eating more dense foods and your pounch will remind you in a red hot minute that it can only hold so much. His second point was that to keep the weight off, unfortunately, you must at least be somewhat mindful of calories in and calories out. How many of us have let the times a day we eat increase and the amounts increase little by little? OK-how about trying three meals a day again, with dense protein (like chicken) and one or two PLANNED snacks. And NEVER drink when you eat. (Come on-isn't that hard to do!). Dr. Simpson has two remarkable books for sale. One is "Losing the Last Thirty Pounds" and the other is a workbook called "Getting to Goal and Staying There." Both books are remarkable and written for us old timers. I think you can purchase them through Amazon.com and Obesity Help.com and Obesitydr.com. Well worth the money. Another thing I have heard of happening to many of us is that we eat way too fast! The old brain doesn't tell us we are full until about 20 minutes into a meal. We had surgery on our guts, not our noodles! I have been using a remarkable tool to combat that problem, too. It is called a PowerSeed. It is a little device that flashes a light (or buzzes if you use that mode, every 30 seconds to tell you to take a bite. Every 15 minutes, it flashes real fast or gives multiple buzzes to signal you to ask yourself if you are just full and time to stop eating. Then it resumes the every30 second routine again. It is a wonderful little tool that comes in a velvet drawstring pouch so you can carry it in your purse or wallet. It is black and very small. You can order it on powerseed.com. It was developed by a fellow gastric bypass patient. Another tip is to be SURE you get tested for low Vitamin D. MANY, if not most, of us are starting to show up deficient in this all important vitamin. It is fat soluable, so you can't just take it and not monitor your levels. You must be retested occassionally to see where your level is. But, when you are deficient, your body doesn't absorb calcium the way it is suppose to and it can cause a whole host of other problems. My last piece of advice is to research your area for an eating disorder therapist. They treat anorexics and bulemics, too, but our issues are all the same; just manifested differently. Properly trained therapists in eating disorders can make all the difference in the world to our recovery. We didn't get fat by just chance. Most of us have a lot of emotional baggage that caused our obesity in the first place. The most important thing I have personally learned from my therapy is that trying to always be perfect will kill you; that you do not have to "Fix" everything and everyone else's problems. Always ask yourself "is this mine to fix?" "Is this my responsibility?" We have spent way too much time trying to take care of others to insure our world stays trouble-free without tension, yet we internalize it ourselves and eat, spend money, drink alcohol, over-exercise or other self-destructive behaviors. How about sitting down in a chair at home and do nothing for an hour or so-no TV, no books or reading, no puzzles, no sewing, nothing but spending time with yourself dealing with whatever it is you are trying to numb yourself from. Identify emotions you are feeling. Write them in a journal after your time alone. Go to a restuarant alone with no book or other distraction. Enjoy your meal and enjoy your own company! You are worth it! This is the true road to loving ourselves. Just a thought or three, Hugs, Karen Showalter Lap RNY, 3/01/04 Lower Body Lift 09/21/05

Thanks Karen a lot of good information for us that are still struggling. Thanks for posting your thoughts. Marilyn, the Bearlady

Gee Karen, thanks for that! I'm going to get those books. Since I hit my lowest weight, I gained about 8 pounds over a year ago, and have not gained since, but I'd like to lose the weight again. It is true that dense protein really fills up the pouch faster and is basically more "quality than quantity." I'm going to get those books. Thanks again for the info, Joanie

Great tips, I also lurk and am gald you posted. cindy s cook RNY, 3/4/04

Hi there, I hope this note finds you well and healthy. The March 2004 board needs your help! Please visit the board and click on the post, "AND THE SURVEY SAYS" - we will all benefit from your response. Thanks so much. Maureen