Maintenance Questions

So I reached the goal weight I set for myself. Thing is, my body seems to still be losing weight at a steady clip. I could weigh less and still be healthy but I like me around 140. (And I don't want to go below an 8 in clothes...I have no  butt to begin with!)

So here's my dilemma, well the first one anyway. Should I just keep up what I'm doing and see how low I go (within bounds)? I know there is often a 10 to 20 lb bounce back so maybe I should lose a bit more so I'm where I want to be when I regain a little bit? This is assuming I keep losing of course, but I'm still averaging a loss  of 2 lbs per week. I had thought I'd be fighting for every pound at this point. (Don't throw things at me! I'm grateful, I am!)

So if I decided to try to stop losing and maintain, how do I do that? Of course in the past after a diet, I'd go onto "maintenance" and then everything would fall apart and I'd start regaining. So this phase is pretty foreign to me.

I'm already doing snacks because otherwise my blood sugar tanks. I'm eating my max at meals, about 1/2 cup, maybe a bit more. So how do I add on and still follow the rules my surgeon gave me? (I am doing protein shakes against his advice since its been the only way I can get all of my protein--amazingly, he said OK, you know what you're doing.) I can't eat more at meals; my snacks are enough. I don't know where to go from there.

I do see Dr. Leslie next week to go over my blood test results. But last time I was there neither he nor the dietitian were helpful.  I'm hoping they can give me some advice on maintaining but I thought I'd go to the people who actually live this first. Then I can go to my appointment better prepared.

This whole process has been about losing weight. Please help me get my mind around the fact that I'm there and now I need to switch gears a bit.

Any advice you can give would be great!
Thanks!

 

Anna:

Congratulations on your success!  If you are getting enough calories to sustain your weight and the amount of exercise you get, your body will eventually reach an equilibrium point.  The trick, of course, is to figure out what that level really is.  Through this past spring I had been maintaining my weight while walking 3 to 5 miles per day.  In May, I started riding my bike and began losing weight again (about a lb per week).  I elected to increase my calorie intake by 300-400 per day (healthy ones, though) and the weight loss stopped, but I was still really tired and I looked thinner....I concluded that I was losing body fat and gaining muscle mass.  Anyway, I have backed off the bike riding some and my weight and fatigue level have evened out.  My point here is that it becomes less about maintaining and more about moitoring yourself and sustaining your lifestyle changes so that you feel well and your weight stabilizes.  Paying attention to wht your body is telling you takes a fair amount of effort, but you and your health are worth it!

RP

 Well, I haven't had the surgery yet so I cannot speak from personal experience about trying to maintain weight but I have heard that sometimes the more weight you lose the better your metabolism becomes. In that regard, taking in 1200 calories a day could result in more weight loss at 120lbs than at 220lbs.

So one thing you might do is try to find out how many calories you burn just existing (no exercise, etc.). I'm not sure, but I think its called resting metabolic rate. If you know what that is plus how much exercise you get in you should be able to calculate the amount of calories you need to not lose weight. 

As far as actually getting in those calories, I'm not sure. I think GNC carries protein powders that are high in calories for body builders, etc. Maybe sprinkling some of that in with your regular meals??

My last two cents is regarding whether you should maybe just keep going and see how much you lose . . . . as sick as it makes me as someone who has a lot to lose, I have heard several times that it can sometimes be much harder to put weight on than to take it off (in a healthy way anyway).  

The only thought that came to me while reading your post is with regard to the quantity you're eating per meal.

As a rule of thumb, PNC patients are advised to eat 1/4 cup at 3 months, 1/2 cup at 6 months, 3/4 cup at 9 months, and 1 to 1.5 cups at a year and beyond. 

Perhaps you really do need to increase the amount you eat per meal? 

My surgeon advised me to keep eating the 1/2 cup, but I'll check with him next week on that.  The thing with that for me is that I'm usually full after the 1/2 cup stlll.