4 Year surgivesary- Long post

What a journey! 4 years ago I was pretty certain the surgery would only help some to get my weight down and prayed my mobility would improve. I was so wrong! Sailed to goal, and happy to officially be 4 pounds under as of this morning. (My blog documented the weight loss phase if you are interested n the ups and downs of that period.) I am surprised by goal too, as I have had a ton of other health issues- many of which typically result in weight gain. I had a little regain over this past summer, and was frankly shocked at how difficult it was to get off, at least at first. Previously I could drop 5-7 pounds in one week of reverting to my weight loss phase plan. But no more. I am older now, or maybe I have just ticked off my metabolism, or the likely culprit was my rising A1c levels/glucose. But it is all good, because I leaned a lot from the experiene and will use that to continue to move forward. Karik and JustePete are my rocks here at OH- Karik is so honest and thoughtful that he helps me to more clearly understand myself and the process. JustPete motivates my daily to stay on plan and get my butt moving. I want to extend a huge nod of appreciation to both of those guys, and everyone else here that helps me out daily.

If you are interested, keep reading for what I have found crucial both in the weight loss phase and maintainance. Otherwise, just take a moment to reflect on all of the good things you are doing for yourself and appreciate your efforts! 

Summary of What Works (so far at least) For Me:

• If you get nothing else from this post, then please know the one thing that is so liberating is the mindset that it is pointless to beat yourself up over food choices. Be realistic, adjust, crawl back on the wagon- sure. But let go of that cheating mindset. :) I am a serious all or nothing type, and it took months to let go of that. So worth the effort though!
• If you fall off the wagon, crawl back on. This is a huge skill to learn. I am not perfect at it. Sometmes I fall apart for a few weeks on end, and crawling back on is a process. Simple goals to just improve a little each day until I ramp up back to where I need to be. 
• During WLS phase, weigh and track everything. It only takes a few minutes a day. If you don't you are likely off on your estimates, and portion sizes that are "eyeballed" creep up over time and there are more calories than you realized. Whenever I start to struggle a little or my weight pops up, even today I go right back to it. 
• Lean protein first, then veggies and a smidge of fruit- all of which is low on the glycemic index. I did 3 meals and 3 snacks. Great for my blood sugar levels and staying satiated, but a little harder to control grazing. Figure out what works best for you!
• Don't get distracted. Life happens. Avoid putting off working on losing to your goal to work out whatever life event is going on. Take it from the chic who has dealt with more than a dozen major surgeries, chemo, etc. over the last 4 years. Best to hold your course, and not to state the obvious but it will actually help you to get through it if you are eating right and taking care of yourself. 
• Identify your triggers and develop an action plan to kick in. My big ones are sugar/junk food- so it does not come in the house except at the holidays. I am an emotional eater, so I developed a host of strategies to work through those periods. Exercise helps with handling both of those situations. 
• Carbs were actually higher during my weight loss phase than now. Back then I was dealing with low blood sugar. Now, I am creeping back into the prediabetic range. Your body will change. Pay attention and adjust. 
• Take your vitamins and get your labs done. 
• Go to support group, stay connected online, and surround yourself with support. 
• Develop routines in eating that helps keep you on plan. I found I needed to simplify significantly- easy fast meals to prep, keep on-plan snacks on hand (particularly at school), etc. 
• Exercise. Everybody can do something. 
• When I was on meds that greatly increased my hunger/desire to eat (like steriods) I would ONLY eat very low calorie options knowing that by the end of the day the quantity I would likely eat would be much higher than normal. If you have some type of a specific situation you are dealing with, identify exactly how it affects you and develop some type of doable intervention. Just saying I was going to eat more was not doable for me in these periods, so I had to adjust what I ate. (Lots of fish and veggies!)
• I still do protein shakes. My best days are when I start the day off with one. If I am recovring from a stint of crappy eating, I use 2 a day. Going back to full liquids and 1 meal a day does wonders after 3 days to kick the restriction back in when I am in the middle of a carb bingey type cycle. 
• Be mindful- meditation was  something I started two years or so ago, and it is really surprising how much it helps. Give it a whirl! It particularly helps if you are an emotional eater type. 

I wish you well on your journey- stay connected!

You are proof positive that we can all be successful with the VSG no matter what life throws at us!  Congratulations on learning to crawl back on the wagon as needed!  (I haven't had to practice that yet and am terrified of when that day comes.)   You have developed such wonderful habits to keep you on track.  

Thank you for being awesome! Your insights (including those on kitchen gadgets!) have been quite valuable to me.  

Don't be terrified of it. Look at your stats- you are a clear cut example of a person that has fully integrated excellent eating habits. If you have something, just return to form. It is that simple if you let it be. On the other hand, if you have somethihng, and then spend time and energy beating yourself up about it IMHO you are only feeding that negative cycle further and putting yourself at a higher risk of continued poor choices. Use that energy for positive thoughts!

Very helpful post to read, as I have been struggling lately. Thank you for taking to time to share what works for you.

I see we have the same surgeon :)  I am having him take my gallbladder out tomorrow. If you are struggling a bit, are you attending the support group? I used to go regularly until they switched it from the psychiatrist running it to rotating the nurses, dieticians, etc. through. Still, it would be helpful to go if you are struggling. Sometimes just hearing where others are at in their journey rekindles motivation. If I am feeling Ok, I might pop into one in 2 weeks if they are offering it over the holiday. 

Your stats are terrific- that is a lot of weight loss! Celebrate that and reconnect with what works so very well for you!

Thank you for this post.  Congratulations on your continued success.  Wonderful lessons learned.

Congratulations on achieving four very successful years! 

Congrats on 4 years!!  Great post.  Thank you for sharing.

Hey, HT!Thanks for the props! Much appreciated and glad my words help. (I never know with the way I ramble on sometimes....)

Congrats on a fantastic 4 years. Given all that you've dealt with medically over the past few years you really are a testament to not letting life get in the way of your goals. Not many could have managed their weight as successfully as you during all the cancer issues! 

Hope you are celebrating your successes today! 

I love this post. And totally agree! I had to work on not getting hung up when I "cheated."  I no longer have hard and fast rules about eating because that doesn't work for me - I end up feeling like a failure. I focus on what I want to eat and occasionally have a dessert with others or something then I get back to eating right again.  

I failed at so many diets with rules I am really turned off by all that.  

Thanks for taking the time to post this!