Maintenance-What does it look like for you?

I'm about 10 years out from RNY, but I will answer, too, since the further we get out, the more we really are alike. It's mostly mental.

I think I pretty much eat like any other regular sized person (which is nothing like I ate when I was obese). I watch what I eat most of the time, but it is second nature now. I do not go out to eat very often (maybe once a month) so I eat whatever I want to eat then. I usually eat about half and take the other half home. No one can tell I have had WLS. I can eat anything and eat at a normal pace.

I am 52, 5'7" tall and weigh about 150 now. I am 10 pounds over my personal goal but am stress eating right now while my mom battles cancer. I want to lose the weight but am not worried about it right now. I will buckle down eventually. I know what to do.

Thank you! And I'm sorry about your mom. Here's to a good outcome!

I'm 28 months out, 20 months into maintenance. I eat everything that other people eat, but in reasonable quantities. My SIL was always thin and I never paid attention to how she ate, but I pretty much eat like her now. I usually order a protein based appetizer if a good one is available at a restaurant. If the quantity is large I have leftovers. I always have 2-3 additional meals from the leftovers when I get an entree. So it becomes much more cost effective to eat out (which I do at least once a week). I've pretty much eaten this way throughout maintenance.

What is different from before WLS is:

• I enjoy my meals more - I know this sounds weird, but I really do probably because I don't overeat until I can't taste the food
• I maximize protein at every meal to make sure I get enough and because it fills me up
• I crave fish which I never did previously
• I crave coffee (same as fish, this is new)
• I eat an average of 1350-1400 calories a day (ranging quite a bit depending on the day). Note that I'm not very big and am older so don't have as much muscle mass as someone younger.
• I weigh/measure my food and track it
• I plan my meals ahead of time as much as possible. But I will swap out when I feel like it. I eat a lot of the same things which makes it easier.
• I don't drink for 30 minutes following a meal (no one ever notices, nor do they notice that I don't eat as much as they do)
• I drink water pretty constantly throughout the day, so I carry water with me everywhere. I wasn't much of a water drinker previously. I don't know if I could guzzle, because I just never want to but I'll drink a fair amount at a time if I am hot and thirsty with no problem.
• I basically eat 5 small meals a day which I call for convenience: breakfast, lunch, mid-afternoon snack, dinner, evening snack.
• I rarely eat bread (unless it is great and worth it especially if warm at a restaurant) or other simple carbs. I don't really miss it usually. For instance, I'm very happy with 1/2 burger with cheese, sautéed onions and mushrooms but no bun (yumm).
• I eat a lot of cottage cheese and yogurt
• I almost never have protein shakes and only have protein bars for convenience periodically
• I take my vitamins as recommended by my surgeon religiously

Just so you know, the things I used to overeat were donuts, cakes, pies, breads, and similar simple carbs. Strangely, I don't generally miss them unless they are right in front of me. And since I am in maintenance I will indulge once in a while when they are there and special enough to warrant it. I just adjust my calories at another meal on another day if necessary.

There are other things I do differently, but these are most of the "eating" related ones.

ETA: These are good questions to ask while researching. I read a LOT on OH and other sites about WLS when looking into it, but maintenance was my biggest concern. I especially wanted to know how it would be different from my previous failures at it.

Thank you for such a detailed answer! And your edit...yes, you get me! :-)

Hi & Welcome to the boards!

I'm not sure if I can properly answer your question cuz I kinda sucked at maintenance. It's definitely a challenge. For the most part when I'd eat out, you'd never know that I had wls. But I'm eating like a little bird too & am amazed how much people can chug away & then I'd remember that I used to be able to do the same thing. I don't miss eating like that & I have no problem taking food home with me either.

I would be careful with the moderation is key part on one of your posts cuz you can eat around your surgery. The head stuff is a real pita to deal with, so you'll need to deal with it at some point. The sooner the better imo.

Plus there's this thing called trigger foods. Everyone is different & eventually you'll find out that there's certain foods you can't have anymore. Not that it makes you sick, but the whole moderation thing goes out the window. For me it'd be ice cream. I'm amazed how some people can have a couple of bites of this or that & then put it away into the fridge. I'd be thinking, are you sick? What's wrong with the food? Open a bag of chips, eat a chip, & then close up the bag & put it away? What planet are you from?

Well I guess my long winded answer is that eventually you'll eat or at least look like you're eating like a normal person, but in the end it'll still be up to you as to what your new normal will be.

T makes some great points. I do stay away from trigger foods as much as possible and if someone brings them into the house I make them leave with the individual. If something starts becoming a trigger (almonds can do that sometimes), I stop buying them.

On the bites of special things, I try to make it just a few bites and generally make sure that food doesn't hang around my house afterwards.

Same! For a while, I was having a protein bar daily. I started to realize that I wanted that protein bar more than any other food I was eating. That was my cue to cut it out.

Yep! Pure Protein chocolate salted caramel protein bars. Dangerous!

I think it was NYMom who told me that she won't get a package of food unless she can afford to eat the whole thing. I've tried to adopt that same mindset. I know I can't trust myself around snacks, so I just.. don't buy them. Because I know that moderation is not a skill I possess! :D

Yes, I totally get what you are saying. And I'm realizing that you could say that WLS is a tool, and like any tool, you have to use it properly, or it won't do what you want. Thanks for taking the time to caution me.