How tight of a rein do you keep on your weight in maintenance?

Thanks! This morning I had 2# of my 4# creep gone. :)

Love my sleeve!

I have been in maintenance for a little over a year now. For the first year in maintenance I logged every single thing I ate. It helped train me on what reasonable portions are and how much food is appropriate for me.

About 2 months ago I decided to stop weighing/measuring/tracking everything and try and live life a little more like a "normal" person, and so far it has gone pretty well. I still weigh myself every day, and if I'm more than 2-3 lbs above goal for 2-3 days, I crack down, limit my intake and generally get back to goal within a few days at most.

I should point out that this approach would NEVER have worked had I not had that year of "training". While I don't eat the same food everyday, I eat similar foods a lot, so I have some idea how many calories I'm eating. For example:

I generally eat 1 cup Steel Cut Oats (~200 calories) or a two-egg omelet (~150 calories). I do measure out the Oatmeal as I prepare it in advance, and make pre-made portions. This helps me not over do it. But as you can see, regardless of my breakfast, the caloric intake is very similar.

I also pre-make all my lunches. I make a lot of dishes that feature beans and lentils. I also pre-portion this (1.5cup portions). I have a lot of different recipes I've used and I know that my calories for these run in the 300-400 range, so again, whatever I eat it is similar in calories.

Dinner is usually 2-3 oz of meat and veggies with maybe a side of fruit. Sometimes I make things like Caulilflower crust pizza, or just heat up one of my pre-made lunches.

For snacks, I eat 1 portion of Greek Yogurt a day, and other than that pretty much exclusively fruits and veggies with the occasional SMALL portion of nuts.

My point of these examples is that because I have eaten this way for quite some time, the variation in caloric intake from day to day is pretty low even without strict weighing/measuring. When my weight goes up, I will have the eggs instead of the oatmeal and grab one of the lunches I know is on the lower end of the caloric range and eat more veggies for snacks than fruits. This pretty much gets me back to goal weight in a couple of days.

But weighing everyday is KEY for my accountability. This could all easily get away from me if I didn't keep that constant vigil.

FTR, I'm 3.5 years post-op (VSG) and have had no "inevitable bounceback."

I weigh daily, in the mornings. I enter my weight in MFP daily.

I plan meals and track on MFP daily.

I average 1,800+ calories/day.

I exercise almost daily (do yoga, aquarobics and/or walk 5-7 days/week).

I'm very active in the OH VSG Maintenance Group (great group, BTW!).

I see my therapist monthly -- mostly to address life's ongoing stresses, which never end.

None of the above feels "obsessive" to me. It's just how I live now -- just like i also meditate daily, make my bed daily, brush my teeth twice a day, take my makeup off before going to bed and apply skin-care stuff, do the laundry every weekend, watch the car gas gauge and fill up with gas when it gets down to 1/4 tank, dust the furniture, vacuum the rugs, clean the toilets, mow the yard, enter my de*****arges and checks written in my checkbook register.

It's called self-care.

You are better at adulting than I am. LOL.

I hadn't wandered over to the Maintenance group because I haven't honestly decided if this is my end weight. :/ I had so many health issues and other things over the winter competing for my energy and time that I decided I didn't need to stress about it right now, and just started focusing on maintaining for the present.

I figure once we're into Spring and my seasonal health issues are past again, I'll probably do a push to get to my original goal, which is another 20# (plus the 4# I've swung up).

How do I find the maintenance group? I'm kind of in maintenance. Sorta. Maybe.

Gosh I wish I did all that !

Not a vet -- four years out. I have been maintaining since 18 to 19 months out --- a 220ish pound loss. I have a 4 pound range that is comfortable for me.

How faithfully do you track intake in maintenance?

I weigh and measure everything that goes in my mouth. Everything. I log it all in MyFitnessPal -- I have 1494 days logged so far.

How often do you weigh?

Every morning. Not weighing and being in denial is how I got to 347 pounds.

How much of a gain prompts you to make changes in your intake?

One pound. Keep in mind, I have a 4 pound range that accounts for normal fluctuations. It's a lot easier to lose a pound or two, than to wait for 5, 10, 15, 75 pounds to pile on. It's what works for me.

I don't have much of an answer for you as I've only been in maintenance for a few months but just wanted to thank you for the post. I've been grappling with how to do maintenance myself! I'm an expert at weight loss but not keeping it off. I'm always shocked when I try put something on that I haven't worn in a month and it still fits! Looking forward to the next part of this journey.

1. I am coming up on close to 15yrs out RNY as is my husband also. Neither of us track our intake. We both know protein first; protein first is always in the forefront of our intake. We do indulge at times with a snack or something that is a food that we love but not of enormous proportions.

2. We hardly weigh ourselves anymore. We just "know" when we look in the mirror or how our clothing fits that we need to "reign" in the food intake.

3. We are both at our doctors every 3-4 months where we are weighed. We know it is charted there and can review our info via the 'puter.

In other words it is a lifestyle change that we have taken a hold of and have not let go of the gift that God has given to the two of us. We both would not be alive today if we had not accepted this gift of surgery.

Hope this helps.

I don?t own a scale and am always surprised how heavy I?ve become at the doctors.

I like my body best when I make excercise my first daily priority - I also tend to drink empty calories and eat at night if I don?t feel ? threatened? by embarrassment or non- performance the next day.

I lived in weight denial for SO many years but I am still absolutely unwilling to track calories or live on a diet .

So far thank God my body looks pretty good and works well -