2 year Surgiversary
It's been almost 2 years since I had VSG and I have learned so much about what it takes to keep me healthy. I've learned that if I want to maintain a BMI between 19 - 21 for life (my personal goal), I will have to follow a healthy lifestyle every single day. For me, this means:
- Eating 1-3 filling meals per day, no snacks. Ideally I don't start eating until afternoon.
- No eating after dinner
- Occasional longer fasts when I get to the top of my weight range
- Eating primary meat, fish, eggs, avocado, olive oil, coconut oil, olives, butter, fermented vegetables, mushrooms, seaweed, non-starchy vegetables
- Eating nuts, seeds, and dairy as part of a dish, not on their own
- Chewing well and eating slowly
- Not eating sugar alcohols or artificial sweeteners. I can tolerate stevia and monk fruit as sweeteners or a little bit of real sweetener. I have a few pieces of dark chocolate for dessert sometimes.
- Eating fiber sparingly. I get bloated easily on too much fiber.
- Eating adequate salt and staying hydrated.
- Drinking apple cider vinegar, green tea, kvass, herbal tea and homemade bone broth regularly
- Avoiding alcohol
- Avoiding seed oils (Soybean, Canola, Corn, Cottonseed, Sunflower, Safflower, Peanut)
- Wearing tight clothing with minimal stretch
- Being active outside in the mornings when possible
- Prioritizing sleep
It has taken a lot of work to figure out what keeps me healthy, and I am far from perfect. Yesterday I ate a quest bar (and had the typical stomach upset after) and I had a business dinner meeting where I couldn't avoid eating meat cooked in seed oil. But, I know what my goals are and I strive to reach them daily.
I've gone from 222 lbs to 122 lbs and I couldn't be happier with that accomplishment. It's going to be a struggle every day not to regain weight, and I've already dealt with losing a 14 lb regain, so I know all it takes is a little extra snacking on "healthy" foods to rapidly gain fat. Some people thrive on weighing, tracking, and logging their food but that is not a sustainable way for me to live, so I have my own food rules instead.
To be clear, the above is my personal maintenance plan. It is not a recommendation for what anyone else should do, especially in the weight loss stage when eating high protein/low calorie/low volume is specifically important.
