Long timers - what are your ideas

I have been downloading WLS videos and listening to "on the go." I came across this and am listening to it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YxKUssyS8F0

This doctor summarizes the strategies that his 5+ year successful patients use.

What other tips do you use?

Thanks for the link. I listened to it and think that it's pretty good advice.

His greatest advice about what NOT to do is not to think that one can maintain their weight loss by "moderating" what most people eat. His candid evaluation is that what most people eat is "toxic." I sort of agree with him.

I'll be five years out next month, so I'm not yet a long, long, long-timer. Nonetheless, here are some things that have benefitted me tremendously:

1. Except for times when I'm traveling, I continue to plan and track my daily foods on My Fitness Pal.

2. I still weigh a LOT of my foods, e.g., cheeses, meats, high-fat veggies like avocado every time I eat them.

3. When I'm home I weigh every morning and post my weight on MFP.

4. I've learned that more I use my knife in the kitchen, the healthier and cleaner I'm eating, i.e., I'm eating more veggies/fruits. When I'm on my game I typically eat 10 servings of veggies and fruits a day.

5. My temptation foods are the "bad carb" foods, i.e., breads and sugar, which simply encourage me to eat more of them. The "good carb" foods (veggies, fruits, whole grains) are extremely satisfying and curb my appetite. I try to spend more time on the "good carb" side of that bridge.

6. Speaking purely for myself, most artificial sweeteners don't trigger anything for me. That's counter to one of Weiner's post-op long-term eating precepts. Just sayin'.

7. Getting enough sleep is critical to my ability to eat well and resist temptation foods that trigger more unhealthy eating. And getting lots of exercise is critical to my ability to get enough sleep.

8. I am one of those people, like the doctor describes initially, who simply "refuses to go back." Almost five years out I am obsessed about not regaining my lost weight. That doesn't mean I don't gain weight during a vacation or while traveling away from home. But when I get back, I start anew and lose the regained pounds while they're still "new" and haven't yet settled in for the long haul.

9. Stocking a "clean" kitchen is one of my most successful weight maintenance strategies. If I don't buy it, I can't eat it. Seriously, success is sometimes just that simple.

10. The next part is a little surprising to me, but here goes: I don't hang out these days very much with people who are committed to "pigging out" as I used to be. I know you've heard the research that finds overweight people tend to socialize and hang out with other overweight people. These days, all my friends are active people who exercise, work hard, and eat healthier than I used to eat. Not sure why things have worked out that way -- except to say that my everyday friends are folks who do yoga, walk 10K steps daily, eat a lot of veggies/fruits and are mostly folks who've never had a serious weight problem. Why have my friends changed? I think that's partly because I am so much more active than I used to be and because I no longer have any interest in going out to restaurants that cater to people who want to eat a lot of food. That's just not who I am or what I like anymore.

I hope this is helpful. Would love to hear what others who are long, long, long-timers might have to say about this.

Thank you for your reply. Lots of good ideas. Esp the veggies. And the knife usage.

When the honeymoon phase ends and appetite returns to a normal level (a medically known step in the body's recovery from WLS) - adding the veggies are a secret weapon. And moving, as you have done, to a healthy diet, a bi-product of which is weight control.

It took me a little long than you to learn some of these lessons. But, there was no good reason I had the regain, so there is no good reason not to lose it. I look back at the difficulties of the past few years and none was a 'good reason' to regain. Distractions, but I could have planned better. I needed to add the veggies sooner and have a plan for my body's return to normal - after when it adjusted to my body's new set point. Adding veggies to deal with the returning hunger is my idea of a secret weapon.

Your list got me thinking

-Return to eating S L O W L Y. That one extra bite matters.

-Eating out is still a slippery place for me to be - so I rarely eat out. When I do, it is an event to enjoy - not just to eat something, which I can plan better around.

-Sleep routine. I upgraded my old night gowns with some pretty, comfy ones and start to get ready for bed.

-I downloaded these links (and others)videos to a thumbdrive and listen to them in the car. It's hard to make a wrong turn (ie into a Junk Food Joint) when your brain is in the right place.

All the best to you.

Sleep is a big one.

Ive always eaten veggies salads and some fruit as snacks.

I still follow Susan Somers original recommendation to separate eating carbs and fatty meats by ideally two hours and eating only fat free proteins and dressings and so forth with the carbs ( which are also of course as fat free as possible )

i try to make exercise the first part of my day

I take my vitamins ( chewables ) religiously

I do therapy twice a week - it's proved an amazing improvement to the quality of my life and also my work success and relationship with my family and friends.

I think Weiner is wrong about a lot of things. There us a lot of science thgat refutes several of his mamajor oints. It's not all bad, but he definitely has an axe to grind.

Fun fact: he recently moved to Tucson and he now shares a practice with my surgeon. I'll be talking to him for my follow-up appointment a week and a half after my RNY. I kinda wonder how much of this he pushes in person. I'll definitely report back!

Ooooohh. Do tell.

Please give him a link to the Five Day Meat Test. Please!!!!!

What's that?

I am 17 years post op Sept 18th. As previous poster said, if i dont buy it, i cant eat it. I never feel i am on a diet as then my mind plays tricks and diets made me fat. I eat what i want but in moderation. I am very blessed in the fact that i can only eat a small amount. For example, i can eat 1 egg but nothing with it. I also cant tolerate anything fatty or rich. In the beginning i logged my food, really helps. My trigger is homemade bakec goods so, very rarely bake. I make sure my fridg is full of fruits and veggies. For some reason, having a full frig makes me feel like - i cant explain. Since i can eat so little i try fill my pouch with healthy foods. Good luck and best wishes