Keys to long term success after WLS
For the new guys that don't know me I am now 18 months out from my RYN and I have gone from 460lbs down to my maintenance weight of 219lbs which I have maintained for the past 6-7 months. After losing 241lbs I have a lot of folks ask me in support meetings how I deal with maintenance so here is what works for me. It may or may not be successful for you; we all have to come up with a plan that works for your goals and lifestyle. Obesity is such a slow process that it really sneaks up on you. None of us did one thing and bada-bing we were fat. Its a thousand choices over years that got us where we were and it’s the same process that will make you successful after WLS. You have to win the war in your brain first by getting your mind right and then willing your body to follow. My maintenance strategy is to eat healthy and make sure I don't return to my old bad habits of sitting around on my ass watching TV and stuffing my face everyday. That is how I got to be so big in the first place and I will never let myself go back down that path again. I have come too far and know to much now to every walk that road again (I think that is a song?). I spent months going to the gym and walking miles around my neighborhood with my black lab Jack but that was getting old so I needed a way to change it up so I did not quit what I had started. Luckily I found a great website a few months ago called www.meetup.com. So far I have joined two outdoor hiking and recreation groups, a volleyball group, pool shooting group and a 30/40 meetup group for the wife and me. I now hike 10-25 miles on my weekends and have become a group organizer, I play volleyball twice a week with my wife, I shoot pool couple of times a month and I go to various functions with my wife so we still spend time together. But most importantly I am leading a very active lifestyle. I have a DVR that records the few shows that I like to watch and when I have some down time I watch just a few hours of TV now instead of living in front of it as in the past. This has also permitted me to surround myself with like minded active people that are always wanting to get out and do stuff which is just what I wanted. So far it has been a great success for me and I meet a lot of nice new folks and none of them know the old Tim, just the Tim that smokes their butts hiking uphill now and makes them whine like little girls. WLS will help you get on the path to success but it’s up to each us to make it work for ourselves. You have to leave your old bad habits behind and embrace the new you after WLS or you’re doomed to fall into the same traps that made you obese in the first place. If you talk to any of the guys around the locker room that have been very successful after WLS they have changed not just their eating habits but their attitudes and lifestyle. It also important to have a stong support group of folks you can trust like the brotherhood we have here in the locker room to help keep each of us honest.
Good Luck Bros,
From what I hear the volleyball games are rather interesting and he mentions shooting pool....after watching the nekkid volleyball games Tim doesn't need a pool cue. 
Your fully clothed friend,Cards Fan
Yeehaw, now there's a lifestyle change! No wonder I couldn't find anyone in conservative Japan.
No, seriously what Tim said is true, you have to undergo some long-term lifestyle changes or you'll be right back where you started. But for some, I think it just comes easily than for others.
Some people have gender disorders and have to get a sex change, right?.
Me? (got your attention now, I bet!)
I think I had to get a body change from MO to athletic. In my mind I felt I was an athlete, but my body was always holding me down.
I was an athlete "tranny" - an athlete trapped in an MO body.
The point is, now it seems that I have no choice but to go out and burn a lot of calories every day. My body simply makes me want to sprint and lift weights, almost as if my energy system wants me to burn off any excess energy getting ready to accumulate.
Why is this predestination to move the body relevant to anyone else?
You may not discover your "inner athlete and fat burner body type" until you stay on your exercise program or find the right type of exercise or diet. My awakening occurred partially with weight training differently than I had previously - 3-5 reps to failure (previously 8-12) and included heavy deadlifts and squats.
When it really started to hit me though was when I combined low carb (moderate fat) with sprints and weights.
Don't give up at least until you see what's lurking inside of you and that may take a couple of years!
Dave
Doug
If we're treading on thin ice we might as well dance.--Jesse Winchester
skinny kenny
