Maintenance Phase

 I'm a little over 6 months post-op now and I had my 6 month followup today. I was told I'm now in the maintenance phase and with that and my goal of bulking up on some muscle, as I did have some muscle loss after surgery, my daily goal is now 1500-1600 calories a day, 115 grams of protein and to up my carbs to closer to 125+ grams a day. This is because muscle building requires additional protein and carbs to fuel and repair the muscles. Anyways, it's great news, my labs are great and I'm feeling so much better, compared to before surgery or even a few months after surgery. I also hope this doesn't discourage anyone, everyone is different and it's not that normal for a person to get to their goal this quickly, it's just different for everyone.

Thanks for everyone's support on here, I've learned a little and alot of each of you and hope to pass it on.

Great Job Kenny!!!! Maintenance can be tricky it seems you eat all the time especially if your upping your workout.  C'ya Bob

And all of us women know that men lose disgustingly fast. It ain't fair I tell ya!!!!

Congratulations Kenny!! We are all proud of you and for you. You have done an amazing job and are a great inspiration.

Just so you know... you just thought the losing phase was hard. Maintenance is like trying to rub your tummy and pat your head while juggling bowling balls. One week you hardly feel like eating and your weight goes up, the next you are constantly hungry and feel you are eating everything in sight and your weight goes down.

Eventually you do find a happy medium and life takes on some semblance of normal.

Welcome... I'm SUPPOSTED to be in maintenance mode, but I'm still loosing myself.

I've upped the amount of food and calories that I'm eating, but still losing (not much, but it needs to stop).

I also work out 3 times a week, so that might be part of my issue.

Some days I feel like I've eaten too much, or felt like I did nothing but eat all day.  When I go to Starbucks I get Soy milk in my latte instead of skim milk because I need the calories!
It's not been hard, just need to stay mindful.

Good luck.

Michael.

Congratulations, Kenny!  That is great news. 

If you need some tips on the weight lifting, carb ratio, etc. let me know.  I have a friend that I could get you in contact with...  He has taught me a lot...  though I don't follow the weight lifting lifestyle, we've had many discussions about weight loss surgery patients and he would love to work with you... 

Congrats to ya Kenny.  I found that ingesting some simple carbs about 45 minutes before my weight training sessions helps me get through my workouts without running out of gas. Trying to gain lean muscle mass requires an increase in protein as well as complex (starches) and simple carbs (sugars). That is somewhat tricky for us WLS folks, but it can be done. Keep on keepin' on brother!

Our resident Guru knows what he's talking about.   C'ya

Thank ya, Biker Boy!

Thanks everyone, I can see it's definitely go to be hard and strange from here on out, since they're telling me to add things back into my diet such as more carbs, that were a no-no before. BamaBob is right on, that's exactly what my nut, Jennifer Angus, told me to do to build lean muscle. The real struggle is that only being 6 months out, it's gonna be hard to get in the calories I need, my nut really wanted to up it a little farther, but she decided this was a good starting point and we'd she how I feel and what my weight does. And lot's of food journaling for awhile to see what I'm getting in and how it's making me feel, it's like starting all over, but I'm so happy to be where I am. 

Thanks for everyone's support!

I just wanted to let you know that it is hard to NOT continue to lose weight especially if you are working out as you are supposted to!

Today I ate about 1200 calories and struggled with that!  If I did not have some of the chips that I did with lunch I would have been short about 200 calories.  Then I went to the gym and burned about 200 more calories.

This is really hard to stop losing at this point, but I will say it is not "falling" off like it was before.  On average of about 5-8 lbs per month for the last 3 months.  But if I continue to lose that much for the next 3-6 months I will be down another 15-30 lbs or more!  Not good at this point.

I try to add "value" calories when I can...  For example I go to Starbucks and get a coffee... I get Soy instead of nonfat for an extra 50 calories.  I use regular sour cream, and 2% cheese, not fat free.  This can add about 20-50 calories per serving, which I need at this point.  I don't go crazy because I feel guilty about it, because you are taught that fat is "bad".  Moderation is the key, and eating this way for the last year, now it is nothing but second nature for me now.

I still do not eat sugar, that will make me dump, and also, besides the one coffee (sometimes two on special occasions) in a day, no "empty" calories for me.  If I ever stopped working out, I may have to adjust this more, but do not plan on it.  To this day I do not "graze" or eat when I'm bored.
At this point in my journey and in maintenance, I feel more normal.  I feel that I can eat what I want, and NEVER feel deprived.  I do not miss the ful sugar items, or SODA!!

All those new post ops, this is for maintance ONLY - do not let this be a reason to start up old habits... you need to arrive before you can maintain.  I hope that makes sense!

Strange indeed!

Michael.