A question for the long-timers...

I am actually only 5 months out this month, so I am not a graduate yet, but I do have a question for the long-timers... What were the top two or three things you did to maintain your weight loss, even years later?   I actually started posting to this board pre-surgery,  hungry for any info that could help me make my decision.  Once I had the surgery, I haven't been on as much, and actually have been absent from the board for a few months.  I have lost 70 lbs in 5 months, including pre-surgery weight loss, and I feel great.  Just starting to see some hair thinning, which I expected - but not too bad.  I look great and feel great.  Since I was a light-weight before surgery (at 5'2", I was 206 on surgery day), at 144 I am still curvy, but otherwise thin.  I have no skin sagging issues that can't be taken care of with a little toning.   HOWEVER...although I defintely make better choices when I eat, have completely cut out any and all sodas (even diet), and my cravings for sweets have all but disappeared, I have been bad.  I have at least one glass of wine per day, I get maybe 1/2 the protein I should (and there hasn't been ONE day in the last 5 months I have gotten the 70 grams recommended by my surgeon), and I don' t drink enough water.  I can tell that some of my old behaviors of overeating are manifesting themselves in different ways.  Meaning, I may not overeat, but I still don't do all the things I should, and haven't "made" myself.  Of course, I fear gaining weight back after surgery, but I also fear not being as healthy as I could be.  I have also heard horror stories of people who, 3-5 years later, suddenly die because of some issue with organ failure due to WLS they had years ago.  This scares me.  Two ladies at my work who had the surgery just a couple of years ago are already gaining weight back, and can't seem to slow it down. Anyway, sorry for the long diatribe.  I just thought for those of you who were successful as the years have gone by, what is your advice for me?  I appreciate the help :) Bernadette

ernadette, I am not an expert by far and my lifestyle is certainly not one I would recommend for anyone...but I made myself  a promise after WLS.  This was my one chance to be a new person.  You have to change your ways.  Out with the old and in with the new--FOREVER! The biggest piece of advice I always pass on is to be vigilant about taking your vitamins.  No matter what routine you have to establish to remind yourself to take them, it needs to be done.  Vitamin deficiency is one of the leading causes of problems down the road. I also allow my self to indulge once in a while.  If there is a piece of food I want, like a piece of chocolate, I know I won't be happy until I have it.  BUT I only have the one.  I know I will sabotage myself if I have more.  Moderation in all things is the key.  I hardly dump on anything so I have to be extra careful.  Sweets were never a hard thing for me to pass up anyway, my demon was always potato chips.  I still have them, but certainly not as much. I don't have a regular exercise routine, but I get plenty chasing a 19-month old grandson around and I love to work in the yard and have a small greenhouse.  Garden work is excellent exercise if you aren't the type of person to go to a gym. I try not to worry about gaining weight back.  I find if I immerse myself in my life nowadays I don't even think about it.  I am the type of person that if I let my self worry too much about something it will eat at me until I make myself sick. Relax and enjoy the new you.  I think some people who gain a lot of weight back have become "backsliders."  They have to get past the old them and remember that they are different from the way they were before. I have rambled enough and this is probably TMI and boring for you! Best of luck!  I think you will do fine! Patty

You are so smart to be thinking about this now!  A lot of people think that having WLS makes losing weight and keeping it off easy.  It is not.  This is a life-long struggle that we will all have to deal with for the rest of our lives.  I call myself a recovering obese person.  The good thing is that the WLS gives us tools that make success a much higher probability than before.  But we still have to do the same things:  eat right, exercise, and take vitamins. Some of the tricks I have found to help: 1.  Make this a long-term approach to living well.  Treat yourself with healthy food - fish, fruit, salads, etc.  Organic if possible.  Pay a little more if you must.  Your new body deserves it!  But since it is a long-term approach, have a glass of wine every night.  Have a desert once a week (I buy a nice desert and nibble on it over the course of a week - a couple of tablespoons every night).  ENJOY your food - this is not a diet, but a life style.  Also remember that while taking vitamins is important, you get a lot of micronutrients from food that are not in a pill. 2.  Get your protein in.  If your hair is thinning, you are not getting enough protein.  This is  a warning sign!.  Get some protein mixes.  I hate the taste of most of the mixes, so I buy the IDS "New-Whey" protein bullet drinks.  The new ones have 42 grams of protein in 3 oz that taste like jello.  You can gulp them down without really tasting them.  And protein helps kill the carb cravings. 3.  Exercise.  Your body needs it.  It helps burn the calories, and also cuts the appetite.  If you want to live a long time and enjoy it, you need to keep your body fit. 4.  Make this  a life style.  And realize that it's what you do over the long haul that counts.  If you overeat one day, cut back the next.  If you miss working out at the gym because you are sick, just make sure you get back to the gym as soon as possible.   5.  Understand what your particular triggers and eating patterns are.  It sounds like you already do.  Work solutions into your new eating habits.  Make sure you eat every 3-5 hours so you don't get too hungry.  I like to graze when I'm bored, so I buy a big salad at work and nibble all afternoon as I work on things that are boring.  I can actually lose weight that way.  And I always keep protein bullets and bars around to munch on.  If I'm in a meeting at work that lasts a long time, I just slip in a protein bar and eat it with a cup of coffee.  A diabetic would do the same thing.   It sounds like you are on the right track - you just need to tweak things a little.  Get that protein in! Good luck - you are well on your way......

Bernadette, I'm 22 months out, so I don't know if I'm considered a "long-timer"  or not, but when I decided to have this surgery it was, obviously, about the weight-loss, but that wasn't the only reason.  It was about changing my life and my relationship with food.  I am 5'8" and my highest weight was 370.  I'm now about 180 (still waiting for the swelling of my tummy tuck from a month ago to go away) and am at goal.  My approach to food has been (since day 1) to eat things as close to their natural source as possible.  I eat lean proteins, fruits and vegetables, whole grains (yes, I eat bread, pasta and rice - just whole grain, Barilla Plus pasta, and brown rice), and have not had "real" sugar since surgery.  What I mean by that is no real candy, cookies, cake, etc.  There may have been some sugar in something I've eaten at a restaurant or something that I didn't know about but nothing that I've known of.  Fried foods and high fatty foods make me dump.  My biggest weakness since surgery has been sf cookies and my own sf baked goods.  I make them with (mostly) whole wheat flour and make them as natural as possible.  I don't eat them all the time, but I kind of go on little benders where I"ll bake like a fool for a month, then nothing for a month or two.  I almost always have some Murray's sf cookies in my cabinet, though.  :-) Anyway, I say all of that to say this: this is a LIFE change, not just about losing weight.  Eat healthy and balanced and your weight will take care of itself.  Don't obsess over it.  That's what we did before surgery was obsess over food.  I had this surgery so I wouldn't have to anymore.  I eat to nourish my body which means a healthy, balanced diet and I'm doing fine. Michelle

What were the top two or three things you did to maintain your weight loss, even years later?   I am just over 4 years out and I would have to say the top things (I may go over 3) I do to maintain my loss are: 1.  Excercise EVERY freaking day.  I mean Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day, happy birthday, husband is a jerk day....etc.  I make sure to MOVE every day.  For me, I enjoy running, so that is what I do.  However, walking, pilates, dance...whatever YOU like to do works. 2.  Take vitamins every day and see your Dr. for blood work.  (I snuck two into one, ha ha) 3.  Think before you eat it.  I am a binge eater/stress eater and when I am angry, happy, anxious or deciding to be any emotion you can think of I want to eat, and I want to eat CRUD.  Chips, candy, whatever I don't need at the time I want.  Therefore, before I put food into my mouth I think about it. "Will these 42 M&M's really help the situation?  Is Chester Cheetah actually a good therapist?  Will my teenage stop being a crab if I eat mini Snickers? Yes, Traci, sugar free is not CALORIE free."...etc. 4.  If the scale does go up due to Snickers, Cheetos or what have you, I nip it in the bud.  5 lbs is my limit and then I get a grip.  We have all been "dieters" before and know how easily 5 lbs becomes 15 and then 22 and so on.  I weigh daily and that helps me. These things work for me.  They of course will not apply to everyone.  This is a lifestyle change and it has to fit into YOUR personal lifestyle.   Good luck to you! Traci 303/131

Thank you ALL so much for your help.  Isn't it amazing?  This is the same advice I got and couldn't follow BEFORE surgery.  However, now I feel like I have the tools to follow this advice.  The two women I know who have gained weight since surgery say the same thing:  it's amazing how fast "bad" habits become the norm again.  I want to be successful.  It looks like the keys are what they always were and always will be:  eat well and exercise regularly.  Go figure. Thanks! Bernadette

Bernadette,  I am 3 years out and have maintained 175 pound weight loss.  I have to agree with previous posters on how to continue success after WLS.   Exercise every day.  Even if you can't get outdoors for a walk or go to the gym......take 15 minutes and just walk up and down the stairs in your house.  Take your vitamins.  We don't absorb nutrients from our food the way we used to, so our vitamins are important.  I also allow myself 5 pounds and I will  treat myself to a piece of chocolate or that glass of wine from time to time.  No one wants to feel like this is a "diet". ....we don't want to feel deprived........that's what always happened to me in the past to make diets fail.   We want to construct a healthier way of living and make better food (and drink) choices for ourselves on a regular basis. When I do get to the top of that 5 pound mark, I go back to basics.....protein, protein, protein and up the exercise a little......it makes that "tool" kick in for me every time.   It is good you're thinking about this at this point.  Good luck to you.  Joann

Ditto to EVERYTHING posted with regards to maintaining the weight loss and continuing a healthy lifestyle......... HOWEVER....  I want to add one little bit of advice....... and it only applies to those of us who have compulsive or addictive personalities - and unfortunately, most obese/former obese people fall into one or the other categories........ Watch the WINE!!!!   Some of us have these addictive personalities and food was a BIG part of our lives before surgery.  Now that food isn't top-notch anymore, some people have a tendency to want to fill that void with something else.  Some enjoy shopping (and now have closets FULL of nifty new clothes!)  Some enjoy exercise in place of food, some enjoy other forms of staying busy....   And then others turn an occasional drink into another addictive habit.  A glass of wine now and then becomes a glass daily, then several daily, etc. etc.  Sometimes it's more harsh a substance, but the need to fill that "void" that was once filled by food is the same. Just be careful. There have been many posts on all types of boards regarding this issue, so just be aware that it's a very real possibility. You know yourself better than anyone, so as with anything else, MODERATION IS THE KEY! Hugs! Kristi

Kristi, Thank you so much for bringing that up.  There was a period after my second round of plastic surgery when I stopped taking percocets because I was so miserable from being constipated and turned to a glass of wine to "self-medicate" to try and handle the post op pain. Before you know it, it became two glasses of wine and then three and then by some miracle I caught myself.  I had seen a show on addiction transfer after gastric bypass and it hit me that I had become dependent on wine every night of the week.  I quickly got myself some therapy and became accountable for what behavior I had adopted.  I never really drank much at all before gastric bypass but it was apparent I was guilty of an addiction transfer long after the post op pain left me.   I don't want to get off the subject here, but I agree with the previous post to be very careful.  Being addicted to exercise is far better than some of the other options since we all do seem to fit into the addictive behavior category. Again, be very careful.  With our new found quality of life can loom some real evils.  Joann

Ditto that, sista-gurl! (and Ditto to everyone else in this thread!) Not to hijack the thread but: I'm 6 years out and although I barely drank at all pre-op.  I "switched addictions" out of nowhere!  Of course with the increased intake of empty calroies and sugar contained in ****tails, the weight slowly but surely started to come back on.  Once I cut out the booze, I seemed to be able to get a grip back on my eating habits.   Aside from the booze, I also became addicted to the attention I got from men (not my husband) and others.  I craved being the center of attention now that I was an "acceptable weight" and since my change was so drastic.  It's important that we watch ourselves, especially if we are addicted (like I am) to food.  An addict is an addict is an addict... Best of luck to you, and to all of us!  N