Have you Met your goal?

We're all SO different in how our bodies work, so it's hard to say what would suit you best. What works best for me is eating a little bit all through the day. I've got reactive hypoglycemia and I've got to work hard to keep my sugar level up, and I've been told this helps keep your metabolism going and will keep your body from going into starvation mode (where it will hold on to the weight). These ltitle meals/snacks have to be carefully planned. Today's plan: 5:45 a.m. - fried egg on slice of double-fiber wheat bread; 6:00 a.m.-7:00 a.m. - workout (1/2 hr cardio; 1/2 hr weights & resistance); 7:00 a.m. - bottle of water, vitamins and get ready for work; 8:00 a.m. - drive to work and down another bottle of water; 8:45 a.m. - eat Healthy Heart oatmeal; 9:30 a.m. - more water; 10:15 a.m. - eat bran crackers; 11:30 a.m. - more water; 12:15 p.m. - broiled pork chop & green beans; 12:45 p.m. - go up & down stairs a couple of times; 1:00 p.m. - back to desk and more water; 2:30 p.m. - gnu bar (high fiber & protein - go to gnufoods.com); 3:15 p.m. - more water; 4:30 p.m. - Fiber One bar; 5:00 p.m. - drive home and more water; 6:00 p.m. - family dinner (I love to cook, will send recipes if you would like); 6: 45 p.m. - walk to son's house with family and look at new grandbaby, more water; 7:30 p.m. - everybody goes home (hopefully), clean up mess they made; 8:00 p.m. - Fiber One yogurt or something similar; 9:00 p.m. - go to bed and take bottle of water with me. You can see that I'm in no way deprived - I'm putting something in me all day long. That was probably a whole lot more than you wanted to know. I'm on a roll. Anyway, I think exercise is very important. My morning workout burns about 400 calories and extra muscle mass burns another 300 calories through the day. That doesn't happen overnight - it takes several months to build up to that, and then you'll notice the little happy endorphins popping off and you'll feel great. It makes a world of difference, it really does. You can reach your goal weight (as long as it's realistic). It just takes some time and work, and it's a matter of having your head screwed on real tight. Don't ever give up on yourself, and don't ever let anybody tell you that you can't reach your goal or let yourself feel you're not worth the effort.

I met my goal and am below it. I dont think I look bad yet. Im trying to stop but that hasnt worked out quite yet. My drs goal was 159, my personal goal was 150 and as of a few days ago Im down another lb at 138. I do excercise all the time, havent added back any bad carbs or much carbs at all because they dont agree with me. I choose low fat options. All the stuff the dr recomended for me, I do. I am really really bad with my eating habits on the weekend. I forget to eat because Im busy doing other things. Im trying really hard to at least drink enough protein drinks so I dont have to worry about what I got from my food during the weekend. I usually end up having a shake, a morning snack, miss lunch, have PM snack but its so late that I dont bother with dinner and maybe another shake. My dr has me eating 4 oz max 6x a day for life.

How tall are you?

Im 5'7. I think I can go down to 130 before Im considered under weight by my BMI.

I only wondered b/c I weigh 138 too but I'm only 5 ft. 2in. lol :) You look great btw!

Thanks.

I never took no for an answer.  Reaching goal was going to happen, even I lived off Broth for 3 years.  In the end, I will say the following helped: 1)  Excercise.  Excercise so much its your new religion. 2)  Evalulate everything you eat and ask yourself: does [eating] this get me closer to goal?  If the answer is no; don't eat it. I've had people tell me I didn't look healthy either.  I honesty don't care what they think.  I bite my tounge but on the wrong day they might get, "Oh really, well waddling around with that cane and sucking on oxygen doesn't make you the picture of health either you know...let's run 5K, what do you say?"

One of your comments particularly struck me.  You stopped losing weight at 12 months out, right?  When I was 12 months postop, not only was it the first month that I didn't lose weight, it was the first time I saw a regain.  It scared the crap out of me.  I was truly honest with myself, and looked at the foods I had allowed back into my life.  It was the big no-no's, potatoes and white starch.  So for one month, I did not allow one bite of any processed grain, potato, rice, pasta, etc.  I wanted to see if I really was done losing weight  Well, 15 pounds came off the first 15 days that month.  I didn't lose anything more for the next couple of weeks as my body stablilized that quick drop, and then I kept losing steadily for the next 12 months.  I could really, really see what those carbs were doing to stop the weight loss, and it gave me the encouragement to keep going and doing what I was supposed to be doing all along.  I work out 4 days a week to dvds in my living room. I reached my low weight in May, 2007, exactly two years postop, and have maintained it for the last year.  My doctor never gave me a goal weight, as I don't think he thought it was possible for me to reach it.  At the age of 50, I started at 351, BMI over 58, and today I am between 131-133, or a BMI around 22.  My goal for myself was to be below 150, which would put me in a "normal" BMI range.  I watch what I eat fairly carefully, but do not deprive myself  of something I truly want.  When I eat something higher in calories, or not of good nutritional value, I eat extremely healthily to compensate for it in the next couple of days.  It is a matter of balance for me.  No, I don't eat whatever I want when I want it, but strive for good 90% of the time.  I do drink my water, take my vitamins, and drink a protein drink everyday.  When I don't get in enough water, I can feel the difference. I don't have the magic answer as to why I was able to get to goal when other hard working people have not been able to.  Perhaps I have just been "lucky".  But I do know I have worked hard for each of those 215+ pounds lost. I don't take my maintainance lightly.  I feel the day I stop thinking about my surgery and what I need to be doing will be the day the pounds creep back up. Debra M.

I am almost 4 yrs out and no I have never met my goal. I started at 360 got down to 180 and now have bounced back up to 200. I am 5'5 and never got below a size 18. I know I am grazing and eating way to many sweets and soda's but so far have not been able to get control of it. But everyday I start again.  Juli