Advice/suggestions please!

I am now 7 months and and only 10 lbs from my goal.  I am 47 and 5" 3.  My goal initially was 130 lbs and today I am 150 lbs.  I think I want to change my goal to 140.  I am starting to notice too much weight loss in my face.  I wear 4-6 in pants and 8-10 in tops.  I am pleased with my size but extremely unhappy with my skin.  Will this improve as my weight stabilizes? 

Also, I would like to know how everyone transitioned from weightloss to maintenance.  I eat between 900-1000 calories and feel quite full with that volume.  How did you change your eating?  I don't tolerated refined carbs which doesn't bother me at all.  I did discover I can eat a large amount of popcorn at one time so I need to be careful with that.  Just looking for everyone's suggestions on how you are maintaining your weight.  I haven't worried about loosing the weight given my anatomy changes with RNY but I am extremely concerned about my ability to maintain it.  I am an emotional eater and love carbs.  I have stayed in counseling through all of this because I do have a lot of anxiety issues to work through.  Shelli

My surgeon set my goal and I kept losing until I met his goal even though I thought he was crazy. My own personal (in my mind) goal was 150. His goal, when I had reached 146, was 125. I'm at that right now 2 and a half years out. I hit 122 11 months out and have basically maintained ever since.

His advice to me to quit losing was "eat more" and so you should but you also need to decide if you're going to just gain willy-nilly and break all the rules (I wouldn't recommend that) or talk to your nutritionist and do what they tell you.

Carbs can be a real problem. Those are highly addictive. I used to be a stress eater. Now I'm a stress starver. Popcorn is mostly air so don't worry about that. Just make sure you go with single serving types.

I still eat my protein first, I exercise to try and put on muscle mass. I never drink after I eat, I still continue to take my vitamins. I keep away from white carbs as much as possible. Very little bread, very little pasta, very little rice.

When I made the decision for RNY I committed myself to following the rules for life.  If I start breaking them I am afraid of old habits slowly creeping back in.  I also try to make the healthiest choices available but don't want to deprive myself either.  Thanks for responding, I will follow your advice.  I am also working hard at not calling foods "good" or "bad."  No food is totally off limits in moderation and if I follow my pouch rules first. 

For most post ops, your wt will settle on it's own goal. My initial goal was to lose 100 pounds total from my WLS journey. After 24 months, I ended up losing 160 pounds and then gained about 5-6 pounds back.  Some wt gain after stabilization is not uncommon. Maintenance is the issue in most cases, and you'll settle for something you can live with. Sugar does not bother me, so I can eat sugary foods any time I want to. I realize this, so I keep this to a minimum. 99% of the time, I'm able to take my exercise walks daily. If I miss a day, I try to do 2 the next day. On a nice day, and if I'm in the mood, I'll take 2 walks.  Food volume tolerance will increase as you get further out, so you have to moderate this. Emotional eating is often deeply rooted in some emotional trauma during you life, either as a child or as an adult. My suggestion is to try something to keep your hands busy. Find a hobby, volunteer, etc. I personally attend 3 support meetings a month, as that helps me. Try to stick with foods that are healthy and use smaller proportions. Even at 30 months out, I still use protein supplements to make sure I'm getting enough protein. DAVE

How much protein do you try to get in daily?  I realize your needs are different, you are a foot taller than me but do you follow a certain percentage of carbs, protein and fats? 

I try to get 70 grams or so, but realize I may fall short of that goal, as I don't write down the protein content of things I may eat during the day. And I don't have "total recall" of the food items I eat in a day. I try to eat as healthy as possible, eat healthy snacks (string cheese, dried peas, fruit, etc). I don't count calories, or carbs either. I try to avoid refined carbs. 99% of any breads I eat are whole grain. It's a lifestyle, and you have to find a forumula you can live with. DAVE

My NUTs plan for maintenace calls for 30% protein, 40% carbs and 30% fat - the carbs are mainly fruits, veggies, dairy and lastly starch/carb. She said to add 100 calories at a time until the weight stabilized (I think calorie changes every two weeks? I forget). Personally once I hit goal I had a metabolism test to find out how many calories *I* needed to maintain then I followed the 30/40/30 rule. I also felt fine eating around 1000 calories but the test showed my body needs 1400 minimum each day... Ive had to really up my eating but noticed a change in how I feel once I started to eat more. I feel like I am eating all day but thats what I have to do to maintain my current weight ;-)

As for the skin - you will notice some changes as time passes.. the body will adjust and redistribute some of the weight (your face should fill in some) and some inches will go... I noticed with working out I really got my inches down and areas toned which helped the appearance of the excess. Also most of my stretch marks are no longer red and not as noticeable.

hello, i am 31.. 5'3".  I weigh 150 right now..
but i am extremely happy at 140.. i would never go down to 130... in highschool i was 135.. and i don't ever see myself going down below that.. it would look sickening on me.. surely. anyhow.. my goal is to lose the 10 lbs i have gained in the past 3 months..
yeahl i can eat a lot of popcorn too. 
i eat a lot of unhealthy junk.. so i am trying to get back on track.. at least with protein first and vitamins...
i know i should make a point to exercise but it is difficult with a 1 year old.