I have noticed a change

This morning like every morning, I got up, weighed myself and made choices about my eating for today.  I had been up about a pound and a half from where I want to be, so I had been watching what I eat for the past three days.  This morning I was back down those one and a half pounds.  I know the minuscule amount I am talking about here must seem strange to many, but I really know my body now, and I know how much I weigh throughout my cycle.  When I reflected about my weight, I noticed that there has been a subtle change, for example, before I could gain a pound or two and then watch my eating for a day and they would just fall off.  This is no longer true.  I can still maintain, but I need a consistent effort of a few days to take the weight off.  This is a change.  I think my body is has really stabilized and the trend to lose that was there in the beginning of maintenance is no longer there.  This leads me to conclude that there are at least two stages to maintenance, the first one, where you just reach goal, and your body is still in the losing mode, so that maintenance is easy, and a second mode, where your body has settled and maintenance becomes a bit harder.  There might be other stages that I have not experienced yet.  What do you guys think about this theory?  Have you experienced these stages? 

I have been maintaining since mid/late December of last year. I have not found any changes to how my body "does" maintenance, but I do still log my calories/exercise and have the diet power program do my calorie math and also work out pretty heavy 5 days a week. 

Not to say if I had "let" my body decide where it wanted to be that would be different, or if I was intuative with the whole thing as some of yall are.

I think too, since you have had plastics (right? did not you?) Then there is a period of time while you are healing where your body is sucking up calories for the healing process, but then that tapers off after a bit.

Course, that's just me wondering out loud, I have no resources to cite.

Yes! this is my life!
And true to what Brandi said, I think the additional weight loss was because of the plastics.  I had plastics at 118 and as much as I tried, I lost down to 110.  I was scared, not to mention my family and doctors.  My plastic surgeon wanted me to stop losing at 135, but I couldn't help it. I stabilized at 118-120 for 6 months, then had my plastics.  it took me months to get back up to 115 where I was happy, and then came the battle.  I go up 2-3, then I have to work at getting back down, and it's not as effortless as before.  maybe I got spoiled by  the hyper metabolic state that plastics puts you in.  Maybe my body likes it better closer to 120.  But it will be a year soon since my plastics, and I'm still within my range that I started out at, so I'm not complaining.

First, I wish to report that the half pound i was hyperventalating about has disappeared from whence it came so I am happy about that. So I am a few months behind you as far as surgery time is concerned but i do think some changes are beginning and hopefully its toward stabilizing at a weight that is right for me. Don't know about the stages yet but will be considering that with interest ovet the next year. But it just seems like with all aspects of weight management, at some point after the losing phase, maintenance becomes harder. wish i understood why. at support group the other night Dr. C said exercise really becomes more important in the maintenance phase than in the weight loss phase. yeah i guess thats probably true even though i hate exercise. may have to face the music there if i want to keep in the sparkly jeans.

One thing i do know is that i eat way less than most people of normal weight and I guess that is just my lot in life and at least I have my sleeve to help me do it. never could before.

well, thats what this group is about - to boldly go where no one has gone before and unlock the secrets of maintenance after weight loss surgery. so thanks for offering your theory. D

Yes, I have noticed these stages also.  Just wait though-- it gets easier to gain and harder to lose as you get further and further out.  At least that's been my experience.

[For those who aren't familiar with my story, I lost my weight very easily.  In fact, I had a hard time stopping the weight loss.  At one point I had to try and gain weight.  My weight stayed very stable for about a year, then I gained a few lbs.  I've stabilized again, but notice that my weight fluctuates by gaining a lb, then losing 3/4 of a lb.  IOW, it's been a very, very slow gain, but an overall gain nonetheless.  When I don't exercise regularly my overall gain has been even faster because I don't lose as much over time.]

Blessings,
Rana

Rana, this is what I expect to happen. hoping that if I plan on it I can deal better.

I'm currently experiencing a dead stop to my weight loss.....

It may be a stall..... but I don't think so.... seems different this time.

I'm still eating like in slow losing mode.......thinking when I got to 160 I would add carbs or calories.....

I think my body just said stop..... And I just continue to eat like in slow losing mode????

Was looking forward to adding carbs or calories..... looks like that ain't gonna happen !

frisco

(long sigh)......still waiting for stage 1.

Yes.

I think I'm really just starting to experience it, and it's weird.

I lost slowly...had plastics, lost some more, slowly. I reached my lowest point a year ago--that's almost 2.5 years after surgery. After my low point, which happened during a very stressful time of moving, I gained back about 5 lbs. pretty quickly, putting me at my signature weight of 143 at 5'8", and then started maintaining.

After about 6 months maintaining easily, not doing anything differently, I started to notice that I'm gaining a little, slowly. Like Rana said, gain a lb., lose 3/4 lb. I'm really fighting it. I'm still within my limits--I don't like to go above 146, but I'm finding that I'm consistently at the top of the range and finding it more difficult to go back down.

So why am I gaining?

I think I'm eating more. I did the cottage cheese test, and my stomach capacity isn't bigger, but I do get hungrier more often and it takes more to feel full. So maybe it's just that extra 100-200 extra calories a day.

I'm not a big exerciser...but I think I either have to start upping the exercise or eating less and dealing with some hunger. And yes, I could cut out some unnecessary treats, but I'm afraid if I do that, I'll get into that deprivation/dieting mode that has never worked in the past. So. Hmm.

To be continued....
L.

I am sure some people will disagree with me, but I think when you combine our already not-so-hot metabolisms and then the continued metabolic slow down from such low calories over such a long period of time (due to the VSG), it becomes easier than ever for us to gain weight.

This is where exercise comes in to boost the metabolism. Especially strength training because muscle burns fat AT REST while cardio only burns fat while you are doing the cardio. I have been doing a lot of studying on strength training (as you all know), and these are struggles that even normies who "crash" diet face. They eventually end up having to increase their calories, keep the strength training high, do cardio 2-4 times per week in an effort to rev their metabolism back up. They get an initial gain, then cut their calories MINIMALLY to SLOWLY lose the little bit of weight they gained. We don't tend to do that. Or at least I know I don't. If I want to lose weight, I keep my calories very low because I want it off as fast as possible, thus killing my metabolism once again.

Maintanance is going to be interesting and challenging for me for sure. I already gain weight pretty easily, and I'm sure even more easily now after 9 months of practically starving myself.