What I've learned thus far in maintenance

Been thinkin' about this a few days and thought I would share.  Please jump in and share what you've learned about yourself thus far.  If it just helps one person to identify what might be going on with them, it'll be priceless.  Here goes:

I CANNOT eat fruit.  No matter how healthy it is, no matter how many  vitamins and nutrients it has... it only makes me starve.  I'm sick of eggs so yesterday I  started the day with a small apple and peanut butter.  I frickin' starved the entire day.  The kind of hunger I haven't had since before the surgery.  i swear I was in the kitchen every hour on the hour and i could not control it.  Bet I easily ate 2000 cals.  Looking back over the times I struggled in my journey it was always when I tried to incorporate fruit.  I've come to the conclusion i can have a little fruit at the END of the day, but that's it.

If i drink my water (NOT gatorade, tea, or Crystal light, etc)... just pure water... my hunger is greatly reduced and I find it easy to stay on plan.  How much of my previous hunger before WLS just dehydration.  hmmm, makes me wonder.

If I start the day with exercise... even if it's just 7  mins worth... I stay on plan MUCH better.  Maybe it's just a mindset, but it sure does help me.  If I am pressed for time I still do 7 mins in the morning (Shapely Secrets) if i don't do anything else and it STILL helps my mood, hunger, etc.

I can eat carbs, but they have to be real food... not junk.  I can eat a little bit of potatoes, rice, pasta and still do fine, as long as I've gotten my water and protein in.

I've learned that being a smaller dress size does not necessarily make me happy.  I've had to work on other things in my life to find true peace and contentment.  That is a work in progress.

Lastly, that I may be in a normal weight range, but i will NEVER be normal.  If I want to stay here in this weight, I must never forget that.  I don't know if it's my own biochemistry or screwed up way I look at food, but only my dress size was fixed and nothing else.  I think as long as I remember that, I'll be ok.


Okay, next.....what have you guys learned?

Thanks for sharing what you have learned. The comments about the fruit were interesting to me as my husband seems to have the fruit issue. He loves fruit but stays away from it when he is low carbing (has not had surgery but needs to).  But when he starts eating any fruit it seems like a downhill slide and pretty soon he is into all the carbs, junk and large quantities of all foods that are his downfall.  I don't seem to have the same issue. For me a few grapes or blueberries  are like candy and i can eat a few and feel like I've had my sweet for the day and be fine.

So I am new at maintenance having only reached goal a few months ago but here is what I have learned:

It seems to be a one day at a time thing. I can't think in terms of never having a piece of pie again but only that I won't have any right now.  I am able to eat a small sweet - like a half cookie or a bite of cake and have that be enough. But I worry that the one bite might turn into more and more and feel like i must maintain a vigilence.

I still weigh nearly every day and keep a food diary. This continued accountability seems to be useful and I plan to keep it up. My surgeon suggested that his most successful long term patients eventually learn to keep their intake at suitable levels without journaling everything and that may be true but for now I am in volume 3 of mine and plan to keep it up indefinately.

While I haven't "learned" this yet because I don't do it, i do think some even modest exercise is important to long term maintenance and surgeon also says so. Haven't quite figured out how to get myself into it as I pretty much hate all kinds. But I am thinking I will take a martial arts class which is something I have never tried before and maybe will get into that. Also, while I am not into formal exercise, I do much much more in terms of chores, errands and general activity than I did when I was dragging around an extra 120 lbs. Sure less of a slug than I used to be.

Having all your friends and family know you had wls and are in maintenance mode is a good thing. People won't try so much to force food on you or give you gifts of things you can't eat if they know your situation. I am blessed with very understanding friends though one did give me about 8 quarts of bean soup 2 weeks post op which was so ridiculous it was funny. But having those around you "on  your side" is better than having them being unsupportive or worse sabotaging you.

Checking into OH and the forum and this group is a godsend as it really reminds me what a wonderful second chance at life I have recieved and its up to me to make the most of it.

So thats it. No doubt there are more lessons out there.  Diane

Who deactivated? :o(