When to call the cavalry?

Diane, I think you are on to something.  Let's make a pact that everyday we will do at least 15 min. of movement.  Let's start a daily thread about it and see if others want to join in.  I can do 15 min. of just about anything.  Today I am going to go on a 15 min. bike ride.  How about you?

Elina and Diane,

Just wanted to comment that I am also in the HATE to exercise club. And I didn't while I was losing either. I wish I liked to exercise--my husband does, my daughter does. I HATE it, always have, always will.

Throughout my adult life, I have had periods of time where I did force myself to exercise, and I have, for the last 3 months or so, been exercising regularly and quite vigorously. The one kind of exercise I can deal with is either floor or step aerobics with very complicated choreography because it engages my mind. (I love to dance, too, but hubby, not so much). But I find most exercise to be SO boring that I am counting every minute. With these videos I bought, I am so busy trying to follow the complicated patterns and steps that the hour flies by and I have worked up a nice sweat. Plus, I do them at home, which I prefer to public sweating...

L.

Martial arts and X-box Kinect are most definitely exercise and don't let anyone tell you different.

Elina- I thought you were going to start ballroom dancing?

It is good you are catching this and aware of this now.  I wonder if some of the weight gain we expereince, the 8-10 lbs that my doc talked about, is the gain when you go from a low-carb diet to eating carbs.  Somewhere I heard that 8-10 lbs of weight lost on a low-carb diet is due to the depletion of glycogen in the liver.  A liver can hold about 2 lbs of glycogen, and for each lb of glycogen, we hold 3-4 lbs of water.  Thus the 10 lb gain when going off a low cab diet I experienced in the past.  The problem is if you go above that cushion.... 

Thinking back it was at 2 yrs I started gaining.  I lost my weight without exercise, kept if off for over a year, then began eating more and more carbs.  It was so easy for me while losing and maintaining that first year - I did not get the exercise habit.   I gained about 25 lbs over about a year, many people said I looked better at that weight..... I had told myself if I went about my 5 lbs cushion  I would go and get help....  During that time I did not weigh myself once I got over the 5 lb lb gain, bad mistake putting my head in the sand.  I was dealing with alot of stress and those Carbs were my drug of choice.  I had told myself that if gained 5 lbs about my limit I would go see the psych, I was stressed and having anxiety issues, I had a scare with cancer, my MIL was Ill and then passed, work issues, financial issues, a son with medical problems and finally gaining weight and feeling out of control.     I started back with the psych to help with my anxiety, after a few weeks she encouraged me to go back to my WL Doc.  In talking to the WL Doc, he thought it wasn't so much I was not overeating, I was under exercising.  He said just 200-250  a day calories more than I expended would be all it took to gain that weight.  He said if I was exercising it would not have happened.

I've lost 11.5 of those pounds, I did start exercising, then got injured and could not for a few months, I barely maintained my loss.  I am now doing Zumba 2-3 times a week, and was walking 4-5 days a week before my injury and need to get back to it.  My doc wants me to do 4-5 days of exercise per day. 

I just started going to a lifestyle class. The weight loss was easy with WLS, I made my goal in 9 months.   I didn't learn how to deal with my emotional eating as during the loss I had smooth sailing and was on a high from losing the weight, but at about 2 years things became difficult for mre  I am back to logging my food and exercising.  This time I am not doing low carb.  I want to lose and not have the bounce back when I start eating carbs again.  I do not want to never eat them again.  I am limiting my white sugar and white flour intake as both of those can cause me trouble.  I am also back to drinking protein shakes to be sure I am getting enough protein.   At goal, I will weigh daily! no excuses.

Sounds like you will get a handle on this because you are aware of it and are motivated to work on it. 

Ter

 

Elina,

 

First I’d like to compliment “us" as a group. These are things we could never talk about on the main VSG board. If you really think about it, we may be pioneers in VSG maintenance as a group??? We get a few more people and some of our own case studies going and we could be there! (thanks to our leader Diane)

 

While I’m still in a safe period as far as maintaining. Still experimenting with a maintenance diet that is only about 20% different from my WL plan.

 

Through yourself, Lizzy, macmadame, brandylinn, mini me now and many others here that are further out than myself. I’m quite aware things are not settled for me and I need to be able to adjust along the way. Chasing a moving target!

 

In your case I wonder about a few things......Not saying your doing anything wrong.... just looking at you as a live work in progress test subject! (hope that didn’t come out wrong) We just want you for your body! Yah know..... all for science !!!!

 

Wonder #1

 

• Maybe your weight a buck 02 has just settled into itself and is running so efficiently.....that you require less calories because your body is working less to survive???

 

Wonder #2

 

• I get the part you will never be a gym rat..... I agree and feel the same. But, we need to move to help our bodies with balance. Cardio, walking 45 minutes a day is totally doable for most of us.

  I just “wonder" if your were to eat the same as you are now...and add walking 3-4 times    a week. Does it level you out?

My theory would be like a seesaw at a playground.......a short one is going to make fast direction changes.....where as a longer seesaw makes slower direction changes?????

 

Just wondering

 

frisco

I too started to eat only about 20% differently than I did during the losing phase, but apparently over a years time, I a more like 30% not on program.  I mean I still eat protein first, I don't drink with my meals, I limit carbs but not to the same degree as I did before.  I am starting to journal my food as of today and I will get a better idea what I need to change.  I need to add in the exercise piece.  I think in the long run this might be the make it or break it part of the deal.  I don't want to except this, but I think that if I don't, I will regret it.  So starting today, I will do something physical every day for at least 15 min.  I will add to this as I get over my dislike of it.  Today, I am going to go for a bike ride and walk my dogs.  They too can use the exercise.  The good news in all this, is that I am aware of it early and I will find a way to correct it before it becomes a major issue.  At this point, we are talking about 2 lbs. on average.  This is very doable.  Frisco, you are right, we have an amazing group of people on this board. I think we can do a lot of good for each other by talking about our process.  We are the guinea pigs, but at least we can learn from each ether's experiences so we don't all have to make the same mistakes. 

I dunno, I too would consider the alcohol as a wrench in your cogs before the (why gasp?) frozen yogurt. 

Alcohol seems to change how your body processes things. The day after, you might be lighter, (from dehydration, especially if you were out having fun and being a dancygal), but it wonks up the chemical balance, it seems.  Folks who are losing, when they drink 1 or 2 drinks, can stall for up to a month when eating the same things they were, doing same exer4cise before the drink.  So, me? I would whittle down/out the drinks just because they are not straight calories in/out stuff, they seem (by what I have seen) to wonk up the whole processing system a bit.

Maybe do not clean EVERYTHING out but start whittling things out, because you cannot KNOW what was the tipping point thing, if you eliminate everything, ya know?  But that can/might definitely be slower for the loss, and if that causes anxt, then maybe for the sake of peace, cutting everything out and then journaling as you add the things?  I dunno, but if you are wanting to see if you can find the specific WHAT, so you can control IT, then journaling my NOW food and cutting out/back on 1 specific thing at a time is what I would do. 

I also agree with Frisco that perhaps if you found a way to add physical exercise, then this might tare the whole equasion back to zero, ya know?  But its easy to say DO THIS THING, ITS THE RIGHT THING TO DO, YOU KNOW YOU SHOULD, WHY HAVE NOT YOU ALREADY DONE THIS? But its still VERY different when you are lounging around in whatever reasons/excuses you can find, because up until now you have not HAD to do the thing. 

For me, if I can tell me, JUST 15 MINUTES!  YOU CAN DO ANYTHING FOR JUST 15 MINUTES (a la Flylady!), and then add maybe a minute a week on to that, then maybe I can start to see changes/feel changes that encourage me to continue and add at a different rate!  Its MUCH easier when you can find something you LOVE to do, definitely so.  That's how zumba is for me, like being out dancing with my girlfriends, sans wheezing from and smelling the second hand smoke, and not even a hint of hangover crustiness :} 

Good luck whatever tack you take!  I know you will let us know how it goes!

That's a good point about alcohol being "different" than other foods. I'd forgotten that. But I have read in many places that people who "diet" during the week but indulge during the weekend, particularly with alcohol, often end up not losing overall and sometimes even gaining.

As usual, a very insightful answer.  I agree about the alcohol.  I am taking it out of my plan.  I am not taking in that many calories in each drink, as I only order the low calorie varieties, but I am not sure about the chemist involved and it's an easy thing for me to give up.  The gasp about the frozen yogurt had to do with carbs.  It is one area where I have let carbs in on an almost daily basis.  I ate my yogurt with dark chocolate chips and blueberries.  Only the blueberries can stay.  Journaling too is back on the program.  I am off to the store to buy a pretty notebook to keep as my food diary.

Hi Elina, It is interesting and informative to read about your journey and others that are experiencing some of the same issues that I am really worried about. For me, I have decided that to be successful long-term, I MUST journal each and everyday, because it holds me accountable for what I put in my mouth. I will never be an intuitive eater and can accept that. Second, I weigh and measure my food everyday and I will continue to do this. When I'm out and about, I take a cheese stick or babybel cheese, along with some veggies, so that I'm not caught starving and unprepared. Thirdly, exercise must be a part of my maintenance plan. All the research has shown these three factors to be the characteristics of successful long-term weight loss. Exercising has been challenging, but walking can be done easily by everyone. Since December, I have been using a trainer for 2 one hour sessions/week, taking a pilates class, and filling in extra cardio 1-2 times/week. I'm in the gym 4-5 times/week. I am soo much stronger and fitter than I was 3 months ago, that it has helped to keep me motivated to continue with the exercise. Plus, I'm getting more exercise shopping for new clothes. LOL.

From past experience, alcohol can cause problems with weight loss and result in weight regain. I would ditch that, and not have a frozen yogurt on a daily basis. Could you walk in the evening with your kids or husband? The days are getting longer, so it will be easier than it was a month or two ago.

I can hear that it gets much more challenging the further out one gets from surgery. I had my 6 month post-op appointment yesterday, and I have lost over 100% of my excess weight. YEAH! I am terrified of regain, so I can hear your fear. The doctor said that people may regain 5-10 lbs, but the regain is mostly due to returning to former habits. I think this is true, based upon what I read on the various forums. People *****gain, have returned to former habits. We always have to be on guard.

Gail