Keeping going when you're so close to maintenance...

Thanks for the note... so much to think about. Onward and upward, right?

Everything that Mac said. I am  at 2.5 years out and things are different than they were one year ago and miles different than they were 2 years ago. It is a constant balancing act and requires mindfulness and  vigilance. 

It is so hard to see the next phase. I wish I'd been better at it earlier on.

Well, now I know which vet to stalk when I get past the initial maintenance phase.

Thanks for this. Wise words.

I'd really caution against getting surgery until you are at goal.  Ten pounds less on a tight new tummy, if you find you want to still lose, can me a less tight tummy.  It's important if you only plan on doing it one.  also and this is a big one he scale seriously ***** with your head for a long time after, sometimes as much as three months.  No matter what you do it's not going down and don't think that seeing that number rise when you're not completely at goal is a ride you should avoid if you can. 

I've been at it as long as you and just hit goal three weeks ago but i only had 80lbs to lose so it's been  a long slow slog.  In the end i did something that most wouldn''t do but i was just so sick of seeing the same numbers, i added carbs.  First an extra veggie dish and for the past three months an apple or orange.  I'd been so long without it it tasted like heaven.  The last 6lbs came off and then another ix and then, well I've had a cold all week but today i weigh 106.4, my goal is probably 111 at this point.

I remember i was so annoyed when i thought that the way i was eating was probably the way i would have to eat forever because 600-800 wasn't gonna cut it for me.  I was looking forward to maintenance being somewhere in the 1500 range.  I gave that up.  I'll have to figure it out but the last six months with my extra piece of fruit and the odd latte or glass of wine when it wasn't in my calories kept me sane.  It also showed me what life would be like in some way and it didn't look horrible and that was a first.  Before this if i went off plan i had what i wanted and went back to plan the next day.  This way worked better, i felt i could do this, this way and not feel cheated or cheating.

Don't know if any of it makes sense to you but i hope it helps. I think i somehow got rid of the feeling of deprivation (damn an apple who knew) and then i just carried on .  I lost more in the last 6 months than in the six before so i just made the 'getting on with it' more bearable.

Yeah, there's a lot of conflicting info about it. But here's the thing... I've spent the better part of 30 years obese and I really deserve a decent looking body. I have realistic expectations, but I want things as tight and as good as I can get them. I won't do plastics until 2014 Summer, so I have time. I'm having some pretty major issues with it so I WANT to do it earlier for health and wellness reasons, but the vain part of me is making me wait a while longer. I'll get there.

Ha! I hear that when you stop trying it falls off. Unfortunately, adding carbs is hard for me. I'm allergic to almost all fruits and soy and a few other odd ball things so I have to be careful. So, that leaves bananas, berries and breads and crap. I'm actually lucky, I can easily keep the vast majority of my days under 1000. Most are under 800. I know that will change and I'll eventually get hungry again - so they tell me anyway. I keep waiting for that and for me to be able to eat more than 3-5 ounces at a time, but I'm not pushing it. I'm riding it as long as I can and with the hunger it's making it easier for me. It's the mental issues around food that get me sometimes.

We'll see what happens. I definitely want to lose these last 10, but if it doesn't happen for a year or until after plastics or at all, I'm okay.

What's interesting is that I always thought I was "big boned". In reality, I'm kind of tiny. My arms are SO thin and so are my legs and my waist is actually smaller than I thought too. All that fat was in the way. LOL! I'm not "tiny waisted" by any means, I'll never wear a size 2, but I'm much smaller than I thought. I figured I'd land in a size 14 and I'm in loose 10s now.

Crazy ride. I do feel better though. At least I know I'm not the only person that has struggled with all of this. That helps a lot. I think just not feeling alone in the insanity is a good thing. LOL! xoxo

I have never heard of anyone being allergic to fruits before so that one is tough.  What i really meant was that i had to find a way to not feel deprived.  I knew i was a brat when I'd get all pissy about not having a glass of wine but some of my worst days were when i could not have a latte and i was a year out, and i truly felt that i could not live like that forever so i had to find something that  didn't leave me feeling like a victim.  I knew there were whole food groups not available to me but a non-fat latte, that sent me over the edge and somehow the apple did it.

It's hard being this far out and still in loss mode but i do think that it does teach us certain skills.  Like a year out i really did think that i could up my calories quite a bit in maintenance.  Now i don't think of maintenance or anything other than what I'm doing.  don't get me wrong if i want something i have, always out at a social occasion and that's it for that week but the idea of eating normally went the way of the asteroids.  i'd say dinosaurs but they haven't come back and one thing i do know having lost this weight before is never to say never.

Once you've got your head in the game you'll be fine and you could use this time and 11lbs to figure out what's next.  I haven't done that yet and i'm thinking i need some adjustment.

Best of...

Yeah, I have something called "oral allergy syndrome" (stop snickering). Basically, my environmental allergies are really really bad. Because the proteins of certain fruits are nearly identical to some environmental allergens, my body thinks it's being attacked and starts shutting my throat. It's SCARY. For instance, birch is nearly identical to apples, watermelon to ragweed. I'm doing allergy shots and we hope... one day... I'll be able to eat fruit again, but they will do a challenge test in another year or so (I've been doing them for 2 years).

But yeah, I have wine. Skinny margarita. Even dessert if I want it. I'm still in losing mode, but I'm also finding a way to incorporate higher days to keep my sanity.

Just 9.6 to go!

We're not saying she should get PS now but that she should get a consult now. The consult will give some objective data to mix in with all the angst and head games that are inevitable with such a big weight loss.

Wow, this is a GREAT thread. I've learned so much from reading it.

I agree with those who say that you should have the PS consult and let your therapy deal with "facts" instead of fears.

But it definitely sounds to me like the excess skin you have is your issue, and you're beating yourself up over nothing. 

How religiously are you sticking to certain caloric/protein goals? If it's pretty rigid, I think I'd test loosening up just a bit for two weeks in a controlled manner, and see what happens. A lot of people really do lose on maintenance when they're less stressed about the whole thing.

Yup. I've pretty much decided to get in for a consult this Summer and start plastics next Summer. I need a break from recovering over a Summer. I had my WLS 2 Summers ago and last Summer I ended up with an emergency neck fusion (I was on narcotics for MONTHS after). So, yeah. I'm okay and I'm not beating myself up, promise. I was just wondering how to keep my head in the game. I quit beating myself up a year ago. No one else is allowed to beat me and I shouldn't either :)