X-post: Tomorrow will be two years since my sleeve surgery; I'll be on a road-trip then so I...

Tomorrow will be two years since my sleeve surgery; I'll be on a road-trip then so I thought I'd post this today.

I started my journey at 319 lbs (not the highest I'd ever been) in January 2011. I had my vertical sleeve gastrectomy on April 18. I hit goal in January 2012, but kept losing for a while. I'm currently maintaining in a range from 135 to 139. 

This morning I weighed dead center in my range at 137, which is a BMI of 20.8, down from 48.5. I started out wearing size 26/28 on the top and 30/32 on the bottom. I now wear size 4 on the top and size 6 on the bottom, and am not afraid to wander into the juniors department. Since I've been obese all my life, I bought my first ever piece of juniors clothing at age 50. Call it a second childhood.

My brain still hasn't caught up with my new size. I'll be in the clothing store looking at a top, wondering whether a medium or large looks like the right size for me. In general the correct answer turns out to be "a small, actually" but I'll still drag the whole size range into the dressing room because the medium doesn't look like it will fit.

I know some of you wonder about such things so...my surgeon used a 40f bougie but does a very tight sleeve. At two years I can eat a 5.3 oz tub of yogurt if I eat slowly; same with a Quest bar - I can eat a whole one if I eat slowly. I can't eat a whole medium apple. I no longer eat meat, but my capacity is about the same as when I gave up meat 6 months ago and then I could not quite eat 2 oz. I still drink protein shakes.

Things that worked for me:

1. I was very strict during the loss period. I had one dessert between surgery and goal and that was on Christmas. It was tiny - a brownie bite with a teaspoon of ice cream to go with everyone else's brownie sundaes. Other than that, I never deviated from plan. I found it easier to simply stick to the plan than control the slippery slope of 'a little this, a little that'.

2. Speaking of control, even now I have rules and I stick to them. It's so much easier to me. I know that eating what I want did not work out for me, and if I let myself go that way again I will regain. Not might regain. Will regain. My rules: Protein first. No added sugars (fruit sugars and such OK) or other simple carbs like bread, rice, potatoes. Exceptions are one dessert a week of a measured size and a small piece of bread is OK in a restaurant if it's some kind of very cool special bread.

3. Log everything, before I eat it. I use a smartphone myfitnesspal app for that. I've logged in, according to their counter, for 561 days in a row now. For the most part, I plan and log my whole day's eating ahead of time the night before. During the loss period, that plan was THE LAW. Now, I will make alterations as cir****tances change, but everything must be logged before I put it in my mouth. If you see how many calories that cookie has before you eat it and what it does to your daily numbers, it gives you time to stop and reconsider.
     My mantra: Plan what you'll eat, eat what you planned

4. Weigh regularly. I weighed weekly during loss, then went to daily while I was getting my weight stabilized and figuring out maintenance. I'm now back to weekly weighing. In my heavy days I had a tendency to avoid the scale; I even had trouble getting a weight history because I'd refuse to step on scales at the doctor's office. My highest recorded weight was 335 but I know I weighed much more than that at one point because I got to the point where size 32 pants were very tight.
      I intend to force myself to step on the scale every week even if I have a bad week because I refuse to return to my pattern of denial.

5. I donated all my large clothes, especially the pants. I did keep a couple of comfy baggy sweatshirts, but I figure the pants will keep me honest since the bottom is where I carry my weight. I didn't want to give myself an easy out for regain.

And to me the most important one of all:

6. I don't look at any of this stuff as a burden; it really only takes me a few minutes a day to keep up these habits. To me it's like brushing my teeth or taking a shower or shaving my legs...part of the things I do to take care of my body. Attitude is everything. If you look at this like it's some kind of torture, it will feel that way. If you look at it as just part of life, it's no big deal. I spend more time on personal hygiene and care than I do on my eating plan, and I can't remember the last time I felt sorry for myself because I had to take a shower or brush my teeth.

 

Mom, congratulations on two years!!!  Also, thanks for sharing your plan for on-going success. You have been an inspiration to me and countless others, over the past couple of years, and I really appreciate your input!  I especially like #6 of your plan, as it can be easy to slip into the poor me's, which is a recipe for disaster.  I too look at my plan as just a part of my daily routine, so it's no big deal.  Once in awhile I get a little pouty if we go out and the family picks a place that has few options for me.  But I snap out of it quickly and work with the server to come up with good options and it all works out.  Have a great time on your road trip!!

Congrats, Mom! You have been, and continue to be, a huge inspiration for myself and others. Thank you for giving so freely of yourself and your journey. xoxo

What a great post Mom.  Your consistent discipline, sense of humor, and steady, even keel keeps us all inspired and in check.  Thank you for sharing your story.  Most of all, thank you for always being around to support us.

Fiona

Love your post!

Plan. Plan. Plan.

Got it.

What a fantastic journey - congratulations on the 2 years!!!

You are an inspiration. You have my respect. Thanks for the post.

Congratulations on the ongoing success. Thank you for detailing out your plan because it's very helpful for those of us just entering in maintenance. I also use My Fitness Pal and it's always been my mantra that I log first before I eat and just by doing that I will sometimes make another choice. To me, it's a key for ongoing success as is looking at this as a way of life. When you embrace the change than I think you are successful for the long term.

Congratulations! I am approaching my three year mark and have recently picked up 4 pounds that I don't want so reading your advice has really helped. I too use the my fitness app but do not record every day and I have logged my food at the end of the day and could not believe that I ate a 150 calories cookie but it was too late to change my mind since I was logging it after the fact.. I love the idea of 1 dessert a week, I am going to try that beginning tomorrow you are so right, it did not work for me before the WLS eating what I want so why in the world would I think I can do it now. I am starting fresh tomorrow and plan to get rid of these 4 pounds. I have lost a total of 154 and I don't want to find any of the pounds I lost. Thanks for the advice!!