Question:
Whats going on???

I am about 14 mos post-op. I have gone from 332 down to 143. I'm in a size 8 and feel great!! I'm a bit concerned with myself at this point. I was stuck at 160 for a few months and started to eat more and dropped 20 pounds, very quickly. I have never eaten any junk no bread,rice or pasta. Now in the last month I have been taking bites of stuff like that, even a small amount of sweets. I have not gained anything, but i'm scared that this might be the start of a bigger problem for me. If I'm not gaining is it ok to eat this way?? or one day will I get on the scale and have gained 20 pounds?? Sorry I'm rambling, I'm just looking for some thoughts and feedback. Thanks!!    — luckyflowers (posted on October 29, 2004)

October 29, 2004
Congrats on getting to where you want to be. It's a delicate balance to eat to maintain, not gain. The advice my nutritionist gave was to add in healthy carbs- brown rice, whole grains, fruits, etc. This has helped me to 'fill out' the calories I get and maintain. I do occasionally have a snack-ish food like a chip or a piece of chocolate. However, I'm very vigilant. If I gain any weight for more than 1 day- I yank my chain HARD and stick with basics (meaning protein, then veggies and lots of water) until I'm back on track. Perhaps you should consider seeing someone to set up a healthy eating plan for maintenence. Good luck to you!
   — LMCLILLY

October 29, 2004
Hi Cheryl, Congratulations on your great weight loss! I don't think it's a problem having a few bites of "less than perfect" foods. The thing you have to find out is where your threshold is. What I mean is... I can do a few bites, but I do have to be careful since if I go over a certain limit, a few bites start leading to a few more and before I know it, I'm on the old carb merry-go-round again and my weight is up 10 pounds. I would suggest monitoring your weight carefully, see if those bites lead to too many, and just see how it goes. I hope this makes sense :)
   — mom2jtx3

October 29, 2004
Cheryl, you'll get all sorts of responses on this. I'm a believer in eating normally, which means, yes, you can eat sweets, bread, rice and pasta. I eat all of the above and am 2 years and 9 months out and maintaining. I think depriving yourself of any type of food is not a good thing. However, with that said, you must devise a plan that works for you. In other words, you cannot just exist on these foods. Healthy, protein enriched meals is the norm for us. Watching calories is also the norm now. You will gain 20 pounds, even on healthy foods if you eat more calories than your body can burn. For me its a balancing act. I eat pretty healthy all day-eggs for breakfast, salad with grilled meats for lunch, snack on pb crackers or fruit and then at night if I want to have a little pasta with my dinner or rice, I will. If I want a fast food sandwich on the weekend, I will have one, a french fry or two is OK too. And I must have my chocolate every day. Small amounts. As long as I keep an eye on the scale and keep up the water and exercise, I can do this and maintain my size 10. However, when I do slack off on the exercise or endulge a little too much in the sugar/carb treats, the scale does creep up. I then take corrective action when the scale shows just a few pounds gain. I know of other post-ops that would advise not to ever have a bite of sugar again.To some, they cannot eat just 1 cookie or two, its the entire package and hence they cannot start. Its an addiction and 1 small bite leads to a habit. What I am saying is that you must come up with the right plan for you. What works for you. I love to eat. I cannot imagine practicing denial. So I practice making good choices MOST of the time, keep up the exercise and water and protein and allow myself my daily treats. It works for me.
   — Cindy R.

October 29, 2004
I was going to add my two cents, but I see Cindy already did, and very nicely so. I will tell you though, I do exactly as she does and eat normally, as well as having my daily treats. I've done this from early on and continue to through this whole journey. I went from 304lbs and am 140 now, wearing a size 8. I've been about this weight for quite some time, and although it's lower than I ever wanted to get, I maintain it pretty well. I eat what I want, within moderation (that's the key) and weigh every single day. This keeps me on track, because if one particular day I indulge too much, the next morning my scale might go up a pound. Then I say ok, now what did you eat yesterday and then tell myself I can't do that and I'm not invincible, so I get back on track. I know if I start to deny myself some things I love, I'll end up back in the same boat as before. I would do soo well on a restrictive diet, then after depriving myself for soo long, I'd go crazy and eat it all and then some. I think you need to allow yourself some things if you want them, but also hold yourself accountable if you overdo it so you don't end up gaining 20 lbs before you realize what happened.
   — Dee ,.

October 29, 2004
I'm SO predictable. I'm 10 yrs out, and I do restrict what I take in, a lil bit. You're in what I refer to as The Arrogant Period. All looks fine, nice feeling of ok-ness setting in, maybe it'd be ok to just kinda eat "normally" now, you're thinking cautiously? I, personally, don't think so. Any time I start hanging out with sugar, I wear it. I avoid milk and sugar, but not anything else. I eat normal portions of the starchy carbs, but hold fruit down (direct sugar). I think you are OH SO WISE to realize this might be trouble. All our diets before caused wt loss, but when we returned to "normal", the weight came back. To maintain, we need to stay largely on the same formula that got the wt off. WE're not normal, never were, never will be. I wish I could eat like my tiny lil "fat at 110#" aunt. When she wants chocolate, she just has a hunk of it. I watch, my pants get tight. Life isn't always fair, huh?
   — vitalady

October 29, 2004
My surgeon's office gave me a wise piece of advise that I'm finding it to be true the further out I get. The paper they gave me said "Eat like you're a recovering food addict". That's wise advice for the rest of my life. I really don't think I can ever eat normally again. I'm learning over and over what works and what doesn't work for me and when I begin to stray, I have to get back on the wagon pretty quickly or I see a pound or two start to go up on the scale and I don't ever want that to happen. For me any time I get involved in anything that's heavy in carbs or sugars (including heavy fruit sugars), I get myself in trouble and end up having to work it off again. As long as I stay with proteins and fruits (on the low glycemic scale) and veggies I do well.
   — Cathy S.