a maintenance victory - do I have a chance at doing this for the long haul?

[CowgirlJane 14,259]

I have been maintaining since Feb, but recently had a small regain that kinda messed with my head. My goal is 158 and try to stay under that, but really due to the daily scale bounce I kinda consider 155-160 my goal range. Then, when I saw 163 on the scale I about had a heart attack. Combine it with the fact that I am not working out in the gym, but doing summer activities instead, I am not quite as "dense" and my fitted jeans feel.. snug. That all made me feel icky and unattractive even though i knew that it was small and really only noticable to me.

So, i went on a business trip last week and saw someone I haven't seen since August. He didn't recognize me and definately gave me the "once over" with the eyes and the "wow you look great". It was like the boost i needed since I often eat too much and wrong things on business trips. It was a reminder that I haven't gained 100#... I have gained just a few pounds and i can fix this.

So, this morning I weighed in at 159. Thank goodness!

Anyway, this maintenance stuff is hard because i keep having the feeling like it could just all slip through my fingers. I am seeing a counselor and her advice on the tiny regain was to just "be okay with it" for awhile. I followed her advice as best i could which did avoid the whole stress/guilt eating cycle.

I can't be relying on people to keep giving me the "wow " speech to keep my motivation up I know that - but it was a boost that I sure needed this week.

[lsereno 2,525]

I know that fear. I'm still worried about year 3-4. I've seen a couple of long term post-ops say that it's harder to lose any little gains then.

I reset my bounce range to be more like yours - just two lbs over goal. I had set my range for 130-40, with 135 my goal. I have only dipped below 134 when I first went into maintenance. I got up to 140 around the holidays last year and I realized that setting my range for 5 lbs over goal allowed too many junk food parties. So my current bounce range is 133-137.

That stress/guilt cycle definitely needs to go! I've got two thoughts that help me with that, both from online WLS groups. One is from writergirl, who has recently posted a couple of thoughtful entries on her journey. She mentioned that she realized self soothing should not be self destructive. And the other is from Elina over at the OH VSG board: "You can't hate yourself thin."

Next time you are feeling bad, channel that acquaintance and look at yourself with those eyes and those thoughts.

I love having this vets area to talk about long term struggles.

Lynda

[NtvTxn 1,262]

this is why we stay on top of it, losing a few pounds is much easier than six - ten. I had a re-gain of just two pounds, I had my sister here for a week, we had a BD celebration and this past Monday when I weighed (I weigh every morning) I was up two. I purposely cut back calories by 100, but some days it was 200 or a little more.....and as of this morning, I'm back to 145.5, within my comfort zone, which is 144 - 146. Less than a week, but it's because I look at my "dashboard" every single day, without fail. You're doing great, keep up the great work!!!

[clk 3,519]

Congrats on shedding the regain.

I truly feel its absolutely imperative that we weigh daily in maintenance. I make a diet adjustment immediately once I see a number close to the end of my maintenance window (usually 137-141) and until I started hormones to get pregnant I never once bounced out of that range.

I think there's a line to walk here. No, don't beat yourself up over a gain. But don't excuse it to yourself, either, or you can easily find that small gain being a twenty pound gain.

Be accountable without being unforgiving of yourself.

Great work, and without question getting unexpected validation of our efforts is a treat. It's inspiring, but it's important that we find a way to inspire ourselves to stay on track, too.

~Cheri

[ProudGrammy 8,322]

maintenance stuff is hard

CowgirlJane

you betch your bippy

i thought when many/most people said they were scared - they were talking about the WLS

it hit me as i was approaching my DOS - i wasn't afraid of the surgery, recovery (been there, done that)

i said OMG am i gonna be able to keep up the hard work for the rest of my life with drinking and eating et al to maintain my weight

oh no - i can't/won't ever gain this weight AGAIN

i thought i was the only one to think like that what a surprise that most of us have that thought/fear

the good subject of regain comes up alot - cuz none of want to think that can happen!!! - but its important to talk about

like many others - i feel the need to weigh daily - i need to see that my weight is staying the same

i think most/all peoples weight fluctuates a couple of lbs here or there

i need to immediately know any change in weight so i can nip it!!!

been at goal these past 7 months - so that is not that long - not the year plus that i'm anxiously waiting for

not to mention all the future years i/we WILL continue to survive!!!

getting back to you CWJ

getting the "once over" from someone who hasn't seen you lately - how cool is that

need/want that continued motivation speach from others..............

i don't know that many people from my "heavier days" (except my large extended family) so i don't get many compliments :ph34r:

like you CWJ and probably/maybe others, I see a therapist too

she is helpful - we talk about my concerns, situations,temptations - fears et al

when i go shopping - i frequently look in ie Kohls mirrors - i smile and say OMG thats really me!!!!

in other words you/me/we can/must be our best friend and encourage ourselves

giving ourselves the once over too!!!

with life/my weight.....

i do the best i can - thats all i can do

at the end of the day me/myself/and I- stand alone with my situations - and must stand tall

continued good luck to all our success!!!

"maintenance victory - do I have a chance at doing this for the long haul?"

YES

kathy

[CowgirlJane 14,259]

I am sure that I will have many many ups and downs forever. one thing that was great food for thought is my boss who has always been a hot/fit woman. She still gains 10# and then has to fight to lose it. She is like "welcome to the real world" - the key is to keep up the dligence and not let a few pounds turn into a few dozen... or a hundred or whatever.

My good eating, working out is paying off. this morning, i weighed in at 156.8 - so being under 158 is my goal and I am back there!!!

[lsereno 2,525]

Congrats!

Lynda

[Georgia 2,908]

Maintenance, to me, is by far much harder work than losing ever was. At 3 years out, I had to learn the hard way that junk food is and does go down just as easily as it did pre-sleeve and I can gain weight easily. So back within eyeball of goal line. Sitting at 158 and actively pursuing 150 which is where I want to stay THIS TIME. Didn't hold that number long enough for my body to accept that set point. Thankfully, I realized what I had to do and am pursuing maintenance this time.

Glad I have a group of people who face the same issues to discuss things with.

[Supersweetums 1,164]

I can relate to the guilt/binge cycle. It is something I struggled with before surgery and sometimes still struggle with, although I have made leaps and bounds over the last 2.5 years. I have realized that it isn't the odd indulgence that made me gain weight, it was indulging all the time.

And even though we can not rely on others to affirm us, it certainly doesn't hurt when you get a once over from someone else!! I know it definitely gives me a little boost!

I also weigh daily to keep myself accountable. I am loving reading that so many of us, especially us old timers, are being very conscious about it. Before, I would have just hid the scale and been in denial, slowly feeling all my clothes get tighter and tighter, but pretending like nothing was happening. I would say I typically have a 3-4 lbs bounce range, mostly because my weight fluctuates a lot with my cycle. And I have always been fine with that. This last Christmas my weight jumped up slightly because I let myself over-indulge, but once I was back to my regular routine and watching what I ate, the weight came off over the course of a few weeks. My last gain was related to medication. The bad, I gained 7 lbs in 3 weeks. The good...it stopped at 7 lbs, I didn't hide my scale and I didn't give up and I am slowly working it back off!

Congratulations on getting it back off! That is the key, being conscious of it before it gets out of control!