Success is fabulous, but it's temporary if you don't watch out

[IcanMakeit 1,318]

Today I reached my ultimate fantasy weight -- 122 pounds. (Well the scale actually said 121 lbs. but I know that when I weigh again tomorrow it will be up to 122 as that has been my pattern for the last few months.) My BMI is now in the mid-range of healthy for my height.

I now have to buckle down and apply all of the lessons I have learned over the past year to maintain this weight. I know that if I lose focus, I will gain. That has been my experience in the past. I would tell myself that no one can be on a diet forever. But in the past year, I have been rethinking this. I have observed my thin friends. They aren’t on a diet forever, but they don’t eat whatever they want either. If they have a high calorie lunch, they’ll have a conservative dinner. If they are full, they don’t eat more just because it tastes good or they’re at a party or it’s their birthday. When they are full, they stop eating.

My thin friends don’t even know that they have been mentoring me, but I need to emulate them. I need to remind myself every day that if I return to my previous eating pattern, I will return to my previous weight. These things may seem obvious to most people, but it is hard-won wisdom for me. In the past, due to my diabetes, I usually avoided junk food and almost never ate sweets but I often ate until I was over-stuffed. (My stomach didn’t seem to feel full until it was overfull.) I ate just because it was pleasurable, not because I was hungry.

I am so grateful for this website and tools like MyFitnessPal which have helped me to learn better habits and stay on track for the past year. If I get the idea in my head that I don’t need this help anymore so I don’t need to check in, I hope I’ll remember how I feel today and compare it to how I felt in January 2014. Do I really want to risk returning to that?

[CowgirlJane 14,259]

Congratulations!

I agree with you - people say things like "I got sleeved so i don't have to diet". Well, true, diet implies a temporary thing - but what we need to do is change fundamentally what our "normal is". It isn't a diet, it is a lifestyle, a way of eating that is very very different than our past and frankly different than the majority of the people out there!

So, no matter what you call it - if you don't watch what you eat this glorious life at goal will be temporary!

[MountianGirl 109]

I too am now astounded by how thin people eat. It amazes me to see people eat a regular portion in a restaurant. I couldn't even if I tried. I hope to one day be the person people look to as a healthy portion eater, rather than view me as a cautionary tale. I'm 3 months out from surgery and my mind is slowly making the shift...

[VSGAnn2014 12,992]

... people say things like "I got sleeved so i don't have to diet".

That is the comment I hear on WLS boards that dumbfounds me the most.

They are also the people that I can't imagine are building other tools to help them maintain their weight losses after reaching their goals (if they ever actually do reach goal).

But I could be wrong.

Edited February 6, 2015 by VSGAnn2014

[AvaFern 3,516]

Woohoo! Congrats! I am so excited for you! OK, I'm a little jealous too, lol, I am having a beast of a time getting to goal, but you're a terrific motivation!

[IcanMakeit 1,318]

@AvaFern: Perhaps you are already at your healthy weight? If your stats are current, it seems to me that you have arrived. We shouldn't be too hung up on the number on the scale. With a BMI of 23, you should be proud of yourself.

[jumpingin 6]

This whole thing is so fustration I can't like conversations, I can't find before and after, non how to friend ppl I want. This forum is not user friendly at all. Signed a scared 5 day pre-sleever

[CowgirlJane 14,259]

It is much easier to navigate on the computer Web version. The mobile app is tough and I don't think you can see signature or profile photos. When i was new that gave me a lot of inspiration. Can you sign in on a browser? Much less frustrating.

[jayhawkgirl 33]

I agree with those of you who have talked about people who think WLS is the cure-all for weight loss problems. I don't tell many people how I've lost the weight unless I know them better. People I know well actually take the time to hear about how this has been a process, and that it's a never ending process, because it's about taking better care of myself forever.... not just until I get to my goal weight.

[JerseyCityGal 231]

I hit my surgeon's goal for me at 6 months out and I plan on hitting my personal goal at 1 year out.

I know me, and that means logging and measuring are things I will need to do every day for the rest of my life. I function better that way. Freestyle just does not work for me.

[sdocforce 55]

Today I reached my ultimate fantasy weight -- 122 pounds. (Well the scale actually said 121 lbs. but I know that when I weigh again tomorrow it will be up to 122 as that has been my pattern for the last few months.) My BMI is now in the mid-range of healthy for my height.

I now have to buckle down and apply all of the lessons I have learned over the past year to maintain this weight. I know that if I lose focus, I will gain. That has been my experience in the past. I would tell myself that no one can be on a diet forever. But in the past year, I have been rethinking this. I have observed my thin friends. They aren’t on a diet forever, but they don’t eat whatever they want either. If they have a high calorie lunch, they’ll have a conservative dinner. If they are full, they don’t eat more just because it tastes good or they’re at a party or it’s their birthday. When they are full, they stop eating.

My thin friends don’t even know that they have been mentoring me, but I need to emulate them. I need to remind myself every day that if I return to my previous eating pattern, I will return to my previous weight. These things may seem obvious to most people, but it is hard-won wisdom for me. In the past, due to my diabetes, I usually avoided junk food and almost never ate sweets but I often ate until I was over-stuffed. (My stomach didn’t seem to feel full until it was overfull.) I ate just because it was pleasurable, not because I was hungry.

I am so grateful for this website and tools like MyFitnessPal which have helped me to learn better habits and stay on track for the past year. If I get the idea in my head that I don’t need this help anymore so I don’t need to check in, I hope I’ll remember how I feel today and compare it to how I felt in January 2014. Do I really want to risk returning to that?

[sdocforce 55]

OMG...that's it you nailed it. This problem we all have it NEVER goes away. Its like being an alcoholic. You have to be diligent at all times. You have to be aware of your tendencies and be willing to always be "working on it".

I am facing this...the UGLY truth...You have to keep changing every day...Its a choice to be healthy! or you choose by default to back slide to where you started.

So good luck everyone and thank you for the inspiration and support to Keep on!

sas