How I maintain

[bellabloom 2,467]

I have sympathy for those of you who have regained weight. I myself lost 120 pounds and at 2 years out my portion options became much larger, my ability to snack became apparent, and my weight started to yo yo.

So what happened. Well I felt very very depressed. I put on 15 lbs and was having nightmares about being back to my pre op weight. I also felt extremely depressed about the idea of having to be back on a diet and stay there the rest of my life. My weight loss with my sleeve was very easy and I had it had to really try not to eat. Suddenly all that changed. The scale began to rise.

So what did I do? I began dieting again. Counting calories, doing low carb, etc. what happened? I lost weight. And then gained it back and then some.

I found myself back in the same pattern of dieting and binging that got me obese in the first place. I felt very angry and in despair. I just knew I couldn't live like that again. I knew dieting had made me gain weight before and I would again. Skipping meals, going to bed hungry, not allowing myself to eat things I enjoyed, not enjoying family events because of the food, etc.

I decided I was done with all that. There was no way I was going to go back to dieting because I would be more depressed living like that than being overweight.

Instead I began to research anti-dieting. I discovered intuitive eating and it changed my life. I bought books, read stories and blogs, and made a pact with myself I would no longer diet. And I began to eat anything I wanted and to honor my bodies hunger and fullness signals. I soon found myself eating a normal amount of food without binging. My weight stabilized, my energy level shot way up, I regained my health. I stopped weighing myself or counting my calories. I finally had the energy to go to the gym- not for weight loss but for the fun I got out of it.

I now weigh about 128lbs at 5'6. I maintain my weight with no effort. I eat when I am hungry and I don't if I'm not hungry. I eat whatever makes me feel good and sometimes I even eat food that makes me feel crappy. I am active and fit. I don't think about food or have food rules. I allow all food in my home and I never binge on food because I don't need to as I am not deprived or hungry. I follow my bodies intuition.

If you are having issues like me I highly recommend reading intuitive eating and walking away from the diet mindset. Surgery is a great tool but no one can live on a diet plan forever. And who would want to?

Me and my daughter who I am also raising to be an intuitive eater and to love her body at any size.

[queendeborahbee 119]

Thank you for sharing! Is the book called Intuitive Eating?

[bellabloom 2,467]

Yes it is called intuitive eating by Evelyn Trimble and it's on Amazon. I also like the blog the f**k it diet and Isabel dozen dukes blog about anti dieting

[queendeborahbee 119]

38 minutes ago, bellabloom said:

Yes it is called intuitive eating by Evelyn Trimble and it's on Amazon. I also like the blog the f**k it diet and Isabel dozen dukes blog about anti dieting

Thank you

[Kathy812 794]

Thanks for the suggestion. Intuitive eating sound easy but the mind and body connection may be the difficult part.

By the way, you look great & your daughter is a cutie pie.

[VSG4Mag 106]

17 hours ago, bellabloom said:

I have sympathy for those of you who have regained weight. I myself lost 120 pounds and at 2 years out my portion options became much larger, my ability to snack became apparent, and my weight started to yo yo.

So what happened. Well I felt very very depressed. I put on 15 lbs and was having nightmares about being back to my pre op weight. I also felt extremely depressed about the idea of having to be back on a diet and stay there the rest of my life. My weight loss with my sleeve was very easy and I had it had to really try not to eat. Suddenly all that changed. The scale began to rise.

So what did I do? I began dieting again. Counting calories, doing low carb, etc. what happened? I lost weight. And then gained it back and then some.

I found myself back in the same pattern of dieting and binging that got me obese in the first place. I felt very angry and in despair. I just knew I couldn't live like that again. I knew dieting had made me gain weight before and I would again. Skipping meals, going to bed hungry, not allowing myself to eat things I enjoyed, not enjoying family events because of the food, etc.

I decided I was done with all that. There was no way I was going to go back to dieting because I would be more depressed living like that than being overweight.

Instead I began to research anti-dieting. I discovered intuitive eating and it changed my life. I bought books, read stories and blogs, and made a pact with myself I would no longer diet. And I began to eat anything I wanted and to honor my bodies hunger and fullness signals. I soon found myself eating a normal amount of food without binging. My weight stabilized, my energy level shot way up, I regained my health. I stopped weighing myself or counting my calories. I finally had the energy to go to the gym- not for weight loss but for the fun I got out of it.

I now weigh about 128lbs at 5'6. I maintain my weight with no effort. I eat when I am hungry and I don't if I'm not hungry. I eat whatever makes me feel good and sometimes I even eat food that makes me feel crappy. I am active and fit. I don't think about food or have food rules. I allow all food in my home and I never binge on food because I don't need to as I am not deprived or hungry. I follow my bodies intuition.

If you are having issues like me I highly recommend reading intuitive eating and walking away from the diet mindset. Surgery is a great tool but no one can live on a diet plan forever. And who would want to?

Me and my daughter who I am also raising to be an intuitive eater and to love her body at any size.

Thanks! You look fantastic. I am so new, but do think ahead about how to keep myself from falling into the same old patterns or yo-yo dieting when I eat to my goal.

I will definitely look into that book.

[DebSmiles 62]

You look great! Thanks for sharing! I'm early in my journey, but I've already found that we all must find what works best for our own bodies. I'm glad you found something that works.

[jnj701 39]

I have sympathy for those of you who have regained weight. I myself lost 120 pounds and at 2 years out my portion options became much larger, my ability to snack became apparent, and my weight started to yo yo.
So what happened. Well I felt very very depressed. I put on 15 lbs and was having nightmares about being back to my pre op weight. I also felt extremely depressed about the idea of having to be back on a diet and stay there the rest of my life. My weight loss with my sleeve was very easy and I had it had to really try not to eat. Suddenly all that changed. The scale began to rise.
So what did I do? I began dieting again. Counting calories, doing low carb, etc. what happened? I lost weight. And then gained it back and then some.
I found myself back in the same pattern of dieting and binging that got me obese in the first place. I felt very angry and in despair. I just knew I couldn't live like that again. I knew dieting had made me gain weight before and I would again. Skipping meals, going to bed hungry, not allowing myself to eat things I enjoyed, not enjoying family events because of the food, etc.
I decided I was done with all that. There was no way I was going to go back to dieting because I would be more depressed living like that than being overweight.
Instead I began to research anti-dieting. I discovered intuitive eating and it changed my life. I bought books, read stories and blogs, and made a pact with myself I would no longer diet. And I began to eat anything I wanted and to honor my bodies hunger and fullness signals. I soon found myself eating a normal amount of food without binging. My weight stabilized, my energy level shot way up, I regained my health. I stopped weighing myself or counting my calories. I finally had the energy to go to the gym- not for weight loss but for the fun I got out of it.
I now weigh about 128lbs at 5'6. I maintain my weight with no effort. I eat when I am hungry and I don't if I'm not hungry. I eat whatever makes me feel good and sometimes I even eat food that makes me feel crappy. I am active and fit. I don't think about food or have food rules. I allow all food in my home and I never binge on food because I don't need to as I am not deprived or hungry. I follow my bodies intuition.
If you are having issues like me I highly recommend reading intuitive eating and walking away from the diet mindset. Surgery is a great tool but no one can live on a diet plan forever. And who would want to?
Me and my daughter who I am also raising to be an intuitive eater and to love her body at any size.

You look great! And i will keep that in mind, I have surgery next month, and we're the same height and similar starting weight, I'm a little more at about 270 but I was curious do/did you have lots of loose skin? I'm 20, so I'm hoping my age plays good in my favor lol but I haven't seen anyone on here with similar stats to ask!

[Greensleevie 451]

That approach wouldn't work for me. There are foods I have to stay away from, or I get cravings and binge. Abstinence from certain foods and eating clean, nutritious foods is my maintenence approach. We all find what works for us!

[bellabloom 2,467]

You look great! And i will keep that in mind, I have surgery next month, and we're the same height and similar starting weight, I'm a little more at about 270 but I was curious do/did you have lots of loose skin? I'm 20, so I'm hoping my age plays good in my favor lol but I haven't seen anyone on here with similar stats to ask!

I was 240 at 5'6. I carried most of my weight in my belly and chin and thighs. At 115 lbs I had loose belly apron skin, slightly loose arms and legs which improved over time and are now perfect, and some loose skin on my neck.

No I did not have a lot but you may have more being heavier but then again I'm 36 with less elasticity.

  

[bellabloom 2,467]

That approach wouldn't work for me. There are foods I have to stay away from, or I get cravings and binge. Abstinence from certain foods and eating clean, nutritious foods is my maintenence approach. We all find what works for us!

I can see that you believe that. I also used to think that I had zero control around my trigger foods and those foods caused cravings for more of those foods.

To an extent this has some truth: a diet based only in sugar/carbs does lead to craving more carbs because your sugar levels drop and your body responds by asking for more to reach a stable level again. A carb laden diet lacking in other foods leads to an imbalance in blood sugar.

What fixes this is to follow your bodies natural cravings and eat balanced meals with carbs and Proteins and fats and Fiber. Those foods mix together to create blood sugar stability and satisfy your energy needs. When your energy needs are balanced you will find your urge to binge will go away.

When all food is allowed and permissible it becomes much less important and when you are adequately fed (and by that I mean ADEQUATELY fed, not 1800 calories fed) your binge urge will go away.

You may not believe me. I know it's a hard pill to swallow. But I am living proof.

When you eat mindfully you will naturally eat more nutrient dense food and your body will guide you towards health. There doesn't have to be effort involved. Our bodies are very very wise.

[summerset 5,265]

Girl, I love your approach!

[_Kate_ 2,224]

I am really happy for you to have put your anorexia/binging issues to bed (I remember your posts from way back). Do you feel that having the sleeve then gastric bypass then a third op going back to having a sleeve has contributed to the issues?

I don't see it as a diet at all. I got that word out of my mind soon after surgery. I just follow an eating plan not diet. Diet to me means denying yourself things... eating plan means putting the best foods into your body to get the best health and wellbeing out of it. I don't deny myself anything but I do CHOOSE to eat healthy.

Kate

[OutsideMatchInside 10,166]

I don't see it as a diet, it is a way of life. Thinking like that I don't have to have cheat days or cheat meals or diet.

I don't feel like I am suffering or deprived. I legit don't like most carbs, didn't before surgery and still don't. I really enjoy just eating meat, veggies and the odd Protein Bar. I have a healthy relationship with food.

If anything you said in this thread is true, then I am really happy for you, but I find it pretty hard to believe given your track record.

[bellabloom 2,467]

I am really happy for you to have put your anorexia/binging issues to bed (I remember your posts from way back). Do you feel that having the sleeve then gastric bypass then a third op going back to having a sleeve has contributed to the issues?
I don't see it as a diet at all. I got that word out of my mind soon after surgery. I just follow an eating plan not diet. Diet to me means denying yourself things... eating plan means putting the best foods into your body to get the best health and wellbeing out of it. I don't deny myself anything but I do CHOOSE to eat healthy.
Kate

Thanks Kate! Actually I had the bypass then the sleeve. Not bypass, sleeve, bypass. I know. It's a little weird. I have a sleeve now.

What contributed to my anorexia was that I already had an eating disorder before i had surgery and the surgery made me worse. Having been anorexic in my past the wls made it easy to be again. And I took it too far. And I relapsed. It was bound to happen.

Having a bypass and then converting to a sleeve contributed to me having a severe stricture for almost a year. Those surgeries created a ton of scar tissue. I also had an exploratory, my gallbladder out, and an endoscopy. I ran the gamut.

But my eating disorder was there before surgery and sooner or later I would have had to deal with it. I'd say 99% of people who are obese have an eating disorder of some sort. The surgery can most definitely help but also worsen those issues. Most people regain weight because they still have disordered eating and then their wls restriction lessens after time, they go back to their old behavior, namely, dieting. Which causes weight gain. And the whole cycle begins again.

No one fails at wls. They fail to address their disordered eating. That's the real issue here.

Your way sounds good. As long as you don't feel deprived... then it sounds like you've managed to find stability and happiness. That's what matters.