The Maintenance Thread

[catwoman7 11,212]

9 minutes ago, Moa said:

How difficult is this surgery and recovery? My doc doesn't think I need it, but I'm considering it. Getting rid of the excess skin on my abdomen would make me very happy, but I probably won't have it if it's a really rough.

I know this wasn't directed at me, but I've had two skin removal surgeries (8/18 and 3/19). LBL was rough - but worth it. The recovery on my upper body procedures wasn't as bad (had some issues with the incisions on my upper body procedures, so it wasn't as smooth as it could have been - but it wasn't as painful as the LBL recovery)

[ms.sss 15,581]

@Moa: wow! congratulations on all your success! you look amazing, and comparing the two close up head shots before and after, you look about 15 years younger now! (the fab hair and clothes make a difference too ❤️)

As far as goal weights go, if you want to lose more (and your doc is ok with it), then by all means go for it. If you are happy where you are (and you do look great, lady) then that's cool too. Your goal-forever weight ideally is whatever you feel comfortable at and can maintain.

I agree, whatever loose skin you may have under there, you hide it well

P.S. I just had an arm lift, breast lift and Tummy Tuck 6 days ago. Of the three, its the tummy tuck that is the most annoying in terms of recovery (for me) because I can't stand up straight and my back is paying for it. With that said though, my recovery from my WLS was much, much more painful than this. But I've also read from others who have said plastics was more painful than WLS. 🤷🏼‍♀️

[Healthy_life2 8,324]

All very good points.
For me, it’s about that scary, slippery slope.
I let myself lose it for a couple of weeks and WHAM.... here comes 4 pounds. Gaining that much in such a short time scared me a bit, TBH.

In the past, those 4 pounds would turn into 2, then 3, then another 4 for the sheer heck of it and I’d find myself in a self-hate cycle where I’d “failed” yet once again to live life like “normal” people.

This time I decided that I was gonna own up to every single one of those 4 pounds and drop them before going back into a maintenance mindset.

So that being said, I’ve got great news! I got on the scale this morning and they’re gone.
Plus an extra 0.2 went away with it.
I truly want to defend 145-150 (for now) and it makes me feel sooooo much better knowing I’m just under mid-point.

So guess who gets to eat,drink, and be merry tomorrow?
This girl! Because I worked my butt off this week ditching the “celebrations”

Pre-surgery, I would lose weight and then gain with extra weight. . I had to be brutally honest with myself. My fear regain was not in a healthy place.

You have proven you can work a weight bounce up and down the scale. You are someone that I really don't worry about. You're vigilant but you know you can live life and indulge within reason

Enjoy Christmas. I will be right here with you working down my weight bounce. You are doing fantastic




Sent from my SM-G930T using BariatricPal mobile app

[2Bsmaller18 436]

I am having a bone density scan today. I don't have an issues/family history. I am in my 40's, 10 months post op and want to get a base line. I figure if there are no issues then I will ask for one in a few years once i'm close to 50 and then maybe repeat every 4-5 years if it still shows no issues just to be safe.

I thought it was interesting that they said I couldn't take any Calcium supplements for 24 hours before the scan so I skipped my Vitamin and calcium supplements.

I stood on a scale at the gym and I am curious if the % muscle etc. will be comparable or way off.

[catwoman7 11,212]

If it's one done at a doctor's office, they usually just measure bone density, not muscle or fat percentage

[2Bsmaller18 436]

I got clarification re the Calcium supplements. She said that if it was a pill or chew it would be a bright spot on the scan. If it was a powder from a drink it would have probably been fine.

[Sheribear68 3,200]

9 hours ago, catwoman7 said:

If it's one done at a doctor's office, they usually just measure bone density, not muscle or fat percentage

Yup. All mine said was my bone density. It was in the 90-100 percentile, which is awesome.
getitng a baseline is a great idea though bc we can’t depend on that extra weight helping us keep our bones healthy.

[catwoman7 11,212]

1 hour ago, Sheribear68 said:

Yup. All mine said was my bone density. It was in the 90-100 percentile, which is awesome.
getitng a baseline is a great idea though bc we can’t depend on that extra weight helping us keep our bones healthy.

oh I totally agree. Plus bone loss is a risk with weight loss surgeries (well, you'll lose some bone regardless because you won't need as much bone to hold up a much lighter weight - but I mean osteopenia or osteoporosis- happens to some of us). So it's always good to have a baseline. I wish they would have done one on me beforehand...

[AZhiker 2,252]

On 12/23/2019 at 9:21 AM, 2Bsmaller18 said:

Volume question. I am 10 months post RNY. I can drink a shake in 10 minutes without issue or 5 oz yogurt with a 1/4 cup of granola on top in 10 min or less the same with an egg, 1/4 or slice of cheese and cup of spinach cooked in it but it takes closer to 15. At dinner I can eat maybe 2oz if meat with maybe 1/3 cup veggies and sometimes can’t finish that.
I am estimating I can eat 1/2 cup of food not much more.
I’m trying to maintain and have to eat sliders and carbs to get calories so I’m not eating much fir healthy veggies.
When were you able to eat more volume? I have read a cup of food at the 1 year mark.
I don’t want to force it but I hate creating bad habits to get calories in.

I know exactly how you feel. I have to eat more "meals" than I want to, in order to get enough calories in. I don't like the "grazing" mode, but it's just about what I have to do to keep from losing. Usually I eat a few bites and feel a little nauseous, then I wait a bit an can finish the food. Sometimes it can be a lot of volume, and sometimes only a little. Each day a meal is so different. I fixed an amazing Chinese slaw tonight that I could have eaten 4 cups of, but at lunch, I could only get down about 1/2 cup of a regular salad. Go figure.

I am just trying to focus on making every bite a healthy one - no junk. When my volume gets a bit less restricted, I will be able to eat more at one time, and hopefully less frequently. But alas, because I exercise a lot, I still have to keep eating a lot. I think we take it one day at a time, listen to our bodies, and make adjustments as things change. Just don't eat junk - and even the grazing will at least be nutritious and not forming "bad" snacking habits.

[ms.sss 15,581]

<! -- Begin Random Brain Dump -->

So....there was a post on another thread that brought up the existence of studies that proposed that WLS patients who have plastic surgery to remove excess skin after massive weight loss are more likely to keep the weight off further down the road than those who didn't. I remember reading something to that effect a while back, so I did a little digging, and yep, there are studies that suggest this idea.

Here is is just two that were on the first page of my search results:
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/10/131001104541.htm
https://www.soard.org/article/S1550-7289(15)00850-3/fulltext

So as I often do, I went down the research rabbit hole. I wanted see what other theories were out there that isolate certain behaviours or circumstances that increase the likelihood of long term weight control after bariatric surgery.

The regular stuff that we already know came up about the positive co-relation of the following with short & long term success in weight loss:

• daily weighing (of body, not food, LOL)
• logging/tracking food intake
• weight training to maintain or increase lean muscle mass
• the above-mentioned body contouring

Then there was one that sort of resonated with me, for some reason. That the likelihood of long term success is related to the amount of (or lack of) sedentary activities a person participates in. Those who spend less time watching TV, sitting at a desk, or spend time on their devices are more likely than their sedentary counterparts to keep the weight off longer term. And that this was the bigger indicator of "success" than the 4 points made above.

Since the PS, I have been pretty sedentary. I looked at my steps and I averaged less than 1000 steps a day the first 10 days post op. I felt ick and lazy and tired and really just didn't want to move (mind you, I was in recovery so there's that). Then I purposefully made the effort to walk around every couple of hours and felt better. Then I started going outside for longer and longer walks and started to feel normal. After yesterday's 2+ hours outside and this morning's 1 hour (with more to come throughout the day) I feel aaaalmost awesome. The more I moved, the more I wanted to move; and on the flip side of that I realized that the more I stayed still the more I didn't want to move. Funny cuz this is probably obvious to some/most of you, but it was like a light-bulb moment for me, duh. 🙄

So moral of the story: Keep moving, people.

<! -- End Random Brain Dump -->

[catwoman7 11,212]

26 minutes ago, ms.sss said:

<! -- Begin Random Brain Dump -->

So....there was a post on another thread that brought up the existence of studies that proposed that WLS patients who have plastic surgery to remove excess skin after massive weight loss are more likely to keep the weight off further down the road than those who didn't. I remember reading something to that effect a while back, so I did a little digging, and yep, there are studies that suggest this idea.

Here is is just two that were on the first page of my search results:
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/10/131001104541.htm
https://www.soard.org/article/S1550-7289(15)00850-3/fulltext

So as I often do, I went down the research rabbit hole. I wanted see what other theories were out there that isolate certain behaviours or circumstances that increase the likelihood of long term weight control after bariatric surgery.

The regular stuff that we already know came up about the positive co-relation of the following with short & long term success in weight loss:

• daily weighing (of body, not food, LOL)
• logging/tracking food intake
• weight training to maintain or increase lean muscle mass
• the above-mentioned body contouring

Then there was one that sort of resonated with me, for some reason. That the likelihood of long term success is related to the amount of (or lack of) sedentary activities a person participates in. Those who spend less time watching TV, sitting at a desk, or spend time on their devices are more likely than their sedentary counterparts to keep the weight off longer term. And that this was the bigger indicator of "success" than the 4 points made above.

Since the PS, I have been pretty sedentary. I looked at my steps and I averaged less than 1000 steps a day the first 10 days post op. I felt ick and lazy and tired and really just didn't want to move (mind you, I was in recovery so there's that). Then I purposefully made the effort to walk around every couple of hours and felt better. Then I started going outside for longer and longer walks and started to feel normal. After yesterday's 2+ hours outside and this morning's 1 hour (with more to come throughout the day) I feel aaaalmost awesome. The more I moved, the more I wanted to move; and on the flip side of that I realized that the more I stayed still the more I didn't want to move. Funny cuz this is probably obvious to some/most of you, but it was like a light-bulb moment for me, duh. 🙄

So moral of the story: Keep moving, people.

<! -- End Random Brain Dump -->

I don't really think they know for sure what accounts for the fact people who've had PS tend to be better about maintaining their weight, but some other theories I've come across:

1) people spend a lot of $$ for plastic surgery and thus are more motivated to keep the weight off so they don't compromise their results

2) many plastic surgeons require patients to have maintained a stable weight for 6-12 months before getting plastic surgery. Perhaps people who are able to maintain their weight for that long (6-12 months) are more likely to maintain it long term, too

3) people who self-pay for plastic surgery may have more disposable income and can afford things like gym memberships and better food, too

there are a couple of other reasonable-sounding theories about this that escape me for the moment - but in the end, they don't really know what accounts for the difference, other than it DOES appear to make a difference. That's one of the (many) reasons I decided to do it.

[Kris77 1,534]

I keep hearing from an person that had the sleeve as well that “oh once you get to three years out, it’ll get harder and you will be really hungry all the time”.
I know this isn’t true for everyone. I’m determined to not have that happen but it def sticks in your head hearing that. Esp since pre surgery that was me...lose weight only to regain...repeat repeat etc.
Anyone more than three years out that can share with how their journey stayed the same or how it changed after three years?

[Kris77 1,534]

I should add that I’m 17 mos post op. In Maintenance

[catwoman7 11,212]

45 minutes ago, Kris77 said:

I keep hearing from an person that had the sleeve as well that “oh once you get to three years out, it’ll get harder and you will be really hungry all the time”.
I know this isn’t true for everyone. I’m determined to not have that happen but it def sticks in your head hearing that. Esp since pre surgery that was me...lose weight only to regain...repeat repeat etc.
Anyone more than three years out that can share with how their journey stayed the same or how it changed after three years?

Yep... it definitely gets harder for a lot of us... sleeve and bypass alike

[Healthy_life2 8,324]

51 minutes ago, Kris77 said:

I keep hearing from an person that had the sleeve as well that “oh once you get to three years out, it’ll get harder and you will be really hungry all the time”.
I know this isn’t true for everyone. I’m determined to not have that happen but it def sticks in your head hearing that. Esp since pre surgery that was me...lose weight only to regain...repeat repeat etc.
Anyone more than three years out that can share with how their journey stayed the same or how it changed after three years?

Sorry for the long response.

Pre surgery, I don't think I had a sensation of full. Hunger and cravings were intense. Post surgery - Many of us experience times of real and head hunger. I'm not " really hungry all the time" Five years out, My hunger is manageable.

It normal to have less sleeve restriction years out, ( my sleeve is not stretched or back to full size) I can fill the extra space with real whole foods, stay within my maintenance calories, and feel satisfied. There is no reason to eat weight gain calories just because I can hold more food.

Only my experience, (you most likely have herd these things before)

Real hunger happens when I skip meals, eat the wrong food, eat under my calories, and working out. Head hunger happens when I'm bored, around temptation or stressed/emotional. I know theses things about myself. I learned how to satisfy hunger when it happens.

If I deny cravings, I just want them more. I keep healthy low calorie options for sweet and salty on hand. In weight loss mode, I avoid certain things. I cant stop at a small amount of chocolate or a bag of chips. *laughing* I know myself. My husband hides them from me.

Life should be lived in maintenance. I have times I indulge, take vacations, and carb load for sports. Afterward, I have cravings and hunger. I eat my bariatric plan and carvings/ hunger go away.

I eat dense Protein, veggies and other items on my plan. (They stay in my sleeve longer than slider/soft stage foods)

peppermint tea calms my sleeve

I spread my meals out five/six a day, Schedule a protein snack before bed.

Head hunger and night snacking -I keep a veggie tray and fruit in the fridge, I allow my self to eat as much until full. If I try to bargain for other items I know its head hunger.