The Maintenance Thread

[ms.sss 14,851]

23 hours ago, Recidivist said:

I'd like to ask fellow maintainers about fruit and vegetables in maintenance. I'm still pretty careful about my diet, which means prioritizing Protein and avoiding carbs, fat and sugar.

I love fruit and veggies but am still very careful with them as well. I eat green vegetables in limited amounts but avoid starchy ones (potatoes, squash, carrots, etc.). I also eat fruit in moderation but try to stick with berries and I particularly avoid bananas.

I do this in part so I don't fill up on "empty" calories and also because I'm worried about the carbs/sugars these foods may contain.

How do you all handle fruits and vegetables?

Ok, so I've technically been in maintenance for 1.5 years now. Not counting the first 2 months immediately after stopping weight loss phase (when I lost 12 lbs trying to find my sweet spot), I have basically maintained my current weight +/- 5 lbs the entire time.

I have loosened the reins quite a bit since weight loss days.

Fruit: I am not a big fruit eater, but if presented with something that looks good, I'll eat it. I don't have any off limit fruits, but I don't eat much in the first place anyway...mostly just as a topping on a salad. I hate fruit juice. Oh, but I LOOOOVE avocados, which I probably have 1-2 times a week (again, mostly as a topping on a salad)

Vegetables: I eat all sorts of veggies all the time/every day...with the exception of potatoes.

Refined Sugar: I long ago opened the floodgates to sugar consumption. Dessert is a legitimate food group for me.

Other processed carbs: I still stay away from rice, Pasta, and bread. HOWEVER, I recently discovered the joy of homemade bread making, and have actually had maybe the equivalent of 2 slices of bread this past week or so. Since it was so delicious, I'm going to keep eating it.

I still log my food, but I no longer put as much concern on the type of calorie I consume (to a certain extent), I mostly really only pay attention to my total calories now. So if I eat a cookie or a carrot or some of the ridiculously yummy homemade bread, so long as I stay under 1800 cals (more if I'm exercising more), then it's all good.

I will say though, that I gained and lost 6 lbs TWICE this year...and when I was trying to lose, I did pay attention to the type of calorie. Once I reached my happy place again, I am back to just monitoring total calories.

[summerset 5,261]

9 hours ago, AZhiker said:

Forks Over Knives magazine comes out quarterly and is packed with great recipes. You can also get on their email list and get good recipes as well.

They also have an app that gets updated with new recipes.

[bhrobins 66]

48yr male, 6' 3", HW 382, SW 309, CW 213, VSG 5/18/20

I have read this thread through twice now, and can so relate to many of the issues raised. Eating constantly when not hungry, understanding that movement on the scale is no longer the motivator, upping your intake and playing with macro distribution.

I hit my original final goal (225) about 6.5 months after surgery, and am now 12 more pounds down from that on the way to a moon shot goal of 210. My NUT and surgeon don't want me under 210.

I've increased my calories from 1200 to 1900 over the past 3 months while staying away from sugar. Im also trying to eat real foods and minimize processed stuff too.

The challenge now is to slow/stop the loss without resorting to junk food.

With my restriction in full force ~9 months post-op, I find myself looking at calorie density. I can eat 9-12oz of food in one sitting and find myself doing so 5 times/day to get my calories in.

I have added natural Peanut Butter, homemade trail mix (no candy/chocolate), and granola to increase calorie density. I have tried some Protein Bars to get more calories down too. Animal fats aren't tolerated well, but I have done ok with full fat cheeses.

My RD says I will likely need to get to 2100 calories to maintain.

Anyone have ideas for greater calories per ounce, without resorting to junk food, until I can accommodate more volume?

What are you maintainers' macro mix? I'm currently about 40% carb, 25% Protein, 35% fat. At 1900 calories, that's 190g carbs, 119g protein, 74g fat.

Or do you not track macros so closely in maintenance?

Any thoughts from those more experienced than me would be appreciated.

This thread has helped me significantly.

Edited February 17, 2021 by bhrobins

[catwoman7 10,945]

9 hours ago, bhrobins said:

48yr male, 6' 3", HW 382, SW 309, CW 213, VSG 5/18/20

I have read this thread through twice now, and can so relate to many of the issues raised. Eating constantly when not hungry, understanding that movement on the scale is no longer the motivator, upping your intake and playing with macro distribution.

I hit my original final goal (225) about 6.5 months after surgery, and am now 12 more pounds down from that on the way to a moon shot goal of 210. My NUT and surgeon don't want me under 210.

I've increased my calories from 1200 to 1900 over the past 3 months while staying away from sugar. Im also trying to eat real foods and minimize processed stuff too.

The challenge now is to slow/stop the loss without resorting to junk food.

With my restriction in full force ~9 months post-op, I find myself looking at calorie density. I can eat 9-12oz of food in one sitting and find myself doing so 5 times/day to get my calories in.

I have added natural Peanut Butter, homemade trail mix (no candy/chocolate), and granola to increase calorie density. I have tried some Protein bars to get more calories down too. Animal fats aren't tolerated well, but I have done ok with full fat cheeses.

My RD says I will likely need to get to 2100 calories to maintain.

Anyone have ideas for greater calories per ounce, without resorting to junk food, until I can accommodate more volume?

What are you maintainers' macro mix? I'm currently about 40% carb, 25% Protein, 35% fat. At 1900 calories, that's 190g carbs, 119g protein, 74g fat.

Or do you not track macros so closely in maintenance?

Any thoughts from those more experienced than me would be appreciated.

This thread has helped me significantly.

Healthy fats. Or more protein. I almost never eat junk food, but I eat healthy fats now (in my case, I gained too much and now want to lose 10 lbs - which is hard as heck when you're a ways out and at or near normal weight, so be careful what you wish for!!!). I do eat healthy fats, Fiber, and/or protein when I'm really hungry, though, as those keep me going for awhile. Fats would include full-fat dairy, nuts or nut butters, avocado...

I don't worry about macros anymore. I just make sure I get all my protein in every day.

[ms.sss 14,851]

Hi! I totally forgot about this thread, I used to post on it regularly, thx for reviving it!

Anyone have ideas for greater calories per ounce, without resorting to junk food, until I can accommodate more volume?

When I reached goal, I stressed about stopping weight loss...it was a bit of a challenge (both mental and physical) to change modes to get more calories in. I didn't want to up my carbs, nor eat "junk food". And my restriction didn't really allow more volume. So I resorted to avocados, nuts & nut butters, full-fat everything, olive oil. I also ate alot of chicharron (i.e., pork rinds/cracklings), yeah, its not the "healthiest" and is really high in fat, but its relatively high in Protein, was sorta a slider for me, and I wasn't worried about my fat macros (I never really was). It took me about 3 months to figure out what my maintenance cals were, and I lost a further 10+ lbs in the process.

What are you maintainers' macro mix? I'm currently about 40% carb, 25% protein, 35% fat. At 1900 calories, that's 190g carbs, 119g protein, 74g fat. Or do you not track macros so closely in maintenance?

During weight loss phase I did ultra-low carb (i.e., less than 25g NET carbs a day), 60g protein, and let the fat fall where it may so long as I was below my calorie goal. In the very beginning maintenance, I still aimed for 60g protein, and allowed myself 50g NET carbs. Now at 2+ years out, my carbophobia has greatly decreased, and I only care about total calories. I do try to reach 60g of protein, but I only probably reach it 60-70% of the time.

Any thoughts from those more experienced than me would be appreciated.

Ok, the following is just my opinion/experience, and may not be for everyone, but it is what it is:

I don't consider myself a vet yet, as i'm only a little over 2 years out, so this may bite me in the ass later, but so for it works for me. YMMV.

I've come to the realization that the ingestion of carbohydrates makes little difference in weight (for ME). What it does do is make a difference in how I look. When I am low carb-ing, I look leaner. This is good for my body cuz I can see more muscle definition, but bad for my face, as I look skeletor-ish. In terms of weight, all that matters (for ME) is total calories. Regardless of what my diet consists of, so long as I stay around 1800 calories (given my current activity level). I will not gain nor lose weight. Of course, If I eat 1800 cals of butter tarts all day, I may not gain weight, but I'm sure I would be doing some sort of damage to my overall health.

With that said, i do eat "junk". Not in such large amounts as pre-surgery, but junk nonetheless (I also eat "healthy" stuff of course), but I prefer to keep my cals at 1800-ish no matter what I'm eating.

My restriction is still alive and kicking (as is my dumping response) so I don't really eat a lot at a time. BUT I can definitely pack more in than I did when I had just reached goal (which was VERY little). I've been maintaining my current weight (give or take 5 lbs) for about 1.5 years.

P.S. my latest labs (taken in November last year) came back satisfactorily, so I must be doing something right. 🤷🏽‍♀️

P.P.S. sorry this was so long

Edited February 17, 2021 by ms.sss

[bhrobins 66]

Thanks ms.sss and catwoman7 for your responses. Sounds like nuts/seeds, nut butters and full fat dairy will be my best bets.

Freaks me out to eat more fats, but moving out of WLM to maintenance seems as much mental as physical.

Again, really appreciate each of you sharing your perspectives as you blaze the trail for the rest of us.

[ms.sss 14,851]

deleted.

(oopsies, posted in wrong thread again! arg!)

Edited March 3, 2021 by ms.sss