Almost 1 year out...stalled and not thrilled about it

[Michele43]

Well...i am almost a year out from surgery. I started my journey at 275 pounds and i seem to be holding steady between 198 and 200 pounds. My goal would be between 160 and 180. But...i am struggling. I an definitely snacking more and not being so careful with my food choices.

I want some help. How do i get started the right way again. Would love someone to tell me what i should be eating everyday to take aware my hunger and not let me start gaining again. I have been maintaining but its not going the way i want. Just want to get off another 20 to 40 pounds and then maintain.

I fear that i am starting to fall back into old habits. Please help.

[Ann2]

Michele -- what helped me lose 100 pounds was this:

1. I counted my calories, protein carbs, etc. using My Fitness Pal. It didn't bother me at all to do that. I figured if I didn't know how much and what I was eating, I was blind and in the dark. I quit guessing. I just found out. Every day.

2. I aimed for 80-100 grams of protein daily. I continued drinking 25 grams of protein every morning for breakfast in a protein shake (GNC Lean Shake 25, in my case). Didn't bother me at all to use a protein shake that long. Truth is, I STILL have a GNC Lean Shake 25 Swiss Mocha every morning for breakfast. It's my thing.

3. I ate as many fibrous veggies as I could, e.g., broccoli, green beans, zucchini, tomatoes, carrots, etc. I stayed away from white, starchy veggies like potatoes. Lettuce was harder for me to eat -- took me a couple of years to be able to handle that. Not to worry ... there are tons of good veggies out there that will fill you up and I AM SERIOUS ABOUT THIS so high-fiber that they'll gradually calm down your craving for sugars and starches.

4. Speaking of which, I cold-turkeyed sugars and worthless carbs. You know the kind -- cookies, chips, desserts, candy, high-cal coffee drinks, etc. I got rid of all of them. Didn't keep 'em in the house or the kitchen. My husband was very cooperative, and there were no kids around (except during grandkids' visitations, but that was minimal). If you can't get your people to keep that stuff out of the house, then buy a lock box and make them put all their crap in it and hide the key. Seriously ... control your environment. It will help a lot to get through this phase. HOWEVER, you'll eventually have to figure out how to navigate this stuff later on in maintenance. You may wish to continue the prohibition or lockbox solution. Or not.

5. Stop drinking alcohol, if you're currently using it, until you reach your goal.

6. Walk daily. Move more. Get into the habit of exercising daily. Do whatever will keep you moving and that will not cause you any injury. Just do it.

7. Drink at least 8 glasses of water every day. Do whatever it takes to get it down. Focus on it.

8. Get back in touch with all the things that motivated you initially. Decide whether those chips or fries or whatever it is that's distracting you is more important than reaching your goal. Get serious. Get mean. Get tough.

9. If you're not perfect in doing all this, then start developing the critical skill of climbing back up on the horse the very next day when you don't do what you wanted to do. Do NOT wait a second or third day to get back on the horse. Do NOT wait a week. Do it the very next day.

10. And if you're not already seeing a therapist, could you start doing that? These issues you're dealing with, your lack of self-care, the old habits you are letting sabotage you again will continue to sabotage you until you build new ones. That often requires working with a therapist to understand what's going on under the surface.

I hope some of this is useful to you. I will add only that it does not matter even a little bit how long it takes you to lose all your excess weight. What matters is that you are building a lifestyle for yourself that will be permanent and that will help you maintain your weight loss long-term. The sleeve certainly will help. But it's far from all you need to win this game.

Go for it. You can do it.

[sraebaer]

You FEAR you are starting to fall back into old habits? You ARE falling back into old habits. But seeing we humans aren't perfect, just get back on track to eating how a sleeved person should. Start an exercise routine. And follow Ann's advice, she is very wise. You can do this if you want to! Good luck!

[Stacey03]

I would just be all about Anns advice ^^^^^ do what she says! And believe you can do it because you can! your choices, your life :-) Much congrats on your success so far :-)

[denzel]

Hi @Michele43,

You have asked and answered your own question: "i am struggling. I an definitely snacking more and not being so careful with my food choices ... Would love someone to tell me what i should be eating everyday to take aware my hunger and not let me start gaining again ...
I fear that i am starting to fall back into old habits. "

Re advice: As per Ann2. She is a Winner. Very sensible, very down to earth and an achiever.

And, may I add, go back to other basics: "20, 20, 20" and using tiny cutlery and crockery to slow your speed of eating down (you will then feel full sooner) and to control your portion size. No drinking 20 mins either side of your meals so your not washing your food out of your stomach and then feeling hungry. This is ALL advice given by Dietitians specialising in Bariatric Surgery. Not made up by us.

[tinman]

You don’t need anyone to tell you what to do. You need to figure it out for yourself. Ann’s way may work for you. My way way work for you. Others may work for you. What I will guarantee you is that a combination of all the wisdom on here is what will work for you. You can’t be successful copy catting other folks plans. The successful losers on here all came up with their own plans. The superstars, those with multiple years on maintenance with no appreciable gain, tried a little of this and that until they dialed in a program perfect for them. I have a saying that I used to type on here all the time.

Make a plan. Work the plan. Own your results. Change as needed.

I literally have hundreds and hundreds of posts regarding how to break stalls and more importantly, how to never get them again. Take a look and feel free to reach out if you want. But, you’re not going to reach your goal until you get a plan that works for you and then game the hell out of it.

Lots of wisdom here. Use it.

Time to get to work.

[Ann2]

Iceman is right.

About this.

[Christie13]

Agree with most of what was said. You have to know what you are eating/doing and see how it affects your weight. For me, sometimes if I was eating too little I would stall. I have learned how much I need based on my activity level. I am not having any issues maintaining. I am not a big tracker. I have tried a few times to get an idea of what I am eating but can't do it consistently. I know basically what I need and have learned to be in tune with my body. I listen to it. I also weigh myself every morning and night so I can see how my body reacts to different things. Seems to work for me.