life after a year

I am curious about eating habits, restrictions and dietary needs after a year or more.  I see that many posted how they have cheating problems, or that they now eat normal size meals.  What are normal size meals to you now.  How do you maintain a healthy weight and prevent becoming obese again.  I was under the impression that surgery would correct or restrict any overeating issues fro many years and during that time a person learned how to eat less rather than continue cheating.  Has surgery been a 1 year fix and then your on your own of has it truly changed your life style.

I am sure everyone is different.  I am 20 mths postop from the Sleeve..and my 'normal' meal size is 2 oz of dense protein..that is it..and I am satisfied.  I eat mostly protein, and some veggies/fruits occasionally.  The surgery doesn't correct your behaviors.  It's very easy to make the wrong choices when it comes to food.  The surgery is a tool to help you get to your goal..it's up to each person to use it the best way they can.

I'm curious why you are asking this when you've had surgery years ago!?

Surgery is a TOOL. That means it gives us an advantage to get off the most weight that we can while we have the big effects of surgery - usually the first 12-18 months after surgery.

It is still up to us to follow the guidelines we are given. It is only a tool and the choices we make after surgery are important for our long term success. If we do what we did when we were obese, we will go back there one day despite our surgery. And for some, surgery is not enough to fight a very difficult addiction.

Eating habits are just that...habits!!! You must use the tool you have been given to battle the demons!!!! I am almost 4yrs out and still have "bad" days, but I am also still losing! Once a food addict always a food addict!!! Normal meals are just that, correct portion sizes, and healthy choices. It's ok to cheat as long as you can handle the consequences, personally I love ME and will never give up what I have accomplished! 156lbs and counting down.

 At almost 3 years out, normal eating to me is eating 2 slices of pizza instead of 4 or 5....plus breadsticks. LOL 

This is about a lifestyle change.  Many post-ops are simply not ready to make that change, and therefore "continue cheating" (i.e. eating unhealthy foods and/or eating when they are not really hungry or needing some nutrition/fuel for the body)...and subsquently, they regain a lot of the weight they lost.  

What I can eat as a normal meal would be equivalent of a childs happy meal, a cheese burger and some fries or apples, I can't eat more then that at one time.  And for me I could do no wrong for the first 4 years after that I learned I could gain weight so the battle of wills against myself began, sometimes its easy to maintain and other times not so much.  I had rny, and I get sick from too much sugar, so it keeps me in check and I can't eat a whole lot but I can eat frequently enough to gain weight.  I have no real appetite per se, but I like to eat and do.  Today I had a bagel and reduced fat cream cheese and two ice teas because I never bought my protein bars this week.  I typically only eat protein bars during the day at work, and then a normal dinner.  

It is pretty easy to graze constantly and 'un-do' the benefits of any surgery.

IF you eat lean.solid protein and limit highly processed carbs, and refrain from drinking with your meals and avoid high-caloric beverages, you will have the most success.

In my case, I can not eat 'normal sized meals' at 1 time, but if I allowed myself to, I believe that I could eat my former quantity by eating more frequently throughout the day.   Eating because my mouth is hungry -- not because my stomach/body is hungry.

I also believe that if I allowed myself to have highly processed simple carbs (candy, cake, cookies, ice cream, etc) that I would gain back every pound and then some.

There are some food that I just have to stay away from --- by choice and experience.  So, in conjunction with my OA program, my Realize Band helped me to abstain from those foods, focus on healthy eating and get to a healthy weight for my height and age.

I have been maintaining within 5 pounds of my goal weight for right about 1 year -- and abstaining from my trigger foods for 30 months.

Surgery alone would not be enough for me to maintain a healthy weight.  I had to change the quality of the foods that I choose.

 21 months out from VSG I am nowhere near being able to eat what a "normal" person could eat.  2-3 ounces of meat and I am without a doubt full.  When I go out to eat, with the huge portions offered, I am oftern very full while you can't even visually tell I ate anything (there will still be a LARGE portion of food left).  I do hope this lasts for many years to come.  My surgeon advised that however much I could eat at 6 months out, try to make that my norm instead of eating until I feel really full, so that I do not (however slowly) stretch my sleeve.

That said, there are certain "slider foods" for me personally they include things like popcorn, chips/crackers and cookies candy ice cream etc.  Of COURSE the worst possible, high carb, no nutritional value to speak of foods are the ones that seem to slide right on through.  Yes, I have slipped up and overindulged in these once or twice.  However I find that if I stick to what I am supposed to eat, and foods that actually have some nutritional benefit, I am much better off and feel full quite easily.