Help please on when to begin maintenance 

 Hi all ... I'm about 15 lbs from reaching my goal weight. I've noticed that most of you still loose about 10 additional lbs once you've reached your goal.  Should I start maintenance now to avoid dropping below goal or wait till I get to goal to start maint?  I have about 1 1/2 months before I meet with the nut and not sure what or how to go about this stage.  Any help would sure be appreciated.  

Usually it isn't really a decision to "start" maintenance (unless you are one of the rare people who loses too much)... Your body just decides it is done losing and then you are in maintenance.

Lora

In my case, there was no sudden transition, I had hit my target weight, but the pouch and procedure continued to limit my intake, as it still does. I'm only 5'8" and had a target weight of 205, right now I'm barely 160 soaking wet with my boots on. It is well below my target, but it's not an unhealthy weight for me. I eat when I'm hungry and I dont eat carelessly, and there are times when I have to say "matt, you can't eat that right now, you're just craving the flavor". When I went through divorce last year, same time of a small bowel obstruction, I got down to 138, I had to force myself to eat at every meal, my stomach didn't feel good, and I was in such a psychological rut that food didn't taste good. That was obviously way to small for me. But you'll know if you start loosing too much, which I've heard is pretty rare, because you'll feel physically awful, and drained. Just be smart about it, there's no magic day when you get to go back to eating normal, but time will turn your good eating habits into normal for you.

• *12-24 Months After Surgery: eat 1200 calories a day (I ate 1200 calories a day until 15 months when I reached my goal weight)
• *24 Months after surgery (or when goal weight is reached before 24 months): Maintenance calories (BMR/RMR & Activity Level) (Malabsorption of calories lasts approximately 18-24 months) (I eat 1800-2000 calories a day to maintain my weight loss of 200 pounds at a weight of 131 pounds. My height is 5'4")
• * I do not participate in a formal exercise program due to Rheumatoid Arthritis and Osteoarthritis. I do move around a lot more and do a lot more walking.

I'm with Lora - I have no idea when maintenance starts - other than it's when you stop losing weight!  It's not a set part of a programme.

Just keep doing what you are doing and let your body tell you what you need to do - after all, you will need to adjust what you eat, and how muchl and how much you exercise for the rest of your life - it's not like you will just magically stay at a weight you or your NUT choose ...

Thanks all of you. You guys really are extremely helpful with all the knowledge you so freely share. Glad to know maintenance just sort of happens. I was concerned because my calories and portions are still so low and I generally exercise 2 x's a day ( I know I can decrease exerc but hooked). I don't know where my body will stop but to much beyond the goal i set will not be desirable.