Almost at Maintenance... Tips, experience of regain?

Hey all! It's been awhile since I have been here, but it's been a year since my surgery and I have lost 188 pounds! yay! I am still in the honeymoon phase really. Not really having too much temptation, or cravings and am still counting calories.

History tells me this always gets harder. I was wondering if anyone had any maintenance advice/tips. I just really dont' want to regain weight and be upset about it. My days of obsessing are over. 

Also, what has led you to regain? 

Thanks so much!

Adjust your calories until you find a goog level

Don't avoid the scale (I weigh 2-3 times a week)

Stay mindful

Stay active

Set a fatty rule- pick a specific weight that if you hit it you automatically put yourself back in weight loss mode

Stay connected to support

As someone who had regained, you need to stay mindful and never assume just because you got the weight off, that it's going to stay off.  Your new adapted lifestyle is for life.  You will be able to tweak it here and there but going back to old habits will cause the regain and it can happen quick.  There are plenty of those in maintenance who stay within a weight range and like happyteacher said, let there be a number that is in the red zone; once you hit it, it's back to weight loss mode to get your weight down.  Playing with a few pounds is a heck of a whole lot easier than 20-30. 

Stay on top of your game always. :)

Some random advice in no particular order....

1) Keep a weight goal range and never go over it.  Let the high end of your range always trigger a specific weight loss program.

2) Keep exercising or moving as studies show that exercise is more important for maintenance than even weight loss.

3) Drink before you feel thirsty

4) Continue to not drink your calories (as often as possible, I slip on this one quite a bit).

5) Get in the habit/stay in the habit or eating lean dense protein first at every meal.

6) Eat your veggies for snacks and go to town on green leafy things.

7) Don't let fat scare you, you can use a little healthy fat

8) Stop or never start grazing as this is the one worst thing you can do in maintenance 

9) Surround yourself with healthy people that are living a healthy lifestyle

10).....Most Important.....NEVER ALLOW YOURSELF TO FORGET THAT YOU ARE OBESE AND NOT CURED 

#10.....AMEN AMEN AMEN AMEN

**** happens. Life is good for a while. You can ride the high of the WL for years, and something will happen. We are all always capable of slipping back into bad habits when life really gets tough. 

I had convinced myself my life had already been horrible, and that it couldnt really get much worse, but it did. And I gained 50 lbs after I said Id never do that. 

After the pain of gaining and losing and gaining the weight back six times (before VSG, but the feelings are the same when you are talking about 60-80 pounds on my sized body), I learned this lesson well.  Never say you are done, it's over, you are cured.  Never allow yourself to believe that you can't gain.  A little healthy fear of regain is a very good thing.  The moment you think you have arrived and are no longer worried that regain can happen; you are already too far gone.  One bite, one pancake, one moment away from saying to yourself years later...I remember the moment well when it all went to #$%^.   Doesn't mean you can't slip up, or have things not on your program, I do all the time, but the moment you forget the possible consequences of not changing your behavior and attitude...you are big again, it's only a matter of time.  Sucks, but that's my truth and I have lived the other side of this equation too many times to ever want to face that kind of pain again.  Remembering is the key that unlocks the door of willingness.

Thank-you to all of you for the valuable information, I journaled all of the above. I just started this journey, looking at being sleeve in June. I think maintenance worries me the most and I want to do everything to prevent  regain. Thanks again. I love this site.

My only secret, I weigh daily and sometimes more than once.  I do not want any surprises.  You do not gain 20 pounds overnight, but you do gain one pound at a time and if you don't deal with it, it multiplies quickly.

Yes! Yes! Yes!  That is a really good one.  My doctor tells us that we can weight ourselves once a week if we like during weight loss, but wants us to do it once a day in maintenance.  Great point!

I was just thinking about this today.  I wondered if once I got to maintenance that it would be a good idea to weigh a lot more often and I was wondering how other people's weighing habits changed from weight loss to maintenance.  Thanks.