2 year Surgiversary

Maritopia
on 3/8/19 8:34 am, edited 3/8/19 9:01 am

VSG on 03/01/17

It's been almost 2 years since I had VSG and I have learned so much about what it takes to keep me healthy. I've learned that if I want to maintain a BMI between 19 - 21 for life (my personal goal), I will have to follow a healthy lifestyle every single day. For me, this means:

Eating 1-3 filling meals per day, no snacks. Ideally I don't start eating until afternoon.
No eating after dinner
Occasional longer fasts when I get to the top of my weight range
Eating primary meat, fish, eggs, avocado, olive oil, coconut oil, olives, butter, fermented vegetables, mushrooms, seaweed, non-starchy vegetables
Eating nuts, seeds, and dairy as part of a dish, not on their own
Chewing well and eating slowly
Not eating sugar alcohols or artificial sweeteners. I can tolerate stevia and monk fruit as sweeteners or a little bit of real sweetener. I have a few pieces of dark chocolate for dessert sometimes.
Eating fiber sparingly. I get bloated easily on too much fiber.
Eating adequate salt and staying hydrated.
Drinking apple cider vinegar, green tea, kvass, herbal tea and homemade bone broth regularly
Avoiding alcohol
Avoiding seed oils (Soybean, Canola, Corn, Cottonseed, Sunflower, Safflower, Peanut)
Wearing tight clothing with minimal stretch
Being active outside in the mornings when possible
Prioritizing sleep

It has taken a lot of work to figure out what keeps me healthy, and I am far from perfect. Yesterday I ate a quest bar (and had the typical stomach upset after) and I had a business dinner meeting where I couldn't avoid eating meat cooked in seed oil. But, I know what my goals are and I strive to reach them daily.

I've gone from 222 lbs to 122 lbs and I couldn't be happier with that accomplishment. It's going to be a struggle every day not to regain weight, and I've already dealt with losing a 14 lb regain, so I know all it takes is a little extra snacking on "healthy" foods to rapidly gain fat. Some people thrive on weighing, tracking, and logging their food but that is not a sustainable way for me to live, so I have my own food rules instead.

To be clear, the above is my personal maintenance plan. It is not a recommendation for what anyone else should do, especially in the weight loss stage when eating high protein/low calorie/low volume is specifically important.