Afraid of maintenance. Anyone else?

Seeing i am only 7 months post op and only 70 lbs or so to goal but will be okay if i lose 50 more pounds it dawns upon me more and more that maintenance is around the corner. I am afraid i won't get to goal or i will regain some which i know 15 pounds of regain can be normal but i don't ever want to see a gain again. The honeymoon phase will be over in another 11 months for me i guess because i hear the first 18 months post surgery is the rapid weight loss time. I always wonder if i will lose too much or not enough because i hear this it is usually one or the other. I am still losing at 7 months out but my dietician is worried because in the last 3 weeks alone at a little over 7 months out i have dropped about 8lbs. I really haven't been eating though due to bad stomach pain. I think my pouch has shrunk back down to immediate post-op stage honestly. I am lucky to get 1/2 cup of food but i was in ER last night getting fluids, anti nausea meds, protonix and today my stomach feels better and i was proud i ate a whole protein bar, ate most of my soup for dinner and almost 2 chicken wings. Still couldn't finish all of my 5.8 oz greek yogurt though this morning.... i have a possible ulcer though my next EGD is Oct 22nd. 
 

So for those in maintenance did you lose all your weight and get to goal and how do you deal with the fact your not losing anymore? What do you eat these day? I know i cannot be alone in being worried about maintenance.

I can empathize with your worries about the next phase of your journey, but hope you'll keep this in mind....

"Worry never robs tomorrow of its sorrow, it only saps today of its joy." - Leo Buscaglia

One day at a time! 

 

Maintenance is not as hard as you may be thinking it is.  Not saying it is a piece of SF Pecan Pie but just keep doing what you learn in the "honeymoon" phase and you do okay.  Least I have the past 5.5 years.

I think the key to a successful maintenance is holding on to all the valuable lessons/habits you pick up that first year out. I maintain a fairly normal diet plan, and stay at a comfortable weight. I know my tool still works, and if I ever wanted to drop a few pounds, I could do so.

Why are you wasting your time worrying about something that isn't even here yet? You should be more concerned with feeling better and continuing on your journey to a "normal" weight/BMI. Stressing about something so far out is a waste of time. Goal may come, and maintenance might be a breeze for you if you use everything you should be learning. Don't worry about it until it gets here.

I know how you feel! I am 8 months and everything has been so easy-thank the Good Lord!  I feel like I eat pretty normally-just pretty small portions. I am definitely not the "model" patient since I drink Coke Zero.

I am not in maintenance, but I am getting close to it  and I understand your fear.  But what I feel is most important is developing and maintaining the habit of good choices. As our bodies stop malabsorbing and hunger increases (both are already well underway for me) all we have left are the tools developed for making the right choices.  

Afraid, no...but I do have a nagging thought playing in my mind of will I become complacent when I reach my goal? Will I stop being so diligent? I hope not, and have really made huge lifestyle changes to virtually every area and because my husband also had RNY we can be cheerleaders for one another. But I do get what you are saying. 

But don't let something that isn't happening sap any joy from what is. Do all you can to get as much loss as you can and remember--after 18 months it isn't as if you can't lose anything else and you do NOT have to gain after that time.