5 Out of 33: Maintenance

I've mentioned in previous posts about my struggles with weight loss.  This past nine months I've had some interesting ups and downs related to that.  Every weight loss surgery has risks and side effects as a result.  I had lap band which is the least invasive.  It has the least amount of complications and fatalities, but the main reason I chose this surgery was because it is adjustable and you have to be accountable.  Lap Band patients traditionally loose less than patients who've have gastric bypass and other surgeries, but that was something I was prepared for.  I had three weights in my head when I went into surgery:

1. 170: This was my initial goal.  For my height according to BMI charts (which I don't love, but that's besides the point) that would still make me "overweight" but knowing that patients who undergo lap band surgery loose less than others I wanted to give myself a realistic expectation.  I hit this weight about 2 years ago and it felt good.  I plateaued for a bit and assumed that was where I would stop.

2. 150: This was the goal my surgeon was hoping I would reach.  This put me in the "healthy" BMI range for my height.  About a year or so ago I ramped up my cardio a little bit and hit this goal.  It felt fantastic.

3. 130: This was a vanity thing in my head that I never thought I would reach.  I hit this weight about six months ago.  I loved how it looked and I loved the size I was slipping into, but I didn't feel great.

I had developed acid reflux which is a common side effect of lap band and I lost most of those last 20 pounds due to eating little and regurgitating when I ate too much.  Even though this was still a "healthy" weight people were commenting that I looked too thin.  I had some liquid removed to have a looser band and put some weight back on.  The thought of gaining a little weight was scary because there is a part of me that is terrified I'll be obese again, but people commented that I actually looked better.  My weight constantly has been between 135-140 the past few months and it feels healthy.  I occasionally still get episodes of acid reflux but I've learned those are stress induced so I'm trying to minimize stress.

Now I'm in maintenance which is a new place for me.  I'm not training to loose weight, I'm just trying to stay at my current weight range.  Enter in the Fitbit my cousin got me.  I'm not so concerned with tracking calories, but more tracking things like my water intake, sleep, and activity.  I want to see what I need to do to maintain my current size.  If I gain weight at some point I'll have to start tracking food and logging calories again, but for now that isn't a concern.  This is an interesting new chapter.  I've never been in this place before.

Photo by Gadgetmac