How do I do it? 

How do I stay motivated day after day, and maintain a 250 pound weight loss since Lap Band surgery in 2004? 

What do I eat? 

These are just a few of the questions I am asked repeatedly.  They are also the very same questions you will see in almost any weight loss surgery group on Facebook.  The answers can be varied.  Mine are not complicated, they have worked well for me and are all part of my daily life now.

Here are a few of them:

• I Do Not diet - I gave up dieting when I had weight loss surgery.  I eat real food, delicious food and use “bariatric” type foods like protein bars and protein drinks or shakes for emergencies, and for my weight lifting days at the gym.
• I have a regular fitness routine and very little gets to interfere with it.  It’s simple - Monday and Wednesday I “run” on the elliptical for 30-45 minutes and then lift weights/strength training for an hour.  Tuesday, Thursday and Friday I swim laps for 30 -45 minutes.  Saturday and Sunday are rest/play days.  I may take a hike, do housework, walk on the beach, bicycle ride, or veg out in a chaise in the sun.
• I have several go to meals that I vary depending on my schedule and that of my family.  I ALWAYS have easy grab and go food in the frig such as cheese sticks, deli lunch meat, cucumbers, pickles.
• On Sunday I take a look in my frig, freezer and cupboards and put together an egg frittata that will take us through Monday - Thursday; chicken or tuna or salmon salad or have cold cuts on hand also for Monday-Thursday; and I plan a few dinners whether it’s Greek style chicken burgers and a veggie or sausage and pasta sauce over zoodles, or steak and mashed cauliflower, enchilada chicken - I could go on.  If the dinners make more than the servings I need for my family I’ll use leftovers for lunch or with chili or soup or enchilada chicken I’ll freeze them in portioned out servings.
• I have 33.7 oz bottles of water in front of me always to make sure I stay hydrated.  If I don’t get enough water; besides being grouchy and headachy, I eat too much, and too often
• I line up my vitamins and take them daily.
• I weigh and measure my food as I am preparing it.
• Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays are just a little bit different.  I may go out for dinner one or two nights, in which case I check out the menu and decide on my food before I go if possible, otherwise I go to local restaurants that I am familiar with that have bari-friendly meals for me - my sushi bar makes awesome sashimi as well as rolls with no rice - just soy paper, my Mexican restaurant has a killer tortilla soup, or a single shrimp taco with cabbage, cheese, and pico de gallo that tastes wonderful eaten with a fork.  Often on a Saturday or Sunday night I will take the time to make a new creation.  Most are worthy of repeating and that is one of the motivators behind the cookbook I co-authored- https://wlssuccessmatters.com/eat-your-way-to-success-and-learn-how-to-control-hunger-a-weight-loss-surgery-friendly-cookbook/.
• I try to prepare foods based on what is in season.  Example - it’s strawberry season here now and I will have some salads done with a sliced strawberry or two for garnish and flavor (great with feta crumbles).  Salmon season begins in June and we will have fresh wild caught sockeye salmon as long as the season continues - I have many different ways to prepare that I have already mastered, and a few I am sure, still to learn.
• I will put one portion, weight loss surgery size, on my plate and that is what I get to eat.  I do not have to finish it, but seconds are my next meal in 3-5 hours, not at the same meal.  I get up from the table when I am done or get the food removed from the table… one us must leave.
• I remember what it feels like to be large and unable to move and use that memory as needed to be able to say no.
• I periodically clean my cupboards out of any trigger foods that might have found their home in my house.
• Probably the most important part of all this nutrition, portion control, fitness, vitamins, water and accountability notwithstanding is that - I NEVER GIVE UP!  I just keep moving forward.  What does that look like you ask?  If I have had a rough day, a choice that didn’t serve my goals, a rough week I KNOW that I have my weight loss surgery tool and that I can use it to help me turn that choice/day/week around and make my next choice one that will serve my goal to live my BEST LIFE.

These are just a few pointers I have to share after nearly 14 years.  Feel free to share yours or ask me questions.