One Year of Goal Weight Maintenance!

I reached my goal weight one year ago. At the time I could not believe it and it actually was, as corny as it sounds, a dream come true. While reaching that goal was a massive achievement I think I have finally managed to one up it. I have now officially maintained my goal weight for a WHOLE FREAKING YEAR!!!!

I have found it really interesting as time has gone on how much my focus has changed and how things that seemed really important coming up to and for about the first six months after my surgery just don’t matter so much now. I really can’t stress how much now my life seems like its back to normal. While I have my rules I live by and things I need to always think about I have reached a nice point of having a feeling of normality to my life in terms of eating again.

I have managed to lose significant amounts of weight in the past on diets such as Jenny Craig and Sureslim. I knew I was good at losing weight in fact I would have classed myself as a pro at it. Where it all came apart was trying to maintain that weight loss. I think the longest I managed to maintain a significant weight loss in the past was about three months. This was the most upsetting and frustrating thing about trying to get and stay at a healthy weight.

This really confirms for me that in terms of long-term goal weight maintenance and management of my weight having a gastric bypass was absolutely the right decision. My ongoing yearly goal from now on is to stick to my rules and keep on maintaining my weight under the 65kg mark.

My gastric bypass is a tool that combined with the right healthy behaviours such as eating well, consistently meeting my protein goals and exercising will continue to give me the right combination to maintain my weight in the healthy range long-term. I think as each year passes this is going to feel like a bigger and better achievement. I am so proud of myself for maintaining it for a whole year and I actually can’t believe how fast it has come around. I really also think it shows the different perspective I have on what my body needs and what actually is healthy behaviour.

The biggest shift for me personally is the priority I place on taking care of myself. Protein needs come first, good nutrition is important, exercise is enjoyable and is becoming necessary to maintain my mental health. I also do little things for myself like making sure I take care of my skin and moisturise regularly and make time to do face masks. While these seem like little things they really help in terms of self-care and looking after myself.

The absolute best thing about maintaining my weight for so long is that the jeans I bought a year ago when I reached my goal weight fit me even better than when I bought them. I actually didn’t realise people can wear the same clothes two summers in a row because they still fit, this is news to me. Not having to go shopping because the seasons are changing is awesome. It’s the little things like this that continue to give me motivation to keep at it because they make it so worth it.

Have you found weight maintenance easier after gastric bypass or bariatric surgery? Comment below and let me know.