Y'know that quote "A year from now you may wish you had started today"? Year after year I would see that phrase and sigh wistfully. 

• Sighing for the eating plans I gave up on.
• Sighing for the gyms and trainers I had abandoned.
• Sighing for the workout rotation calendars I had stopped following.
• Sighing for everything I had started and stopped because it wasn't working for me.

And then, at the end of 2017 I decided to make that phrase a reality, to look at that sticker in my planner and feel a sense of accomplishment.

That's what I got to do this year.

(Anyone else a Happy Planner sticker fanatic? I have FAR too many sticker books.)

(And yes, the wording on the sticker is slightly different than the actual quote; don't think I didn't notice. I AM a copy editor and it's in my DNA to obsess over things like that.)

I got to look at that New Year's Eve sticker and shake my head "Yep! I did that!" this year.

I had my 1-year post-op recheck on Monday. The doctor didn't really do much -- mainly asked me if I had any health concerns, told me my bloodwork and scale work were stellar and send me on my merry way. I spent more time with the dietitian (as usual) because it's all about the eating and what the fancy Tanita scale shows. 

The best thing it showed was that my basal metabolic rate is 1,445 calories, which for a woman of my (ahem) age and lifetime of dieting is pretty darn good. That means that not even factoring in activity, I can eat that many calories and maintain my weight, which as of Monday was 173 pounds. I'm shooting for 165, which will get me to an even 100 pounds lost, so the BMR should hang out around that number. 

While 1,400 calories may not seem like much, it's pretty substantial for tiny tum-tums such as mine. I average around 1,200 right now, so 1,400 should be doable. 

Since Monday was my last prepaid visit with the bariatric dietitian, I asked her for the calendar of bariatric post-op meetings. Cleveland Clinic Florida has a fantastic support network, and I can go to a variety of post-op nutritional, emotional wellness and general support group meetings twice a month. 

Monday morning was the nutrition support group, and I got there about 15 minutes after it started. The group of around 20 was already into a spirited conversation about the keto diet, mostly because one guy seemed to think that everyone should be eating that way without exception. (Cool story, bro, but I like carbs.)

The dietitian leading the group was a familiar face, because I went to her and my other dietitian when I did the non-surgical weight-loss program at the hospital around six years ago. 

She got pretty "inside baseball" on nutrition, which I adore. We talked glycogenesis, the Krebs cycle, bariatric anatomy -- all the fun stuff! 

She also explained why we should be chewing fibrous food thoroughly, with the explanation of what a bezoar is (and no, it's not the founder of Amazon.com). 

Another takeaway from that class, which I had heard before but had cemented into my psyche: My morning coffee with two scoops of collagen peptides is kind of a waste of time and money. "Think of it like eating Jell-O for breakfast," she said of the quality of the protein. So this morning I kicked off my day with a half cup of cottage cheese and a few pineapple chunks -- real, actual, complete protein. 

I think I'm going to start hitting up the meetings for another layer of information and support on the journey to maintenance, because as I have said and will continue to say: This weight is NOT coming back.

Video extra!

If you didn't catch that TV news segment that featured my sister and I (and the dog), here it is from Ivanhoe Broadcast's YouTube page: