Losing it and Keeping it off

[LittleFick416]

Hey y'all, 

     I've recently been on a weight loss kick and have dropped 15 pounds in the past two months. I want to lose 10 more by the beginning of September (Vacation). I have all the tools to lose the weight (exercise, healthy eating, lots of water, ect). I have always had a problem with maintaining a set weight. Im always either losing or gaining. 

     If anyone has any tips or workout regiments that are good for maintaining weight, please share 🙂

Thanks so much!

[SunsetRunner]

This is how it works, your weight will always be going up and down - a seesaw pattern. I'm still planning to lose maybe 2kg, but in general, I'm trying to maintain my weight. There's diet and weight-loss diet. When you're done with weight-loss don't assume you can go back to your old habits. I made being on diet my "new normal". Now it doesn't mean I can just jump back into any fast food ( but also it doesn't mean that I can't ) because I reached desired weight. The diet shouldn't be temporary. It should bring a permanent change to your life and teach you new habits. Of course, when losing weight you eat way less etc. but also you learn about "does-and-donts". What does it mean on daily basis? I still log my food in MFP and check my calorie intake, log exercising etc. Nothing really changed except one thing - I provide more energy to my body. Shortly speaking, I eat more ( and after weight-loss diet, it looks like the huge amount of food to consume daily to maintain my weight! ). However, what I eat hasn't changed. Also, I keep the amount of food in one meal limited. I eat more often but smaller portions so I don't force my stomach to process a huge amount of food in one go. During diet I had 3 meals + snacks, now it stretched to 5 meals + snacks to provide enough energy.

Restaurants are a big question. It's easy to say "no" to going out when you want to lose some weight, diet is a pretty good reason. Once you assume you're not on diet anymore it's harder to refuse and stay in control. Yes, I do go to restaurants ( last weekend I ate in TGI Fridays, which is known for very high-caloric food ) but now looking at the meal and listening to my body ( I don't eat until I'm about to blow up - this rule removed any buffet-style restaurants from my eating-out sessions ) I can give good guess about what I eat. I'm not afraid anymore to ask a waiter if something can be done differently with my meal to suit my needs and they never have any problem with that.

I still cook my own food, calculate macro-nutrients and calories for each meal ( it became so automatic for me that I feel bad if I forget to compute anything ). It's just my new eating on daily basis.

My advice is not to go on diet just to lose weight and then be back with your old habits. Change your eating habits permanently ( it's really possible ) and I don't think you will have a lot of trouble with maintaining what you achieved. I see going on diet only for temporal gain as pointless.

[emili]

the problem is on your first sentence. healthy weight maintenance can't be a kick. Its a way of life. I have been in maintenance for four years. I do not ever eat like I used to before I lost the weight. No matter where I am. I was in Italy for a week over Christmas, came back the same weight. I didn't eat the huge pasta bowls and plates of cheese. I ate grilled fish, veggies, pizza (which is completely different from ours) and yes, gelato ( I am human). We just came back from a 9 day cruise- I gained one pound. The chef accommodated every request I had for no butter, oil, starch or cream. I ate mountains of food, but in my food rules. The alcohol- well that's another story. I am back down to my normal weight four days later. Its not about a kick, its about a conscious decision to be good to your body. Wishing you well in whatever you choose to do! And have a blast on vacation  

[wilson416]

I am also trying to figure out maintenance.  I have lost 40lbs in the last year, it came off slowly but constantly.  I have always been a yo-yo dieter due to failing once I got to maintenance - because I almost instantly went back to eating the way I did before. 

To be honest, maintaining scares me.  But I also realize it is 100% a mindset.  I have "tried" sugary, high carb foods since I lost weight ----- my body instantly tells me NO!  My joints become inflamed almost instantly and I get tired.

Maintaining is a every day battle for me.  My brain says, "go ahead and eat that" - my body says, "please don't". 

I desperately want to succeed this time ---- I will not gain back the weight I have lost.

I wish there was a support group for maintenance 🙂

I need to be aware of every food decision I make.....

[emili]

Support comes in various places. There are people all through the comments who are in the same place. Send friend requests, create a circle and rely on them to help you through the brain moments. 

[Melissa.M]

For me it had to be a real life style change as corny as that may be I lost 60 pounds and have kept it off for  almost a year now. I cut out most processed foods and ditched fad diets opting to eat real foods and less sugar. The only part of my diet I changed when I reached my goal weight was my caloric intake I continued to eat clean for the most part and began training for my first 5k to keep myself active. The fear of starting over again keeps me pretty motivated. 

[wilson416]

Thanks Melissa.M

I agree, it needs to be a life style change. 

I have the fear of starting over again also. 

I find that I need to be aware ALL the time what I am eating.  One meal at a time.

[Daves_Not_Here]

I can tell you how NOT to do it, based on personal experience -- after losing the weight, take your eye off the ball and assume the new svelte you will somehow "stick" while you go off to pay attention to the next pressing life imperative.

I had previously mentioned the book Change or Die on a separate thread, which describes how very few people are able to sustain major changes like weight loss over time.  Those that succeed long term generally follow 3 "R's":

• Relationships -- they participate in communities of people who live the desired change.  That could mean , participating in this forum, working out with a group, and spending less time with people whose lives revolve around eating and drinking,
• Repetition -- by repeating desired behaviors such as physical activity and cooking, they become more ingrained and require less willpower to continue, even before thoughts and desires have not caught up yet.  In other words, actions first.
• Reframing - once action is being repeated, they begin to look at the new behavior differently.  Rather than seeing it as a burden or chore, they anticipate and enjoy it.  Obviously, it's easier to keep doing something you enjoy. 

In my case, I sustained a 70 pound weight loss for about 5 years following the above.  Then life events intervened and I neglected the relationships, stopped repeating healthy behaviors, returned to see healthy eating and exercise as a chore, and hello 70 pounds.

Bottom Line:  this time my goal is not to keep the weight off, but rather to sustain the behaviors that led to the weight loss.