What's your plan to succeed in maintaining your long term, weight loss/fit body goal?

nsalley99

Most people start out with this plan of how they’ll get to where they’ve always wanted to be/look like/feel like/ etc. But, how do you plan on keeping that success? How do you plan on making sure that it isn’t a fleeting moment?

Hornsby

By continuing to set new goals for myself.

ShannonMpls

I stick with the same habits I used to lose weight.

- I did not go off a diet, because I never went on a diet.
- I continue to log most of the time
- I indulge some of the time
- I pre-plan and pre-pack my food for every week day
- I cook
- I exercise

I try to live the healthiest life I can enjoy. That means that I eat really healthy food most of the time, and exercise regularly, and aim to be more active. But it also means that I eat Halloween candy when I want, I take days off from logging when I choose, and I indulge on celebrations like weddings or vacation. This is my moderation.

For me, maintenance is all about sticking to the habits I developed while I lost weight. I have crappy willpower, but I have excellent habits, and that's what sustains me.

The motivation to keep with these habits is, primarily, acknowledgement of the fact that I am happier now. That doesn't mean I was a worthless human being before; but rather, I let my weight hold me back from living the life I wanted to live. I was great then, but I'm better now: more confident, driven, and energetic. I *like* knowing I can run a half marathon or hike a mountain or bike across the city. I *like* being able to shop anywhere I choose. I *like* this life, and I wish to continue living it. And if I wish to continue living it, I must eat and exercise like the healthy person I am.

So that's why my 130 pound weight loss has now been maintained for two years and counting.

cwolfman13

For one thing, you have to see the bigger picture and understand that reaching your goal weight isn't the finish line...all you've been doing is training for the real race...congratulations, you've just reached the starting line of the longest and most arduous race of your life.

When I was losing weight I made portion control and measuring out and weighing things a priority...after a time, I could visualize most things...but learning and seeing what proper portions of things were made me aware...that awareness turned into mindfulness and I continue to be mindful of my consumption both in terms of quantity and quality.

I understand that the difference between my weight loss and maintaining is a mere handful of calories...a few handfuls of nuts. I can never go back to my old eating habits and the SAD and expect to maintain my weight and health.

I continue to establish new goals for myself. Largely these are fitness related.

I continue to exercise regularly...in fact, I actually exercise more in maintenance than I did when I was losing. One of the biggest mistakes people make is so closely associating exercise with weight loss goals that they just stop working out when they hit that goal. Understanding fitness for the sake of fitness and establishing fitness goals that are independent of weight loss goals is very important.

I still weigh myself regularly and watch the trends...and more importantly, I pay close attention to how my clothes feel on me. I'm actually a bit heavier now then when I initially hit my goal weight 18+ months ago...but I'm leaner...which trumps the arbitrary number on the scale.

I'm not so concerned with arbitrary scale weight as I am with health and living a healthful lifestyle...when you live a healthful lifestyle, the rest tends to take care of itself.

WhatMeRunning

Readjust when needed. I am not doing things the same way now as when I started.

Currently my plan is, make sure my a1c stays normal at each checkup, eat within my calorie goals week to week, keep on running as that seems to be the biggest help for me right now as opposed to just diet.

LivingtheLeanDream

I've been maintaining my current weight for a year now, I have found maintenance going smoothly...in the previous year when I was losing weight I made lasting habits which are now second nature I still log my food some days but its more out of habit than being necessary for me now.
Simply put I can maintain easily mostly because I am now very active and my body burns up all the lovely calories I consume, (I eat an average of 2000/day), my motto is everything in moderation :-D

RaspberryTickleChicken

By basically continue to do all the things that got me to my goal - perhaps to a lesser degree or with some minor adjustments here & there.

Overall all the new habits I've developed are just a part of how I live now so as long as I don't lose my mind the new habits will carry me through the rest of my life.

... that's the plan anyways.

jane837

ShannonMpls wrote: »

I stick with the same habits I used to lose weight.

- I did not go off a diet, because I never went on a diet.
- I continue to log most of the time
- I indulge some of the time
- I pre-plan and pre-pack my food for every week day
- I cook
- I exercise

I try to live the healthiest life I can enjoy. That means that I eat really healthy food most of the time, and exercise regularly, and aim to be more active. But it also means that I eat Halloween candy when I want, I take days off from logging when I choose, and I indulge on celebrations like weddings or vacation. This is my moderation.

For me, maintenance is all about sticking to the habits I developed while I lost weight. I have crappy willpower, but I have excellent habits, and that's what sustains me.

The motivation to keep with these habits is, primarily, acknowledgement of the fact that I am happier now. That doesn't mean I was a worthless human being before; but rather, I let my weight hold me back from living the life I wanted to live. I was great then, but I'm better now: more confident, driven, and energetic. I *like* knowing I can run a half marathon or hike a mountain or bike across the city. I *like* being able to shop anywhere I choose. I *like* this life, and I wish to continue living it. And if I wish to continue living it, I must eat and exercise like the healthy person I am.

So that's why my 130 pound weight loss has now been maintained for two years and counting.

ShannonMpls, I love this post. My experience and strategy for maintaining has been almost exactly the same. Thanks for articulating it so beautifully! :agree:

Oishii

I really don't maintain well without logging, so I think I'll use the Pact app long term. If I don't log or exercise it will cost me money and I like money!

Also, I can't just 'eat healthy'or I'll lose weight. My image of healthy eating actually equates to undereating. If my maintenance calories were lower I might actually find it easier to maintain without logging.

Sabine_Stroehm

I continue to set health and fitness goals. I continue to get 10k+ steps a day. I continue to eat how I ate when I lost weight (slow carb, watching added sugars, limiting refined grains, lots of whole foods, vegetables etc). I lost, then didn't really change anything. The loss just stopped. I kept doing it.
At maintenance for 13 years now +-5.