Secret tips to help maintain.

mamadon

So here is one of mine. I work with a great group of people. But.....they do love to talk a lot about their co-workers including me I'm sure. I starting maintaining a year ago, and I am quite sure that this is how some of their conversations went.
Co- worker #1, "Wow, she sure lost a lot of weight!! It's amazing, but I'll bet you anything she will gain it all back!" Co-worker # 2, "Yeah she did great, but there is no way she will keep it off."

Every morning, I play this little conversation in my head, tell myself, no way in h***!!! It is a great motivator for me. Anybody else do anything like this?

yesimpson

Haha if it works for you!

Sometimes when I daydream about not worrying about my intake or my exercise, on particularly lazy and greedy days, it's the realistic issue of having to buy entirely new clothes that stops me from deciding to get really fat. I just don't want to spend that much money and I like my clothes now, so I guess eating six donuts and three chocolate bars and a giant burger is not the best idea.

ShannonMpls

Both of these things are absolute motivators for me.

I lost 130 pounds (2.5 years of maintenance) and with such a substantial loss, I *know* people are just waiting for me to re-gain. I am too stubborn to give them that satisfaction.

And, I'm finally buying the clothes I've wanted. I invest money into nice things - jackets, jeans, dresses. It would be awful to not fit into them anyway. That's highly motivating too.

brenn24179

too expensive and time consuming to shop for all new clothes I agree. My Dad just died and he hated fat people which I don't agree with. He was so hard on me, he was one of those naturally skinny people. I know it is wrong to be a glutton though and so greedy with food so I remind myself of this and how proud my Dad was of me. He kept saying you look good. I know he wanted the best for me but he sure didn't go about it the right way.

ROBOTFOOD

Run and run far.

foggy73

I lost over 60 pounds and the first comment was "Oh but you'll put it all back on again" from someone I work with. His weight is creeping up all the time and he tells me he "eats less than me". I just nod and secretly track everything on MFP while keeping active. 6 months of maintenance now and my weight has barely altered.

The clothes thing works for me as well. I had to buy a whole new set and gave the bigger stuff to charity so there is a great financial incentive there.

TheSatinPumpkin

carrying my day 1 pictures in my wallet is one enabler for me.

mamadon

I love all these! I have gotten rid of pretty much all my clothes although I've kept a few pieces as a reminder. The day one picture on your wallet, I think I'll try that too.

StaciMarie1974

I have a goal weight range - rather than a goal weight. Its reassuring to know that I can have a meal or day where I can do whatever, and that its not mathematically possible for a single instance to take me out of my range. Though I typically do not 'take advantage' of this, its just reassuring I guess.

Overall I do think of calories in/out as a budget. Its what helped me to lose the weight - and its what keeps me in maintenance I think.

shaynepoole

I am not too worried about other people think/say as you can't change them, but that is just me - I too have a set of my original size clothes to remind me as well as the past 20+ years of pictures. And I most definitely do not want to spend anymore money on clothes. I cleaned out my closet 3 times already during this process and still really need to do it again. Coming up on the end of my first year of maintenance

AmandaHugginkiss

Give it a couple years and your co-workers will go from saying "she'll put it all back on" to "she's just naturally small." What they say doesn't matter, and don't get hung up on thinking of it as what motivates you.

You've been successful, and all that motivation came from within. Own it. That's what I do.

bekim123

I still have a long way to go, but looking at all of these before and after pics is motivating. Congratulations to all of you that have worked so hard to get where you are!

Holly_Roman_Empire

Count calories.
Create fitness goals so that you're always working towards something.

That's basically the only two things that help me maintain.

bevjack1

These are so inspiring. ALL of them. I have not met my target weight loss yet, but I'm already worried about maintenance because as a senior, as it's SO hard to take off. (I only need to lose about 25 lbs. total, but it's arduous. I'm down 14 lbs now.) Knowing how I love food and wine, I worry that I'll go back to old habits, so it's wonderful reading your 'tricks' and seeing what you've accomplished. My mother hated fat, and she's gone now since 2006, but I still think of her every time I get over a certain weight. So I really know the unhappy outcome of a parent's disapproval. Ouch.