Things I've learned whilst maintaining

andyluvv

I watched this last night and I just thought of making a post for the new people reaching maintenance as I know how frightening that can be.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0BlpWHU7hqA

I've been maintaining for a while now and a few things that I've learned:

Learn to know yourself.
I'm a volume eater so I try to follow advice given on my slimming world days and the Volumetrics diet to eat a healthy, lots and still be within maintenance calories without too much logging.

I eat lots of leafy greens and root vegetables. I eat lots of protein, I try to avoid simple carbs and I avoid pasta, rice and potatoes having them on occasion. I get most of my carbs from fruit.
Logging calories makes me anxious so I find that by doing that, I can still eat mindfully without going crazy about it.

I try to treat myself every now and again too - a protein bar or a fruit bar will normally do.
I have trouble keeping to pack servings, so I try to avoid having things that I end up losing control over. That means that packets of biscuits, crisps and such are kept out of the house. If I feel like enjoying them, I'll either bring them to work and share it with other people or buy a single packet to have with/after lunch.

I keep frozen berries in the fridge for when I feel like indulging in something sweet. I can either eat them raw or have it with some yogurt. I will generally fill a bag with strawberries, blueberries and raspberries my three favourites. I try and buy all my veggies later at night when supermarkets are about to throw them away. I find that that way I'm doing my bit to reduce environmental waste, helping my own waist and being able to eat lots of veg on the cheap!

In my house I keep mostly and only vegetables, eggs and protein. It makes it easier for me to reach for a veggie snack that way. I also LOVE my coffee and I tend to drink too much milk (I think!) so my solution is = always reaching for a skinny dry cappuccino (that means just foam, no liquid milk) which slashes quite a bit of the calories (they'll usually use around 150 ml of milk or so and froth it up for volume).

As my job requires me to sit for 8 hours a day, I take my breaks to go for walks, never use the lifts as a rule (unless I'm late!) and try to reach my 10.000 steps everyday. I also try and be a bit lenient and forgive myself if things don't go according to plan. I try and measure my weight every Monday morning just to keep my diet in check.

EDIT: One very important thing I learned: It didn't take you a day to lose all the weight and it didn't take me a week to lose it all either. I have lost about 25 kg in the long run of about 6 months (or 55 pounds if you're American / 15 stone if you're from the UK - at a rather fast pace - don't do it, you'll end up with stretch marks and loose skin) so one day or even a week of unhealthy eating will NOT revert your progress back to that point. It took me years of unhealthy eating (I'd sit down and have stacks of profiteroles!) to get that far. So if you're going overboard today, tomorrow or even this week = I hope you have enjoyed it. Just get back to the fit routine the following week!
You can't keep a diet, you won't enjoy, so I'd rather gain a few pounds whilst enjoying the occasional splurge rather than being a miserable skinny person for the rest of my life.

I think that's pretty much it! Anyone got any more tips/tricks on reaching and staying at maintenance?

bisky

Thank you for this great common sense post! You look healthy and pretty!

LivingtheLeanDream

Great post

weekly/fortnightly weigh ins are a must ...then any gain can be nipped in the bud.

And one bad day does not undo weeks of eating at deficit/maintenance.

Keep moving as much as you can...and lift heavy things