5 years on maintenance and my secret

Yanicka1

I have been 5 years on maintenance now and my weight stayed in a bracket of +/- 5 pounds. Send me $$$ and I will tell you how!!!!

Kidding I will give it for free

Pants........pants are my secret. I have one size of pants in my closet and only a few of those can stretch. I got rid of everything else that does not fit. When my pants get uncomfortable ....I have to face the choice....do I choose to buy bigger pants and gained even more weight or do I make the choice to lose the few pounds that will bring me back down. I never decide to buy new pants. It make it a conscious choice.

What is your secret?

HippySkoppy

He he good one.

I weigh daily, measure regularly and still log....3 years strong for me. Oh and pants are a great one too.

trulubi

Great idea. I own few pants in size 10 and 12, so I have a choice, but honestly I do hate it. I need to lose and never get another one in size 12!

Francl27

Yeah I got rid of everything that was even one size too big.

niamibunni

Yoga pants lie. Non stretchy jeans tell the truth!

work2bafitbadass

food logging for me! Eating well isn't my problem..mine is portion control!

areallycoolstory

Yanicka1 wrote: »

I have been 5 years on maintenance now and my weight stayed in a bracket of +/- 5 pounds. Send me $$$ and I will tell you how!!!!

Kidding I will give it for free

Pants........pants are my secret. I have one size of pants in my closet and only a few of those can stretch. I got rid of everything else that does not fit. When my pants get uncomfortable ....I have to face the choice....do I choose to buy bigger pants and gained even more weight or do I make the choice to lose the few pounds that will bring me back down. I never decide to buy new pants. It make it a conscious choice.

What is your secret?

i think this (or a version of this) is going to be mine too

nxd10

That didn't work for me. Because I'm tall my pants continued to fit just fine as gained 20 pounds. That was BEFORE MFP. My secret is I log everything and step on the scale every morning. When I get outside my 5 pound window, I drop 250 calories/day. That seems to happen every winter. In the spring, I pop it back up and I'm fine. Easy peasy.

Yanicka1

nxd10 wrote: »

That didn't work for me. Because I'm tall my pants continued to fit just fine as gained 20 pounds. That was BEFORE MFP. My secret is I log everything and step on the scale every morning. When I get outside my 5 pound window, I drop 250 calories/day. That seems to happen every winter. In the spring, I pop it back up and I'm fine. Easy peasy.

I have to say that I am only 4'11''....so 5 pounds for me equal uncomfortable pants lol

llbrixon

I really have a feeling I am going to have to log my foods when I reach maintenance and keep within calorie limits. The pants things will not work for me...I am still wearing the same pants when I was 23 pounds heavier. The pants are loose now, but I can still wear them.

tomteboda

nxd10 wrote: »

That didn't work for me. Because I'm tall my pants continued to fit just fine as gained 20 pounds. That was BEFORE MFP. My secret is I log everything and step on the scale every morning. When I get outside my 5 pound window, I drop 250 calories/day. That seems to happen every winter. In the spring, I pop it back up and I'm fine. Easy peasy.

I'm about 20-25 lbs / size as well. You're right, makes them a lousy feedback mechanism for us tall folks.

ericGold15

Funny, and smart

::two thumbs up::

LivingtheLeanDream

I've been maintaining my weight loss for 3 years

Keeping on being active, keeping an eye on overall calories and regular weigh ins ensures I keep maintaining

I couldn't go by pants/trousers either, I could gain 10lbs that way without realising and no way will I ever allow myself to gain anywhere close to that much again.

dcarter1020

I weigh myself almost daily. I know to some it sounds obsessive, but it's a way for me to stay aware. Whenever I go a long weekend without weighing I'm usually up a couple pounds. Logging helps but weighing keeps it in the back of my mind.

007Aggie

dcarter1020 wrote: »

I weigh myself almost daily. I know to some it sounds obsessive, but it's a way for me to stay aware. Whenever I go a long weekend without weighing I'm usually up a couple pounds. Logging helps but weighing keeps it in the back of my mind.

This is me too. I like looking at my graph and seeing the trend. Without the data points, it's much harder to analyze.

snowflake930

Congratulations! You are in a small group of people that have kept the weight off for over 5 years!
Great job!
I am @ 2 years, 3 months on maintenance. My goal now is to make it to 5.
Your plan is a good one!

2snakeswoman

I'm doing similar but am still in the losing phase. I used to wear size 18 pants but got rid of them when I could fit into a size 16. I can only buy smaller, not larger. I've been taking way too many cheat days lately and those size 16s are tight. One choice - no more cheat days until I can comfortably wear the 16s again, then an occasional cheat meal (not day). I look forward to donating the 16s and buying size 14.

meglet2202

I've been eating horribly lately and today was the first day that my pants felt tight. I've gained 5 pounds from my lowest, which still wasn't my goal weight, although close. Back to it today! I'm glad I got rid of EVERYTHING that was too big.

star1407

Yanicka1 wrote: »

I have been 5 years on maintenance now and my weight stayed in a bracket of +/- 5 pounds. Send me $$$ and I will tell you how!!!!

Kidding I will give it for free

Pants........pants are my secret. I have one size of pants in my closet and only a few of those can stretch. I got rid of everything else that does not fit. When my pants get uncomfortable ....I have to face the choice....do I choose to buy bigger pants and gained even more weight or do I make the choice to lose the few pounds that will bring me back down. I never decide to buy new pants. It make it a conscious choice.

What is your secret?

Fantastic post! I love it.
Well done on your success and I will definitely take your advice when I eventually reach my gw

JustSomeEm

llbrixon wrote: »

I really have a feeling I am going to have to log my foods when I reach maintenance and keep within calorie limits. The pants things will not work for me...I am still wearing the same pants when I was 23 pounds heavier. The pants are loose now, but I can still wear them.

I have to continue logging as well to stay in maintenance. I've been doing a horrible job of it lately, and am at the very top of my maintenance range. OP, Love the pants.... LOL! I have a particular pair that is supposedly the same size as the rest of my pants, but I can't fit into them right now. They're my 'oh crap' pants. I know when they get tight that I need to tighten up my logging.

areallycoolstory

dcarter1020 wrote: »

I weigh myself almost daily. I know to some it sounds obsessive, but it's a way for me to stay aware. Whenever I go a long weekend without weighing I'm usually up a couple pounds. Logging helps but weighing keeps it in the back of my mind.

i weigh daily as well. it really works for me, so i plan on continuing that along with logging. but i think i will incorporate some version of the pants thing as well. maybe one size over and under. that's what i have right now. all of them fit. the smallest are snug comfy, biggest ones are lose comfy, mid range one are just right and look good for work:-).

this calorie thing seems like a good idea too. i would probably decrease by 100. no reason not combine the ideas into a cohesive plan

nxd10 wrote: »

When I get outside my 5 pound window, I drop 250 calories/day.

svinson319

That's a good tip. I actually have "goal pants" as opposed to a goal weight. Well, I do have a weight in mind, but I have a pair of pants that I wore at a happy and reasonable weight and I intend to get back in to them!

Orphia

I've already been planning to continue logging indefinitely, but this pants idea is great!

I've already thrown out a ton of larger-sized clothes. I like the idea of only having size 10 or 12 (Australia/UK) things only.

melstampz

Good secret! I've been wearing skirts since so much weight coming off meant I was buying new pants only to have to buy more new pants. Can't wait to get to my maintenance weight so I can use your trick!

Mapalicious

I have the same I have a pair of purple pants that keep me fking honest too - they NEVER stretch. I have to gain about 7 lbs before I can tell the difference (i'm 5'10" w/ a normal-range BMI).

Springfield1970

I have the same skinny drainpipe jeans that cost a fortune from deisel and they are my litmus test. I love love love them and just hate it when I start to muffin top!

Rumpenissen

My goal is to fit into size 40 (US size 10) pants and stay there. Am in size 44-46 at the moment, so a long way to go. But when I get there my plan is also to use the pants for maintainance. I can make up excuses to not get on the scale, but no excuses for not wearing pants/shorts.

srecupid

I plan on doing the same. I got rid of a whole box the other day but, still have more lying around. I think i'm going to buy a fancy wifi scale and find a way to fit it in my shower bathroom. So every day before I get in the shower i step on the scale and have my weight logged and charted. That way if my weight starts to creep i can set up warnings before i go too far down the rabbit hole

The_Enginerd

After over 4 years at goal weight, I finally got rid of my fat clothes a week ago

I still log everything, and I have fitness goals that drive me.

mattyc772014

Pizza and ice cream. I fit it in once a week or so. Keeps me sane.

bibliocephalus

Thanks for the pants tip, I have been putting the larger sizes away as I get smaller (have gone from a 16 to an 8 in about 18 months), but I think getting them out of the house all together is a better idea.

In terms of maintenance, I plan to keep logging forever, I think the secret for me has been to realize that my success is due to having made a lifestyle change vs. a temporary change just to lose the weight. Logging keeps me honest, and mindful of my food choices. p.s. I eat pizza and ice cream on occasion, but I adjust my calories and exercise accordingly, I know myself well enough to know that I will not be successful on a long term deprivation plan.