Self control issues since reaching maintenance

fiddletime

Great post, as I'm also struggling with overeating on the weekends and not logging then either, for the past couple of weeks. I've only gained a pound in the past month, but maintenance Is harder than I thought. I'm 3 months in it. I'm going back to strict logging. The last time I stopped logging, a couple of years ago, I regained my lost weight.

californiagirl2012

As hard as the initial fat loss is, maintenance is harder. You are working to stay in place and all the "decades of pounds" lost and big exciting changes are all gone.

The initial fat loss was like paying off a big mortgage debt with calories.

Now at maintenance, the debt is paid but you are managing the checkbook. It's not always fun to manage the checkbook, but we do it anyway to keep from going into debt again.

You have to decide you want to do what it takes to keep what you earned. You might need to just knuckle down and log those calories on the weekends. When you are full get the heck out of dodge away from the food and do something else. Usually within a couple of hours you stop thinking about all the food.

Also this can happen a lot if you are still eating too low of a deficit during the week. It can become a vicious cycle. You don't need as low of a deficit as when you had more body fat, in fact you should not be eating as low. The body doesn't have as much stored energy to draw from in a deficit anymore.

A nice even keel with calories is best, I like to call it a maintenance calorie tightrope. If you don't go to low on the calories over time, then the peaks (binges) won't be so high.

silvilunazul

californiagirl2012 wrote: »

As hard as the initial fat loss is, maintenance is harder. You are working to stay in place and all the "decades of pounds" lost and big exciting changes are all gone.

The initial fat loss was like paying off a big mortgage debt with calories.

Now at maintenance, the debt is paid but you are managing the checkbook. It's not always fun to manage the checkbook, but we do it anyway to keep from going into debt again.

I really liked that analogy, very helpful!

cwolfman13

deneenae wrote: »

I read a study recently about how people who were most successful at weight loss maintenance (like maintaining over 5 years) were those that 1) maintained regular exercise 2) weighed at regular intervals (i.e. each week, month, whatever works) and 3) caught themselves in time to notice they are slipping up.

^^^This is me...but three years next week.

I do not find maintenance to be particularly hard, but I've moved basically 180* away from the SAD. I don't really eat any differently now than I did three years ago when I was losing weight...my diet still consists largely of whole foods...lots of veg, a couple servings of fruit, whole grains, legumes, and whole food starches...lean sourced protein and some healthy fats. Yes, I have a little more latitude for "treats"...but really, I leave that for splurging on pizza night every couple of weeks or having an extra piece of dark chocolate for desert. The only difference between my maintenance and my losing phase is about 500 calories...a bit larger serving of something or an extra snack...that's about it.

The way I look at it now is that I'm eating for my fitness and health...I'm not necessarily eating to maintain weight...I'm eating to maintain my health and fitness...the rest just kind of takes care of itself. I'm a pretty active guy and one thing my coach told me once that really resonated with me and changed my mentality around was, "as athletes we eat and we train...we don't diet and exercise." It may sound like semantics, but really, it is a different mindset...and I'm by no means some kind of awesome athlete, but I took that mentality to heart.

toe1226

Yes- I have been in this same position. Once my body started refeeding, it said "thaaaaank youuu!" and kept on going- now I just try to lose slower and NO demonizing food or food groups, all maintenance represents is a few extra calories, not a whole world of food groups that had previously been eliminated..

not_a_runner

I'm not at my goal weight yet (I was once a few years ago, but then gained it all back and a bit more), but I feel these struggles right now too.
Maintenance is definitely an adjustment, I didn't know this and I completely stopped exercising and started eating anything and everything again. Bad idea.
But as for when I get there, I definitely plan on continuing to exercise. For one, because I feel like I will have worked to build up my endurance and it would be a shame to let that "go to waste" again. And two, being able to eat a bit more!
Another tip that I know I will work to apply to myself is to not severely restrict the next day/week after over eating. For me this can trigger even more binge eating. I am feeling extra hungry lately, and then I will eat less? Won't work for me.
I also think maintenance (or weightloss for that matter) can work it's self out (to a certain point... over eating every day, not so much). One day you eat a bit more, but maybe the next day you have a lot of physical activity or eat less and burn it off. Our bodies don't *have* to be given the same amount every day to stay about the same weight. Just like we can eat a bit more some days and less others to lose weight.

RWClary

Wow, 85 pounds - great job!
The next challenge is keeping that off.
I was on track to lose 102 pounds over about 54 weeks, and 3 months before reaching the objective, I set new specific goals in weight maintenance related to strength gains and fat loss.
Goals are the keys to success and potential in every area of life, and I was NOT going to that guy who gained weight back. I have maintained my 102 pounds lost going on 5 years now.


Too many folks just end their weight loss journey and start celebrating the accomplishment without a new direction.
That seldom ends well.

LINIA

I am small and short, well I should be small, never ever had to watch my weight until about 10 years ago. So I went 40+ years weighing about 115 without effort.
I'm ten pounds above that now and have lost down to about 117 then up to near 130.
It's a yo yo way 2 live and I'm hoping LCHF helps to break that up & down of 15 pounds pattern.
Many here have needed to lose so much and we all have different issues in terms of lifestyle, allergies, etc but for me, more weight aggravates my health problems.

DayByDayGetStronger

So many people struggle with this. They are great "dieters", but horrible "maintainers". Wanna know the secret to success? Change your brain. Think of yourself like an addict who is in recovery. Does an alcoholic say, "hey, I've been sober for 6 months now and I can go right back to drinking but just on the weekends." Sometimes, yes, they do and it's called falling off the wagon.
You are in RECOVERY from obesity now for the rest of your life. You have a chronic disease called obesity and you are just in recovery and managing your chronic illness. Does the diabetic who know has his sugars controlled say, "ok, cool, now I'll stop my meds." No.
The way to manage your chronic disease is to "take YOUR medicine" called logging your food, working out and balancing your intake every-single-day.
Stop eating blindly and log the food 90% of the time and still keep your exercise going. Look at Richard Simmons. He's the best example of someone who's managed his obesity for decades doing exactly what I'm recommending to you.

Lots of love and support
Your friendly dietitian

DayByDayGetStronger

BTW...CONGRATS on losing 85 POUNDS!!! That's 297,500 calories you've burned. AMAZING! Don't forget how hard you've worked for your accomplishments.

victoria_1024

Thank you everyone for all the helpful comments and support. I am glad I posted because the more aware I am the more I'll be able to keep in control. This week has been going better and I cut way back on trigger foods like candy and I feel like that's been helping the cravings since I'm fuller, using my calories for more filling things. I'm really hoping this weekend will go better too.

One thing I have going for me is I've continued to exercise and be active. I've been trying to focus on my fitness goals since I'm not focusing on weight loss anymore. I enjoy the exercise I do and I think it leads to me eating better when I do exercise.

theresa7576

sunparakeet wrote: »

Just because you didn't write it down doesn't mean you didn't eat it. MFP may not know what you ate but your body does. Your body logs every calorie whether you log them or not. Ignorance isn't bliss anymore because you're not ignorant to what makes you lose weight and what makes you gain.

VERY VERY WELL SAID!!! I'm in this boat! I used to be able to slide- one scoop of peanut butter was okay.. but going back 4 times. NOPE. I finally realized the other night that I can stop logging on MFP - but my body doesn't stop logging

not_a_runner

victoria_1024 wrote: »

Thank you everyone for all the helpful comments and support. I am glad I posted because the more aware I am the more I'll be able to keep in control. This week has been going better and I cut way back on trigger foods like candy and I feel like that's been helping the cravings since I'm fuller, using my calories for more filling things. I'm really hoping this weekend will go better too.

One thing I have going for me is I've continued to exercise and be active. I've been trying to focus on my fitness goals since I'm not focusing on weight loss anymore. I enjoy the exercise I do and I think it leads to me eating better when I do exercise.

All the yes here! Volume foods, avoid the triggers. And I LOVE having fitness related goals to focus on. Food is fuel for performance!