WW GOAD Maintenance Thread

GoRun2

On the WW board, Charlie had a long thread on the Goad board regarding maintenance that he stuffed away somewhere and pulled out every now and then. Did that info survive after WW closed GOAD?

minimyzeme

@GoRun2 , I'm sorry @crewahl isn't still among us because obviously, he could articulate if far better than me. However, since I had similar concerns as I approached my goal weight, I read his thread several times. I'll do my best to summarize. It may include some advice from others who had input also.

1. You're not cured. You're a fat guy (or gal) in remission. I keep this at the forefront of my mind--a lot. In fact, every time I even consider the possibility I might be cured, I find myself tethered to this notion. So far, it's helped.

2. Follow the same behaviors to maintain as you did to lose the weight in the first place. All that "training" was aimed at ultimately maintaining a healthy weight. The yo-yo weight loss / gain that many people experience comes from thinking they're cured (see #1) and straying from the behaviors they followed to lose the weight in the first place.

3. Weigh daily. Do this not for any given day's data but more to see and adjust your behavior based on the trend calculated as the 7-day moving average.

4. Have a plan for managing your maintenance: i.e. 'Green, Yellow, Red'. Based on your trending average weight, make adjustments if necessary based on your preference for where you like to be. If your trending weight is below your goal weight, you're in the green zone and maintaining as desired. If your trending weight is close to (but under) your goal weight, you're in the yellow zone. Adjust your intake accordingly. If you're at or over your goal weight, you're in the red zone. It will require more dramatic adjustment if you don't want to start trending up and over your goal weight.

5. Stick to your plan. It goes without saying but it does no good to have a plan if you're not going to follow it. The reward is being around your goal weight and the whole list of benefits that comes with that. However, you have to be your own cheerleader for the long-term. There's no bells, whistles or trinkets from WW with the exception of another Lifetime key. However, the benefits of staying close to your goal weight are numerous in their own right.

There may be more; maybe others will chime in but these are the ones I've been sticking with for almost two years. So far, so good, but I still don't think I'm cured...