How to maintain without being OCD?

ReadyToBeMeAt160
ReadyToBeMeAt160 Posts: 149 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
So calorie counting definitely works but is there life after this?

I'm not at my final goal yet but took a bit of a hiatus to see if i could maintain at this healthier/more comfortable weight for a bit before moving forward - and failed miserably.

I obviously want to be healthier, happier, etc - or i wouldn't be here. But Honestly I don't want to be on my fitbit and mfp for the rest of my life

Do i just keep trying to go off the radar and find a balance?

Any tips that have worked for you are greatly appreciated.

Replies

  • cowgirlupkelly
    cowgirlupkelly Posts: 51
    Well I know that I will always have to track and check my portions (occasionally weighing and measuring) for the rest of my life. I hadn't been doing it for a couple months and put on a few pounds above my goal weight (which I've kept off for about 3 years).
  • melsinct
    melsinct Posts: 3,512 Member
    I logged daily for 3 months after hitting maintenance. I then gave up logging on weekends, though continued to eat mindfully (aka keeping portions in check). This gave me a 2 day break from logging. After a few more months of logging Monday through Friday, I gave up logging all together. I knew I had it down at that point and knew what a right size portion for me looked like, knew how to navigate menus and other places I had no control over the food. All the while from logging to currently not logging, I weigh myself once a week. If I did start to gain, I would see it on the scale and be able to rein it in before I started to gain too much.

    I lost 30 lbs and have maintained the loss for 1.5 years.
  • serafin366
    serafin366 Posts: 60 Member
    I would say to find a 10 pound range you want to maintain. When you start to get towards the top of your range, evaluate your eatting habits and start logging again... as you are lower in your range, write down what you eat, but don't obsesse over the details. You want to make sure you are maintaing a lifestyle of healthy eating even once you are at your goal, you just get to eat more to maintain, and have an occasional cheat day. Meeting your goal doesnt mean everything you learned goes out the window.
  • QuilterInVA
    QuilterInVA Posts: 672 Member
    Most people will have to continue tracking as long as they want to keep the weight off. It's just like having to take medication every day. As soon as they quit the weight starts creeping up. Just look at all the people on here who have lost weight and are back to lose it again and again.
  • RoadsterGirlie
    RoadsterGirlie Posts: 1,195 Member
    I have determined that I will be tracking food for the rest of my life if I want to keep the weight off. Honestly it's not a big deal, and only takes a minute out of my day, so I'm good with it.

    I'm not starving by any means, and have found the happy medium where I can enjoy treats and dinners out in moderation.

    Life is good.
  • SJVZEE
    SJVZEE Posts: 451 Member
    Still trying to find the balance-right now I'm actually having issues with losing weight again, which is creeping me down to the low end of the healthy bmi range, so I need to figure out a way to get that to stop (I'm now almost 13lbs below my goal weight).

    The plan I followed for weight loss (alternate day IF) didn't require me to track my calories, that's something I've only recently started doing because I was transitioning to a whole foods, plant based diet and wanted to see some numbers. But, that's getting old really fast so I think this will be the last week that I track daily. From there I may spot track a few times a month, but I'm currently eating under my maintenance calories (just naturally eating until full and this is what's happening), so I'm really not worried about gaining at this point.
    My relationship with food has totally changed over the past year, and where I am today is leap years from where I was last fall, when I was at my heaviest weight. I now have the tools I need to do maintenance successfully so I need to relax a bit (and also eat a bit more calories!). I will still weigh daily and record that on the weight tracker app I have on my phone, and I will stay within a 3 pound maintenance window (which I'm now below by several pounds ugh lol). But, the tracking of food/macros, thinking about calories burned for the exercise I'm doing, and having diet/weight be a focal part of my life is about done :) I've also been reading a bunch of nutrition themed books, watching food documentaries/lectures etc. and I'm taking a break from that too-it's crazy how time consuming it can get!

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