To the maintainers

pamp1emousse

I've been maintaining now for about 9 or 10 months and haven't had a single day where I haven't logged (although there have been guesstimates at times of course!). I've been really keen to not lose track this Christmas, but at the same time I just want to relax a bit and enjoy myself! I'm really lucky in that I have pretty healthy tastebuds, so my going over on calories will usually be from too much yoghurt/wholemeal toast/muesli than chocolate/fast food/biscuits etc (but I can eat very, VERY large quantities ). Basically, my question is - to people who've maintained for a while, do you find there are times (up to 1 week) where you try to be reasonable with your food to a certain extent but stop calorie counting? I'm just worried I'll head down a slippery slope! I've never managed to stay on track for so long and really don't want to undo all my hard work

Thanks! (and Merry Christmas eve to everyone )

corinnak

I have been maintaining for 2 years now. The first year, I tracked just as I had been during the year I was losing. The second year has been a little less...structured at times, but I am pleased to report that I've not gained all my weight back, even with several months of not actually tracking anything.

I think that it is possible to maintain without tracking, but it is not possible to maintain without *caring.* If you are willing to listen to your body's hunger and satiety cues, and have found management techniques for any emotional eating tendencies and tend to eat mostly healthfully without feeling a huge need to "cheat", it is definitely possible to maintain without tracking, so long as you are still eating with the conscious thought that what you eat *counts* even if you aren't counting what you are eating.

At the same time, be aware of how your clothes are fitting and continue to weigh on a weekly or monthly basis - and be prepared to go back to losing mode if the scale creeps up or the pants get a little snug. Regaining a few pounds now and then does not mean it all has to come back.

DKev

I think it is possible to maintain and not log but I think it depends on how comfortable you are with your eating habits. I've been maintaining since June and don't feel like I'm ready to quit logging other than skipping the odd day here and there. I think it's a security thing for me, though.