help! what happens after reaching your goals?

hazymary

So, after a year of losing weight and getting fitter I finally reached my goals. I was less than 150 lbs. a solid size 10 and for the first time in my life I almost liked who I saw in the mirror. I ran my first 5K and now my sweeties daughter's wedding is a thing of the past. I slowly weaned myself away from MFP and "dieting" I thought I had everything under control. I thought I could ease away from the gym and heavy lifting....why not ? I was busy mixing and lifting 50lb bags of concrete every weekend...I deserved to treat myself for all my hard work.....WRONG !! I'm wondering where all my rock hard self determination went...inches have crept back on and the scale is climbing upward. I need to figure out how to really make this a lifestyle and not a "diet". I'm amazed at just how fast you can lose what I've worked so hard for. Once I was the center of attention as every week the scale moved lower and lower, the pant sizes kept dropping...I was shopping for new clothes. The compliments were never ending. Now I'm afraid of all the snickers...look Mary's gaing weight. I need help and motivation!! I'm 55, 5'6 and 148 lbs. with a desk job...please any help, encouragement and motivation would be greatly appreciated. Share what you've done to stay on track...my food diary is open I hope to start back to Zumba twice a week next week and hitting the treadmill.

kitkat4141

Maintaining is much harder than losing. What has worked for me is being more vigilant than ever with logging. One needs to know exactly how much to eat in order not to gain it all back. You already know how to lose so get back on track by going into weight loss mode. Then add new friends who are maintaining successfully. They will show you the new mindset and be an invaluable support system. I know I would not have been able to maintain without them.

hazymary

Thanks KitKat...I need all the support I can get and perhaps some new goals.

stetienne

Simply maintaining becomes very shallow after not much time. You soon learn that it's more about fitness and body appearance. I lost all the weight I wanted to, but lost lean muscle mass as well. Now I am willing to tolerate good weight gain to add more muscle to my frame.