Maintenance Thread

trying so hard to find the balance. I admit, it was just a little here and a little extra there, plus two large celebrations and I am up a 1.4 pounds...consistent...since Monday. I have been fairly good this week with exercising. It is so depressing to see that in reality my maintenance is only about 1300 calories.

I have to create a new mantra for my mind... "I am a skinny person, and this is just how skinny people eat!...If I were still a fat person I could eat like a fat person, but I am not! So stop feeling sorry for yourself, you are not a deprived child!"


Negative, huh! :ohwell:

D

"I am a skinny person, and this is just how skinny people eat!..

It really is too.

I had a roommate when I first got out of college who was 1 inch taller than me and a size 2. (I was a size 14.) We'd go out for lunch and she'd have 1/2 an egg salad sandwich and be full. I try to remember that when I am eating my small portions and feeling weird.

ETA

One thing that helps a lot is exercise. It's not just that it burns calories, but it can also rev up your metabolism. So then your base calories go up as well.

hi everyone!! i need a KICK IN THE BUTT!!!!! i haven't exercised since Sunday - and also in that time, i went away to a work conference where i ate fast food to and from and drank too much. i've also REALLY struggled with snacking after dinner since i've been home. i need to find the motivation i had before my wedding to lose my last 9 lbs and get to my goal weight and maintain!

any suggestions? i'm thinking maybe i need a new goal or reward or exercise regime? something to get me back on the wagon!! HELP!

last friday i was 148.2. i'll weigh in tomorrow morning and face the music.

Hi All, well I have had a much better week and managed to reach 118 pounds (goal weight is 119) so really Happy :laugh: :happy: :laugh: LOBSTER, All the best for Sunday...you must be so excited :flowerforyou: :flowerforyou: :flowerforyou: enjoy every minute, you can always get back on track when you return from your honeymoon !!! Just make sure you log in as soon as you get back :bigsmile: x.

Congratulations Lobster! Send us all some pics! You will be beautiful! enjoy!!

Thanks for the encouragement as well. I needed it. I have kicked it up a notch again this week so we shall see if anything good comes of it. It usually takes my body about 2-3 weeks to reveal any goodness from the changes I make.

Hooray for Kath and Barty!!! Wonderful!

Macmadame...I agree , I forget who wrote the skinny thing but it inspired me as well. I have told myself a number of times this week that a skinny person would not eat such and such, a skinny person would not skip exercising, and I AM a skinny person!!! Yippee!!!

Birdie, it sounds like you are really smart about this! When I was in nursing school, I remember them saying that as we age, it is OK to weigh more than when we were 20, in fact more than OK, healthy! If illness strikes (may the Lord preserve us) but if it strikes, those who are on the heavier end of "normal" have a higher survival rate than those who are on the low end of "normal". That 5-10 pound "cushion" (no pun intended):laugh: makes a difference.

Shannah, you are doing great. It sometimes takes a long time to lose those last 10 pounds. I feel like I am doing things 90$ right and it still takes me a year to lose 10 pounds! My journey began 5 and a half years ago but I have stuck with it and consistently lost!!! Hang in there and use this site to get the encouragement that you need. There are no real magic formulas, just exercise, eat healthy (some people need to be careful about too many carbs), avoid refined foods, and VIOLA! It happens!!

D

Congrats to you, Millerll! I looked at your photo, awesome, I am jealous of your buff arms! Could you please share your eating habits as I am also trying to lose a few more pounds for a cushion, or to see if I like myself better there. I think I will know where I want to be when I get there!! But I'm not there yet!

As for eating, first of all, I'm a lousy cook! So that limits what I make. Also, I work long hours, get up at 4:30 in the morning, and don't have a lot of time to mess with food. I mostly eat chicken breasts, turkey breasts or ground, veggies, fruit, salad, and yogurt. Sundays are my food prep days. While the laundry's going, I cook up a big pan of chicken or turkey breasts, seasoned with Mrs. Dash salt-free seasnings. I make a big green salad of green leaf, red leaf and romaine lettuces, with diced red, green, yellow, and orange peppers and cherry tomatoes. I cup up cantaloupe, pineapple, apple, orange, and strawberries. I line up all my containers and start doling everything out.

Breakfast is greek yogurt (6-8 ozs.) with 2 oz. of store brand fat free light flavored yogurt on top to give it some flavor. Sometimes I have a banana, too. I also put a tablespoon of flaxseed meal on my yogurt. Very nutritious and adds a nutty flavor. For lunch I have a huge green salad with lemon juice and Mrs. Dash table seasoning on it, around 4 oz of chicken or turkey, and 2-3 cups of mixed veggies - broccoli, green beans, squash, cauliflower, etc. I buy frozen no-salt bagged veggies and I weigh and measure everything. I make a mixed fruit salad of the fruit I cut up earlier. About 1/2 cup of each type.

My snacks are carrot and celery sticks, laughing cow cheese wedges, almonds, string cheese, and occasionally rice cakes. Dinner is sometimes crockpot leftovers or more chicken breasts with veggies. This site has some great lo-cal crockpot recipes I enjoy. I love chocolate and indulge in a piece or two a couple of times a week.

I've found that the more prep I do in advance, the better I eat. Since my time is limited, I do it all on Sunday and during the week, I just grab the pre-made containers out of the fridge and off I go. I have a few glasses of red wine on Friday nights if I've been good during the week. Saturday is my "cheat" day where I have whatever I want, within reason. I log everything, the good, the bad, and the ugly! I try to avoid processed foods and high fructose corn syrup, but I still have a diet Coke here and there. I try to find a balance between eating healthy and living my life. It's not always easy, but so far it's working for me. Good luck!

Where did everyone go??

:laugh:

I know tomorrow is weigh-in day but I'll be in a car and not near my scale. So my weight today is 116. Besides, this is kind of my Friday anyway.

Awww...don't cry. It's hard enough to stay hydrated! Don't worry about taking that weight off. That's the beauty of being at maintenance - we have proven that we know how to lose weight. I don't have to stress over a pound here or there anymore. I know that all I have to do is clean up my diet and get in some extra exercise, and the weight WILL come off. Not that I'm using that as an excuse to pig out, but I feel VERY confident in my ability to control my weight. I didn't have that before, but I do now, and it's very empowering. Keep that in mind as you get back on track. Good luck!

Hi All, well I have had a really bad week with a few binge days :sad: don't know why I do it !!!! will try hard to have a good week

i weighed in today on the lower end of my 'normal' at 125 i love that number!!! however, we had a fabulous mexican potluck at school today AND i indulged in a little happy hour...so it might hop back up to 127ish tomorrow and i am okay with that i pay attention to the numbers but i know that a little flexibility is normal for me

Still trying to find my "happy weight.". I'm 5'8" and 137- 138. Good BMI -- kind of right in the middle. Most people tell me I don't have to lose weight. In fact when I tell people about MFP they say "you're not trying to lose weight, are you?"

I guess a size 8-10 is a good size. But I'd love to get into a Size 4 Jean one day. Silly, I guess. When do you decide you've lost enough? Guess I still have a mixed up "body image" from years of being over weight.

Still trying to find my "happy weight.". I'm 5'8" and 137- 138. Good BMI -- kind of right in the middle. Most people tell me I don't have to lose weight. In fact when I tell people about MFP they say "you're not trying to lose weight, are you?"

I guess a size 8-10 is a good size. But I'd love to get into a Size 4 Jean one day. Silly, I guess. When do you decide you've lost enough? Guess I still have a mixed up "body image" from years of being over weight.

Barbie, I really don't think there's a right weight exactly. I think the "right weight" is the one you, personally are comfortable with.:bigsmile: I am 5 Ft 3 and weigh 143 pounds (from 205 pounds). Now You may feel overweight if you were in my body, but for now, I'm comfortable in my size 10's.:blushing: I am a little more hesitant because of my age, 62, because I don't want to look too drawn.:noway: As far as other people, they say the same thing to me...."You aren't going to lose any more weight are you????? I mean, so far your face looks good but.....etc" They all mean well, but it all boils down to what YOU want and what YOU'RE comfortable with.
Sometimes, at least for me, I watch my compulsive behavior too. Sometimes we change our compulsion to eat....to a compulsion to lose weight. The compulsive thing can be tricky too. Just a thought!
BirdieM

I'm glad I found this thread. I started maintaining my weight about a week ago. I was actually surprised that I was able to make it to my target weight in only a few months (doing it the healthy way of course). My goal now is to maintain this weight, increase my endurance, and drink enough water. I was 120 lb for a couple of years after highschool, then I took a two year program in college and came out at 136 lb - that was scary. I'm back to 120 now, well the last couple of days I've been 119, but I'm aiming for 120.