Maintainance: can everone do it ? and how ?

I think it boils down to how much does one 'buy-in' to the whole lifestyle change concept vs. lose a few pounds.

Human beings are creatures of habit by nature so yes to the OP question. If you are consistent enough then new conscience routines will become new habits. But the mind has to be receptive to this change and the key is consistency imho.

Just think of it this way, most kids doesn't pop out of the womb volunteering to faithfully brush their teeth of their own accord regularly. They are taught, reminded, & nagged to; probably for a good portion of their lives before it became a thoughtless habit.

Committing to a new healthy eating life is really no different except we don't have parental figures to stand over us policing.

I believe it's extremely hard for people to wrap their mind around the idea that they have to, on some level, watch what they're eating for the rest of their lives (or however long keeping a lower weight remains imperative to them). I know that was something I didn't want to accept back when I lost weight the first time at 19 year of age. I resisted that notion and ultimately, after years of success, regained what I lost and double (for several other reasons as well).

I've had long periods of maintenance at various weights. I've discovered that it's really not that difficult at all for me to maintain in a good 10 lb range. So, for me, getting to goal maintenance shouldn't be much different than maintaining at higher weights that are still significantly lower than my heaviest.

The keys that have worked for me over the last few years that have made me more successful than in the past:

- Accepting how far I've come. That was huge problem the very first time I lost and then regained plus double. Back then it was all or nothing; if I wasn't at goal, I might as well be at my biggest. Learning to accept the work I have put it makes it much easier for me to fight for how far I've gone.

- Not taking weight gain as a big deal. Some panic when they've put on a little weight, as I once did. I don't anymore. If I gain, big deal. It's just a little fat.

- I stopped villainizing food. There are no more "good days" and "bad days". I prefer to eat at least 70% of my diet as meats/seafood, vegetables, nuts and fruits. But I still have wicked sweet tooth and sometimes I overindulge for days, weeks, hell I've had months. But I don't beat myself up, shame myself, or villainize any more. That kind of shame in the past just lead me to continue overeating desserts and getting fatter and fatter.

- Do an exercise regiment that you actually enjoy. It makes all the difference in whether you'll stick to it or not.

- Try to be very in tune with how your body feels at various weights. I'm now VERY aware of even relatively small gains and losses and I hate the way I feel past a certain weight. The discomfort almost forces me to get back on the ball if I've crept up. I can't ever claim that I just gained 15 pounds and didn't notice.

- Being obese again isn't an option. I've had to fall in love not with just how far I've come, but my vision of where I'm going. That vision has to be more real to me than the obese man I'm leaving behind.


Lastly you have to do this in a way that you truly feel you can implement and stick to for life. I personally don't log or count calories; that's not something I'm remotely interested in doing for the rest of my life and I find the thought abhorrent. I lose and maintain with intermittent fasting and making sure I eat a diet that's naturally satiating and enjoyable, without being too calorie dense, with room for indulgences. The IFing is extraordinary. It's actually helped me keep weight gain down during some periods were my usual diet has gotten a bit off the rails and taken a journey through Candyland for way too long. It's gotten to the point where I can't imagine not using some form of IFing in my life, which goes a long way toward aiding me in being able to do it for the long haul.

Find what works for you. That's the major key. In the quest to lose weight, or maintain, lots of people say you "must" do this. Even the above I've stated is all just what works for me. Don't be afraid to break the mold and create your own journey. You're the only one who has to live it.

Maintaining weight lose long term is statistically slim, indeed. I'm hoping the habits I created will ensure a diet that is healthy and controlled. For example I eat primarily the same whole food, plant based diet daily. I've trained myself to crave these meals and snacks and hope that as long as I prepare these meals as habit, I'll maintain for life. I'm approaching the 3 year mark and all is well.

I don't think logging is as important in maintenance as when you're shedding fat. Not for me anyway. I have yo-yo'd a few times and am now on the way down again. The last time I really gain a lot of weight. I just went buck wild. When I think back to that mindset I realize I was in denial. I refused to get on the scale to be held accountable for what I was doing. When I finally did, the scale was +80lbs and I was mortified. But I had plenty of signs along the way: GERD, hiatal hernia, clothes don't fit, next size up doesn't fit, etc. But I was enjoying the gluttony. Then I hit rock bottom (long story) and am now obsessed with obtaining a lean and muscular physique like I had a few years ago. My greatest fear and challenge is not losing the weight. I love working out. I have OCD when it comes to not cheating and staying under calorie goals. My fear is reaching my goal and then getting complacent and then not remembering all the work it took and how great I feel when I'm fit. So I've told myself that when I get to my ideal body weight / composition I'm going to weigh myself everyday and make adjustments to my maintenance calories if my weight changes. I'm going to set mini challenges for myself and bask in success when I achieve them. Things like lowering bodyfat to a certain percentage, wearing a skimpy bikini and looking great at 47 years old, maybe teaching aerobics, doing century rides on my bike, etc. I enjoy challenges and I'm going to keep myself nimble for the rest of my life. I am going to enjoy indulgences every once in a while but not often. I will have a great guilt-free meal but won't take home doggy bag. No junk food in the house. Get rid of every oversized piece of clothing I own so that if I gain an ounce (slight exaggeration) I will know it. I'm going to remember the 1000 other things I love doing that have nothing to do with food and go do them. I'm going to take care of my body because I want to live a long healthy life.

Ultimately, you have to find our own motivation for maintaining, losing or whatever. I have a cousin who transformed her body more than a decade ago. She never gets too far off course. She always wants to lose a few stubborn pounds but will never let the wheels fall off. I totally respect that. It's about self control. It's not a life sentence because we all have to watch what we eat forever. Just like others have said, it's just another necessary thing that we shoudl do everyday like driving on the correct side of the road, not speeding, brushing teeth, going to work, bathing. It shouldn't be that hard. I truly believe I will be successful this time because I now realize that their is no end of the rainbow. This will just be an intro into a new, healthier life and that's a lifelong thing. I'm not thinking about exhaling when I reach my goal body. I'm thinking about the life I will have that involves healthy eating, consistent exercise and more energy to really enjoy all the things life has to offer that aren't food.

I maintained my weight for almost a year after I lost my first 80 something pounds. I watched what I ate and continued to work out at least 4 or 5 times a week. Maintenance is easy if you make that healthy lifestyle an actual lifestyle. Once I decided that this was my life and I enjoyed living it that way it became easy and I maintained without much of a second thought (Unless Jack in The Box tempted me...).

I'm convinced that maintenance will feel exactly the same as eating at a deficit but with more food. So I best get used to it. To answer your question, yes everyone can maintain, but not everyone will do what needs to be done to maintain. I'm personally still uncomfortable with knowing I'll be tracking for the rest of my life (potentially) but that's a mindset issue and a lazy nature that I need to change, the act of what I need to do is exactly the same. Maybe in 15 years I'll be able to venture away from calorie counting.

I think it's about forming new habits.
I am better at maintenance than I am with weight loss. I do a few simple things. I changed the size of my bowls and plates to smaller ones for easy portion control, I made vegetables (preferably low starch) the bulk of most meals, I swapped favourite foods for low calorie options - so swap say a drink with lemonade to soda, swap driving to a cafe to have a coffee and muffin to walking to the cafe and not having a muffin. And I really focus on eating when I am hungry and stopping when I am no longer hungry (rather than full). If I really want to eat something I do. If I want chocolate I would go and buy my absolute favourite in a very small quantity rather than a cheap family block. If I eat out I eat lean the day before and after. When socialising I eat whatever I like but I do not overeat.
And I move as much as I can. I don't drive if I can walk or cycle.
And I weigh daily. I know what range I need to stay in. If I move outside that range I make changes.
And I gave away all of my fat clothes. So there is no easy road back.

fenderman9 wrote: »

I was thinking about this again and thought of this analogy; you wouldn't randomly put oil in your car withought measuring the exact amount as it would ruin the motor. So why would you randomly put food into your body with no idea of how much calories are in it or what your daily toal should be?

So what were human beings doing for the majority of our history before the calorie was "discovered"?

On top of that there are still hundreds of millions of people who live in places where the caloric value of foods is only sporadically available, if available at all. What of them?

Maintenance plan:

Develop a good relationship with food.

Eat what you enjoy.

Realize that you can indeed have one single square from the whole chocolate bar and enjoy the crap out of it, and then put it away so that you can also enjoy the crap out of it tomorrow.

Realize that it's worth splurging on really quality, delicious foods, but poor quality crap foods just aren't worth it (ie. why eat a Twinkie when you can walk to the bakery and have a freshly made eclair instead? And better yet, split it with your sweetheart so you can both enjoy, but neither of you are demolishing the whole thing.)

Realize that American portions of pretty much everything are ridiculous, and it's worth either making two meals of something, or taking the lesser "value" and getting a more reasonable portion.

Set an upper limit number for your weight which takes into account normal water retention for you. If you get close to that number, start backing off on the quantities. If the number doesn't go back down, then it's time to log again for a while.

cwolfman13 wrote: »

Here's what a lot of people go wrong...they lose a bunch of weight and they think they are done...in reality, they're just beginning. You don't stop paying attention just because you've reached some arbitrary number on the scale. In reality, you've only arrived at the starting line of the actual race that you were (or should have been) training for. Unfortunately, people go through all this "training" and never actually run the real race...in their minds, they're done...it's over with...back to the good old days and the good old ways. That'll never work in a million years.

If you look at the people who've had success, they've all made significant changes in the way they live their lives...and I'm not talking about logging a diary...I'm talking about making nutrition and eating well and regular exercise and developing other healthy habits that you take into perpetuity. You have to get out of the mindset that you're going to only be doing this for X amount of time and then you'll be done...because really, you're never done.

Yes. They diet to lose weight. They exercise to lose weight. But they don't create healthy habits for a lifetime. Unlike logging, this IS necessary, imho.