Successfully "ending" weight loss?
jrauch10
Posts: 25 Member
I'm looking for someone who has successfully done keto and then transitioned to a weight maintenance plan that works. How do you transition and are carbs forever off limits?!?
I have done atkins and/or keto on and off for over a decade and have been very successful taking weight off. But eventually something happens - goal reached, vacation, whatever - and I transition back to allowing more carbs. At first just a little bit, I'm in control. But before long carbs take over and I'm gaining all the weight back.
The bottom line is that I love carbs and am unsure I can permanently restrict them after reaching my goal. Experience tells me that it is unlikely.
I met with a dietician/nutritionist for the first time last week. She is not against low carb at all but recommends eating a 1 to 1 carb:protein diet for weight loss, and a 2:1 carb:protein diet for weight maintenance. She says this diet will keep you satiated with a healthy calorie deficit and works for 90% of her patients. When it's time to transition you just double your carb intake. The nice benefit of this is that you are not kept away from the entire realm of carbohydrates for life and can therefore transition easily between losing, maintaining, and really enjoying your meals.
Thoughts? I love keto for the fast weight loss, but I'm not sure how to successfully transition.
John
I have done atkins and/or keto on and off for over a decade and have been very successful taking weight off. But eventually something happens - goal reached, vacation, whatever - and I transition back to allowing more carbs. At first just a little bit, I'm in control. But before long carbs take over and I'm gaining all the weight back.
The bottom line is that I love carbs and am unsure I can permanently restrict them after reaching my goal. Experience tells me that it is unlikely.
I met with a dietician/nutritionist for the first time last week. She is not against low carb at all but recommends eating a 1 to 1 carb:protein diet for weight loss, and a 2:1 carb:protein diet for weight maintenance. She says this diet will keep you satiated with a healthy calorie deficit and works for 90% of her patients. When it's time to transition you just double your carb intake. The nice benefit of this is that you are not kept away from the entire realm of carbohydrates for life and can therefore transition easily between losing, maintaining, and really enjoying your meals.
Thoughts? I love keto for the fast weight loss, but I'm not sure how to successfully transition.
John
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Keto is a lifestyle change for me. I feel my best when I'm eating like this so I won't ever go back to what I was like before. Everyone's bodies are different and some people can eat carbs with a side of carbs and stay rail thin. I am not one of those people. That combined with how sluggish carbs make me I don't want to go back to eating them. I've lost almost 100lbs and have another 25ish to reach my goal. Once I'm there I will start eating more paleo to include sweet potatoes, yams, beans. I won't go back to sugar because now that I've been sugar free for two years it reeks havoc on my stomach if I do eat it. I think portion control with carbs is key once you're done losing the weight. Calories in versus calories out while keeping your carbs still low. I'd probably be fine with eating under 100g of carbs a day to maintain.0
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cdn_beaver, congrats on your loss and thanks for your comments.
Overall I feel better without the sugar intake as well, but there is a certain instant gratification sugar and carbohydrates provide that is really desirable. It's not unlike an addiction - feels great in the moment and a lot less great later on. I also notice a lower enjoyment of meals when going low-carb.
So the challenge I facing is how to either moderate without eventually losing control or how to be satisfied with severely limiting carbohydrates forever.
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I have done atkins and/or keto on and off for over a decade and have been very successful taking weight off. But eventually something happens - goal reached, vacation, whatever - and I transition back to allowing more carbs. At first just a little bit, I'm in control. But before long carbs take over and I'm gaining all the weight back.Overall I feel better without the sugar intake as well, but there is a certain instant gratification sugar and carbohydrates provide that is really desirable. It's not unlike an addiction - feels great in the moment and a lot less great later on. I also notice a lower enjoyment of meals when going low-carb.
These things suggest that it very much is an addiction for you. You've already proven that you can't moderate your carbs over the long term enough to keep from gaining, so why set yourself up for long-term failure?
As for "lower enjoyment of low-carb meals," it's hard telling since your diary is closed, but my guess is you're probably not being as bold with your meals as you could be. I've actually found the opposite with low carb meals -- that the meals are actually an explosion of flavor, almost overwhelmingly so. It may be helpful to give some more bold spices/herbs a try. I've found that I've grown more fond of things like garlic, curry, and other spicy spices lately.
If you're doing that and still find low-carb meals less enjoyable, then that points even more to addiction and reinforces the fact that you should stay away from them. Sugar does have an opiate effect on the brain, and some people are more sensitive to that than others. You may be one such sensitive person.0 -
I don't know if this is true, but I always imagined once I reached my goal weight I would allow more carbs, but in vegetable form only. (Not potatoes or sweet potatoes, but most of them). Right now the more high carb vegetables are off the plan. Because they are high in water, cellulose and fiber, vegetables are much harder to overeat. I also don't find them very triggering (personally). That said, I simply know I cannot control myself around grains. They "wake up" my desire for more until it becomes uncontrolable.0
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Lyle McDonald and Stephen Pinney/Jeff Volek suggest to only up your fat when in maintenance not your carbs. For me after 2 years of trying to maintain, adding carbs will not work. I get into the vortex of sugar addiction.
A great book to read is Refuse to Regain by Dr. Barbara Berkley.
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cdn_beaver, congrats on your loss and thanks for your comments.
Overall I feel better without the sugar intake as well, but there is a certain instant gratification sugar and carbohydrates provide that is really desirable. It's not unlike an addiction - feels great in the moment and a lot less great later on. I also notice a lower enjoyment of meals when going low-carb.
So the challenge I facing is how to either moderate without eventually losing control or how to be satisfied with severely limiting carbohydrates forever.
Once you're at your goal weight I think that moderation and continuing to log your foods would be ideal. Have one carb meal a day and you should still remain under 100g if you don't overdo it. My husband will eat out at lunch occasionally when he's at work. He'll have mexican and eat his burrito with pinto beans but no rice. Doing this with low carb meals at home that I cook routinely keeps him under 100g/day. He also works out 3x/week so that helps as well. He plans his larger carb meals on days when he's going to be going to the gym.
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I also wanted to add that the longer you're eating a strict low carb diet the cravings for other foods go away. I remember eating high carb foods and how I used to enjoy them but I don't crave them. I cook (and bake) a lot of recipes that have rich, full flavours so I don't feel like I'm missing out.0
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