Maintenance is possible long term!

runnerchick69
runnerchick69 Posts: 317 Member
edited November 12 in Goal: Maintaining Weight
So here I sit 10 years after I made a life changing decision to get healthy. Since then I've lost 100 pounds. I'm 45 years young, 5'2, maintain around 128, 21% body fat and wear a size 2; I've maintained these numbers for several years now. If someone would have repeated those numbers to me ten years ago I would have laughed all the way to McDonald's :D I'm in better shape at 45 than I ever was at 25!

I know that a lot of people struggle with transitioning from losing to maintenance so I just want to say to them that you can do this! I am pretty consistent in what I do to maintain the loss.
  • I get at least one hour of exercise daily. Now don't let that scare you because this is a personal choice for me. I love working out, I love how it makes me feel and it has become my way to relax. I am training for my fourth marathon which is just 5 weeks away so I'm getting in a lot of running right now but an hour is always my personal standard. I think a half hour daily would probably be sufficient for most people.
  • Running is great but it isn't for everyone. I also use an Arc at the gym and I weight train. I've worked with a trainer and done Crossfit which has helped me to get even more toned and build muscle which has also helped me fun faster and more efficiently! The truth is each person has to find what THEY love to do and just do it.
  • I track what I eat. Again this is a personal thing because it holds me accountable.
  • I eat about 2000 calories a day. When I was losing I hit a big plateau and my weight would not budge. Once I increased my calories the weight started to drop again so this was a huge lesson for me about not eating enough to sustain. Now what I eat is based on physical activity, weight and height so your numbers could be very different.
  • I always, always, always eat breakfast.
  • I don't believe in diet pills or supplements other than a calcium and vitamin pill.
  • We are all human. There will be days when you'll completely fall off the wagon but the key is to pick yourself right back up and move on. I know people around me think oh you're so strong, you're never tempted, you always eat right but the fact is I'm human. I've fallen off the wagon more than a few times, I spend some time beating myself up over it and then I move on!
  • I weigh daily which at the risk of repeating myself, it is a personal choice. Each person needs to decide when and how often they weigh themselves. Doing it daily means you need to be ready for those number changes because they can and do go up and down for no apparent reason :)
  • I have one day a week, typically Saturday, where I don't log calories and I eat what I want. I call it my ME day and for many years this has helped me stay on track.
  • One of my biggest motto's in life is everything in moderation. I eat red meat, I eat sugar, I did give up diet soda but still have one on occasion, I love pizza and french fries. I mean let's face it, I love food and that is OK! What I found early on is the more restrictive I got with my diet the better chance I had that I would binge on that food later. We always seem to really want what we can't have so I just don't restrict anything for that very reason. A particular food didn't cause my weight problems but my overeating certainly did.
  • I continue to set goals for myself. I sign up for races, last year I did a triathlon, this year I'm going to do a 100 mile bike ride. I truly believe that goals help us stay on track and keep us accountable on those mornings when you just don't want to get out of bed and run or go to the gym. My eye is continually set on the prize.
  • I believe each person is different so what works for me may not work for you but some of it might. My ultimate goal is to give people the encouragement they need to successfully remove the weight and keep it off long term! I truly hope this post helps others to find what works for them so they continue to lose weight, get healthy or continue to maintain their loss and/or health <3
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Replies

  • Paul_Collyer
    Paul_Collyer Posts: 160 Member
    Superb! That's kind of how I want to be over the next few years although I will try to live without logging once I get to a certain point, and just use it for a while eg post holidays to get things back on track.

    The exercise definitely helps. I think if I got injured I'd have to log to maintain, at least for a while, as I do rely on eating back my runs etc!
  • snowflake930
    snowflake930 Posts: 2,188 Member
    Congratulations! You are an amazing inspiration, and a true success story, one of the elite that keeps the weight off.

    Great advice for those just beginning or those of us who have reached maintenance. I am 3/4" taller than you and 63 years old. I have gotten down to 125, but it was a struggle and I have been maintaining @ around 130 for 15 months now. My long term goal is to be able to keep the weight off and be one of the small percent that keeps the weight off for over 5 years.

    Thank you for the great post! This should be something everyone here reads! You are a role model!
  • Aieaylin
    Aieaylin Posts: 2 Member
    This is amazing !
    Congratulations. I hope I can get healthy too, trying to change my habits. All you advice will help a lot :)

  • alphabetsoup2013
    alphabetsoup2013 Posts: 208 Member
    A very inspiring and practical post. Thank you!
  • jesiann2014
    jesiann2014 Posts: 521 Member
    Inspiring, practical, doable. My hat is off to you!
  • MapDancer
    MapDancer Posts: 246 Member
    You are just what I needed to read this morning!

    I am 60yo and also 5'2" and have lost 41 lbs. so far. Only 7lb more to go, to reach my goal of 130 lbs. and perhaps even break into the 120s?? This has been my first effort to lose the weight that appeared over the past 15 years. I recently read the dismal stats on maintaining weight loss. I came across the National Weight Loss Registry and your comments mirror several points that most people have in common for successful maintenance.

    Thanks for your summary of successful traits!
  • sun_fish
    sun_fish Posts: 864 Member
    Very inspiring, thanks for sharing! Congratulations on your loss, and maintaining.
  • nxd10
    nxd10 Posts: 4,570 Member
    edited February 2015
    Congratulations! I am two years into maintenance and you give me hope for the future.
  • RAinWA
    RAinWA Posts: 1,980 Member
    Congrats OP on your success, very inspirational! I'm 9 months into maintenance and it's awesome to see someone who has maintained long term.
  • aalford0122
    aalford0122 Posts: 5
    This is so inspiring! I lost about 20 pounds in college, but then I put 10 of it back on... I am trying to lose that last 10 again, but I swear it gets harder and harder! Your post really inspired me to kick it into high gear!
  • ggeise14
    ggeise14 Posts: 387 Member
    Terrific! Thanks for sharing.
  • girlviernes
    girlviernes Posts: 2,402 Member
    I love this thread!! It makes me want to build up my daily exercise. I'm probably close to an hour on average if I count dancing, but I would like to do strength and HIIT more regularly. It is so helpful to hear about long-term maintenance.
  • 1961dublin
    1961dublin Posts: 124 Member
    Congratulations!! And thanks for the advice, but my problem is I cant decide where maintenance is. When 68KGS I wanted to be 66kgs. When I was 66 kgs I wanted I to 65kgs, and so on.....I am now 64kgs and wanting to be 62kgs. My BMI is 24. I had a good luck in the mirror today....my arms are skinny , my waiste is small , my hips and legs are acceptable but I still see fat around my belly. I am trying to tone up in the gym but its not working in the right places.....I take size 10/12 (UK sizes). Im trying harder and harder every week to loose weight and have gone from 5;2 to 4;3 to ADF and now 2 back to back fasts twice a week ie mon/tue and fri/sat. I just wish I could be happy at some weight, but I never seem to get to that point.....
  • 1961dublin
    1961dublin Posts: 124 Member
    OOOPs luck =LOOK !!
  • girlviernes
    girlviernes Posts: 2,402 Member
    1961 - maybe it's time to focus on some other goals, such as fitness related (e.g., running a 5k or half marathon, doing a pull-up, climbing a mountain, etc.). You can see your body may change a bit more, or this may be a happy weight. You could also focus more specifically on recomp.
  • LivingtheLeanDream
    LivingtheLeanDream Posts: 13,342 Member
    edited February 2015
    excellent post and well put - what a great loss you have achieved and kept off :)
  • RaspberryTickleChicken
    RaspberryTickleChicken Posts: 629 Member
    runnerchick69 wrote: »
    ....
    [*] I believe each person is different so what works for me may not work for you but some of it might. My ultimate goal is to give people the encouragement they need to successfully remove the weight and keep it off long term! I truly hope this post helps others to find what works for them so they continue to lose weight, get healthy or continue to maintain their loss and/or health <3
    [/list]

    +1

    And CONGRATS!

  • Sabine_Stroehm
    Sabine_Stroehm Posts: 19,263 Member
    Well done! I've been maintaining long term as well, but I didn't lose anywhere near as much as you did, which makes your maintenance all the more impressive!!!
  • TR0berts
    TR0berts Posts: 7,739 Member
    Great post. I love the fact that you hammer home the point that this is what works FOR YOU. And recognize that others may need different things.
  • amaysngrace
    amaysngrace Posts: 742 Member
    Awesome, we think alike!!! Congrats, I hope to be able to say that in 10 years as well. So far, so good, as I am going on 2 years maintaining. I agree with everything you say about eating in moderation and not depriving yourself of the things that you love. Excellent testimony!!!
  • enterdanger
    enterdanger Posts: 2,447 Member
    Thank you for sharing. It is encouraging to see someone who has successfully made all the changes I am trying to make and maintain them for 10 years! I wanna be you when I grow up. lol
  • WatchJoshLift
    WatchJoshLift Posts: 520 Member
    Congrats! I'm going into my third year of maintenance after losing 120 in 2012. Maintenance is possible! :smiley:
  • jane837
    jane837 Posts: 68 Member
    Congrats on 10 years! Thanks for sharing! :smile:
  • radiosilents
    radiosilents Posts: 223 Member
    I absolutely loved this post. It's great to hear that just about all the things that I believe in and do myself in the losing phase really can and do work. You're a real inspiration, thank you!
  • ShannonMpls
    ShannonMpls Posts: 1,936 Member
    I am 2.5 years into maintaining a 130 pound weight loss. You and I have very similar approaches to maintenance, except I don't weigh very often. Otherwise: exercise, tracking regularly, and days "off" are exactly what I practice.

    I especially love that you share my belief that loving food is OKAY. It's okay to like pizza, fries, and candy. I love these things but I understand that if I want to weigh what I weigh, I need to eat them in moderation.

    Best of luck to you as you continue to maintain your new, healthy life :)
  • irejuvenateme
    irejuvenateme Posts: 96 Member
    10 Years! Awesome - really great tribute to you and to the possibility to maintain and sustain real change! Great job. I am in a new range myself lighter than I have been in years, and I never want to go back.
  • purplemystra
    purplemystra Posts: 159 Member
    Great post. I was unsure what maintenance was. I now understand. Thanks
  • michellemybelll
    michellemybelll Posts: 2,228 Member
    this is awesome. congrats OP. good to hear you're doing it to it long term.
  • radiodjgirl8
    radiodjgirl8 Posts: 3
    I've lost many many times during my life, but have never been able to fully maintain. I just did not know how. I knew how to lose, but not to maintain. This app makes it so much easier for me to track what I eat, but mostly to know what my daily allotment is.
  • yayamom3
    yayamom3 Posts: 939 Member
    OP: Congrats on all of your hard work and continued success! This is definitely a post that I will be saving to refer back to when I reach maintenance.

    I'm curious. Are you still weighing/measuring foods now? Or are you able to eyeball it?
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