Maintainers for over a year secret?

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  • smelbo
    smelbo Posts: 36 Member
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    I love your post. I am basically trying to do the same things you are, sometimes I fail, but try to average out with successes on the plus side. I find weighing myself everyday helps. It sounds excessive, but it works for me. MFP is a lifesaver also. I successfully became a lifetime member at weight watchers... TWICE...the plan works, not putting it down but, seems to drop the ball with support for the ones on maintenance, or have reached their goal. To maintain your target weight within a few pounds constantly...is not realistic to me, and the only support I got when I gained back two pounds, was pay the money and you can continue coming to the meetings. I needed support on how to maintain, not how to loose.
    Now I am using mfp, with a fit bit zip, and weighing myself daily. I try, to walk 10k steps a day, and maintain within a healthy bmi. My check points are daily, and when I am off these goals, I work more aggressively to get back on track. I don't get discouraged anymore, there is no value in that noise!!!!
  • Wheelhouse15
    Wheelhouse15 Posts: 5,575 Member
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    I'm more interested in my fitness goals but the big thing is that it's never over, it's not a journey with a destination but a constant process that needs to be adhered to. You'll find that most people who maintain continue to log, exercise and constantly monitor their weight, eating and exercise to keep things on an even keel. Another thing to remember is that you will likely need to do short durations of weight loss every now and then since pretty much everyone will have a tendancy to regain after holidays, vacations, celebrations or just lax times in their diet and exercise. Just make sure you continue to do what you need to in order to maintain your new liftestyle. The vast majority of people that lose will regain within about two years because they lose the mindset that allowed them to lose weight and soon drift back to old habits.
  • BurnWithBarn2015
    BurnWithBarn2015 Posts: 1,026 Member
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    Whispers:.....the secret is to eat the same amount of calories as you burn...shhhhhh dont tell anybody......
  • PinkyPan1
    PinkyPan1 Posts: 3,018 Member
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    I have been maintaining for 1.5 yrs and I continue to log and exercise daily. I committed to a lifestyle change and it has been a fun ride. I love being fit and strong. I am in my best shape ever at the age of 55 and I have no plans of slowing down anytime soon. I was just asked last week by a family member " when will you be done dieting? And why are you still losing weight?" I had to explain that I am not dieting...I choose to eat healthier and that I have not lost any weight in over a year. She said to me that I am getting "too skinny" now. LOL Nope, I am the same weight just leaner. Studies claim that most individuals will fall off the wagon and return their previous weight and then some. I refuse to be one of those individuals.
  • smelbo
    smelbo Posts: 36 Member
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    About 15 years ago, my friend and I went through a weight loss journey and both of us lost 50 pounds ( see above..this is one of two times I reached goal through weight watchers) Both of us gained all (and more ) of it back, but the difference was I chose to get back on the bandwagon, and get healthy again, and she didn't. Now we are still friends, but she never speaks of her weight, nor any acknowledgement that I lost over 60 pounds .Yeah, there were no discussions or encouagement by her during that period. I feel that weight discussions are off limits with her and I. Even though it is a big part of my life. I wish I could help her get back on track to a healthful lifestyle, as I remember when she was thinner, that she said she was never, ever going to be overweight agian cause she hated it. Plus both of us are older now and a healthy weight is essential to a full life.
  • blc1971
    blc1971 Posts: 170 Member
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    I've maintained for over a year now too, and I echo much of what has been posted already. I weigh myself every day because, for many years, I avoided the scale and that allowed me to have a false sense of "I'm not THAT big!!". Once I saw that number on the scale and decided to take action, I knew that I had to keep myself accountable. I keep my weight within a 5lb range, so I don't stress about normal fluctuations. I also have continued to log my food and exercise every day. Again, it's a matter of knowing that I need tools to hold myself accountable.
  • blc1971
    blc1971 Posts: 170 Member
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    PinkyPan1 wrote: »
    I have been maintaining for 1.5 yrs and I continue to log and exercise daily. I committed to a lifestyle change and it has been a fun ride. I love being fit and strong. I am in my best shape ever at the age of 55 and I have no plans of slowing down anytime soon. I was just asked last week by a family member " when will you be done dieting? And why are you still losing weight?" I had to explain that I am not dieting...I choose to eat healthier and that I have not lost any weight in over a year. She said to me that I am getting "too skinny" now. LOL Nope, I am the same weight just leaner. Studies claim that most individuals will fall off the wagon and return their previous weight and then some. I refuse to be one of those individuals.

    I get those comments too about continuing to workout and watch what I eat. Some folks think if you're thin that you don't need to do those things anymore...even though those are the things that helped you get thin and healthy!!
  • 20yearsyounger
    20yearsyounger Posts: 1,643 Member
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    I'm just around a year and other than exercising less and eating more, not much has changed. As someone said, I participate with my friends and give back. I also have many other friends who are in maintenance and still log. Seeing their activity motivates me and vice versus. I don't get on the scale much anymore cause it wasn't changing. If I look in the mirror and see less definition then I'm not doing the right thing. I actually enjoy logging my food (although I don't really measure as much). I'm much better at estimating food portions. I'm pretty excited about this new restaurant MFP feature.
  • Amym26
    Amym26 Posts: 83 Member
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    I have maintained for a year and half. I still log and weight everything. Logging is the first time I realized how often I would undereat, and then get so hungry I binge. I will continue to log and weigh the rest of my life. It helps me see when I have eaten enough food, so if I think I'm hungry, I can decide if it's true hunger, or something else (stress, anxiety,etc.). If I didn't log, I wouldn't know how much I had really eaten, and well, I'd go right back into my old cycle. :
  • mjglantz
    mjglantz Posts: 489 Member
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    llbrixon wrote: »
    Just curious...How many people have reached their goal, been maintaining for at least a year or more, and still come back to My Fitness Pal to check in once in to post their weight to stay accountable? I am wondering if this is the secret to keeping the weight off.

    I've been posting here for over a year.....started after I'd met my goal and ditched livestrong.com
    I track EVERY thing I eat here and track my weight too. Not sure what the secret to maintenance is (I've been at or under goal for 2 years 8 months)...for me it was to not diet. Rather I decided to eat healthy most of the time and move every day.
  • grinning_chick
    grinning_chick Posts: 765 Member
    edited December 2015
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    I've come to the conclusion the key to losing weight and keeping it off is the same as quitting tobacco and staying quit. There can't be a day that you don't think about it (in the specific instance concerning this website, the number of calories you are consuming per day via what and how much, exactly, you are shoving into your piehole).

    Because the moment you become complacent about your quit/weight loss is the moment you will cave/fall off the proverbial wagon.

    Yes, that means you'll never be a "normal person" (oxymoron). Most "normal people" don't think about tobacco every day. Or, I'm confident, food the way people who've lost more than a handful of pounds do. I know I didn't before I got fat for the very first time.

    But that's what's needed to maintain the quit/loss. That's the price that must be paid to stay quit/whatever weight you desire to be. And only you can determine if such is a life you can live with from here on out.

  • smelbo
    smelbo Posts: 36 Member
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    grinning_chick wrote: »
    I've come to the conclusion the key to losing weight and keeping it off is the same as quitting tobacco and staying quit. There can't be a day that you don't think about it (in the specific instance concerning this website, the number of calories you are consuming per day via what and how much, exactly, you are shoving into your piehole).

    Because the moment you become complacent about your quit/weight loss is the moment you will cave/fall off the proverbial wagon.

    Yes, that means you'll never be a "normal person" (oxymoron). Most "normal people" don't think about tobacco every day. Or, I'm confident, food the way people who've lost more than a handful of pounds do. I know I didn't before I got fat for the very first time.

    But that's what's needed to maintain the quit/loss. That's the price that must be paid to stay quit/whatever weight you desire to be. And only you can determine if such is a life you can live with from here on out.

  • totaldetermination
    totaldetermination Posts: 1,184 Member
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    grinning_chick wrote: »
    I've come to the conclusion the key to losing weight and keeping it off is the same as quitting tobacco and staying quit. There can't be a day that you don't think about it (in the specific instance concerning this website, the number of calories you are consuming per day via what and how much, exactly, you are shoving into your piehole).

    Because the moment you become complacent about your quit/weight loss is the moment you will cave/fall off the proverbial wagon.

    Yes, that means you'll never be a "normal person" (oxymoron). Most "normal people" don't think about tobacco every day. Or, I'm confident, food the way people who've lost more than a handful of pounds do. I know I didn't before I got fat for the very first time.

    But that's what's needed to maintain the quit/loss. That's the price that must be paid to stay quit/whatever weight you desire to be. And only you can determine if such is a life you can live with from here on out.

    I don't know if this applies to everyone, but more and more I am coming to accept that it applies to me.
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
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    grinning_chick wrote: »
    I've come to the conclusion the key to losing weight and keeping it off is the same as quitting tobacco and staying quit. There can't be a day that you don't think about it (in the specific instance concerning this website, the number of calories you are consuming per day via what and how much, exactly, you are shoving into your piehole).

    Because the moment you become complacent about your quit/weight loss is the moment you will cave/fall off the proverbial wagon.

    Yes, that means you'll never be a "normal person" (oxymoron). Most "normal people" don't think about tobacco every day. Or, I'm confident, food the way people who've lost more than a handful of pounds do. I know I didn't before I got fat for the very first time.

    But that's what's needed to maintain the quit/loss. That's the price that must be paid to stay quit/whatever weight you desire to be. And only you can determine if such is a life you can live with from here on out.

    So true.
  • faramelee
    faramelee Posts: 163 Member
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    Hi!

    I've been maintaining for 16 months now. I log in every day for the social interaction and to log my exercise but I haven't logged food for a long time now. Whilst losing weight my tastes changed hugely and I am far happier eating a generally very nutritious diet, though today is Saturday so tonight is copious amounts of wine and chocolate and probably some Kettle chips! I firmly believe that it is a lifestyle change. Which is why many people following organisations such as WW often (not always, I am generalising) tend to put weight back on as they go right back to how they were eating before and wonder why the weight has returned whilst often ending up blaming the organisation for not working and not taking accountability for themselves. I do weigh myself daily just to keep an eye on things but am very aware of daily ups and downs, PMT etc so am not massively reactive to the numbers - but then maybe that's because I haven't had to be yet? I recently spent 10 days on holiday in New York and didn't have access to my usual circuit training but we walked for MILES so everything was counteracted and I didn't put on any weight - don't get me wrong though, I didn't go without. At the end of the day it is calories in and calories out. Blips happen, life happens but the advice I would give you is stay accountable and give yourself a margin of error i.e. if you get to an increase of say 5lbs do something about it, don't leave it till it's 10 or 20lbs or more, that will be soul destroying.

    Good luck!!

  • mamadon
    mamadon Posts: 1,422 Member
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    Like everyone is saying, the key is eating the same amount of calories that you burn. (Almost two years for me). Some people can do this without logging and some can't. I still log, I hear too many stories of "I quit logging, and I gained weight".
  • nxd10
    nxd10 Posts: 4,570 Member
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    I love maintenance. Every day I look in the mirror and am happy. My only regret losing weight is it took me so long to try to do it. It's been almost 4 years.

    Secret: Just keep doing it and find foods you love to eat.
  • smelbo
    smelbo Posts: 36 Member
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    I've done both, quitting smoking, and Loosing weight. While they both present challenges, the latter presents more of an issue because eating is necessary, you are changing your habits towards eating, vs eliminating the habit as is with smoking. It takes time, grinning chick, but eventually there will be days that go by when you don't think of smoking, I quit cause I wanted to have children, and never went back ( 29 years). It was one of the hardest things i ever did, but one if the most rewarding. But eating is always on your mind, always there. You get hungry, you have to eat to sustain yourself, it is a matter of changing your habit of what and how much you eat. Someone once told me that it is natural to be hungry, it is the natural mechanism in our intricate bodies tgat tell us its time to refuel. But some of us ( especially in first world countries, )have never really given our bodies the chance to be hungry, we just mechanically eat, she we think it is time, or when agree that you will always need to be aware of what and how much you eat. For most, as testimony in this thread, it means a daily journal, and regular weight checkpoints. Loosing weight is hard, but also the end result is rewarding.
  • SomeNights246
    SomeNights246 Posts: 807 Member
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    llbrixon wrote: »
    Just curious...How many people have reached their goal, been maintaining for at least a year or more, and still come back to My Fitness Pal to check in once in to post their weight to stay accountable? I am wondering if this is the secret to keeping the weight off.

    Honestly, it wasn't for me. I've recently gained quite a few pounds, but that's because I had trouble adjusting to the appetite increase during my first 6 weeks of pregnancy. So, I was eating like a horse. In hindsight, my body has always generally maintained around 150 lbs when I wasn't trying to maintain lower. So, I'm not too surprised that I hit 150 and then saw the weight gain slow down a lot. Seems that's just where my body wants me to be.

    Regardless, I maintained at 135/140 (it fluctuated, as you'll find weight does) for two years. I checked back with MFP in the beginning, but after a while I just got used to eating about 2100 calories a day (before exercise), and eating when I was hungry but not when I was full. It became a habit. Pregnancy is the only thing that changed that (as for a while I felt hungry all the time).

    Different things will work for different people. Many people have a lot of success maintaining their MFP account. I do believe I have some friends that are on nearly 1000 day streaks!
  • Azurite27
    Azurite27 Posts: 554 Member
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    I've successfully maintained since August 2014. I still log every day. That is my secret. I allow for some over days but I need to log to stay on track. Logging helps me to eat the right amount, not over or under, and the right combination of foods as I find eating the right portions of macros helps me feel better.

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