People who don't live in English countries?

I also rarely log in my diary and have been in maintenance for about 3 years. I am vegetarian, and cook almost all of my meals.

Living in Denmark. Probably not going to be of any help.

kommodevaran wrote: »

I don't log in my diary anymore, I'm in maintenance and eat around 1800 calories per day, I eat meat - BUT I'm Norwegian, live in Norway, eat "traditional", mostly home "cooked" meals, eat quite a lot of fresh fruit and veggies, and I shot a month's worth of foods and posted here: http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10386508/my-meals-w-pics/

This was really cool to check out.

I'm in Portugal and log everyday, not at maintenance yet, not vegetarian atm, but have spent many years vegetarian with dairy only. add if you please!

Can I asked how you maintain without using your diary? I want to grow up and become you. hehehe

I'm not sure you've thought that thoroughly through Well, part of the "secret" - and there is no secret, that's the secret, lol - is that I eat pretty much the same kinds of things every day (rotate through a few "templates" for each meal category), in about the same amounts. I plot what I want to eat into a spreadsheet - this is mainly so I can shop more effectively and avoid waste, but portioning food in order to not end up with useless bits and pieces, is also portion control that regulates calorie intake. It's not as accurate as tracking, but it evens out over time. Calorie counting has taught me how much food I need to eat to maintain and what foods and combinations that work well for me, and I still weigh food that can't be counted. I eat food I like so I don't feel deprived, but rarely food I like so much that it's difficult to stop eating.

I eat meals and aim to not eat between meals; I buy foods and ingredients for planned meals only, this means that there's practically no "snack foods" in my house. Resisting temptation for a few minutes twice a week is a better solution for me that trying to do so all the time.

I also weigh myself every morning, and calculate the average once every week. I set my weight range to 55-58 kilos, and when I get closer to the top, I get more strict, and when I approach the lower end, I allow some treats or eat slightly bigger portions at meals.

I don't really exercise, but I walk, nearly every single day. I don't have a car, and I don't need it, because I live in a very walkable town (Oslo has some lovely areas filled with old buildings and sociable cats that makes walking a lot more interesting, and we have a lot of "independent" grocery shops that have a wide variety of fresh produce and "ethnic" foods).

This method has kept me in maintenance for 20 months now, and I'm starting to believe in it [/quote


Thanks for sharing so many good ideas for me to work toward.