What are your long term maintenance strategies for the rest of your life?
Replies
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johnwhitent wrote: »I did maintenance once before, and gained several pounds when I took my eye off of calorie intake and the scale. That's when I joined MFP (over seven years ago) and lost the few I had gained back, plus more. Now my strategy is simple - log everything I eat and weigh daily. Forever. It comes quite easy for me, so I don't consider it a burden. I'm a creature of habit and routines, and weighing daily and logging at MFP is both habit and routine, as easy and natural to me as breathing. The struggle is over for me, and I'm enjoying fueling my body rather than comfort eating.
That's what I need to remember1 -
Well... yeah...this is not what I expected to read.
Uh, my strategies are weighing/logging in a food diary forever.
Hope that doesn't set anyone off.
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Hmm, well, odd man out - I did DIET to lose my 50+ pounds. I’m not ashamed to say so.
Been on maintenance since the beginning of the year. Strategy # 1 is daily weighing of me (not food) and immediate return to diet (including logging) if weekly trend weight exceeds a specific number. Strategy #2 is despising dieting (including logging) so I never want to have to invoke Strategy #1. Strategy # 3 was/is the identification of calorie dense foods I can do without and or are triggers (bread for instance) and eliminating those from my diet. Strategy #4 is to modify my eating habits to fit my lifestyle , not vise versa. I like my life, and am trying to now eat in a way that will allow me to keep my lifestyle for as long as possible.
I realize 6 month maintenance is not much, but I feel like my diet and early maintenance has been a success. I do find it ironic that the one place my successful diet has been mocked (“woo”) is on a diet and fitness site. I’m glad the ‘sustainability focus’ and ‘lifestyle changes’ work for some (most?) people but yeah, not me.
I dieted to lose weight. Having lost the weight I mostly use my dislike (hatred) of dieting and my love of my current life to keep future overeating in check. I am proud of both of those.14 -
I will likely continue tracking and weighing for the foreseeable future. If that ends up being for the rest of my caring years (which is what is likely to happen) I'm completely okay with that.
I'm also bracing for some of the mental aspects of it and recognizing complacency early.
Other than that, I think I have pretty established habits and a favorable mindset, proven by my ability to maintain balance during my maintenance breaks (one of which lasted a year).4 -
I'm not there yet, but I don't really have a plan. I am used to gaining weight (on purpose) and losing it. I do kind of diet though, my food choices are quite different when I am cutting vs. bulking or maintaining. That works for me. Most likely I will keep my eye on the scale and adjust my intake accordingly.. go through phases of slight gain and slight loss. Pretty much what I did before I started on MFP, but with more protein.
And progress photos are really important to me so I can compare my results over time, especially if I am maintaining I will hopefully do some minor recomp.1 -
I have now completed my weight-loss goal & am starting to maintain. In my life-time I have been here 4 times & sadly gained the weight back.
The big difference now is I completely understand the loss & gain cycle.
Every-one is different but for me certain foods are completely out of my diet & since I stopped eating them I feel 20years younger. I had no idea that these foods were literally destroying my health. I re-fuse to re-turn to m y old bad habits & no matter what I won't let it happen again as long as I'm here.
Knowledge is power!11 -
https://danceswithfat.wordpress.com/2015/03/27/the-trouble-with-before-and-after-pictures/
https://www.chatelaine.com/living/real-life-stories/body-image-before-and-after-photos/
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/bustle/things-you-might-not-think-are-fat-shaming-that-definitely-are_b_8123244.html
http://www.phillyvoice.com/are-fitness-transformations-form-fat-shaming/
https://coolerlifestyle.com/wellbeing-2/before-after-weight-loss-photos-bad.html
You can do your own research but I have inheritently known that Before and Afters were not the way for me to go. The side by side.
"I can’t help but notice that the person in the before shot always looks miserable and in the after shot they look so happy. The message seeming to be that anyone who looks like that cannot/should not be happy and that happiness is/should be reserved for those whose bodies are “right and good”. The worst for me is when the before picture is of someone in their sweat pants, eating on the couch before their shower; and the after picture is them standing in the sun, bronzed....beautiful, handsome."
The comparisons.
"People are, of course, allowed to do with their bodies whatever they want, and how I do or don’t understand it is irrelevant to their autonomy, and this is paramount, and has always been true. But now I look and look and I simply do not understand. I look and I wonder, why? Why are you showing how you are shrunk in profile; why does that matter.
Why are you side-by-side-by-side-by-side with yourself from a month ago, three months ago, a year ago, a whole year of energy put toward proving your physical value to a culture that cares nothing for your actual comprehensive wellbeing, so long as you are thin."
About 5 years ago, I looked at the paleo/primal/keto/IF/eliminate everything Befores and Afters. A few brave souls would come back and share that they had eaten all of the things and ate their back to their Befores. Rebound weight gain with friends.
There were more Befores to be taken but many of them fell off the grid never to be heard from again. I began to resist the idea that I was nothing but a Before waiting for my change so my life could finally happen. I have arrived with the perfect belly selfie.
My life was happening all along. There is no Before. And there never was.
There's no such thing as the finish line with your overall health and wellbeing. And there never was.
The sky is not the limit and it never was. Infinity. Think waaaaay into the future for the rest of your life. If your maintenance plan and exercise is not sustainable now it won't be 2-5 years down the road either.
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The key for me is to stay active. Being active gives me a lot more wiggle room in my diet. Of course I also need to just keep an eye on my food intake as well and be intentional about what I’m eating, rather than grabbing a bag of chips and sitting on the couch mindlessly eating. I try to make better choices during pot lucks and that sort of thing. Load up on fruit and veggies and try to not eat 15 rolls. Lol. But really staying active is the biggest thing for me. I burn so many more calories with an active lifestyle than I do just sitting on my butt all day. So making that a priority for the rest of my life is very important to me...3
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IDK...I think maintenance is super easy. I don't have any super deep thoughts about it.6
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@cwolfman13 You're the lucky one. For real.
I can't get that song out of my head now. No connection with you, though. I had a guy like that once upon a time.
http://"]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jcRZ_J_VgNc[/url]
My thoughts precede behaviors, choices and immediate gratification.0 -
https://danceswithfat.wordpress.com/2015/03/27/the-trouble-with-before-and-after-pictures/
https://www.chatelaine.com/living/real-life-stories/body-image-before-and-after-photos/
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/bustle/things-you-might-not-think-are-fat-shaming-that-definitely-are_b_8123244.html
http://www.phillyvoice.com/are-fitness-transformations-form-fat-shaming/
https://coolerlifestyle.com/wellbeing-2/before-after-weight-loss-photos-bad.html
You can do your own research but I have inheritently known that Before and Afters were not the way for me to go. The side by side.
"I can’t help but notice that the person in the before shot always looks miserable and in the after shot they look so happy. The message seeming to be that anyone who looks like that cannot/should not be happy and that happiness is/should be reserved for those whose bodies are “right and good”. The worst for me is when the before picture is of someone in their sweat pants, eating on the couch before their shower; and the after picture is them standing in the sun, bronzed....beautiful, handsome."
The comparisons.
"People are, of course, allowed to do with their bodies whatever they want, and how I do or don’t understand it is irrelevant to their autonomy, and this is paramount, and has always been true. But now I look and look and I simply do not understand. I look and I wonder, why? Why are you showing how you are shrunk in profile; why does that matter.
Why are you side-by-side-by-side-by-side with yourself from a month ago, three months ago, a year ago, a whole year of energy put toward proving your physical value to a culture that cares nothing for your actual comprehensive wellbeing, so long as you are thin."
About 5 years ago, I looked at the paleo/primal/keto/IF/eliminate everything Befores and Afters. A few brave souls would come back and share that they had eaten all of the things and ate their back to their Befores. Rebound weight gain with friends.
There were more Befores to be taken but many of them fell off the grid never to be heard from again. I began to resist the idea that I was nothing but a Before waiting for my change so my life could finally happen. I have arrived with the perfect belly selfie.
My life was happening all along. There is no Before. And there never was.
There's no such thing as the finish line with your overall health and wellbeing. And there never was.
The sky is not the limit and it never was. Infinity. Think waaaaay into the future for the rest of your life. If your maintenance plan and exercise is not sustainable now it won't be 2-5 years down the road either.
Okay, this will be a big mistake on my part, but I can't help myself.
Just because YOU have problems with before/after photos doesn't mean EVERYONE has problems with before/after photos.
Me, I have before photos because when I see myself (which is a top-down view since I do not have full sized mirrors), I see the same physical body - fat thighs; big flabby mom apron belly; floppy, mismatched boobs; flappy biceps. In photos, I can see how much smaller I am overall because photos show me how I look face-on/sideways/rearview. When my body is the same exact shape at 134# as it was at 320# it's damned difficult to see with my own eyes that I've lost weight.
Another reason I have before photos is to be proof to the people I haven't seen in 20-30 years that I did get hugely fat and I did lose a shedload of weight and no I'm not bloody lying about it.
I compare my before/after photos for 2 reasons: to see how I've physically changed, and to remember how more mentally stable I was being morbidly obese.
I am a smaller version of the person I was 6 years ago. If I wanted to have no "before" I would not have changed my habits.14 -
OP, I'm the same. I have no 'before' photos, nor do I want any. I'm choosing to view my weight gain as a temporary state, one that will be soon forgotten. Most of my life, I've been thin. That's what I consider to be my correct state of being, and that's how I choose to see myself. This weight gain is just a bump in the road, as far as I'm concerned.
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OP, I'm the same. I have no 'before' photos, nor do I want any. I'm choosing to view my weight gain as a temporary state, one that will be soon forgotten. Most of my life, I've been thin. That's what I consider to be my correct state of being, and that's how I choose to see myself. This weight gain is just a bump in the road, as far as I'm concerned.
I released weight because I have no intention of finding it again. Brain Training. One of my friends has spent several tours over in the 'sandbox'. He's at the top of his game in the military. He befriended me and shared some really good tips from his 'specialized' training. The first thing he told was to to quit saying 'I was losing weight'. It's a disconnect for the brain.
Befores and Afters. Ditto.
The brain does not care if you ever maintain a weight loss. Only 5% of the people at the 5 year mark are maintaining. I realize this may give everyone a big pinch but our mileage is going to vary. I have no intention of eating it all back and going out backwards. I've watched too many people do that and it's heartbreaking when they keep starting over and over with another 100 lbs staring them in the face.
Dieting and Cheating. All or Nothing. Befores and Afters. Clean or Dirty Eating. Food Resets and Food Reboots. All of these are a disconnect for the brain. If you find yourself starting to eat in the unconscious mode on autopilot and you can't stop - reframe everything for your brain. Brain Training.
The brain will lead you back to ground zero before the body knows what hit it and 100 lbs later, there you are. Give yourself permission not to ever Start Over again, keep going. If you slide off the goose here a little and there a little, so what. Keep going.
http://"]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1YuM2PGx51U[/url]
Sliding off the goose.^^The big bird.3 -
I only have a during/after because I did dietbets. I personally don't care to have a before/after because it doesn't do much for me. That doesn't mean I discourage them. Some people are motivated by progress. Some people feel happy and proud of the way they were able to change their body and life. Some people do like a thin body better than a fat body, and there is nothing wrong with that.
I can't stand these kinds of blogs. They're too one-dimensional and presumptuous. What if that before and after transformation isn't just about the weight? When if someone is celebrating how their life changed from someone in sweatpants on the couch hating life to someone out there in the sun loving life? It takes more than weight loss to make that kind of transformation. Even if they're celebrating being thinner, which takes a lot of hard work, are they not allowed to be proud of their thinness just like someone can be proud of their strength/style overhaul/new haircut/plastic surgery...etc.
I'm all for self-love and I'm pretty good at it (probably even too much), but these articles are just too much. It must be exhausting constantly searching for things to take offense at. It feels more like self-hate than self-love to use other people's happiness and pride in their achievement as a source of self-inflicted persecution. I'm pretty sure people aren't posting their progress photos as a jab at me to call me ugly. They don't even know I exist.9 -
I should make it clear, I have no problem whatsoever with anyone else enjoying 'before' photos; I was simply agreeing with the OP that I take the same approach that they do.0
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I should make it clear, I have no problem whatsoever with anyone else enjoying 'before' photos; I was simply agreeing with the OP that I take the same approach that they do.
I understand, and I wasn't commenting about you or OP. I was commenting about the linked articles that treat all before and after photos as fat shaming. For what it's worth, before and after photos do nothing for me for the same reasons: I just don't feel my after is an improvement over my before because my weight loss was not primarily motivated by a desire to change my shape.3 -
Actually, I just found those articles today in case someone wanted a source. You know how everything is supposed to sourced and documented.
This was true for me a long, long time ago. I didn't have to research it, I just knew it from the top of head to the bottom of my feet. I threw all my befores in the garbage can. The befores were self-induced body shaming for me. Why there are some that have lost hope and feel defeated because the waist measurement expanded a few inches and heckatoot, someone is gutted because 15 lbs showed up in a photo.
If it brings them that much heartache, quit looking at them or just throw them away.1 -
Lifetime maintenance plan:
Just log all of the food that I eat (as well as cals burned exercising beyond "normal" activity) and weigh myself daily.
Same thing that I've been doing for the past 2 years.8 -
amusedmonkey wrote: »I should make it clear, I have no problem whatsoever with anyone else enjoying 'before' photos; I was simply agreeing with the OP that I take the same approach that they do.
I understand, and I wasn't commenting about you or OP. I was commenting about the linked articles that treat all before and after photos as fat shaming. For what it's worth, before and after photos do nothing for me for the same reasons: I just don't feel my after is an improvement over my before because my weight loss was not primarily motivated by a desire to change my shape.
Gotcha
I didn't notice those links before, but I did look back and find them after. I'm funny about it: I love looking at other peoples' before and after results, but I don't like the idea of having a 'before' photo myself.
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amusedmonkey wrote: »I should make it clear, I have no problem whatsoever with anyone else enjoying 'before' photos; I was simply agreeing with the OP that I take the same approach that they do.
I understand, and I wasn't commenting about you or OP. I was commenting about the linked articles that treat all before and after photos as fat shaming. For what it's worth, before and after photos do nothing for me for the same reasons: I just don't feel my after is an improvement over my before because my weight loss was not primarily motivated by a desire to change my shape.
Gotcha I didn't notice those links before, but I did look back and find them after. I'm funny about it: I love looking at other peoples' before and after results, but I don't like the idea of having a 'before' photo myself.
I'm the same!3
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