It's a mental battle

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  • maiomaio71
    maiomaio71 Posts: 231 Member
    That's where I have to get to... accepting that I'm going to have to log forever if i don't want to go back to what I was doing before and it freaked me out a little. But I'm getting there. And being able to relax enough to plan a deficit break will come too. I'll work it into my plan in the next wee while. Loving rediscovering how much I enjoy walking, managing to do more and more. Not sure how I'll cope when I do go over my daily quota by any large amount. When I went over last time by 100 I put the 100 I'd eaten onto the next day to counter it. That way I didn't stress about it and give up, as I would have in the past. I'm not good at going easy on myself when I fail to meet my own expectations.
  • NovusDies
    NovusDies Posts: 8,940 Member
    maiomaio71 wrote: »
    That's where I have to get to... accepting that I'm going to have to log forever if i don't want to go back to what I was doing before and it freaked me out a little. But I'm getting there. And being able to relax enough to plan a deficit break will come too. I'll work it into my plan in the next wee while. Loving rediscovering how much I enjoy walking, managing to do more and more. Not sure how I'll cope when I do go over my daily quota by any large amount. When I went over last time by 100 I put the 100 I'd eaten onto the next day to counter it. That way I didn't stress about it and give up, as I would have in the past. I'm not good at going easy on myself when I fail to meet my own expectations.

    I don't know if I will log forever but I have no intention of stopping. I can't imagine ever risking a regain of more than a few pounds but I don't know how I will feel after I have been in maintenance for a few years.

    I do hope you find a way to relax. The numbers are all averages so perhaps you could tell yourself that you don't actually know on a day if you go over 100 calories that you have actually gone over at all. There is nothing really exact about any of this. Don't let perfection get in the way of good enough.
  • cheryldumais
    cheryldumais Posts: 1,907 Member
    When I was losing I allowed myself a day at maintenance calories about every three weeks or so. It always made me a bit nervous but it helped me to understand where I would be when I got to my goal weight. Prior to this journey I had gone up and down for my entire life. I finally ended up over 100 lbs overweight. I am never going back. I felt exactly like you do. I was terrified I would go back to my undisciplined ways. But I didn't and you won't either.

    I have been logging for over 3 years. It's just a part of daily life. I feel more confident because I know exactly where I am caloriewise. It's much like keeping track of your money. I only earn so many calories and I don't want to spend more than I earn. I've been in maintenance for a year and a half and this is what is helping me to stay at a normal body weight.

    Many of us on MFP have lost weight and maintained. If you stay plugged in to the program you should be just fine.
  • Arizona_C
    Arizona_C Posts: 1,476 Member
    As you, I tracked calories during the months it took me to lose weight, now on maintainance, I just keep an eye that my weight stays where I like it to be and my waist band doesn't get tight.

    When my weight start going up, I narrow down my food and exercise more. Within a week or two, I'm back wher I want to be, thats how I stay on track. I cannot imagine tracking food for the rest of my lift.

    My best advice would be to be generous with your sports. If you are negociation to get 100 extra calories for a meal, the account is really tight! Do a long session in the gym, in the pool, on your bike, at the track, whatever. Without knowing oyur stats, I still guess you can easily burn say 500 calories in an hour or two if you give it your best.

    You will feel good about having been active, get in better shape, and have these extra calories to make it a special meal you long for.

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