How has your maintenance phase been different from your weight loss phase?

[kiramira]

Hi all!
I am not in maintenance right now, but in previous dietary attempts I have achieved a goal weight, then cycled up and down and up and down and UP UP UP and am now back on my way down! So clearly my approach to maintenance has been somewhat --ahem -- LESS than successful!
I think in the past, I have always divided my life into DIET phases and MAINTENANCE phases which actually may have contributed to the problem. I am now thinking that my maintenance lifestyle should be exactly the same as my weight loss phase save for some extra calories.
Have you found this to be true in "real life"? How do you approach maintenance? How do you be successful at it and avoid the up/down cycle? I need all the input I can get so that when I get there, I'll be prepared!
Kira

[bargoo]

Kira, this was my story,too. When I reached goal 16 months ago I was asking the same question. I looked at those who had lost a lot of weight and maintained that loss. I wondered how they did it. I was surprised to hear that you maintain your loss by doing the same things that you did to lose. I still count calories, still plan all my meals ahead of time, still exercise. I do have an occaisional treat but PLANNING is the key.

[JayEll]

Yep--what bargoo said!

That's why it's called a "lifestyle change." We're not eating this way just to lose weight and then reverting to fast food once we meet goal. That way lies disaster!

Jay

[mamaspank]

I just start adding in extra points slowly and exercising on the weekdays or every other day only. It's great. I get more freedom, and sometimes still find myself losing weight instead of just maintaining, which I am not going to complain about until it becomes a problem.

[JulieJ08]

I'd say it's almost the same. I think it's reasonable that changing habits requires extra effort at first. I found it very valuable to count calories for a period, but I don't need to anymore. Others find they stay almost exactly the same (planwise). What obviously doesn't work is going on a special diet to lose weight and then going off it into eating everything you have any urge to eat and expecting to maintain.

[WaterRat]

Doing the same things, with maybe a few more calories like the others have said. I'd just add that keeping your relationship with your scale honest. I think it's nearly impossible to keep your weight at one number, but you should find the range you fluctuate in (due to TOM, etc) and keep you weight there. Setting a line in the sand and keeping your weight under it works for many of us, and catching your small gain before it becomes a larger one is essential.

[Shannon in ATL]

Mine is also pretty much the same, just with more calories consumed. I still count everything, because otherwise I would go to far the other direction and eat too much. My few experiments with no counting haven't gone well. I'm getting more relaxed about what I eat over time, though I still eat good food with a lot less junk and fast food. I have more treats than I used to, try my best to plan for them and not let them push me over into overeating. I tend to be a little obsessive about structure and feeling out of control is my biggest binge trigger - haven't gotten over that yet, and might not. Counting calories helps me control that, and it is getting easier to manage. My exercise varies widely - some weeks I do a lot more than I did when I was losing, some weeks a lot less. I also have a weight range I shoot for rather than a hard number.

[rockinrobin]

Pretty much the same for me too, although now I have the occasional pretty decent sized splurge. I have allowed some of the foods that I forbade myself to eat while losing back in.

I knew *this time* that there would be no turning back. I knew that I could never go back to my old ways. I knew this was about making permanent changes to my diet. When I made the decision to get to a healthy weight- I wanted to stay there forever. So, I'm in this for the long haul. I've created a new normal for myself. This is now "what I do" and "who I am". The healthy eating/exercise that I implemented into my life in order to lose the weight is now my "way of life".

So, I still monitor my calories, plan ahead, shop frequently, cook often, pack foods to travel with, keep a well stocked home, exercise practically daily, weigh frequently, have definite no's....... So doing all these things - consistently - avoids that "up down cycle" that you speak of. If I find myself with a gain, and I have, I make sure to "catch it" quickly so that it doesn't get further out of hand. I am more then fine with keeping a maintenance "range" instead of any one single number.

Sounds to me like you knew and accepted that this would be the case. Therefore, you'll be just fine in maintenance. Just fine.

[junebug41]

All I knew when I began this process 5 years ago was that this was going to be forever because I was ready. I knew I was ready down to my bones. Call it a gut check moment, come to Jesus meeting, an epiphany, a "click".

I didn't look at it as I see so many people approach weightloss- as a, "I'll lose the weight by any means necessary and figure it out when I get there". I just knew that I was looking at the rest of my life.

So, to answer your question as many have before me, my maintenance looks a lot like my weightloss. Even thought I'm not much of a "calorie counter" as Robin is, I did remove certain foods from my diet while I was losing that I have re-introduced as "treats", similar to her. For example, I'm pretty carb sensitive, but I don't freak out over going out for a nice dinner at my favorite Italian place. I've accepted that it's a rare treat and to just enjoy it. I guess that's the biggest difference... I'm more realistic about food. I don't get stressed out over a meal out because it's not incredibly common (and when it was for a few months this winter I gained like 15 pounds- hello!!!!). I'm comfortable in my lifestyle and that's HUGE.