Hi
I'm starting IP on Monday, so I know I'm still far from Phase 4/Maintenance, but it still worries me, I want to make sure I never gain the weight back after I lose it.
So, I was wondering, just how easy is it to maintain after IP?
I was kinda hoping that when I reached my goal weight I could relax a bit, of course, never ever go back to my old eating habits, and still eat really really healthy, but I don't want to count every single thing that goes into my body or have to follow a strict eating plan everyday.
I'd like to just make sure I eat healthy stuff but still get a moderate amount of carbs daily? Is it posible? My plan was to eat about 2000 calories + exercise when it's time to maintain.
I just don't think it's realistic to think that I'll barely have any carbs for the rest of my life.
So, how exactly is a day of maintance after IP? Do you feel free, or do feel like you need to count every little thing and restrict carbs a lot?

Also I wanted to post this at the IP Maintainance Support thread, but it's closed now

Hello Pauli, and welcome! There is another thread 'The Maintainers...' that is open. I just started maintenance a month ago and so far, so good. The guidelines set out by IP for this phase are much less structured, compared to Phase 1. People seem to be finding their own happy medium on what works for them and what foods they can handle, and they do a 'reboot' week once a year, where they go back to Phase 1 if needed. Some people find that they just can't handle carbs, so they continue on a very restricted carb diet. I think that long term, we can never completely go back to what we did before, or we'll just end up in the same place.

Good luck! Lots of terrific people here!

Hi there! I can certainly relate to what you are feeling. I started IP in January. Lost 30 lbs so phased off to get a little break before losing my last 20 or so. I was on maintenance for about 5 weeks. My weight fluctuated within 3-5 lbs which is exactly what I expected. I definitely watched what I ate but it wasn't hard to do. I went all out in my allotted cheat day. I read what others had said about not following up with a phase 1 day and how that really messed them up so I made sure I always did. It definitely is stressful at first but you will learn what works for you. I'm back on now and well on my way to my goal! Best of luck to you!!!!

Hi! Thank you
Oh okay I'll look into that thread.
Yes, I suppose I'll cross that bridge when I get there and I'll see what works for me
Thanks for answering!

Hi!
Oh, that's good! I mean I do expect to fluctuate and gain about 3 pound when I start maintaning, I just hope it's never more than that. Sounds alright, and yes I'll be taking advantage of that cheat day for sure haha, just make sure I go back to phase 1 after that for a day. Thank you! Congrats on the weight loss and good luck as well.

It all depends on your body and also likely how active you are. I will always need to be super vigilant with carbs but I am older and am super carb sensative.
Other people do fine eating healthy food and gkeeping an eye of their carbs but don't have to really resrict them. You are not terribly overweight to begin with so your body likely isn't too far out of whack. I was 204 pounds at 5'1" originally.

Pat

I'm with pat. Carbs and I do not get along. I retain so much water when I eat them. And I work out a lot....
Maintaining requires a pretty low carb diet for me. Fat is fine, as long as I avoid the grains.

I just started maintenance, and what I did was I set a limit for myself (no more than 15 carbs at lunch, no more than 15 grams of fat at dinner) and went through my entire South Beach cookbook (the 30 minutes or less one). I made a spreadsheet with the name of the recipe, how many carbs, how much fat, and what meal it would be appropriate for. I used this to make two week-long meal plans, and it's been working out great! I did use MyFitnessPal to make sure I was eating the number of calories for maintaining my body weight and that what I was eating each day fit. But as long as I stick to my meal plan each day, and have the Phase 1 day after cheat, I don't need to count and I can just go with the flow.

I wasn't a big exerciser before, but I just got Dance Dance Revolution for my XBox (the dancing game from the arcade). I've been doing it every night, because even on the easiest setting, I burn 360 calories an hour. I just can't stick to exercise any other way because I get bored (thank you, ADHD brain). Luckily, video games are a hyperfocus, so I start dancing and lose track of time because I'm having a blast (again, thank you, ADHD brain!).