You maintain the same way you lost, carbstart! Making conscious choices about what to eat and how much, correcting as needed to keep your weight in range. If you don't phone it in or give up and stay vigilant, it is definitely possible to keep off
... if we learn to master these impulses I believe we can lose weight and maintain weight loss without too much of a struggle.
If is a pretty important word. When you consider the statistics ... it doesn't seem quite so simple.
In my opinion unless there is a major breakthrough in biochemistry or some other field of technology most are in for a lifetime struggle. It is a struggle they can win but maintaining for most is just as difficult or more so than losing weight in the first place.
I wonder how we would all get along if we stopped reading about how we're all doomed to failure and just ate clean, whole food and got in a hour of exercise every day? If we stopped thinking about 'how long do I have to continue with this' and just realized that this is how we are supposed to live? If we stopped expecting to see a 5 pound weight loss every day, or every week, and just decided to do what we are supposed to be doing.....? I mean, really, do we have to look like a super-model or fitness-model when we're sans clothes, in the privacy of our own homes? And if we have partners, isn't it more about being loved and healthy? I mean, everything in its own time. I'm tired of over-analyzing every crevice and every ounce. I just want to get on with living as healthy a life as I can...
I've read before that the reason small changes towards almost any larger lifestyle shift works is because we only have so much will power at our disposal at a given time but once things are set into our routine we no longer need to use that will power for them and can move on to changing a different habit.
I think for those of us who over eat for emotions its important to find ways to reduce these emotions or alternative ways to indulge ourselves as well as developing healthy eating and lifestyle habits.
If I can link my feeling of boredom to the urge to take a walk instead of eat a cake that's that much less will power I need to resist the cake. (I use this as an example because it is one that personally works for me, walking when I'm bored instead of eating).
That would take a massive pattern/habit change for 99% of the population. Possible? Yes. Probable? No.
Only because we make it so.....
You know, I've clearly had my issues with getting healthier. But I am making the change. And being in the state of 'making the change' is really the only state that I can be in, because this is a continual process.
And if I paid attention to the 'probably no', which I have heard time and time again, I would have given up. I would have accepted a theoretical defeat and made it reality by giving up. And I think a lot of folks do just that. They listen to these talking heads on TV and personalize other people's comments and say 'oh well...you know what they say....'.
So, it may take me another year to take off these last pounds, but my health behaviors are improving - every day - and those pounds will be history
I wonder how we would all get along if we stopped reading about how we're all doomed to failure and just ate clean, whole food and got in a hour of exercise every day? If we stopped thinking about 'how long do I have to continue with this' and just realized that this is how we are supposed to live? If we stopped expecting to see a 5 pound weight loss every day, or every week, and just decided to do what we are supposed to be doing.....? I mean, really, do we have to look like a super-model or fitness-model when we're sans clothes, in the privacy of our own homes? And if we have partners, isn't it more about being loved and healthy? I mean, everything in its own time. I'm tired of over-analyzing every crevice and every ounce. I just want to get on with living as healthy a life as I can...
Exhale15-I totally agree with what you said here. Instead of obsessing over what the studies say and what other naysayers say, just do the work. It really isn't that much, but we make it more difficult than it has to be. Afterall, most of us have no trouble thinking about sitting down to watch a TV program that lasts an hour. Why not make that way of thinking apply to one hour of exercise per day?
I have been eating organic fruits and veggies almost 100% for a year. I feel full and satisfied and really healthy. Why not make those foods the new junk foods? I think we make all of this too difficult, I know I used to in the past.
I continue to believe that most people regain weight because they start overeating again. I think some of us are predisposed to like food more and have a greater appetite than others, . . .
I agree with this. I also think that nature shows this to be true. I have two dogs. The beagle LOVES food and will wolf down whatever is given to him. He's done with his meals in almost less than a minute. My mutt, on the other hand, is a finicky eater---almost like a cat. He'll take a few bites, wait a while, go back and take another couple bites, etc. Often, he doesn't finish his meal. When my husband & I leave the house, sometimes we'll give each dog a cookie. The beagle will chomp down on it immediately. The mutt seems sort of depressed that we're leaving and will not eat his cookie at all until we get back.
The differences in those two animals are a microcosm of the difference I see in people's eating behaviors. IMHO, that difference in desire for food is the main distinction between those who struggle with their weight and those who do not.
I'm reading Fletcher's Thin For Life, which combines information gathered from successful maintainers. It has been a great read so far. What she found is maintenance gets easier after a year. That doesn't mean they mindlessly eat, it just means they establish a routine. Also, the most successful maintainers really find what works for them personally and not just following what someone else says.
I totally think maintenance is possible without a struggle. The scary statistics about weight maintenance are old and have been challenged by many.
I will weigh myself weekly for the rest of my life. I will keep a food journal consistently that will include the calories. I might be confident enough down the line to keep a food journal without breaking down calories.
If I stop counting, I would have a 3 or 5 pound weight range that if I found I was coming to close to the high number, I would go back to journaling again. For now, I am focusing on my process, cooking healthy food with flavor and taking on fun activities for fitness and relaxation.
[QUOTE=JohnP;4401999There are strategies that can help and for me intermittent fasting (IF) has been vital.[/QUOTE]
Yes, it's all about finding the strategies that work for one's individual psychology. For me IF would not work well, because I would be spending most of the day looking forward to the "window" when I could eat. Eating a large breakfast, medium-sized lunch and relatively small supper suits my personality much better. I get my "food jollies" out of the way early, so I can devote the rest of the day to other pursuits without overfocusing on food (because my breakfast and lunch have sated me both physically and psychologically).
That does bring up a great point though in that there are strategies that can help and for me intermittent fasting (IF) has been vital.
I agree with this, and it goes back to another poster's point about not putting too much stock in what "everyone" says works but finding what works best for ME. For me, strategies like starting my "day's" calorie count w/ dinner rather than breakfast, having a weekly calorie goal rather than a daily one (thus, cycling my calories), exercising while also getting other work done (e.g., my tread desk, vigorous housecleaning, etc.)---all these are what have made this go-around seem much easier than previous attempts. These same strategies may not work for someone else, but that's why it's so important to figure out what works for each of us.
