taking a maintenance month . . . . thoughts?
 

Well, as much as I'd like to think I am handling stress well - Im just not.
Im not over eating, not binging, not making 'horrible' (yes I did the finger quotes there) choices but they obviously aren't the best choices either.
I can't say I'm in a plateau because honestly, I haven't put my all into what I need to for the last few weeks easy.

I'm wondering if it's a good idea for me to take a maintaining month so to speak.
Oddly enough, it's not the holidays that have me stressed, I did some baking the other day, the smell of all the sugar and butter turned me right off and that used to be the weakness for me.
All the planning I have to do to move in march, pretty much needs to be done in the next month. Shaun will be going to Haiti again as of Dec 27th, leaving no one to check on daycares, apartments, moving fees etc for January and February, when we had planned to get it all done. Slowly, but get it all done.
Now, i'm heading that way on friday for a whole 3 1/2 days to get as much done as we possibly can, and whats left he'll have to try and finish up or I will from here. I also need to find out if I can take some classes via correspondance and audit them since I wont be making the february 1st registration cut off for March and will now be waiting until september to start school again.
It's making my head spin.
for 2 months I will be able to talk to him for maybe 15 minutes a week, if that. Feels like there is SO much to do, such a small amount of time to do it and then a big long black whole of the waiting game . . . . I hate waiting.

Is it a bad idea to take a month and maintain where I'm at, not focus on loosing just holding steady and not gaining over this month?
Once January hits, I'll have nothing else occupying my head, my energy and my time. I can get into a routine WHILE i sit around and play that oh so fun waiting game.

Any input, opinions, experience would be great on this one . . Im really at a loss right now.

Thanks :)

With as much work as you've done, heck yes! :D And as a bonus, I wouldn't be surprised if that helped you lose faster in the long run. My friend's medically supervised diet is a program of 12 weeks on and then 6 weeks "off" or maintenance. I think it's very sound.

You've got a lot on your plate right now. :hug: Not that weight loss can't be accomplished through stress!! I don't want anyone else to read that. But given how much success you have already had...in YOUR particular case...heck yeah.

At first I thought yes, then I thought no, then I thought maybe.

I think a maintenance month is a great idea. It is one of my anxieties that I know how to overeat, I know how to diet but I don't know how to maintain.
So if you were working at maintaining, I think it sounds a great idea.

What it sounds like, though, is that you've got so much other stuff on your plate at the moment, you want some time off the added pressure of concentrating on your diet. I don't say that's wrong but it's not the same as maintaining. If, while your technically dieting, you're finding it hard to make healthy choices, how will you cope without the framework of the diet? How will you know not to make worse and worse choices?

Now, just because I couldn't do it, doesn't mean you couldn't!! If you're sure that a month of not dieting won't send you forever back down the slippery slope, go for it. Or would it work to establish a maintenance number of calories and stick to that? It would still mean concentrating though, just within a higher budget.

That's the only 2 cents I've got!
:hug:

I think it depends on the person. I decided to take like a maintenance "quarter." LOL I haven't calorie counted since Halloween. I told myself if I could keep off the weight I've lost through New Years I would consider it a victory and then get back to losing in January.

Guess what? I've lost five more pounds. It's not much in three months, but it's the first year in my whole life that I haven't gained over the holidays! So for me, taking the pressure off helped me a lot. In a few weeks I'm going to go back to hardcore counting and exercise, but the break has been good for my sanity.

Originally Posted by Rosinante:
At first I thought yes, then I thought no, then I thought maybe.

I think a maintenance month is a great idea. It is one of my anxieties that I know how to overeat, I know how to diet but I don't know how to maintain.
So if you were working at maintaining, I think it sounds a great idea.

What it sounds like, though, is that you've got so much other stuff on your plate at the moment, you want some time off the added pressure of concentrating on your diet. I don't say that's wrong but it's not the same as maintaining. If, while your technically dieting, you're finding it hard to make healthy choices, how will you cope without the framework of the diet? How will you know not to make worse and worse choices?

Now, just because I couldn't do it, doesn't mean you couldn't!! If you're sure that a month of not dieting won't send you forever back down the slippery slope, go for it. Or would it work to establish a maintenance number of calories and stick to that? It would still mean concentrating though, just within a higher budget.

That's the only 2 cents I've got!
:hug:

I get where you're coming from, and I should have clarified.
I'm not using it as a free for all "Hey Im not counting calories, let me have that cheeseburger and large fries"
Absolutely not. My horrible choices are me passing on eating for some meals. I don't stress eat, I stress non eat
I know what sized portions I should be eating and of what with out having to think about it, and that has not changed.
going the way I have been the last few weeks Ive maintained with in a couple of pounds, but added stress and frustration of not calorie counting, not tracking my exercise . . . . I'm more wondering I think if it will help to not let it be a focus and source of more stress.

Originally Posted by DaughterOfVenus:
So for me, taking the pressure off helped me a lot. In a few weeks I'm going to go back to hardcore counting and exercise, but the break has been good for my sanity.

That's what I was trying to say . . . . thanks :)
I'm so tonguetied its ridiculous

LOL No problem. I can totally see the other points here, and I can totally see why doing this would be a DISASTER to other people. I still weigh every few days just to make sure I'm not going TOO far off track. But for the first month I gained and lost the same two pounds, and then the past six weeks I dropped five. Had I noticed myself losing too much ground, I would have ended my vacation early. LOL

I think it's a good idea... dieting is stressful to the body, and on top of a lot of other stresses, may not be a good idea. Better to maintain for a bit, as long as that is a conscious decision and not an excuse for a calorie-free-for-all than to get so stressed out that you "break" totally from good habits.

Hubby and I are doing a 12 week on, 2 week off kind of deal. We are approaching our first 2 weeks off. I am getting the feeling that I need it, because my losses have slowed a bit.

I hadn't thought about that, how SOME people think going into maintenance for a month is really code for eating the old way for a month. :dizzy: Coondocks, obviously that's not what you meant. True maintenance would be very much like what you are doing, but it would be a mental switch to being ok with the scale staying the same because that's your intent. But it would mean scheduled weigh ins and adjusting the calories/workouts to make sure the weight isn't going up. And unlike true maintenance, if the weight goes down, well yippee! :D

Hey, I actually do cycles of a month of lower calories (1200-1500) followed by 2 weeks of maintenance, and haven't had any problems. But, and I'm sure you know this, maintenance isn't a true break, and has its own issues that it brings.

If what you have been doing the past few weeks has kept you level, then it probably won't be a big deal if you keep doing that. BUT, you still need to be making mostly good choices and doing what you can not to overeat.

Most importantly, you need to keep weighing. During my two week maintenance period, I weigh several times a week instead of just once. You have to keep yourself accountable to actually maintaining your weight. I would suggest that before you start, decide a high weight, that if you reach, you will switch back to dieting until you lose it. I do three lbs, which is within my normal fluctuations due to water and such. Otherwise, I think it could be really easy for a 'maintenance' month to become a 10 or so pound gain month. I mean, it might not be an issue at all, and I've never had to switch back to the diet in the middle due to gaining, but I think having that red line, as well as a plan for dealing with it if you should reach it, might take some pressure off.

I've done it before - my work goes in regular six month cycles and as the deadline approaches I can get a bit stressed out and not have time or energy for non-work projects that take a lot of focus.

So, the last time that deadline rolled around, I took about a two-month break. I tried to keep up all the habits of making good food choices that I had developed over the previous months, but I did not count calories, and I did not go to the gym.

I guess it worked okay. I did gain a couple of pounds (a couple more than I could honestly call a random fluctuation), but as soon as my deadline had passed - really the very next day - I picked up the calorie counting again, went back to the gym, and haven't looked back.

Even though it worked okay, the deadline has rolled around again - it's in three weeks - and this time I decided not to take the break. I just feel like I need to learn to deal with the regular stress of work and not use it as an excuse to drop the work of taking care of myself.

In short, it's a very personal decision, and the only way to know whether it will work for you is to try it. It's very important, though, that the cause of your stress be a finite, defined thing that will end. Like in my case, I had the deadline, and a solemn promise to myself not to let the slacking off last a minute past the deadline. You have to have a specific date in mind when you will be ready to start up again, and you have to execute when that date rolls around. If not, I think you risk setting yourself up for indefinite procrastinating - "oh, work is still stressful, I'll start up again next week."

Originally Posted by carter:
It's very important, though, that the cause of your stress be a finite, defined thing that will end. Like in my case, I had the deadline, and a solemn promise to myself not to let the slacking off last a minute past the deadline. You have to have a specific date in mind when you will be ready to start up again, and you have to execute when that date rolls around. If not, I think you risk setting yourself up for indefinite procrastinating - "oh, work is still stressful, I'll start up again next week."

Very true, and I agree completely there.
December 27th. Once that day rolls around the 'rush' of all that needs to get accomplished is done, there's not much else I can do after that point on my own with regards to all this except the random thing here and there.
I'm honestly looking forward to that day. I'll be concerned for him, of course, but at that point it's like the flood of rush rush rush is done and I can be back to my focus being on me, not on 'get as much done as fast as you can'

I really appreciate all the input, i've stayed with in the 176-178 range, if I hit 180 I know I've let it slide too much and have to redirect my focus. I've only weighed in 2 times a week, but it stays in that range.

Only 20 more days . . . not quite a month . . . . I miss my de-cluttered head.

I did a maintenance month this summer. It was great to see that I could stay at one healthy normal weight!

The thing that totally sucked is that my plateau came right after the maintenance month... which meant I had 3 months of "maintenance" when I was only planning on one. Which isn't that big of a deal, it's not a race. But I kept thinking, ugh, why didn't I keep losing when I was losing and let the plateau/maintenance come on it's own?!!!

Sure why not- I've done it- and now I'm going to restart again but I'm going to be going on Medifast to really kick things up- I get my first package this week and I'm excited to start :)q

Carter, what was the loss like when you got back on plan? Did you have a nice big whoosh? A noticeable easier time with the scale? Had you been stuck prior to taking a break?

Coondocks ~

I would only mention that:
eat right and exercise = weight loss
eat right only = weight loss a little slower
exercise and don't eat right = probable gain

If it were me I would give up exercise to make room for all the added extra stuff to get done.
Then make The.Best.Possible. choices and don't log the calories. Keep a close watch on the scale. The scale always knows, doesn't it? ;)

A totally different slant to this is to write out all the things you have to do and the deadline to get them done. Then organize and prioritze the work you have ahead of you. Some of the biggest stressors we have in our lives are the ones we create in our 'spinning' head.

Been there, done that, not truly too much intended, but hit a plateau without much thinking about it and realized it's becaus I was focusing more of my life around the beginning of my FT college Semester, had just gone done doing 22 weeks of 1/2 marathon training. Watch what you eat, back off the work-outs if you need and get the stuff you need done, it's best to stay mentally on cue with other parts of your life together as a whole too!

oh and when I really started back up with hard core training and dropping the cals back down (from 1800 down to 1200) I zapped out about 8lbs in 2 wks!

as long as you actively keep track of NOT gaining, i say HELLZ YA! I think that made all the difference to my success this time -- I lost 40, maintained for 2 months to be sure i could LIVE like that, then cut back some more, lost 40 more, maintained 3 months, repeat! It really really worked for me, because while i only lost something like 1 pound in 2 months, i never GAINED and always kept an eye on it (something I'd failed to do in the 20 years prior where i GAINED 150 pounds geeez!!!)

SO, long way around, YES!

I'm basically to that same point now. We are in the middle of an international move, DD (and myself) are still getting over the flu, we have lots of travel coming up, we still need to sell of most everything in our apt (or donate it), and I have a bunch of forms for me new job to fill out. :dizzy: Oh, and it doesn't help that this weather is putting a damper on my running attempts. :( Did I also mention that I defend my Ph.D thesis tomorrow?

I'm not going off plan but I'm also just not able to keep up with the exercise routine that I was doing before so I'm going to get in what I can but not stress about it. I still plan on doing daily weighing (once we get home, we're traveling so I don't have a scale at the moment :( ) and stick to my plan.

Looking at what you have to achieve I would definitely say go with the maintain, as you won't have to worry about any adjustments in your diet.

Just stick with what you are doing now and focus all of your energy on all those tasks, sound like you are going to be very busy.

Look forward to hearing how you got on in January.

Originally Posted by Eliana:
Carter, what was the loss like when you got back on plan? Did you have a nice big whoosh? A noticeable easier time with the scale? Had you been stuck prior to taking a break?

Thanks for asking. I just went and looked at the numbers, because my recollection is one thing and the numbers are another. ;)

I wasn't stuck prior to the break - I was losing reasonably well, at my slowish rate (I am a 4-5 pounds a month sort of loser, normally, on my current plan).

According to my records I gained 4 pounds during my break - but some of that might have been fluctuation, because within two days of getting back on plan I had dropped 2 of them. The long-term trend since then (that was the middle of July) has been a pretty steady 5 pounds per month (masked in the shorter term by my usual nutty fluctuations, which I am used to).

So yeah, I guess I had a small whoosh when I started up again, and even though at the time I remember being frustrated and feeling like I'd backslid a bit, in hindsight it doesn't look all that bad and I didn't have a real hard time getting back on the horse in a serious way.

As a result of my experience, I do think a maintenance break is an okay thing to do, even though I haven't done it for my deadline this time around, provided:

(1) It has to be finite (as I said earlier). If you are taking a break because you're stressed right now, you have to know that the stress is going away by a certain date - your deadline, your partner's surgery, your final exam, whatever it is. You can't let ordinary, always-present level of stress be an excuse for a break, or you will have a hard time finding a good time to get back on track. Instead, make a firm promise to yourself that "I will return to weight-loss mode on January 1" or whatever your date happens to be.

(2) Don't stop weighing yourself. I made this mistake during my break, and if I take another break I would not make this mistake again. It's way too easy to fall into denial if you aren't weighing yourself, and you really don't want an unpleasant surprise discouraging you when you get back on track. I know the OP mentioned keeping an eye on her weight and switching back into weight loss mode if it went above a certain number - I think this is an excellent idea.

Originally Posted by Coondocks:
Well, as much as I'd like to think I am handling stress well - Im just not.
Im not over eating, not binging, not making 'horrible' (yes I did the finger quotes there) choices but they obviously aren't the best choices either.
I can't say I'm in a plateau because honestly, I haven't put my all into what I need to for the last few weeks easy.

I'm wondering if it's a good idea for me to take a maintaining month so to speak.
Oddly enough, it's not the holidays that have me stressed, I did some baking the other day, the smell of all the sugar and butter turned me right off and that used to be the weakness for me.
All the planning I have to do to move in march, pretty much needs to be done in the next month. Shaun will be going to Haiti again as of Dec 27th, leaving no one to check on daycares, apartments, moving fees etc for January and February, when we had planned to get it all done. Slowly, but get it all done.
Now, i'm heading that way on friday for a whole 3 1/2 days to get as much done as we possibly can, and whats left he'll have to try and finish up or I will from here. I also need to find out if I can take some classes via correspondance and audit them since I wont be making the february 1st registration cut off for March and will now be waiting until september to start school again.
It's making my head spin.
for 2 months I will be able to talk to him for maybe 15 minutes a week, if that. Feels like there is SO much to do, such a small amount of time to do it and then a big long black whole of the waiting game . . . . I hate waiting.

Is it a bad idea to take a month and maintain where I'm at, not focus on loosing just holding steady and not gaining over this month?
Once January hits, I'll have nothing else occupying my head, my energy and my time. I can get into a routine WHILE i sit around and play that oh so fun waiting game.

Any input, opinions, experience would be great on this one . . Im really at a loss right now.

Thanks :)

Well, I have personal experience with this particular one! I moved back in September-- it was a HUGE deal. My kids changed schools, which meant finding schools, we moved into temporary housing, completely changed our home and work schedules, both my hubby and I started commuting ... and I went from working out of the house from HARD HARD HARD.

I was not planning a maintenance break, but in fact that's what happened.

I have tried very hard to stick to my plan, but it's been a little on and off.

Honestly, I think if I had PLANNED to take a maintenance break, I would have ended up gaining. This way, struggling to hang on to my plan, kept me at least more or less even.

Here's why: I was already very familiar with my plan, and so sticking to it, even with the upheaval, was at least something I was used to. But I have no experience with maintenance. I think maintaining is harder than trying to lose-- I'd recommend sticking to your plan as best you can and accepting that in super high stress times we might not be perfect.

But I'll be interested to see what others think.

As you can see from my ticker, I've gained all of my weight back. Therefore, I'm obviously no expert on weight loss or maintenance! But, I can't help thinking...if a body requires a certain calorie alotment to maintain...and you have to plan for that number or risk gaining....why not just plan on a daily amount that allows you to keep losing? And, isn't this practice for life? I'm thinking that I'll always need to track my intake, even on maintenance. Otherwise, what will stop me from falling back into old habits. Because, I can eat a ton of calories without even realizing it.

I agree with Rhonda.

I lost 190+ pounds with a lot of perseverance. I was fortunate to never have a plateau, and just chugged along the weight loss road. Once I had my routine, and knew exactly what I needed to do every single day to lose weight, it became quite easy. Fast forward to maintaince. I have now been maintaining my weight loss for almost 18 months, and I have to say, without a doubt, that it is MUCH harder than the weight loss stage for ME. The first 2 to 3 months of maintaince were ****. It was hard to figure out. It was hard to add things back only to find they didn't work...The whole trial and error thing was (is) very difficult. If I would have done it during a stressful time in my life, I don't know what would have happened.

I guess what I'm saying is, if this maintaince break you are taking is not a free for all, it's going to suck just as much if not more than weight loss. I'd keep going with the weight loss, but that is only my humble opinion said with experience from both sides of the fence.