Hey shr1nk1ng!! I remember you from a while back, I am still here, nearly nearly at my goal. That's great that you've maintained for so long, well done!

I wonder when it stops being maintaining and starts being just your weight?

Good luck with your next goal!!

Vix, this may be a downer but in my experience it never really does. What I mean by that is, maintaining is easier than losing because you can get away with eating more and exercising less, but if you don't watch it and stay aware of yourself you will still slip back into old habits and wind up putting the weight back on.

A healthy weight is a lifetime commitment, and if you don't monitor and maintain, it's still easy to lose control even after years, because little allowances add up over time. One day you stop going for a morning run because it's too cold, and you never start again when it warms up. You move in with a new roommate or boyfriend who buys sodas, and you let yourself have one on occasion. It doesn't happen overnight, but a year later you may step on the scale and realize those little changes have put you up 15 lbs without you really noticing.

I agree. I have done this many times before. In the past, I have always reached my goal but then I let myself slip back into old habits and gain it all back.

NOT THIS TIME.

It will never be "over" and I will always be "on a diet" because my "diet" is my lifestyle. It has to be a permanent lifestyle change or else I will just go back to being a yo-yo again.

Hi all,
I'm back on this thread too I spent the summer in Costa Rica, and kind of just had a real vacation and not a lot of internet access.

I have been at 135-139 for the last year (since I reached "Goal" last December). Really want to try to lose 5-10 pounds. I'm considering getting a tummy tuck next year for my extra skin, but I want to be at my ideal weight and make sure I am doing my part to get my body where I want it. This morning I was exactly 139.0. Time to get these extra pounds off.

I'm back home, and I've already started my hiking habit hoping to be in beast mode soon instead of feeling like I'm dying when I'm working out

Reclaiming_Waif:
nice, what jogging program are you doing? I just got back from my run--and I posted a terrible 1 mile time. not happy with it, but I'm hoping it gets better as I run more.

underanalysis:
Happy Belated Birthday!!! What kind of scale do you use for body fat? I'm considering getting either the aria or withings, but am really unsure because of reviews.

LovesToTravel:
How fun! I've always wanted to go skydiving. A lot of places have a 230 pound weight limit, so it was only a dream for a long time. Hoping to work up the courage to do it soon. I went ziplining and I was sooooo terrified but I am glad that I did it.

Vix:
Congrats! You're so close!

shr1nk1ngme:
what kind of cleanse are you doing? I've also been maintaining for the last year and have dropped of 3fcs radar, but I'm glad to be back and posting again. Trying to really get to 130 You're absolutely right. I will always be on a "diet". That's something people around me don't seem to get yet. A lot of the people around em seem to think I should be eating the way I did when I was 299lbs, and that defeats what I've done so far.

Just my own self-styled cleanse: a little bit of plain coffee in the morning, lots of herbal tea, lemon water, psyllium husks for fiber, and nutritional supplements. And it worked! I am back on my eating plan today, which is light but nutritious.

Hey everyone!

I think you're right UA, I guess if we go into maintenance with our eyes open then it's for the best. I never really thought that once I get to my goal weight I can relax, although I sure do see a lot of people saying that which sets off alarm bells for me as I know there's no relaxing, and I try to tell them but they don't seem ready to listen. A friend said it's like with your kids, you never stop worrying about them no matter how old they are, and once you've lost weight you can never stop watching what you eat. My attitude has changed so much though and I am so much happier, which is both a reason for and because of weight loss. I've also read a ton on how being organized can help and how important sleep is, just that there are ways to help yourself to eat healthily as well as with diet and exercise. And I love sleep, so its win win!

Great to have you back kisskiss! But.....Costa Rica? All summer? I am officially jealous!!!

Smidged down again to 130.4....My friend asked me why not just leave it there as my goal was 135 an I only carried on down to 130 to have a 5lb cushion, but I just want to say I got there, then I will celebrate and work out a maintenance plan to stay thereabouts, hopefully forever!

kisskiss I keep forgetting to check the brand of my scale :/ I remember I got it at Target, and I think it may be a Taylor brand. I know it's not 100% accurate so I use it more as a general trend benchmark - I only check the BF% every couple weeks when I take measurements and just look for it to be going down. I know I started at 32% according to it, and last time I checked I was at 26%

I dropped below my goal weight of 135 with 134.8 today, post-TOM. I've decided to try to take off a couple more pounds before I switch to eating maintenance, partly to act as a cushion, but also because I have two scales in my house and one consistently claims I'm 1-2 lbs heavier than the other does. I'm out to conquer *both* scales.

Vix, I tried paragliding this summer and it was really fun so I hope you guys get to enjoy it soon! Would you ever consider skydiving again or was it a "once is enough" sort of experience?

kisskiss, do try skydiving sometime- it's a blast! Ziplining is on my list too, it looks pretty crazy. Hope you enjoyed Costa Rica, sounds like paradise. Welcome back!

We got rained out on Saturday, but Sunday was perfect weather for tumbling out of a plane while wearing silly hats. It was so much fun and my nephew thought it was just the coolest thing ever. I am going to try to post a photo here, let's see if this works...

UA, that's where I am at now, in my cushion zone, although as of Friday morning I am officially at 130!!!!! And therefore I have a 5lb cushion between my current weight and my original goal weight. It's been tedious getting down here, but I'm real glad I made it!! I don't really know where to go from here, I think it will be a few weeks of working out what I can eat to stay at this weight or thereabouts and then go from there. With the supplements I take, I am going to keep taking them and maybe halve the dose in a few weeks. I have also seen the same people do a multivitamin which is something I never thought about, but it contains 5HTP which I have heard a lot about lately, it's a natural appetite suppressant and regulates mood and sleep too, so I think I will see about getting those too. Anyone else heard of this or tried 5HTP?

But, I'm super happy I've found an exercise routine I really like, I thought it would be a case of wanting to go easy on the work outs once I got here but I really can't imagine now not going to the classes - they are great for a release, for meeting people, keeping inspired and motivated and I really do feel so much younger!

LTT, noo way, I would love to skydive again!! I guess I just never found anyone else who wanted to do it with me - my friends were very much, once is enough but I would do it every day if I could!! Maybe I can see if my boyfriend would do it after we see how the paragliding is. I think we might be doing it this Sunday actually!!

kisskiss I am doing C25K. It starts you off slowly. You do intervals of jogging and walking and gradually over the course of 9 weeks, you will be able to run for 30 minutes without stopping. There is a free app I put on my iPhone from Zenlabs that is great. You can listen to your music (I use a Spotify app) and it dings in and tells you when to jog and when to walk.

I just started week 7 and jogged 25 minutes straight. I was the girl that would seriously pray for a sprained ankle so I could get out of running laps at PE. I came in dead last every time. I may still come in last, but I would be able to finish without walking. I have signed up for a 5K to do in two weeks.

I went to a wedding last weekend. Barbeque on Friday with beer, pork loin, wine, and cake at the wedding, bloody marys at brunch on Sunday. I stepped on the scale when I got home and I went from 134.9 to 140 ! No way is that real. I am not going to weigh myself until Saturday and drink lots of water and try to detox.

Congrats on hitting 130 vix! 130 is the lowest I've ever been. Sometimes I think about continuing to go down... at my height I could go as low as 118 before I'd hit "underweight" on BMI and I have to wonder what I'd look like at 120, but I know I wouldn't be able to maintain that.

Right now I think I'm going to keep focused on losing until Halloween, then for the winter I'll switch into maintenance and just focus on my workouts more than my diet, and see where I end up come February.

I drank lots of water and the weight came off in a day. I am down to 134.5! I ran for 25 minutes today and this was the hardest day yet, even though I ran the same amount of time and same speed two days ago. I had not eaten anything before I got on and I think that was probably the difference. I started counting down when I still had 12 minutes left

The days that I jog, I also take my dog around the block and I usually can get 10,000 steps in for the day which is usually around 5 miles of walking.

I have not been to yoga in a while and I think I should drop my membership and just pay as I go if I want to get back into it. I think the jogging is replacing it as my de-stresser...and it is free.

I put pictures on FB of my hubby and I at the wedding and I got comments that we looked like we lost weight, so people can tell! Something else I feel good about --- my mother is inspired by us and is cutting back. She had weight loss surgery ten years ago and gained a lot back. Everyone around her is dieting, including my dad who has lost 30 pounds, so I think she is in the mindset now. She is down 10.

So, I made my goal last week and celebrated with a joint party with my sis, who has also been losing weight for a year or so with phentermine and reached her goal a month or so back, we are unofficially known as the slimming sisters in my town! We made it an active party with dance star and it was at our friend's house who has a pool, so it was in-keeping with our new healthy lifestyles but we did have a cake of course! I read that in maintenance weighing every day is actually a good idea so I have been doing that this week. I have been around 129.8 to 130.5 all week, the higher end today as it's that TOM so I'm not stressing too much. Going to eat 100 cals more a day next week, 200 the week after etc and see how I go. I don't mind some upping and downing but if I see a rise week after week I will cut back. It's all so scientific!!

Great news RW!!! And so great that you are inspiring your mom too!

How is everyone?!

Oh, nearly forgot - me and the boyfriend are booked in for October 26th to do paragliding!! EEEEKKKK!!

vix, that's so great you have someone to celebrate with who knows what you're going through. My mom is visiting me this week, and although she's excited to see me looking thinner and fitter and has herself struggled with weight for decades, she's making my meals difficult in an exciting variety of ways.

RW, nice loss! Sounds like you're being more active too. It'll be easier in Texas this time of year as the heat backs off. Whew.

My mom's visit is cramping my workouts and hitting me with big meals as well, so it's a struggle, but I'm at 134.8 right now and hoping not to lose the thread at least.

Vix, woohoo on book your paragliding, that's great! I think you and your boyfriend will really enjoy it, I thought it was fun and relaxing to just float around up there and enjoy the views. I would also want to skydive again and am considering doing another tandem jump for my birthday next year- it was such a sensory overload I'd like to try again now that I know what to expect. I put some thought into taking skydiving lessons to try jumping solo, but I've got too many other commitments to put the $$ and time into at this point in my life. Maybe later though!

Reclaiming_Waif, that's fantastic that you've inspired someone else to get healthier, nice job! I agree that walking and jogging can be major de-stressors, keep it up.

underanalysis, hang in there. Family visits can be tough, definitely.

Nothing new to report here. I had some heavier eating days this month and saw the scale start to tip up a little, but the nice thing about tracking my daily morning weights is that I'm always conscious of it and can pull back before things get out of hand. So the journal I've been keeping since the spring is staying for the foreseeable future, it's working wonderfully.