best site eve
 

If you have a question about any of the diets this is the place to come. They have helped me a lot and given me encouragement when I needed it.:carrot:

That's why I joined because I'm confident I can come here DAILY :D and get support and answer questions I might have...I will be going on my first consultation next week, but as I've read, it seems that maintenance seems to be hard to follow and weight begins to come back ...why is that?

"If you do what you always did, you get what you always got". If people just lose the weight and then all of a sudden go back to eating carbs etc. the weight will come back. You need to phase off properly and then re-change a bit of thinking. I'm not on maintenance but I think you don't mix carbs and fats, for example. Think about how often we do that - butter on toast, pasta and sauce... there are habits we need to change but many people don't take time to do that. However, there are many maintainers on here that can help us learn to overcome those challenges too. :)

Wow! Long answer about restarts
 

I feel compelled to post here -- you are very observant! Maintenance IS hard to follow, but not just on IP - it's hard on any program

Those of us who have gained and lost and gained (plus extra) and lost and regained, etc., etc., can tell you that losing weight is difficult, but maintaining the loss is very tough too -- whether it's IP or WW or counting calories, or any of the many programs out there, taking the first step is a major hurdle, but it is only the first one.

You start,and then once you 'own' the basics of your program, you get your rhythm going. Your focus is staying with your program and being patient with the scale. It demands your sustained commitment and attention details, and being prepared to deal with unplanned life situations and challenges until your reach your goal.

All along that path you have pretty strong incentives as you begin to see yourself looking better and as you begin to feel better, shedding the excess pounds you are carrying around. People notice your progress. You receive compliments. And then, the closer you get to your goal, the more easy it is to take the lost pounds for granted... the less compelling your incentives become, and the more tempted you might be to stray or cheat. And of course, for every 2 or 3 people who congratulate you on your results there is at least one who feels compelled to warn you that you might be getting too thin.

Hanging in to actually meet goal separates the men from the boys -- some feel good enough when they get to 5 or 10 lbs from goal that they begin to slide. Small steps away from program... little cheats can become frequent and maybe there is an uptick on the scale, and it's very hard to get yourself back on the full program (100 % no cheats). If you are really determined, you muster the will power and stay the straight and narrow to your goal weight.

So losing requires commitment and persistence for as long as it takes to get to your goal. And then, maintaining that goal weight demands your commitment and attention for the rest of your life. It's hard, really hard. IP has a step-down set of phases that will help you ease back into a greater variety of regular foods. For some, the easing of the rules, the looser structure, is a real struggle -- some find it too easy to reach out for foods they have missed, and pretty soon they just fall back to old eating habits. For others, it can be a time of fear - after working so hard to lose the weight, leaving the structure of P1 and P2 means facing some risk of gaining pounds, and they want to delay making changes.

Under the best circumstances, that fear can serve as kind of a disincentive -- after all - those incentives that were so real on the path to goal, become less and less applicable. Your friends and family and coworkers gradually stop celebrating your achievement and they, along with you, adopt expectations that you have made this weight your new 'normal.'

In maintenance, each day -- through weddings and parties and holiday celebrations and office events, including the stresses and strains of day to day life, you have to make choices that will keep you in balance so you can stay at or very close to goal. Taking on the needed lifestyle changes is a whole new set of hurdles, and requires commitment for the long haul.

Lisa has a great quote in her signature line that describes all this so well in just a few words:
Losing weight is hard. Maintenance is hard. Being fat is hard. Pick your hard. (-Ishbel)

This is the basic scenario for any of the weight loss programs - it is not unique to IP. The great thing about IP is the step down approach, some ongoing coaching support, that will work if you work it. And you see that people who have had the misfortune of regaining some pounds come back to IP to adopt Phase 1 or Phase 2, knowing that it worked for them before and it will help them get back on track to their goal.

There is nothing more depressing than working so hard to lose excess weight, and then falling back into old habits and regaining. It's excruciatingly debilitating. Facing up to the situation and taking steps to re-lose is as hard or harder than taking that first step the first time you embraced the goal of losing weight and took action to do it.

In addition to IP, this 3FC forum provides a soft landing place to begin again. Those with experience help you to re-start and find your rhythm again for losing. They share tips and tricks for getting ready for maintenance so you can successfully embrace it as a new eating lifestyle.

Sorry for the long post - but if you have not seen this or experienced this before, you might think that restarts are a product of IP -- that's not the case at all. It's behaviors that are at the core of the syndrome that leads us to being overweight or obese in the first place. No matter what diet or weight loss approach we take, we all face the challenge of keeping off whatever we lose.

Wow...Oneuh2...well said!!!!! I am a first time dieter here and just learning. What an amazing perspective you share with us all....thanks!!!

Sorry for such a long posting... This is my first engagement with Ideal Protein, but I have lost weight so many times, using every program you can imagine. I am determined to make this the last time I lose the weight temporarily, and instead make it a successful lifestyle change that will help me maintain for the rest of my life.

I have spent my whole life since the age of 16 trying to manage my eating and control my weight. I really need to stop doing the same thing and expecting a different result. This 3FC forum is a godsend. So glad to be part of it.

I really like that, thanks, I will write it down and read it every morning :) You're right, we need to change our bad habits to maintain thanks for your response. :carrot::carrot:

Oh no, why sorry? On the contrary, thank you so much oneuh for taking time to explain how maintenance can be hard with any diet/program. I know that losing weight is the easier part of the journey, maintaining it is the real challenge. I'm glad a friend told me about IP and I'm more glad that I found this forum with such helpful, knowledgeable and encouraging members! :carrot:

This is all so true, oneuh2... Once we are in maintenance, the goal oriented feedback is now gone and it's just a boring old hold pattern, in a way.
What we need to do is to celebrate every 'staying at goal' weigh-in after switching from looking at lbs lost/inches lost while dieting. We will not be getting that feedback from friends & relatives, since to them - nothing is happening. Whereas we really know that the 'keeping to healthy maintenance eating' IS what is happening.
Always keep at least one pair of non Lycra-infused jeans around (like the old style Levis) that just fit perfectly at maintenance, and wear them regularly (at least once a week, lol). That will tell a person PDQ when they are starting to gain. Stretchy waistbands and track pants can be a bad thing in maintenance :s:

Liana

Oneuh2, that was amazing. It's so true and well put. I needed to hear it just like you said it. Thank you.

Gosh - thanks for the kind remarks!


Liana: What a good idea, Liana! I have not spent much time in the maintenance threads yet, so I don't know if you all in the later phases do that, but if not, maybe we could create a daily or weekly thread with just that purpose!


Ariel13: Yikes! Your simple question about restarts really struck at my core. I know that I am not the only one who lives this yo yo cycle. But this really is my lifetime struggle - trying to find the right combination of eating, exercising, and thinking that will allow me to maintain a reasonable level of fitness, contribute to good health, and allow me to feel ok about how I look when I catch my reflection in a window or walk into a room. The support from this forum is really energizing and gives me great hope that I can really make it happen this time. I think you and I have both struck gold, Ariel13 - IP and 3FC can be a truly winning combination if we stay on program all the way through. :hug:

What an awesome discussion! This really resonates with me. I've been such a yo-yo dieter these last few years. This is a restart for me. This time, I'm thinking of this as my healthy way of eating for life...with HEALTHY extras sprinkled in at maintenance. Looking forward to develop healthy behaviors!! :)

FitMom02:
So glad my monologue is connecting with some of us -- for most of us, this is not our first foray into tackling our weight. Making that lifestyle change to keep it off after you lose it takes a huge long term commitment, and none of us are perfect. So glad you could get back on track to face and overcome the challenge!

Just a suggestion gals...reread your Consultation and Initial Appointment Guide (the 4 pages). Also the handout on "Habits - They're Not Who We Really Are"
If you don't have those - ask your coach to get them from the Coaching Resources - you should be getting a helpful & informative handout at every weigh-in.

These can help with changing your "yo-yoing" mindset and help you move to realistic healthy habits.

:hug:
Liana

Thanks for the reminder about those hand outs, Liana! I don't get new material each visit... and there is a problem getting me on the mail list for daily emails. I'll address those things when I go to WI #4 on Thursday!