Hi, I'm Val. I've been maintaining for about 3.5 months now, just found 3FC while looking for a Beck Diet Solution forum.

Welcom Val! I read the beck diet solution book and it definitely helped me change my way of thinking about food, specially realizing that hunger is not an emergency, etc. Congrats on your success and maintenance!

Hi everybody. I've been lurking around here since mid summer. I was at the tale end of another round of Weight loss, and knew I needed to get my head wrapped around maintaining, even before I lost all the weight. All of you have been very helpful.

I'm a WW lifetime member, 2nd time around. I've been maintaining since September.

My mother has always been heavy and my sisters and I have to ever watchful, we don't wind up weighing 250+ with all her medical conditions. EEk. Diabetes, blood pressure, c-pap machine, bad back, hips and knees, and on and on.

A little about me, married, grown twin boys, 2 granddaughters, work for a veterinarian and live on a farm.

Hi all,
I'm new to 3FC- I lost 120ish pounds using Medifast- reached goal Oct 19th 2011, so I'm exactly 3 months post goal. After 8 weeks of transitioning from medifast to real food, I'm settling in with calorie counting and beefing up my exercise program. I've been looking around for a maintainers group and I'm so happy to have found this one!

I am 44, professional, married, mother of one 6 year old, 2 cats and a crazy dog (a goldendoodle). I was overweight since early childhood, was 215 at high school graduation and never had any success with weight loss (maybe 20lbs here or there quickly regained) until I started this last time in Nov 2010. I went from a size 26 to a size 6. It's been quite an adjustment.

I've been reading about maintenance and endocrine changes -- this maintenance thing is going to be a challenge, but I'm thrilled to have found this group and the rich resources you have with your long time maintainers!

I was a member of 3 fat chicks back in 2006. I failed on a diet of my own doing. I just couldn't get all the way down there. After my parents passed and all that was associated with that, this January, kind of on a whim. I joined HMR and did the decision free plan. And I lost it. 60 lbs All in about 6 months. I went from 214 on my scale to 155 on my scale.

I have decided to stop and maintain -- at least for a while.

I spent a lot of money on HMR and I simply refuse to gain it back. I still have a lot of HMR food and as much as I want to "eat normally" if I gain more than 5 lbs (water or no) I will go back on the diet until I am back to 155. The plan is that this January, I am going back on the dieting portion to attempt to lose 20 lbs more.

But I know it is crucially important for me to not gain it back. I have been off the active portion of dieting since August. Unlike other diets where I gained it back hand over foot.. this time, I didn't. I suspect that due to the low calories of HMR / lack of any wheat / pasta, I am no longer insulin resistant. My blood sugar is 75-79.

I am a maintenance virgin. NEVER have made my goal weight since I have been dieting. Over 20 years. So I want to get this right.

Congratulations on making goal, Ann! FWIW, for me the crucial behavior (besides still exercising and limiting portions) is daily weighing. I try to not skip weighing unless I'm out of town. I ESPECIALLY think it's crucial to weigh if I suspect that I might have gained, such as after a 'bad' day or after a vacation. I never let myself fall into the trap of being 'afraid' to weigh. If I feel afraid to weigh because I'm worried I've gained, that's when it's MOST important to weigh.

Val

Thanks Val. I am going to start a thread to ask for advice but I do think that is going to be a large part of it. I do weigh myself daily now.

HopeT - Season's Greetings - Have entered the maintenance phase from IP - this is proving to be quite challenging, especially now that the holidays are here.. Looking forward to reading about reasonable choices!

Welcome, goldendoodle, Ann and Hope. This is a great place to get support for the challenges that lay ahead.

Is this the first time or one of many times that you've tried to lose weight?
This is the second time I've lost a significant amount of weight -- 10 years before this round I lost 26 pounds on Body for Life, but I was trying to get pregnant and it took a few months and I fell off the wagon. In 2010 I realized I'd gotten up to 212 and started working out again, but just after my 40th birthday I found myself pregnant again. I took a break until January 2012 when I started tracking my food online. At first I just wanted to go from Obese to Overweight, but when I saw how well tracking worked I decided to go for a healthy BMI. I was nursing a baby and now that weaning is done I realize what an advantage that was. But I've become more active now.

Are you where you want to be?
I am finding my level by eating 2,000 cal/day and alternating 10,000 steps a day with full body strength days. So we'll see. I've kept losing gradually since I reached my goal in December. I first heard this concept of goal weight from The Beck Diet Solution site.

How has life changed for you since you've lost the weight?
It feels great knowing I have kept promises to myself. That's really the main thing.

If you're maintaining, what's that like for you?
I have made it my mission to know everything I can learn about maintenance to stick with the 5%. I read a lot of the NWCR research, though after a few months I felt less afraid that I my commitment would evaporate, and I just need to work the predictor behaviors the NWCR identified.

Do you exercise regularly?
Absolutely. It was a learning curve at first but I really don't mind it now. I especially like how strength training makes me feel. I want to do a pull-up someday.

Now that you're near or at your goal, what are your concerns?
The toughest predictor for me is dietary consistency, or having the same nutrition goals 365 days a year.

And anything else that you might want to share with us!
I decided to try this forum because you have height on the identities. I think height and how much weight you started with make a big difference to your experience.

Hey Tricia! Congrats on your weight loss. Come chat with us in the weekly chat.

Dietary consistency is a tough one for me, too. I do so much better with a plan that I can count on.

Hi..my name is Rita and I am semiretired.I have been lurking for 2 months while dieting counting calories and carbs and have lost 15 lb.I am 5 ft 5.5 inches tall and currently weigh 145 but would like to attain a goal of 135 to 140 lb.I have been lurking on the maintainers sites and am impressed with everyone here.Everyone is so intelligent and well versed.You have all kept me amused and entertained with your posts.I finally got the nerve to sign up when silverbirch attempted to out us lurkers.I cant think of a better bunch of people to diet with.

Rita, I'm so pleased you've posted!



You flatter us but thank you, all the same! Come and post on the Bulge thread. You can post whatever you like - we thrive on variety! See you over there.

I have been losing weight since March of last year. Thus far I have lost 110 pounds and I am intending to lose 15 more. So, I can't say I am maintaining yet, except for the pounds I have already lost of course

I have really loved looking through the Maintenance forum...I am just a sponge soaking up all the advice, techniques and life experiences posted by members. I never want to EVER regain the weight I lost. I am going to keep doing what I did to lose the weight - go to Weight Watcher meetings, read up on 3FC daily, exercise 5-6 times a week and track my points. I also like the idea of a "redline" weight, I believe it is called. With WW you are not supposed to go two pounds under and two pounds over your goal weight. So I suppose that would be my redline weight.

A little about me...I have a real sweet tooth. I love desserts like nobody's business. I can't really have much of it in the house (like birthday cake or ice cream), but found that I am not tempted by granola bars or honey or brown sugar. I am a Christian but obviously love and embrace everyone. Just sometimes it is good to know that, I suppose.

One last thing about me, I feel like I have been given an incredible gift - a new lease on life. As I believe Meg has said in a past thread, everyday feels like Christmas. And as Robin has said, I get to play dress up everyday and I feel like a real life princess. I would not trade these feelings for my old unhappy life and I am looking to acquire as much knowledge and skills as it takes and put them into practice in order to keep at it.

As I mentioned, I have 15 more pounds to lose. I am really looking forward to reaching my goal weight and entering the maintenance phase. I have a little contest with my boss to reach our goal weights in the next 1.5 months. It is something light-hearted and fun; if we don't reach our goal weights on the day of we are not going to be terribly upset or anything. But in the midst of this dreadful winter weather, it is a nice sunny spot to look forward to and we are both excited about it.

Welcome and good luck, you are off to a great start.