I started WW in January and I went from 220 to 187 pounds.(I am 5'6") I realize that this is not my goal weight, I'd really like to take off another 30 pounds. I have gotten frustrated from very slow weight loss recently and feel like my body might do better if I focus on maintaining this 32 pound loss for a while then get back to weight loss. Has anyone done this-put their strict weight loss regime on hold while regaining their focus? Or does this sound like a slippery slope to regaining the weight I lost? Every day I start off with the best intentions and at 4:00pm due to the stress of the day, I end up feeling like I just want to maintain my weight. Do you have any suggestions for me? Thanks! Kris

If you are committed to maintaining your weight loss and not giving up and returning to your old way of eating, it doesn't sound like a slippery slope at all.

I am concerned you have a "strict weight loss regime." How will you maintain that your whole life? When you do reach your goal weight and want to stop your regime, what was your plan to maintain?

It sounds like you are getting tired of the strictness. It might be better to tweak what you are doing so you are happier and more satisfied, do something that you can see yourself doing forever.

Weight loss is just one battle. Maintenance is the war.

Truer words were never spoken!

I think it is perfectly acceptable to take a little time to refocus. First of all, it takes a while for your brain to catch up to your body. To me, a maintainence break isn't about stopping what you are doing. After all, you will have to exercise and eat this way for the rest of your life if you want to keep the weight you've lost off. Rather, it is about letting go of the mental and emotional stress caused by stepping on the scale and EXPECTING a loss. Especially once your weight loss starts to slow it can be absolutely exhausting anticipating whether or not your efforts are going to pay off.

Perhaps it would help if you focused on maintaining your weight loss and instead concentrated on other health related goals. Maybe weights, running, or whatever you enjoy.

Whatever you choose to do, just don't let all of your control fly out of the window. I think it only become a slippery slope if by "break" you mean taking time off from your new and improved eating habits. But it doesn't sound like that is what you have in mind at all.

I agree with Lucky. I think a maintenance period is a good idea. If you are finding your life a little more stressing lately, then relax about your weight loss and move into maintenance for awhile. Think of it as a practice period to see if you really can maintane your weight.

No one said you have to lose all the weight in one go around. Take it in stages if you want. Hopefully this is a life long change for you. If it is, then how fast you lose it isn't important. What is important is keeping the positive changes you've made.

My response is a bit different! I think you are sounding very tired and frustrated. The MOST important thing in life is to be happy... so I think you should take a break (a small one and a controlled one ofcourse!) because you've done great so far! sometimes the body responds slowly and sometimes faster...

A big disadvantage may be that once people get off the diet/exercise plans...they may just give up totally! so I'd say stay controlled (write down what to eat...may be indulge in your fav food just once a week or something and dont stop exercising)...just be LITTLE bit more easy for 2-3 weeks and jump back in with even more excitement!

I hope that helps

We're at about the same stage in our weight loss journey and I know how frustrating it gets sometimes, having to watch every bite and get our exercise in. It's been very slow going for me (over 2 years) to lose 36 lbs. I chose the 'slow but sure' route as I have previously regained all the weight when I've not been able to stick to a very low calorie diet and gotten discouraged.

I'm not sure how many calories you are allowed on WW because I don't really understand the 'points' system, but maybe they have a plan for slower weight loss so that you can keep your food intake under control but have a little more leeway.

I won't be ever be going on 'maintenance' because I'm eating the amount of calories now that I'm satisfied with (about 1650 per day) and maybe it will eventually get me to my goal, or I might have to 'settle' at 160 or 170 eventually instead of my current goal. I know from past experience that I could lose quicker and maybe even get down to 145 lbs., but probably wouldn't stay at that weight for long if it got to be a drag obsessing about food every day.

For me, times of stress are when I start to gain - so I have to be extra vigilant about what I'm eating when life gets stressful. Let's face it, we'll all have stress at some time or other - it's not going to disappear when we've lost the weight.

I hope you find a happy medium in your weight loss journey and manage to cope with stress without losing sight of your goal.

I have hit plateau's along this journey and felt like giving up. But, really it was nice to know that with eating right and exercising that I could maintain the weight I had lost for a month or more at a time. I think there is nothing wrong with taking a break and maintaining for a while. Each time I really cracked down after a plateau, I'd be losing about 2 lbs. a week again for the next couple of months. Do whatever your body is telling you to do. You have done fantastic so far. If you start to gain any just step it up a notch and get back into the weight loss mode. Good luck on whatever you decide.

I lost 60lbs last year, this year i've lost 4 or 5. I am eating at a maintenance level, and exercising harder than I ever have in my life. I wanted to have a go at maintaining before tackling the next lot of weight. I lose very slowly, and I was becoming a complete basket case, really stressed all the time.

Every person's journey is different, and you've got to do what works for you.

I haven't gained at all on this journey I've been on for 18 months, and I'm proud of that, but I just was starting to feel the toll of being scale bound.

Weird thing is, that this year I've lost lots of inches, one and a half dress sizes, and I feel fantastic

Wow

Thanks for all of the great responses. Obviously, many of you have been where I am and are not letting all of their hard work go to waste by giving up all of their good habits that they have developed, but are not being prisoners of the scale. I like the idea of counting calories because it gives you freedom and the ability to lose/maintain as you choose. What I'd really like to do is find a level of calories at which I am very gradually losing and just live on it. The book Calorie Queens suggests that if you want to be 150 lbs. (which is around where I'd like to be someday) that you eat 1800 calories a day which is about what a 150 pound person needs daily to maintain their weight. What do you guys think of that?

I think that sounds great.

I was thinking about the Calorie Queens earlier today. I think it's a good idea if you aren't in a hurry to lose weight. I know I'm not. I want to find what will work for me forever. Eventually the weight will come off. And I'm in no hurry. It is a little scarey for me since I've never been thinner than I am right now in my whole teen/adult life. So taking it slow is good for my mental stability as well as for my body and future.