I've been reading quite a bit on the Maintainer's forums just to research and get an idea of what I'm in for. Basically, I hear that it is just like losing and I accept that, but I currently have the scale to measure my accomplishments each week. Once I get to goal (about 9-10 wks out if I continue on plan) though, how will I measure unchanging accomplishments?

I know that, for me, FOCUS will be a top tool that I will need to use daily and having some type of goal to wrap my head around will help. I know I should be able to keep it off if I continue with what has worked for me these last 8-9 mos. But, I also know that a lot of losing/maintaining is winning out over headgames (ie laziness, worthiness, complacency etc). And I'm just not sure that I will have the same motivation, inspiration, and gut-pull to win out. I'm great at doing things until their done, but weight control is never done. Quite frankly, I'm afraid of tiring out and giving up.

Pick a favorite pair of pants...if they fit, you are ok...if they are loose....have dessert...if they are tight drop a lb or 2.

I think, after you reach your goal weight, your focus has to change to your body composition. Do you like the way you look? Do you need more muscle in your upper body? Can you lower your body fat? You can also work on weight training goals - lifting more weight or becoming stronger. You have hit on the most difficult part about maintaining for me. Without the goals and accolades that come with weight loss it is too easy to lose focus.

I definitely focus on creating a more cut version of myself, but more than anything I create physical goals that I wouldn't have even thought of before, like hiking 14-ers, running, getting involved in physical group activites and just generally taking on physically demanding challenges. I love testing my body.

I would say that running has been the largest measure of accomplishment. It's something I have never done before and can track my progress- very different than the elliptical I used to lose the weight in the first place.

I think I wasn't quite expecting to still need to set goals as far as maintaining and feel lucky that it just kind of fell into place in that regard.

I set physical goals like being able to run a certain distance in a certain time. I also am working toward attaining a particular body fat percentage by the end of the year. And I want to be able to leg press a certain weight by the end of the year. My ongoing goal is to be able to fit into a certain size. Then there's the Presidential Fitness Challenge, and some tape measure goals. I'm sure these will keep me busy well after I hit my personal scale goal (I've already hit my Weight Watcher's goal).

I try to keep in mind that it's a lifelong process to learn how to be in control of my food, instead of having it control me. Our relationship is still complicated!

I generally set fitness goals, which makes it easier to stay with healthy eating.

Bingo! If your sole focus is scale weight, you'll find that it varies and just keeping it within a 2-4 pound range is a task in itself.

When I hit my goal weight, I had the sad realization that it was nowhere near my goal body, despite the fact that I did exercise. It took me a few years to achieve the goal body. Along the way, I've set lots of physical challeges: bench press my own weight plus 10% (done), do my age in pushups every year (that's getting harder!), achieve a particular body fat which I since decided was NOT maintainable. The challenges are endless and can be as big (run a marathon) or trivial (stand and squat on a medicine ball) as you want to make them.

If you aren't an exercise person, reward yourself based on working on your relationship with food. Can you gradually get your whole family eating a healthier lifestyle? Work on family favorite recipes to turn them into maintenance friendly food.

Even though I've been at goal and under for almost 5 years, every day is still a challenge. The first time I put on clothes and they felt tight again, I knew I'd never go back.

Mel

The way I measure my accomplishment at maintence is through my journal.
I keep track of small accomplishment that are big for me. An example is today I was tired, stressed and overwhelmed and I choose a walk instead of a drive thru. When I acknowledge this in writing it validates it for me.
Stickers, charts and my weight loss record also help keep me going.

Like the ladies have said it is also fun to watch your body change with exercise. I also try and remember how hard it was to walk and breath when I was over weight.

It sounds odd, but I try to focus on goals and accomplishments other than my weight. A new best time at a given race distance. Running farther than I have before. These are quantitative and obviously fitness related. But the subtle difference is that now I try to maintain my weight so that I can run, and not run in order to maintain my weight.

But there are other things as well. Going after a promotion because I've gained self confidence. Setting a good example for my daughter. Having energy after yet another long d@mn day to spend some quality time with my husband.

I track my weight. I track my eating patterns. I track my exercise/training. I obsess about my weight management. I have to manage my weight because I don't maintain a normal weight naturally. But when I go to challenge myself, these days, I look for other avenues.

I have a lifetime to-do list a mile long. At least half of it depends on me being at something close to a normal weight. Guess where I'm staying?

Anne

Since I've been doing this I've always focussed on running goals as well as weight ones, and by coincidence I hit my big weight goal almost 6 months to the day before my marathon, so I knew pretty much that if I trained properly for the marathon, that would be six months of maintenance dealt with, and that my weight wouldn't get out of control during that period.

Now I'm coming up to that six month mark I'm coming up with new goals for myself, still running related but a little less intense, like trying to really work on my 10k time, together with a couple of half marathons to keep my legs used to the slightly longer runs.

I also have a pair of expensive jeans I bought a couple of months after I hit goal. They were pretty tight when I bought them, and the aim has been to make sure that I can still wear them. Now they're actually getting a bit looser because I've lost a few pounds more, so I'm happy, but if they start getting tight that will (hopefully) be my trigger to step up a gear in my maintenance.

I don't actually weigh myself that much at the moment. I know that what I'm doing will get the results that I want, and I know that as long as the jeans fit I'm in the right ballpark. I don't mind if I'm a bit heavier and my jeans still fit, because that could be because my body composition has changed, so weight is less and less important. At the moment I'd say I only weigh myself every 2 weeks or so, it used to be every day without fail.

I know that I'll have to watch my weight in some way or another for the rest of my life, but at the moment I'm doing things that let me be a bit less obsessive about just the number, and more focussed on other things.

I focus on how well my clothes fit. My main focus is on my health. Is my blood pressure , heart rate, liver enzymes, cholesterol, triglycerides all staying in healthy range. Do I tire easily? Do I get adequate sleep? Are my meals both satisfying and on my program? I still weigh twice a week and like to know that my weight is staying within a 5 lb. range of my goal. A week or so ago, I had gastroenteritis and lost to 8 lbs. below goal. I slacked off and ate more for a few days once I felt better and am now maintaining at about 5 lbs. below goal. I have been maintaining for 2 months now and it still is very tricky to stay in the proper range , without going too low.

Thanks for all your suggestions. This week seems to have been one of those pivotal points during this journey. I'm feeling much better today about the long term plans, and part of that is realizing that I need to shift my focus from losing to gaining: more confidence, more accomplishments, more joy... You get the picture. And I can do this by choices that I make to better myself nutritionally and physically.

For instance, I can make small and even long term goals with my running and weight training in order to build my body composition or goal body. This will improve my confidence and accomplishments, and from just that I will increase my joy and outlook, which in turn should keep me focused on what really works for me: being healthy and thin.

Thanks to all of you for being there.