Maintaining- easy as pie?

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  • Am I the only one? I maintain for months without ever even trying. I haven't put on a pound since Christmas (the last time I exercised or counted calories) and I've actually LOST weight. I think my body just gets used to whatever amount of food I was eating before and sticks to it. Does that sound right?

    I don't want to jynx myself in the future, but I'm not all that worried about maintaining at all. I used to think, 'how the **** am I going to do that? It's impossible!' but I've managed to do it several times without cc or exercise. I always thought I was just lucky as all get out and that the NEXT time I WOULD gain something back, but I really haven't.


    EDIT: Do you guys think it's a good idea to just...stop cc for a while? Since I'm on adderall again, I don't really eat all that much, so there's no real worry of going over. I'm not just going to start eating whatever I want though, I'm still going to have to be aware, especially now since I'm eating less because I have no appetite.
  • Go ahead, post this in the Maintainers Forum on the site.

    I dare you.

    I double-dog-dare you.

  • as long as i'm eating healthy, i usually maintain pretty easily. i tend to eat the same foods, same amounts. once in awhile i have to calorie count and measure my portions, relearn, check i'm doing it correctly. so much i never knew about using less fat. or cooking without olive oil, using chicken broth instead.
  • Quote: Go ahead, post this in the Maintainers Forum on the site.

    I dare you.

    I double-dog-dare you.

    That's exactly why I posted it here LOL.
  • It seems to me that:

    Magnitude of loss/lowness of preferred BMI x time span in which you plan to maintain (forever?) = Increased difficulty.

    But this is based on my experience. I know for a fact that it was agonizing (not too strong a word) for me to maintain at less than 110 & I suffered a lot of mental & physical stress to do that.

    It's easier for me to maintain where I'm at, but it's still not easy.

    From what I've pieced together from postings here & also, based on my imperfect understanding of the human body, it may help to be younger, and to not have let things go on badly for years & years before trying to fix it & keep it running in top condition.

    Then there is the psychological aspect, which is enormous. I can't even begin to touch on that.

    If you are able to maintain the losses you've had so far, then that's excellent. If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

    Be happy. We can always use more happiness at 3FC.
  • Quote: If you are able to maintain the losses you've had so far, then that's excellent. If it ain't broke, don't fix it.
    Exactly.

    And no worries, I won't move this to maintainers... though I can't guarantee more of them won't find it and have something to say about it. Let's just say that not everyone has the same experience you do...
  • i think it's easy, for now, because i'm still at a pretty high weight. mentally, i'm comfortable enough with this size to maintain for awhile here, besides increasing muscle. lost alot of muscle from not having 'real' workouts in the past 2 months. but once i'm at a healthy weight, and intending to stay there, it will be harder. my expectation will be higher, and longer term.
  • Quote: Exactly.

    And no worries, I won't move this to maintainers... though I can't guarantee more of them won't find it and have something to say about it. Let's just say that not everyone has the same experience you do...
    I don't really see why they would feel the need to say anything about it at all. I never said losing weight was easy. I've cried and binged and given up just as many times as the rest of you. I just said that maintaining seemed to just happen naturally for me. I guess if one of them wants to start something over it though, I'll just ignore them. It's not as if I said maintaining is easy for everyone and should be.

    I didn't intend for that to come out *****y if it did.
  • The body likes balance. It always strives to keep everything in check. As long as you eat approximately the same and adjust your intake when you see a change in weight, then maintaining is the result.

    However, things WILL change. Life's like that, lol. Aging, personal crisis, increasing reliance on food as a soother plus a myriad of all the things life is made up of will alter this particular moment of balance. It'll be up to you to decide when to take action to balance it all out again.

    I got over confident of myself when I maintained a 120 pound loss for 7 years. I thought nothing could ever bring me back to obesity. <insert insane laughter here>. I went through a very bad time in my life and one day, many years later, I saw 317lbs on my scale dial. I went from 147 to 317 within 13 years.

    I am not saying that this is the same for anyone else. Nor is what you want to do in any way wrong. All I am saying is that the best course of action while maintaining is to stay aware of creeping behavioral tendencies, of weight changes and most importantly, how you think...your mindset about it all. If you know the reason you made it to 186lbs, then perhaps it is an easy adjustment for you to make to maintain your weight and your loss to date.
  • Quote: I don't really see why they would feel the need to say anything about it at all. I never said losing weight was easy. I've cried and binged and given up just as many times as the rest of you. I just said that maintaining seemed to just happen naturally for me. I guess if one of them wants to start something over it though, I'll just ignore them. It's not as if I said maintaining is easy for everyone and should be.

    I didn't intend for that to come out *****y if it did.
    But you are not at goal , yet. How is that maintaining ? Yep, you guessed it I am a maintainer and I still count calories.
  • Good for you yhahmd....that's wonderful!

    But unfortunately I can't say the same....I am at this maintenance thing for almost 2 months now and I still count because I know that if I don't I am going to balloon back up to 198lbs.....
  • Quote: But you are not at goal , yet. How is that maintaining ? Yep, you guessed it I am a maintainer and I still count calories.
    Oh, no, I'm not at goal yet. I seem to take breaks every few months and just maintain. So it IS maintaining, just not maintaining my goal weight. I should really stop taking so many breaks, but I'm not in a huge rush.

    I never blindly start eating what I want when I want, and I check the scale MAYBE three times a month, because for whatever reason I stay within the same 2-3lb range. I don't really know why.

    But now that I'm on the adderall, I just don't see a reason to keep counting calories. I don't have to worry about over eating because I don't have an appetite. Should I still be counting them?
  • I will say... I have learned to bite my tongue when it comes to saying any part of this (losing weight/keeping it off process) is easy. Because I'll have several "easy" days in a row and feel smug about it (like the cat that got the canary) and then BAM! I'm faced with a really challenging bunch of days or weeks. Just when you start thinking it's easy... it's not. LOL I don't jinx myself anymore, and don't take those days for granted. They come and they go!
  • Quote: I don't really see why they would feel the need to say anything about it at all. I never said losing weight was easy. I've cried and binged and given up just as many times as the rest of you. I just said that maintaining seemed to just happen naturally for me. I guess if one of them wants to start something over it though, I'll just ignore them. It's not as if I said maintaining is easy for everyone and should be.

    I didn't intend for that to come out *****y if it did.
    Don't worry, you aren't coming out *****y at all.

    It's just that many people have a lot of difficulty maintaining weight loss and there have been many discussions among maintainers about whether maintaining is easy, hard, etc.

    I think I had the opposite experience from you. I lost 125 pounds and it didn't really seem that hard. I was in a zone. Then I maintained that loss for a couple of years. Then the weight started coming back on (yeah, look at me use passive voice and make it seem like I didn't play a role in it), and now I've gained back 50 pounds. For me, maintenance has not been an easy road. I lost my mojo.

    So, believe it or not, it's a subject that is very emotional and can be very touchy, which is why people might want to say something about it.

    And again, if it's working for you not to count calories, then don't count. Just be prepared to change strategies if not counting stops working.

    Also, FWIW, I believe anyone who has lost a pound and kept it off is a maintainer. You are definitely a maintainer.
  • Congrats! All I can say, as a maintainer for a little over a year, that it would be great to have the same scenario that you are having! Kudos to you! And I don't mean that sarcastically. Every day is an on going battle with food for me, to the point where if I even look at a hamburger, I gain 5 lbs back. HOWEVER, I am pleased to say that through discipline and consistency I have been able to avoid bad food situations. Long story short, I think the main thing I need to work on is that I made a lifestyle change, I didn't diet. And sometimes, it'd be nice to accept that and not think that I'm dieting for the rest of my life!

    In regards to your calorie counting, I would only count them to ensure that you are getting enough so you can still function in a healthy, happy way! I count calories every day. If something doesn't have the calorie count, I don't eat it! So enjoy your new lifestyle, and congrats again for your accomplishments!