Tomorrow will mark my 4 yr anniversary of weight maintenance. I have sustained my approximately 60# loss by doing those things I did while losing the weight. I weigh daily (when possible, travel days excepted), record what I eat (regardless of how inaccurate the estimates are at times) and weigh my food (mostly the calorie dense ones). I engage in exercise and think it is helpful in many areas. However, I have never counted on it to lose weight.

I continuously read on matters of health and try different approaches to my eating patterns. These include but are not limited to formation of habits, fasting and different effects of carbs/ proteins/ fats.

There are a number of websites I visit on a regular basis. This helps me to stay current with the research and strategies and incorporate into my life. I will never, ever again the “isle of denial”. Anything that is important in my life requires ongoing, daily attention. I am initially slim and will stay that way if left to my own devises.

3FC is where I started this journey, and it is where I chose to post about my success, which is rare. That maintenance is quite rare is a given. There are many reasons for it. Rare, however, is not impossible. Paying attention to my maintenance is the reason I have sustained it.

I share these thoughts in order to encourage those embarking on this journey. I love my slim life. I will never be fat again.

congrats! I love seeing 3fcers who are maintaining for a significant amount of time. Btw I love your ticker graph of maintenance range. I'm going to try to add one of those to mine once I reach my new goal of 129

Many congratulations, Karen! And thank you for telling us about what you do in maintenance. This is what jumped out at me:

Paying attention. It's so important.

Thank you once again.

Congratulations, Karen!

Congragulations! Amazing Accomplishment! I am just starting out in Maintenance, but poeple like you prove and are proving it can be done!

Its all about doing those things, those important habits Day in and day out!

I reached goal many times but could not maintain my loss. Last time I got to goal I asked long term maintainers how they dud it, There answer was revokutionary to me, The answer they kepit off th same way they lost it they must know something I don't so I tried it and it worked for meI J still count calories, still plan all meals ahead time / It is worth it.

Congratulations Karen!
Your story is so inspirational to me! I'm only 8 weeks into maintenance and feel great too. I am living the same way I was while losing but just adding a little more food and I'm finally figuring out the way to keep it off is to be diligent and pay attention as you stated. I don't know the percentage of people that keep it off but it's low and I plan to be one of them. Let's raise that percentage!

Thank you so much for sharing!

Congratulations.

Well done on having established and continuing the routine for so many years, and on adjusting it as and when necessary.

Honestly, being vigilant is a normal thing to do and many individuals who've never had a weight problem in their lives (that I know) are extremely vigilant in making sure that they do not overindulge.

This is exactly right. Being slim allows other slim people to comment on their weight maintanence behaviors in a way they do not if I were still overweight. They fear sounding insensitive or rude to me, it is from a position of concern from which their reticence stems . I have learned a lot from the slim ones, in that they are not oblivious to their weight. They monitor it, albeit it in a variety of ways, but none the less, they are aware. It is never a mystery to them.

Goodness knows, it was a mystery to me, right up to 192#.

Never, ever, ever again.

Thanks for the nice compliments!

I see you are 5 feet 8in. A person of that height would be normal at 143 lb.

Karen - congratulations on achieving the weight that works for you, in the way that works for you! Wishing you many more years of happy maintenance!

Congratulations!! I love seeing posts like yours; it proves that it CAN be done.

Congratulations on 4 years of maintenance! Mindfulness goes a long way and I agree with what you've said - there is no mystery.

Congratulations Karen,
It's good to hear that you are still doing well.