Ok, maybe it's not a secret, but maybe not widely talked about as it should be; but maintenance is HARDER than weight loss!
I think is a touchy subject and maybe it should be a secret so as not to discourage anyone, but I'd love for the maintainers to chime in on the ways in which they find maintenance to be harder than weight loss. And just to keep us positive, lets talk about some of the good stuff too.
I don't even know where to start, maybe because I haven't been maintaining or actually that's not quite true, I have been maintaining but not because I want to
But so far I've found I'm struggling more with binging now than before, maybe because I know I can binge for a weekend and then go back to 1600-1800 for the next week and lose the weight again by Friday. Or maybe it's because of some other stuff going on in my life. Or maybe because I'm training and I don't know how to eat and train, only how to exercise and lose. Or because I'm lazy and not doing the work I need to mentally to figure out why I binge.
It's a little harder at restaurants because I know I can go off plan if I *want* to but I still feel like I'm not supposed to.
Oddly the guilt over all of this stuff seems more intense. I feel more guilty when I go off plan, planned or not, now then I did before. I even feel a little guilty for eating my maintenance cals because they seem so high and almost like I'm overeating and if I keep it up I'll start gaining any day.
What's not harder? Exercise, that is easier and more enjoyable and I WANT to do it. Shopping of course, unless you consider the fact that I want to by everything and can't afford to.
I'm not sure what promted this post, I guess it's just I'm afraid of maintenance and I think the time is really here and I'm just not ready to accept it. Although another 10lbs might be nice, it's really not necessary and I don't know if it's worth it. I'd like to give it a try to see if it "solves" some of the body image issues I'm having or at least makes them smaller, but does it really matter? I'd also like to be in the middle of my healthy range and not at the top, especially if we decide to have another child. I don't know...
ETA: I forgot to mention some other good stuff, like just feeling fabulous *most* of the time and feeling slender and fit in general.
For me, at least. Losing was so much easier and it's frustrating! I reached my goal of 160 lbs on February 25, 2010. Then I gained 10 pounds early this summer and I've spent the entire summer trying to lose the stupid 10 pounds (10 pounds! Losing 60 pounds was easier than this!)
Of course I know how to do it, but I'm finding it difficult to keep my cals low enough to lose these pounds. I give into temptation much too easily in maintenance. I'm finding that I have what I call a "Salty/Cheesy" addiction. Anything with cheese and salt (such as chips) is my undoing.
No, my happy weight is NOT 170! It's 160, I've seen 160 and I want it back! Darn it. :P
I'm not even sure if this IS a maintenance issue or a commitment issue for me. I just don't see why it's difficult for me right now...when it was so much easier before.
I've always said that losing is only half of it. I've not made it to maintenance yet - but I know that just because you are done losing it does not mean the job is done. For some of us who have spent our whole lives overweight or with various eating issues we will never have a normal relsationship with food. I was stalled in the 250's forever - so I decided that instead of being mad I am not losing I would be happy I have lost 60 and maintain it for a while.....well check my stats over there and you can see how well maintenance is going. Weight loss surgery fails for a lot of people because they lost the weight but never learned how to maintain it. Losing it is just one part, then the rest of your life begins. It does not matter how any of us lose it - maintenance is the rest of our lives so we need to be just as good as that as we were at losing it. (Heres hoping I will be getting back to being good at losing lol!!).
I think that what is hard about 'maintaining' is that it is FOREVER. At least it is for me. It's got to be FOREVER, those lost lbs. will return very easily if I am not careful.
I'm just trying to figure out when my resistance to crap foods lessened... There was a time when I didn't have to fight myself every time I drive past a McDonalds.
I don't like to think of "weight loss" phase and "maintenance phase" as different things. All that I want to do is eat healthy, exercise, and stay within my calorie range. I want to do this for the rest of my life.
I think it makes it difficult when people think hitting a goal weight somehow magically changes how they eat or think about food.
That's a really good point Matt. That also explains why people who "go on a diet" often bounce back up.
I'm not at maintenance yet but I'm getting close to weighing the least I've ever weighed. "The zone" comes in waves - some days it's easy to eat 1400-1600 and be satisfied and happy, and other days it's a massive struggle to stay below 2000!
1. I have a ton of good habits and recipes
2. I get to have treats!
3. I have a bunch of really cute clothes and getting dressed every day is awesome
How it's tougher than weight loss:
1. Don't have the motivation of seeing the scale go down all the time
2. Sometimes it's harder to plan for/fit in treats than to just not eat them
3. It's forever
maintaining really is hard. when i was 17, i lost 100 lbs in the span of a year and a half or less. i was so excited over how good i looked that i sort of neglected my work out and was naive enough to think that i didn't need it anymore. then i slowly gave into fast food and all of the little urges, and over time, i started eating in the way that i had before. then came college and wooooosh, all down hill. in 2 years, i made it back to my original weight, which got me to snap out of it, and now i'm here.
i would definitely love to know the secret of maintenance lmao
The key issues for me are well covered by Glory87 and matt_H -
My own path was to eat and exercise in maintenance style and let the weight fall to wherever it chose. So there was no transition to negotiate. However, I did miss the adrenalin rush of watching the scale drop when I realized that I'd hit my maintainable weight. That's what drove me to find 3FC and The Beck Diet Solution to help my neurons stay on track.
Last edited by BillBlueEyes; 10-22-2010 at 08:45 AM.
Reason: Typo
The secret, for me, is that maintenance & weight loss are identical.
Except maintenance is running very hard to stay in one place, while weight loss is running toward a finish line somewhere up ahead.
That's why maintenance is psychologically more difficult. I have to occupy my attention & imagination with other things while remembering not to stop running, or I won't stay in place.
For me, the most difficult part of maintenance is that's when I allowed those splurges in. During the losing portion of my journey - none, zero, zippo.. I made those splurges forbidden. It was black and white. Nothing to think about *cheat wise*, nothing to ever contemplate. Once I let those splurges in.... yeah.
I too have my wonderful habits, actually rituals, down pat that keep me going day after day, week after week. I know exactly which foods work for me - and which ones don't. Big maintenance plus. I have my tool box of strategies and techniques to keep me on plan and to catch me if I should falter. Big maintenance plus.
So like I said, the only real challenges come when I plan in a treat. And I open up that can of worms. And that treat gets bigger than it should have been.
But I guess the biggest secret to maintaining the weight loss is the absolute DESIRE to be my very best. I love being slim, love it, love it, love it. And as long as I keep that desire strong - I'll be willing to do what's necessary to keep me there. But again doing what necessary at this point is automatic, habit and "just what I do" and "who I am".
Those sometimes *struggles* are part of the package. I don't let them mess with my head. For the most part.
Last edited by rockinrobin; 10-22-2010 at 07:53 AM.
I'm really new to this party we call maintenance but I do have a few thoughts about it.
Quote:
Originally Posted by matt_H
I don't like to think of "weight loss" phase and "maintenance phase" as different things. All that I want to do is eat healthy, exercise, and stay within my calorie range. I want to do this for the rest of my life.
I think it makes it difficult when people think hitting a goal weight somehow magically changes how they eat or think about food.
Amen Matt! When I started this journey I decided that I was going to find a way to eat that I will sustain for the rest of my life. Is it more work? You bet! Is it worth it? A thousand times yes! I get to feel AWESOMELY AMAZING for the rest of my life!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Glory87
How it's better than weight loss:
1. I have a ton of good habits and recipes
2. I get to have treats!
3. I have a bunch of really cute clothes and getting dressed every day is awesome
How it's tougher than weight loss:
1. Don't have the motivation of seeing the scale go down all the time
2. Sometimes it's harder to plan for/fit in treats than to just not eat them
3. It's forever
Glory brings up some great points that are all so true. I have good days and bad days. I'm more likely to overeat than skip a workout but I focus on eating well the majority of the time.
Quote:
Originally Posted by rockinrobin
To me the secret to maintaining the weight loss is the absolute DESIRE to be my very best. I love being slim, love it, love it, love it. And as long as I keep that desire strong - I'll be willing to do what's necessary to keep me there. Big secret, huh?
Robin hit it! She knows the secret. You have to want to stay here more than anything else. Your habits all work towards your goal of maintenance. All of your decisions will be based on your desire to be fit and slim. It's all about choices. Sometimes I choose to be super picky about what I eat because I am at the top of my weight range and I want to get back to the bottom. That's ok. There will always be an opportunity for a sweet treat or chips or buttery popcorn, but I want to be sure that my opportunity to wear my skinny jeans is there too!
When I started this journey I decided that I was going to find a way to eat that I will sustain for the rest of my life.
Yes!! When I began this journey, I methodicallly sat down and figured out now what I COULD stick to forever, but what I was WILLING to stick to forever. And obviously I am willing to tweak here and there as circumstances change and as I change.
Quote:
Is it more work? You bet! Is it worth it? A thousand times yes! I get to feel AWESOMELY AMAZING for the rest of my life!
And as automatic, habitual and just part of who I am, yada, yada, yada, - it DOES require effort. Since I started this journey there has not been a single day, not a single one where I did not plan out my meals in advance. Not a one. So yes, that requires some time, effort and thought.
Eating healthy foods take lots longer to prepare than unhealthy ones. But you know what, raising great kids take more effort than raising *mediocre* ones. Running a household well takes more effort than letting it run amok. That's okay. It's all effort, work, time, thought, etc. that I'm willing to put in, because the reward, the outcome is just SO worth it.
If you want the best, you have to do and BE the best.
There will always be an opportunity for a sweet treat or chips or buttery popcorn, but I want to be sure that my opportunity to wear my skinny jeans is there too!
The secret all you maintainers have been keeping
