Hi everyone,

I'm fairly new to 3FC after a long stint with eDiets. Through calorie-counting and exercise, I have been able to lose about 50 pounds in the past 10 months. However, I'm getting to the point where I'm getting "too comfortable" and I'm worried that it'll be all to easy for me to gain back the weight. I don't want to have to count my calories every day for the rest of my life, but I don't know what else I can do. Please help me!!

Sarah

First of all welcome! Secondly, congratulations on your loss so far - that is excellent.

It is great that you have noticed you are getting a little complacent and that you can now stop it from happening.

I understand your concern of not wanting to count calories forever, but if its necessary, its necessary. If you are able to go from day to day knowing that you are within your limit - go for it. Perhaps once a week make a note of what you are eating typically and assess yourself from there. You may find you are sneaking in some stuff that you shouldn't.

Is there something in particular that you are doing that you think is causing concern? Not exercising regularly? Portions out of control? Eating overly processed foods? Find the cause and I am sure we can come up with a solution for you

It might be a good idea to check out the maintainers board - it should give you an idea of how people have managed to keep the weight off and how to incorporate the changes they've made into everyday life.

Hi Sarah-Congratulations on your loss!

I know what you mean-it is kind of off putting to think this has to be done forever, and I don't think for most of us that it does. I wasn't always overweight, and when I wasn't, I didn't have to count my calories to maintain my weight, so I don't plan on doing it once I reach my goal. I'm going to give myself a kind of scale gauge with a 5 pound limit. If I go back up more than 5 pounds I'm gonna start counting again until I get it back down. That amount should cover any normal fluctuations so that I don't have to get too freaked out about it on a regular basis. But it will also let me relax about it for the most part and give me a set signal when I've relaxed about it a little too much. Some of us may need to count longer, and even if it's forever, that's a small price to pay when you think about how it feels and the health risks involved to be overweight.

Hi Sarah-Congratulations on your loss!

I know what you mean-it is kind of off putting to think this has to be done forever, and I don't think for most of us that it does. I wasn't always overweight, and when I wasn't, I didn't have to count my calories to maintain my weight, so I don't plan on doing it once I reach my goal. I'm going to give myself a kind of scale gauge with a 5 pound limit. If I go back up more than 5 pounds I'm gonna start counting again until I get it back down. That amount should cover any normal fluctuations so that I don't have to get too freaked out about it on a regular basis. But it will also let me relax about it for the most part and give me a set signal when I've relaxed about it a little too much. Some of us may need to count longer, and even if it's forever, that's a small price to pay when you think about how it feels and the health risks involoved to be overweight.

Also why not just trying to count calories every other day and see how things go from there?

Hi Sarah,

I feel like that at times, too! I've learned that maintaining will take some work from my end though, and that's just all there is to that. The more you do it though, the more it becomes secong nature. I also tweak my diet quite a bit to change it up- sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. I guess the key thing is that I just don't want to go back there- back to my old size and my old way of eating. I feel way better this way, inside and out.

i second Daisy's inquiry, though- do you have a specific concern, like portion control, exercise? I got into a huge rut and put on almost 10 pounds last winter because I got into a funk and stopped working out. I'm determined not to let that happen again. That's actually when I found this site

Thank you guys all so much for your responses! They will help me stay motivated

One of my biggest concerns is that I have always been a night snacker and I have trouble with this being away at school and not having a lot of things to distract me. I think that I need to find something to keep my hands busy when I'm not studying so that I can't continue to eat.

I love the ideas of counting calories every other day or so, and giving myself a limit on how much I am willing to fluctuate with my weight. I'm getting nervous about the holidays but now that my family knows how serious I am about weight loss, maybe we'll be able to find some healthier alternatives.

Thanks again everyone, I'm psyched to be a part of this community

Hi! Congrats on your weight loss thus far! Just curious,... How does ediets work?

I 110% understand about the idle hands. Here's a list of things that I do to keep me from snacking and/or smoking (and it helps you get a bit more exercise in):

1. Play with my kitties.
2. Rearrange furniture.
3. Go for a long walk with a particular thought in mind that I think out, and don't stop walking until I work it out.
4. Window shopping (if you aren't in a high crime area, this can be really relaxing, and it gets me all excited for those things that I'll fit in to soon enough).
5. Ice skating/swimming
6. Scrapbooking
7. Reading (make sure it's rivetting!)
8. Sometimes I put on really loud music and dance around my house like crazy, singing at the top of my lungs. Talk about a stress reliever!
9. Writing. I write poetry, letters, short stories, sometimes just how I'm feeling about the specific thing I'm avoiding (like snacking). Sometimes working it out all the way through is enough to keep me from making that trip to the fridge.
10. Super cleaning (aka: Spring cleaning, not always limited to Spring).
11. Emmerse myself in this forum! Like right now! LOL.
12. Pamper. Sometimes there just isn't anything to do, so I'll give myself a mini facial, soak in a hot tub, wax my legs, and do my nails. I feel soo good after!

Hopefully that helps.

And I hope this isn't stepping on too many toes, or offensive in any way. If I've crossed the line, feel free to tell me to shut up!

But you said you weren't always overweight. Neither was I. I used to be really active as a teenager, and didn't start gaining until I didn't have school/friends/extracurricular activities to keep me busy. When I became an adult, I had a lot of time for painful issues to surface. I found that instead of dealing with them, and quieting my mind, I would stuff myself until I could barely sit up (I'm a HUGE binge eater). Only in resolving some of these issues, and coming to grips with them. Even just accepting that it's an issue, it has really helped me overcome some of my hardest obstacles. Is there something/someone that happened in your life that may have started the downward spiral? If so, have you taken the time out to not just heal yourself physically, but also emotionally?

I'm just suggesting that if any such issue exists, in dealing with it, you may in turn resolve the food issues, and you will once again be able to live as you did before.

I also really like dollypie's idea of counting every second day, then every third day, then once a week, and so on. The combine it with the idea to maintain yourself within a 5lb radius, and if you step out of that radius, go back to cal counting.

I hope I helped!

~Mande