[saskie]

As lifetime members, I hoping for a little help, advice, and inspiration from you all. I am sure many of you have observed my little struggles over the past few months, since reaching goal in January, and becoming a lifetimer in February. I continue to weigh in every week, attend meetings every week, and to journal every item I eat- over pts or not, it is written down. I have not had as much time for exercise lately, due to a busy work and school schedule, but have continued to exercise almost daily.
The problem is this: I stay on points for a few days, and then for one or two days I just totally blow my pts. I have come to the realization that I do not NEED to lose any more weight, although I had initially hoped to lose a little more. I have a bunch of papers due this week, and then finals for the two weeks after that. I am considering allowing myself a higher pts range for that time, to see how I do at maintaining. I also plan to intensify my workouts again, immediately. I will continue to attend weekly meetings and to weigh in. Do you think this is a bad idea, will it probably lead to weight gain?
I just feel like I need a break from trying to lose weight- I was so succesful for so long, and now it is a constant struggle! Please share your experiences and ideas with me, I think that it would really help me a lot!
Thank you!

[AustinGal]

Saskie - listen to your body!!! It is telling you that you that there are too many emotional demands on you right now and that you need to slide into maintenance mode for a while until things cool down. If you do as you plan - up your points but also up your exercise and continue to journal faithfully ... it seems like a good maintenance plan to me. Even if you have to tinker with the points/exercise equation for a few weeks, you'll get to a point of maintenance that is good for you. And, BTW, my normal maintence mode seems to be that I am OP for a few days, then more relaxed on the weekends. So, don't fret! You need a break, so take it! Just be smart about it by tracking exercise and points. Good Luck!

[saskie]

AustinGal,
I felt a huge wave of relief when I read your post- as opposed to the feeling of being lazy and slightly out of control!(As I have been feeling.) I am also very relieved to hear that you are able to maintain without being too rigid, I was becoming a little fearful that I would be bouncing back and forth between on pts and out of control for the rest of my life! Since I am so hungry lately, I think I might try to let myself eat, but try to keep it mostly as fruit and vegetables. Unfortunately those aren't the "comfort foods" I am craving!
As a lifetime member, when am I required to weigh in each month, is it the first week?

[REC]

This makes PERFECT sense!!!

I lost 5ish and stayed the same for 6 months. Then, I lost 18 more to lifetime and stayed the same (purposely) for 5 months. Now you know I'm tackling the last 15 pounds (down about 6). Well, it's taken me 1 1/2 years to get to 30 pounds down, but so what???? I'm (and so are you) better than when you started.

There's nothing wrong with putting the loss on the back burner and staying the same weight when there are other emotional needs in your life. My "easing up" helped me keep my sanity during stressful times. However, I never stopped journalling, drinking my water, or going to meetings.

You're supposed to weigh in on the first meeting you attend during the month. My region, however, isn't so strict, just as long as I weigh in sometime during the month.

You CAN do it!