Advice on how to succeed with maintenance, please!

[tammay]

Hi Maintainers,
I need your advice!

I reached goal a few months ago but the last few weeks have been totally out of control. I weighed myself this morning and I'm up 8 pounds. So I'm back on Induction-level carbs for a while in the hopes of going back down to goal and reining in the junk food binges. I'm also hoping it will give me time to rethink maintenance and how I handle it.

I wasn't on any particular plan to lose the weight so I didn't really have a guideline. I did try Schwartzbein for maintenance but it was too tough to keep with the organic stuff (not to mention too expensive!) I was eating about 1400 cals a day with about 40-50 carbs a day. I think the problem wasn't my usual menu but the temptations around me coupled with stress and the maintain mindset that I was carrying - that I could now have those foods in moderation and it would be ok. Of course the problem was that it wasn't moderation! That's totally my fault.

So my question is, what do I do about the temptations? As I said, my usual menu I think has been going well, it's the temptations that are killing me. How do you deal with those? How do I even approach maintenance without getting into that "I can have that now" mindset?

Tam

[OrchidCactus]

Hi Tam!

Welcome to the wonderful world of maintenance! For me, what it boils down to is I had to learn what foods I really SHOULDN'T eat as they either triggered cravings, made me feel bad (physically), or made me gain. My rule is to never go up where a week of clean eating won't bring it back down.

Looking at your food choices, you will need to determine what foods do what to you. In my case, sugar is a big no-no as it now makes me HYPER as a 2 yr old with a snickers and a mountain dew. I have been pretty careful about any sweets, and have the occasional lc ice cream for a treat. Most other sugary stuff is too sweet for me now anyways, so I just pass it up. I eat very little bread, but love the lc tortillas. That's my substitue! I get them at Sams Club for a really reasonable price. They make great sandwiches and don't leave that bloated feeling that bread does. Every so often when we go out to an Italian restaurant I'll eat the bread. Just love the bread baskets!!! Of course, I feel like crap afterwards, and I know I will. But, sometimes I just live for the moment.

I think it comes down to learning what you can and can't do to keep your weight under control and that will be individual for everyone. I stay away from sugar and startches, and that works well for me. BTW, my siggy needs updating--I've been doing this for 8 years now.

Right now, IMO you should stop the extra stuff and get back under control. If you have to tell people to keep that stuff away from you then DO IT. Your main concern is keeping you healthy right now. Get it out of the house if it's there. Everyone can survive for a week or 2 without cookies and other junk. Remind them of the alternative... you being unhappy.... and I'm sure you'll get your point across.

Also, check in with the new maintainers thread. They are learning their way as well. Those of us on the CCM/MVM thread have been doing it a while, but you're more than welcome to chat with us too.

HTH!