Maintaining - Fears about gaining it back!

[Indychick829]

Ok - I see that this part of the forum isn't that active - but I'll post here as it pertains to maintainers...

I'm practically in maintenance now even though I still WANT to lose about 6 more pounds to get down to 160...but I've been maintaining my 30 pound loss now (197 to 166) for over 3 months and honestly am very happy with where I am!

However. That being said - well - I'm not sure really how to start or convey what I want to get across but here goes.

I've been a yo-yo dieter for YEARS. But not really a yo-yo "dieter" more of a yo-yo weight gainer/loser.

My thing is I lost 60 pounds on Weight Watchers back in 2004. After I got to my goal - I found it difficult to maintain mainly because of life stresses, etc (yeah, we've all been there) - BUT when I gained weight back it WASN'T because I quit exercising and dieting - I became Insulin Resistant and no matter how hard I tried, and TRIED and ate "right" and continued to eat "right" - I gained weight back. (thank GOD for low-carb!)

I was diagnosed with Insulin Resistance in October 2007 when - for the life of me - the entire year I TRIED so hard by exercising 4 times a week religiously and doing my weight watchers thing and literally couldn't lose one freakin' ounce. No joking - for 6 months straight I was 197.6 exactly.

So after my diagnosis, I was put on metformin, told to do Atkins - thought my doc was crazy - and instead tried the weight watchers CORE plan - which worked for a bit but I just couldn't sustain that for some reason...lost about 20 pounds in the beginning of 2008 but gained it back at the end of the year...

In comes Atkins. I FINALLY decided to listen to my doctor and on January 03 I started Atkins - and haven't looked back since!

The most INCREDIBLE thing - to me - is that I don't have to "micro-manage" the way I eat - I've learned what to do and what NOT to do and omg - it works! I've lost 30 pounds and I've MAINTAINED that 30 pound loss now for close to 4 months!!!!

Plus atkins is SO easy and SO yummy - there's nothing about this woe I don't like!

So anyways - back to my original thought...

After YEARS of micromanaging everything I've put into my mouth and constantly watching that scale...I'd like to be able to NOT have to get on that scale and have it dictate my morning ritual every single day.

BUT I feel that if I don't - somehow, not getting on that scale will make me gain weight because I won't "know" all the time what I weigh.

BUT on the other hand - "obsessing" over that scale really gets to me sometimes and I just want to seriously "do this for the rest of my life" and expect eating this way to KEEP me at 167.

But when I go for a few days of NOT getting on that scale and maybe "indulge" in say a piece of bread or something (but keep my lc'ng to 95% of how I eat)...I'm TERRIFIED I'm gonna get on that scale and see a 5 pound gain (or more)...

Or I'm afraid if I DON'T look at that scale constantly - knowing how much I weigh every day - that one day I'm going to wake up 197 again.

I know it all sounds crazy - but it's just what goes on in my brain! lol.
hehehe.


Again - I'm SO happy i've FINALLY found a way to eat that keeps me in control of my weight and is SO easy to live with. But some days I'm just SO scared I'm going to wake up and be 197 again.

anyone else know what I'm talking about or am I in crazy-land all by my lonesome? lol.

[jo2621]

Well, maybe I should run for mayor of "Crazyland" because I am right there with you.

If I go back to doing what I always did, I will be right back where I was. I refuse to go there again.

I refuse to ever have to do this again. It was hard enough and I am getting too old! I won't compromise my health again (or my looks for that matter, I have become quite vain in my middle age)

I weigh myself every morning just like I have done for the last 2 1/2 years. I write it down, tally up weekly and monthly totals and average. Just like always. I won't turn my back on that scale again. I won't wait until I have to buy bigger pants ever again.

I use portion control and I watch what I eat. I have a 3 to 5 pound comfort zone, depending on TOM that I will not go above. I am going to remain focused and diligent. I have to.

I refuse to let all of this hard work go down the drain.

[Indychick829]

Originally Posted by jo2621

I use portion control and I watch what I eat. I have a 3 to 5 pound comfort zone, depending on TOM that I will not go above. I am going to remain focused and diligent. I have to.

this is exactly what i'm talkin' about...I too have that comfort zone and feel *somewhat* in control of it...but seriously I'd LOVE to NOT have to weigh myself every single day - however I'm terrified that if I don't - that number will sneakily start moving up and obviously i wouldn't know.

In fact - a few weeks ago, my scale died on me and I didn't have a 9 volt battery anywhere in the house! I let it go for a few days but HAD to go buy a new battery as I could NOT live without it! lol.

And - too - there are days where I'm actually AFRAID to get on the scale because I'm just so positive that i've gained weight - but I get on and all my fears are squashed as it's my normal weight i've been maintaining...

yup - "crazyland" that's my world! lol

[jo2621]

I was told by a long time maintainer that it's okay to be a little crazy about it. Constant vigilance means that those big pants aren't gonna sneak up on you again.

With the method of taking a daily, weekly, monthly reading, you get the average. Eveyone has fluccuations.

Sure, it might be up a pound or two for a couple of days, but it all averages out. I am a visual person and this has always helped me look at the "big picture."

We travel quite a bit and I certainly don't take the scale with me. And somedays I forget if I have to get up extra early.

I just use it as another tool to make sure that I am keeping on the straight and narrow.


ETA: See I do belong in "Crazyland" with you...I am worried about a big old pair of pants sneaking up on me!

[Doug K]

I'm not close to maintenance yet. Twice in the last seven years, I've lost 50+ and gained it back.

I just started weighing myself every morning again in August. I enter each day's weight into WeighTracker, a free Google app that averages out small daily variations to provide a smooth trendline. The author says he refined the 21-day moving average calculation from "The Hacker's Diet".

The idea comes from investing, where it's used to filter out daily flutter in a stock's price, so you can observe the trend over time.

[Alison Jean 71]

I could be a resident in "Crazyland". I could have written that post. I weigh daily and I do fluctuate usually anywhere within a 3lb range. I am so anxious to step on the scale after traveling. I think many maintainers feel this way. Someone recently asked me what was my biggest fear in life. I said "gaining my weight back". After I thought about it I was a little ashamed of my answer but it was honest.

[phat girl no more]

I weigh myself every morning at the same time. I record weight every day. At end of year I review my progress and see where I need to improve. I can't believe I allowed myself to get to 226lbs lbs last year. I'm 5'3 that's lot of weight for me. I know life has ups and downs eating through the difficult moments never solved my problems. I just face them head on and deal with it.

[Blood Sugar 101]

There are few people posting here because few people maintain. It's wicked hard.

I am heading into year 7 of maintaining and I'm going into the holidays at the lowest weight I've ever sustained. I was talking with a friend today about it, and what struck me as we discussed it is that mostly maintenance for me is the result of a series of small decisions.

I do eat big meals from time to time. I eat high carb meals (with insulin) from time to time. These are mostly conscious choices.

What makes it work is how many times I make the decision to walk away from something I might eat. I have one egg for breakfast, not two. I decide NOT to eat the cookie. I don't bake a low carb but high calorie treat because I know I'll eat it all. I don't go to certain restaurants where I know I'll get in trouble. I don't buy things at the store that are too tempting. etc. etc.

When you make 20 good decisions each week you can get by with 2 or 3 "bad" ones. But you have to make those decisions.

I'm really wanting this year to come out of the holidays at the same 140 lbs I'm going into them with. That is making me a lot more intense about the little decisions. Deciding against peanut butter for a snack, for example, and going with some olives. That kind of thing.

I'm allowed to eat carbs if I want to, with insulin, but I noticed this month I have a lot more insulin left in my cartridge at the end of the month than usual, which tells me that I have been eating a lot less carbs than usual, too. I'm not trying to cut carbs, so much as trying to eliminate all food that isn't a) a conscious choice and b) a treat worth eating.

I'm going to have my pumpkin bread at Thanksgiving, and the Yorkshire pudding at Christmas, but they're getting "paid for" with all the things I'm not eating in passing in the little days here and there.

[steady]

Originally Posted by Alison Jean 71

Someone recently asked me what was my biggest fear in life. I said "gaining my weight back". .

It took me ten long, hard years to lose 60 lbs, and every morning I still run (and I mean run!) to the mirror because I fear that I have gained it all back. The thought of gaining all the weight back still haunts me, but now I see that fear as a benefit...it it keeps me on the straight and narrow. I rarely eat off plan now...not worth it...and when I do eat off-plan...it is a reminder of why it is better to stay on plan...

Regarding weighing. Like you I didn't want to remain in diet mode. I was obsessed with the scale, so I slowly weaned myself off of it. I began by weighing every other day and then every 3 days, etc. until I got down to weighing myself just once a month. This also help me developed my internal scale...I am pretty accurate with guessing my weight...usually within a few ounces. Maybe that will work for you?

[Blood Sugar 101]

The beauty of losing 60 lbs over ten years, as opposed to 10 months, is that you had a long time to internalize new habits. And since you did that, you are much less likely to ever get back into the habits that packed the weight on.

That's one reason I'm coming to think that very slow weight loss with long periods of maintenance long before goal is reached may be the most effective way to lose a lot of weight in a way that doesn't break the metabolism or result in rebound behaviors.

I had a good example of how useful those long-established habits are last night. We had a Chinese lunch which was carbier than I had intended, and for the rest of the day I got the munchies and ate a lot more than usual. By the end of it I felt had gotten completely out of control. As in utter pigout.

But when I sat down today and calculated up what I had eaten, and it worked out to about 1900 calories. That is a lot more than my usual 1400-1500 but eating like that once every two weeks would not pack pounds on me.

[Rick-g]

I get on the scale every day, I never want to be huge again and I know it can happen in a blink. To go back after losing so much would be a sin!(Ya Gluttony)I still look in the mirror and expect to see a 400lb monster, I roll over in bed and expect to have to move my belly, physically. People say I look great but I know I could gain so much back if I just let go for a season, I refuse! For me the daily weighing is a ritual I must do. Yup, I'm ready to move to Crazyland too!

[Blood Sugar 101]

I have always weighed every day.

I have found that if I am reluctant to get on the scale it is because I KNOW I've been eating more than I should be.

Daily weighing keeps me honest.

OTOH, I also know I'm very salt sensitive and can see fluctuations of up to 2.5 lbs in a single day up or down due to salt or taking my BP pill (which I take every few days now as more than that and I go too low).

[Indychick829]

Originally Posted by Blood Sugar 101

I have always weighed every day.

I have found that if I am reluctant to get on the scale it is because I KNOW I've been eating more than I should be.

Daily weighing keeps me honest.

OTOH, I also know I'm very salt sensitive and can see fluctuations of up to 2.5 lbs in a single day up or down due to salt or taking my BP pill (which I take every few days now as more than that and I go too low).

That's another reason why I DO get on the scale...and I know I WILL do this every day - but sometimes I just wish I was "one of those people" who doesn't have to worry about their weight - you know? Believe me, guys, I am VERY happy I've found this WOE and during those times that I "indulge" in high-er carb foods I am def. aware that I can't do that all the time or else I WILL gain it back.

But yeah - I know that maintenance will be a daily battle for the rest of my life.

[junkfoodmonkey]

I did have a bit of regain, which I lost and now I'm trying to maintain. A couple of things that are working for me - this place for one! Even if I don't post a lot at the moment, I keep checking LCF, just for that reinforcement. That's something I didn't do when I was regaining and that had to be a factor.

I've set a "ceiling" of what weight I'm allowed to go up to before I have to drop back into weight loss instead of maintenance. That's advised in the book, that you should never allow yourself to go back up to 5lbs over goal. 5lbs is a lot easier to re-lose than 10 or 15. But it's also enough wiggle room to account for normal fluctuation, TOM, Christmas... etc.

I'm not going to weigh exactly the same day after day for weeks on end, and it's absurd to make myself miserable because I'm up 1/2 a lb today, when I might be down again tomorrow. So I weigh in once a week, record it to keep an eye on the trend and if things are looking dodgy, I re-examine my current habits, look for carb creep etc. I do this on Friday, since that's when I make my meal plan for the next week, so can tailor that accordingly.

[Blood Sugar 101]

I find reading and posting here very reinforcing too, which is one reason I do so much of it.

I also agree wholeheartedly about the 3 pound rule. It is one I have tried to stick to ever since 2003 when I got to goal.

The only time I blew it was last year when I got up about 9 lbs at the holidays after many months of eating very low carb that didn't do squat for my weight. That diet had been too restrictive and when I went back to eating more normally for me I overdid it.

I also had stopped taking metformin and by now I have learned, the hard way, that at this point in my life without metformin it doesn't matter what I eat--calories, carbs or what, I can't lose and I can gain very easily.

What's nuts though is that Metformin doesn't make any significant impact on my blood sugar. My A1c is pretty much the same with or without it (except the one I took after having a cold which was up .2%).

[Indychick829]

Originally Posted by Blood Sugar 101

I find reading and posting here very reinforcing too, which is one reason I do so much of it.

I also agree wholeheartedly about the 3 pound rule. It is one I have tried to stick to ever since 2003 when I got to goal.

The only time I blew it was last year when I got up about 9 lbs at the holidays after many months of eating very low carb that didn't do squat for my weight. That diet had been too restrictive and when I went back to eating more normally for me I overdid it.

I also had stopped taking metformin and by now I have learned, the hard way, that at this point in my life without metformin it doesn't matter what I eat--calories, carbs or what, I can't lose and I can gain very easily.

What's nuts though is that Metformin doesn't make any significant impact on my blood sugar. My A1c is pretty much the same with or without it (except the one I took after having a cold which was up .2%).

I have wondered about this...in fact my doctor's appointment is next wednesday and I'm going to ask her if I should or should NOT stop taking Metformin.

I honestly don't know if it does help or not. I was on it for a year BEFORE I went low carb and during that year, I did lost 20 pounds but I did the weight watchers core program - and then once I stopped that (all while on metformin) I gained it right back once I went back to my old eating habits...
So once I started low-carbing - obviously I know the low-carb eating lifestyle is how I truly lost my weight - but I don't know if metformin did help or didn't...

I'm interested in asking her on whether I need to keep taking it or not, now that I'm pretty much at my goal (well, maintaining my current weight anways.)

I DON'T keep track of my blood sugar. I know it would help - and I DO have a monitor at home - but I've never been told to by my doc and so I only bought it more as a curiosity and use it very rarely...so maybe I should start using it more often?...again something to talk to the doc about!

[Blood Sugar 101]

Metformin makes NO change in my blood sugar.

But it makes a huge difference in how much I can eat without gaining. I went off it for a year and a half because it wasn;t helping my blood sugar and was giving me some stomach pains, and I gained so much eating exactly the way I'd been eating the previous 4 years, during which I had maintained very easily, that it frightened me. Especially since I was eating very low carb for 4 months of that time and it didn't take any real weight off.

As soon as I got back on the met, the weight came right back off and I've been at my lowest weight in years since August without having to torture myself.

I think it may block some step in the process that your body uses to store fats. Probably if you eat a high carb diet, it overwhelms whatever it does. But with an intake of about 100 g a day (with insulin) I can maintain almost effortlessly as long as I take it.

It also keeps me from getting hungry. I was getting hungry even when eating very low carb last year, and had to fight snacking tendencies all the time even when my blood sugar looked good.

That's pretty much fine now.
Others have had similar experiences.

[Indychick829]

Originally Posted by Blood Sugar 101

Metformin makes NO change in my blood sugar.

But it makes a huge difference in how much I can eat without gaining. I went off it for a year and a half because it wasn;t helping my blood sugar and was giving me some stomach pains, and I gained so much eating exactly the way I'd been eating the previous 4 years, during which I had maintained very easily, that it frightened me. Especially since I was eating very low carb for 4 months of that time and it didn't take any real weight off.

As soon as I got back on the met, the weight came right back off and I've been at my lowest weight in years since August without having to torture myself.

I think it may block some step in the process that your body uses to store fats. Probably if you eat a high carb diet, it overwhelms whatever it does. But with an intake of about 100 g a day (with insulin) I can maintain almost effortlessly as long as I take it.

It also keeps me from getting hungry. I was getting hungry even when eating very low carb last year, and had to fight snacking tendencies all the time even when my blood sugar looked good.

That's pretty much fine now.
Others have had similar experiences.

wow. thanks for that information.

[homestretch]

Originally Posted by steady

It took me ten long, hard years to lose 60 lbs, and every morning I still run (and I mean run!) to the mirror because I fear that I have gained it all back. The thought of gaining all the weight back still haunts me, but now I see that fear as a benefit...it it keeps me on the straight and narrow. I rarely eat off plan now...not worth it...and when I do eat off-plan...it is a reminder of why it is better to stay on plan...

Regarding weighing. Like you I didn't want to remain in diet mode. I was obsessed with the scale, so I slowly weaned myself off of it. I began by weighing every other day and then every 3 days, etc. until I got down to weighing myself just once a month. This also help me developed my internal scale...I am pretty accurate with guessing my weight...usually within a few ounces. Maybe that will work for you?

Great attitude. I think weighing is a good thing (I gave up the scale earlier this year and realized my clothes lie) but how often you weigh is personal. I too am aiming for a monthly weigh in. It helps me stay positive and focused on eating right.

[Blood Sugar 101]

I did some research to see if I could find the reason that Metformin is so helpful, and I found a very intriguing study that suggested that Metformin works by activiting a protein kinase called AMPK.

This kinase causes liver cells to burn fat but blocks an important enzyme needed to turn fat into the triglyceride form the body stores. It also blocks the forming of glycogen and increases the breakdown of glycogen. It has other impacts too.

But this explains exactly those effects I experience from Metformin that have nothing to do with insulin resistance or blood sugar.

I have always noticed that I don't lose or gain glycogen when I'm crossing the ketogenic boundary when low carbing if I'm taking metformin the way I do when I am not.

And it now looks like it does block a step in the production of body fat.

However, some people have genetic flaws in their AMPK which produce exactly the same effects that many diabetes genes produce--decreased insulin secretion and some IR. So it is very possible some people don't respond to metformin for the same reasons they get fat--the enzyme that is supposed to regulate fat burning in both the liver and muscle tissue (AMPK) isn't quite right.

There certainly are a lot more factors involved in weight gain and loss than Insulin. The more I look into it, the more complex it turns out to be.

If you want links to the metformin study, you can find them in this blog post:

Updates to Blood Sugar 101: Metformin's Effect Linked Strongly to Activation of AMPK

[fischdeb1]

I used to weigh myself every day. I'm down to 3 times per week. I definitely need to do this. For me it's the difference between a size 6 and a size 16. I like 6 much better!

Through the years I have gained and lost so many times! This time I am maintaining for over 15 months! That's a huge accomplishment for me. I used to lose weight and think I can go back to my old way of eating. That's not the case. You actually have to choose a plan that you can live with for the rest of your life. That's right, the rest of your life. Yes, get on the scale. It's a tool to monitor your weight. Some people can do without it. God Bless them! But I can not . It keeps me honest!

[Indychick829]

Originally Posted by fischdeb1

I used to weigh myself every day. I'm down to 3 times per week. I definitely need to do this. For me it's the difference between a size 6 and a size 16. I like 6 much better!

Through the years I have gained and lost so many times! This time I am maintaining for over 15 months! That's a huge accomplishment for me. I used to lose weight and think I can go back to my old way of eating. That's not the case. You actually have to choose a plan that you can live with for the rest of your life. That's right, the rest of your life. Yes, get on the scale. It's a tool to monitor your weight. Some people can do without it. God Bless them! But I can not . It keeps me honest!

absolutely - and I couldn't agree with you more!!! believe me when I say I truly HAVE finally found the way of eating that works for me! I too have gone up and down and up and down as far as my weight goes. I've been on the "weight roller coaster" since I was 13 years old. And I agree - the scale DOES keep me honest - but it's more a "damned if you do, damned if you don't" sorta thing...probably more that I just wish I didn't HAVE weight issues - but hey - this is my life.

[Stargazey]

Duh. I just thought of this, and it's one of the most important factors in my maintenace success. Posting my current weight every Friday on the Friday Weekly Maintenance Weigh-In keeps me honest. I can rationalize everything under the sun--daily weight increase, jeans getting tighter--but having to publish my actual weight each and every Friday is a much-needed reality check. Sometimes I have to force myself to do it because I'm so ashamed, but in the end I'm always glad I did.

[Blood Sugar 101]

There used to be a Monthly Challenge on the old alt.support.diet.low-carb newsgroup where we would post our starting weight and goal for the month and our ending weight. It provided very interesting statistics about what real people's weight loss on LC looked like both during the first months and later on--countering people's unrealistic expectations.

Perhaps a maintenance challenge would be helpful, because of that accountability factor.

[vee716]

Coming late to this discussion, but the one thing I have noticed in the past 6 years that I've been hanging around low-carb weight loss forums and seen *many* people lose weight and then disappear is that it tends to be those with a very healthy respect for and fear of regaining their lost weight that are more successful at maintenance.

I rarely see a long term maintainer saying they'll *never* regain all their weight again. They tend to understand that it's easy to regain weight and work hard at staying on top of their weight loss and preventing gain. Use of the 3-5 lb rule is common.

I gave up the dream of being normal with food. I can't be. I'm always going to be a good citizen of Crazyland if Crazyland means keeping on top of the scale, always having to be vigilant with my food and exercise and not being able to eat whatever I want, whenever I want. However, I find that easier to deal with than being 300+ pounds, so for me it's an easy trade off.

[Blood Sugar 101]

Valerie,

According to Dr. Liebel--one of the few nutritional researchers I have immense respect for, anyone who loses as much weight as you have lost will have to be "obsessive" to maintain it, because of the changes to the metabolism that kick in after significant weight loss change the metabolic rate and the way the brain control systems work.

Those of us who maintain have to KNOW we are fighting deeply ingrained physiological processes intent on making us regain.

I have heard from a frequent visitor to my blog who lost even more weight than you have and has maintained it that she was in a clinical trial where she was injected with Leptin and that it made her feel "normal" about food for the first time since she lost the weight. Unfortunately, leptin isn't available outside of trials.

I hope that trial leads to the understanding the supplementing leptin can normalize hunger/food intake patterns in people who have lost significant amounts of weight since we are ALL leptin deficient and there is NO technique--despite the chatter about Leptin and the claims of those selling products--that raises leptin in people who have lost significant amounts of weight.

Low leptin correlates very strongly with increased hunger and feeding behavior. In obese people the receptors stop responding to leptin so levels can be very high, but after people have lost weight, this appears to normalize and it a large part of what makes maintenance so hard. When your brain is getting hormonal messages 24/7 that say, "You need to eat and put on some weight" it takes obsession to fight it.

[Indychick829]

Originally Posted by Blood Sugar 101

Those of us who maintain have to KNOW we are fighting deeply ingrained physiological processes intent on making us regain.

Yeah - I understand this completely. After YEARS of trying to figure out what truly works - and now that I do know what DOES work - I hate the obsession that must encompass (sp) this lifestyle but I know that if I dont, I will just end up right back where I was before. It truly is a DAILY BATTLE that I will fight every day for the rest of my life.

There are times I "indulge" in a higher-carb item (such as bread at a resteraunt) (maybe once/twice a month) and I love the fact now that I no longer have that "all or nothing" mentality and truly HAVE learned to balance that out...but knowing that I HAVE to stay on plan the other 95% of the time otherwise I will end up going back in the other direction...I think is what's stressful.

Don't get me wrong - I truly am VERY happy with the way I eat now and the fact that I maintin a healthy weight with the way I eat - I just wish I DIDN'T have to obsess. It's sort of a "damned if you do, damned if you don't" sorta thing.

I understand too, that if I don't have the fear of regaining and I think I won't - that I'm "done" and can eat what I want when I want that, obviously, that will just lead me back to where I was - so in order TO maintain I HAVE to keep this fear present at all times...

I guess though it's just stressful to have to think about it all the time and I wish I just didn't have to stress and could feel 'normal' but I don't think I ever will.

I guess as long as I'm thin and healthy WHILE I'm stressing then that's what counts, right?!

[Blood Sugar 101]

Indychick,

It is an ongoing effort. I wax and wane in my enthusiasm too, which is why I am so active on this board and before this board, on the online newsgroup. It really helps me stay motivated.

You are still very early on in the process and probably will run into times when you do gain more than you intended. The key is not to panic when you do lose control and to stop as soon as you realize what is going on and get back on track. Over the years I've had periods where maintaining was very easy, and periods when it was impossible, and periods when I gained a few pounds and periods when I ate very stringently to take it off, cycling back and forth.

It's a long slow process to get used to it, and if you accept that motivation fluctuates, I think that helps.

The main thing not to do is to say, "Okay, I dropped [insert huge amount of weight here] in just six months, so if I regain, I'll just go back on the diet next year and get it back off. I see that mentality undo a lot of people. It is much harder to lose the next time. It can be done, but if it took 6 months this time it might be 18 months the next. With less food.

So appreciate how far you've gotten, know that it's worth it to hang in there, and correct any time you go up 3-5 non-water lbs.

[sugarless4life]

After 7 years in maintenance, I've learned one thing for sure:

FEAR IS A GREAT MOTIVATOR.

I am skeered to death of gaining the weight back and its that fear that keeps me on track, day after day after day.

I am skeered to death of growing old with a host of aches and pains that are the by-product of a sedentary lifestyle and poor eating habits.

I am skeered to death that I'll have to rely on medications as I age.

I am skeered to death of the reality that my carb addiction will NEVER be cured.

I am skeered to death of undoing all the hard work and determination that has gotten me to this point.

Its that FEAR that inspires me day after day after day to keep on going, to stay vigilant and dedicated. Yes, I weigh myself 2-3 times a day, but not because I am addicted to the scale; its because I know myself all too well. I don't give myself a comfort zone that says "oh its okay to gain a few back." Not for me, it isn't. A few leads to a few more .... and I'm not going there again. Crazy? The jury is out on that ... all I know is, it keeps me where I want to be!!!

Maintenance is hard; but nothing that's worthwhile comes easy.

Betty

[peanutte]

This is a really good thread. I haven't earned the privilege of being able to refer to myself as a maintainer yet (though I hope to), but since I am at goal, I can chime in with a few things.

I am heading into year 7 of maintaining and I'm going into the holidays at the lowest weight I've ever sustained. I was talking with a friend today about it, and what struck me as we discussed it is that mostly maintenance for me is the result of a series of small decisions.

I do eat big meals from time to time. I eat high carb meals (with insulin) from time to time. These are mostly conscious choices.

What makes it work is how many times I make the decision to walk away from something I might eat. I have one egg for breakfast, not two. I decide NOT to eat the cookie. I don't bake a low carb but high calorie treat because I know I'll eat it all. I don't go to certain restaurants where I know I'll get in trouble. I don't buy things at the store that are too tempting. etc. etc.

When you make 20 good decisions each week you can get by with 2 or 3 "bad" ones. But you have to make those decisions.

I am a huge fan of personal responsibility, as many of you are well aware, having posted with me for some time.

I consider it my responsibility to be honest with myself, to not hide from the scale, to know exactly what food I am eating on my tracking days (I don't track on 2 days a week), and to accept that I must eat less than I used to think I could be eating, in order to stay at this weight or drop a few more.

I used to eat the way people who think they are paying some mind to "healthier eating" eat. You know--choosing whole wheat bread and tortillas; brown rice instead of white rice; freshly made take-and-bake pizza instead of frozen pizza; whole wheat pasta with low-fat sauce; 2% cheese and fat-free yogurt instead of the real thing...the usual high-carb diet that a person thinks is "healthier". Not all that much animal protein, not much in the way of vegetables either.

I don't think I was eating like a truck driver or a lumberjack, but I was eating in a way I thought was reasonable and still gaining weight.

Once I started Atkins and began tracking my food it was clear to me that I'd had no idea what I was actually eating. Very few people do. We tend to vastly underestimate the amount of calories we eat.

So now that I've been made aware of that information, and I know what kinds of portions I can have, and I've been doing this for over ten months, it's a lot easier. I love the simple wholesome foods I get to eat. I eat so many more vegetables now, it isn't even funny.

I don't think I will always need to track my food more days than not, but I don't intend to start ignoring it either. I think I will continue to do it pretty regularly because it seems like accountability and honesty is important for me.


Dr. Atkins says, in the Maintenance chapter, that we should weigh once a week. In fact, he says it's a must, so that we know what's going on. I know that some people have legitimate reasons for not wanting to weigh too often, but I think once a week is good, and that's what I like to do.