What is it that keeps you enjoying successful Maintenance?

[Auntie Em]

I've been thinking about something Kissa posted recently about attracting folks to the Maintainers' forum.

One of the things I most enjoy about the Maintainers' forum is that Maintainers just do what is necessary to take care of themselves.

Would you all be willing to post what you do or don't do, how you think about food, lifestyle, or other things that keep you being a successful maintainer?

Perhaps this would be a shining attraction in this wee sub-forum.


Some of the things that I enjoy about caring for myself as a Maintainer:

I keep my food plan, exercise daily, and take care to rest well, and enjoy plentiful water intake. I avoid things which I know have ill effects. Taking care of myself and feeling healthy mean so much to me that I do not choose to eat things or do things which cause problems. I read up on the best nutrition and metabolism information I can, and take supplements. Tending serenity and an active prayer/spiritual plan are at least as key to taking care of myself as the food, rest and exercise. I enjoy tending these plans and how much they bring me. I enjoy the nourishing aspects of living more mindfully and healthfully. The benefits are delightful!

That about sums it up for me.

Maintainers, what say you, if you'd care to post?

[steady]

While a never ending journey, maintenance has been about improving my life. I accept that I am an emotional eater, but now I see the positive in it. Emotional eating is a sign that something in my world needs to be addressed, decided upon, or accepted as is. I use to eat because I was tired, so now i sleep regularly and longer, and enjoy naps. I have learn to make timely decisions rather than let them linger and eat while "I think about it". I use to eat out of despair, now I learn to change my attitude and accept that certain things I cannot change or control. Maintaining my weight is a gauge of success in addressing my life needs and wants and that in of itself is motivating and fulfulling.

[Big_Al]

Steady posted very similar to what I was going to say. I used to be very apathetic to my overall health and weight but I now feel very connected to my body and work very hard to keep it healthy.

I still log my food and weigh weekly (along with a %fat reading). I am continuing my treadmill action, pushups and using weights (barbells). I finally have some good muscle definition and even a hint of a 6-pack! Stupid excess skin gets in the way

But most important, my wife has finally come over to the dark side and is now drifting low-carb as well as excersing. She's already lost 10 pounds and is so motivated now! So I am dedicated to continuing as much for her sake as my own.

[Jonahsafta]

Im enjoying the insights........the mindsets that keep people maintaining...

[happyone]

I have to admit, sometimes it's super easy and I feel like it can easily be a lifetime WOE, but sometimes I want something non lc and when I fall off the wagon, I fall hard. I had two days of free meals in vegas, and it took about a month and half to get back on track. It's like my body and mentality changes with carbs.

It's hard sometimes. I've never been super overweight, and I'm young so I justify the bad things I eat on occasion. What keeps me in maintenance this time around are my new clothes that I won't be able to fit into if I gain 7 pounds, and the fact that it took me almost a year of dedication to get to where I am.

I plan to start running soon to shift my focus from weightless and food to fitness goals.

[fireflyfaster]

Well, I LC'ed about a decade ago, lost nearly 70 pounds, and kept it off completely for about six months longer than I've been maintaining this time around. So, in that sense, I can't speak to what keeps me successfully maintaining until I've passed that milestone by a good bit.

I will say that, this time around, both my motivation and my experience along the way have been different. Last time, I was driven primarily by appearance -- I wanted to turn heads again! And hey, nothing wrong with that. This time, looking better wasn't enough to get me started. I was feeling exhausted and dizzy all the time, and didn't have the energy to play with my (then) toddler -- but the doctors weren't finding anything seriously wrong, just that my usually-low blood pressure was borderline high, my usually-fine cholesterol was borderline high, that kind of stuff. It was enough to make me realize that if I wanted to be healthy into my daughter's adulthood, I'd better get with it. If I wanted to play with a little girl on the floor, I'd better make haste or she'd be a teenager.

Maybe that's why, when I did get started, I didn't lament my missing carb foods or have off-plan meals/days like I had before. I was well aware of the trade-off I was making and quite happy with the deal.

When things went south first time around, I often used the excuse that I knew how, on Atkins, to get thin again fast -- so a food/meal/day/week/vacation/season/whatever of poor choices was not the end of the world. :blush:

Now that I'm a decade older, and I can see that my body really does reflect the cumulative treatment that it has received over the years, I'm a lot more respectful of this new lease on life that I've been granted.

Hmmm -- that's not really the post I had planned to write; I thought it would go more along the lines of "lobster with drawn butter" -- but, if there is anything that might keep me from repeating the past, it's having been sidelined during my daughter's infancy and not wanting to go there again.

[Primada]

What a wonderful thread Auntie Em.

What I love about low carb maintenance is just how good being lean feels - the energy, the bounce in my step, and that sensual feel of beautiful clothes that fit just right.

All that and all you can eat crab legs too!

[Auntie Em]

Primada, thanks for your kind thoughts.

I'm enjoying reading everyone's posts, too.

[Jonahsafta]

I love feeling alive and vibrant..hanging with other maintainers.....who sturggle and push through and dont make excuses...

[modon69478]

I don't know if I'd still be considered a mainainer, but I had reached goal (116) last summer. During the past year, I've fluctuated between 3-5 lbs above that - I think it's been due to a combination of traveling, job stress, and getting a bit off track. I'm done with traveling for the next 6 months and hope to get back into my routine of LC foods and some type of exercise each week. Any support along the way will be appreciated. My biggest motivator is being able to fit comfortably into my new clothes (size 6) - I sure don't want to go back to barely fitting into the size 12s - I felt so uncomfortable and was just miserable. So much better now with lots of good energy!

Michele

[Heidinem]

My hubby & I love being among the thinest people wherever we go . Love the comfort of no pinch waistbands. Buying "slim" fit or "regular" fit jeans.

I only require myself to exercise 1/2 hour per day, either treadmill or weights. Its a lot easier to stick to than making myself do an hour every day. I feel like a real slacker , in a good way. I add yoga when time permits. I have been exercising most of my life & until low carb I was 20+ lbs overweight.

[Auntie Em]

Deborah, I too really enjoy the no-excuses frame of reference. Just doing whatever is required and enjoying like-minded company.

Heidi, I agree, the exercise helps and it is nice to have an exercise routine that is part of daily life, rather than another challenge to meet.

Hope you all are enjoying a nice Sunday.

[Jonahsafta]

thanks Em

[LisaG]

I sabotage myself whenever I get very close to goal. It's always an up and down battle with the last few lbs. Very frustrating. I don't think I know what to do once I reach my goal and I get anxiety.
http://www.lowcarbfriends.com/bbs/ma...ort-group.html

[Auntie Em]

In case this is of use to anyone, a small report.

I have been a tea drinker for decades. A couple of months ago, I cut back on my tea intake, and started drinking decaf coffee as a substitute. Sometimes black, sometimes with co, sometimes with a bit of hwc. Using 1/2 tsp. of instant decaf (Folgers) in 8 ounces of water. I didn't change anything else in my food plan. I noticed that I felt a bit off, but kept drinking it each day. I would have two or three of these cups each day. I would sometimes have decaf at a café or restaurant rather than my instant Folgers. I decided to stop and see what happened.

One day, no decaf. Felt much better.
Two days, no decaf. Feel like myself again and my clothes are looser.

Don't know if I have a strong insulin response to decaf, or if it is the chemicals used to decaffeinate the coffee or what. In case s/o else is wondering about it, thought I'd post.

I had to chuckle about how easy it was to stop drinking the decaf. (I take breaks from drinking tea now and then, but I'm a lifer in the tea-drinking dept.)

Hope you all are having a very lovely evening.

[ChristineCQ]

Thanks for all of your posts. I'm not maintaining yet, but this is helpful information for the future.

[PIKNIK]

What I love about being a maintainer is the feeling of being light, energetic and satisfied.

Also I enjoy no wobble bits when I move around

[ChristineCQ]

Originally Posted by PIKNIK

What I love about being a maintainer is the feeling of being light, energetic and satisfied.

Also I enjoy no wobble bits when I move around

That's what I'm looking forward to. Less jiggle, more wiggle.

[Auntie Em]

Hi, Christine. I hope to see you posting as Maintainer here soon. Nice to have you visit.

PIKNIK, yes, light, energetic, and satisfied is a great feeling, I agree.

[NanaMG]

Finally in R5P3 I think I have finally found a way to get my weight more stable. At least it is working so far and of course I can only talk about ME. The only correction days I had to do over the past two weeks were after a terrible gallstone attack and after that I have held my weight within a 1 lb. range and in the last three days it has been within 2 ounces.

Here is what I am doing. I plot everything I eat on an Excel spreadsheet. I am consuming an average of 2064 calories daily, and my average percentages are 65% fat, 28% protein, and 7% carbs. All of the websites I checked told me to eat between 1750 and 1900 calories, but when I ate too much over a couple of days, and didn't gain over my limit, I thought, "What the heck!".

Please hear me that this may not work for anyone else, and it may not continue to work for me, but I am certainly not going to rock my boat and do anything different through the remainder of this phase 3. I can't even put into words how frustrating stabilizing has been for me in all of my other four rounds. The advice I got from another Hcg forum was to just EAT, but that just didn't work for me AT ALL! Now that I look at what I am eating now, and remembering what I ate before, I can see why I was constantly doing correction days. I was eating WAY TOO MUCH!

[Pony47]

What keeps me in maintenance and not gaining:

1) How I feel everytime I put on my size 0 pants!

2) How my body feels so good not being hungry all the time.

3) Shopping for clothes is enjoyable.

4) Remembering how miserable I was when I couldn't find clothes in my big size.

5) Bacon!

6) Realizing I'm in better shape and weigh less at 52 than I ever have in my life!

7) Just plain feeling good about myself!

[happyheart1]

Thanks for starting this thread. I don't know how I missed it for so long. I have seen your meal postings, so I know we eat differently, but I could have written your original post about how you care for yourself while maintaining word for word. Well, I might not have said it so eloquently, but you get my drift!

[Auntie Em]

It is lovely to read of the joy other maintainers have in staying slender and well.

[Jonahsafta]

Em.. I switched to decaf tea....a travesty I know...I dont think I like it all that much so Ive consider switching to all water with an occasional cup of real tea or ided tea

[Auntie Em]

Hi, Deborah. Yep, decaf tea is most unpleasant. I drink water, and limit my real tea. This morning was a nice blend of Assam and Kenyan.

Thanks for your update. I, too, find I keep adjusting this or that to improve my health.

Hope you are doing very well.

[kittycitygirl]

Getting near to maintaining and this is helping

[Auntie Em]

KCG, it's nice to have you post. Am looking forward to your posting more in the Maintainers' forum.

[kittycitygirl]

Originally Posted by Auntie Em

KCG, it's nice to have you post. Am looking forward to your posting more in the Maintainers' forum.

Thanks! I'm still trying to get the hang of things.

[JamesEwing]

I can answer this one easy for me! This is the first time I am maintaining my weight loss and low carb WOE and I have to say it's because of one of those cookie diet products I found a couple years ago. I have an addictive personality and absolutely no will-power so I need something that helps me keep control without putting much thought into it. I eat a couple almost every morning with a cup of flavored coffee. That seems to be my treat for the day so I don't feel restricted. They work for me.

[CalRon]

I could list dozens of things ( and I have) like enjoyable clothes shopping, smooth skin, absence of pain in hips and knees etc.

I can sum it up by saying that when I started in February 2010, I was a fat old man of 65, resigned to being that way (or worse) for the short remainder of my life. Now just
18 months later I'm an energized young man of 67. I've armed myself with a lot of knowledge on nutrition so that I can continue this wonderful new life.