So how did all us Maintainers do over the Season ??

[Kathy54]

I'd like to hear from other maintainers about how their weight went over the Holiday Season??

Heres mine :rolleyes:

I started out at 5 pounds below goal long before Christmas, this was to be my buffer zone for Christmas. Two days before Christmas, Bam! 2 more pounds were gone, had to be excitement. By Boxing Day those 2 pounds found their way home :rolleyes: :rolleyes: My worst foods were perhaps a few Christmas cookies.

Before New Years, I was right at my 135 weight, went away for a big family gathering at my brother's summer home on the Oceanside, partied to the wee hours had fabulous foods, but again the only "Wrong" foods were, 2 mini cheesecakes(regular) and Carolines in my Coffee,a wee slice of angel cake, maybe some potaote chips.
Not too bad for 3 days of not being able to get much exercise, between still recovery from knee surgery and the ground being frozen and covered in snow!!!

However home I came and 4 pounds up :agree: :rolleyes: :rolleyes: :agree:

Now I'm not concerned Because #1- I was in my buffer zone, #2 - I know the reason I gained was because my water intake was way down :cry: :nono: :agree: But I had no choice, we had under estimated how much drinking water we would go through (13 of us), as the water there is undrinkable, so because we could not get out to a store for 2 days, due to the big hill we had to get up, to the highway was unpassable even with the 4x4!!!!!! So I could not be a water hog :eek: :bash: :(

So thats my story and I'm sticking too it, while I guzzle, and guzzle that precious clear liquid :roll: :roll: :rolleyes: :rolleyes:

HAPPY NEW YEAR ALL


Kathy

[trisharau]

Hi Kathy,

I did pretty well over the silly season. I only had two meals that were not so low carb. One was Christmas lunch where I added roast potatoes to my chicken and vege meal. The next time was New Year's Eve where we had a BBQ at our place. I had some corn chips and crackers with dips. Then I had potato salad with the meat and green salad. To top it off I had two small serves of pavlova. That finale was my first taste of sugar in about six - eight weeks. Oh yes! I also had a small glass of sparkling wine.

The last few weeks I have also been eating a lot of cherries - I am a cherry picker! The last couple of days I have also got into our lovely homegrown stone fruit as well as some shop grapes. I am basically testing out fruit at present as I have had very little in such a long time.

Since New Year though I have given up drinking coffee and have got back into daily exercise.

[sjkling]

i am just entering maintenance, trying to figure out where i need to be to maintain, but this "silly" season hasn't been kind! actually, i am relieved to only be up two pounds....and i, too, think it is because i haven't been drinking water. the last two days i have had a horrible headache upon waking, so i'm sure it's partly due to not drinking enough water. i have splurged on chips and salsa at twice! and also splurged on breakfast out twice! so, tomorrow, it will be back to a normal routine! i am hoping to get rid of those two pesky pounds quickly! and then get back to on track to determine how many carbs a day i can really handle....this time is really quite scary for me. i think induction on owl were manageable...i am afraid i will let too many carbs creep in....what are your strategies (or tricks) for keeping everything on track?

[Kristine]

I was at an all-inclusive resort for a week. Need I say more? :rolleyes: It wouldn't have been so hard to stay LC if it wasn't for the drinks. ;)

I'm more than a little out of my buffer zone. :rolleyes:

[adkpam]

I didn't do too badly, a dinner roll here, and a small slice of cheesecake there...many parties and some drinking, but I stick to dry wine or vodka concoctions with low sugar mixers, and I think I did okay.
Sick as can be through New Year's so wasn't tempted at all, had to make myself eat. Turned out the Atkins shakes work really well for me when I'm sick!

[rose7]

Hey everyone, :wave:
I'm a quiet maintainer here.. just lurking around journals most of the times :p

My indulgences included cocktails(made with sugar), LOTS of cake :rolleyes: , mashed potato, meatloaf, cookies, crackers, noodles, potato chips, danishes, muffins, donuts :eek: ! I sorta counted carbs and calories in my head since I haven’t strayed from the plan for a while, and I was eating 2000+ calories and over 100g net carbs.
But I ended up losing weight :confused: . Well, at first my weight went up few pounds (probably bloating?), and then it came back down, then went down even further. I don’t understand this, as I’ve been trying to limit carbs ever since starting this WOE. Does anyone have a clue to what is happening? Could combination of fat-burning and glucose-burning processes boost one's metabolism?

At least through this experience, I was able to FINALLY accept that carbs are not the enemy. Although the foods I’ve eaten for the holidays were poor choices(had to get it out of my system! :lol: ), I was able to add yogurt, whole grain and larger servings of fruits to my menu without guilt. So wonderful to be able to eat yogurt again. :p

[Kathy54]

I was able to add yogurt, whole grain and larger servings of fruits to my menu without guilt. So wonderful to be able to eat yogurt again.

Really all those things should be part of your maintenance, so no worries, just control your servings thats all.

Lucky you that you lost weight, I think that has happened once..............to most of us when splurging, but sadly it does'nt work that way all the time, LOL

Cheers Kathy

[rose7]

Hi Kathy, :p

I was so happy to have found a new thread in the maintenance section. It is my wish that there'll be more activity here ;) .

Well, yogurt and whole grains(rice, bread) were foods I was very afraid to add. I was upping my carbs through veggies, fruits, bran cereal and some low carb products, but I just could not get myself to eat certain foods, especially yogurt cuz nutrition info said mostly sugar. Btw, this was not my first time 'cheating'. I've splurged quite a bit before, but I've been good for a while :lol: .

I do feel lucky that this holiday season did not cause weight gain, but I couldn't help but wonder if my body is more efficient eating higher carbs (100g?). I feel happier and more energetic. Only downside is that I feel drowsy from time to time and I get some sorta instant sugar rush.

How much net carbs do maintainers intake on an average basis here?

:rheart: Rose

[Kathy54]

Only downside is that I feel drowsy from time to time and I get some sorta instant sugar rush.

Well 100 grms might be just fine for you, But it is the White flour and white sugar that will cause that feeling so best to advoid those.

Cheers Kathy

[sfdebchat]

Hi!

I am in maintance for the past 2 months or so, just for the winter as I have not reached my goal weight yet. I am maintaining until the spring time when I normally lose weight easily eating salads and such all the time. Anyway I just thought I would share my maintance experience so far...

I had been hovering at 188-190 during my maintance, then Thanksgiving, my Birthday, my other half's bday, and then a 10 day holiday including 7 day cruise to Mexico. Needless to say, I did not eat low carb on my Holiday. But I did limit breads so that I could indulge in the wonderful desserts. I also drank beer, wine, margaritas, daqueries, ate lots of appetizers, and had a great time.

Got home and weighed in at 194.5 or so. about 4 or 5 pound gained. Went right back to my maintenance regime and just a few weeks later I am back to pre-holiday weight, and that is without even trying, no counting fat, carbs, or anything. I think the balanced meals including carbs spread throughout the day has allowed my body to get right back on track. Also I think that my metabolism is higher than before low carbing. This WOE is amazing.

deb

[rose7]

I think the balanced meals including carbs spread throughout the day has allowed my body to get right back on track. Also I think that my metabolism is higher than before low carbing. This WOE is amazing.


Hi Deb, :wave:

I agree with what you said up there. When I cheated during very low carb consumption (around 20g), I gained weight a lot more quickly. When I 'indulged' while I was consuming around 50-60g/day, I only gained a pound or two after heavy carb holiday meals. They came off within a day too! :p So now, even though I want to eat more fatty foods or protein, I force myself to eat at least 60g of healthy carbs so that my body won't get used to being efficient at 20g range again.

Also, I think my metabolism got a boost too through this woe! I used to eat so little calories during my low fat days and still hardly ever got hungry. Now even if I eat around 1700 cals, I still get hungry. It could be that I don't have as much stored fat than my heavier days, but still. It feels great that even a huge meal is burned off within couple of hours. It IS amazing and wonderful, isn't it? ;)

Btw, what is IBS? I noticed it in your plan. I heard a similar term on TV as some sorta digestion problem which I have all the symptoms for at the moment. :rolleyes:

Congratulations on your successful maintenance! :cheer:

:rose: Rose

[trisharau]

IBS is irritable bowel syndrome.