PDA

View Full Version : What does maintenance FEEL like?


Welcome to the Active Low-Carber Forums

Support for Atkins diet, Protein Power, Neanderthin (Paleo Diet), CAD/CALP, Dr. Bernstein Diabetes Solution and any other healthy low-carb diet or plan, all are welcome in our lowcarb community. Forget starvation and fad diets -- join the healthy eating crowd! You may register by clicking here, it's free!



kathleen24
Fri, Jul-29-05, 07:58
Okay, this question is for those hyper-self-analytical types out there, and I know from the outset that it may be a tough one to answer.

I know what losing feels like: that kind of `squarish' crunching feeling in the abdomen (usually) that corresponds with a drop in scale weight--not hunger, but right next door to it, and often an I'm hungry-but-don't-want-to-eat feeling.

I know what gaining feels like--that bloating, itchy-legged, I'm-full-but-want-to-eat feeling.

What does maintenence feel like? Is it just a pendulum swing between those feelings, or is it different? Do you find a peace where you are no longer trying to lose, or is it an eternal-vigilance feeling?

I remember from many years ago, an immediacy to the sensation of hunger when I was at goal--that `I'm-hungry-and-you-better-feed-me-NOW' feeling (like living with a 2 year old . . . ) but I don't remember anything else about it . . .


Thanks for your thoughts on this. . . .

MissScruff
Fri, Jul-29-05, 13:13
I am scared of maintenance!!!!!!!! I don't know if I can actually do it! I can lose...I've proven that a few times, but keeping it off terrifies me! I would love to see what folks who are living maintenance have to say!!!!! It might help my fears!

Bandito
Fri, Jul-29-05, 14:43
It feels like one long stall, but with more variety in foods. It's kinda weird at first. After loose mode you feel like there is nothing to look forward too. For example, loosing weight=emotional reward. That whole thing stops. What I have found is that I need to make new goals for myself. School grades, personal well being, activities. I just moved on with life following my LC template. It became just a PART of me. Not my whole life. This was a welcome change for me as for a time I was a bit obsessive. Sure there is the whole learning what works for me bit. I've made some mistakes. Live and learn, then move on. What I am trying to say is that the pressure to loose is gone, but learning is a contiunual process, just roll with it.

Judynyc
Fri, Jul-29-05, 15:16
After loose mode you feel like there is nothing to look forward too. For example, loosing weight=emotional reward. That whole thing stops.

While I have not gotten to maintenance yet, I did just come off of a 6 week stall. It was very disconcerting to not see the scale moving down but just sitting at the same weight day after day and week after week.

I realized that I was a junkie for the high from losing weight! I also knew that I needed to learn to find joy in staying the same weight. I'm scared too but its a good kind of scared.....because I know that I will not eat starch the same way ever again!!

Setting new goals is a great idea!!

I've decided to go back to my tennis....I used to play competitively and would love to just play for fun and for the exercise. :idea:

Bandito
Fri, Jul-29-05, 15:30
Judynyc,

Exactley! That is the type of switch off I was talking about. Funny, When I hit goal, I was kinda lost. I walked around for a month or two thinking "so now what?". That took a while for me to shake. I think it would be good for you to start on some new goals now. Saves you the trouble of the "so now what" phase while takeing your mind off loosing of the last ten lbs. A watched pot never boils right??

Enomarb
Sat, Jul-30-05, 14:56
Maintaining is different. The support is not there the same as when you are losing- look at this whole website as evidence. This is the most difficult part of the journey, and there is almost nothing written about it. Instead of focusing on the weight/scale/size, focus on how you feel and what is new/different/easier. I am very scared about gaining the weight back/being insulin resistant again/getting sick. So I have commited to this WOL for the long haul. I have also given myself permission to see what works for me and make this very personal and individualized. So far it is more than a year maintaining. Right now I am trying out the concept of having fun with my body and dressing it up and taking it out to play. I am also looking into learning new things- new languages, welding, golf. sort of what Bandito is talking about. One more thing- for me maintenance has evolved over time. It is not static. HTH-
E

kathleen24
Sat, Jul-30-05, 20:12
I am very scared about gaining the weight back/being insulin resistant again/getting sick. So I have commited to this WOL for the long haul. I have also given myself permission to see what works for me and make this very personal and individualized. So far it is more than a year maintaining. Right now I am trying out the concept of having fun with my body and dressing it up and taking it out to play. . . . E


My question was actually focused on the physical sensations of stabilizing, but I suspect from the various answers here that the greatest challenge lies in the direction of emotional/mental aspects of maintenance.

I read a book once about people who had escaped or been released from prison, often after several years inside, and they almost invariably ended up back behind bars in short order. This author, a repeat offender who had spent most of his adulthood in prison, including several `successful' escapes' finally was able to SEE and then to break that pattern. He realized he'd no plan, no skills, that he would need for living in the world outside of prison, and thus moved back to his comfort zone whenever things got tough outside. His solution? Support groups and transition processes.

I think our situation has parallels.

Maintaining is different. . . This is the most difficult part of the journey, and there is almost nothing written about it. . . . One more thing- for me maintenance has evolved over time. It is not static. HTH-
E
I read on a different forum a post from a woman who had, at 280+, more or less given up on life, and was waiting for the end. Then came the diabetes diagnosis, and something in her galvinized for the fight. Now this was a primarily-LF group, so winners were rare, and their insights treasured. I have never forgotten her analogy--she said it's as if she had crossed an ocean in a small boat, and encountered storms and despair along the way, but by the time she hit her goal weight, about half her starting weight, she said it was just like hitting the dock with a gentle *bump*--and now she had to learn to live life in the harbor.

I was at 185 this a.m.--expecting a bounce-up, so haven't changed my stats, but am starting to plan ahead for the changes, because I am almost 70% of the way to my prelminary goal. And ladies, I really don't want to have to do this again. . .

Eno, loved what you said about `dressing up the body and taking it (her?) out to play.' I'm already enjoying having many more options for clothing at 16/18 than I did with 24's. I'm also taking the time to sort out the size 10's and 12's I saved from years ago--and am thrilled with the quality and style of many of them (there are others, though. . . remember shoulder pads?) So excited about being able to wear those clothes--and also realizing that there will be more to explore. As if I am, in my imagination, visiting the land of the slender before I arrive. . .

Atkins also addressed many of these issues with the last-ten-pounds chapter in his book--I remember a time when that chapter seemed so far away from having anything to do with me.

I also want maintenance to be a time of experimenting with new programs--maybe Somersizing, maybe CAD/CALP, South Beach? I look forward to being at goal because then I will have a set number that I won't go above (at this time I'm planning on that being at 150, but I'll know better when I'm closer.) That kind of ceiling becomes obscure when you're still losing--am I standing still because of the food, because I'm stalling? Also, that will be a time to explore the changes that happen as a result of exercise.

Maintaining is different. The support is not there the same as when you are losing- E

So. What are we going to do about that? There will be more of us, you know.

What worked before? Challenges? Regular posting? Journalling? New goals? Trying out new recipes? Being able to travel without having an extra 75 pounds of `luggage'?

I know that what I'm feeling like right now is *starting* to be the new normal. . . and the experience of being 252 is starting to be more abstract, a memory of a memory. . .

Enomarb
Sun, Jul-31-05, 11:45
Hi Kathleen and everyone else-
very thought provoking posts. BTW- physically I feel "normal".

I don't know what the answer is. I love the metaphor of being in the harbour after crossing the ocean. Let's face it- being in the harbour is boring compared to the challenges of the ocean crossing, but that is where real life is. For me acceptance has been a key. First, accepting that I really had a physical problem that can be corrected by CALP and that I have to stay on this plan to continue in health. Second, accepting that I really do weigh 125lbs and really am a size 6/8 now and giving myself permission that this is okay. It was not my goal, I was very happy at 150 and my size 12, but this is where my body bumped into the dock. After 16 years of being a 16, and being fine with that, this has been really difficult. The first winter I was freezing, and my bones hurt when I sat or had my elbow on something. All my cushioning was gone, but that has gone away. I am getting more comfortable in my own skin.
I do like this site, and I do like posting: this has helped me stay on track. I never started a journal.
I am interested in what others have to say.
E

BKM
Mon, Aug-01-05, 10:35
Maintenance, for me, is scary -- I'm so very, very afraid that I'll regain the weight. Once before I lost weight, got to my ideal weight, then thought I was "home free" -- but over the next ten years I managed to put on 30 pounds....

Right now it seems more of a "balancing" game -- I'll overeat, then get scared and back off for a week (typically I eat too much on weekends, then am super-strict on weekdays).

Low-carbing is a way of life for my husband and me -- but I can still overeat, and my choices aren't always good (e.g., sf ice cream, soy chips, almonds....); also, I tend to eat too much fruit. It's not so much of a "hunger" driven eating, rather it's a "the food looks appetizing and therefore I eat it" type of eating.

The other "downside" to maintenance -- when I first lost this weight, I felt like I looked really good -- now I'm looking a bit chubby again -- I'm reasonably sure that nothing much is changing, but that as I become comfortable with my weight, I begin to see other flaws.... Somehow I have to become comfortable with my weight and body shape -- although I exercise regularly, I doubt that anything much will change that drastically, and I really don't think anything lower would be healthy for me...

lisabond
Wed, Aug-03-05, 15:36
I hope this thread stays active, I thought I was weird for thinking maintenence was a scary thing. I play with my goal weight (at one time it was 140-145)...I lower it bit by bit so I can prolong the inevitable. Is that sick, or what? Now I have it set at 135, which at 5'7" and being of slight frame is a pretty good weight for me.

So, is a healthy way of looking at maintaning a weight is, say, stay within a 5 pound field, like 135-140, because since I do weigh every day, there is going to be ups and downs. I mean, it would be unrealistic to see the same number e-v-e-r-y-d-a-y, right?

I know all this seems obvious and possibly elementary, but I feel there are two things I do really well...take off weight...and gain it right back. I've done it a few times, so I got that part down pretty good. It's going beyond that I just can't do for different reasons (emotional/binge eater/addictive personallity). Hey, now there's a thougt...I could get addicted to maintenence!





:lol:

BKM
Wed, Aug-03-05, 15:49
lisabond

I'm also 5'7", and I keep my weight at 130 -- I expect a +- of 3 pounds (i.e., weight between 127 - 133) as normal variation -- though if I hit the upper limit for a couple of days, I start watching my food intake again.

Salt can drive my weight up, as can nuts (haven't figured that one out, but too many almonds -- one of my addictions -- can add a couple of pounds overnight) -- haven't found an "instant" downsizer, though.

I am so afraid that I will become careless and not worry about 2-3 pounds -- and then another 2-3 pounds....

Judynyc
Wed, Aug-03-05, 16:09
Hey, now there's a thougt...I could get addicted to maintenence!


I'm right there with you Lisa!! :lol:

As a yo-yoer from way back, I too, have great fears about maintaining....I just want to be at peace with my body and food!! :agree:

lisabond
Wed, Aug-03-05, 16:11
Salt can drive my weight up, as can nuts (haven't figured that one out, but too many almonds -- one of my addictions -- can add a couple of pounds overnight) -- haven't found an "instant" downsizer, though.

Yeah, that would be nice, wouldn't it!!! And it would have to taste as good as almonds ! ;)

I am so afraid that I will become careless and not worry about 2-3 pounds -- and then another 2-3 pounds....

I know...I am the same way. It's amazing how fast weight can go on until we are forced to acknowledge it.

tammay
Tue, Aug-09-05, 19:29
A wonderful thread - hope you all don't mind me popping in - I am 6-11 pounds away from goal...

I guess the way I imagine maintenance to feel like (at firrst at least) is a little anxiety trip, especially the fear that adding more carbs/calories will make me gain back the weight. About 10 years ago I got to 116 and what killed me was simply not taking maintenance seriously. I did it through Jenny Craig which relies on packaged foods (at least it did then) and doesn't teach you how to maintain on "real" food, so of course once I was off the packaged food, I gained. But the difference is that this time I'm a low carber for life and I know keeping my carbs to a reasonable amount (though I have no idea what that will be yet) and keeping certain foods out of my diet (like dairy and processed salty meats and caffiene) will help me not only keep the weight off but be healthier overall.

I had a similar question for maintainers - do you still feel the same benefits you did while losing on low carb (i.e., the extra energy, clear-headedness, control over food)? Or once you add "good carbs" you found that those things went away a little (but not enough to regain, obviously!)

Tam

BKM
Wed, Aug-10-05, 08:40
Tam -- I feel absolutely great -- I don't get headaches (used to suffer with them almost all the time), rarely get a cold, never get the flu....

I consider my health quite good, go to the doctor's only for checkups (at my age, they really push that). And I attribute this state of health to good genes and healthy diet....

I also still have lots of energy -- regular exercising and eating correctly contribute to that (IMO).

I haven't had a "sweet" (such as cake, cookies) for many years (other than a bite of each of my daughter's wedding cakes -- tasted terrible) -- I think I have lost my taste for sugar. However, I still enjoy bread and whole grains, eat them in moderation. The only times I feel "out of control" with eating is with almonds (could they be a trigger food for me?), or occasionally after eating out (wonder what I really ate????).

Bandito
Wed, Aug-10-05, 11:14
Feel great here as well. I feel like I did a couple months into LC (took my body a while to adjust). My bs has been stable and I don't need to take naps. I dont know what else to say, except I feel great. I still have my trigger foods. If I fall off the deep end once and a while, I will feel like garbage until it wears off. During maintenance you will find the foods that you react poorly to. It's ok to mess up here and again. Thats how you learn what is right for you. This part takes time, but with your advanced knowlege of what YOU can handle, your repertiore of foods will develope. After you have gained this knowlege (but still always learning) you just kinda settle into your life. At this point you eat for your future health while paying some attention to weight so as to not re-gain.

Kristine
Wed, Aug-10-05, 15:52
Very interesting thread. :thup:

What does maintenence feel like?

For me, it's a little bit of everything. You go through phases. Sometimes maintenance is as easy as pie. Other times, it's right out the window. Then comes that itchy-leg/bloated feeling you described. Successful maintenance means that your new lifestyle is so engrained in you, that going back to how you used to be not only feels physically uncomfortable, but wrong on a moral and emotional level.

Do you find a peace where you are no longer trying to lose, or is it an eternal-vigilance feeling?

I'm in the 'eternal-vigilance' camp. I have an addictive personality, and that will never disappear. As well, I'm disorganized and impulsive by nature, and if I'm not paying attention to things going on in my life, they just disappear off my radar. Without my "to-do" lists, I'd be lost and my work would never get done. :daze:

But that's not to say you don't have peace, also. The food obsession, the all-or-nothing, perfectionist attitude; the noise in my head; it's softened from a roar to a dull whisper. It's a voluntary paying of attention, not the negative voice in your head screaming at you. There is a specific kind of peace you feel when you know you're feeding your body properly, not abusing it.

rachelratz
Thu, Aug-11-05, 13:50
I'm in a situation in which I have maintained my weight loss over 5 years. It's something you gradually learn. It's hard to say because it's different for each person. You just learn what to eat, the amount, etc the same way each day. You eat a variety of foods, learn which ones not to eat too much of. (the reason most people get heavy...too much of a good thing). You also learn not to fear what you eat. I limit my pasta and starch to once a week. I have stayed in my zone (never below 110, never above 113lbs since then. Again, each person is different, but you will learn to do it.

ItsTheWooo
Mon, Aug-15-05, 17:34
Okay, this question is for those hyper-self-analytical types out there, and I know from the outset that it may be a tough one to answer.

I know what losing feels like: that kind of `squarish' crunching feeling in the abdomen (usually) that corresponds with a drop in scale weight--not hunger, but right next door to it, and often an I'm hungry-but-don't-want-to-eat feeling.

I know what gaining feels like--that bloating, itchy-legged, I'm-full-but-want-to-eat feeling.

What does maintenence feel like? Is it just a pendulum swing between those feelings, or is it different? Do you find a peace where you are no longer trying to lose, or is it an eternal-vigilance feeling?

I remember from many years ago, an immediacy to the sensation of hunger when I was at goal--that `I'm-hungry-and-you-better-feed-me-NOW' feeling (like living with a 2 year old . . . ) but I don't remember anything else about it . . .


Thanks for your thoughts on this. . . .

Speaking personally,

In maintenance I don't feel much different than I did when losing. I can't relate to your descriptions of loss and gain, although I do remember the feeling of being stuffed yet still hungry when I was fat.

When I was losing,
I remember being more careful and afraid of what I was eating. The fear was highest when I first started, it changed focused a little, and slowly tapered away. It's still there but now it's like background noise. When you maintain you learn something you didn't know about "normal weight" people: weight fluxes. It's totally normal to eat a bit for a few days because, say, celebrations or fruit season or bbq. It's totally normal to put on a bit of weight. Then you lose it again by going back to more strict eating, and that's that. No fuss no muss.
This helps you get over the fears that were fresh when starting the diet, because you are learning that you DON"T need to be perfect and you're not supposed to be. If you eat something bad, if you gain a pound, it will be fixed as long as you stay committed to thinness. The fears of everything weight & food related gradually goes away when reality interjects the closed bubble of weight loss dieting.

I also remember being hungrier. Since my goal was to lose weight as fast as possible while still being healthy, I under ate fats as well as carbs to really create an energy deficit. It wasn't so much the physical hunger that bothered me, because my blood sugar was tightly controlled it was very managable. It was more the physical effects of a body low on energy & conserving it. I was tired often, cold often (the winter was like a nightmare, oh my god), occasionally dizzy and weak. I take for granted now that I don't feel dizziness and weakness like I used to, I forget that used to be common. So I feel healthier and stronger. Ironically in maintenance I actually can feel hungrier, since less rules means more poor choices, which translates into less stable blood sugar. The difference is though that on maintenance when I'm hungry I allow myself to eat since weight loss is not a goal (unless of course I have gained weight after a series of indulgences).


The biggest difference is in perception, mental perception.
You kinda have to let go of food in maintenance. In maintenance you're not allowed to be extreme anymore. Many people who are food addicts temporarily deal with abstaining from food by becoming hyper obsessive with losing weight. I see it all the time. By a food addict going on a diet, you're kinda trading heroin for morphine. It can end up a couple ways. You can actually use it (food purity/restriction obsession) as true morphine, using it as a crutch to fill the void on the way to being eating normal. You can eventually find yourself adverse to it and just go back to food. OR, you can be triggered by it, grow dependent on it to replace the void of eating food, and develop a restrictive/compensatory eating disorder. To my estimations it is an unfortunate truth very few people have the "happy outcome", instead they become more dysfunctional in eating one way or other from attempting to reduce weight.

Anyway. When I had to learn to just be moderate and NORMAL and not focus on food so much, it was a big blow. I totally didn't realize the extent that I was replacing compulsive eating with dieting. The transition was difficult to say the least. Maintenance made me realize I WAS an emotional dependent on food, and it forced me to deal with my compulsive tendencies. It is simply no longer an OPTION to be "all or nothing" like it was before, because this would result in undesired outcomes.

This is definitely premature on my part since I have a long way to go, but I feel more eating normal than I have ever in my life. Experimenting, in spite of fears, learning to actually eat food in moderation and on occasion, challenging my long held residual perceptions of being "deprived" and "yearning" for food (remnants of the carbohydrate sensitivity, the seeds for compulsive eating/restriction)... it's like I parted the fog and can see clearly for the first time. Of course this is only true if I also control blood sugar. I shouldn't understate how crucial this factor is, because becoming "eating normal" is only possible if one is no longer being triggered by the physical problems that lay the foundation for food addiction in the first place.

I've really went on waaay too long here so I"m just going to end it now.

bkloots
Sat, Dec-10-05, 06:57
I just spotted this thread today, and read everything with great interest. I've been officially in maintenance since April 2005, with one excursion back to induction to counteract a vacation weight gain. The sneaky 5 lbs.

To all the other comments, I want to add: rereading my program book (Dr. Atkins) brought to light a lot of information I hadn't paid much attention to while I was in Loss Mode. Dr. A has a breezy style (okay--hyper at times.) He tends to insert sentences here and there like asides--but that are really important. Example: most people can't eat a high-fat diet.

Hey--what happened to my "low-carb advantage"? As it turns out, I DO have to pay careful attention to what I eat. I use Fitday periodically to recheck my eating habits. I step on the scales often to remind myself where I want to STAY. I mind my carbs. It's the mindfulness I learned every step of the way on my low-carb journey to GOAL that serves me now.

I tend to admire myself in the mirror a lot, because most people in my life now don't remember me as a "fat person." It's been almost ten years since I first lost the 50 lbs (on a low-fat diet). Atkins has been my key to continuing success. Still--yesterday, when I wore my skinny jeans and black turtleneck, someone stopped me in the hallway at work and said, "Wow. I don't know how you do it!" Evidently, she's one of those people who's been watching me...watching for me to get fat again? I swear it's not going to happen. Ever.

greta
Sat, Dec-10-05, 07:33
You're all so great, so individual, having personal tips I secretly :) learn from.

I work in a fashion industry, guess I don't need to tell what pressure is there about being the right size, even if you're not the model.
As I began to open up and tell my slim secrets - I was told being a sect.
And you know I think woman who told that was right; as I need to come here and see that I'm not alone.
To steal some tips and try to fit them to my life, see if they work.
So stay vigilant, low-carbers!

lisabond
Sat, Dec-10-05, 08:02
It's hard to say because it's different for each person. You just learn what to eat, the amount, etc the same way each day.
.

I'm glad I seen some action in this thread, I missed this the last time I was through here.

I think it does come down to the daily habits that makes maintenence an "auto-pilot" kind of thing. After all, it was the daily habits that had me obese in the first place...eating out of the box o' carbs (does it matter what is actually was? The important thing was it was all carbs), lack of structure, lack of planning, lack of caring. Now I have a new set of daily habits. Call it a routine, call it a rut, call it mild ocd, but if I stick to the new daily habits, they will become as comfortable as all the other maintenence type things I do in my life, like balace a checkbook, brush my teeth, take my kids to school, it's just another part of life. And when the holidays roll around and if I deviate from the "routine" one day, I tell myself that "Christmas comes but once a year" (or insert holiday of choice), and the day after is right back to the real world. No, I'm not talking about total pig out on Christmas, it's more like, "hey, plum pudding with hard sauce comes into my life once a year. I'm having a serving."

With that said, I still struggle with image issues, some white-knuckle moments, those last few pesky pounds. But I am learning it's the days I string together like beads on a string that show how things really are. Just make sure there are far more regular days strung together than those "once a year" days! And no making up holidays, either! ;)

dstartz
Sun, Jan-01-06, 15:22
I have never forgotten her analogy--she said it's as if she had crossed an ocean in a small boat, and encountered storms and despair along the way, but by the time she hit her goal weight, about half her starting weight, she said it was just like hitting the dock with a gentle *bump*--and now she had to learn to live life in the harbor.What a powerful image! And now that I've read it the gentle *bump* is exactly what I am experiencing coming into pre-maintenance and, thus, what I now expect maintenance will be.

I am sooo glad I found this thread!!! Thanks, y'all!

Donna (http://forum.lowcarber.org/showthread.php?t=226414)

Jonahsafta
Sun, Jan-01-06, 19:25
The analogy is perfect.

csoar2004
Sun, Jan-01-06, 20:43
Sometimes, I gain weight. (jeez...that collective gasp I could hear even out here in the middle of nowhere!) Not a LOT of weight, I hasten to add, but 3-5 pounds. USUALLY, it's 'cause I eat too many P3 carbs (we're permitted up to 4 "legal" carbs per day in Fat Flush Plan) - dang, the blue corn chips are just too tasty! Anyhoo, I don't panic. I don't despair. I don't go completely off plan and binge.

What I do is a quarterly detox (either 2 weeks of P1 or the lovely Fast Track). Abracadabra, presto change-o! Pounds vanish and I'm back to my low weight.

Why am I telling you this?
Well, I suppose so you know that maintenance/P3 isn't a "free pass" to eat whatever you want. You still have to pay attention and just because the rules say you can have "X" doesn't mean YOU can have "X" (if you catch my drift).
Also, so you know that a return to induction/P1 now and then is good not only from a detox standpoint, but to help shave off pound creep. Life happens. It's good to know that the phases of the FFP - or returning to Atkins induction - can help deal with the aftermath. ;)

As it happens, I started my routine quarterly detox today and will be following the Phase 1 Fat Flush Plan eating guidelines for the next two weeks. Pass the water, please!

Judynyc
Sun, Jan-01-06, 23:18
I've not been at goal for very long now but I do agree with csoar.....I'm finding myself adhering to the rules of my plan as if I'm still doing it.

I know that if I eat as much as my phase III allows, that I'd be gaining weight. I'm not going back to where I was!! I am going to be eating this way for the rest of my life!!

I do, however, have a feeling of freedom that is quite nice. Also, the feeling of having given myself this wonderful gift, keeps me wanting to stay where I am.

My eating is becoming more second nature to me now and for this I'm very grateful!! :D

taming
Thu, Jan-05-06, 08:31
The weight maintenance part of this has not (yet) been difficult for me. That being said, coming to terms with a thinner me has not always been as easy to deal with. People treat me differently; I am more focused on things like clothing and makeup; and I am re-introducing non-weight related activities back into my life--trying to move the food issues more into the background of my day-to-day existence.

When I was actively losing weight, I didn't think much about it--I charged on, doing what I had learned was likely to be most effective. Now, at goal, I am making sense of what being fat has meant to me--the good and the bad. It's more challenging to me than weight loss was.

kathleen24
Sat, Sep-02-17, 14:31
Okay, this question is for those hyper-self-analytical types out there, and I know from the outset that it may be a tough one to answer.

I know what losing feels like: that kind of `squarish' crunching feeling in the abdomen (usually) that corresponds with a drop in scale weight--not hunger, but right next door to it, and often an I'm hungry-but-don't-want-to-eat feeling.

I know what gaining feels like--that bloating, itchy-legged, I'm-full-but-want-to-eat feeling.

What does maintenence feel like? Is it just a pendulum swing between those feelings, or is it different? Do you find a peace where you are no longer trying to lose, or is it an eternal-vigilance feeling?

I remember from many years ago, an immediacy to the sensation of hunger when I was at goal--that `I'm-hungry-and-you-better-feed-me-NOW' feeling (like living with a 2 year old . . . ) but I don't remember anything else about it . . .


Thanks for your thoughts on this. . . .

Read this post, and thought, "I can totally relate to this!"
And then I noticed who wrote it . . . :lol:

Ambulo
Sun, Sep-03-17, 00:17
'Read this post, and thought, "I can totally relate to this!"
And then I noticed who wrote it . . . :lol:'

:lol: Well, you bumped the thread for the rest of us. It's a fascinating read and I am surprised it has been dormant so long.

I have been in maintenance for over 3 years: maintenance as an activity, not maintenance as an outcome - I have been gaining just about 1.3 lbs a year. I have simply carried on with the WOE that I lost with, primarily OMAD with low carb dishes. My occasional deviation is fish and chips, maybe once a quarter. My OMAD tribe does not weigh or measure food, but we eat to satiety. I will not countenance imposing any portion control unless clothes get tight. As an Abstainer I am happy to live by my simple rules and make zero food decisions most hours of a day.

esw
Sun, Sep-03-17, 01:22
Agree with Ambulo this is a vey interesting thread, glad you bumped it. How funny that you still think that way kathleen24 after 12 years.
I reckon as maintenance is such a stumbling block for many of us the more help and suggestions the better. Emotional reward from a drop in the scale is very encouraging. Personally the goal of weight loss is a fight worth fighting. When I get to my goal I think I will have to set new goals. A few on here set their target a little lower I will be considering that. Keeping the mind and body busy will also be useful. Just Jo is a powerhouse of a knitter. I hope as we reach goal we will continue to come on here. The journey will continue.

cotonpal
Sun, Sep-03-17, 05:09
'
I have been in maintenance for over 3 years: maintenance as an activity, not maintenance as an outcome - I have been gaining just about 1.3 lbs a year. I have simply carried on with the WOE that I lost with, primarily OMAD with low carb dishes. My occasional deviation is fish and chips, maybe once a quarter. My OMAD tribe does not weigh or measure food, but we eat to satiety. I will not countenance imposing any portion control unless clothes get tight. As an Abstainer I am happy to live by my simple rules and make zero food decisions most hours of a day.

I eat two meals a day rather than one but otherwise I agree with Ambulo, maintenance for me is just a continuation of everything I was doing while I was losing weight. I've upped my carbs a bit in the form of low carb above ground vegetables but I just stay the low carb course. I think of this way of eating as much more than a way to lose weight. It is also a way to regain and then maintain health. Weight loss may be the most obvious benefit but there are so many other health benefits that it simply makes no sense to me to change things even though weight loss is no longer a goal.

Jean

Just Jo
Sun, Sep-03-17, 07:17
maintenance for me is just a continuation of everything I was doing while I was losing weight.That's how it is for me too...

Dr. A said this in A '72 page 263:The best decision is probably to stay pretty much on the very low carbohydrate diet on which you lost; only now you can feel free to deviate in small ways.I really haven't changed anything that I was doing to lose the weight; I haven't tried to increase carbs, or allow "cheat meals" etc.

I've truly been blessed since I know exactly how many kcals and carbs (my "sweet spot") I can eat daily w/o gaining weight, getting cravings etc...

Interesting that this thread popped back up b/c this is what I wrote in my journal this morning: Staying 100% OP has NOT been difficult at all... lately I've been eating the same things day-in and day-out.

Not complaining one iota since it means I don't have to think about food or what Imma gonna eat PERIOD! Which is one of my many food related issues!

Food really is a none-issue since it doesn't hold the same "entertainment" value it used to have when I was "Fat Jo". I really only eat to nourish my body...

Tomorrow will mark 3 years, 6 months, 2 weeks and counting in Maintenance!

Imma really proud about that since I've never EVER stayed in maintenance for any significant amount of time!

Okay, seriously, I NEVER did maintenance before which would explain my years and years of yo-yo dieting! :bash:

Honestly, it's truly easier to stay 100% OP every.single day then to have to battle "FAT Jo" and her carb addiction!

Imma gonna stay 100% OP today and let tomorrow take care of itself! :thup:My answer to your original question, Kathleen24: Do you find a peace where you are no longer trying to lose, or is it an eternal-vigilance feeling? Imma in the eternally vigilant camp b/c my past yo-yoing dieting history has taught me that if I get lazy about my eating, "Fat Jo" gets a toe hole into my reality. And I just don't have the emotional fortitude to fight her fat azz again!

cotonpal
Sun, Sep-03-17, 08:45
I think it is a mistake to think of low carb eating as simply a weight loss strategy. It is a health strategy that includes weight loss so that even if weight loss is no longer a goal, you continue eating the same way because health remains a goal no matter what you weigh. Then there's that nasty fact that if you revert to your old habits you will gain back the weight and then some and your overall health will decline.

Jean

kathleen24
Sun, Sep-03-17, 12:51
Lovely to see the action on this thread; thank you all for your thoughtful replies.

I had plateaued for about a year and a half, about 50 pounds down from my high weight, then started tightening up my focus back in March and dropped about 30 pounds. You may know how that goes--no one notices the first 20-30-40 pounds.

Then I spent the summer traveling, and only had access to a scale a few times over the summer. I had felt like I was losing, and the clothes I had seemed loser, but when I got on a scale on the last night of my trip and saw I'd dropped another 25, I was surprised to say the least.

I really hadn't wrapped my mind around getting under 200 (194 when I left this spring), but just got on with having a lovely summer, eating LC as best I could, walking a lot, being happy. And frankly, if I was low on cash and had to chose between spending 10E on food or on a book or CD, I would tell myself that I'd be hungry again tomorrow, but I'd have the music for a lifetime, so it was very easy to make those choices. Also, I think the quality of the food was better there, and I didn't need as much to meet my nutritional needs.

But when got on a scale that last night, and then got off and on and off and scribbled on the back of an envelope converting stones and kg to pounds to make sure I understood correctly, and found myself at 170, it was a total shock.

That was two weeks ago, and I'm down another 5 pounds since then. So when I returned to work, people finally saw the difference that all that weight loss made. (Most common response? 'You've lost a ton of weight.' Umm--thank you?)

Coming back here and finding that I could fit into clothing and seeing numbers on the scale I haven't worn for years leaves me with a sense of unreality about it all. It's as if I'm living the teenager-y dream of going to sleep fat and waking up thin. I am used to micromanaging the process, and this time more or less skipped the dreaded 180's-doldrums, and good riddance to that. But then missing the journey through the 170's? And continuing to lose? Wows. .

I am so grateful to be here, don't misunderstand. But I'm doing my best to try to own this, to accept this as the new normal. I spent last weekend going through my closet, going through The Boxes, and was stunned to see that almost everything I'd set aside because of weight gain fits now. I have two totes left of clothing that doesn't fit, but it's only a size or two too small. I confronted a lot of emotion in that process, and a lot of fear--if this is coming off this easily, might it come back? Decided I just can't think like that, and took bags and bundles to the charity shop and drove away without looking back.

I've got a pair of jeans, size 13 Zena `mom pants' that are my iconic `I feel like I look good in these', which I wore out in public yesterday. I didn't think I'd be anywhere near fitting them when I unpacked them, but they went right on.

I was at 164.4 this morning. And I think, imagine that--five more pounds and I'll be in the 150's! My 155 goal was set more as a distant Holy Grail than any clear knowledge of what will look and feel right to me. I'm aiming for functionality as my touchstone: where do I feel good, where am I most strong and fit, what weight can I maintain without it being a white-knuckle struggle?

I don't even know the difference between loose skin and rolls of fat--I can see and feel the muscle underneath, and I see sploodge on top of them, but how much of that is skin? Looking pretty good now fully dressed, otherwise not so much. And ladies, to be honest, I would like to also look good without the clothes.

Did your skin tighten up and you lose subcutaneous fat in the years since you hit maintenance?

Sorry to ramble on and on, but this is stuff I'm trying to work out instead of acting out, if you get my drift.

ETA: to clarify, I have no intention of changing the way I eat. I feel like I've finally stumbled on the way that works for me, natural, easy, satisfying. I wait until I'm hungry to start eating, eat what I'm hungry for, stop eating when my body says `enough', and don't eat again until I get hungry. I plan my shopping for the week, package good stuff for my frig at work and eat from that. Lots of fresh and cooked veggies, good fats, some chicken, fish, eggs, limited dairy, nuts, berries. What's not to love? I figure that at some point my body will hit a plateau, and I will assume that's my new goal, achieved. So I am definitely not thinking about changing that up when I hit some arbitrary number on the scale.

When I go to a new place, I ask people who live there to talk to me like I'm five years old. What are the rules? What do I need to watch out for? Don't pick up the snakes? Don't walk in that neighborhood at night? Okay, I can do that. That's what I'm trying to get a sense of here. I've lived in the other place for so long. I know how to live as a fat person. And I've been here before, but not for long, and not for a long time. And I'm still in that fat-zone of wanting to lose another ten pounds, and maybe then another. Still betwixt/between. But I can see landfall from here.

cshepard
Sun, Sep-03-17, 13:13
What does maintenance feel like?

For me it feels "active". I've been maintaining for a few years now and I still check my weight regularly and make conscious food and fasting choices daily. I feel like I am guarding my weight loss and health gains with my life! I still eat at induction levels with an occasional higher carb foray (like acorn squash), and have no interest in returning to any consumption of grains, potatoes, processed food or sugar.
As the years have gone by, my attention has shifted more and more towards health goals, in particular the concept of longevity and reversing the ageing process. So many of my health issues (albiet minor compared to many) have resolved on this woe, that I am running out of things to fix! Arthritis, chronic heartburn, all kinds of miscellaneous aches and pains due to 'old age', seasonal allergies - all completely gone. I am stronger and healthier at 59 than I have been since my late 30’s. Each of these items gets added to my active maintenance list, I am highly motivated by success to not backslide on any health issue.

So, whats left? How much younger can I look and feel? There are so many avenues of exploration and n=1 experimentation! Autophagy and HGH production, gut microbiome improvement, Immunology, Telemere lengthening ....
I am currently correcting my need for reading glasses with Natural eyesight improvement (Bates method), I've already had success eliminating my myopia and disscontinued use of progressive lenses, and am seeing some promising results with lymphatic system stimulation through accupressure, dry skin brushing and rebounding for excess skin reduction, dark eye circles and nightly leg cramps, believe it or not!

However, I truly believe underlying groundwork needed for all these benefits and improvements is, first and foremost, the diet. After the success of reaching my target weight and becoming 100% comfortable and adapted to the woe leaves me with the time, motivation and an important foundation to concentrate on even loftier goals.

My birthday is coming up next week. This year I am going to start counting backwards. ( :

kathleen24
Sun, Sep-03-17, 13:26
That makes sense to me: you're not `cured', you are managing your recovery with specific goals in mind.


However, I truly believe underlying groundwork needed for all these benefits and improvements is, first and foremost, the diet. After the success of reaching my target weight and becoming 100% comfortable and adapted to the woe leaves me with the time, motivation and an important foundation to concentrate on even loftier goals.

This also resonates. I have to remind myself sometimes that my weight loss takes time, energy, and patience, and occupies mental, temporal, financial, and sartorial space in my world. I look forward to being able to turn some of that elsewhere. Again though, grateful to be finally here, doing.

And I'm with you. I have soooo much I want to do. I need around another forty years at least. Ironic, as that's about how long I've spent being or fighting fat. Anyway, the future is that way, and that's where I'm headed.

Thank you for your post.

Mycie14
Wed, Sep-13-17, 17:37
I love all of this discussion of maintenance!

Kathleen, I so relate to your feelings of wonder at finding yourself almost at goal, looking at your new body, going through clothes, wondering what is next. It is hard for anyone to relate who has not been there, I've found. Enjoy this time of discovering and adjusting to the new you!

I'm sort of in year 2 of maintenance. After a lifetime of struggling with my weight, year 1 of maintenance was easy. I just stuck to LC. Didn't think about what or how much I was eating as long as it was low carb. I made a few changes with reducing Splenda intake and fasting to work on blood glucose issues, but mostly ate the same foods. I enjoyed looking good in clothes and having a normal blood glucose.

My second year has been a struggle, too many "little" cheats with bites of this and that. That has made it harder, I have to think about what I am eating again. I am currenly 5lbs over my goal, but 10lbs over my lowest. After knuckling down lately, I am feeling back in the groove now and want to get back to my low of 150.

Intestingly to me, that 10lbs has a very psychological effect on me...I feel much fatter now than a year ago. However, my size 8 clothes still fit, albeit maybe a bit tighter. Sometimes in the mirror I see fat me, other times, I see that size 8 body. I didn't really have that issue 10lbs ago... I always saw the size 8.

For me, maintenance feels like a mental game of me versus carb creep (which is really me versus me!). It also feels great to be able to go shopping and the store always has my size!

Mama Sebo
Wed, Sep-13-17, 21:21
Yes, I started at the beginning just reading your post as usual, and then looked at the date !!! WOW! Speaking to your previous self!

teaser
Thu, Sep-14-17, 04:41
Intestingly to me, that 10lbs has a very psychological effect on me...I feel much fatter now than a year ago. However, my size 8 clothes still fit, albeit maybe a bit tighter. Sometimes in the mirror I see fat me, other times, I see that size 8 body. I didn't really have that issue 10lbs ago... I always saw the size 8.


This sort of makes sense. At a certain body weight, I start to imagine I can start to see abs. Ten pounds up from there, and my imagination fails me. Ten pounds down, and I might actually see them. In theory, I've never been willing to starve myself to the point of rippedness.

khrussva
Thu, Sep-14-17, 07:26
Yes - thanks for reviving this thread. Timely for me as I struggle to get a handle on maintenance. I can relate to what many of the 'maintainers' posted here. To me it boils down to a few simple truths:

1) I have to remain low carb to have any hope of maintaining the loss. Low carb healed my broken metabolism and so much more. It was eating too many carbs that broke it in the first place. But as healthy and active as I am now - I am still carb sensitive. If I exceed my carb limits on a regular basis I will gain. If I return to my old WOE I will get fat and sick again.

2) Within my LC WOE, I still have to pay attention to what works and doesn't work for me. We have different bodies, tendencies, habits, food triggers, stress factors, and food environments. And these things can change over time. So perhaps there are things that I could have gotten away with in maintenance while I was in my 20's that no longer work when I am in my 50's. I try not to be 'boo hoo - it's not fair that they can have XXX and stay skinny, but when I have XXX I gain.' I try to see it as simple truth about myself. It is what it is. If I recognize that, then I can make the right choices and make maintenance work.

An example of my own current maintenance issues: I can eat extra dark chocolate on occasion. It is best if I don't have it everyday, otherwise the anticipation of having the daily treat becomes an expectation. If no dark chocolate is around, then I'm looking for something else to fulfill that want feeling. That is when bad choices can be made. The same is true for me and all natural peanut butter. I can have it. I consider it an on plan food. But it is calorie dense and it has more carbs than most foods that I eat. It can easily be overdone and will lead to a slow but sure gain over time if I don't stay on top of it. It is best if I don't have PB everyday. Now if I smear some PB on some dark chocolate, then I have a new problem on my hands. Those two things together form a trigger food for me, maybe because one of my old carby favs was peanut butter cups. What ever the cause, PB + chocolate fires off those 'more, more, more' cravings again and it is too easy to go overboard. These cravings are not overly intense. I still have the ability to cut it off if I have a mind to do so. I'm not always in that mindset, though. If I choose not to fight this desire for more, I will overeat that day. String days like that together and the gain is on.

I still eat PB on dark chocolate every once in a while. I probably shouldn't. Maintenance over the past year has included some undesired weight creep. I'm finding that maintenance is easier when I get satiety from what I eat. I get that with good, 'real food', low carb eating. I have a short list of gray area OP foods that don't fit that bill. I know what they are and more than likely this list is specific to me and my situation. If I want to be a successful maintainer, then I need to stay alert to the foods that cause me problems and change my diet accordantly.

So what does maintenance "feel" like? Work. As I've said before, maintenance is a job - not a picnic. Successful maintenance requires continued diligence, dedication and work. There is no coasting in maintenance. Living in a true maintenance mode is less work than bouncing back and forth between low carb "dieting" and what I used to consider "normal" eating. Getting back on track after getting fully derailed from low carb is very hard to do. Staying in the low carb zone consistently makes the job of maintenance tolerable. I'd prefer using terms like 'easy', 'automatic', or 'a piece of cake.' But that is not what maintenance is for me. It is, however, a job worth doing. I like being small again. I want to stay here.

Mycie14
Fri, Sep-15-17, 10:49
This sort of makes sense. At a certain body weight, I start to imagine I can start to see abs. Ten pounds up from there, and my imagination fails me. Ten pounds down, and I might actually see them. In theory, I've never been willing to starve myself to the point of rippedness.

My ideal weight is probably in the 140-145, but it would take a lot of work to get there. And I worry that those lbs would not come from the places I want them too (upper arms and knees of all places!). At 150, I could just start to see my ribs in my upper chest, not really what I was going for! :lol:

The 150-155 range was easy to stay in, provided I stayed away from off-program food. Right now, it's work enough for me to get back to that range.

teaser
Fri, Sep-15-17, 12:18
If you can even tell that I have ribs, my little sister wants to do an intervention. Normal weight looks like underweight to a lot of people these days.

Enomarb
Thu, Sep-21-17, 06:57
Hi-
this is a great discussion. Thanks.

I've been maintaining for 13 years. This is how I have to eat to maintain my HEALTH. I really believe the research that insulin and inflammation are the issues behind lots of health problems as well as being fat. So I have a lot of motivation to stay OP. I just feel BETTER eating LC.I feel NORMAL. For me, maintaining is work on a daily basis. Some days are easier than others, and being able to plan helps me a lot. In our society, carbs are everywhere. It's easy to get food when you are traveling, or when you are working- but that 'easy' food is usually carbs. And there is such an expectation that you should and will use food to meet emotional needs- movies and tv shows and commercials and ads show women eating ice cream and chocolate when they are sad/happy/angry/lonely/stressed/depressed. Food is also how we celebrate, have fun and mark occasions. And the food is typically carbs and sugar. So it takes vigilance and effort for me to stay OP. There are no foods I crave, but for me carb creep or feeling deprived are danger signs. I am very sensitive to alcohol- and I love a drink or a glass of wine- and sugar. I have to set limits of these to be OP. But I made a decision that this is how I eat and take care of me. I don't go off plan. This is it.
I was amazed and afraid when I lost the weight. It seemed too good to be true- and I was afraid I'd wake up one day and it would "stop working". I didn't feel comfortable in my body- bones were sticking out in ways I wasn't used to having them. Clothing fit- and I could walk into any store and find lots of clothes- amazing. But it was like a joke- I'd go to a rack of size 8 or 10 and pick out the one thing that was size 16! I somehow found my old size. I didn't know what looked good (still not sure!) and still tend to be most comfortable in larger clothing. Things that are too tight (that actually fit!) are very uncomfortable for me, emotionally not just physically.
I learned SO MUCH from this site- and used dry brushing for my skin and both cardio and strength training to firm up. My skin and body shape continued to evolve as I lost the weight and for at least a year after losing all the weight. Those strange bones just became normal, my body felt 'right', some lumps just went away while others stayed, and as I've gotten older gravity has also shifted some things lower.
People commenting on my weight/weight loss/body have always made me very uncomfortable, so it's nice that after 13 years most people don't say anything. It's really amusing to me when I meet someone new or have a friend who never knew me as fat if they say something like "you have always been naturally thin"- WHAT?? I still don't think of myself as thin, but now I think of my body as 'normal' and 'healthy' and ME.
That being said- I LOVE this WOL. I am so grateful that I found LC, that I trusted myself and not my doctors, that I found this site, and that there is now so much available to support LC/LCHF eating. YouTube lectures by major researchers and clinicians, websites like DIET DOCTOR, podcasts, medical journal articles and books by authors like Gary Taubes have been game changers for me. My motivation is my health, and I'm in it for the long term. My eating LC is making an investment in me, my health and my future.
I can't really tell you what your journey will be like, or what you will experience, but I am so glad to be here. Thank you for restarting this thread. And congratulations on figuring out what your body needs to thrive. I wish you only the best!

bkloots
Thu, Sep-21-17, 08:49
Hello, everyone. I enjoyed visiting this thread that popped up in my email feed. I plan on a long post on my own journal about recent events. However, I think coming to balance with low-carb eating as my personal "normal" has been the most helpful "achievement" over fifteen or so years. When I make exceptions, for longer or shorter periods of time, they are just that: Exceptions. Choices. As with all choices, I am keenly aware of consequences.

Nobody knows "Fat Me" from way back in 1996. So there's no thrill in being transformed anymore. It's just a way of life, with a bit of a "dark cloud" hanging in the background that I never forget. :lol: