Please critique my transition into maintenance

[athena11]

Ate very low carb for about 4 weeks. Lost all the weight. Whoosh there at the end after a stall.

Need to carefully transition into maintenance since I've been successful at this two times before and jumped right back up about 15 pounds the one time.

Thanks. Maybe I should add more calories? I'm not really sure what my body really needs (everyone is different) for maintenance. (My husband for example, eats very little!

TRANSITION
~1400 CAL. ~ 40 NET MAX.

AM Green Tea pills AM + Vitamins

BR POST EXERCISE
1/2 C. Wild Blueberries (35 cal./ 5 net)
Whey Protein mix (110 cal./2 net)
Calorie Milk 1 cup (45 cal./ 3 net)

TOTAL = 190 CAL./ 10 NET CARBS)

SNACK 2 Tbsp. PB (190 CAL./ 4 NET)

TOTAL = 190 CAL./ 4 NET 380/14

LUNCH
Tunafish 1 can (150 cal./0 carbs)
Spinach 3 cups = (20 cal./1 net)
2 Tbsp. Mayo Light (100 cal./ 2 carbs)
1/2 C. Wild Blueberries (35 cal./ 5 net)
1 pc. Pepper Jack cheese (80 cal./ 1 net)

TOTAL = 385 CALORIES 9 CARBS 765/23

SNACK
Almonds (170/ 2 carbs)

TOTAL = 170 CALORIES 2 CARBS 935/25

DINNER
2 Eggs (160 cal./ 2 net)
1 cup spinach (20 cal. / 1 NET
Mozz. Free ½ C. (90 cal./ 2 net)
2 OMeyer Bacon (50 cal. / 0 carbs)

TOTAL=320 CAL./ 5 CARBS 1255/30

SNACK
2 Mozz. Ch. stick (50 cal./ 1 net)/ 100/2

TOTAL= 100 CAL./ 2 NET CARBS 1355/ 32

1355 CALORIES / 32 CARBS

(Add 1 tbsp. DARK Cocoa - 20 cal./ 1 NET) - AM

1375 CALORIES / 33 CARBS

[Elizellen]

It looks fine as an OWL rung 6-style menu.
Are you adding the berries and milk and legumes together as new food items or did you work your way up the carbohydrate ladder as you got closer to goal?

I noticed the 'light mayo' - did you have a special reason for not using normal mayo? I found the 'light' versions of many foods are more carby than normal ones as when they remove the fat they add sugar products to make it taste better!

[athena11]

I decided to stay on low carbs until I lost all the weight, so no, I haven't added in carbs yet. I'm hoping to add in the blueberries and calorie counter milk Sunday or Monday. No legumes planned (beans right?)

It's a middle level mayo I think. 1 net carb per serving, so not much.

Yes, I like the idea of several mini-meals. I think it will give me a boost of energy.

Thanks!

[Qmass]

I have never counted calories, but now that I am at goal, I do try to be a little conscious of them. I use Hellmann's light mayo, which has 0.8 carbs per tablespoon, rather than 0.1 carbs of their full fat mayo. Half the calories though. I also eat more fish and chicken, and less beef, for the same reason.

But I certainly haven't given up fat! I have beef once or twice a week, and full fat cheddar 2 or 3 times a day.

It's all a balancing act. I think if you eat mindfully, and plan, and continue to weigh regularly, you'll figure out what works for you!

[Judynyc]

It's all a balancing act. I think if you eat mindfully, and plan, and continue to weigh regularly, you'll figure out what works for you!

:agree: I agree with you on this.....its been quite a learning experience for me and balancing is what I'm working on now too.

[mom2w]

Athena: What kind of exercise do you do? Make sure you're fueling yourself properly == esp if you're doing heavy weights (heavy meaning what's heavy for YOU!) I went through a phase where I was trying to restrict cals and carbs and it didn't go well (esp when the weighted bar fell on my head at the end of a workout and I couldn't lift it off of me).

There are plenty of people who lift (somewhat professionally) who are carb restrictors so you don't need carbs. If you're lifting weights, make sure you're eating pre & post workout (your shake looks good for post). If you don't eat enough calories, you'll end up losing some muscle mass and you don't want to do that!

I'll help where I can, but I'm still learning too. Otherwise, your plan looks pretty good.