^^^^^^ just like a lot of 'normal people'! :lol: Personally, I really like being healthier and having no aches and pains, unlike most other 70-somethings I know.

Ive been on the general message board and have consistently observed that the best advice comes from maintainers ...even pre-maintenance..
.the stories of those who lost then regained all and maybe more...also often understand the attitudes that got them where they are now have given me good insight on what to watch in my own attitude....

I think Im irritated at the whining...the "I only lost 3 lbs this week and Im ready to quit" "Im gonna eat off plan, thats OK right" I know its a learning process but for now I think Ill stay in the maintain lane for the most part.

I'm glad you revived this! There's some people around here that need to heed this advice. ;)

Well I agree with the principle that one should follow the advice of those who have demonstrated not only the ability to lose weight but also proven they can as easily maintain that weight loss.
But who really believes that tracking calories, body weight, planning meals, tracking fat and weighing every item on every plate is a sensible way to proceed.

expletives deleted

I certainly don't bother with any of that time wasting crap. You have to understand how your body naturally regulates your appetite and energy levels and set about restoring those natural control systems.

Does anyone really think that wild animals living on their natural diets, in their natural environments have to count calories in, fat content or plan their meals?
Neither do we, if we understand the basics of what a low carb paleo style diet is all about.

Those of us who have spent most of a lifetime fighting the Weight Creep yearn for the simplicity of "just eating." No tracking, no measuring, no planning.

Guess that's been the beauty of LC for me. I just get my dietary wheels in the groove and go.

I lost over 200 pounds on low carb, while calorie counting. I gained about 50 of it back over four years, still low carbing, by "listening to my body" and eating what I liked, as long as it was low carb. I've now lost the bulk of that 50 pounds in two months by calorie counting. Perhaps some people can do fine without consciously paying attention to calories, but some others can't. It's important to A) know which of those camps you belong in; and B) ignore people who insist calories don't matter, once you've discovered that, at least for you, they do.

Not to get into a debate with you on this, Hutch as I have a lot of respect for you and all your knowledge....BUT...for me it is also about my emotional eating and I have to be very conscious of that as an aspect of my long term maintenance.
I take all portion controls very seriously and it does help me to do that. :)
For many of us, low carb has enabled us to get a handle on our food addictions but the emotional eating( compulsive overeating) is still there and has to be dealt with ....all the time! :agree:



I hear you and am in total agreement!! :agree: :thup:

But surely understanding how our omega 3 (particularly DHA) status is required in order to improve our ability to control addictive behaviours and regulate impulsivity
It takes a good while to reduce current high omega 6 levels and increase the omega 3 levels but if you want to improve resistance to addictive/compulsive overeating it's essential. It certainly helps people who are prone to self harm and it's not that much of a stretch of the imagination to say knowingly eating foods that you know will wreck your weight loss strategy is tantamount to self harm.

Thanks for the info...but I think that you just don't get it being a cerebral type of person. :)

I think if you have to THINK about a decision you are not acting instinctively. Most of our eating is "mindless" consumption.
We're hungry, foods available, we eat what's available and we may eat too much and we may eat foods that we know (although delicious) will promote weight gain.
But it is possible to retrain the brain so that you just don't want, are not attracted to those foods that you don't eat any more.
I've not eaten sweets for ages, in the same way I've not smoked a cigarette for even longer. When I smoked I was as addicted to cigarettes as when I ate sweets I needed them in a similar way.
Once the abstinence from certain foods becomes INSTINCTIVE it isn't a conscious decision any longer.
No one who knows me would offer me a cigarette or a sweet and I wouldn't be tempted to accept but I don't accept that this is an intellectual/cerebral or conscious decision I think we have to enhance our "off switch" and that means increasing our omega 3 DHA status.
When the two halves of your brain are linked effectively the control of impulsivity, the urge to do something you know is fundamentally wrong for you, is reduced because the "off switch" operates BEFORE you have a chance to debate mentally about whether to give in to temptation or not.

It's a bit like fear, if you are not afraid there is no battle with fear so walking through a field of cows even if there is a bull with them raises no stress related hormones so no fear to be battled with. I don't think I'm smug or better than others for not being afraid when walking near cattle any more than I'm smug not wanting cigarettes when others are smoking or abstaining from sweets when available. Our brains can be retrained to make certain decisions instinctively so our conscious minds are not having to actually think about every little decision.
Think about the difference between learning to drive and driving instinctively.
When you have to explain all the observations/actions and reactions a car driver does it's almost impossible to list let alone make decisions on each aspect, but once the mind is trained to drive instinctively then these decisions are automatic.
Your diet choices need to become equally automatic and this is where improving cognitive function with Vitamin D, omega 3 and magnesium are so vitally important.
The brain/belly connection is extremely important and we have to feed our brains as much as our belly.

Its more than just the intellect..........the chemistry....there is an emotional part of us that needs to be addressed as well....a part of us that even chemistry cant explain....biochemistry doesnt provide all the answers.....just some helpful ones..

As someone once said to me, "When you're counting the steps, you're not dancing."

At some point, "muscle memory" (as in driving) kicks in. One hopes, eventually, to eat as instinctively as that. It takes a lot of practice.

:agree: Thank you, Deborah!! :bhug:

Judy.....science forgets to include the emotional and spiritual parts of us... I have a scientific background so I truly know ..the gaps... science can be its own relgion...asserting itself as absolute.....without acknowleging that which it cannot quantify

Yes, so many pieces in the puzzle. Nice to read all these posts shining light on the various pieces.

I often think of the saying, "we walk in the direction in which we look".

For me, tending to what brings serenity, equipoise, and good will, is at least as important as keeping the clean food plan, proper rest, supplements, sunshine, water, movement, etc.

I like reading of what maintainers do to take care of themselves.

Thanks for all the interesting posts. :)