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  #1   ^
Old Fri, Jul-29-05, 07:58
kathleen24 kathleen24 is offline
Monday came.
Posts: 4,418
 
Plan: my own
Stats: 275/228.6/155 Female 5'4"
BF:ummm . . . ?
Progress: 39%
Default What does maintenance FEEL like?

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. . . .
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  #2   ^
Old Fri, Jul-29-05, 13:13
MissScruff's Avatar
MissScruff MissScruff is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 6,113
 
Plan: 1
Stats: 110/110/110 Female 111
BF:
Progress: 74%
Default

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!
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  #3   ^
Old Fri, Jul-29-05, 14:43
Bandito's Avatar
Bandito Bandito is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 533
 
Plan: Generic LC
Stats: 212/157/135 Female 5'7
BF:
Progress: 71%
Location: Oregon
Default

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.
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  #4   ^
Old Fri, Jul-29-05, 15:16
Judynyc's Avatar
Judynyc Judynyc is offline
Attitude is a Choice
Posts: 30,111
 
Plan: No sugar, flour, wheat
Stats: 228.4/209.0/170 Female 5'6"
BF:stl/too/mch
Progress: 33%
Location: NYC
Default

Quote:
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.
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  #5   ^
Old Fri, Jul-29-05, 15:30
Bandito's Avatar
Bandito Bandito is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 533
 
Plan: Generic LC
Stats: 212/157/135 Female 5'7
BF:
Progress: 71%
Location: Oregon
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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??
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  #6   ^
Old Sat, Jul-30-05, 14:56
Enomarb Enomarb is offline
MAINTAINING ON CALP
Posts: 4,838
 
Plan: CALP/CAHHP
Stats: 180/125/150 Female 65 in
BF:
Progress: 183%
Location: usa
Default

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
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  #7   ^
Old Sat, Jul-30-05, 20:12
kathleen24 kathleen24 is offline
Monday came.
Posts: 4,418
 
Plan: my own
Stats: 275/228.6/155 Female 5'4"
BF:ummm . . . ?
Progress: 39%
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by Enomarb
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.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Enomarb
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.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Enomarb
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. . .
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  #8   ^
Old Sun, Jul-31-05, 11:45
Enomarb Enomarb is offline
MAINTAINING ON CALP
Posts: 4,838
 
Plan: CALP/CAHHP
Stats: 180/125/150 Female 65 in
BF:
Progress: 183%
Location: usa
Default

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
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  #9   ^
Old Mon, Aug-01-05, 10:35
BKM's Avatar
BKM BKM is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 733
 
Plan: Atkins
Stats: 159/141.7/130 Female 5'7"
BF: LOTS!
Progress: 60%
Location: Florida Gulfcoast
Default

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...
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  #10   ^
Old Wed, Aug-03-05, 15:36
lisabond's Avatar
lisabond lisabond is offline
See, I smile :)
Posts: 464
 
Plan: A Version of My Own ;)
Stats: 208/141.5/135 Female 5 ft 7 in
BF:43%/26%/???
Progress: 91%
Location: Midwest
Default

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!





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  #11   ^
Old Wed, Aug-03-05, 15:49
BKM's Avatar
BKM BKM is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 733
 
Plan: Atkins
Stats: 159/141.7/130 Female 5'7"
BF: LOTS!
Progress: 60%
Location: Florida Gulfcoast
Default

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....
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  #12   ^
Old Wed, Aug-03-05, 16:09
Judynyc's Avatar
Judynyc Judynyc is offline
Attitude is a Choice
Posts: 30,111
 
Plan: No sugar, flour, wheat
Stats: 228.4/209.0/170 Female 5'6"
BF:stl/too/mch
Progress: 33%
Location: NYC
Default

Quote:
Hey, now there's a thougt...I could get addicted to maintenence!


I'm right there with you Lisa!!

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!!
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  #13   ^
Old Wed, Aug-03-05, 16:11
lisabond's Avatar
lisabond lisabond is offline
See, I smile :)
Posts: 464
 
Plan: A Version of My Own ;)
Stats: 208/141.5/135 Female 5 ft 7 in
BF:43%/26%/???
Progress: 91%
Location: Midwest
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by BKM
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 !
Quote:
Originally Posted by BKM
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.

Last edited by Kristine : Sat, Dec-10-05 at 09:42. Reason: fixing quote tags :-)
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  #14   ^
Old Tue, Aug-09-05, 19:29
tammay tammay is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 538
 
Plan: Vegetarian Low GI
Stats: 188/179.8/125 Female 5'1"
BF:
Progress: 13%
Location: Israel (temporarily)
Default

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
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  #15   ^
Old Wed, Aug-10-05, 08:40
BKM's Avatar
BKM BKM is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 733
 
Plan: Atkins
Stats: 159/141.7/130 Female 5'7"
BF: LOTS!
Progress: 60%
Location: Florida Gulfcoast
Default

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????).
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