Thanks Demi!!
I actually live near where TV is....maybe I should try to meet with him.

Hmmm....I do need to up my exercise!! What am I going to do today?

Sara...great to see you down here!!

I totally agree with you on my 12 step roots too and giving it away...it does help me to do it also...even if they don't listen outwardly, a part of them hears it as it is a message of health and wellness.

The tracking and monitoring everything part...I'm not very good at this. What I did do was when I was losing my weight, I logged all my food each day for 20 months and literally was teaching myself to eat the way I ate then for life...I still eat the way I ate while I was losing. I am very conscious of how many fruits and starchy carbs I eat each day and I monitor that more than fat...I need to monitor my fats better!!

However...I do weigh daily and make choices on what I will eat that day based on what the scale tells me....and sometimes I can spot a trend and cut it off before it becomes a problem.

One point I've been curious about:

Newsclips about the National Weight Control Registry report that one other strategy is long-term restriction of food group variety:

Do you maintainers find yourself limiting in this way, perhaps as a natural extension of the low-carb weight-loss program you followed? That is, are there types of food (aside from the obvious triggers) that you avoid or restrict still?

Cheers--
Terry-24

Good question!!

I do eat a fairly large variety of foods being on the SBD...however I did restrict my grain intake while losing and still do. I do not eat the recommended amount of grain each day and never will...it works better for me this way as grain/flour are huge triggers for me.

I do eat a Wasa crispbread here and there and also the Bran crispbreads...good for fiber and the crunch factor.

But I do eat good lean proteins, good fats, lots of veggies and some fruit (2 to be exact )each and every day....and a limited amount of dairy...1-2 ozs of cheese.

I do not eat franken foods ie: low carb tortillas or bars. It is made from flour and not a food that I can play around with.

Thanks, Judy, that's interesting to know. The south beach may be where I'll need to go when I get closer to goal....

Cheers--
Terry-24

FYI..OWL phase II of atkins is very close to the SBD way.....if more people would follow this path and stop looking for quick weight loss staying on Induction..they'd have more long term success.

Gradually increasing your carb intake while you are still losing your weight is what makes it possible to have a varied diet once you hit goal.

I disagree with the need to have a very limited variety to easily maintain. I personally find it so much easier to maintain if I am always switching up my meals so i dont get bored and go back to eating junk. Though I now eat gluten free so a lot of things I do restrict myself from eating.

I dont count calories, or carbs, and I dont measure my food servings at all either now. It was just a matter for me to learn how to "eyeball" a proper portion instead of just filling up my plate/bowl etc etc...

Exactly Luke!!

My fridge is full with many different foods and I like it that way.

Good point, of course. I am trying (clumsily) to do Induction to goal, so I've never really known what OWL phase II looks like...

Cheers--
Terry-24

Then get your Atkins book out and read the chapter on OWL phase II of the plan you are doing.

When I considered atkins and read up on finding your CCL aka critical carb level...it scared the bejeebers out of me.... I said "What? I could never do that!.... too hard and complicated for me. "

So thats when I looked into the SBD and it was no counting....thats why I chose it....mind you, I still do have to keep track of the carbier foods that I eat daily...2-3 fruits....2-3 starches(starchy veggie or grain).....if I go over that, I will see gain...but it taught me what I needed to know for my body, about how much of these types of foods that I can eat in a day.

For those with metabolic issues, finding their CCL is vital for their long term health. For those with a healthy metabolism, albeit old in my case , SBD is just fine for me.