Maintaining Weight-loss.

by

Dear MizFit,

I hit goal last week and, even though I should be so excited, I’m freaking out.   I know how to workout and eat to lose weight but have no idea where to even begin with maintaining.  The more I panic the more I fear I am setting myself up to fail because Im already worrying about regaining.  How do I do it all now that I do not want to lose more?

help!

Ahhhh, precisely how to maintain the loss youve worked so freakin hard to achieve.  This is one of those questions for the ages huh?

Rumor has it (and I say rumor because I could not locate any hard science to back this up) 95 percent of all weight loss is, eventually, regained.

Whether this statistic is high or not—-we’re all painfully aware that every pound shed is a ginormous effort while each pound regained is easy as ben & jerry’s new york superchunk fudge pie!

I almost chose not to answer the emailer’s question (Im nothing if not honest) as my fear was/is precisely that: I dont have an answer.

What I do have, however, are a few tips which worked for me & an entire Bumbling Band whom I’m confident is ready & willing to chime in.

I am a believer in giving away the too-big clothes (and in never, ever referring to them using the F-word–but that’s a post for a different day).

Get them out of your closet. Period.

I’m a believer in selecting a pair of scale bottoms (pants, skirt, shorts. anything sans-elastic waist) which fit perfectly at goal weight and using them as a barometer for quick check-ins to see if youve gained a pound or three.

If you’re one who can easily & healthfully use the scale merely as a tool (and not as a self-esteem basher or day-ruiner) I’d recommend weighing no more than once a week (please to disagree with me in the comments. I know you wanna…).

I’m a believer in losing the weight slowly.  It means you are more likely to have lost it permanently. (again something we all are aware of but, in our immediate gratification society, always bears repeating).

I, personally, needed to lose weight using an exercise program which was realistic for me to continue after I hit my goal weight.

Slow, steady, & smart LOSS = greater ease with regards to maintaining.

Many people cite stopping the exercise program they used while losing as the main reason they regain pounds shed.

I’m a firm believer it was crucial to *my* maintaining my weight loss is that changes Id made had become a lifestyle.

My portions aren’t tinytiny, but they are generous portions of healthy, clean(ish) foods.

I eat breakfast every morning so that my metabolism is sparked immediately.

I walk when I can instead of driving.

I surround myself with healthy, *optimistic* and lifeloving friends.

These are all things I started doing when I began my efforts to shed the Freshwoman Forty and still do today.

The difficult piece in maintaining becomes, for many of us, CALORIES.

The question of how many to consume (while still exercising) to stop losing yet not gain bodyfat.

(any dietitians in the house? feel free to add your .02 below!)

For me this wasnt too much of a struggle.

I increased what I ate mainly in the arenas of protein and (good) fat & found that I did gain a pound or so but not much more than that.

I also discovered that, through this increase, my hair looked better and my joints felt less achy (fat, People. It’s our friend!).

If youre not a fan of trial & error there are places where you can calculate what your caloric intake should be to maintain a given weight and we discussed one method of calculating that same number in this Viewer Mail, too.

Ive been told by nutritionist friends that the 250 plan is one which they recommend.

Start by adding 250 calories to your current diet (and no. they didnt say what type of calories so, Im assuming, they’re depending on us to make ‘good choices’ ).

After a week or so weigh yourself/try on those scale-bottoms.

If you lost weight add another 250 calories to your daily intake.

Gained weight (which, Id imagine, would be rare) cut back and return to what you’d been eating.

Remained the same? VOILA. There’s your new food plan. Play around with it (adding in treat meals etc) and enjoy!

WHEW.

And this was the short version of my answer (you can thank me in the comments).

I know that everyone’s experience is unique and, obviously, have written this yammering tome from mine.

You, Oh Faithful Reader?

Care to chime in & help our emailer?

Here’s hoping that the COMMENTversation will generate even more tips & hints for those of us working to maintain.

I’ll see you there!

POSTS BY EMAIL

Never miss a post. Enter your email to get my latest posts delivered to your inbox.

Comments

  1. Dietitian here! Just so happens I posted today about calories, although my focus was what to do when counting calories doesn’t work for you. Still, it might have some good points for your emailer. Particularly the Plate Model for Healthy Eating and Hunger Scale tool that really works well for weight maintenance because it is all about letting your body guide you in maintaining wellness, which includes a healthy weight. Your advice, Miz, about staying active and eating healthy makes it work best. The weekly weigh-ins? Like you say, make sure it doesn’t make you go all negative; that can interfere with hearing your body’s messages about how to take care of it.

  2. I echo the ‘lifestyle’ change. Instead of making temporary sacrifices towards that ominous ‘goal’ (losing weight). We should make life-long lifestyle changes (adjustments) that become a part of our ‘life’.
    Temporary sacrifice = temporary gains
    Permanent lifestyle adjustment = permanent gains.
    Great thoughts as always Miz!

  4. It’s good and bad that when I read you posts I think:

    I can do this! It seems so easy!

    Then it can be hard to put into practice.

    I’d love to read more about you.
    Your experiences.

  5. Great post! This is something we all need to be thinking about throughout the weight loss process. I have been to the goal weight and blew it because I didn’t have a plan. That won’t happen this time.

  6. Good point South Beach Steve.

    I had thought initially since I am still working to lose 50 pounds that this post didn’t apply to me yet.

    There are a few tips that will help later if I keep them in mind.

  8. Maintenance is, in my experience, much easier than weight loss. My journey was a 40kg loss over about 15 months, and I have maintained this for 3+ years (so far).

    Miz, as usual, has given most of my answers, but I’ll check them off.

    Giving away the too-big clothes – definitely, my dad scored most of mine.
    Selecting a pair of scale bottoms (pants, skirt, shorts. anything sans-elastic waist) – definitely, for me it was a belt.

    Scale – definitely, I am a scale freak (multiple times a day). I know this is not good for some, but for me it works.

    Losing the weight slowly. Definitely. As I said for me it was a fairly steady 0.5kg a week.

    Exercise. Has to become a habit, part of who you are – I guess this one part of the “lifestyle” issue. Set yourself goals in your chosen exercise – a fun run every couple of months, riding so many kms on your bike, run a marathon, do a triathlon, set a new 10km PB – and then get out and train for it.

    Training Journal. Keep yourself a training journal – track your exercise, and your progress. Set some goals. Calories burnt per week, exercise hours per week – whatever works for you.

    Portion control. Just be sensible. Don’t relapse into stupid eating.

    Eat breakfast every morning. Definitely, the most important meal of the day.

    Start a blog. Keeps you honest if others are following your progress too.

    My two cents.

  9. Great tips!

    It seems to me that people (magazines and books) are really focused on the getting there and less so on how to stay there.

    I am almost there 🙂 and plan to try the 250 rule when I am.

  10. Great suggestions!

    For me, it helped not to think, “woo hoo, I’m done!” I figured that maintaining a lower weight would be nearly as hard as losing (especially since i lost gradually), and all the lifestyle changes I’d made needed to stay permanent.

    I don’t think I’d recommend it for others, but what happened to work for me was to shoot for the same nutritional and exercise goals, but just stop counting calories on a daily basis. If the pants start getting tight, I threaten myself with the calorie counting again, and that’s usually enough to keep creeping gains under control.

    I really hated counting calories.

  11. Great answer to a tough question. When will they come up with the magical/easy answer to this question?? I agree with you that finding a consistent program (in terms of eats and exercise) is key!

  13. hmmmmm. Rephrase Natalia?

    Something losing the ‘in’ and changing to ‘was once part of’ perhaps?

  14. Depends a lot on how you got there. If you did it by starving yourself and doing a couple hours of cardio a day, then you’re screwed. You’ll start gaining back as soon as you eat “normal” portions of food or cutting back on cardio.

    If, as we hope, you did it with a sensible program of resistance training and eating lots of healthy food, it will be no big deal. Just don’t let the bad habits (nightly pint of Ben & Jerry’s, eating too much restaurant food, etc) creep back into your life.

  15. The whole MAINTENANCE is a battle of its own! From personal experience, I can easily recall the times where I hit goal and let myself splurge and splurge and splurge…cheat meals, here I come! Because, I am at goal! But there is SO much more to weight loss than that, which is why I think DIETS DO NO WORK! But that’s a whole different issue….you are right, its a LIFESTYLE change!

  16. I agree with the lifestyle idea (who wouldn’t?) and also something you didn’t state but frequently imply:

    Lifestyle changes do not mean being perfect all the time.

    I can’t remember the post.

  17. Once upon a time when I did it right – I bought myself a whole new wardrobe – so every day was check in day. That really did work – a financial investment to keep me in check! And then they started getting tighter. And nothing worked. And one day I peed on a stick. Ladies, I warn you – when you achieve that goal? Check the birth control…

    I’m back to counting calories (Marsha your link is broken) per the advice of our advisory dietitians. Planning my meals in advance helps me to know exactly what I can/should eat. Making good choices? That’s another story…

  19. I have nightmares about this frequently. I hear tons of stories about people who lost a lot, then slowly gained it all back. There are dozens of threads on WW forums every day about people “coming back after hitting goal, then falling off the wagon.”

    That CANNOT be me. I have never lost this much weight before. I want this to be the one and only time I lost it all. If I woke up tomorrow back in the 358.2 pound prison of a body, I would feel so defeated, I don’t think I could continue on.

    There is some solace in knowing just how bad I’d have to be out of whack. I even made a blog post about it a couple of months ago. I calculated how many calories I’d have to eat above and beyond my BMR to reverse all the progress I had made at that time and it was over 300,000 calories. That number goes up by 3500 for every additional pound I’ve lost.

    I like to believe that I can relax a bit and not be so obsessed with my calorie (actually POINTS) counting once I get there. I know my appetite isn’t what it used to be, but whenever I release the reins on vacations I tend to go a bit overboard. It’s going to be a balancing act for sure, but I think I’ll be taking advantage of this weight loss community for years to come in order to keep myself from relapsing.

    It’s almost scaryexciting to know that I’ll begin that balancing act in just 4 or so months….

  20. I love this post. It’s kind of funny that as I’m inching down towards my goal (I love being under the halfway point!) I’m already having daydreams about getting rid of my BIG clothes.

  21. Damn B&J new york superfudge ice cream… my favorite! 🙂
    I’m still not in maintenance but I imagine it will be hard. I’m ready for the challenge though! Good advice!! 😀

  22. I have not been to goal in a while. But, I thank the emailer for asking…a lot of these tips are while working towards goal, not when hitting it. Good things to keep in mind for the future as well.

  23. That CANNOT be me.

    Graized? for some reason that LEAPED OUT at me.

    The mantra of I WILL BE SUCCESSFUL (a loving nudge to removed the negative. the not.) will keep you on the path to success/maintaining.

  24. I did that.

    Got rid of all the “too-big” clothes…..

    Cost me a fortune when I turned out to be in the “95%”.

    Sigh

    But I kept all the too-small clothes. WTF? If I ever manage to lose that much weight again, they’ll all be out of style and I’ll have to buy new, anyway!

  25. While I don’t have a lot of weight to lose – I am within in 5 pounds of my goal weight now – I find myself wondering if the changes I’ve made are going to stick.

    I know that within a year or so, hubby and I would like to start a family. And while pregnancy does not mean that I have to gain a huge amount of weight, it does mean that it will be well above my goal weight.

    I need to be sure that the things I’m doing now are things I can do during and after the baby(ies), so that I can be healthy for life.

    As always, a great post Miz!

  26. I echo all you wrote! After I finished my bodybuilding stint, I wanted to actually lose weight but keep muscle. I had to devise a plan of action & be PATIENT! I looked at it as a 6 month to a year project & gradually cut back on calories but kept to eating the good stuff as well as changed my workout accordingly.

    I think the same goes for maintaining. Along with all your good advice, make a plan & work WITH it & there are no absolutes.

    I think the biggest thing I can say is that you need to learn to listen to & understand what your body is asking for & doing. Don’t just go thru the motions. By “listening” to my body, I have learned to understand when it needs changes in food or even exercises and this is in a maintenance mode too. Our bodies & hormones change with age & sometimes way too often so we just have to be constantly aware of that.

    Like you, MizFit, I added in some more protein & healthy fat gradually to help keep lean muscle mass. As well, although I have been in maintenance mode for years, I still have had to make numerous changes in my food along the way.

    At 51, the fact that I learned to listen to my body was key because in the past 4 years or so, I have had to make changes numerous times due to hormone & body changes.

    Just learn your body, listen to it & make any changes gradually so the bod has time to adjust!

    Great post!

  27. Well, for me I never really “hit goal” – no matter how much weight I lose, I think I need to lose more. And as such I’m never maintaining. I’m either gaining or losing. Which sucks. But one thing I have noticed for me is that losing the food journal helps. I eat to hunger rather than limiting calories. As long as I stay away from lots of sugary processed foods my body seems to maintain it’s own weight pretty well (of course I call that a plateau but you know what I mean!).

  28. This is eerie because I’ve been thinking a LOT about this lately! (cue scary music)

    For me, it’s just a matter of playing around with things to see what works (that’s what she said). I think I do best when I change things up – both my eating, and my workouts. If I vary my cal intake every day and also change up my workouts (READ – don’t JUST run!), then I do far better at maintaining.

  29. I’ve never had to lose weight. There was vanity weight, but that’s been it so far. However, I DID significantly change the way I look (more muscular. more toned. less jiggly), so I’m going to comment.

    Appreciate the journey for the journey: use it as a learning experience and get to know your body. If you feel lethargic or sad or unusually puffy, ask yourself if there is a common denomenator to those situations. If you crash diet to lose the weight quickly, you won’t be able to maintain, because you haven’t learned what works with your body.

  30. Yes! Give away the too-big clothes! That really helps. There’s nothing like having to squeeze into EVERYTHING that will get you back to eating better/moving more.

    PS: Yes, I will let you know if I see your quote!

  31. Congrats on reaching your goal weight if you’re reading this…that’s really awesome and your perseverance has paid off!!! No really, that’s so cool!

    Miz gives great advice once again. I have found the easiest way to maintain weight for me when I’m not on the losing LB’s side, is to add something back into my eating plan that I don’t usually have. For example, I generally, I eat lean proteins, veggies, legumes, & lowfat dairy on a regular basis…this is my losing weight diet due to the few (eh hem 20ish) lbs. that I put on over the holidays. Once I get back down to my trimmer, leaner self, then I’ll add back a serving of something complex to my diet everyday, like a piece of fruit or a serving of brown rice…if my body can handle 1 added serving a day and is still losing, then the next week will get two added servings and so on week by week until my body stops losing or goes the other way. It’s a balancing act to see how many complex carbs my body can handle with my protein and healthy fat intake. (Yes this is very similar to the 250 calorie idea). You also have to take into account if you’re female, that your body will need and want an extra 200 calories a day during your menstrual cycle…this is why we crave like crazy during that TOM. So eat when you’re body’s hungry, and remember to eat wisely and on the healthy side. You’ll be fine, and I have no doubt that you’ll be able to maintain this new lifestyle that you’ve been rockin’ for a good bit.

  33. I was interested in this enough I Google Scholared some papers. After reading a number of abstracts and a couple papers, I was surprised to find…

    For people who lose weight with a calorie restricted diet plus exercise, the numbers are close to 60% (who regain weight). For those who lose weight with a calorie restricted diet alone, the number is about 21%.

    NO,that isn’t backwards! I’m as surprised as you are!

    According to studies, the people who maintain most successfully continue to eat a low calorie diet.

    In a British study, women who maintained ate an average of 1350 calories per day, while men ate 1700.

    I am by no means advocating a sedentary lifestyle… there are other studies that discuss the benefits of keeping fit with exercise, but it seems pretty conclusive that how much and what you eat ends up being the determining factor of whether or not you maintain.

  34. Great post!

    I think it’s important to evaluate what you are doing on a regular basis, maybe once a week. These are the questions I’m asking myself every Friday: Am I eating breakfast every morning? Am I eating enough protein? Am I physically active in one way or another every day? Have I started adding extra calories that I don’t really need?

  35. i have never been to goal. I’ve had many attempts but never got there. not even close actually.

    but if what MizFit writes is true (and it always is lol) i am most certainly doing it right this time.

    as soon as my clothes don’t fit anymore and i can afford to buy a replacement, out it goes to goodwill. (Psst, ensure that you do the “afford to buy a replacement part” before you give them away. I went jeans-less for 3 weeks. Not fun).

    now, when the clothes that do fit me are too snug i am seen chugging the water and walking the dog at a quick pace!

    also, i’ve started writing down exercises I really enjoy doing. eventually i hope it will be a “routine” like all the healthy grown ups seem to have;)

    Thanks Miz, ya made me pat myself on the back this morning!
    xo

  36. Great, great ideas. I think in the end the key is to retain the same degree of commitment and discipline you applied in order to achieve the loss in the first place. Maybe you should change nothing except to make a slight upward increase in caloric intake (250 rule seems reasonable).

    In other words, why change your approach if it is met with success? Your actions have led to a clear and definitive result. In order to sustain this result, continue to apply the same efforts.

    You’ve already experienced first-hand the cause and effect relationship between your actions and results. No reason to change your behavior.

  37. Great ideas, as usual. You really hit the nail on the head when you say slow and steady weight loss wins the race. It is about making lifestyle changes you can live with and maintain not unrealistic diets that crash in time.

  38. It’s interesting to me that my reaction to the +250 calories was one of NO way! and yet I’ve gained and lost 40 pounds repeatedly.

    It might be time to rethink my approach.

  40. Maintaining for me is hard and our bodies are dynamic and we need to understand that expecting the scale to read the same thing everytime we step on it whether its daily, weekly or monthly is just plain silly. Give your self a range in which to fall into. That being said for me what has worked in maintaining in the last 8 years is to keep paying attention to what I put in my mouth, no mindless eatting, and to keep active at least 3-4 days a week.

  41. I am by no means advocating a sedentary lifestyle… there are other studies that discuss the benefits of keeping fit with exercise, but it seems pretty conclusive that how much and what you eat ends up being the determining factor of whether or not you maintain.

    FabKate? I could NOT agree more and Ive seen this played out with clients time and time again.

  42. Definitely wholeheartedly agree with losing weight asap (as slow as possible), or rather, not doing it so radically that it all comes back at once. My weight has been creeping down over the past year mostly because I just started paying attention. Not an ounce has come back (in the permanent, non-pizza/chocolate-bloat way, that is) and I definitely chalk it up to patience and a focus on changing my lifestyle bit by bit so that it became habit as opposed to some self-righteous crusade. Every change I made was something I could live with, and this I know because anything I couldn’t live with didn’t stick! It’s SO personal and anyone looking for advice on this nebulous maintenance mode can only consider others a sounding board, or perhaps the proverbial flagpole. You gotta fly a lot of freak flags before you know what you can sustain, and it’s ok if it’s not the same thing that works for the person who gave you advice in the first place. That much I have learned for sure!

  45. So many great ideas. I find that with eating clean, I don’t need to be as concerned about portion sizing. And I make a point of wearing my “skinny jeans” every day! Helps me to know pretty darn quick if I’ve had a little bit too much to eat.

  46. I have yo yo’d before and for me it was paying too little attention to maintaining.

    When I start to take my new body for granted and forget I ever looked different THAT is when I gain weight.

    That’s my best tip.

  47. Every change I made was something I could live with, and this I know because anything I couldn’t live with didn’t stick!

    LOVE the phrasing here, Diana.

    Precisely the same for me as well.

  48. Great tips but the one I like the most is mostly from your comments, I think– your advice to Natalia, and Graized, about trading positive statements for the negative/fearful. That’s what it’s all about, for me. Self-confidence, and the difference between the passive “I’m afraid this will happen to me” and the active “I’m going to maintain my weight by [and here’s where the tangible steps you named are helpful].” This is the best advice you always give and the one I try to apply to everything. 🙂

    THANK YOU for taking the time to share that because it’s something I entirely believe in and hammer over and over again in my notyetfinished book!

  49. Definitely on board with the 250 plan. Also, sticking with the exercise program is probably the most important thing for me. If I slack, I gain. If I keep exercising, I have a lot more leeway in what I can eat.

    Love all the comments, and all the suggestions.

    V.

  50. great post.

    I would say that EXERCISE has been the single factor in helping me maintain my weight loss, not only because it burns calories and the strength exercises keep m metabolism flowing, but because when I exercise my mindset is such that I WANT to eat well and skip the junk.

    The weeks where I inevitably skip a few workouts, I have a few too many treats and those pants get a bit snug.

  51. In 2008, I lost a little over 25 pounds using weight watchers. Since then, what’s changed? Not too much. Yes, I eat a few points more, but I’m still journaling what I eat and making the healthier choices far, far more often than not.

    It took me much, much longer than I anticipated to lose the weight (I thought it’d be 6 months tops…I hit goal in just over 11 months). But I’m actually very thankful that it took as long as it did. It allowed me to make these changes lasting ones and much more second-nature.

  52. For me, it’s just a reality check. I have some slothes that fit great…and when I notice they’re getting snug, it’s back on the wagon time if I’ve been slacking.
    The main thing for me was not just giving up when I realised I”d gained backa few pounds…I just make an effort to eat better whenever I can, and make sure I get some treats. And to know that I it’s simple to just hop back on the wagon when I fall off of it. Every day starts new…:)

  53. I think people have lost the definition of “Permanent Lifestyle Change”. EVERYone nods vigorously and says “yep, yep, absolutely! I have changes my WOE permanently!” Then they talk about falling off the wagon.

    How can you fall off the wagon if the change was PERMANENT?

    2 weeks after my last child was born I decided to change the way I ate for GOOD. I never looked back. I lost 140lbs and maintained it for months before deciding I wanted to lose more.

    It wasn’t hard to maintain (for me) and it’s not hard losing more, I think, because I have never had any inclination to return to cakes, cookies, ice cream, bread, sugar … yuck! I had found something I can do for a lifetime.

    My advice would be for a person to find a plan that they can – literally – live with forever. If you feel like you’re gonna die w/out chocolate then make it a (v. small) part of your plan from the get-go. Then when you reach maintainence, you won’t be inclined to “reward yourself with all the goodies you’ve been deprived of”. 😀

    -Blue

  56. You couldn’t be more right-slow and steady weight loss is the key. Plus pairing it up with exercise, eesh, that will take you farther than you think. Great post and excellent read, really opens your eyes to the struggles of permanent weight loss.

  57. Such a great answer. I think it’s mentally challenging to allow oneself to add calories–perhaps even some guilty feelings. I’ve never had to lose weight, but when my running mileage goes up I sometimes keep eating the same way as before, until I’m like oh crap, I’m starving and tired.

    “Lifestyle” = key.

  58. Agree completely with your suggestions (that’s what I did). Especially giving away the clothes, then checking with a pair of bottoms every week.

    Maintained a healthy and happy weight for over a year. Basically added back calories on workout days and maintained on non-workout days. Gained a few pounds this winter by foolishly upping those numbers.

  60. I have been thinking about maintenance a lot recently, wondering if I’ll ever get there (I’m about 35 pounds from my maintenance gaol), but I’m so thankful for the reminder to be positive and not think, “What if I never get there?” but to instead think, “I WILL get there, and I WILL stay there.”

    I like the 250 calorie plan. That seems very simple and manageable.

    I have already gotten rid of a lot of my bigger clothes, and it felt SO good the day I did. I was saying goodbye for GOOD to my former self, not clinging to her in case I needed her again someday. There is freedom in getting rid of that excess baggage!

  61. I initially lost weight by eating less, and better, and exercising (running).

    Once I reached that point, I maintained it by eating better, and exercising (running). Is it really rocket science?? Everyone I know who is successful does it this way. Everyone I know who gains the weight back goes back to poor eating habits, and little exercise.

    OK, there is my “best seller” diet book 🙂 I’m sure it will be as little help as any other on the market {-(

  62. While I’m not quite to goal yet, I’m very interested in what happens when I do get there. 🙂 I’ve found that reading blogs by those who have sustained their new weight and lifestyle is so inspiring, mainly from the point of seeing the possibility made real and from learning what they do. Common theme seems to be that maintenance is NOT about being “done” and that constant vigilance is needed, just like when you’re progressing toward a goal weight.

  63. Miz as always, treat tips by you and all other 60+ people that got here before me. I will echo what others have said and that is to make fitness and good nutrition a part of daily living not something you “have” to do but something you want to do–that may be the hard part but it is important to continue living a healthy lifestyle, always.

  64. Good stuff. I’m just now getting to a place where I’m STARTING – it took me a little over a year just to sort out the leftover ED voices in my head before I could really think about making external changes.

    That said, I don’t think I’ll get rid of my bigger clothes. I used to – I’ve given away 3 entire wardrobes of clothes – but when my weight went up 2 or 3 pounds and my pants were tight, I didn’t find it motivating to clean up my act, so to speak. I actually found it disheartening, as evidence of one more thing that I could not do well, and spent days crying in the bathroom because my pants were tight. (Unfortunately, crying in the bathroom will not burn enough calories to change the fit of your pants. Just in case you wondered.)

    The last time I lost a bunch of weight it was because I was extremely ill for over a month (I lost 35 pounds in 6 weeks), so I kept my bigger clothes, since I had NO idea what would happen to my body. I kept the weight off until there was a major trauma in my family, at which point the ED came back, and I regained the weight.

    BUT. Having the bigger clothes meant that although I wasn’t happy about gaining the weight, I also wasn’t spending my days crying in the bathroom because my pants were too tight (and feeling like I was clearly a worthless person because of it). I still had pants that fit, and if the trauma hadn’t been all-encompassing, I honestly think I would have been able to keep most (if not all) of the weight off because I didn’t feel bad about myself, and because of THAT, I was capable of making better choices. (Even WITH the trauma and the ED, I still made better choices than I had the last time I’d gained weight. Not great choices, maybe, but better ones.)

    Just a different POV.

  65. Have to add – that was surprisingly hard to write. Even still, I find that just the thought of tight pants makes me upset, even sitting here. Wow. Old habits die hard, I guess.

  67. I’m getting close to my goal weight and have been wondering about what I’ll do to maintain. Thanks for this info. I really feel this time I’ve changed my whole way of eating/living for good.

  68. I’ve been maintaining a 20 lb weight loss 7 months now and I agree with everything you’ve said! Number 1 is don’t give up your workout routine!! One of the best things about maintaining is enjoying even more food (I didn’t limit myself much to begin with) Pair that with the calories you’re burning with exercise and it’s awesome 🙂

    I also think throwing out you’re “too big” clothes (I don’t use the F word either) is really important. I only did that a few weeks ago and I couldn’t believe the emotions that went out with all those old clothes.

  69. I’ll give my 2 cents even though I have lost weight and regained it quite a few times.
    The difference between now and then is that I am thinking for the future and not the now or in a couple months.
    Weigh at least once a week and when you see the weight creeping in , get back on it.
    Lose it slowly and properly.
    Easier said than done.
    Oh yeah- most importantly , exercise for LIFE!!!!
    Don’t ever quit exercising – that is the key…

  70. this was a good wake up call for me!
    i was 5 lbs away from goal and i blew it, gained 10 lbs back and struggling. i had forgotten the basics.

  71. I’ve been visiting your blog for a while now and I always find a
    gem in your new posts. Thanks for sharing.

    I run a related blog and recently was quoted saying…

    Did you know that eating more can actually be more beneficial to losing weight then
    starving yourself? Well, not specifically eat more, just more often. Most people don’t know that if your spread your meals out through the day you will be more likely to lose weight,
    and keep it off.

  72. All great points especially turning weight loss into a lifestyle. That is one thing I wish I had learnt many years ago. Anyway, I thought I would just add that listening to hunger cues and learning to eat according to those has been huge for me. Whereas in the past I went back to eating like a horse, because I had lost weight and then regained it all, now I just couldn’t imagine eating that much which will hopefully prevent me from EVER regaining.

  73. I didn’t diet. I made a permanent lifestyle change from the very beginning. All changes I made were with the realization that this was *forever*. Granted, I had to make adjustments to add calories at times as I wasn’t eating enough. [eating more sped up weight loss, go figure]. Made another adjustment to eat more protein and I’m not as shy about adding in healthier fats in reasonable amounts.

    So the physical routine I used to lose weight is still my routine [well, I do different stuff] and the meals I used to get slimmer are still a mainstay of my diet. I probably eat about 1800 calories a day now and have not had trouble maintaining. I still lose, very little, but still lose.

  74. What a timely post, as I have been thinking a lot about this lately!! I started counting calories about a month or so ago, and it has been pretty successful for me. I agree with the slow and steady weight loss (even though I would love for it to come off much quicker!!) and I followed the formula Jillian Michaels gave in her book: BMR x my activity level (not including exercise) – 250 cals = the amount I should eat to lose 1/2 lb. per week. Any exercise I do on top of that allowed for extra cals I could eat. I have been debating whether or not to stick with this (1/2 pound per week seems so slow!!) but after reading this post I am encouraged 🙂 I don’t want to be included in that 95% again!!

  75. I’m about 15 lbs away from my (anticipated, haven’t been there in about 15 years) goal. I’ve been taking “maintain” breaks through the weight loss period though. My tips (or plans) are going to be:
    -Weigh once a week, and if I don’t like the number, go back to a sane and healthy plan until I do like the number. Rinse and repeat. I don’t trust clothing…
    -Make sure to continue to have an active goal or pursuit. When I left school, I also left any sort of fitness goal. Working out just to work out doesn’t work for me. Training for something does.
    -Stick to the 80/20 rule – if I have a few meals a week that are silly – like a cheeseburger and fries, that’s fine. I just need to make sure most of the time I’m chowing down on a turkey sandwich and veggies instead.

    Hmmm, mostly what I do right now minus the maintaining part… 🙂

  76. All good advice, and basically how I’m living as I cross the 6-month mark at goal. (Can you believe it’s been 6 months already? I’m bruised from pinching myself.)

    The biggest “helper” for me in maintenance is continuing to challenge myself with both exercise and diet. (Diet as in “a way of eating” not as in “depriving myself of foods I love”.) Having improvement goals to chase keeps things interesting, and it really doesn’t matter whether or not I achieve them.

  77. I think you should definitely commit to either a certain pair of pants or the scale weekly. I maintained for a year but then had a year and half of stressful living and gained back 15 or so pounds. Now of course this was out of 100 but still, it pissed me off royally that I had to re-lose that. GRRRRR!. Losing SUCKS, maintaining is much easier and I won’t be regaining again. I NEEEEED my scale, I lie to myself to easily with pants…..oh no, these aren’t really tight (hehe).

  78. I know I’m still losing weight, but I kind of feel like I’m already maintaining, if you know what I mean. Like, I’m doing stuff I can see myself doing for the rest of my life. Not much help, I know 😀

  81. Love this topic, even though I’m not at maintenance yet. Lots of good info I will use later. But, one thing I like most about it is that it encourages me in my weight loss. I’ve lost about 12 pounds in 6 months, and it has come off VERY slow. I have been working out like a mad woman and changing my eating. I don’t starve myself though and i’m trying to find that balance between being able to enjoy dinner with the family and just suffering through salads at every meal. I think I’m slowly getting there and it gives me hope that because this weight loss has been so gradual, so darn slow, that I’m making small changes that will stick. Thank for another great post, Miz!

  82. I find that keeping my focus on eating healthy (vegetables) but not being so worried about the foods I love that aren’t *perfect* (fine dining) is the best way to maintain my ideal weight. I started this several years ago and found out my perfect weight is a few pounds lower than I expected. Bonus!

    I just got a new drivers license last week and discovered I’m back down to the same weight I was when I was 16–and it is easy for me to maintain. I eat like a queen.

    Woohoo!

    (Oh yeah, and never stop the workouts. But they don’t have to be very hard.)

  83. Putting on my “professional” cap for this one, but also my experience with my own eating and weight issues, I can say that the fear is the big thing. more than calories or workouts, which come relatively easily when fear, anxiety or other big emotions can be soothed.

    I would look carefully beyond the fear of regaining the weight and see what other changes you are now facing. There are subtle ways in which holding extra weight and a bigger body can “protect” you from facing other challenges. Now that you are at goal, you may feel you have to achieve more, you may more people trying to get close to you- which if you have ANY issues around intimacy (and who doesn’t??!!) this could feel scary.

    I have all my clients do some off the top of their head writing around this stuff- I call it “purging”- it moves out the fears and anxiety out of your body and “puts it” onto paper so it’s not making mischief. This will take more than one go, letting yourself write on a regular basis allows you to stay conscious to what’s coming up without having it
    translate into overeating or thoughts of eating- it will bring in more peace and clarity.

    Peace and clarity are good things, right?

    I wish everyone the best- don’t take the weight at face value, it’s always got other meanings and to succeed you need to work on the physical levels (food, exercise) but just as essentially on the emotional and mindset levels to ensure your ongoing success.

    Hope this helps.

    love and blessings-

    Lisa
    http://www.IntuitiveBody.com
    http://www.FreedomFromBinges.com

  84. I totally agree; don’t expect to maintain if the regimen you used to lose was so strict that you barely ate and worked out like a fiend. NOT SUSTAINABLE. I’ve put on 15 from my lowest, and I’m still struggling to lose it, but though I’m still exercising just as hard as I did before (if not harder) I’m eating too much to lose at this weight. But if I were to cut back so severely on my intake, I’d gain it all back when I maintained.

    Slow and steady wins the race. You can maintain (I’ve been more or less doing it for 4 yrs) but it does take work. And like the statistics, I’ve gained some too. It’s hard! Much harder than losing … good luck!

  85. This question could have been written by me!! I am totally struggling with this lately, and I’m scared I’m not really winning the war. It’s a really foreign concept to not be in the “Lose” mentality anymore. I feel like I am either gaining or losing all the time! 🙁

  86. You have some great thoughts! I’m starting my last year of my MS in dietetics (so an RD-to-be), and I completely agree that eating healthy needs to be a lifestyle, not a diet. I’ve also read that, in regards to exercise, 60-90 minutes a day most days a week is recommended for weight loss whereas 30 minutes a day for most days of the week is recommended for maintenance. I think the idea with maintenance really should be to remain vigilant, so if you see weight creeping back on you can reevaluate what you’re doing.

  87. Of course you know I’m a knowitall…so I have to say that keeping FAT and weight off is a lifestyle & health commitment which so many have made comments on already. We can’t just want to lose some pounds. We have to want to be healthier so that we don’t ever go back to unhealthier. And the things we tell ourselves have to be different. We cannot say, “I hope to keep the pounds off.” We have to say, “I will keep the pounds off.” At WW last week, a woman who’s lost over 100 lbs and this is her 2nd time, said, “I hope this is the last.” And of course we hope that for her too. But her phrasing needs to be more committal. That’s my 2 cents.

  88. Reading this post and your comments was like a woah moment. I clearly don’t have an answer for the emailer since I regained almost all (but not quite all!) of the weight I lost 5 years ago. But I fully agree with you on the fact that it needs to be a lifestyle change that can last. I regained the weight when I had a reverse lifestyle change. [Ugh.] So whatever works to lose the weight needs to be sustainable for the long term to keep the weight off. I think.

  89. An excellent post and excellent feedback in the comments! This time as I journey along my Final Diet, I’m focusing not on the weight loss, because I know it will come off–just as it always has in the past. This time I’m focusing on maintenance and learning all I can about it and how others have managed it.

    While the weight loss maintenance stats are indeed disappointing, I choose to think about the 5% who succeeded. If they can do it, then why can’t I? The only thing keeping me from weight loss and fitness success is me. As I diet I need to come to terms with what happens after the weight is lost so I never have to deal with another diet again.

    Thanks for another great post!

    –Susan

Trackbacks

Pin It on Pinterest

Share This