KD

I've just done a long message for someone on a music teachers weight loss elist.

Thought I'd repeat it here

The questions came from someone who had lost 100lbs and was looking to step off the dieting treadmil.

Anyway...here goes.

Well done Louise! Not just for losing weight, but making the decision to stay there!

People often assume they will keep their new slim figures automatically. Perhaps that's why so many fail.

Your leptin levels will be lower, and this can cause cravings, and your body can try to make you put on the weight again, but fortunately we will always have choices, and we can chose to override them...(cool eh)

So where are you?
People often think that losing weight is the journey. Getting to goal is the final step. I believe that getting to goal is getting the starting point LOL. This is the beginning of a brand new exciting journey. Really learning about your body, how much you need, what foods work well for you, and retraining the brain....especially retraining the brain. I don't believe that you really retrain it a lot during dieting, as you are looking to an end, seeing the scales go down (great motivation), getting compliments etc. Focus and motivation for maintaining has to come from elsewhere.

Weighing
Daily. The National Weight control registry recommends it,and that's probably the best research department we have. I always weigh daily, though what the scales say can take a bit of deciphering LOL. They don't tell the true story as you probably know. Daily flutuations, hormone response, perhaps a little extra salt in some food and so on can make the scales give a false fat reading. Don't panic, but always be honest with yourself. Eaten too much the day before...move more and be a little more aware over the next few days.

Trigger foods.
I chose to learn how to 'untrigger' them. I wasn't prepared to give them up, just wanted to learn how to have power over them. Much head stuff, but one of the most useful techniques I used was to learn the pause. Always stopping after a portion size and waiting. Knowing that I had the freedom to have more if I wanted, but not just yet

It took time, but was well worth the effort. I don't have any trigger foods now.

Exercise
Yep. Need to keep that up. It doesn't have to be the gym though, just walking more, dancing when some music comes on the television, getting up in the adverts and moving around, or finding a sport that
you really enjoy. I don't exercise to control my weight though. I do the first few things. Walk lots, move when possible. I want to stay flexible and healthy. I want to live like a slim person not a person who spent a lifetime on diets.

I exercise because life now would be unbearable if I didn't. All mindset stuff.

Calories
It's kind of true that maintaining is just dieting with more food I don't like to think of myself as dieting in any shape or form. The closest I have come to it since goal is counting maintenance calories
for the first 9 months after goal. The reason for this was that I had spent a lifetime either getting fatter, or losing weight. I'd forgotten what a normal person should eat. I needed to know exactly how much I needed to maintain...portion sizes, a good balance of
carbs, fat and protein etc. I don't count anything now, though I am calorie aware. This doesn't mean that I purposely chose low calorie food, just like to know what I'm putting in my body. I rarely eat foods that are processed to be low calorie as they often contain loads of yucky stuff.

Focus.
Strangely, my focus isn't on maintaining my weight. It's on living life as a slim person. Making healthy habits that I can easily do and practising them. My weight was a side effect of my habits. Same with
food. I said I had a problem with food, and with my weight, when really the problem was how I used food

I have an analogy that I use a lot. If I throw myself against a brick wall, I'll get hurt. The wall isn't at fault. Other people can walk past the same wall without throwing themselves against it. Same with food. Food isn't the problem. Obviously it's how we perceive food and how we can behave around food.

Good and bad foods.
I try not to think in terms of good and bad foods. I have the choice to eat what I want. Some foods are more nutritious than others, that's all. I never treat myself with food either. That doesn't mean
I don't enjoy the odd unhealthy food, but it's just not something I reward myself with. I may have it if I want. Your body wants you to eat healthily, and though there are other reasons for eating, know them. Really know why you want something unhealthy and always moderate it. Understand yourself.

I have a phrase. "I've had some...I don't need any more". If I'm tempted to eat too much of the less nutritious food, then
something else is going on and I need to examine what it is.

Loving food
I love food even more than ever because I taste now rather than shovelling it down.

Did you know the first two bites of anything arethe most powerful? That's the amount that will have the strongest flavour. If you aren't hungry, anything after two bites is excess .

So why 2 bites? Well, think it's to do with the tastebuds being very receptive to make sure you aren't poisoning yourself LOL.

Then the tastebuds calm a little.

Dieting
I don't. This does put a certain amount of pressure on, because that means I can't overeat too much, but hopefully everything else is in order, so I don't feel the need. I was determined to get off the diet wagon, and since have found how much it damaged me. Not saying I'm anti diet...not at all. It was a tool I used to do a job. Now the job is done and the crutch had to go.

Umm...anything else? Probably, but this message is rather long already.

All the very best for the next stretch. Enjoy life as a slim person.
Highly recommended

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soon2bslimmer

More food for thought . Thanks KD, excellent stuff!

Soon2bslimmer x

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Start Weight 15st 7lb 26 Jan 2009

Current Weight: 154lbs = 11st 17 June 2009

Weight lost: 63lbs = 4st 7lb

Goal: Get to 11st DONE!

lynseymander

wow thats a great way of thinking

thanks for the interesting read

Sarette

Thanks for posting KD, lots to think about there xx

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Make a pregnancy ticker

sleepybird

Great post. The almond secret is?...............

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Been at goal and beyond since 25th February 09!

Laura Croft

This is fabulous - thank you KD.

Someone mentioned the pause trick the other day. It's something I need to work on. I'm hoping it'll help me to stop acting without really thinking things through ie considering the consequences.

Ps. Nice to meet you

KD

Coolio

Still a secret

And you Laura

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Gen

KD you talk the most amount of sense of anyone I have ever read!!!

You have the common sense approach which is how you are doing so well!!!

Thanks for writing that xxx

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http://www.minimins.com/meetings-eve...ml#post2368588

Laura Croft

When I was eating lunch today, I was thinking about my tastebuds and it 'feels' like more than the first few mouthfuls I can taste more. As I'm sure what KD says is correct, and I really do mean that, it goes to show how much my 'head' is eating the food in addition to err my mouth... I have a lot of emotional attachment to food.

eyeontheprize

I am the same Laura, i boredom eat. Going to have to work on that!

Great post KD - I am not at maintenence yet (shhhh i'm crashing your forum!) but i am preparing for moving up the plans in a couple of months time once i reach BMI 25 and posts like this give me real food for thought! (pardon the pun)

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Start Weight WW - 20st 7lbs
Start Weight CD - 19st 7lbs

Current Weight - 12st 10lbs
Goal Weight - 12st 6lbs

Wk 1 to 12 -50lbs
Wk 13 - 810
Wk 14 to 18 -20.5lbs
Wk 19 - 810
Wk 20 to 23 -9.5lbs
Wk 24 - GLASTO
Wk 25 to 27 -11lbs
Wk 28 and 29 (SS+/810) - STS
Wk 30 (SS) -4lbs

KD

Aye up Gen. Long time no speakies. Hope you are well


Yes, it does work like that. There's other things I've noticed such as satiety signals.

Once upon a time, I could never recognise my hunger/full signals...well, guess I could recognise the hunger one well enough

I find that if I'm hungry, I really noticed and taste what I'm eating. I concentrate more on the food. Food in, food in, focused on the food.... yum..etc, then after a while, my mind starts getting distracted. "Oh, whats that on the TV", "wonder whether I should do x after dinner".

Thats a sure sign that I'm not hungry any more.

Doesn't mean it's time to stop eating, but it is time to recognise that I'm satisfied (to a degree anyway).

Some people talk about eating to 'full'. Even other dieters. I hear them say "I had loads of free food and I'm stuffed".

That bothers me a bit. Nobody should be eating until stuffed, regardless of whether it's healthy foods or not.

I love people gatecrashing maintenance forums. Sometimes if you wait until you are at goal, you can do a lot of damage whilst you decide how you are going to stay there. Always worth thinking about beforehand

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Katycakes

Thanks KD. Great advice, just when I need it!

xxx

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crazylilblondie

I like the "pause" thing. I tried it out yesterday after an argument and had the emotional urge to eat. I told myself I could eat once Id calmed down. After a while I started to relax again and realised I didnt want it. Yay

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susan70

THANKYOU. XX

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WK 1 = 5lb + 5inches
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Soel

Thank you KD, very useful information.

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