Thread: I'm going to give this a try

So I hit maintenance this week after last weeks refeed.

My chemist likes to do refeed followed by a few weeks maintenance. I still have 2 stone to go to goal so I want to see if I can do this through maintenance.

I go tomorrow so will let you know how I get on!

Hi Cruncy Rose... I'll be following you around for a bit I think. I am aiming to do my refeed at the end of the month. Will essentially be doing it whilst I am away in Brighton with my lad who is celebrating his 16th birthday.

I am a bit confused though. Today in the mail I got my sample maintenance products as I was concerned that 80% of what is available is sweet stuff. I've read the blurb that came with it and I just don't get it!? Am hoping the penny will drop soon.

Are we saying that weight gain is inevitable if we don't use the maintenance products (as they create a different balance with the carb intake) so therefore have to purchase maintenance on and ongoing basis?

I've checked out the maintenance thread this evening but it just seems to be littered with people on it and I can't find enough information about the why's and wherefores!?

So, Rose Crunch - as I said I'll be following you around...hope ya don't mind!?

Lisa x

Hiya!

I think the idea of maintenance is keeping a level of control and you still have to go for the weigh ins. I haven't had any maintenance products yet but am going to the chemist this morning so hopefully they'll have some in stock. I'd much rather have savoury things too, not sure why there would be so much sweet but then again when doing refeed I have really craved something sweet after my meals. Even a sugar free sweet anything!

I know that the idea of maintenance is to have them before your meals so that you are fuller and therefore have portion control. Did you get the booklet about maintenance? There is also this info about it....

MAINTENANCE AFTER REFEEDING.

The failure of all diets has, in the past been maintenance. Regardless of the methods of weight loss, more than 95 people out of every 100 who managed to lose some weight have put it all back by the end of one year.

By five years, it was hard to find anyone who had kept their weight off.

The failure of weight maintenance is largely due to the over reliance on 3 rather ineffectual means of weight control.

These are:

(1.) exercise, (2) portion control and (3) Calorie counting.

By now you should all understand the limitations of each of these strategies.

Exercise cannot cope with a large enough excess of Calories.
Portion control and overall food restriction trigger primitive hunger instincts and lead to out of control eating.
Therefore, weight maintenance fails.

One of the reasons that people find weight maintenance so difficult is that, in serious overweight, more than one problem may exist at the same time.

Most people now appreciate the fact that, in order to resist weight regain, it is important to avoid as much unnecessary fat in the diet as possible.

This simple message remains true, despite the sometimes confusing messages about fat that are presented in the media.

Remember the simple statement - Fat Makes You Fat..

Some of the confusion is caused by the commercial needs of the edible fats industry. This is a very large wealthy industry which loses income when people avoid eating its products.

Other causes of confusion relate to the differences between saturated and unsaturated fats.

There may well be health implications associated with the balance between saturated and unsaturated fats in our food intake. BUT, the effect on our Weight is exactly the same whether we eat animal fat, fish fat, olive fat. Vegetable fat or any other fat - saturated, mono-unsaturated or poly unsaturated. FAT makes you FAT.





*Information for you on 'Meal Replacement Schedule'...

After refeeding, begin by replacing any 7 meals per week with standard Lipotrim formula or flapjack. 1.) This permits you to remain in control of your total weekly caloric intake.

2.) After 14 days, you need to return to the pharmacy to be weighed:

* if your weight has remained stable, continue in this manner;

* if your weight continues to drop, reduce the meal replacements to 6 for the next 2 weeks - repeat the sequence, substituting one traditional meal for a meal replacement until your weight remains stable;

* if your weight increases, then you must replace further meals. Replace 9 meals with formula for 2 weeks. If still not stable, substitute for 11 meals.

Find your appropriate level of meal replacements for weight stability. Then make sure that you attend the pharmacy once a month for a check. Always adjust your meal replacement schedule to the previous month's weight stability.

Source: Lipotrim

There are some other fabulous threads which you might find helpful
(VLCD menu based diet)
http://www.minimins.com/very-low-calorie-diets/43227-vlcd-menu-based-diet.html

http://www.minimins.com/route-manage...about-rtm.html (Curious about RTM...?)

http://www.minimins.com/route-manage...tml#post590312 (Your RTM experience...)

http://www.minimins.com/route-management/92900-new-rtmers-seans-week-week-food-lists-full-list-weekly-additions.html (For New RTMers - Sean's week by week food lists (full list with weekly additions))

Seems like Lighter Life have an intensive follow up programe and emotional retraining etc.

I must admit it has been pretty hard this week as I'm not in ketosis so don't have that cushion to supress the hunger pangs. I'm still swigging the water but the urge to taste lots of new things that I wasn't previously allowed is quite strong!

I'm keeping an eye on the carbs though and making sure I don't have anything I shouldn't.

Thank god for this forum and peoples diaries as my chemist didn't have one single refeed sheet!! So I have had to rely on peoples diaries on here. I was pretty annoyed at my chemist but they say they now have some in so I hope I had what I was supposed to!!

To be honest I can't wait to just have two shakes and a meal. Having something at lunch time just sets me off thinking about food all afternoon!! I much rather have the routine that I can only eat at tea time and then try and keep it as carb free as. Not so I go into ketosis but just trying to keep in mind the lessons I've learnt on TFR.

Good luck with your refeed!!

Thanks Cruncy Rose, read this briefly before work, so will come back later and digest (excuse the pun) more fully later. Lisa x

Hi Lisa,
What I've decided to do (well for the next 3-4 weeks anyway, due to business trips etc) is just stick to days 2&3 of the re-feed, which is one normal LT shake for breakfast, followed by either chicken or white fish with green salad for both lunch and dinner, I've been varying the chicken and fish with prawns, salmon, eggs, turkey, tuna etc, basically any protein that doesn't have carbs. I've found this has worked really well for me, it's kept me deep in ketosis therefore no hunger pangs, yet I'm loving the fact I can look forward to 2 meals a day, and I've still lost 3.5lbs this week. I'm planning on going back to 100% TFR mid May after all my trips are over, and I'm hoping if I continue this way I won't find it hard as will still be in ketosis, and hopefully would have dropped a little weight also.
Just thought I'd share my experience over the last week with you.
Debs

Hi Dunders that sounds like a good idea.

I tried the maintenance bar today and it was bleugh. One bite was enough for me! So I had a choc shake for breakfast a strawberry shake for lunch and fresh tuna and brocoli for tea.

I'm aiming to head back to ketosis land after I come back from the dam. I like the idea of having the option to drink if I want to but it will be just barcadi and diet coke as that seems to have the lowest carbs.

Good post Crunchy with a lot of detail on Maintenance. Once you leave the comfort of TFR it is very tempting to eat more than you should. I sampled the maintenance products and was not impressed. I'd prefer the TFR shakes any day!!!
For maintenance, it is also useful to use something like myfitnesspal.com to track your calorie intake. It does help to keep you on the straight and narrow.
I'm loosely following GL at the minute. Portion control is really the key imo. It is also easy to lose track of what you have eaten through the day unless you are recording it. lots of luck, it will be interesting to see how you go on LT Maintenance.

Thanks Molly, I've not heard of that site so will take a looksie!!

Portion control is definately something I need to look at! With cooking for two teenage boys and a 6ft 4 man my plate always looks underfilled!! Its so easy to add too many veg and think you're ok but it all adds up. Its also easy to forget what a normal size of chicken is. I'm trying to make sure that my plate is small so the temptation to pile it on won't be there.

Oh my god. There is an iphone app!!

Oh how these geeky things make me so happy!!

Yep, cool isnt it! The site is not bad either. It really helps keep me on track!

I love this site! So easy to track all you have eaten. Thanks for the link!!

want to see my signature

myfitnesspal has an iphone app?

Yup, it's brilliant!!! just type it in the app search all one word myfitnesspal and it should come up. It's free too!

Aye i downloaded it last night and joined. its pretty cool I love the fact i can update on the go!!!