Maintainers- how do you do it?!!

funcurls

funcurls

Never gets tired of SW!
Hi folks, especially those at target who are now maintaining,
I've been wondering about what happens when you get to target (dreaming more like!!!) I know I'm jumping the gun here because I still have some way to go (39 lb to be precise), but I'm interested in hearing about what techniques/psyche you need to adopt in order to successfully maintain your target weight! I think it would be so easy to 'relax' a little too much once you're there- either that or feel too scared to eat because you're in completely new territory!! Do you have any advice? I guess the psychology is quite different to that of going through the process of actively losing the weight!X
 
Hopefully Malaika will respond because I like her attitude to food now she is at target. She has taught herself how to recognise when she is really hungry and not just craving and will only eat when she is hungry.
I think we will probably need to take on board some of Paul Mckenna's theories of
1.Eat when you are Hungry
2. eat consciously.
3.Eat what you fancy (only if really hungry)
4. Stop when you are full.

Having recently done Fast Forward i am really beginning to tell the difference between mouth hunger and stomach hunger if that makes sense. x
 
Thanks Rosie!
Yes, I do adopt those Paul McKenna's theories, and I also used those for the last 2 months of my weight loss, and it really sped up my weight loss.
I think it is more difficult to maintain than it is to lose as you have to find what exactly you can have without losing more and don't want to put on either.
As you know I couldn't stop losing and was worried so had blood tests done but it turn out that there is no problem. Guess it was just my body trying to adjust. Last week I put on 2 pounds, which was good as I was 4 pounds below my target. I shall see this week. I have upped my syns and HEXs, and need to find the exact amount I can have but I expect it will always be a little up and down but as long as I stay in the range I am happy.
I really do only eat when I am hungry and certainly don't stick to 3 meals a day.
Generally I only have one, and most times it's an evening meal. If I am really hungry it may be lunch instead.
I always have SW friendly snacks around so if I am hungry there is something for me to grab any time.
I also don't eat too much fruit or muller lights as I find that I can put on with them.
 
It's hard work, for me anyway!
Don't want to rain on anyone's parade but it is hard.

This is how I do it......

I follow the plans as if I were losing weight, so 2 A's and B's (or 1 on EE), third superfree, weighing and measuring all I should do and still using frylight, no butter, small bread etc etc however I allow myself treats. I have bag of sweets on a weekend or some garlic bread with my pasta or I'll have a takeaway.

Sometimes I have too much, it's easy to forget these treats and then I'll stick to plan without the treats to lose the weight. We have quite a busy social life at times and this involves elabrorate and indulgent dinner parties - fabulous food but means weight gain if I'm not careful prior to the dinner party.

It's a balancing act. If I know I have something coming up I'll be very very good - eg I'm going away for Easter so I've managed to get myself 2lb under target to give myself breathing space. I will not stick to plan while I'm away, I'll have what I fancy because in my mind I've earned it by doing SE this week!!

It depends on your lifestyle and what you like. Some ladies at my group don't go out for coffee and cake, don't entertain and don't go to the pub for dinner - these ladies have one or two extra B choices.

The most important thing in my maintenance...... I go to group every week, even if I know I've gained. I have too else I'd be 3 stone heavier again in a flash.

Wow, long post - sorry guys! Hope it's helped though :p
 
Brill question Heather

I have been thinking about this a lot lately because in my lifetime I have never been a stable weight- I have always either been on a diet or off one and gaining!

Maintenance terrifies me- it is such new territory. Thanks to the ladies who have responded- it is interesting to see the different approaches
xxx
 
I am maintaining. I follow the plan just as if I were trying to lose weight. I have a mixture of Red/Green/Mix2Max days, with an occasional EE. I have lots of superfree meals or Success Express meals, which help me not to put on weight. I keep my syns to around 70 per week.

Maintaining is hard work, cos it's all the effort, without the glory of losing weight!
 
jaylou said:
It's hard work, for me anyway!
Don't want to rain on anyone's parade but it is hard.

This is how I do it......

I follow the plans as if I were losing weight, so 2 A's and B's (or 1 on EE), third superfree, weighing and measuring all I should do and still using frylight, no butter, small bread etc etc however I allow myself treats. I have bag of sweets on a weekend or some garlic bread with my pasta or I'll have a takeaway.

Sometimes I have too much, it's easy to forget these treats and then I'll stick to plan without the treats to lose the weight. We have quite a busy social life at times and this involves elabrorate and indulgent dinner parties - fabulous food but means weight gain if I'm not careful prior to the dinner party.

It's a balancing act. If I know I have something coming up I'll be very very good - eg I'm going away for Easter so I've managed to get myself 2lb under target to give myself breathing space. I will not stick to plan while I'm away, I'll have what I fancy because in my mind I've earned it by doing SE this week!!

It depends on your lifestyle and what you like. Some ladies at my group don't go out for coffee and cake, don't entertain and don't go to the pub for dinner - these ladies have one or two extra B choices.

The most important thing in my maintenance...... I go to group every week, even if I know I've gained. I have too else I'd be 3 stone heavier again in a flash.

Wow, long post - sorry guys! Hope it's helped though :p
Click to expand...

I am very like Jaylou - I find it hard work but I do make sure I still go to group everyweek, even if like this week I don't get weighed, I still go & help out & stay for group, I think maintaining is harder to do than losing personally but I am more confident in my foods choices & also I know now what will make me gain, you have to try different ways, I think everyone does it slightly differently, my mum has done SW for years & has been at target for as long as I can remember but she still comes to group each week & gets weighed, group is the key I believe.
 
Throughout the year that I lost the weight, I was extremely disciplined and stuck to the plan 100% (ww that is, not sw). I never ate over my points, and did loads of exercise.
When I got to goal, I got even more obsessed, with recording my eating, etc. Now I am struggling to be honest. I am still maintaining my weight overall, but am finding I am binging the odd night, then having to cutback the rest of the week. The binges aren't planned, and I just eat anything - like it could be 2 bowls of porridge. But this is outside my points, and I hate that feeling that I can't stop eating after being so controlled for that entire year. I have even impulsively bought choc bars a couple of times recently - just because I couldn't resist. This is a horrible feeling after being so controlled for an entire year. My hubby thinks I need to chill, and that buying the odd choc bar is normal - and that normal is what I need to achieve. But he doesn't understand the feelings I get of just wanting to eat eat eat all evening!!! I just don't understand why I have fell back into that again, even if it is only occassionly. Aggghhhhhh maintaining is a nightmare!!!!!
 
Thanks for all the responses!! So the general consensus is that it's hard!! LOL! It seems to me that it's all about where you are in your head and it shows how engrained in us the years of bad habits and an unhealthy relationship with food are! I think that for me it will be vital to attend class regularly to keep myself in check!! I'm already on the 'social team' weighing peeps, selling the shop stuff etc so I think I'll just carry on with that! My M-I-L is a recovering alcholic and has been sober for 30 odd years! She still attends AA meetings every week because she knows she needs that continuing support to keep her dry! I know it's a different ball game, but the principles are the same if you think of eating as an addiction!X
 
I found a post on here before I got to target which has helped me a lot

http://www.minimins.com/cd-1000-maintenance/94273-some-tips-me-life-after-cambridge-long.html

For me intuitive eating i.e. only eat when hungry doesn't work, I have to eat before I get hungry, or I lose control.
Also for me there always had to be more food when I got to target, not going back to pre dieting days, but more food than when dieting because, I like eating, and I'm not trying to lose weight anymore.I got to target in January and still follow the plan, but have regular treats, a mixture of more heb's some days and more syns on others.
It's quite difficult to get used to letting go a bit, but I really wanted to eat a bit more too, so hopefully I'll not go too mad.
I think you have to find your own way in some respects when maintaining without going completely off track.
 
eternity, thanks for that link. :)
What is really amazing, and good is how we are all different. I now just can't eat unless I am hungry, as the food sticks! Maybe that is the way I trained myself!
It shows that everyone has to do what's best for them.. and that will work!
 
jaylou said:
This is how I do it......

I follow the plans as if I were losing weight, so 2 A's and B's (or 1 on EE), third superfree, weighing and measuring all I should do and still using frylight, no butter, small bread etc etc however I allow myself treats. I have bag of sweets on a weekend or some garlic bread with my pasta or I'll have a takeaway.

Sometimes I have too much, it's easy to forget these treats and then I'll stick to plan without the treats to lose the weight.
Click to expand...

When you say you still follow the plan with your As, Bs, etc - do you still have your 70 syns and on top of that your treats (garlic bread, etc) or do you count the garlic bread within your 70 syns? Or do you not bother counting syns and just have the odd treats here and there?
 
It really is hard work maintaining!
I lost 2.5 pounds this week, after my 2 pound gain last week so now am 4 pounds under target! I know that at least there is nothing wrong with me now, since the blood tests were ok.
My C suggests that this week I have 3 Hexas and 3 bs, which on EE is a lot! Also upping my syns to at least 30 a day, and see how it goes.
 
These are all interesting posts - I'm not that far away from target now and the thought of trying to maintain sounds very frightening and harder than the weight loss itself! I suppose it's a case of trying different things out like extra HEXs/syns and see which one works. Like with the plans themselves - different maintainence techniques will work for different people.
 
StaceyUK said:
When you say you still follow the plan with your As, Bs, etc - do you still have your 70 syns and on top of that your treats (garlic bread, etc) or do you count the garlic bread within your 70 syns? Or do you not bother counting syns and just have the odd treats here and there?
Click to expand...

I still have my daily syns and I count them, I just have the extras too.

Mind you, I've been back on plan properly for a while now as I wanted to get under target. I'm not counting now I'm on hols though!
 
Great post. I agree with Funcurls - I think the key to keeping the weight off is to keep going to Group each week. I think it is like AA, the weekly meeting keeps you on track.

When I have reached target in the past, I have stopped going. Wrong. The weight creeps back on. I have promised my self I will go to Class for life. It's the only way for me.
 
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