Re-feed/Maintenance confusion again! Brain ache! :)

bye-bigun!

Sensibly losing :)
Hello again,
After your advices last time I am hoping that you may point me in the right direction once again as I have tied myself in a knot trying to sort it out - and the more I read the more uncertain I am!

Needing to come off the 100% tfr soon as to be brutally honest I am only good on it about 30% of the time, its brought out food demons I had resolved and I am needing a change of tack.. I have been eating some days, have had sensible protein days and cut out a shake for example.. but then on others have lost the plot and lived in the biccie tin... I didnt do this before starting my LT journey. So annoyed with myself!

So, I have about 2 weeks of shakes left of the tfr due to my skipping shakes... and I have a few samples of the maintenance formula too...my chemist is as much use as a chocolate teapot and i have had a big old ramble on the LT main forum...
Would like to know the answers to the following if you would be so kind...?

  • The way I read, you take the maintenance stuff before/during a meal to cut down your cal intake.. do u HAVE to eat on every meal? Surely 3 prouducts at 200cal a day will not help things along?? Can you tailor it? I have read about people having 2 products and only ONE meal..??
  • Do you have to do re-feed first or can I go straight to maintenance?? I have read 3 different replies to this in the last half an hour and my mind is completely fried!!
  • Can i continue to use my tfr forumula in replacement of the maintenance until they run out?
  • Are you out of ketosis when on maintenance even if you are very strict on carbs? Read that people have a 40g limit as a rough guide?? Sensible part of me guesses that this is not going to be the case and that the maintenance stuff contain carbs..?? I dont know and cant find any info on my bag!!!
  • Do many people lose weight using maintenance products? Just read on here that not many are known.... so do the majority hang itout until goal and then just do re-feed and continue on SW/WW etc as a way of maintaining control?
I have about 3lb to go now until I hit my own target that I set... but I now want to lose a stone I think to be at my best.. what would you do in my position?? I would love to be holed up as a prisoner and given nothing my my products but the kids food etc is a killer and I dont seem to be able to control it. I feel like i am having some sort of mental breakdown..!!! Although said in jest its slightly true as I cannot seem to control whats going on when I once could easily, hence my large weightloss beforehand...!!!

And has anyone had hairloss after stopping this diet?? I am worried sick about this part as I have such thin hair on top due to my thyroid... grrr

Thanks for getting this far and sorry for the ramble and list of Qs...

Donna xxx
 
Can't anser your first questions as I'm not doing maintenance but can tell you that I've lost more hair now I've stopped. Not a lot, but still a few more than normal. Also, my hairdresser told me that when I came in for my haircut 4 weeks ago, it hadn't grown that long and I noticed that too as I normally have to trim my fringe in between cuts. Hope this helps x
 
  • Do you have to do re-feed first or can I go straight to maintenance?? I have read 3 different replies to this in the last half an hour and my mind is completely fried!!
Maintenence is just that - maintainence of the weight you have lost. There is no set programme really for maintainence there are just products that you can use to help with maintaining your weight loss.

You defo need to do a refeed if you want to start maintaining your weight but you can, if you want, introduce 1 meal a day - high protein, veg & salad but avoiding rice, pots, bread etc
  • Can i continue to use my tfr forumula in replacement of the maintenance until they run out?
Sure can :) You don't even have to buy the maintainence products, you can just keep buying the tfr products if they are what you like.
  • Are you out of ketosis when on maintenance even if you are very strict on carbs? Read that people have a 40g limit as a rough guide?? Sensible part of me guesses that this is not going to be the case and that the maintenance stuff contain carbs..?? I dont know and cant find any info on my bag!!!
Not too sure on this one but if you stick to 2 shakes and 1 low carb, high protein meal i'd imagine you'd still be in ketosis if you are using the tfr products (not sure about the maintainence ones)
  • Do many people lose weight using maintenance products? Just read on here that not many are known.... so do the majority hang itout until goal and then just do re-feed and continue on SW/WW etc as a way of maintaining control?
If you are using 2 maintainence products or 2 tfr products & 1 low carb, high protein meal then yes you will lose weight - albeit slower than if you were doing the tfr programme.

Personally, from being on this forum for a couple of years now I don't see many people doing this way. A few of us maintainers do it now and again to pull things back a bit but the majority do tfr, do a full refeed then go onto maintaining and using things like ww/sw etc to do so.



And has anyone had hairloss after stopping this diet?? I am worried sick about this part as I have such thin hair on top due to my thyroid... grrr

I did lose quite a lot of my hair after I finished TFR. It still hasnt fully grown back to the same thickness 17months on but it was a small price to pay for being healthy and happy.

Another thing to remember, if you are going to do 2 shakes and 1 meal a day then follow day 1 of the refeed sheet and when you decide to introduce 2 meals follow day 2 of the refeed programme and when you decide you want to wean off the tfr/maintainence products then follow the refeed from day 3 onwards untill you feel comfortable enough to have 3 meals a day.

Hope this helps a bit chick :)
 
Hi there. Sadly, as I suspect this is not what you want to hear, i can't really add anything further to my answer on ur previous thread ... However in an attempt to help make things clearer I'll try responding to your points below, and I've pasted my previous answer at the bottom, to save u needing to switch back and forth between threads! I'll do my answers in caps to help you find em... Please remember tho that this is my opinion only, not professional guidance! Also I'm not an expert on maintenance - I'm only advising as per my original answer, as to how I've used it personally as occasional meal replacements etc.

bye-bigun! said:
[*]The way I read, you take the maintenance stuff before/during a meal to cut down your cal intake.. do u HAVE to eat on every meal? Surely 3 prouducts at 200cal a day will not help things along?? Can you tailor it? I have read about people having 2 products and only ONE meal..??

MAINTENANCE PRODUCTS ARE DESIGNED TO ENSURE U HAVE ADEQUATE BALANCED NUTRITION AND TO REDUCE HUNGER GI WISE SO YOU ARE SUPPOSED TO EAT BEFORE/WITH A LOW CAL (LESS THAN 100CAL MEAL). HOWEVER IF U REMEMBER, I ADVISED BEFORE THAT IT MAY HELP IF YOU ARE WANTING TO DO 2 PRODUCT/1 MEAL, THAT YOU PERHAPS THINK OF THE MAINT PRODUCT AS THE MEAL AND HAVE FRUIT OR YOGURT AS A SNACK INBETWEEN TIMES (GIVEN THE DIFFICULTY IN PLANNING MEALS AT <100 CALS) ALONG WITH A MAIN MEAL

[*]Do you have to do re-feed first or can I go straight to maintenance?? I have read 3 different replies to this in the last half an hour and my mind is completely fried!!

I PERSONALLY WOULD ADVISE REFEED FIRST - IT IS IMPORTANT THAT YOU REFILL STORES AND INTRODUCE FOODS PROPERLY TO AVOID REBOUND! ALSO IF YOU ARE INTENDING TO JUST EAT ONE PROPER MEAL A DAY ON MAINTENANCE, YOU MUST BE ABLE TO EAT FRUIT, YOGURTS, SOME CARBS ETC TO ENSURE ADEQUATE NUTRITION AMD THESE ARE NOT ALLOWED DAY 1-3 REFEED, HENCE NEED TO REFEED FIRST

[*]Can i continue to use my tfr forumula in replacement of the maintenance until they run out?

JURYS OUT ON THAT!! SOME SAY YES, SOME SAY NO! AGAIN BECOS I WOULD RECOMMEND REFEED, IT WUD MEAN USING UP 8 SHAKES ANYWAY. IF YOU WISHED TO CONTINUE USING THEM I WOULD RECOMMEND CONTINUING TO REPEAT DAY 4-7 UNTIL YOU RUN OUT. ANOTHER BENEFIT IS THAT IS YOU ARE GIVING YOUR BODY LONGER TO ADJUST TO EATING REGULARLY, PROPERLY AND HEALTHILY IN GOOD PORTION SIZES! GOOD EATING HABITS FORMING ROUTINE! THEN IF U STILL WISH TO SWITCH TO MAINTENANCE YOU CAN!

[*]Are you out of ketosis when on maintenance even if you are very strict on carbs?

WOULD DEPEND IF YOU REFEED PROPERLY FIRST AS IF YOU DID, U WOULDNT BE IN IT ANYWAY LOL. IF YOU DIDN'T, I GUESS YOU WOULD DROP OUT OF KETOSIS AS SOON AS YOU HAD POTATO OR YOGURT ETC.

Read that people have a 40g limit as a rough guide?? Sensible part of me guesses that this is not going to be the case and that the maintenance stuff contain carbs..?? I dont know and cant find any info on my bag!!!

NUTRITION INFO IS INCLUDED ON BAG AND LEAFLET THAT COMES WITH THE ORDER. ALTERNATIVELY AS I SAID BEFORE, THEY ARE IN THE MY FITNESS PAL DATABASE WITH ALL THAT INFO LISTED.

[*]Do many people lose weight using maintenance products?

AGAIN AS SAID BEFORE, HOW LONG IS A PIECE OF STRING! EVERYONE IS DIFFERENT ... IN MY PREVIOUS REPLY, I OUTLINED WAYS THAT SHOULD HELP WITH OPTIMUM WEIGHT LOSS (THO NO GUARANTEES). ALSO THIS IS NOT AN ACTUAL 'MAINTENANCE REGIME' FORUM BUT A 'MAINTAINING LOSSES' FORUM LOL - SO WE DON'T KNOW!! LOL

ANOTHER SHORTERM OPTION YOU HAVE IF UR DESPERATE TO LOSE MORE BUT EAT, IS TO DO DAY 1-3 REFEED, THEN CONTINUE REPEATING DAY 3 FOR A FEW MORE DAYS ... JUST ENSURE YOU GO ON TO COMPLETE DAYS 4-7 PROPERLY AFTERWARDS BEFORE GOING ON MAINTENANCE OR HEALTHY EATING REGIME.

Just read on here that not many are known.... so do the majority hang itout until goal and then just do re-feed and continue on SW/WW etc as a way of maintaining control?

PASS LOL ... I CAN'T COMMENT ON OTHER PPL DECISIONS WHEN TO STOP TFR. HOWEVER A HEALTHY EATING REGIME OF SOME DESCRIPTION IS VITAL TO MAINTAIN LOSSES.

I have about 3lb to go now until I hit my own target that I set... but I now want to lose a stone I think to be at my best.. what would you do in my position?? I would love to be holed up as a prisoner and given nothing my my products but the kids food etc is a killer and I dont seem to be able to control it. I feel like i am having some sort of mental breakdown..!!! Although said in jest its slightly true as I cannot seem to control whats going on when I once could easily, hence my large weightloss beforehand...!!!

SORRY I FEEL LIKE IM GONNA P*SS YOU OFF BY KEEPING REPEATING 'AS I SAID BEFORE' BUT THAT IS ALL I CAN ADVISE! IT IS YOUR BODY AND YOUR MIND AND ONLY YOU CAN DECIDE WHICH WAY TO GO FORWARD! IT WILL HAVE TO BE TRIAL AND ERROR TILL YOU FIGURE OUT WHAT WORKS BEST FOR YOU, BUT ULTIMATELY YOU HAVE TO DECIDE ON AT LEAST A SHORTERM PLAN OF ACTION AND TRY IT FOR A SET PERIOD THEN REASSESS IF NECESSARY!

Donna xxx

HOpe the above helps! As said above, I'm pasting below my previous response from other thread .... Good luck with whatever you decide, but u do have to decide something ... lol There is no miracle answer unfortunately, just trial and error and sometimes hard work!! lol

I suspect you may be hoping that someone advises you not to worry about refeed, but I am sorry to say I think it unlikely that many (if any) on this forum would say so! We tend to be quite old-school about refeed and experience has proven it's necessity to us. In fact many would probably advise you do it for minimum 2 weeks!

* * * *

Hi there

First of, well done on ur losses so far! Sounds to me like you've done great, especially given ur circumstances!

Unforts, this forum is for ppl maintaining past losses not the maintenance programme, so we sadly may not be able to help as much as we'd like with advice on programme proper! We do a variety of healthy eating plans here, such as WW, GI but mostly common sense 80/20 regime. We simply continue to post our menus as it is a habit that helps us keep on track and we all like the support aspect! Sadly the name of this forum does cause confusion (and problems when ppl read some our diaries without fully understanding what we are doing!)

However, a few of us (myself included) do sometimes use maintenance products, but more as a get back on track after a holiday or weekend - in a balanced meal replacement way - rather than a regime!

The maintenance regime proper (for weight loss) as per the LP leaflet is: For weight loss: 3 products before a low cal meal (ideally below 100cals). For maintenance: 2 products before low cal breakfast and lunch; balanced low fat meal in the evening.

However IMHO, it is practically impossible to plan 3 low fat meals in a day at under 100cals, so I would suggest you think of the maint products as the meal (every 4 hours'ish) with a snack like a piece of fruit or yogurt or similar in-between times; and keep up the water, as much as u can tolerate - remember our bodies confuse thirst with hunger!

Re amount of weight loss to be expected, I'm afraid that's a case of how long is a piece of string! I would think in your medical circs, u would be better to do 2 maintenance/one meal and lay easy on carbs for optimum weight loss. I don't mean no carbs, just small, ie if ur having a baked potato and protein with salad, try keep the potato to ideally 175g raw weight (try not to go over 200g). And maybe every 2-3 days, have a day with no carbs in evening meal - ie just a prawn or chicken salad. You will still keep carbs in your system with both the maint products and the natural ones in fruit, yogurts, salad, veg etc.

Most of us use 'myfitnesspal' and log all we eat. It is very handy cos other than calories, it also lists your nutrients in foods which helps keep your intake balanced. The LP maint products are all listed in the database!

I hope this is of some help! However I must stress I don't follow maintenance regime so am no expert! Also as for longterm in the way i suggested above, I don't know!! I usually just do it for few weekdays to counteract my relaxing at weekends! I couldn't comment on any health implications doing it longterm. The reason I mention that is 2 maint/1 low fat meal will be under 1200 cals (which u shouldn't go below) - in my case, that balances out over the week but wouldn't in yours if u do it everyday!

May I also stress the importance of food choices as well as calories! You will notice from our threads that we all have our moments with chocolate etc and buttery toast, crisps etc - but we do 'usually' work it into our 80/20 balance! We all hit craving days, especially when under additional stress, TOTM etc and it is proven that sometimes it is better to give in than fight it, when u end up eating everything in sight and still have the craved-for item at the end lol. That is okay - it is life and we are human! The key is in what you do afterwards to compensate for the binge! 80/20 blah de blah blah! Lol.

However feeling picky is something else - thats a habit - please try to make food choices when u feel that way, cos that is a sure road to being 'bad', then hating yourself, so wanting to pick more etc etc. First off drink a pint of water when u want to pick and if that doesn't work, have fruit or yogurt etc. I'm not saying to never eat choc - god forbid lol - but build it in as a treat - not a picky filler!

OMG I've rambled on enough ... Sorry! I am renowned for it lol

I really hope that at least some of what I've said helps you! Good luck tho I'm sure you'll be fine!

One other thing; dont get hung up on LP or nothing! There are other options. The most important thing is to find something u r comfortable with!

Ps. LOVE the choc whip and bars; orange creme and forest fruits are Ok; soup I haven't tried... cost £11 a unit, which is 7 products. Tis pricy!

Pps. If u do decide to switch, still do refeed properly (even tho u have already been eating). None of us can stress enough how essential that is - not just for rebound gain from overfilling stores etc, but also reintroducing food tastes, portions, etc is a way that helps you stick to good healthy eating!
 
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Girls thank you SO much for your help. I posted a reply the next day and I just had a peep on here to see if I had any further replies and noticed that my own reply was not on here...??? So sorry, dont know why - did use any rude words etc....?? could it have been removed? or I guess I didnt press send?? I did type it in bed? dont know! anyway, please accept my apologies and thank you both SO much for taking the time to reply to me in SO much detail - thanks to you its now much much clearer and I know where I am! BAck on TFR this week as had a bad week..... so will be swapping over soon! Need to lose 10lb to have me at an ideal weight and I am SOOO excited as been about 7 stone overweight all of my teen and adult life! :) :D xxxx mwah to you, very muchly :) xxxx
 
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