Using maintenance products...

Emma-Jayne

Emma-Jayne

Full Member
Hello everyone,

I haven't posted in here before as I am still 100%. However, I am very close to goal and therefore refeeding and maintenance. I have been thinking about the lifestyle choices I will make after refeed and was wondering, does anyone use the lipotrim maintenance products before lunch and dinner to restrict calories and maintain weight? And does it work for them?

Any advice would be amazing! Thank you. Xx
 
Hiya!

Congrats on your losses so far! Well done :D

I don't know anyone who uses the maintenance products before meals. Some of us use them as meal replacements to help with maintenance from time to time but I don't think that's what you're asking.

Sorry - not much help :eek: x
 
No Jan that's great thank you. If no one else is using them then they can't be that brilliant is what I'm thinking. To have 2 products a day before meals works out at about £22 a week! I think that's very expensive on top of food. I will see how I go without them I think. Or maybe buy some bars and have one for breakfast as I see a lot of people do that on here.

Thanks for your reply! Fingers crossed I will be moving over very soon. Xxx
 
Look forward to it :) - I'm sure it won't be long x
 
I only have a brief experience with them, but I'll add my two-penn'orth - I got some for when I had my holiday. I tried the selection pack that you can get for free - I'd definitely suggest you get one of those ordered, just to see for yourself.

I decided I really didn't like most of them - the orange and chocolate ones were way too sickly sweet and the bars were like solid lead! Hard, dry and tasteless and stuck to my teeth in a horrible way. I just ended up getting the summer fruits and the soup.

I had the soup a few times as a lunch and I actually think it's fairly decent - about on a par with most cuppa-soups. Which I could never say about the tfr chicken soup...! The summer fruits I thought was acceptable, though I don't like the frothy texture too much.

For the future, I can see myself having one every 2 or 3 days perhaps, as a meal replacement, but there's absolutely no way I could ever force myself to have 2 a day, and certainly not with meals as well.

I get the impression that's not unusual... :)
Marianne x
 
I am just so confused about what I should do when I come off TFR. I have been a yoyo dieter for years and the thought of coming out of ketosis and reintroducing food absolutely terrifies me. I feel so weak around food and know I'll just be too tempted to make all the wrong choices :-(

I think ALL the time about what is going to work best. After refeed I am tempted to use maintenance products for breakfast everyday and maybe one before lunch. And see how that goes. Or I've considered going back to following slimming world and seeing if I can maintain that way? But then what if I get hungry throughout the day?! Ahhhhhh. I'm freaking out.

I have even been considering using both maintenance products AND slimming world and using the maintenance products in the daily syn allowance. Oh I don't know. How do you all do it? xxx
 
Well the answer to that is ... with great difficulty!!!

Seriously - maintaining is the hardest thing! You will have to find the way that works best for you - even then you'll probably have to change it from time to time because we seem to find one way is great for a while but after some time either we get fed up or allow things to creep in that shouldn't and we need the discipline of a new 'regime' to get us back on track.

Few - if any, of us just stay the same. We're all really still yo-yo-ers ... the difference being the amount we yo-yo by. For me it's now pounds rather than stones - I think it's the same for most of us!

We all hope that when we've got the weight off we can find a way of eating that works for us and then we'll 'be okay'. I can't think of anyone, except perhaps for IrishMolly who seems to be keeping it all on an even keel following a GL plan, who has actually found that to be the case.

I don't mean to be or sound negative but it really is true that losing the weight is the easy part and it's after that the hard work begins if it wasn't that way we wouldn't be yo-yo-ers would we?!

Whenever I'm feeling a bit fed up about it and wishing it wasn't so hard and I could just be a skinny minnie, I remind myself that however hard it is now it just has to be done .... I don't have to like it - I just have to DO it! I remind myself of how I felt in all my 'fat' times and that I don't want to be back there again. I also remind myself that here .. with these problems .. is exactly where i wanted to be when I set out on my Lipotrim journey. I made it and if I don't want to find myself back in that same miserable position again I've just got to get on with it.

Sometimes it's easier than others .. that all depends on where your head is because if that's in the right frame of mind it's easy.

I hear and understand what you're saying about being terrified but that's a bit pointless. Know and accept the fact that it's going to be hard but it CAN and has to be done. Plan plan plan .... sort out your menus for the first few weeks working from the refeed sheet. There's no reason why you can't repeat days 4-7 as many times as you like. Then gradually introduce other things when you get a bit more confident.

Most importantly imho is sticking around on here. I'm totally convinced that doing that has played a big part in me now being in my 3rd year of maintenance. I still struggle a lot of the time but everyone here understands and supports which I find invaluable.

I'm sorry this won't be what you want to hear but in my experience is the way it is ... better to face that and plan than get a rude awakening when it happens.

Once again best of luck :) x
 
Well done on your losses to date. Everyone's efforts to maintain are highly individualised. There is no "one size fits all" solution. Your approach is great in that you are thinking ahead.
From your stats, I see you are aiming for a BMI of just over 20 and a goal weight of 133. If you have easily maintained at this weight in the past then it is doable again. Read the diaries of people who have similar age and weight ranges and see how they are doing. Emma's diary "Daily Tracker" is one to start with. She tries to maintain under 140.
For me, maintenance has been about changing my lifestyle. I follow simple Gi/ GL principles eating wholesome natural and unprocessed foods. I keep wheat products to a minimum. I keep a close eye on portion sizes and snacking as these are areas that lead to weight gain for me. I am in year two of maintenance. Thanks to GL I don't find it too much of a struggle.

Research other areas of Minimins that follow various healthy eating plans. Think about how you lived and what you ate when you were at your lowest weight. This should help inform your choices for maintaining your TFR losses.
Lots of luck and don't be afraid!
 
Wow! Thank you both so so so so so much for your words of wisdom! It has really helped me a lot. With people like you on the maintenance section I am sure I will survive. You have both done so well.

I woke up in a completely different frame of mind this morning so I think yesterday was a really down day for me and the fear creeped in. I guess from what you are saying it would be unreasonable to think that I won't ever slip up or have bad days when I'm fed up. It is just getting back on track straight afterwards and not going back to all the same bad habbits. Which I think, with dedication and support, I can manage!

I am not expecting to stay exactly 133lbs as that is unrealistic but if I could keep it under 140lbs I would be over the moon. I work hard at everything I do job wise, university wise, family wise so eating will just have to be no different. I am going to stick my 'fat' pictures on the wardrobe and on the fridge to remind me why I have done this and not to go back there!

Do you think that keeping a food diary has helped you both? As this is something I will strongly consider!

Thanks again :) xxxxxxxxx
 
A food diary in the early days, weeks and months of maintenance does help. I also found myfitnesspal.com a great site for tracking calories. It's an eye opener to realise the cals in some of your favourite foods!!! Whatever way you do it, a diary will keep you focussed and you can look back on it if you have a gain.
Personally, I no longer keep a diary with any regularity as it makes me feel too much like I'm on a diet, if that makes sense!! For the early days it is essential.
 
I am really glad you asked the question. I am wanting to re-feed at the end of NOv and go on maintenance over December but I too was confused with the maintenance plan. The advice here is great. Can I ask does anyone use the TFR products to replace meals and just have one meal a day or is it better to use maintenance products for this or should I just eat sensibly?
 
You can use either. There is more choice in the maintenance products but it is up to you!
 
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