You need to same mentality to keep it off as you did to lose it...

[icemoose]

I have said it before but the reason I think Cambridge works so well for so many of us is that it has that all or nothing approach that so many of us crave.

It is easier to eat nothing than eat a little in the minds of a lot of us as you can get your head round it, I definitely had an all mentality before the diet and had no limits so I found that suddenly being able to no eat was actually quite easy as it was a black and white, yes or no, do or don't that for me was actually the way I am.

Anyway the problem comes when you finish the diet, suddenly you are back into the scary world of "a bit", the sudden panic of "a healthy amount of" and the wild problems of "portion control"

So I decided then that I would still have the all or nothing approach to food that I had before and during the diet, so although I now eat totally normally I still have golden rules that I never break.

They are

1. Drink 2 litres of water every day.
2. Don't eat anything in the office unless it is my packed lunch (a big one for me as I used to pick all the time as we always have food in the office!)
3. Never eat past 8pm.
4. Never eat a "snack" over 200 calories.
5. Eat fruit every day!
6. Always have breakfast!
7. Always have lunch!
8. Always have dinner!
9. Don't ever have a pork pie again (I wouldn't be able to stop).

etc etc etc

That way you kind of make it a way of life to eat healthy and drink water and generally get on with your life as opposed to get too hung up on how much fat there is in a ryvita!

Anyway just my way of staying slim and it works for me.

Mike

 

[blitz]

Thanks Mike

I think I find the maintaining side of the diet more scarey than the loosing weight and I must admit Im dreading it. What a great idea and a good guide for us all and Im going to apply this when I get to the weight I want to be.

Im also a "all" type of person, on my list will also be limit the number of tapas dishes I order so I never go over, what I dont have on one visit I can always put on the list for the next visit.

 

[Gen]

Hi there I personally think that the reason people put the weight back on after finishing the diet is cos they have 'issues' as to why they overate in the first place that still haven't been resolved and once food is introduced again, it becomes the same comfort as it was before....

just my opinion and my experience!!

Gen xx

 

[icemoose]

I more than agree Gen and have always said you must deal with your demons but also I think a lot of it has to do with you have become very use to the way you eat and hence you must make hard adjustments to be able to keep it off.

Even if you have dealt with your problems if you have got used to eating on the sofa, or used to large portions then you will easily go back to them.

M.

 

[Gen]

You defo have to be aware of your old 'habits' when you finish SS'ing I totally agree but I do think if you have dealt with your demons lying on the sofa hiding from the world, stuffing your face won't be so appealing????

seriously i haven't cracked this one yet so there is so much room to prove me wrong here

your rules for sticking with a healthy new eating pattern are really something to strive towards but mentally and emotionally all the rules in the world sometimes couldn't or wouldn't keep me from the fridge.... i think that is why sometimes WW and the like of them diets just don't work until you sort your head out....

Gen xx

 

[KD]

I think the important thing is to have a plan! And hopefully a plan that works

Mine is quite different from Mike's, but seems to work for me.

I probably eat most of my food after 8:00pm for a start.

1. Eat when I'm hungry
2. Don't eat for the sake of it if possible
3. Eat all trigger foods consciously with a plan of what I will do if I can't stop ready before the first bite. (can't be dealing with keeping off the trigger foods...wouldn't leave me much else I liked )
4. Don't aim for low carb or low fat. Try to keep fats/carbs/protein 'normal'. Lots of reasons for this.
5. Don't dish up too much. Keep portion sizes sensible.
6. Don't say no to anything I really want...but use with care.
7. Dish up required quantities and put the rest away before I start eating.
8. Eat regularly
9. If hungry before a meal is due, have a drink to see if that's really the cause of the hunger.
10. Never forget that I'm a fat person in a slim body. For the moment, I still cannot trust myself to forget I ever had a problem.

Think that's about it for me.

BTW, I'm an all or nothing person, but I really wanted to change this when it came to food. Think I'm about there (most of the time anyway)

Good thread though Mike. We may have different ideas about how to do it, but as I say...you've just got to have a plan that works and you can cope with.

Oh yes, I also have a calorie allowance for snacks. Aim to never go over 150cals.

 

[flirty40greeneyes]

I think this would be a good sticky for those of us yet to reach target.

I definately agree with your number 10 Karion .... I will always be one bar of chocolate away from being a fat person again.

As Gen and Mike say I have "demons" that i have still not addressed - and I'm not sure I ever will ........ but as long as I'm aware they are there and maybe put some of these other steps into practise, I can get there too one day.

 

[poppa134]

I like the idea of a list of sort does and donts, as I too am an all or nothing person. Mine will have to have on it, never t eat more than one bar of chocolate in one go(Andthat I'm never to eat a familysize bar on my own again!!LOL)and never to eat more than one biscuit in one go(definately not the whole pack)

Nikki

 

[laura5510]

hi there when i originally did the diet i stuck it really well sitting through christmas parties, dinners, etc with a bottle of water no food. I started December 14th 2005 i was so depressed with my weight i would have done anything.
I put up with lots of stick from various people who noticed i was`nt eating anything solid. This was after i told them i was on lipotrim as i was at the time. (Changing to cambridge later).
I also had certain people trying to sabotage me throughout.
I started at 12st 7lbs. I eventually got to 9st 7lbs.
I found as i was losing the weight along the way no one commented when it got noticeable no one said," hey you look good you have lost weight".
Only once when i finally came off the diet i went to a group i attend every so often and there about 3 people remarked all positvely on my weight loss
One comment was, "good grief you look like a different person i would not have known you well done". they said this in front of lots of others who i knew some of which had knocked the diet and gave me a hard time while i was on it. Then a few of those people pretended to notice for the first time my weight loss.
People are strange.
Anyway over the following year i regained most of my weight trying desperately to get back on the diet and failing.
When i tried to get back on the diet again i found i also recieved pressure once more i felt worse this time as i had regained.
One development group i attend regular have a few sandwiches and cakes once a week at the meeting. If i say i am back on cambridge i get comments and pressure to eat the food. I don`t want to give up this group as i am developing quite well in it in my chosen interest.
One person there who is losing weight very slowly for health reasons trying to convince me that i should not do cambridge but do what she does eating healthy? but allowing myself a bit of what i fancy in moderation for example she claims to stick the healthy eating all week then eat one or two of these slices of cream cake sandwiches etc.

After i have just said i am on cambridge and of course it`s took me a lot to try again. I know it`s well meaning but i would prefer if no comments were made they just carried on eating and left me alone.
I am fighting myself which is hard enough and feel i am fighting other people to.

Needless to say i have failed a few times since getting back on cambridge but am here trying again. What i have noticed is that another member of the group has lost quite a bit of weight in a very short time
I can`t help but think she is on one of these diets she loved her food and has asked me questions about the diet also where to find a councellor etc where to buy the diet but denying it was for her.
She is not in ill health but has lost lots of weight quickly in the last couple of months.
She denies being on any diet if she is asked even by me. She says taking the dog for a walk has brought it off but she only walks him to the top of the street and back.
I have noticed when we are in the group she takes a tiny quarter of sandwich and makes an excuse that she has just eaten lots earlier she eats the sandwich.
I am wondering whether to do the same sort of thing.
I do not really blame her i feel she has said to herself she is not going to be subjected to the same as me.Well meaning or not so she has used her head so to speak.
She will pretend she is not following any plan.
I saw her when i was out a few days ago and someoone offered her a crisp she drew back and said no i am trying to be good when the person asked her was she dieting she said no i have just had something to eat i can`t eat anymore. I think maybe to do this sort of thing is the lesser of two evils so to speak. I definetly feel though i need to get help or devise a really good plan for when i get where i want to be weight loss wise.
Does anyone have any comments or have any of you had these sort of problems i have met up with.
Laura5510

 

[KD]

I am wondering whether to do the same sort of thing.

And why not eh? It's your journey...your business. nobody else's.

It was ages before I told anyone apart from DH. My kids noticed about 3 months into the diet

I didn't want attention brought to my weight or what I was and wasn't eating. I made excuses for not eating sometimes...other times people didn't even notice that I hadn't had a thing.

There are pros and cons to whichever way you decide to do it.

Best of luck whatever you decide

 

[jane]

Excelent thread.
Plenty of low-carb food forthought.
It may seem a bit premature but I'm startig to think about how to avoid weight re-gain already.
Interested by the similarities=having ones own rigid rules,& differences=the actual rules.,between Icemoose& Karion.
this whole area is a big thinky-thinky,self examining process.

 

[KD]

Yes, we are approaching it differently. I think you have to do a fair amount of soul searching and go for what works for you.

Having said that, I think it's worth experimenting. I tried 80/20 after my first year at goal. Hated it. At least I know it's not for me now

Pleased I tried it though.

 

[KD]

Excelent thread.
Plenty of low-carb food forthought.
It may seem a bit premature but I'm startig to think about how to avoid weight re-gain already.

Not premature at all. I thought about it almost from the moment I started CD.

There really wasn't any maintenance type messages around when I got to goal (well none I could find). Wished there had have been, as I felt I was a complete loon to even think it could be a problem.

 

[jane]

Thanks karion in that case i'll start delving on minimins.

forewarned is forearmed & all that.

 

[Irish]

I'm going to New York in July and I am scared s**tless about controling my diet. Hopefully I will have lost 4 to 5 stone by then with another 3 to go.

I want to be able to enjoy myself but also control my diet without doin SS for the three weeks. Has anyone got any pointers to help me stay on track.


How did you manage it when you went to Florida after you lost all your weight icemoose?

debbie

 

[icemoose]

Hiya I

Yes I was worried sick when I went to Florida last year as I had only been off maintenance for a week or two.

My strategy was to calorie count only, I set 3000 calories a day (as you walk miles in Disney) to maintain my weight and started the day with lots of low calories fruit and always had a healthy chicken salad etc for lunch (as opposed to burgers in the parks), that way I could have a nice dinner with a few marguerritas (sp?) without being too worried about piling on the weight.

When I got back I was less than a pound heavier than when I left so it worked well for me.

M.

 

[katie_oxo]

Irish, I'm doing LL but am in the same situation as you re the holidays. I'm going to Poland for a week in June and the west coast of America for 3 weeks in July/August. I've thought about this constantly and what I;ve decided to do is have a pack for breakfast and lunch and have a 'normal' evening meal making sure that I go for protein and vegetables and just stay off the carbs. In between the holidays I'm going straight back to my 4 packs a day and will go straight back to them as soon as I return from America ... that way I'll get back on track to losing all my weight by Christmas.

Cath