"secret" to maintaining

for me, is Weigh****chers.

My goal weight is 155 --- so that means that once a month (at the first meeting of each month), I have to weigh in, and as long as I am not more than 157, I retain my Lifetime status.
I attend meetings for free.

If I am more than 157, I have to pay for the meeting (12.00).

At the December meeting, any Lifetime member who has weighed in at (or below) goal for at least 10 out of 12 months gets a special recognition.

I hit goal December 2010 -- and by the skin of my teeth, I hit my 15th consecutive month  of maintenance this morning.  I was 156.6 --- after 3 weeks of being out of town and eating and drinking too freely.

I know that without this level of accountability, that I would not be as diligent in maintaining my weight.
I know myself, and I know that I need the incentive of being in 'good standing' within the group -- and the embarassment of not being able to get my 'reward' and having to pay keeps me working hard to maintain.

I can't recommend WW highly enough --- the program helped me get to my goal weight and is absolutely helping me maintain!!

for me it is fear. Fear can be a great motivator.

When I first had the band placed, it was the fear of hurting myself that helped me get most of my weight off in the 1st year.

While I was pregnant, it was the fear of losing all my hard earned progress that kept me from gaining more than I did. Plus I gained the majority during the last trimester (as I should).

After I had Grace, it was the fear of not being healthy for my daughter that helped me lose the weight again.

Now it is the fear of having something go terribly wrong with my band that has brought me back to OH. I haven't been the best bandster and haven't been following the rules. I need to get back on track. Maintaining just happens as a result.

Congrats Kath you have done a fantastic job and you contribute so much to this board.

Awesome, WW is a great program.....I just couldn't seem to lose on it......for me I have to go very low calorie...........that weekly weigh in does help alot........and if you have a good leader some of the tips are great.....

I like the one time she said for people who aren't losing to carry around a little baggie and every little extra bit of something that one would normally take throughout the day not thinking it mattered (like tasting while cooking, or taking a Tatar tot off the kids plate or a candy here and a chip there).......it was crazy how those bites added up LOL...

I learned some great tools there........

So glad you are at lifetime!!!! That is huge, for me I would never make it to their standards I would have to be the one that gets a letter from her doc for an exception lol....

Michele 

I'm with Stacy on this one. FEAR! I am terrified of re-gaining! I dont' want to go back to the way I was.

Although I have not been maintaining as long as some of you, I have maintained this weight since about May or June of last year. Also I am no where near my goal weight, but I'm ok with that. I am content at this weight. I am basically the size I was before I gained all the weight about 20 years ago so I kind of well like though this is not my goal weight.........it might just be my body's goal weight.

I firmly believe any tool we can use is awesome. I know some think with the band we shouldn't need another group butif thart helps go for it! We all need different motivation for some it's that fear factor and others it's the accountability of weekly meetings or check ins with the doctor, whatever helps! There is no one way to the goal!