Maintaining Weight??

OK so I got about 20 lbs till my orig. GOAL! My question is for the vets out there how do you maintain after you get to your goal?? This is going to be a whole another NEW JOURNEY to begin.  I'm kind of scared!! 

 

Any comments welcome! Thanks 

Not much......

It's not like one day you switch from WL to Maintenance just because you see a number on a scale......

In most cases it takes a month or so to lose the last pound or two.....and your pretty much at the end.

So, you say "great" at GOAL.......

Than about a month later you start adding calories...... 100cal at a time........give it a week or two or three before you make your next move......

frisco

I actually dropped about 35 pounds below goal and maintaining for about six months i eat a Lil more but not much since i stick to dense protein i can't really eat much more but i guess my body has settled at this weight which is fine I'm happy with it after a 200 pound loss. I stick to all my surgeons rules for the most part with water, exercise, and protein and veggies

Second what Frisco said.  I upped my calories very slowly, to find my balance point.  To be honest, I am not quite sure I have still found it.  Starting in October I had my plastics, and spent the next 3 months on the swelling roller coaster.  Next month I am planning on my second round of plastics and lord knows how I will react to that.

For me the hardest part of transitioning to maintenance has been learning to trust myself to maintain my newfound weight and healthy lifestyle.  In some ways Weight loss was easier because the rules were so strict.  In transitioning to maintenance if the scale went up a pound or 5 I would freak out.  I had to learn, that if I gain a few and am not happy with it, I can take those few back off.  That the occasional up tick in the scale did not mean that my success was over and I was destined to be 300+ again.  

Its scary, but I think its something we all go through.  For me the biggest help was realizing that goal was not a "number" that I had to constantly be at.  It is a range that I maintain myself in (im still only really happy at the bottom of that range or below it). 

Also, it can really scare people that there is no "Finish Line" for maintenance.  During weight loss, you are constantly working for that goal number.  What do you do once you get there?  Take it one day at a time.  Tell yourself - I am going to maintain and follow my plan today.  Tomorrow I may eat off plan, but not today.  You can do anything for one day, right?

Be mindful about maintaining your good habits.  Keep logging your food and exercise.  Keep eating the foods that you love and that are good for you.