What has made maintenance a snap for me

www.dietpower.com

I have maintained the same weight for nearly a year, (December will be a year), using diet power.  It does tons of math for me, and its really handy, because it will tell you what your nutritional information is, and if you are low in a thing, you can have it tell you what is high in that nutrient that you either eat a lot, or in general.  Its a pay one, I paid 30 bucks for it, and have had to have them help me get it back, because I have had a computer crash or two.  :}

Course, using it means you still need to track in maintenance, but for me, that's just one of my fargoyles I have situated to help me keep on track!

My other safety gargoyles are - keeping my head in the game (What bran?  We have never heard you speak of setch a thing - yea I know) and purposeful movement.

Finding some sort of purposeful movement you really love that makes you feel good will definitely go a long way also!  This is where I give Zumba a shout out.  :} 

edited because my title shows I have been up for way too long.  :}

that sounds really good but i think for that to be successful, you really need to be dunked so you know your starting calories... its something i need to check into but then id need to check into a swimming outfit too haha

*chuckle*  You can wear shorts and a t-shirt!  You do not have to be bikini clad!!

Actually, if you just use the cals they start you with, but then eat whatever your cals are and burn your cals and log it all, then it only takes a couple of days for it to wise up to your metabolic rate.  It really does good math!  and was matching up with the dunktank about what my base cals oughta be!

And they have friendly helpful people you can call or email who are *wait for it* GLAD TO HELP YOU!!

yes!  Customer service!  Rock the haus!

hey i really recommend getting dunked and doing the metabolic test. the place i went was Fitness Wave or some such thing .  936 calories resting rate! no wonder i got so fat! and this is my new more active self. so i put on my bathing suit with the "tea length" skirt on it to cover all the baggy thigh skin. my inner thighs are a fright but can't stand the thought of a foot long incision on each one to fix it.

but brandy is wise to use the program she uses. i still keep my simple written food diary and told my doc i think i will do it forever. it is so ingrained that i feel evil if i consider skipping it. am in volume three now. seems like everyone who has regained has stopped tracking so that tells you something. D.

*seems like everyone who has regained has stopped tracking so that tells you something.*

You said a lot of mouthfulls right there, sister. 

I know for some folks it feels too "diety" and yea, I can see their point, but for me - it seems empowering.  Like balancing your checkbook! 

And for me, I spent too many years feeling out of control and overwhelmed.  Tracking for me keeps me honest with me, and with my hand on the slippery wheel! 

I cannot imagine how much that foot long scar hurts!  Or the one on your belly that goes around the back too!

Plastics people are brave!  Or jacked up on oxycodone!  Or both!  :}  Lucky them! ha.

I do not track what I eat though I do eat mindfully. I generally eat around 100 gms of protein per day and 100 gms of carbs. Having been at goal for about 19 mos I have a fairly good idea of what that looks like so I do not track per se.
I am fairly active physically, hiking several miles several nights per week and doing longer hikes (6-10 miles) on the weekends.

That is great!!  I think mindfully eating is the key and for me, the guard for the mindfulness is definitely tracking.

I am proud of you!  You have done so great!!

OMG the the analogy of the checkbook is PRICELESS!!  Love it.

I have the scar from groin to knee it HURT like a ***** the first month or so.  NOT so much now and I just love my thighs!!  I am BOTH!!

*chuckle* You ARE both!! 

Loving your thighs is DREAMY!! 

The other thing you can do, other than the dunk tank, is get a Bodybugg. You wear it on your arm and it tells you how many calories you burn every day. 

It's better than the dunk tank because it tells you what you actually burn at work, at home, on days you exercise, and on days you don't.