Cathe and others...maintenance tips

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Imafitnessfreak

Cathlete
Hi Cathe,

First of all, I think you are so awesome and I want to thank you for providing the excellent workouts that you provide. I just love them!

I was wondering if you could give me a few "maintenance" tips. I found it so much easier to eat a clean diet when I had some weight to lose, my goal was clear cut "10 more pounds, then 5, then 3, then...". Well, now it is so easy to say "I'm at my goal, a sweet treat isn't going to blow it" and then I over do it.

Exercising isn't a problem. I never miss a workout (unless it is a rest day). The only time I missed this past year was to recover from minor surgery. It is eating clean that has become the challenge. What do you tell yourself?

Thanks in advance! Your very faithful follower, Sarah
 
Sarah, congratulations on your weight loss! Feels good, doesn't it?

Maintenance isn't as tough as you think it will be. You CAN have a sweet treat occassionally, but the trick is to not overdo it (stating the obvious - I know). Some tricks I do: 1)don't have sweet treats in the house. 2) don't have junk food of ANY kind in the house. 3) get bite-sized candy bars, and only put one or two in your purse. Leave the others in a place you don't see them so you don't get tempted to grab when you go by. 4) Chew gum! (This works especially well after you've just had that bite-sized Snickers and want to go back for more. The gum gets that Snickers taste out of your mouth).

I also like to bake cookies with my daughter. So I'll back a whole batch, keep maybe a dozen for the 3 members of my family, and send the rest to preschool with her, or take them to my office and let my coworkers have them. It's the fun of baking them that I enjoy.

Give yourself one day a week where you have your favorite foods, but just keep the portions reasonable. I allow myself one day a month to go get my favorite fast food junk. I look forward to that day ALL month! If you end up spoiling it one week and have more of whatever you consider bad, don't despair - just remember that tomorrow is another day.

Make sure you come to the forum a lot to keep yourself motivated.
 
Sarah,

What worked for me to keep me on the right track was to pick a simple food that is considered "bad" but that you really enjoy (ie-cookies, cake, etc) and have it in the house and allow yourself one small "treat" per day.

I used to do this with mozzerella cheese. Might sound odd lol, but I am a cheese-aholic and it could very easily destroy any diet or maintenence program I am on! I am capable of eating an entire block of cheese in one sitting!!! Anyway, I would buy a block of it and allow myself to eat one slice per day. This actually kept me going. I felt like I was "cheating", it tasted good, felt good, and satisfied my urge for the "bad" but was not nearly enough of it to wreak havock on all of my hard work!

Best of Luck! You can do it!:)

~Wendy~
 
Hi Sarah,

I lost 30 pounds last year and have kept it off for a year. The trick for me has been to continue writing down everything I eat. I started that when I was doing Weight Watchers and it really keeps me honest!
 
I've been maintaining a 50-lb. weight loss for over a year now. It has helped for me to have new goals other than weight loss (such as getting abs like Cathe's:7 ) Besides exercise, the most important thing I do is stay aware of what I eat. I record my food into a food journal about once a week.

Whenever I'm faced with a temptation I try to think before I eat. I ask myself if its really worth it. For example, earlier this week one of my co-workers brought in a box of chocolate truffles to share. I asked myself if it was worth it and decided I'd rather wait and spend my cheats on homemade treats for Christmas.
 
Hi Sarah, congratulations on making your goal.

Like you, I find it easier to work toward a goal than to maintain what I've got. Stress has made me develop an even sweeter tooth and what helps me usually is yogurt. I buy the Atkins kind, which has more protein than most, and it just has the right kind of sweetness to satisfy my craving. I also eat it slowly. I also make sure my ref is well stocked with fruit, especially apples. Different kinds, which is great this time of year. The sweet tartness calms my cravings.

Now I've been known to scarf down a Snickers bar.:) I do this before the usual weekend house cleaning, or before I do yard work. This way, I burn some of the junk I've eaten. I also compensate for this by eating only lean protein and vegetables for dinner.

Pinky
 
i'm maintaining cuz i taught myself a new way of eating rather than dieting...

i know that trans fats and fatty foods are not healthy for me... along with adding weight... so it's easy to stay away from them!
 
Thank you all for your suggestions! I appreciate it very much.

I think my biggest challenge is when I am at a social function, which has been every day of every weekend this month (with holiday parties). I give up right away and I don't even try to eat healthy. I really hate that "I ate nothing but crap" bloat!

As for my home, totally clean from junk food so that is easy. It's "party time" that is the huge challenge.

BTW, been at goal for 2 years now! :)
 
hello donna

I think that you are so dead on with your tips. I am a sweets junkie so even though you gave advice to sarah, you have just helped me tremendously. Thank you so much
 
Bonus! I'm totally "jonesing" today, though, because it's my first day back to work after being off since Dec. 17. I was out of practice packing my lunch and forgot my 100 Calorie Pack Oreo Crisps!!!! OH THE HUMANITY!!!!

I had to grab a bag of animal crackers from the vending machine, but there's danger there....the bag is 2 servings! I'm going to have to force myself to stop at half the bag.

Wish me luck...I'm ripping it open right now....
 
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