Avoidance of regaining lost weightis the primary goal of weight-maintenance.

Recently on a forum I frequently visit I read a post by a person who is working to maintain her weight-loss.  She had gained 5 lbs over time, and said:

“I can’t believe I let myself slip”

  I considered that statement and compared it with my own experience.
Over the past three years, my body has added about 5 - 7 lbs to its stabilized weight.

All the while, I’ve been working hard to keep that from happening, and I’m still working to lose that regain and to avoid gaining more.

In my own case, I wouldn’t call it “slipping”.  I didn’t “slip”.  It’s more like my body was being pulled along a surface by an unknown force,
while I was desperately working to cling, grasp, clutch, and hold on to any surface that would stabilize me and keep me from moving.

This process is still going on. Every day I work to keep my body at its “normal” weight, here in my maintenance weight range near the 115 lb area,even though my body thinks “normal” is over 200 lbs, and seems to inch my weight higher despite all my best efforts to keep this from happening.

Based on my past experience, I am well aware that if I chose to stop continually and consistently working to maintain my current weight, it wouldn’t be like missing my step
and falling off a curb to land on a nearby surface.
It would be more like jumping out of a plane without a parachute, my body rapidly hurling a long distance toward my potential destruction.

I’ve now been maintaining near my goal weight for 5 years and 7 months, and it takes more work to do it now than it did the first two years. It’s not surprising to me that less than 5% maintain their weight-loss, what surprises me is that the percentages are that high.

Some might think that this article is negative thinking,but I believe that   Acceptance of Reality is a positive and helpful thing. I am grateful that I was able to reach my weight goal,and I am grateful for every day that my body stays near it.

The Reduced Obese are constantly being lied to by the media, and marketing interests...including the medical profession, which serves to instill false expectations.

Weight loss is not easy, and long-term Maintenance is even harder.
It is a mistake to believe that maintaining a weight loss is easy, and that someday in our lifetime we can do it without a struggle.

   We need to get over it.  It ain’t happening.

Each of us is an Experiment of One, and
what works for one doesn’t always work for another.

 People have different genetics, body composition,
lifestyle, and eating preferences.

Also, the BMR or RMR and Activity Factor percentage numbers re individual calorie burn contained in the “experts” charts are formulas that are based on averages, and are very incorrect for many people.

  Even that generally recommended Low of 1200 calories a day can be more calories than the body of a small, older woman is able to use, and will cause a weight gain for some. My past 7 years of detailed daily food-intake records prove that this is the case for my own mid-60s, 5’0”, 115 lb body.

Approaching weight loss with a "one size fits all" eating routine results in frustration and loss of motivation  when our results don't match those of another.

 The best diet plan will allow us to learn new eating habits and re-shape our lifestyles in a way that will allow us to achieve and maintain our desired weight.

It helps to figure out our desired eating pattern. Some people find it difficult to eat a large breakfast and make that a smaller meal, or skip it entirely. Some skip dinner. Some do well eating three meals, avoiding all snacks, and others find eating small meals and snacks works better for them.  Some people eat only once a day within specific time limits.  Some people vary their eating schedules to include frequent fasts.

Different eating schedules can be an effective tool in weight management, but it is important for each of us to know our own preferences, and figure out what eating plan will work best for us, individually. After a desired eating schedule is determined, we divide our food-intake and calories with that plan in mind.

 Be realistic.
We need to know our diet weaknesses so we can incorporate them into our plans.

Set reasonable goals.
The only program that is guaranteed to help us reach our weight goals is the one we will do consistently.  There is no magic eating plan, program, or product that is guaranteed to help us lose weight and keep it off. 

 
Trying to follow a plan or program that has worked for someone else through a one-size-fits-all approach is a path doomed to fail  if it isn't something that fits into our own personal lifestyles and preferences.

Instead of giving in to the marketing campaigns or the success stories of others, and following a plan that doesn't fit one’s preferences and lifestyle, it is helpful to take a little time to make a plan that does.

 I find that when I build my own individual program and put my likes and preferences at the center,  I am more likely to own that plan and make it work to reach and maintain my goals.

There is no one-size fits-all approach to maintaining weight-loss.

I’ve been working hard for the past six plus yearsto be one of the 5% of “weight-losers”
who manage to keep it off over time. and the one thing that I can say for certain is the above-stated Truth.

 The challenges of weight management involves both biological and psychological factors.

While it is true that some people regain weight simply because they eat a little more and exercise a little less, sometimes almost without noticing it, there are quite a lot of people around…like me…who have taken the idea of a “permanent lifestyle change” to heart.

Like many people, for me one of the biggest and most difficult challenges of keeping the weight off, is the fact that my body thinks I have lost too much weight, and is determined to put some or all of it back on.

Those who have always gained weight easily, have a history or obesity, and especially if they’ve had to struggle with weight plateaus, food cravings, and increased appetitive, should expect that keeping it off is going to require a great deal of special attention.

 The body of a reduced obese person easily puts back on lost weight.
It accomplishes this with a complex set of metabolic adjustments that will cause one to gradually gain weight, even though one is maintaining what should be –on paper—a balance between calories ingested and calories expended.

40,000 years ago, such a person would have been one of the “lucky” ones whose genes made them a lot more likely to survive hard times. But in the present days of supermarkets and fast food, it becomes a liability.

 The mind of a reduced obese person is also an important issue.
It tends to use often unconscious, assumptions when we explain to ourselves why we do what we do, and why we get the results we get.

We can help ourselves by watching how we talk to ourselves with things go wrong.  Being unkind to ourselves isn’t helpful.

It is counterproductive to assume that we have a personal flaw or a characteristic …like weakness, incompetence, lack of willpower, self-indulgence, etc….. that is responsible for the problem; or to assume that this personal flaw is permanent, something that can’t be changed through education, practice, or personal growth; or to assume this personal flaw is pervasive – that it affects all areas of their lives rather than just the immediate problem.

 In such situations, we need to interfere with the negative things we are telling ourselves, and began practicing positive self-talk. One way to choose what kind of things to tell oneself, is to use a simple guideline: If one has an emotional reaction to the saying (positive or negative), or if one finds oneself responding to it with disbelief or scorn, it is probably just what that person needs to be telling themselves every day.

Self-belief is important. One needs to believe that one can do what is required
in order to achieve an objective.

Self-Monitoring is important. One needs to accurately observe and interpret one’s behavior
and learn how to use those observations to modify one’s behavior and attitude.

Support is important. We need support from experts; and from others who have
“walked in our shoes”; and from those who are now traveling a weight-loss path.
It is almost impossible to lose weight permanently on one’s own.

 My primary reason, at this point, for involving myself with DietHobby, is to give and to receive support.
in my own personal weight maintenance journey. You are all very important to me, and each one of you who reads articles or watches videos, or makes comments here at DietHobby…whether you know it or not…is providing support to me in my journey.

                   
I frequently visit and participate in various online weight-loss forums.
This morning I posted the following message in one such forum and am choosing to post it here as well.

Posted by a member of a weight-loss forum:

"My questions for you are as follows:

During your weight loss phase did you commit to it
and never look back or were you slipping up here and there?

As a maintainer, do you find that the internal struggle over food
is the same as it was when you were heavy
(I am referring to the guilt of overeating and at times, feeling out of control)?

I have never even been within 30 lbs of goal so I really don't know what it is like.
I slip up a little now and I was not sure if this eventually gets better, worse,
or stays the same."

I've never been perfect, not in my weight-loss phase nor here in my maintenance phase, and slip-ups-here-and-there have always been part of my process.

As a maintainer, the internal struggle over food is about the same.  One part of me wants to eateverything I want, whenever I want to, and the other part of me wants to maintain my weight-loss. These are strong desires that continue to oppose each other.

  However,  when I overeat, I am always conscious of the fact that it is a CHOICE,
and now, when I have out-of-control feelings, it is NOT that I actually have no control or choice about overeating behavior

......despite the intensity of the desires or the difficulty of the struggle, I know that what I put in my mouth is my own choice..... Whether I overeat, eat compulsively, or binge.. I'm choosing my behavior.

I still have out-of-control feelings frequently,  but these are primarily due to the failure of my body to give me positive weight results even after I've chosen to engage in positive eating behavior.

 Bottom Line.... for me... The process and the feelings are forever.
Time doesn't improve them. The only effective response is ACCEPTANCE, of the feelings and of the struggle. ....understanding that it is a part of my life,  and there is no escape possible.

Being fat is hard;
Losing weight is hard;
Maintaining weight is hard;
Choose your hard.

It's Monday morning, mid-July, and I'm finding it hard to Find inspiration for myself, let alone Provide any inspiration for others.

The day-to-day sharing that maintaining this website requires is sometimes Challenging for me. My personal focus is continued, consistent weight-maintenance efforts, together with working to achieve a positive outlook on all aspects of my life. This takes ongoing physical and mental effort, and, although it might appear to be an easy task, it is not.

 I experience the same moods as you, and sometimes the "Monday blues" are difficult. Despite continued effort at positive thinking, positive consistent behavior, and patient waiting, my body is not dropping the 5 lbs or so that have crept on during the past few years and sometimes I feel angry and discouraged about that situation.

I remind myself how far I've come, and how maintaining a 150 lb loss is great, despite that 5 lb creep, and although I'm grateful...I'm still P***ed Off. But, I'm not going to drive my car over a cliff just because it has a scratch on it, and I'm not going to give myself permission to overeat,  simply because...no matter what or how much I eat and/or exercise... the "minus 3500 calories = 1 fat pound lost rule"  no longer seems to be applicable to my body.

So this morning...like every morning...I recorded my weight in my diet software. I'm writing this article, and then I'm going to have one of my normal low-cal breakfasts, which I will record in that diet software.  I will then go about the remainder of my daily tasks, and will continue to work to keep my food-intake calories down,and record every bite I take. This is a habit I've established, and a great deal of the time I find it enjoyable.

 For a variety of reasons, I feel a bit down this morning, so....what to do?..... First, I allow myself to feel it, avoiding frantic attempts at escape. Next, I go about my daily tasks, and just do the next indicated thing.

Feelings are like the tide. They go in and out, come and go,  Both the "good" and the "bad". All feelings are part of us, and none of us escapes them. We just have to ride them out while we struggle to stay afloat.

The chances are good that in a short time I'll feel better, and before the day is over, there will be at least a few times when I'll feel really good.

 Life has given me another day with an assortment of possibilities, and I get to choose personal behaviors that will tend to lead me toward positive results.