I can't make myself maintain weight. I'm just not hungry enough to. My schedule is such that frequent meals aren't a possibility (I can eat max 4xs), and due to the nature of low carb meals I can't eat enough at any given meal to supply my body with the energy required to maintain itself.

I'm actually losing fat kind of rapidly again now, since I've incorporated way more activity into my lifestyle (being much more active in general as well as an hour+ walk daily) while also reducing the amount of feedings (unconsciously, due to being so preoccupied, and also inadvertently, due to becoming hungry at times when eating isn't possible (except for high carb junkfood around the office)).
Almost every day I feel bonier. It's healthy loss at least, as it mostly appears to be fat (unlike when I was restricting calories really low). Still, it's worrying because I'm doing this for health too... and if you can't eat enough nutritious foods that's just not healthy.

I don't want to force feed myself, but I'm at the point where I've been doing that (which makes me feel gross and doesn't feel natural). Plus there's the fear that if I'm eating beyond my hunger how will I know when to stop before I've eaten too much?

Has anyone else had this problem?

Woo, have you considered doing what you did when you lost the last few pounds to goal? Didn't you count calories? Why not try this again only decide how many calories you need to maintain your weight and eat the types of foods that will supply the calories.

Hey Wooo,

I think (and I think you know) frequent small feedings are the answer. I would think it would be possible to keep LC snacks at the office. In many countries, a "bun break" or "elevenses" (cup of tea and snack in midmorning) is a normal part of the day, and also afternoon tea (at about five). You could schedule in these snacks to boost your intake without feeling overfull or sick.

As you know, starvation breeds starvation...for a while at least, the less we eat, the less we want to eat.

I have to wonder (having read some of your other threads and posts) how much your ED tendencies/history figure into this. I know that for myself, the process of losing weight is more "achievable" than maintaining...seems easier to pursue a goal than to try to stay in the same place. Also, self-denial becomes satisfying in itself; and it is hard to shake the deep-rooted "smaller is better" misconception. Does some part of you enjoy the increasing boniness, the attention, the "you are too thin!" and "you need to eat!" comments? That is the part that is working against you. Does your inner fat-girl enjoy hearing a certain amount of that kind of thing? (I speak from personal experience; when I was your age I went through this exact situation.)

Intellectually, you now want to maintain instead of lose; your unconscious may be working against you, though. You seem self-aware enough (again, I infer this from having read other posts from you) to confront and address this if it is true.

So my advice is: take your bun break (without the bun ) at 10.30-11ish AM and your tea break at 4 or 5 pm. Added to a reasonable breakfast, lunch and dinner you should be able to learn over time how to keep yourself within a 5-lb range of weight.

Of course, take my advice with a handful of salt bcs I am new at this maintenance-biz myself, and I personally think that this is the hardest stage of all: basically, it's the rest of your life. I am hoping that things which are initially regimented (and somewhat "forced" as you say) will become second-nature and habitual with time.

Good luck, Wooo

Lucy

Yep, on and off.

Didn't you start a full time job fairly recently? I think any big change in lifestyle affects your body greatly - sleep, weight, appetite, etc. You're probably burning more calories now, and like you said, that's less time for eating.



Ditto.

Yes having the smae problem my self... but did not want to post on it casue I know many of you struggle to loss... I have been looking for "good carb" to increase my carb in take to help balance it. And I have re,opved "LC" snacks, instead eat "healthy" snacks like fruit, or even popcorn. Got rid of my carb count down, and drinking whole milk agian.. dunno I have seem to slowed loss, but not stoped yet.

I had the same problem. I was down to 109 lbs and falling. I was buring stored fat like crazy and my appetite had decreased. I was soon seeing a parade of doctors. My husband was convinced I had some kind of cancer. One doctor told me, my body was cannibalizing itself...(some kind of side affect of Atkins?) I started on ensure plus with extra snacks, and that helped a lot. My weight finally stabilized. I was worried, of course that this would start another cycle of weight gain. Thankfully, this did not happen

I have had a similar problem, but as I am on CALP and not Atkins I just increased my carbs in my RM and added a snack daily. It was scary to see my weight continue to drop, albeit very slowly, below where I expected to be. I read in the Schwartzbein Principal that when you eat correctly your body will rebalance itself, and to trust your body. As long as you are eating, and eating enough, and have added back some carbs (like Atkins says to do in maintainance), it should work out. I am stable now, and have been about this weight for 10 weeks,so I think it's working.

Hi Woo -

I've had to work to keep from continuing to lose weight on maintenance.

I'm actually still calorie tracking, and weighing and graphing my weight every day. If I start trending downward, I intentionally add calories.

I'm currently averaging eating 2671 calories per day to keep my weight steady at 152.5 That's with a reasonable amount of daily exercise each day as well. I've had to start doing things like tossing spoonfulls of sour cream in with my dinner and adding some extra nut snacks.

The most important thing for me was to set and upper and lower weight limit for myself and take both of them equally seriously. My lower limit is 150.0 and if I start hitting consistent readings of 150.5 - 151 every day, and haven't seen 152.5 in a while, I start adding calories. 149.5 means I go into serious correction mode, just like I would if I found myself a 155.5.

The toughest thing for me was to get a minimum weight number in my head that I really believed was something I should not drift below. At 5'9, my doctor says that she'd consider the minimum weight for my height to be 145, and at my age, I really shouldn't be below 150. I decided to accept that and not go playing with lower weights just to try them out and see if I like them. If I start wondering if lower is ok or better, I tell myself that I'm not even going to consider it until after I maintain for at least a full year.

I know I can't judge my size objectively yet after such a weight loss, and I wonder how many women can really judge size objectively given Photoshoped magazine pictures of what is "ideal" or "desirable" - or more accurately, "marketable". Every day I get positive feedback that my body size, shape, and health is wonderfully functional and strong. Other people look at my pictures and see me as thin. I look at my pictures or the mirror and sometimes see bony and sometimes see huge. But I was able to menatally accept this 5 pound personal ideal range for a number of reasons (including things like "size 10 jeans fit straight out of the dryer and still fit at the end of the day") and that gives me clear boundaries to work within. I find that I need those firm boundaries to keep from getting sucked into either downward weight drift or irresponsible Christmas cookie munching. So far it is working.

Lynda

What type of foods are you eating now that you're maintaining? Have you added in higher carb foods such as whole grains, some dairy, even the occasional potato? By the time you've hit maintenance you should have added in higher carb veggies to go along with the grains.

If, because you've changed your eating schedule, you're slipping back into extremely low carb choices you probably will lose.

What is your usual daily intake of carbs?