Yes very true Downscale. LOL

I know I had hope this site would be more active, I kind of woke it up in Sept, only for it to peter out again.
However many of the maintianers do spend a lot fo time helping out others on the other threads, and I know I just seem to run out of time, so don't get here often.

Anyhow it looks like you are doing great, under goal abit it's a nice place to be this time of year ;>)

Cheers Kathy

Interesting perspective Downscale!

I wonder too if those that get to maintenance are also those that tend to be more self sufficient anyway. In my own experience I often found I moved forward (as in downward on the scale!) more when I didn't post so much and just got on with my own journey.

Not just focusing on weight loss all the time, and concentrating on other interests in my life, has helped me become a more 'successful' person in more ways, than just getting to maintenance. Doing this has also made doing maintenance much easier!

I've been in Maintenance now for several months. It is nice. I can eat 60 carbs/day and not gain an ounce. If I drop below that, I lose. I have to have the support of the lowcarb boards or I'm afraid I will get lazy and start gaining. Another board I belong to has a terrible Maintenance board. Very little activity and never anything said that would really help a person in Maintenance. I think we all need each others advice, success and failure experiences. If we are in this for life, we need support to continue - or at least, I do.

Hi Anleigh,

The maintenance threads here are still a little quiet, though they seem to have picked up in the last few months.

I am still not sure that I have stabilised at my final weight so I am just playing around with food and exercise at present. I was much lower than what I presently am in my twenties but I am not sure if that weight would suit me now. I remember being 7 and a half stone. I am not sure what that is in kilos or pounds. I am just under 8 stone at present (108 Pounds).

You must be quite slender - you are a little shorter than me in height. Were you happy at this weight once before or did you find that this is what suits you best now?

I agree that we need some support in Maintenance before we are ready to go it totally alone. It is good to have others to share this part of the journey with!

Trish, I am quite slender. I did not intend to lose so much weight. My original goal was 120 lbs. Once I got to it I decided to do the yogurt fast to lose a few extra. Next thing I knew, I had lost 25 more pounds. I decided it was time to stop when a Size 2 became baggy on me and my doctor told me I needed to gain a little weight. Anyway, I'm enjoying Maintenance very much. I still eat my yogurt twice a day.

I have been at goal since Dec. 1999, but my weight has not been stable. I am allowed to go 3 pounds over or 7 pounds under and I have rarely been under my goal weight of 112. I know it is emotional/psychological. Food is still my drug of choice. I wish it was no longer a problem. I had already reached my goal when I found Atkins. So I really need a maintainance club, unlike some of you. I envy you. One problem, I feel is I am lactovegetarian and Atkins is not so friendly to that. I continue searching for a way to do low carb with minumal animal products.

i am just getting to maintenance! please keep me company! i am so worried about this transition! i am up a little from the holidays (where i did rather splurge at my favorite breakfast restaurant!) and i need to get that off and then i'm there! i need as much support as possible right now, because i am afraid it will creep back on....how did any of you overcome that?

Hi Anleigh,

My original goal was 120 pounds too. I stabilised there for a long time and then decided to go lower. First it was 115 pounds and then 110 pounds.

I still don't know my carb level and I imagine it could go much higher than what it currently is. I ate a lot of cherries in the last few weeks on top of my usally fare and I still lost weight!

Hi Mem2,

Diana Schwarzbein has a vegetarian cook book. You could check out the Schwarzbein threads. I would love to go vegetarian again but meat and fish seem to suit me more than beans and cheese.

Hi Sjkling,

Welcome to maintenance. I decided to focus on my goal and not let anything get in the way. I even went right back to Atkins Induction to spur the weight loss on and to get me back into ketosis. Drink lots of water, exercise, stick to a simple eating plan, and DON'T cheat is my motto.

I guess I long to be carefree, but I know from experience that if I don't pay attention I can lose all the headway (not the weight) I have gained. I must stay awake and dilligent. At this point I need to learn the emotional triggers for eating and learn other strategies for dealing with my frustrations and stresses and embrace the rewards of being at goal or a few pounds below. Fantastic health is one of them. The ability to focus on other than food, to feed the mind and the soul is another. Good wishes to all you maintainers, and I still need you and probably always will.

Hi Rose! My personal "upper limit" is 140 lbs. I try to stay below that, and as long as I don't overdo booze and minor cheats, it's a piece of (LC cheese)cake. I'm usually 136-139, varying only with little things like TOM and maybe salt intake. If I start getting the "carb creeps", I pay a little closer attention to those carbs, maybe use fitday.com for a few days, just to get re-focused a bit. I think the Atkins book recommends a 5 lb buffer zone.

HTH a bit. Best of luck to you, too!

Oh - Mary, Protein Power is a veggie-friendly plan, and I highly recommend "Protein Power Lifeplan" if you feel like reading. It's a great read whether you plan on following their food plan or not.

Hi Mem 2,

Focusing more on exercise is one way I see that will help in managing the frustrations in my life. Exercise along with eating well helps keep me stress free. Avoiding substances that I find toxic to my system eg. alcohol, sugar, caffeine, all help keep me on track and able to deal with life's challenges better.

Rose, my weight can fluctuate quite a bit depending on where I am in my monthly cycle, salt intake, carb intake, exercise, fluid intake, etc. I also put on a kilo in water weight over the course of a day!

Generally I like to be no more than 50kg for a morning weigh in. If I get to 52kg then I start looking seriously at my carb intake, so as to make the neccessary adjustments.

Hi guys,

I too agree that regular excercise is a great way to keep weight equlibrium during the Maintenance. For me, it's actually the ideal tool, even more so than regulating carb intake. The last 6 months or so, I have found that if I keep up my running regimen (about 32 miles/week) augmented with a very modest weight training program, I can just eat about whatever level of carbs and not gain any weight. The great thing about excercising is the regular intervals in which our stored carbs are being constantly depleted.

Rose, on the weight fluctuation, I experience a very similar phenomenon as you. I range anywhere from 145 - 150, depending on the time of day and week. The weight itself is probably water fluctuation. For instance, if I'm at my high of 150, after a run and workout, I lose about 3 lbs, then another few the next day. So, I think fluctuations are pretty normal--just make sure you're not spiking up 10 lbs or something like that. LOL

Frederick

I have reached my goal weight last September. It was 140 lbs - the same weight I had mostly during my adult life. The reason for my weight gain was much more a slowing metablism at age 44, than high carbs. To fight back I started running. Running helped to loose my 35 lbs excess weight as well as to keep it down. My weight fluctuation is huge. TOM, or my favorite smoked salmon plate can cause 3-5 lbs+ water weight too. After long runs, or harder weight trainings it can be 4-6 lbs+, but the water always going away in 24-36 hours. My carbs were 60 during weight loss, 60-100 since. I see a very slow weight drop month by month (1/2 lbs).

My recommendation: chose some exercise that you really like. It can give you the necessary metabolism bust, protection much more than limiting your carbs to 20-30 for a lifetime. It can be very handy when you'll see the first sign of aging in your 40s.

I have been maintaining since October, 2003. I had a hard time establishing my CCL at first goal and continued to lose. Now I have it established at about 60-70/day and seems to be working well. More than anything, in my maintenance program, I just stay away from regular breads, pastas, rice, sugar, and higher carb veggies and fruits. I don't really count calories or carbs or compute ratios but I do sort of keep a running estimate in my head as well as continue to drink plenty of water; approximately 120 oz./day. I do eat sf candy and bars ever now and then and eat lots of yogurt. My favorite snacks are pork cracklins and nuts. I usually eat one or the other of them most daysfor a snack. My typical maintenance menu usually consists of yogurt & peanutbutter for breakfast, lunch is usually something like tuna or chicken salad or a lowcarb frozen dinner (I like the Life's Choice brand), and dinner is usually a meat and salad or green veggie. Sometimes I will make a sandwich for dinner (hamburger) with a lowcarb bagel (which I order from a lowcarb bakery - only 2.5 carbs per bagel and they are good). I allow myself a snack in the afternoons as I end up eating dinner late most of the time. Rarely do I eat after dinner but if I do, it is usually more lowcarb yogurt or a sf candy bar (bad I know) but it is better than some high carb sweet in MHO. Still have to stay on my toes at all times. I am a carb addict and could blow it easily if I would just let myself. I truly want to make this WOE my way of eating for the rest of my life.