how do they KEEP it off

how do they KEEP it off; 21 habits of successful "maintainers"
Topic Started: Jun 6 2007, 09:20 AM (138 Views)
choochoo	Jun 6 2007, 09:20 AM Post #1
Newbie Posts: 22 Group: Friend Member #23 Joined: June 5, 2007	So, I'm sorta plagarizing myself here because I previously posted this on another site but it's a subject dear to my heart so I did a copy and paste and hope (really hope) you guys find it interesting and not boring because it's long..... 21 habits - more stuff about maintaining -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- So, I'm on a kick about posting maintenance stuff 'cause I just don't see the issue being addressed a lot and IMO that's really the point of weight loss in the first place - keeping it "lost". We all get so caught up in "the most effective (or fastest or healthiest or whatever) way to lose weight" that it's easy to lose sight of the end goal - what happens the day, week, month and years after reaching "goal weight". This is a list of 21 post weight loss habits practiced by people who both lost a significant amount of weight and kept it off for at least 3-5 years. I actually complied it over a year ago from a couple of different sources with the majority coming from the National Weight Loss Registry. To me the value in this list is that it was not just some weight loss guru saying "these are the things you should do", rather these were things that the small number of people who had actually been successful in achieving long term maintenance did. And, interestingly enough, although the weight loss methods they all used were different - the maintenance habits were the same. 1. Add 150-200 calorie expending exercise daily (in additional to regular exercise). 2. Weigh at least weekly 3. Have a plan ready to handle setbacks 4. Keep a food journal 5. Find new motivators for healthy eating other than weight loss 6. Practice daily affirmation 7. Stay realistic 8. Keep up a positive attitude and don't be dissatisfied with your body. 9. Show flexible restraint in food/exercise choices 10. Eat healthily, nutrients matter 11. Sit down to eat meals; take time over them; pay attention to what is on the plate 12. Have ongoing support 13. Manage stress and confront problems, rather than eating. 14. Eat a diet that relies on multiple smaller meals. 15. Keep protein near the top (about 30% of total calories) 16. Eat a majority of meals that are fairly low on the glycemic index 17. Do NOT reduce calorie intake significantly below the maintenance level 18. Make sure to eat breakfast seven days a week 19. Maintain a consistent eating pattern – varying it little, even on weekends or holidays. An indulgence can be a calorie trade-off, not the start of a binge. 20. Avoid fast food; make cooking a hobby not a chore 21. Eat a low fat/high carb diet. Throughout the majority of my own weight loss process I kept this list displayed prominently and concentrated on interpreting these habits in a way that fit into my own personality/lifestyle and worked on establishing these habits so that, hopefully, when I reached goal weight they would already be a part of my life. Some of them seemed like "duh, of course" until I actually set out to put them in practice day after day (i.e. #8), some I had to rework into a way that made sense to me (i.e. #21 became, for me, "low saturated fat, high fiber") and some didn't make a bit of sense to me until I was already at maint. and stupidly decided to ignore (i.e. # 17), and many had the benefit of helping with the weight loss itself.
	"Let food be your medicine...and medicine be your food" Hippocrates


shygemini	Jun 6 2007, 09:37 AM Post #2
Elite Posts: 2,918 Group: Super Mod Member #2 Joined: May 20, 2007 Favorite Fruit? Pineapple Favorite Vegetable? Cabbage Favorite Exercise? Step aerobics, spin class, muscle sculpt, walking Healthy Lifestyle Goal? Currently, to continue to improve my eating habits, and lose the 10lbs i gained back recently!	that is a great list choochoo! I think there are some really important points in there. And yes, alot of them can be applied before maintanance as well. I am a little unsure about what #1 means.. ? I know you have to exercise regularly, are you just saying that even if it isn't a set exercise day you should make sure to burn 150-200 calories?



choochoo	Jun 6 2007, 09:48 AM Post #3
Newbie Posts: 22 Group: Friend Member #23 Joined: June 5, 2007	shy: yea....sucks doesn't it! To put it in perspective: my body operates differently at this weight than my counterpart of the same size who has never had a weight problem. I've got hundreds of thousands of empty fat cells clamouring to be refilled, my natural setpoint is higher and my body will fight for years to return to it, my metabolism is a little slower and my hormone levels (i.e. leptin) are out of wack and will remain so for years. Adding that extra 100-200 calorie burn daily just sorta keeps all that nasty stuff in line.
	"Let food be your medicine...and medicine be your food" Hippocrates


TeachX3	Jun 6 2007, 09:52 AM Post #4
Elite Posts: 3,192 Group: Admin Member #1 Joined: May 20, 2007 Favorite Fruit? Apples, Pears, Strawberries, Bananas, Grapes, Cherries & Pineapple Favorite Vegetable? Onions, Broccoli, Olives, Baby Carrots & Fully LOADED Veggie Salads Favorite Exercise? Dancing, Stretches, Walking & Playing w/ my Furry Babies Healthy Lifestyle Goal? To be as healthy as I can be w/ having MS and to weigh between 140-144 pounds!	This is excellent... thank you for deciding to share it here too!!
	I'm a FALL CHALLENGE participant! Age 40 • 5'5" • Medium Frame • Began: 01/17/07


Cherriterri	Jun 6 2007, 12:37 PM Post #5
Advanced Posts: 1,239 Group: VIP Member #7 Joined: May 21, 2007 Favorite Fruit? Kiwi Favorite Vegetable? Brussels sprouts Favorite Exercise? walking, biking and swimming Healthy Lifestyle Goal? Hmmm, to complete and olympic length triathlon.	Thanks ChooChoo!! Great list.



shygemini	Jun 6 2007, 12:49 PM Post #6
Elite Posts: 2,918 Group: Super Mod Member #2 Joined: May 20, 2007 Favorite Fruit? Pineapple Favorite Vegetable? Cabbage Favorite Exercise? Step aerobics, spin class, muscle sculpt, walking Healthy Lifestyle Goal? Currently, to continue to improve my eating habits, and lose the 10lbs i gained back recently!	choochoo Jun 6 2007, 09:48 AM shy: yea....sucks doesn't it! To put it in perspective: my body operates differently at this weight than my counterpart of the same size who has never had a weight problem. I've got hundreds of thousands of empty fat cells clamouring to be refilled, my natural setpoint is higher and my body will fight for years to return to it, my metabolism is a little slower and my hormone levels (i.e. leptin) are out of wack and will remain so for years. Adding that extra 100-200 calorie burn daily just sorta keeps all that nasty stuff in line. Thanks choo, makes sense now I'm thinking 100-200 calories a day equals taking stairs at work, walking to and from work...things like that...so not bad. Just means trying to make the most of any exercise opportunities you have. I guess we have to get our body used to a new setpoint.



NicC	Jun 6 2007, 04:27 PM Post #7
Elite Posts: 2,250 Group: Moderator Member #9 Joined: May 22, 2007 Favorite Fruit? cherries, grapefruit, mango, fresh pineapple, in season apples Favorite Vegetable? cucumber, red peppers Favorite Exercise? cycling	Awesome - thank you!
	I'm a FALL CHALLENGE participant!


MagicRe	Jun 7 2007, 08:26 AM Post #8
Newbie Posts: 38 Group: Friend Member #20 Joined: June 2, 2007	good one, choo....i think i avoided doing every item on that list. i've been reading up on body recomposition and resetting one's metabolism and wow, whoever invented weight watchers and nutrisystem and other programs of that nature really knew how to sabotage any permanence in keeping the weight off. having just gotten off the 'oops, how did THAT happen?', when i look back, what really sticks out was the goal, not the journey. it was always about getting to 130 lbs. or 117 lbs. or whatever. there was 'talk' about developing muscle, talk about heart health, but no substance. it was about the scale and the number. no wonder many gain it back.
	We'll count this one as Take Two.


sapphire	Jun 7 2007, 09:42 AM Post #9
Advanced Posts: 809 Group: VIP Member #5 Joined: May 20, 2007 Favorite Fruit? Custard apple, pomelo, orange Favorite Vegetable? Cucumber Favorite Exercise? kickboxing, cross-trainer, rowing Healthy Lifestyle Goal? To eventually be at 140 lbs with muscle tone, and to run my first 5k race.	Great post, choochoo. Thanks for sharing it.



flowerfluffgirl	Jun 7 2007, 07:01 PM Post #10
Advanced Posts: 511 Group: VIP Member #18 Joined: May 30, 2007	I can really relate to number 20! I got overweight due to sheer laziness. I hated cooking, it was an annoying 'chore' day after day, so I'd eat takeaway food at least 5 days per week. Looking back now I think HOW DISGUSTING!!! Now that I actually know how to cook basic things, I am starting to enjoy it and I always look forward to trying new things.
	Age: 30 Height: 5'6"


Happyjaxx	Aug 6 2008, 01:17 PM Post #11
Advanced Posts: 763 Group: VIP Member #13 Joined: May 25, 2007	I reported you ******** :joker: EDIT: Thank you for reporting this spammer Jaxx! Posts and person have been deleted and banned. You rock for helping keep the nasties out! Edited by TeachX3**, Aug 6 2008, 04:29 PM.
	HW:227.8 GW:140.0 Goal#1: ONEderland


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