Hi Maintainers!

I'm so excited that Jimmy started this forum for us. Maintenance is the hardest part about losing weight because it is forever!

Join me here on this Journey to Good Health and let's learn from eachother how to maintain our accomplishments!

Welcome to this new stage of life!!!

I'm available to help answer questions about maintenance, too! Happy to have you leading this forum, Christin!

Thanks for adding this forum, Jimmy. Maintenance is the hardest and longest phase and I'm still learning what I should and shouldn't do. I'm not in any hurry though and I'm enjoying it for the most part. I still do stupid things to sabotage myself at times but I'm gradually getting better.

What do you guys think about adding a Weekly Weigh-in thread? A place where we can all report in at least once a week to let each other know how we're doing with maintenance?

Margarita

Don't we all do those "stupid" things, Linda! But we learn from them and move forward.

I think a weekly weigh-in thread is a great idea! We have done that at the other boards and it works well.

The others are on Fridays....so?

Bella

Bella, so nice to see you here! I was actually planning on going back to the LCF maintenance board and let you, Suzanna and Rebecca know that I had moved over here, now that Jimmy started a maintenance board.

I'll start the weekly weigh in thread. And LindaSue, 5 lbs is nothing in the scheme of things. You'll drop that again.

I've found that a weekly place to report in helps me to keep on track since I feel like I'm accountable to someone. And it's also a great place to let others know about your successes. When you're on maintenance, a 1 lb loss can be huge, and it's nice to have others around who understand that.

Margarita

Sugar is the worst for me too. Followed by bread, rice, potatoes, flour ... white stuff. I'm not 100% sure, but I think that I can eat anything except the items listed above, and not gain weight. That sounds kind of silly that I didn't know that, but ... I didn't know that until I started low carbing.

I have no trouble at all avoiding potatoes, pasta, bread and rice. I don't even think of them as edible foods anymore. What gets me is ice cream. I calls my name, LOL. I have to keep some in the freezer for my husband. Usually I'll buy him flavors that I don't like but he eventually gets bored and wants the yummy kinds and then the temptation is back. I'm getting better about it but it's taken me way too long to learn my lesson. I would probably be fine weight-wise if I could be satisfied with a tiny serving of it as a special treat now and then but I never am. It triggers a binge EVERY time.

OK ... so here's my trigger food. I'm almost embarrassed to tell anyone this. Whenever I bring one of those broasted chickens into the house (Tyson, Boston Market, etc.), I have to eat the whole thing. And then I have to eat every bit of food in the entire house.

I think they inject them with something that triggers me. I know the Tyson brand has one carb per serving. How can that be? It's chicken. Chicken doesn't have any carbs ... unless you inject it with sugar?

So I won't bring broasted chickens into my house. Once in a while my husband will bring one home, and I have to force myself not to have even one little piece, or off I go on a binge.

Margarita

Oh, I regularly eat the whole rotisserie chicken...EXCELLENT fat and protein! Of course, you do have to watch out for injected sugars, but these are an awesome meal.

I am a total believer in reading ingredient lists now!! When I started this practice I was shocked when I saw what is put in some of the things that I enjoy!

Christin, have you heard of Stella Style. A KK friend I still follow just got a cookbook and I goggled it to see what it was. I had never heard of it. Looks like a whole family who have had great success. Briefly read some stuff there and it sounds pretty sound-pardon the pun.

Also, did you see this weeks WW? Pushing >35 grams of fiber. Wow.

I personally don't know how people who are searching ever find a plan for them. Right or wrong, I glad I found "my way" getting started at KK.

Now to find the sustaining factor. I have so far for the last 6 weeks but still want to drop 9#s. I'm in no hurry. Very comfy in my clothes and body. Just want a little more wiggle room.

So glad I'm finding my comfort zone here also.

Luv ya!

Hey LadyBug! I blogged about Stella Style in the past and it is run by George Stella who had his own television show on The Food Network before the executives there decided low-carb was dead and they yanked his show. But his entire family did indeed lose weight on the Atkins diet and they created a business out of that experience.

I wrote a book review of Eating Stella Style and even highlighted a fabulous weight loss success story of a beautiful woman who went on the plan.

Hey everyone! I plan to join your weekly weigh in, but right now I am either too early or too late.

I've been maintaining for about a month although I would love to lose just a few more to get into the low range of my desired weight. I spent the summer at KK and lost 28 pounds. This is actually the second time I LC'ed to lose weight. I gained it back last time. I agree that maintenance is definitely harder than losing weight. Hopefully this time I will get it right (that's where you all come in!)

I found two of George Stella's cookbooks as well as a couple of Dana Carpender's at a used book store near me. I love them all. Of course, my husband doesn't understand why I love reading recipes more than actually cooking them. (Of course, LindaSue inspires me!)

Hi Everyone and you especially Chris-Steamy you hottie!!

I ate a high carb meal tonight, salad bar, grilled chicken fetucini (sp?) alfredo and garlic bread sticks. I ate half the fetucinni and one bite of the bread stick. The bread tasted and felt like butter/garlic covered sawdust. The fetucini was wonderful but I felt like I had swallowed a brick!!!! I came home and did 40 minutes and two miles on the tread mill. I felt better then. The main thing though was that I stopped eating when I was full. I did have to do a lot of positive self talk to keep from beating up on myself for having a normal meal. I did not overeat. My first reaction though when I was walking out of the restaurant was to play that nasty old tape about how weak I am and how I ruined my diet and I'm going to weigh 400 pounds if I do it again. No, I am not going to weigh 400 pounds and no, I did not ruin my life by having a decadent meal. I knew going into it what I was doing, and it was as much as an experiment as an indulgence. I excercised after and am still not the least bit hungry and I ate at 5pm. Now I will have to see what happens to my cravings levels.

Christin you are right that maintenance and our new bodies are like new babies that must be tended and watched very carefully and treated with love and gentleness.

I will definitely let you know how I react tomorrow.

Indy48

Saturday afternoon 10/06 - I thought I would tack on my reactions to yesterday's carb load. The weather is so super here! It has been so warm that we still have not turned on the furnace and it is a week into October!!! Never before and I lived in MI and northern IN all my life. I guess everyone is out enjoying the weekend.

First of all, everything I add to my carb load makes me go potty - lots! This at first upset me, but then I thought this may be a normal reaction to changing my diet. When we go on a low carb/no carb diet we have withdrawal, no matter what the plan is. We get headaches, nausea, lightheaded, lethargic and constipated. Expecting lower GI changes when adding is most likely normal. Any thoughts?

Secondly, I am noticing a marked increase in my interest in food today. I am in no way hungry. As a matter of fact, I feel stuffed. DH and I went out to breakfast, normal for Saturday morning and I ordered my usual "only the omelet", cut it in half and brought half home. I just finished the other half about an hour ago for a late lunch. So, I know that this rise in food interest is a reaction to yesterday's fettucini (finally got the spelling right ).

I have the sense of being an observer in this little game. I know what my mind is doing and why it is doing it. That helps a whole lot. I also know that I'm swimming in shark (carb) infested waters and I'd better get back to ankle depth quickly.

Finally, my reaction to cope with the heightened food interest is to come here and type this whole thing up. Helps a lot. Totally grateful for this site and the interest here.

As a point of protocol, is this the appropriate thread for these musings? I don't want to monopolize or hijack the thread. Let me know if I am out of line.

88 degrees in SW lower MI on October 6 I'll hit the treadmill after it cools off