Maintenance Club

Di - I am wondering if you are eating differently now that you are back at schoold - cutting out snacks that you were having or having a different sort of lunch. That is quite a drop when you werent aiming for one! It probably is a good idea for you to go back to fitday to see where you are. That will confirm whether you need more calories and what you are short in...

I dont think that there is too much for you to worry about regarding being just under zone when you have such a narrow zone (as long as you do not drift lower). If your zone was a little wider with the same top limit you would probably still be within zone. Everyone's weight varies a bit from day to day (and through the day too).

Its a shame that you feel stress with your work. That can affect our health in other ways than weight control - which is not good. Maybe meditation would help.

My weight is still floating above my zone - but I cannot really think of anything that I can do about it. I am sure that it is sodium as I was nicely in zone on Saturday morning and I know for a fact that I didnt have 7000 calories above maintenance on Saturday night!!! My food is good and I have done 6.5 miles on the treadmill at 4.3mph today. I plan on having the extra half litre of water. I dont think that the situation warrants having a litre extra yet...

Take care
Margaret
 
It sounds like you are getting loads of exercise, Margaret! Good for you...the most mile I ever log daily on my treadmill is about 4.3 or so. On days that I take a walk outside (gotta enjoy those while I can...before bad weather is here to stay!), I tend to walk about 3-3.5. So, you are blowing me out of the water! I am sure that weight will adjust very soon and you will be firmly back in your zone!

I am sure you are correct, that, yes, I probably am eating lighter lunches here at school, and less snacking too. I do keep a few snacks here in my room to munch on mid-afternoon, but I am sure it is less than while home over the summer break. I need to think of how best to deal with and adjust this.
On the other hand...I feel like when I come home that I am grabbing everything in site to munch on before I have my supper, which is my largest meal with the most calories. I am afraid this may catch up with me eventually.

I guess it is obvious to even the casual reader, that I am still very new to this maintenance thing and I have a lot to learn. That's why I appreciate this thread and ALL advice!
Di
 
I have decided to stop being so concerned about my weight for a while - and just keep the exercise and food tight... My weight is still above where it was on Saturday and I would have expected a sodium gain to be down before now!!! A glance at the calendar has however reminded me that my weight should be climbing just about now... I am wondering whether my pre-TOM gain and sodium loss have gone some way towards cancelling each other out. I will have a better idea as / when I see a further gain. I have decided to keep drinking the extra half litre of water though until I am back into zone as it cannot harm anything and may help...

I keep reminding myself that it is fat that counts and not weight.

I am a novice when it comes to weight maintenance too. I suspect that Cate and Kara have much more experience than either of us... Still - we have each other's support and we are all finding out what we can. I joined both Weight Watchers and Slimming World as part of my long term strategy for maintenance as I wanted to know what they had to say on the subject. Cate will be an expert on the Cohen's philosophy too. We should have a fair bit of good advice heading our way one way and another...
 
It's been kinda quiet in here...how is everyone doing?
I am hangin' in here. Weight this AM was the same...115.2. I can live with that. I feel like I am eating well, for the most part, and I am feeling good when I work out. This gives me a little wiggle room for a gain also, which is always a good thing!

Going hiking at a state park today with hubby and son...so that will replace my usual workout. Hope I can keep up with them...when I was 40+ pounds heavier, I could never keep up and the hills killed me. I am curious to see how I feel and perform now that I am in shape! Hope I shock both of them!

Hope everyone is doing well!
Di
 
I'm doing find thanks Di. My weight is much the same - so I have given up caring about it. I am still drinking the extra half litre of water and have done my standard 6.5 miles on the treadmill - I do that whatever else I do. I have been out getting my face lasered today (I just love the facial hair that comes as one of my PCOS symptoms). Food is pretty much the same stuff every day - I only tend to change my evening meal. At least if I stick to the same stuff there is little to send me off track.

The doctor who does my lasering also happens to be a plastic surgeon (he owns the laser clinic as a side-line and sometimes does a Sunday shift there) so I was pumping him for information and advice. I am really wanting my loose skin sorted out - my boobs and tummy are a nightmare... I have an appointment with the breast consultant tomorrow so am hoping that goes well. One of the consultant's colleagues - a doctor who did an ultrasound on my breasts a couple of weeks ago was convinced that he would want to support my cause...

Margaret
 
Margaret...good luck with the breast consultant. Are you thinking of a breast lift and removal of skin? I had a breast reduction 10 years ago...best thing I ever did! I looked and felt so much better afterwards. Of course, with this recent loss of 40+ pounds, by breasts are the smallest they have ever been since I was a child! Not that I am complaining...I spent so many years carrying around too large breasts, having an aching back, and feeling like I was always being stared at! I am sure you can relate!

Anyway, I am looking forward to hearing what you find out tomorrow. Good luck! Will you also be considering other skin removal in other parts of your body eventually? Is your stomach the worst area?

By the way...I like your attitude towards your weight...wish I could get to that point where I am not obsessing over the stupid number on the scale!

Di
 
I am ok with my weight as long as I know that my food has been good and my exercise has been good. For me that means that I have to have walked 6.5 miles minimum. I tend to eat a pretty repetitive diet when at home - eating the same meals and snacks through the day - only really changing the main meal and the time that I have the snacks. I tend to stick to the same list of main meals and I know that they are roughly interchangeable from a nutrition perspective so I have a good idea that I have hit all my nutritional targets whether I log on fitday or not (as long as I stick to the standard format).

I desperately want my breasts to be reduced. I have been left with two enormous boobs which are almost empty. There is nothing that I can do but bundle them up into a well fitting bra. I am currently wearing size 30HH. They are far too heavy and do not fit with the rest of me at all. To make matters worse they are lumpy and I cannot examine them properly. In recent weeks they have been confirmed as lumpy, mammogram done which highlighted potential problems, I then had to go for an immediate appointment to have an ultrasound done which thankfully came out fine. If they do not sort them out I cannot envisage any choice but to loop around getting them checked again very regularly. How else can I know whether any potentially harmful lumps have developed...

I would really like a tummy tuck done too as my stomach is my other really very bad area.

If money was no object I think that I would like something to sort out the tops of my legs too.

When I think of the amount of weight that I have lost I can honestly say that I think that I have less skin than I deserve to have. My arms are good - indeed many women of my age (50) that have always been skinny have worse arms than I have. Strangely my back is pretty good too. I have no obvious loose skin problems in my face and neck area. I am quite lucky to be able to say that most people who saw me fully clothed would not guess how much weight I have lost or how much loose skin I carry.
 
Yesterday was very stressful at school...it's a long story...but by the time I got home I was ready to eat everything that didn't move! I did go outside and take a long walk, even though the wind was blowing like mad! But, when I came back I munched on everything I could find! Then ate a full supper! YIKES! Hope today is a calmer day...

Margaret...how did your consultation with the breast expert go? Are you going to have surgery?

Have a calm day, everyone!
Di
 
I'm sorry that things were so stressful for you. Far too many of us have a natural inclination to eat when that happens - I suppose that was one of the factors that caused us to gain weight and therefore led to us coming here...

I hope that things are less stressful today for you.

I keep a lot of fruit in the house and there are times when I eat far too much of it for my own good. I kind of figure that it is going to be not doing me so much harm compared to a lot of things. It is lower in calories that a lot of sweet things, at least provides fibre and vitamins, and I always hope that it will pass through in the direction of the toilet.

The consultant was very nice and he said that it will be down to the PCT giving the funds but that he will say that he is in support of my application. He said that he thinks that they will ask to see photos but he is convinced that they will give me the funds so he said that it is best to put in photos with the application to save a predictable delay... He filled in the form for me to have the photos taken at the hospital so that the shots are done properly... LOL - apparently the shots will just cover the area in question so will not be able to be identified as me - but I had to sign that they can be used in medical education and / or medical / scientific journals... In years to come if you see any really sad boobs in a medical journal - it could be me!!!!!

He said that the skin of my boobs have been stretched so that they can never look perfect - but that he can see a way of folding them round so that they look a whole lot more normal than they do now in a lift and skin reduction procedure.

I dont think that anything ever happens quickly in the NHS unless it is classed as a medical emergency - in which case it is excellent from a medical perspective.

Last year I was rushed into hospital on the Wednesday night for an emergency hernia when my bowel got tangled in my tummy button. I had the operation on the Thursday. The medical care was excellent and everything was clean. Having said that many people would find things to criticise. I spent three nights in three different shared rooms. Luckily I got Rod to bring in my mobile phone as there was no phone. The last night that I was there it was bitterly cold.

Still - I dont really care about the "hotel" aspects as long as the medical and cleanliness side is right...
 
Hey everyone. Just dropping in to say hi and see how you're doing.

Margaret - I have my fingers crossed for your procedure. I can't imagine that they wouldn't approve it, since at this point it's affecting your ability to be properly screened for breast cancer and so forth.

Di - Sounds like you're doing well. Good on you for resisting the desire to eat everything. I *so* know how that feels - my first impulse when I'm stressed is to buy a bag of potato chips and chow down on the whole thing. I am totally a stress and emotional eater. *sigh*

Things are going ok with me. I had to go to court on Friday and that turned out ok - not the optimal result, but it wasn't necessarily *bad*. It just means I have more work to do to prove my side, which means shuffling through about 2 years worth of paperwork. Good thing I'm a pack rat and keep EVERYTHING.

I'm still holding steady at 168 lbs and that frustrates me. The 160s and 170s seem to be this big black hole for me. I got there fairly quickly, and maintained there easily, but I can't seem to drop below that. I think it's as much mental as physical. I just need to get my act together.

Workout wise, I am giving myself a good old-fashioned kick in the ass. I have been going to workout during my lunch hours with a co-worker and she's one of those people who believes that you have to lift "girly" weights or bulk up. So I've kind of slacked off on my weight lifting and the intensity of my cardio to accommodate her.

Yesterday I made the commitment that I will still go with her at lunch 3x a week, but I am also going to go after work 3x a week and those will be my hard lifting days - getting back into a variation of the Stronglifts program - sort of a combination between Stronglifts and what Steve set up as a program in one of his sticky threads. I went last night and did:
Squats 80 lbs - 3x8
Lunges 30 lbs - 2x12
Bench Press 65 lbs - 3x8
Military Press 30 lbs - 3x12
Pushups - 3x15
Reverse crunches 3x15
 
Kara - I know that your food will be going well so it probably was a good idea to review the exercise element. It is a shame when we modify our approach to accomodate others (peer group pressure still applies at any age) and then suffer the consequences of not following the path that we would have preferred in the first place. Your body probably thought that you were taking things easy - I am sure that it will have noticed the difference. Hopefully the scales will start to move for you.

I have long said that I dont run anywhere - but that is not now completely true... Over the past week or so I have been doing an occasional minute at 5.5mph when on my treadmill. I am not sure whether I class that as jogging or running since I cannot see me dare to go faster than that... Since most days I do at least part of my walk on there if not all of it - that is a little burst of different activity every day.

Yesterday was the most wierd day ever! I have over the last week or two been doing a bit of research into surgery in the UK and I came across this computer forum that is UK based. They had precious little information on weight loss and people really struggling. They also had sections on all the diets that I would not fancy doing from Lighter Life, Cambridge Diet (same "no food at all" diet - different brand), Lipotrim - you name it - it was there. They also had a section on surgery after weight loss with some interesting bits.

I felt a bit guilty having got info from them for not having put anything in. I spent a bit of time there yesterday posting on there. I was sensitive to the notion that they seemed to support wierd diets and didnt go out to "convert" anyone.

I did make a few postings in the PCOS section (and was actually thanked / given rep for them). I then went on to the calorie counting section. There were people asking how to count calories or know how many to have. One had even been told in a reply the day previously to use a website (full link given) costing £8 per month with a 5 day free trial. I quoted that reply and said that there was no need to pay £8 as you could get a free account from fitday and do it there, see your calorie balance and evaluate your nutrition. I didnt even type in the whole link - just said "fitday". I then replied in a similar manner to one or two similar queries in the calorie counting section and introductions section when people didnt know how to lose weight.

I then got permanently banned for spamming fitday LOL.

They have since deleted all my postings - at least half of them didnt mention fitday or anything like it... I had previously acquired rep from at least 2 of their mods... Wierd or what...

Now you know why you didnt see me here much yesterday....
 
Margaret...well weren't you the busy little girl yesterday! LOL! I can't believe they banned you for just suggesting fitday...you were just trying to help people...did not even involve money! Crazy!

My weight this AM was 115.4 pounds. Staying the same the past two weeks. Hmmm...maybe this is gonna be the weight my body is comfortable maintaining?? I don't know. I just know I am doing pretty much what I have always been doing...except being pretty lax in counting calories. I need to get more serious about that and get my butt back over to fitday ( the same that must not be named, LOL!)
Well, it's a rainy day here...off to school...two more days this week!

Di
 
:smilielol5:LOL - you want to watch out - we have spamming rules here too!!!!!!!:rotflmao:

I havent been able to help but laugh when I have advised people to use fitday here today...

It is such a wierd forum - would you believe that their nutrition section is combined with health and beauty it is so unimportant. Latest postings to do with fashion and hairstyles......

Anyway --- it certainly looks like your weight has settled into one nice place. As I've said before - you were trying for such a narrow range - it might be your body's way of saying that you want to live snugly down at the bottom of a range that goes down to there and is more of a normal sized range.

The weather here is fine but I chose to do my walk on the treadmill just the same. I was out a lot on Sunday, Monday and Tuesday and have things lined up for Friday and Saturday so opted for a day where I have as much time as I can have for catching up.
 
Hey...it's been awhile...I haven't been posting alot. Came down with some virus or something. No fever, just sore throat, headaches, and stuffy nose. This makes me mad...haven't felt like working out...but still have a good appetite. I am afraid I will be gaining some weight this week.

When I think about it, this is the first time I have been sick since I started my weigh loss journey. So I am really have trouble mentally with the fact that I don't feel well and can't exercise like I usually do. I will try to take a short walk after school today, if I feel up to it. Honestly, would like to just go home and crash in the recliner and veg out all night in front of the TV!

How do you others cope with maintaining your weight when you are sick?

Have a good day.
Di
 
Hey Di! I'm so sorry you're sick!

For me working out when I'm sick is the hardest thing to motivate myself to do, but in general I find I feel better if I get out and do *something*. Another thing that might help is to "reward" yourself for going out and walking with a warm bath and a cup of hot tea or something. Anything that makes you feel comforted and snuggly.

Then again, I work well on the self-bribery system. :)

Feel better soon!
 
Omega - I just got caught up with your earlier post. I'm sorry you got banned, but my goodness I had to laugh. So much for helping people, huh?

I have some things in the works that I will mention to you guys in a bit ... not to be secretive, but wanting to get all my ducks in a row and do further research before I jump.

Things are starting to shake loose here and I'm very happy about it.
 
Di - I am also sorry to hear that you are sick. Most times when I have been sick I have worked my way through it doing as much "business as usual" as possible. I just kind of forced myself to do it.

There have been two exceptions.

The first was when I was rushed into hospital on the Wednesday and needed an emergency hernia operation on the Thursday. My bowel had got tangled up in my tummy button... I got out of hospital on the Saturday and was given instructions on building up my walking. They would only let me start with 1 mile on the Sunday and increase by 1 mile each day until I got back up to my normal distance. I did that. I didnt even drop any points in the challenge that I was in at the time (amazing race I think). LOL - I even got Rod to update my scoresheet with Wednesday's weight because I didnt eat anything due to a "nil by mouth" sign until the Friday...

The second was when I had flu the following October. To be fair I was already in a bit of a mental tailspin because the goalposts had been moved on one of my main project motivators at the end of August... I didnt walk for a week when flu hit. I ate healthily throughout. After the week I never got my walking built back up to the same level. Where previously I planned on walking a minimum of 11 miles per day - I settled for 7.3 miles. I continued doing 7.3 miles until I got to goal - so it probably delayed things a bit. Further issues arose at home and I pretty much disappeared from the forum for a while too.

On the whole my advice is that if you can possibly force yourself to do something it saves a problem in the long run. If you give in completely it can be hard to get fully back to where you were. If you do a little bit at every opportunity you can build back up and be almost seamless.

Kara - I feel so sorry for those people on that other forum because some of them were in real need of help. All that they are seeing there is calorie counting not being as successful as it could be or as healthy as it could be. Every VLCD you can imagine is there and people are bound to think that it is a fine way to go about things.

There was a PCOS lady (where advice should be to limit starchy carbs) who said "does that mean to say me having gone on a sandwich diet was a bad move" after I told her to do that... She was actually having sandwiches all the time.......

No-one is doing much exercise.

No-one cares about their nutrition.

I certainly wouldnt have wanted to hang around there too long.

-------

It sounds like interesting things are going on for you Kara. I hope that the preparations go well for your new venture... It is good to hear that you are happy.
 
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Well my weight is still up - so I ended up doing a full critical evaluation of my nutrition.

Anyway I was reaching all my targets but had the protein one set on the low side (1g for each 2 lbs of goal weight) which covers the rather low RDA. I had the intention of exceeding the target.

I noticed that I had stopped exceeding it by as much as I used to...

I also came to the conclusion that my body had got used to my food plan. I decided that it was time to change things around a bit so came up with a new food plan. I had tended for some time towards 2 meals plus grazing. I have changed that for 3 meals with no grazing. I had the calories for the grazing so the calories havent really changed much.

I started the new food plan on Monday and I am happy with it so far. The only downfall is that I spend more time in the kitchen and am dirtying more dishes (thank goodness for dishwashers) since grazing is very simple to cater for... If there is a fruit and yoghurt recession (not that I have cut out the yoghurts - but I have cut down) you will know who is to blame... Yesterdays protein was a much healthier 117.5g (all from food) which was much higher than I had been hitting.
 
Thank you for the input Margaret and Kara. As always, it is most appreciated! I went outside, since the sun was shining, and took a walk after school. I felt better mentally afterwards...physically, not sure. My throat felt dry and sore afterwards, which is nothing new, but have been coughing a little more since my walk. Anyway, unless I am down for the count, I am going to muddle through when I can! I also did a little lifting, so that was good.

Tomorrow is a long 12 hour day at school, so I will be getting home late, which means no workout. But, it can't be helped...I will just try to walk as much as possible at work! The good part is, since we are working 12 hours, we get out at noon on Friday and I will be off until Tuesday, since Monday is Columbus Day holiday! Maybe, if I start feeling better, I can tackle my disgustingly dirty and mess house!

Kara...you are being so secretive...can't wait to hear more!

Thanks again,
Di
 
I do hope that you are feeling better soon.

Well done for getting some exercise in despite everything. It may seem eccentric - but as said earlier - we would be doing the same.

It sounds like the long weekend has come at a perfect time for you.

Take care.

I agree with Kara on the subject of rewarding yourself for your efforts.
 
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