Long time maintainers how do you do it

I'd like to hear from other folks who've maintained their weight loss for several years or so.
What do you do to maintain?
What sort of lifestyle changes did you make while losing or after that made it easier (or possible?) to maintain your loss?
And, are you active/do you exercise regularly?

What works for you?

Thanks. It just seems with all the discussions about LOSING weight, hearing from some long time maintainers would be helpful. Since THAT is one of the biggest challenges.

cheers

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unknown

Sabine_Stroehm wrote: »

I'd like to hear from other folks who've maintained their weight loss for several years or so.
What do you do to maintain?
What sort of lifestyle changes did you make while losing or after that made it easier (or possible?) to maintain your loss?
And, are you active/do you exercise regularly?

What works for you?

Thanks. It just seems with all the discussions about LOSING weight, hearing from some long time maintainers would be helpful. Since THAT is one of the biggest challenges.

cheers

i started my journey to get back in shape jan 1 2012 and have kept it all off, if not lost more inches and gained more muscle. at 39, i'm in the best shape of my life; even better than when i was in my early 20s.

i eat clean 99% of the time. to me, the food we eat are choices we make and i choose to eat well in order to feel and look well. if i want the odd dessert, i save that for when it's truly worth it (ie. i eat my one fav dessert on my birthday and i eat the hell out of that). what we eat is what will either help you maintain, lose weight or gain weight so i choose to eat healthy. i know what foods work for me and i stick to my staples. this has helped me the most.

in terms of lifestyle changes - getting healthy meant learning what foods work for me and what exercises work for me. i stick to my 5-6day/week workouts and coupled with clean eating, that's helped me maintain what i've lost and these days, i've lost more inches due to cutting out grains (that started out as an experiment to fix my skin and sensitive gums) and starting a different type of exercise in the past 6 months.

since i started, i have worked out 5-6 days a week. i've since stuck to that and have increased to 7 days a week just because it's nice outside and prefer to be outdoors doing things instead of being indoors.

so for me: maintenance has always been about food and staying active. if i'm at home, i'm rarely watching TV but i'm doing something/moving around.

unknown

So many wonderful and diverse replies to this thread. Thanks to everyone who has taken the time to reply.

unknown

I have maintained for 8 years. I admit to bouncing around with the last 15 pounds and regaining that amount and losing it. My highest weight was 191. I am 138 now.

I move more now than I did.. Walking shopping chores.
I weigh myself nearly every day
I know that vacations and holidays are generally going to involve restricting afterwards to get back ontrack

unknown

I don't think I've responded to this yet-great idea for a thread Sabine

My two year maintenance anniversary was last month-

What do you do to maintain?

-16:8IF (eating window 11am-7pm most days)
-daily weigh-ins, that I track on an app
-always follow serving suggestions
-use my food scale on a regular basis
-spot check days with occasional food logging on MFP
-sort of follow the TDEE method to figure out my calories

What sort of lifestyle changes did you make while losing or after that made it easier (or possible?) to maintain your loss?

-I didn't really change anything major, except make my weight/health a focus in my life

And, are you active/do you exercise regularly?

-I did not exercise at all during my active weight loss phase, but after I transitioned into maintenance I realized I needed new goals, to help keep me focused. I now change my fitness goals by season, and for spring I'm walking 2-6 miles a week, and then doing two body-weight strength training challenges (push-ups, squats). After the challenges wrap up, I'll take a week off and then start my summer routine-walking and then 3 new strength training challenges (pull-ups, lunges and crunches)

What works for you?

For me-the most important thing about weight loss and now successfully maintaining is mindset. Once I got my head in the right place, everything else fell into place

I'm constantly evaluating what I'm doing, seeing what's working/not working, and adjusting as necessary. I'm in this for the long term and I'm having a lot of fun with it!

unknown

Very useful thread. Would have been so helpful to read when I was first starting out! Thanks for starting it OP!

I lost 80 lbs in 2012 - 2013 and have been maintaining for 2 years this month! I never yo-yo'ed prior, I was just content being overweight but it came to a point where I became obese and needed to make changes.

- Being aware of what I eat is very important. Whether it's a holiday, vacation, my birthday or a rainy Tuesday if I consume it I write it down. I enjoy all foods in moderation, but again I'm mindful about what I'm eating.

- Saving calories for weekend really helps me. I eat a little less calories during the week and eat a little more during the weekend. It keeps me balanced so I don't lose weight or gain. On a typical week Friday night's are pizza nights, I usually go out to eat on Saturday night and cook everything else at home. Being doing this since losing weight and I haven't gained...maybe some water weight, but that goes away in a day or two easily.

- Eating larger meals less frequently really, really, really helps me. In other words I unintentionally IF and it keeps me full and happy. I learned mini-meals and snacking all day was not a good fit for me.

- Staying active daily. Not just to burn calories, but for my heart health, to keep my health numbers in healthy ranges and to look good naked and be physically fit. Speed walking, lifting and Pilates (all with no gym membership) has given me my desired figure and keep things firm and tight.

- Honorable mention: I rarely drink calories. I make smoothies, shakes and freshly squeezed OJ/grapefruit juice and fresh lemonade at home, but I mean things like store bought juice, pop, alcohol etc. My tastebuds just changed and I just don't want it.

I'm pushing 40, in the best shape of my life and look and feel better than I did in high school/university. Feels really good.

Everything I'm doing I can do for the rest of my life, but I'm still always reading, researching, learning and growing.