Food for thought

[BordersGirl]

I started S&S the same day as a friend at work started LL. She's seen people come and go in her LL group since she started last August but she said that this week 2 new people started. Apparently they had both done LL just over a year before and had lost substantial amounts of weight, and both had put it all back on a more WITHIN A YEAR!!! and were back to around 20 stone.

I found that quite shocking actually. That someone can lose something like 6 stone and pile it all back on so quickly. I think we all understand that the maintenance bit is where the hard work starts but what makes someone lose 6 stone or so and then return to old habits that pile the weight back on so quickly? Every single person here has aspirations of doing maintenance properly but if you believe what you read in the press around 95% of people who diet will put the weight back on and more. So if there are 20 people doing this diet only 1 of us will not be back at our original weight after failing at maintenance.

I've done a VLCD before, 6 years ago, and I did maintain quite successfully for about 2 years. I then got a job that required lots of travelling and staying in hotels, and excessive eating and drinking every night piled it back on. I didn't have to eat the hotel breakfast every morning though that often included the cooked option that I would never have had at home. And of course it should have meant that I didn't need lunch but I had that too before indulging in an evening meal. Just excuses really as if I had been more careful I could have maintained a lot more successfully, but the point is that I didn't and what makes me think this time round will be any different. Yes, I have good intentions, but good intentions are really not enough, I need to get my head straight to stop myself from over indulging.

And all the time I was putting on the weight last time I somehow justified being above the very 'top' weight that I had said to myself would trigger returning to a diet because I kept telling myself that I could just do another VLCD again to lose it again, and up and up I went. You only have to visit the more established VLCD forums to see the number of people who have lost weight on the diet, piled all or some of it back on, and are back again to lose it (in some cases multiple times). I don't really want to be that person but how can I make sure that I'm not?

I saw someone at work last week who I hadn't seen for a few months. She remarked on my weight loss (and I replied with the normal "I've still got 2 stone to go" comment rather than taking the compliment) and I said that I needed to keep it off this time round. 'Not that you have that problem' I said to her. She is in her 50s, has a fantastic figure (probably a size 10) and always looks glamorous. The sort of person who could wear a sack and make it look stylish. Her reply surprised me actually. She said that she often fancied certain things but didn't have them because she knew that it was over indulgent and that she's in the right mindset to stop herself. It's just a mindset she said to me. It's not like she doesn't eat anything or lives on thin air because I've been out for a meal with her and she definitely eats then, but she's obviously got the art of adjusting her food intake to maintain her weight but to allow herself treats and things too. I just wish I could have that mindset but I don't think it's in me.

So I'll no doubt blunder towards maintenance and put some on, and maybe take some off and I'm largely ok with that if I can stop myself from gaining and gaining. It's hard work though, and much harder than this diet. So whilst it's taking me a while to lose the weight on this diet it's also quite comforting because it's time that I don't have to worry about maintaining. For me it's definitely the maintenance side that I worry about as I think that it's incredibly difficult.

 

[weasey]

I have spoken to quite a few people in lighter life who are returners and it seems to me that the vast majority of them didn't do the re-feeding phase. They reached goal and then left without slowly reducing packs and adding in other foods. They often also stopped weighing themselves. It seems to me that if I get to the end and think 'well - that's the dieting finished' then I will definitely put it back on and quickly!

I feel that I will have to watch what I eat for the rest of my life. I will also need to make exercise a normal part of my life. I feel that I will need to set goals and keep achieving things after the weight is lost - such as fitness goals - as that really motivates me.

What makes a difference is the time which you spend thinking about maintenance and how to achieve it. You've obviously been giving this lots of thought and that gives you a great chance. Good luck!

 

[Blue Butterfly]

I suppose then that really losing weight is the easy part and keeping it off will be the hard one.

I did LL years ago and there was a lady in my group who had lost 10 stone but put 8 back on in just 1 year, I was quite shocked.

I think the only way I am going to be able to keep the weight off when I get to goal is to reintroduce food very slowly and always be mindful of what I'm putting in my mouth.
I dont plan on following a diet for the rest of my life, that would be boring and drive me mad, but I will make better choices and eat smaller portions.
I will also weigh myself weekly and give myself a 7lb buffer each way so hopefully my weight will never get out of control again.

 

[twinkabelle]

This is def something I've thought a lot about, 7 yrs ago I lost 6 stone with ww and kept it off for a couple of years but then when I was pregnant I gained it all back x

I really don't want to do that again as I hate being overweight x

So I think about why things went wrong , where it went wrong and what I can do differently this time around x

So far my thoughts on this are that life is do busy that I skip meals then snack on quick easy rubbish during the day then eat massive family meals at night then comfort eat as well ..,.,,,,

So to fix this I need quick easy very low fat things during the day, I need small low fat family meals at night and with this and some extra thought I need to sort my comfort eating issues , I think more self confidence will help here x plus I need to add exercise into my life x

I think for a while at least I will use ss for breakfast and lunch on a week day basis and then low fat family meals in the evening then the weekend will be whatever I want to eat within reason, I've also recently taken up taekwondo so I want to continue with that twice a week plus when I've lost a couple of stones I want to take up jogging until then I'm starting to walk more .........

Of course I may think of something else as I go along but right now this is how I see my future x besides I love the shakes and bars and they are so convenient x and I can get my choccy fix that way x

I just want a simple way to live afterwards I don't wanna count pp or have red days green days for the rest of my life x bit I do know at the min the thin person inside me is trying to get out but when I'm slim the bigger me will be waiting just around the corner and if I don't keep my eye on things I'll be right back here again x

Sorry going on and on lol x

 

[Maka]

For me, the issues I need to get my head around before and during maintenance are:

1)I don't have to eat everything off my plate. That may mean using smaller plates, cooking just enough food (cos I can't bear wasting) and making sure that the "just enough" food is healthier for me and my family.

2) Food is not a reward. I've started learning to treat myself in other ways - get my hair, nails etc done, a new outfit...I'm still mustering the courage to treat myself to a full-body massage. At the end of a working week, a bottle of bubbly, crisps and chocs was a treat while watching a chick flick on the comfy couch. So how do I replace that? Mmmmm, still thinking, still learning....

3) Drink water. I won't even go into this one...I mustn't stop the glugging when I reach goal!

4) Weigh daily. Denial's what got me here in the first place, so I've got to do something about unwanted pounds before they pile on.

5) Keep active. I've made a good start this year and even when I can't hit the gym or pool, just putting on a pair of trainers and walking will help. Why can't I just believe that!!!

 

[Cherry-Blossom]

Since before I started on this diet I was thinking about how I would maintain when I came off as I knew there was no point in starting if I was going to go back to exactly how I was.

I've decided to go back to slimming world to retrain myself what to eat whilst using smaller plates as well as coming up with some rules.


I should only eat at meal times, if I'm hungry between meals I can only have fruit etc.
I need to keep drinking water.
I need to actually control my portion sizes and make sure they're sensible.
I cannot eat certain foods more than once a day (including bread and cheese).
I can have treats but only a sensible amount, not every day.
If I'm bored, stressed etc. I should find something else to do. Not eat my feelings.




I don't want to diet for the rest of my life and I know that by doing sw I will eventually know instinctively whether or not it's the right kind of food. Plus it will give me a weekly weigh in to keep me on track and if I start to fall off I can do their fast forward to get my head back in gear.

 

[Suze012]

I will be doing ww forever.... Lol i will no doubt go up n down but i know i need a slimming club to keep it controlled. I managed it for 4 years till pregnancy, so know i can maintain, just not good at letting loose which i did when i was preggars, i cancelled ww and ate hunners! Next pregnancy, im still going to ww through it but going to stick to the points allowance for my height weight etc to stay the same and maintain. Oh n when i say maintain i dont mean a healthy bmi for me i mean about 12stone which im happy with xx

 

[weasey]

I have started to develop some rules for maintenance but am still at an early stage of working out what I want to do. A couple of the most important for me are to compensate - if I have a higher calorie lunch then I need to compensate with my tea THAT DAY. Strangely enough I have never done that - even though it's pretty obvious really! Also, I will not have bread in the house unless we have visitors. If bread is there then I will eat it. I'll still allow myself bread when I'm out though.

 

[PrincessK4ty]

I did cambridge last year and lost 4 stone and have since put 1.5 stone back on (6lb of which I have now lost ). I didnt go through their re-feeding plan and I put on a stone in basically the first six weeks. There or there abouts I have then pretty much maintained.

Putting that 1.5 stone on for me has been enough to get straight back onto a VLCD. I didnt put as much effort into maintaining as I think I should have.

My problem was.. I never lost all of the weight that I wanted to and therefore didn't want to stay the same weight I was so was slightly Lax about it... however I am not sure that once I have all of this I will be able to keep it off.

The things I have learnt and did adjust to my 8 months not on a diet was...
I didn't need to eat everything on the plate... if a little bit went to waste it didn't matter.
When I'm full then stop eating (having a bf to polish off the rest helps my guilt).
When I go out drinking it's better to have a low fat albeit high carb meal rather than a huge mcdonalds on the way home.
To limit my alcohol intake even though I drank more frequently in the 8 months.. I wouldn't go for a binge.
And I also learnt what triggered me to eat things like chocolate and sweets and fatty foods and instead I would just let it pass or do something else to occupy me.
I also drink so much more water than I did previously.
Exercise became a regular thing... that I didn't mind too much!

I completely agree with you BG and it is the most important thing about dieting... until your body settles and realises this is the weight it is going to stick at... which I can imagine is a couple of years down the line... your diet does have to be carefully monitored and everything has to be done in moderation.

I'm with twinkable on this one... in the week I'm more than happy to eat perfectly healthy... but weekend... they are my times for me. But I'm more than happy to let my body settle and re-adjust.

Once I have it all off... it aint coming back!!! x x

 

[weasey]

I think planning will be really important for me. Planning what meals I will have over the next week. Planning lighter meals if I know I'm going out for a meal another time. Making sure I always have something healthy easy to hand so if I come in from work having had a hectic day it isn't the unhealthy stuff which is the easiest to go for.

 

[Giza]

Some great stories here and each holding more than one lesson I can learn from. My story is that I don't trust myself. How many times do we have to let ourselves down before understanding we need help? I've been here before. My adult photo album has me at every size from 12-30, mainly the upper ranges for the past ten years. Simply put, I have a problem with food. Not chucking it up or bingeing it in but eating normally and with portion control. Multiple reasons, some of which I'm not even aware of, but this is the only thing I'm sure of. I have a problem with food. I love the stuff; I have no concept of being full, portion control, 'real' hunger. So all I know for sure is that I can't do it alone at goal. When I come off this I know I will need support. I'm sooo not a group person so I'm planning to find someone, counsellor, therapist, something on those lines cos left to my own devices I'm going to blow it. That's not negative, it's realistic. It's been an easy path to this stage, far from goal but reaching my lightest weight in ten years. I got there this morning at 200.2 lbs. Tomorrow or the next day when I get out of the 200s I'm going to have a little cry (why not, water out is a good thing!!!) and then promise myself that I won't be back here again and once again remind myself that I will need help to achieve this. I deserve to put all my ducks in a row and we ain't talking roast with a side of orange sauce! Good luck everyone, we need that and some pre-planning!

 

[weasey]

I've been thinking about therapy at the end too. I am doing lighter life and using slim and save packs to substitute a lot as they are nicer! The lighter life comes with group therapy, although the usefulness depends a lot on the quality of the councillor. I've decided to stay with LL rather than going 100% slim and save as I think I'll need the support during re-feeding. However, I am also considering real individual therapy during maintenance in order to keep me on track. I'll see how I feel closer to the time but I have it as a definite possibility.