Tracy's Journey Into The Unknown (Maintenance!!)
- Thread starter TracyGWill
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TracyGWill
Gold Member
Your work sound so lovelyCan I come work there?
Haha, it's pretty good, but all employers have their good and bad points, don't they?!
xx
TracyGWill
Gold Member
Lol, thanks Lexie!
I suppose it was natural to think I may have fallen off the wagon a bit, so I'm glad I hadn't! xx
TracyGWill
Gold Member
Thanks, Lisa - it did make me feel better, as I've been so anxious about going back!
xx
Scrumbles
Dancing Queen
Hi Tracy,
Couldn't pass through without congratulating you on your amazing loss - and that you're keeping it off!
As someone who has struggled badly to maintain a 6.5 stone loss over the past couple of years, to see someone who has lost significantly more succeeding in keeping it off is truly inspiring - gives me hope I might actually get there and stay there myself one of these days!
Couldn't pass through without congratulating you on your amazing loss - and that you're keeping it off!
As someone who has struggled badly to maintain a 6.5 stone loss over the past couple of years, to see someone who has lost significantly more succeeding in keeping it off is truly inspiring - gives me hope I might actually get there and stay there myself one of these days!
TracyGWill
Gold Member
Thank you so much, that's very kind of you!
I really do know how you feel, having struggled for decades to keep weight off in the long-term (losing it's the relatively easy part, isn't it?!). I've never before got to the point where I'm maintaining, so that's giving me hope this time. What plan are you following? All the best! xx
Scrumbles
Dancing Queen
You deserve all the praise in the world - what you have done/are continuing to do is one heck of an achievement, and anyone who has struggled all their life with weight issues knows just how awesome it is
As for me, I'm just plain old calorie-counting (diary in this section), which is always the best way as I'm a bit too OCD to trust that non-calorie-counted plans will work. I've done them before and find I'm second-guessing myself the whole time and worrying whether I've eaten too much or too little - not good! This way, at least I know where I'm at.
Would you mind me asking a question relating to the article about the problems of maintaining that I posted the other day in zeke's diary? I'm really interested to know what your hunger levels have been like since you've been in maintenance? Did they get noticeably worse the nearer you got to target, and how have they been since? Because I definitely noticed this effect the last two times I've scraped into the normal weight range, and I think it's one of the main things that has made it so very difficult to stay there.
Did it happen to you, and if so, how have you overcome it?
As for me, I'm just plain old calorie-counting (diary in this section), which is always the best way as I'm a bit too OCD to trust that non-calorie-counted plans will work. I've done them before and find I'm second-guessing myself the whole time and worrying whether I've eaten too much or too little - not good! This way, at least I know where I'm at.
Would you mind me asking a question relating to the article about the problems of maintaining that I posted the other day in zeke's diary? I'm really interested to know what your hunger levels have been like since you've been in maintenance? Did they get noticeably worse the nearer you got to target, and how have they been since? Because I definitely noticed this effect the last two times I've scraped into the normal weight range, and I think it's one of the main things that has made it so very difficult to stay there.
Did it happen to you, and if so, how have you overcome it?
TracyGWill
Gold Member
Thank you, hon, your kind words mean such a lot to me!
I have to say that I do feel hungry quite a lot, but that's a choice I've made by not doing one of these "never feel hungry" plans like SW. But I don't view it as a problem, I've adjusted my mindset to view hunger as a natural state, which of course it is, lol. I remember watching one of the many weight loss programmes I love (!), and one of the UK's top bariatric surgeons was saying that one of the problems today is that people have come to view hunger as something to be avoided at all costs, whereas it's actually a normal part of life, and so as soon as they feel a bit hungry they grab whatever's to hand to make it go away. Also a quote I saw really stuck with me - "hunger is not an emergency". I suppose what I'm saying is that, yes, I do get hungry, but I see it as something which is my choice. I could be less hungry by changing what I eat (eg. by not having chocolate every day!), but I choose not to, so that's how I deal with it - if that makes any sense?! I practice a form of daily fasting, where I don't eat in the morning, and I find that helps, as once I start eating I do get more hungry. Some of my friends on here do 5:2, so they fast even more!
I think it's a matter of finding what suits you best. Have you thought of trying anything like 5:2, where you only have to restrict significantly two days a week? It wouldn't suit me, with my daily chocolate fixation, but I know a lot of people have great results from it, and fasting is supposed to have lots of health benefits. xx
I have to say that I do feel hungry quite a lot, but that's a choice I've made by not doing one of these "never feel hungry" plans like SW. But I don't view it as a problem, I've adjusted my mindset to view hunger as a natural state, which of course it is, lol. I remember watching one of the many weight loss programmes I love (!), and one of the UK's top bariatric surgeons was saying that one of the problems today is that people have come to view hunger as something to be avoided at all costs, whereas it's actually a normal part of life, and so as soon as they feel a bit hungry they grab whatever's to hand to make it go away. Also a quote I saw really stuck with me - "hunger is not an emergency". I suppose what I'm saying is that, yes, I do get hungry, but I see it as something which is my choice. I could be less hungry by changing what I eat (eg. by not having chocolate every day!), but I choose not to, so that's how I deal with it - if that makes any sense?! I practice a form of daily fasting, where I don't eat in the morning, and I find that helps, as once I start eating I do get more hungry. Some of my friends on here do 5:2, so they fast even more!
I think it's a matter of finding what suits you best. Have you thought of trying anything like 5:2, where you only have to restrict significantly two days a week? It wouldn't suit me, with my daily chocolate fixation, but I know a lot of people have great results from it, and fasting is supposed to have lots of health benefits.
xx
wafflewaffle
Gold Member
Wow great explanations about hunger Tracy I am terrible for avoiding it as my stomach gets sooo loud and embarrasses me! Lol x
Lexie2005
5:2 lover
Your stomach does eventually stop making the really loud "feed me noises". I read something the other week one of those cartoony type things that said "shut up stomach you're bored not hungry" & it's true. Also your stomach doesn't actually know the difference between hunger & thirst. I have learned to always have a drink first!
I'm one of the 5:2ers Tracy is on about & for me it works, if I don't do this (been almost a year now) I can only eat 1200 cals a day & have to exercise like a demon to maintain which makes me miserable. This way I am a mardy bag 2 days a week & fine the other 5 although I a, still sensible (around 16-1700 cals)
Tracy is our SuperWoman though xx
I'm one of the 5:2ers Tracy is on about & for me it works, if I don't do this (been almost a year now) I can only eat 1200 cals a day & have to exercise like a demon to maintain which makes me miserable. This way I am a mardy bag 2 days a week & fine the other 5 although I a, still sensible (around 16-1700 cals)
Tracy is our SuperWoman though xx
TracyGWill
Gold Member
Aww, thanks Lexie! You know you were one of my first, and ongoing, inspirations on here.
You mentioned something there that I forgot to - probably the way I manage hunger the most is by drinking regularly, as that thing about hunger and thirst is very true. I don't drink water, just lots of hot drinks - black coffee, fruit or peppermint tea, and Options sachets. I only have cold drinks to take medication with!
xx
TracyGWill
Gold Member
Weighed in at 10st 0.4lbs today. Interestingly it was 0.6lbs less yesterday, so my first sighting of a 9 - boy did Kathryn tell me off about that! She made me promise to stay over 10, lol. xx
xx
Stackhead
Slow and steady...
Weighed in at 10st 0.4lbs today. Interestingly it was 0.6lbs less yesterday, so my first sighting of a 9 - boy did Kathryn tell me off about that! She made me promise to stay over 10, lol.
Haha! Maybe two ripples a day instead of one? :-D
Scrumbles
Dancing Queen
Thanks to you both, Tracy and Lexie - interesting stuff.
Strangely, I'd never considered the hunger issue until this latest time of losing significant weight, and it took many months for me to actually realise what was happening.
At 17 stone I rarely if ever felt hungry, except perhaps a twinge or two if I hadn't eaten for many hours, and at that weight I discovered I could exist comfortably on under 1000 calories a day once I started dieting. I was hardly ever hungry, the weight dropped off...great!
Things started to change about the halfway mark (14 stone). By this time I was eating closer to 1400 calories and was beginning to feel the need of every single one, even though I was low-carbing with a high fat and protein percentage that supposedly helps with satiety.
When I went under 13 stone my calorie average rose again to between 1450-1500, and in a way it was those ever-ascending calories that prompted me to decide to call target at 10st 10lbs. I was eating about 1650 cals and no longer losing by then, and I couldn't imagine eating less than that and being able to function!
As it turned out, I only held that weight for about 4 months before my upward slide began, and during that time I was VERY aware of how much hungrier I'd become. I liken it to having a car alarm going off right by your window, sometimes fading a little, occasionally ceasing for a while, but almost constantly nagging, nagging, nagging at you, try as you might to block it out. Even if I ate well, lots of lean protein and veggies for bulk, my body wasn't fooled and the nagging hunger would be back before I knew it. By all accounts, I was pretty hard to be around
Clearly, I'm going to need a better strategy this time. I've thought about fasting, but I had the most horrendous time when I tried the Johnson Up Day Down Day diet, and I'm afraid it put me right off doing very low calorie days. 5:2 would be an absolute last resort for me.
I have recently cultivated the habit of eating my food very, very slowly, and that does seem to help with evening munchies (my prime time for going off the rails), but it doesn't stop me getting over-hungry in the day.
I think it would perhaps help me to skip breakfast and start eating later in the day - it's certainly something I can try, although it flies in the face of so much dietary advice (I couldn't care less about that though, I'm a rebel,lol).
It does feel like you're stuck between a rock and hard place, though, doesn't it? If medical science were to be able to do one thing for the obesity crisis, I wish they'd come up with a "metabolic reset" drug: wouldn't it be wonderful if you could lose the weight, then just wipe the slate clean and eat as a naturally-slim person does?!
A girl can dream, eh?
ETA:
Wow, Tracy...9's! Sounds like you could eat more if you wanted to!
Strangely, I'd never considered the hunger issue until this latest time of losing significant weight, and it took many months for me to actually realise what was happening.
At 17 stone I rarely if ever felt hungry, except perhaps a twinge or two if I hadn't eaten for many hours, and at that weight I discovered I could exist comfortably on under 1000 calories a day once I started dieting. I was hardly ever hungry, the weight dropped off...great!
Things started to change about the halfway mark (14 stone). By this time I was eating closer to 1400 calories and was beginning to feel the need of every single one, even though I was low-carbing with a high fat and protein percentage that supposedly helps with satiety.
When I went under 13 stone my calorie average rose again to between 1450-1500, and in a way it was those ever-ascending calories that prompted me to decide to call target at 10st 10lbs. I was eating about 1650 cals and no longer losing by then, and I couldn't imagine eating less than that and being able to function!
As it turned out, I only held that weight for about 4 months before my upward slide began, and during that time I was VERY aware of how much hungrier I'd become. I liken it to having a car alarm going off right by your window, sometimes fading a little, occasionally ceasing for a while, but almost constantly nagging, nagging, nagging at you, try as you might to block it out. Even if I ate well, lots of lean protein and veggies for bulk, my body wasn't fooled and the nagging hunger would be back before I knew it. By all accounts, I was pretty hard to be around
Clearly, I'm going to need a better strategy this time. I've thought about fasting, but I had the most horrendous time when I tried the Johnson Up Day Down Day diet, and I'm afraid it put me right off doing very low calorie days. 5:2 would be an absolute last resort for me.
I have recently cultivated the habit of eating my food very, very slowly, and that does seem to help with evening munchies (my prime time for going off the rails), but it doesn't stop me getting over-hungry in the day.
I think it would perhaps help me to skip breakfast and start eating later in the day - it's certainly something I can try, although it flies in the face of so much dietary advice (I couldn't care less about that though, I'm a rebel,lol).
It does feel like you're stuck between a rock and hard place, though, doesn't it? If medical science were to be able to do one thing for the obesity crisis, I wish they'd come up with a "metabolic reset" drug: wouldn't it be wonderful if you could lose the weight, then just wipe the slate clean and eat as a naturally-slim person does?!
A girl can dream, eh?
ETA:
Wow, Tracy...9's!
Sounds like you could eat more if you wanted to!
TracyGWill
Gold Member
Haha, thanks everyone! I certainly wasn't aiming for that figure, it just appeared, lol. I think it may be because I've been marginally more active than I have for months, due to being back at work - still very sedentary by most people's standards, but fairly active by mine!! I'll monitor it and increase my cals if necessary.
Scrumbles, the hunger is definitely a key issue. During the 3+ years I've been doing this, I've had periods where I've been intensely hungry, even after eating, and other times where hunger hasn't bothered me. No rhyme or reason to it as far as I can see! I don't know if I can particularly blame hormone levels at my age. I overcome the evening munchies issue by eating very late (between 10-11pm), and that way I get by on a snack in the evening as I'm waiting for mealtime (that's when I have my chocolate fix, lol). I'm a rebel too - no breakfast, ultra-late dinner, no water, etc. :O I honestly think if you can crack acceptance of being hungry, you're a good way towards success. As I said/rambled before, I do it by seeing it as a choice, not something that's been imposed on me. xx
I'll monitor it and increase my cals if necessary.Scrumbles, the hunger is definitely a key issue. During the 3+ years I've been doing this, I've had periods where I've been intensely hungry, even after eating, and other times where hunger hasn't bothered me. No rhyme or reason to it as far as I can see! I don't know if I can particularly blame hormone levels at my age. I overcome the evening munchies issue by eating very late (between 10-11pm), and that way I get by on a snack in the evening as I'm waiting for mealtime (that's when I have my chocolate fix, lol). I'm a rebel too - no breakfast, ultra-late dinner, no water, etc. :O I honestly think if you can crack acceptance of being hungry, you're a good way towards success. As I said/rambled before, I do it by seeing it as a choice, not something that's been imposed on me.
xx
Last edited:
Lexie2005
5:2 lover
Haha, thanks everyone! I certainly wasn't aiming for that figure, it just appeared, lol. I think it may be because I've been marginally more active than I have for months, due to being back at work - still very sedentary by most people's standards, but fairly active by mine!!
Scrumbles, the hunger is definitely a key issue. During the 3+ years I've been doing this, I've had periods where I've been intensely hungry, even after eating, and other times where hunger hasn't bothered me. No rhyme or reason to it as far as I can see! I don't know if I can particularly blame hormone levels at my age. I overcome the evening munchies issue by eating very late (between 10-11pm), and that way I get by on a snack in the evening as I'm waiting for mealtime (that's when I have my chocolate fix, lol). I'm a rebel too - no breakfast, ultra-late dinner, no water, etc. :O I honestly think if you can crack acceptance of being hungry, you're a good way towards success. As I said/rambled before, I do it by seeing it as a choice, not something that's been imposed on me.
If I ate that late I'd be sleep eating lol x
