Category: maintenance

My Maintenance Plan

Have you ever heard of the National Weight Control Registry?  I never had, until I started researching successful methods for maintaining weight loss.

Back in 1994, two researchers, Rena Wing and James Hill, were concerned that most people who lose weight are not able to keep it off.  They decided to find people who have lost a significant amount of weight and have kept it off for at least a year, then ask them how they did it.

I have been putting a lot of thought lately to a maintenance plan, so I was excited to find this.  Registry members have lost an average of 66 pounds and maintained it for over 5 years.  What are their secrets to success?

Three things stood out to me.  First, 62% report that they watch TV less than 10 hours per week.  No problem there for me.  Except for hockey and football games, there is nothing on TV that interests me.

Second, 75% of the registry members weigh themselves at least once a week.  That is part of my maintenance plan for sure.  I want to monitor my weight and know right away if I need to make adjustments to keep it in line.  In the past, I have skipped the weigh in part, and not surprisingly, I gained weight like it was my job.  Then I would avoid the scale, gain more weight, avoid the scale even more…you get the picture.

This time, I am going to continue my Saturday weigh-ins.  I am going to set a weight range to stay within.  If my weight strays to the upper limit, I will know it’s time to cut back the following week, exercise more, whatever it takes to bring it back down.   I like the way an article in Today’s Dietitian put it: “The dieters do not allow even a small amount of weight gain to occur without corrective action.  They deliberately respond to small weight gains by reducing their food intake and/or increasing their exercise level.”  Exactly my plan!

Third, 90% of registry members exercise about an hour a day.  I was a little surprised that they exercise so long, but I already knew I need to keep working out to maintain my weight loss.  I shouldn’t have a problem with this.  I have fallen in love with running, I enjoy Insanity workouts, and I like what strength training is doing for my body.  I have already been looking into some new workout programs to start up when I reach goal weight.  I will keep joining exercise challenges to stay motivated and keep experimenting with different workouts to keep it interesting.

One researcher on weight loss said bluntly, “It appears that weight regain is the typical long-term response to dieting, rather than the exception.”  Ouch.  Well, that is precisely why I know I need a plan this time.  And I need to stick to it.  I have lost and regained more than once in the past.  I don’t want to do it again.

I have wasted so much time, being unhappy with my weight, knowing I could do so much better.  When I reach my goal weight this time, I want to focus on maintaining it, on getting even stronger, on enjoying my health and fitness level.  I like the saying about not failing, just finding different ways that didn’t work, and that certainly applies here.  I know what doesn’t work for me.  And now I know what works for others and what can work for me.  All I have to do is put it into action when I reach my goal, to make sure I am able to celebrate and enjoy my weight loss for good this time.

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Planning and Daydreaming

Now that I’ve found my way back on track, I am confident I will reach my goal weight sometime during the next few months.  It feels like a million years (and pounds) away, but I have so much to do in the meantime!

First, I will need to do a serious cleaning-out of my closet and dresser drawers when I get closer to my goal weight.  I’ve been weeding out too-big clothes as I’ve lost weight, but I know there’s a lot still in there that is either much too big or simply not my style anymore.  Why keep clutter?

Next, I want to finally organize my closet.  The walk-in closet was a major selling point when we bought our house, but I have put off investing the time and money into properly organizing it because I wanted to wait until I knew exactly what needs to be organized.  I won’t know that until I am near goal weight and finish the major clean-out.

Other women may salivate at glossy pictures of flashy jewelry or fur coats.  Me?  Closet organizers!  Shelf dividers!  Hanging organizers!  *swoon* In my mind, I’ve arranged and rearranged the closet so many times.  I want to be able to easily see what I have, get to it quickly, change out my purses easily, etc.

One of the most important things I need to do is map out my maintenance plan.  Not just “Oh, I will maintain my weight loss”, but a specific, careful, and tangible plan of exactly how I will do it, and how to ensure I do not gain this weight back.  Ever!  I have some ideas kicking around and just need to put pen to paper and commit to the action steps.

And, last but certainly not least…I will need to reward myself!  I have several ideas for my goal weight rewards, and it’s so much fun to daydream about them.  One necessary reward will be shopping for clothes.  I have started a list of items I will need, like a swimsuit, and smaller jeans, and I’m quite sure I will see plenty of other things I want simply because they’re cute.

I’m getting a bit ahead of myself, though, since I still have one major hurdle to leap: losing the rest of this weight and actually hitting my goal weight!  But I am confident that I will.  Nothing is going to stop me now.

Meanwhile, when I am not meal planning, running, or working out, I will be redesigning my closet one more time in my head and adding to my goal-weight-clothes shopping list!  It’s motivating just to think about it.  Each day brings me just a little bit closer, as long as I keep making good choices.will-not-give-up-will-reach-my-goal-absolutely-nothing-20718945

Yo-Yo

This is not my first weight loss rodeo.  I have yo-yo’d from as low as the 120’s all the way up to 211 pounds.  I reached goal weight a few years ago, gained it back rapidly, and have gotten close again before gaining it all again, several times.

Something I have noticed that is different this time around: no one is mentioning my weight loss. Before, when I had lost 20 pounds or so, my boss and co-workers complimented me on losing weight.  I’ve lost 46 pounds now, and no one has said anything.  Not a peep.

The only person who has complimented my weight loss is my boyfriend.  I think I know why.  No one else expects me to keep it off.  They’ve seen me drop weight before, then *blink*, get fat again seemingly overnight.  So they have seen this before, already think they know what to expect, and are just waiting for me to puff up like a blowfish again.

Except it’s not going to happen.  Not this time.  Sure, I’ve said that before, but I feel different this time.  It is harder this time to lose the weight, so I know that gaining it back will be a huge mistake and taking a risk that I may never lose it again.

I also have a plan for maintenance, which I never bothered to do before.  I am stealing an idea from Take Off Pounds Sensibly (TOPS), a weight loss group I used to belong to.  When someone reaches goal weight, they then have a weight range they must stay in.  If they weigh in over that range, they are on probation and have a limited time to get back into the goal weight range.  So I’m going to set a goal weight range, probably around 132-137, and keep weighing in each week to make sure I am staying in that range.  If I drift above it, I will give myself two weeks, tops, to get back into my goal weight range.

And then there are people like Psycho, who were tickled pink that I gained the weight back, and are smugly waiting for me to gain it back again.  Someone commented to me that in the past, when I have lost weight, Psycho has frantically tried to keep up by losing weight too.  This time she has not. I assume, again, it’s because she is just waiting for me to fall apart and get fat again.

It bothers me that so many people don’t believe I can do this.  But I believe I can.  And I will. It will be fun proving them wrong, and proving to myself what I can do.

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