Teelbee posed the question "Who changed the rules?" in a message a day or so ago. She, like me, has struggled to again lose 2-3 pounds gained above goal. Neither of us have been on big cheats. I'm eating just about like I have for the last few months, and more than that, I'm exercising more. But, somewhere the rules that we were living by to maintain seems to have changed. This question is not just for those that have made it to goal, but also goes for those who have been at this for a looong time:

What do you do to get yourself motivated before 2-3 pounds become 20-30 pounds. I do not want to slide back! I need to know how to dig deep and find that determination again. What do you do when the rules change?

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Judy
highest = 180, goal = 140
Every single time I put food in my mouth, it matters. No more fooling myself!

Gosh, Judy! I wish I had a good answer for you. I am not at my goal weight by any means, but I've had the experience of trying NOT to let 2-3 pounds become 20-30. DH and I joined 3 other couples for a weekend in San Antonio last month. I decided I wasn't going to go crazy, but I was going to indulge a little. (My first plan, to carry a cooler with legals in it, went down the toilet.)

Well, as we all know, there is no indulging a little. One dose of carbs leads to another.
Long story short, by the time we got home, TOM was gone, but those "vacation" pounds were here to stay. I'd gone from 228 to 235 in 8 days, thanks to TOM and those 2 days out-of-town. When we got home, I had every intention of going back on induction, but I never did. The first 2-3 days back at work, I ate junk for breakfast. I did better during the day, but I was so upset at the scale every morning, (reminding me of my indescretions) I ate like I used to......

That's when I gave myself a little talking-to. "Do you really want to get back into the 240's? Do you really want to have to post about re-gaining all your weight back? Do you really want to deal with these stomach issues every day and feel like the bottom of someone's shoe? Make the choice. Get back in the saddle or just gain every day. Make the choice. One meal at a time. Make the choice."

So, I did. It took me about 2 weeks to get back to 228, and now I'm down from there. I guess I just had to look myself in the eye and look at the negatives, then ask myself if I really wanted to eat carbs and deal with the consequences. The answer was and is daily (as I drive past Krispy Kreme with their HOT light on):NO.

I have a long way to go, approx. 60 more pounds to lose, and I know there are going to be times when I have to "dig deep" and really work at finding that determination you are speaking of. I just hope I can look back at all the work I put into this WOL and decide not to throw it all away.

I'm sorry that this is not really an answer, just an experience I had. Maybe you can find something of use in it. Take care!

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I dunno - in my case the problem is not big cheats or frequent cheats. They are one meal slips that seem to take weeks to get over.

I managed to get down to 136 in mid-August during my no sweets challenge in which I eliminated ALL sweet tastes for a week. I also eliminated LC legal, but limited foods like LC tortillas and bread. Basically, it was induction without the Splenda. I finally got out of the 140s and back into my range.

So it worked. But, I don't want to have to live like that.

Now I'm at 139 again. I've only had two off-plan meals in two weeks, but I gained 3 lbs ~again~. In that two weeks I've had maybe 2 LC tortillas and 2 pieces of LC bread. I've eaten measured portions of fruit only every other day. I've had one diet pepsi a day, and I'm using liquid splenda in my coffee.

I admit, I'm not actually logging my food.
Maybe I'm eating more nuts and half-and-half than I think.
Maybe my meat portions are too big.
Maybe 139-142 is a set point that my body wants to stay at.

I've not been exercising as much, but I've had inactive periods in the past and not had this "problem" to this degree.

It really does feel like someone changed the rules.... sigh. I hope it's seasonal - maybe my body has the late summer blahs.

But, I'm puzzled, too.

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~~~Teelbee
Back to GOAL!!!
start weight: 176/goal range: 137-134/now: 138
Reached goal in Aug. 2003 - 4rd year of maintenance.

Perhaps your body is trying to tell you that the weight YOU want is not the weight your BODY wants? Sigh.

Also, perhaps you are eating too many calories for your NEW body weight? Try going to this site and seeing how many calories your body needs just to function at your current weight. OR perhaps you are not eating enough calories and your body is going into starvation mode.

Here's the link: http://www.weightlossforgood.co.uk/bmr_calculator.htm

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Alida
5'1" ~ 59 years old
Highest weight: 165
Atkins 7/10/2004
160/126/125
RE-DO, January 2008:
167/162/135

If you've been doing everything right, then you just have to accept that you are getting older or perhaps your metabolism is changing or some other thing that is out of your hands and otherwise out of your control is going on.

Personally I have had little success heading off slides. 2 or 3 pounds always turns into 20-30. For me it's always been an all or nothing deal.

It's so hard sometimes when the momentum starts to slip and you gain a couple pounds. I have a terriblr time maintaining, and sort of go through what I consider my seasonal biorythms. And Fall is the most difficult time for me. For some reason, I seem to have to really slide far before I really get it again and recommit. I admire respect and even am in awe of those who can maintain goal weight over the long haul.

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keep on keepin on

211/165/170