I originally posted this question on one of the daily threads. BC suggested that it would make a good topic all on it's on. So what do you think? Am I alone in this fear?
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR> OK, here's a question for you...... Do you have maintenance fear? I'm still tracking and posting on that thread. Any time I get over 1500 calories or 50 net carbs, I begin to panic. According to all the charts, I should be fine with 1700 calories a day. That's where I was today. I feel stuffed as well as concerned that I'll be up some on the scale tomorrow morning. I'm really afraid of backsliding. OR, is fear of maintenance not such a bad thing --- serves to keep me honest? <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

For the record, I was up about .5 this morning. However, I'm still hanging in at 137.5.

Judy

180/137.5/135-138
"Even if at first you do succeed, you still have to work hard to stay there." -- Richard C. Miller

Judy,
I understand your concerns. I have been maintaining for 4 months now. I really love lc so it has not been a problem for me. The main issue I have to deal with is the constant need to see the scale go down. I don't need to lose any more yet I still have the urge to see the numbers decline. Don't worry, I love being healthy and will not trade being overweight with being underweight. It is just breaking the pattern that guided me for a year and a half.

You will definitely have to find your best calorie range. I have no idea what mine is. You are so wise to track yours. I keep saying I will and then put it off for another day. I do eat three meals and have 2 snacks per day and I rarely get hungry so I must be doing OK.

Best wishes on your maintenance and congrats on your accomplishment!

Red
7/24/02
186/108/110
Size 16W to size 2

Ive been maintaining for 19 months. I was a bit nervous at first but now I feel more confident in my ability to stay on track. I get up quickly if I fall. I really love the way I feel on this WOL.That in itself helps me focus.
The fears stayed for almost a year and then I relaxed and began to trust myself!

Deborah
started 3/02
171/137.5/137
5'9"

I mentioned on the daily thread that the particular fear Judy mentioned was not one that I had experienced, but mainly because with my WOE I ate the same amounts and types of food from the beginning of my journey. By the time I reached goal I was pretty comfortable with what I could eat and still maintain.

That doesn't mean I don't have maintenance fears. I didn't for a couple of years after I reached goal, but now yes, I do. Most of all I fear complacency. Even with almost six years on this woe, I find I can still get sloppy, I can still get in one of those "what the heck" moods. I can also still find myself standing in an open refrigerator when stress is overwhelming. It's certainly not like the "old, bad days" but it happens just often enough that I am humbled by the realization that all I have ever been and all I have ever done is still inside me. That every bad habit and self-destructive way of coping is not all that far beneath the surface.

Don't get me wrong, I'm grateful every day that I found a way to regain my health. But I don't know if I will ever, ever be someone who will be able to take being a normal weight for granted.

What's that saying? "Nobody realizes that some people expend tremendous energy merely to be normal."
Albert Camus

May it be different for all of you. May you be normal without effort.



BC
172/108/108--5'2"
Zone since 4/98

Brenda..your reply really struck a note with me.
I have realized, as well, that I am capable of really bad eating behavior,it is so very humbling!
Complacency IS ( for me too) the danger that could undo me. ( in all areas of my life in fact!) May we remain diligent in pursuing good health!
I idea of going back to where I was...shuddering.....

Thanks Brenda for that wake up call..!

Deborah
started 3/02
171/137.5/137
5'9"

Red and BC, you have both stated things that I see in myself.

Red--I still find that I'm looking for the scale to decline. I can't remember a time in my adult life that it was steady for a long period of time. I always seem to be going up or going down. It's kind of hard to switch gears from expecting a downward move to expecting a stable state. To be honest, I am thankful each morning when I see the same weight on the scale. I do not want to go up again!

BC -- complacency... yeah, that's what I think has caused me to live the yoyo life. Damn it, I'm 52 years old. I've been down this road before. I AM NOT going to yoyo again. I really believe the support from this board has been a key factor in getting my head right as well as getting my weight right. I know that LC is the best way for me to eat. I just need to avoid complacency (and bread and sugar and starches and.....)

Thanks for letting me know I'm not in this alone.

Judy

180/137/135-138
"Even if at first you do succeed, you still have to work hard to stay there." -- Richard C. Miller

Judy, you are not alone!

I do think support is critical. That's why I'm here. Sure, to give support if I can, but you can't know how much you all give me, too.



BC
172/108/108--5'2"
Zone since 4/98

Hello, everyone. May I join in? Although I'm still 10 lbs. from goal, my body seems to have decided that this is maintenance. That's okay with me, but like some of you, I know the real challenge is creeping complacency.

Today I was thinking about the fact that portion control (basically calorie limitation) has always been difficult for me. On LC, by eliminating entire categories of food from consideration (sugar, flour, pasta, potatoes), I find it simpler to keep the grand total within reason. I know that I'll never be able to eat what I consider normally --that is, moderate quantities of anything. It just doesn't work for me over time.

I managed to maintain for five years when I was trying to stay low-fat, and then--up I went. At 57, I don't have that many yo-yo years left. We'll see what the next five years of LC will do! So far, so good.

Barb L.
Started Atkins January 2003
162/137/130