Now that I'm pretty much in Maintenance mode, my food choices are a little more complex than they used to be, including eating out a bit more often. That makes keeping track in Fitday more complicated, too.

I wonder if I can trust myself not to over-consume--that is, trust in my hard-won low-carb habits--if I take a little vacation from record-keeping? Sometimes I suspect not wanting to keep a record is just an excuse for not wanting to 'fess up!

Well, I'm going to try it for a while. I'll continue Weekly weigh-ins. Sugar and starch vigilance. Plenty of exercise, water, and veggies. I've got some events coming up when I know I'll be out of my routine, but I'd like to keep things generally under control.

If I come here whining about weight gain a month from now, you can tell me to get back on track. Or on Tracker.

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Barb L.
Atkins since Jan 2003
Maintenance as of 4/05


My Fitday Journal

Barb...can you keep a secret? I've never kept a record of anything that I eat. I've never counted carbs or used fitday and I've lost almost 90 pounds. I felt that if I was going to be eating this way for the rest of my life, I didn't want to have to be a record keeper too. I might as well be counting calories then. Anyway,I bet you do just fine. By the time we hit maintenance, we pretty much know what we can and can't eat and you get so much exercise that I bet you'll just burn it all off. I mean, I really can't see you having much of a problem. I bet you'll be just fine. (keepin my finger crossed for ya)

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Donna
238.5/166.4/150
I will see my goal weight again!

Barb, that's more or less what I started doing a few months into maintenance. I tracked obsessively when I was losing and during prolonged stalls (i.e., "practice maintenance", LOL!). I truly believe that helped me make my goal. I use DietPower and I found it especially helpful for figuring carbs/serving for recipes or my own version of recipes. It also showed me where various nutrients, such as potassium or calcium, were below the recommended ranges. Seeing that, I made some modifications to my food intake and supplement intake.

But, I've been "winging" it through most of the last 2 years. I happen to be within my desired range right now. But, I've had several long periods when I was 5 to 7 lbs over the top of my goal weight range.

I think I do a better job when I track. When I've gotten too far out of my maintenance weight range and stayed there too long; then I've gone back to tracking. I don't think that's the ideal way to approach maintenance, but there really aren't many good maintenance resources or research.

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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.

Barb, I second everything Teel said. To be honest, I was an obsessive tracker. I really had to work at stopping. I've been "winging" it for about a year. Yeah, I know I'm up about 5 pounds, but that may have happened even if I had stayed obsessive. You have to learn to do it on your own. When I get home from this vacation, I'll have an excellent idea how well I can handle "out of the ordinary" and hopefully not have created a disaster.

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

Barb: I, too, stopped tracking with maintenance. But I am thinking I may have to go back to it . . . although I KNOW what my problem is . . . too much whipped cream. I do remember how well tracking kept my calories in check. I was more aware of what I put in my mouth. Carbs are not the issue. I can honestly say I don't indulge in any of the bad carbs. I am going through some stress now, and thinking perhaps tracking again with Diet Power will help control the calories. But you are so in-control of your healthy way of eating. And coupled with your exercise, I think you will not have a problem if you stop tracking!

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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

What is Diet Power?

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Thanks, everybody. This is helpful feedback.

Tracking is particularly useful when I'm trying to sustain ketosis. Or get back into it. These days, I live on the edge--not quite in it, but only an induction away! I think that's a good thing to keep in my head.

Funny thing--after being at 132 for weeks, I got up to 135. Now, mysteriously, I'm back to 132. Allowing for water fluctuations, I'll continue to think of 132 as my baseline weight, and monitor accordingly. (Of course, I'm still aiming for 128--are we EVER happy??)

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Barb L.
Atkins since Jan 2003
Maintenance as of 4/05


My Fitday Journal

Barb, one thing I've noticed with ~my~ body is that there are no fixed and immutable rules. Often, when I think I have things figured out and all has been going well, something changes! I constantly have to tweak my diet plan. Sometimes, I can get away with murder (so to speak), and other times ... NOT! Sometimes, I can be eating and exercising very well and still have trouble controlling my weight.

Who knows? It may be due to sputtering hormones or other dynamic body functions. For example, I have noticed the spring months are a "good" time for losing weight (that was true for the last 3 years, anyway). Maybe I have some Seasonal Affective Disorder, like my sister who definitely has SAD.

GeeGee, DietPower is a computer application for tracking food intake and exercise. It has a lot of helpful features - recipe builder, water minder, nutrition tracker, graphs, etc. DietPower offers a 15- to 30-day free trial (after 15 days, you can request 15 more and that's automatically granted). You can give it a test drive online at www.dietpower.com .

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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.

Teelbee--

Thanks. I'll check it out on Thursday.

GeeGee

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