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So, this entry is to note that I'm officially on what is referred to as a "maintenance" break. This is the first time in the whole of this girl's existence I have ever tried one. And, so far I have only seen one other person on this site do a maintenance break, but they were already very close to their goal weight. Right now, I'm looking at 5 weeks. Maintenance calories for this weight and height are 2252 cals/day according to calculator.net at moderate exercise which is 3-5 times a week. However, for the time being, I feel safe starting out with 1743 cals/day, which is maintenance for this weight when one is sedentary. There is no plan at this point of being sedentary. On the contrary, it feels nice just to have some time to focus on movement and exercise. But, I don't feel comfortable with just jacking my calories up to 2252, either. LOL. In fact, I don't even think I'm able to eat 2252 cals on a consistent basis. 2200 and above is like a cheat day for me and usually I have a food hangover the next day. As it stands, I allowed myself 1742 cals last night and was still only able to eat 1300 cals worth. This brings me to rule number 1 of maintenance break. Goals for next 5 weeks: 1. No force feeding. If I can't eat the maintenance cals, it's okay. 2. If I go above 1742, it's okay but I cannot go above 2252 cals. In short, I'm not doing "cheat days" on maintenance. 3. For my liver alone, especially while on the immuno-suppressives, keep any alcoholic drinks to a 2 drink minimum if I'm out. One 6 oz glass of wine/night is still okay. 4. Continue to weigh daily, count calories, log food, and allow for a 5 lb fluctuation. Anything weigh in above 191 lbs, and calories will need to be cut. 5. Continue to drink 3-4 liters of water daily 6. VERY ESSENTIAL - Continue Cardio/Strength training and rep increases 4-5 days/week unless otherwise specified by MS specialist or physical therapist. 7. On September 20, assess where I'm at and decide if I want to continue further with losing weight or maintaining. I'm actually intrigued with this process. As usual, it goes against the grain, but I'm pretty much in full agreement with Heather Robinson on losing with maintenance in mind. The thought of waiting until I reach a goal weight to learn how to maintain actually scares me. I want to practice now, especially since weight maintenance is never something I consciously practiced in the past. I haven't met a "maintainer" at their goal weight that won't attest to it being a challenge, because contrary to what many believe, you don't just get to go back to eating whatever amount you want when reaching a goal weight. So, why am I doing this? Well, really I think my body actually trumped me on this one and decided for me, which is okay. I'm learning this body has its own opinions and thoughts about things, LOL. Something tells I need to start listening or I might see all out rebellion ;-) Besides, I'm kinda curious to see if it actually does re-set the metabolism and make it less challenging to lose if I return to calorie restriction. Heather Robinson took several maintenance breaks when losing her 170 lbs, but she also had 2 kids in the 5 years it took her to lose. It is a good reminder to me this is genuinely a marathon, not a race. Thank you all for your wonderful comments, support, and input in the last journal entry and the last 2 months. And, yes SMP I will continue to draw support from this forum. The MS forum is really to ensure I give this disease the proper attention in learning how to emotionally and medically manage it. It's easy for me at times to want to shrug my shoulders and say "whatever" as a precocious 43 year old, but I realize diligence is not an option if I don't want this to progress or need to cope if it does. But, you all help me to remember there's still joy to be had regardless {{big hugs}} Enjoy Beauty in the details and have a wonderful day, everyone! Here's to 5 weeks of maintenance! Let's see if I can actually do it when I'm THINKING about it...lol
Diet Calendar Entries for 17 August 2017:
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2002 kcal
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Fat: 67.72g | Prot: 90.64g | Carb: 192.68g.
Breakfast: Coffee with Cream and Sugar, Stop & Shop Corn on the Cob, Tomato and Cucumber Salad with Oil and Vinegar, Cooked Vegetable Combination with Soy-Based Sauce (Including Carrots, Broccoli, and/or Dark-Green Leafy), Pork Loin (Tenderloin). Lunch: Doritos Cool Ranch Tortilla Chips, No Name Fully Cooked Real Bacon Bits, Macaroni or Pasta Salad, Great Value Pineapple Chunks, Jalapeno Peppers, Tomatoes, Sweet Baby Ray's Honey Barbecue Sauce, Tyson Foods Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts, Azteca Flour Tortillas (Super Size). Dinner: Gin and Tonic, Martini, Scotch Egg. Snacks/Other: Chobani Nonfat Blueberry Greek Yogurt (5.3 oz), Kashi Chewy Granola Bars - Chocolate Almond & Sea Salt. more...
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 Comments
You go Girl, Do what is best for you !!!!! You are in control !!!
17 Aug 17 by member: DO N OK
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Balance (here, in form of maintenance) is one of the biggest challenges of all, isn't it?
17 Aug 17 by member: T8U9
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Please watch the alcohol Egull? It would be healthier for you and the new meds if you can keep it to less than 1 glass a day. Even a half a glass. Sometimes it just doesn't mix well with some of this stuff. 🙇🏻♀️And I worry about you! 🤷🏻♀️
17 Aug 17 by member: smprowett
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I commit myself to trying, SMP. Perhaps, I can start weaning down ounce by ounce. That's kind of how I got to 1 glass. It's definitely a psychological attachment at this point. There's no threat of detox (thank goodness), but I know it's worth the effort, especially since my system took the increased dosage very well, which means my body is tolerating this med. I want to keep it that way for as long as possible.
17 Aug 17 by member: Egull1
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I'm loving the "two drink minimum when out" rule, but I'd need a designated driver. ;-) Doing while thinking: let me know when you've got that mastered, and I'll be the first to sign up for your workshop.
17 Aug 17 by member: T8U9
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T8 - I will let you know :-) I plan on documenting my experience with maintenance just as much as those that document their losses. In fact, I think it's integral, because it's clear the reality of maintenance needs to be put out there, both the struggles and the joys. I remember Heather Robinson once said, it's not glamorous because you're not celebrating losses anymore, but you realize you don't just get to let go and do what you want. Generally speaking, about a year after, people are no longer saying "wow, you look great when they see you!". People you just meet post weight loss will never know you've lost a ton of weight. It can a be a wake up call. I think that's why maintenance breaks are essential or at the very least having a game plan as to how one wants to manage their lifestyle from both an emotional and dietary perspective. In fact, Heather's "half size me" community is the only one to date I've come across that actually has a support group, specifically for maintainers.
17 Aug 17 by member: Egull1
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That makes me feel better! 🙋🏻I know how much I craved my stouts when I couldn't have them, especially on a hot day or after work relaxing. But health means so much more than that image in our heads of what relaxing with some alcohol is, ya know? 🙇🏻♀️I watch alot of Korean TV on Netflix and am actually bothered by how pervasive drinking is seen in their culture. MS is such a heavy duty thing to deal with that it only makes sense to give your body the best options you can.🙋🏻
17 Aug 17 by member: smprowett
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YES, so good to hear real talk about the need for support in maintenance. That's what I need from FS, but it feels unempathic to hope for that from those who are still working on their weight-oriented health goals. ---- There's a bit of knee-jerk unsolicited advice on here that presumes further loss is both acceptable and desired. Not the rule, for sure, but far too much for me, from some parties. It's probably the migraine talking, but earlier today I wanted to scream "I have defined transverse abdominals, beginning outlines of a six-pack, and thigh gap; WHY are you telling me to just eat to satiation and not worry about how to meet the 3000kcal I need to maintain, while staying in ketosis, until my gall bladder adjusts to THAT much fat? Sure, I could technically afford to drop to 17% body fat but I've decided to MAINTAIN at 21.5% for now, this is a viable option, this is HARD, I'm just trying to get through the day, please STFU and take your uninformed pedantry elsewhere!" When I'm feeling more balanced and less pain, I don't even notice that kind of input, and even have compassion for the oblivious compulsion and lack of tools that drives it; right now, it's grating and my tonglen practice of years past is very rusty. Maybe FS isn't the place to do the work of maintaining, or maybe increasing the visibility of members maintaining is part of a healthy FS?
17 Aug 17 by member: T8U9
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I think you've got it right T8U9 that increasing the visibility of FS members maintaining this healthy way of life is the answer. There are actually many of them on here doing it now that have been here for years. The program isn't geared to show them that way and sometimes people come in with comments blazing not realising that they are talking on someones thread that has been maintaining and supporting people for multiple years. 🤷🏻♀️It happens! I think some of the way this community works is that you get back some of the caring you put into it.
And EGull, what you are talking about should work fairly well. If I were you I would increase calories by about 200-250 per day or so though. In the last 4 years I've dropped into maintenance mode 4 or 5 times for rest periods when I've hit plateaus and had set points. Losing over 140-150 lbs you kind of have to. There are just times you need to take a month or so and keep the weight where it's at, or at least I did. So I would up my carbs by a bit and my calories by a few hundred for a week or two but otherwise stick to the same plan of recording everything and make sure that I was okay with where I was at. It's only this last weight that I've lost while I've been so ill that I don't feel so solid about. LOL I wish I didn't feel like the minute I get hungry again it would all come back! LOL 🤷🏻♀️
17 Aug 17 by member: smprowett
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You are becoming the wisest woman I know, Egull1!
17 Aug 17 by member: Horseshu1
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Damn. You and EmilyGu are both leaving at the same time. You two are what keep me going some days. <sigh> You will be missed.
18 Aug 17 by member: poofwizard
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Poof! I'm still here, no worries. I can't imagine not journaling about a "maintenance break", especially since I've never done one before, and if I decide to go back to weight loss WOE calories on Sept 20, I'll need some support and a little input sliding back in. I know for the majority of the FS community, maintenance breaks are a bit unusual and unheard of, but if done right, they can be and are an essential part of the weight loss process, and are actually helpful in ensuring it's difficult for the body to gain weight back after it's lost :-)
Horshue! If I'm wise, it's because I'm surrounded with amazing beautiful wise women like you in my life {{big hugs!}}
SMP & T8- I absolutely agree with both of you about maintenance visibility in FS. As a pyscho-social anthropologist with over 10 years of applied experience, I can tell you the lack of visibility for maintainers (their struggles and joys) in this community only highlights the very issue we have with obesity in this country. I have met very few people on this site and out out of it that don't know how to lose weight and have done it quite a few times, but very few are those that know how to keep it off. And, yet one sees very few journals, profiles, or statements using a phrase like, "losing weight with m-a-i-n-t-e-n-a-n-c-e in mind. It's like the word doesn't even exist in the weight loss lexicon. And, yet if you honestly look at it, if we all understood and were able to apply healthy weight maintenance tools, this site likely would not be needed. I saw a post mentioning a second attempt at weight loss because they enjoyed the challenges they faced when trying to lose the first time around. It's easy to see how people can get addicted to the cycle of losing, especially if there is a flurry of adulation and support for every ounce lost, and I'm not knocking it. People need that support to keep releasing the weight, but if they're not keeping in my mind the shift in perspective and approach they'll need to make when maintenance comes WHILE they are losing, then honestly not a single pound they're losing means a damn thing. And, that is the truth.
18 Aug 17 by member: Egull1
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