Weight maintenance is so much harder than it used to be!

StarSong said:
I always liked puffed wheat and puffed rice cereal so it's no surprise that I like rice cakes. They're really just a low-carb, low-calorie delivery system for the peanut butter, hummus and sliced tomato, (vegan) cream cheese and sliced green olives, or whatever schmear strikes my fancy.
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Hmmm, that sounds yummy! Will have to try it. I like to roast peppers, take off the skins, rip into shreds and mix with olive oil and minced garlic. I bet it would be good on rice cakes.

I can't always find tofu at Kroger, but yesterday found it so will try it your way. I usually cut it up after defrosting and fry with onions and some garlic and then throw over rice and top with grated parmesan.
 
PVC said:
So, you kept it off for 37 years? Good job!!!! You must have tremendous will power.
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Actually, I found it much more difficult to stop smoking at 30. That required ALL the stubbornness I have & I have a lot. It took me three attempts & no sleep for 3 nights. Nicotine addiction is far worse than food addiction - probably because we still need to eat; just eat different foods. But one puff while you're trying to quit & you're back at the beginning of the fight.
 
win231 said:
Actually, I found it much more difficult to stop smoking at 30. That required ALL the stubbornness I have & I have a lot. It took me three attempts & no sleep for 3 nights. Nicotine addiction is far worse than food addiction - probably because we still need to eat; just eat different foods. But one puff while you're trying to quit & you're back at the beginning of the fight.
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I took one puff when I was 11 and coughed and never smoked again. When I was 20 and working in an office and we all sat around eating lunch, I was the only one that didn't smoke and felt ''left out''. But I've never been one to ''join the herd'' and quit the job after 3 months because I didn't like it. I must have become addicted to coffee, though. One time decided to quit and 3 days later had bad headaches and I almost never get headaches. Someone suggested it could be the lack of caffeine, I drank a few sips, and poof the headache went away. Oh well, I'm down to 2-3 cups a day now.

You don't have to reply, but what happened when you were 30? Sounds like it was some kind of a life changing time, you resolved to lose the weight AND quit smoking.
 
win231 said:
Actually, I found it much more difficult to stop smoking at 30. That required ALL the stubbornness I have & I have a lot. It took me three attempts & no sleep for 3 nights. Nicotine addiction is far worse than food addiction - probably because we still need to eat; just eat different foods. But one puff while you're trying to quit & you're back at the beginning of the fight.
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Agreed. I've heard interviews with heroin addicts who said they managed to get off junk but couldn't quit smoking.

Quitting smoking was a bear. Lots of ugly tumbles before I finally stuck the landing.
 
PVC said:
I took one puff when I was 11 and coughed and never smoked again. When I was 20 and working in an office and we all sat around eating lunch, I was the only one that didn't smoke and felt ''left out''. But I've never been one to ''join the herd'' and quit the job after 3 months because I didn't like it. I must have become addicted to coffee, though. One time decided to quit and 3 days later had bad headaches and I almost never get headaches. Someone suggested it could be the lack of caffeine, I drank a few sips, and poof the headache went away. Oh well, I'm down to 2-3 cups a day now.

You don't have to reply, but what happened when you were 30? Sounds like it was some kind of a life changing time, you resolved to lose the weight AND quit smoking.
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I was in a situation that I see frequently. My wife was also overweight, though not quite as much - she was around 80 lbs. overweight. When I became more & more disgusted with my appearance & started not caring about going on living like that, I started talking about losing weight, she did EVERYTHING she could to discourage me. When I'd get ready to go out for my walk, she begged me not to leave, saying ridiculous things like, "What if someone breaks into the house while you're gone?" At dinner, she would dump half her food into my plate. She constantly said, "I'm dying for some Rocky Road" or "Order us a pizza." When I'd tell her not to encourage me to eat things I shouldn't, she would change the subject. Finally, after months of this, I told her, "If I have to lose YOU before losing weight, I will do it. I don't want to but you are determined to sabotage my efforts. We're supposed to love & support each other & you're doing the opposite."
She promised to stop sabotaging, then on Valentine's day she handed me a heart-shaped box of chocolates. That was the last straw.
A few months after my divorce, I attended a friend's birthday party & there was a psychologist there. I chatted with her about my ex wife. She explained, "She was likely insecure & as long as you were grossly overweight, she didn't have to worry about other women looking at you." I've seen the same situation in reverse - a guy marries a woman who is seriously overweight & he feels more secure because he knows other men won't be looking at her. Besides, he won't have to respect her because he knows she'd never leave him because she thinks no one else would want her.
Re: Quitting smoking: I figured, "What's the use of improving my health by losing weight & continuing to do the worst thing I can do for my health? Besides, between my weight & smoking, I had no energy; even getting up from the couch exhausted me.....let alone trying to exercise.
 
Ronni said:
All my life I've been slender, never had to worry about what I ate, gained under 25 pounds each pregnancy (5 kids) which I quickly shed, and had no weight issues at all, just fluctuated between 130 and 135. I'm 5' 8 1/2 so that was a good weight for me. Don't hate me for all that, because it didn't last....menopause hit OMG!!! :mad:

I was close to 15 pounds heavier before it really hit home that this wasn't just my normal fluctuation. Another 15 pounds before I realized that focusing on losing the weight wasn't going to cut it, I first of all needed to just stop the gain!!! Another 10 pounds before I ended up tipping the scale at 175 pounds before I managed to even stop gaining! At least it was evenly distributed so I didn't look quite as heavy as I was.

Tried every current diet out there to lose the weight, to no avail. Lose a bit, gain it back. Finally, after doing much research about what was happening to my body, I finally realized that I had to evolve a "diet" <way of eating> that I could maintain for the rest of my life, because I wasn't ever again going to be able to be eat the way I used to, and I needed to figure out a way to eat that I could actually sustain for the rest of my life, once the weight was gone, and that would facilitate a slow and steady loss rather than the dramatic plummet I was originally going for.

With much chagrin because it was the very LAST thing I wanted to do and the thing I had avoided up till this point, I started counting calories. Ugh. I found an app (My fitness Pal) that made that chore less onerous. This was back in 2014. For the next year I slowly lost the weight, averaging 2 - 3 pounds a month, going from that original 175 pounds to a much more comfortable 145 pounds....still 10 pounds more than I'd averaged for so many years, but my body just kinda leveled out at that point, the weight loss stopped, my joints stopped hurting, I could move easily and quickly again, and I realized that unless I wanted to cut calories more drastically (and I didn't) this was now maintenance for me.

I've maintained that general weight since. I fluctuate some (143 - 147) but it stays in that general range. Or rather, it WAS staying in that range. I've noticed this last 6 months that it's gotten harder to maintain it. I'm eating the same, maintaining the same level of physical activity, but I'm struggling more and more with staying under 147. It's very frustrating.

My question to all is how have you maintained an acceptable weight? Are you walking, going to the gym, lifting, doing Pilates, what? I have to change something because what has worked for me this last 4 years is no longer as effective.

What's worked for you?
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You sound a lot like me. Recently, I had a total knee replacement so I could not eat right. Or exercise, so I waited until I could. I am going to try the OMAD (one meal a day) diet. Eating the right foods and maybe snack the right snacks and stay hydrated big time. I don't have the answer but am going to just stay around 1200-1400 calories a day, few carbs and very little sugars. I am around 170! I want to be closer to 135. So, we will see.
 
Happy to report that I'm down 3 pounds, 2 to go. How about the rest of you?

@fancicoffee13 - bready carbs, sugar, and evening eating are what do me in, too.

@win231 - I'm so sorry that you didn't have a marital partner who supported your efforts. A truly good marriage provides ongoing support by someone who cheers on your victories and lends a hand to pick yourself back up after a stumble.
Kind of like this thread - and this forum.
 
I haven’t weighed myself in a while since I wasn’t losing any more weight so have decided to only weigh myself once a week. Next Monday I’ll weigh myself to see if I’ve lost anything.

Yesterday I jogged for one hour and did a one hour workout using my balance ball. I’m feeling very positive about losing this extra 20 pounds I currently am holding onto. By Christmas I WILL be 20 pounds lighter. That’s 8 weeks from now.
2 1/2 pounds per week. 😎
 
Holding at down 3 with 2 to go.

@Keesha - As someone who needs constant positive reinforcement to stay strong - or a reality check when I stray - I salute your strength of will.

Tonight will be a double whammy. Our son and DIL are coming over for dinner and to enjoy our neighborhood's many Trick-or-Treaters, AND the big bag of Costco candy will be uncorked.

I'll manage the amount of candy leftovers by sending most home with our DIL. She's a hair stylist who'll happily share the wealth with her customers. We'll hold onto some of the little packets of M & Ms though. :p
 
Ohhhhhhh candy!😳
I fold when it comes to candy.
My husband works for a company that owns the worlds chocolate resources so is constantly bringing home free chocolate. Life’s tough at times 😅🤭

But Costco candy? Why do you think I’m wanting to lose all this weight? It’s so I can enjoy some of those awesome treats and not hate myself later. 🥺lol

But thank you for your kinds words. I really appreciate it.

Yesterday I jogged for 45 minutes and did a one hour balance ball workout. It’s a GAIAM workout.
Meaning it’s great.

My meals are delicious. Here’s my lunch.




607FB354-417E-451B-BAAF-63BE777889FD.jpeg
 
Keesha said:
Ohhhhhhh candy!😳
I fold when it comes to candy.
My husband works for a company that owns the worlds chocolate resources so is constantly bringing home free chocolate. Life’s tough at times 😅🤭

But Costco candy? Why do you think I’m wanting to lose all this weight? It’s so I can enjoy some of those awesome treats and not hate myself later. 🥺lol

But thank you for your kinds words. I really appreciate it.

Yesterday I jogged for 45 minutes and did a one hour balance ball workout. It’s a GAIAM workout.
Meaning it’s great.

My meals are delicious. Here’s my lunch.




View attachment 79795
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Beautiful presentation! I need way more veggie volume to fill up, but that's probably because I don't eat meat or dairy and go very light on fats and oils.
 
StarSong said:
Beautiful presentation! I need way more veggie volume to fill up, but that's probably because I don't eat meat or dairy and go very light on fats and oils.
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Thank you. I’m pumping up the veggies and oils.
What I’m finding is that when I increase my protein and healthy oils, it keeps me full all day long. Healthy oils are something I won’t ever skimp out on since they are essential for maintaining healthy shiny hair. It’s been discovered that eliminating simple sugars, simple starches and junk food is great for losing weight and not skip out on healthy oils. They are essential for proper brain function also. Studies have shown that all decreasing fats and oils through dieting can lead to depression.
 
@Keesha - Dieting itself can - and usually does - depress me. Not clinically though - it's just a reaction to skipping the preferred foods like Dove chocolate in favor of zucchini. Which I also like, but not to the same degree.

Agreed about including healthy fats and oils and the importance of skipping sugars, starches and junk.
 
Keesha said:
Ohhhhhhh candy!😳
I fold when it comes to candy.
My husband works for a company that owns the worlds chocolate resources so is constantly bringing home free chocolate. Life’s tough at times 😅🤭

But Costco candy? Why do you think I’m wanting to lose all this weight? It’s so I can enjoy some of those awesome treats and not hate myself later. 🥺lol

But thank you for your kinds words. I really appreciate it.

Yesterday I jogged for 45 minutes and did a one hour balance ball workout. It’s a GAIAM workout.
Meaning it’s great.

My meals are delicious. Here’s my lunch.




View attachment 79795
Click to expand...
Nice photo for someone with a food addiction. What time should I be over?
:)
 
Starting the OMAD today. I had supper tonight, so I will drink plenty of healthy water today and then have a good supper tonight. By the way, is there a healthy snack to have to help stave off the hunger before supper? I really can't do much exercise except those for my total knee replacement. I do get on the bike for awhile to help with the bend of my new knee. About 10 minutes so far.
 
Keesha said:
Fruit is usually a good thing to have to ward off hunger until you have a proper meal. It should digest very well.
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Not for me it isn't. Basically fruit is all sugar. And since I'm pre-diabetic and insulin resistant if I eat a piece of fruit I will feel like I am STARVING TO DEATH in about 1/2 hour. I need protein and fat, lots of fat, to ward off hunger. That why my preferred is a can of sardines in olive oil. And I drink all the oil.

Not to mention, fruit gives me gas. :cool:
 
Trade said:
Not for me it isn't. Basically fruit is all sugar. And since I'm pre-diabetic and insulin resistant if I eat a piece of fruit I will feel like I am STARVING TO DEATH in about 1/2 hour. I need protein and fat, lots of fat, to ward off hunger. That why my preferred is a can of sardines in olive oil. And I drink all the oil.
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Yes fructose indeed but you’re diabetic so it is a bit different.

Protein is probably better, like an egg, some nuts or piece of cheese or meat. The reason I didn’t add this is because she’s on the one meal a day thing and I’m not sure if these things are considered inferring with the one meal a day.

I’m only just familiarizing myself with the OMAD diet.
 
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