Follow-up from January 11 coaching call
Hi Heather, This is a follow-up from my January 11 coaching call. My task for the last month was to work on maintenance. I have gained and lost the same 20 lbs several times. Last year, I lost the 20 lbs yet again but have now regained 6 - 8 lbs and I am determined to break the cycle. Per our call, my goals for the past month have been to see what it looks like if I (1) track and eat at 1600 calories a day; (2) calorie cycle; and (3) weigh myself consistently. I have never attempted maintenance in any planned fashion before and never tried calorie cycling. The first week and a half was a bit rough due to a work trip and some lengthy commitments but I kept at it. I'm very happy with how it's been going! Eating at 1600 calories is a huge relief (compared to the 1200 previously) and it feels doable. I might be able to increase the calorie amount and still be at maintenance but probably not very much. My weekly weight averages have been 122.64; 122.28; 122.16; 121.83; and 121.1. I plan to try this calorie allowance for another four weeks and then increase the amount incrementally, perhaps to 1700 a day, and see how it goes. It appears that I'm slowly losing weight at 1600, which is very surprising to me because my activity level has been darn near close to sedentary/lightly active. I'm 48 and 5' tall and I don't exercise well in cold. Thanks for the advice and everything you do! I've been listening to you off and on since 2012. The off times have been a "gaining" time and the on times were when I was losing weight, of course. Paige (aka Pam)
Staying motivated
Hi Heather, First and foremost, I want to thank you for what you are doing. Your podcast has literally changed my life, and you helped me break the cycle of diet and restrict. I took a maintenance break for the first time in September and I could feel myself breaking the cycle. Thank you. Your level headed and kind voice has become the voice in my head. A little about me: I’m petite, 5’4, and have bounced up and down between 155 and 229 my entire adult life. After I had my son 6 years ago, my weight settled at 205 and I maintained that for 3 years. I have lost 30 pounds over the last 2 years and currently am at 176. I love my body and have made peace with how long this takes, but man, sometimes the process just *gets* to me. As a petite woman it is so easy to slip into maintenance that I just get discouraged. Typically, I am active so 1800 is losing a pound a month, but then it’s maintenance when I let up on the exercise. (I run 2x a week and weight train 2x a week ) How do you keep yourself going through these tough weeks when you just feel fluffy and the process gets you down? Thank you for everything you do. You’re amazing. Bonnie
How long is a typical maintenance break?
Hi Heather--thank you so much for your sane, practical, realistic advice. I am so grateful for you. So I have almost 200 lbs to lose. Whenever I drop a lot of weight, I get a 7-month 'honeymoon' where I lose 60 to 70 lbs. Then I hit a wall and quickly regain everything. This time, I am planning on taking a maintenance break after I lose 30 lbs. It will be a new thing for me to hit pause during the honeymoon and the thought fills me with panic. What if interrupting the honeymoon means losing the thread and not dropping anymore weight? I am reaching an age where I desperately need to lose all this weight and keep it off. I feel like it would help me to have some idea of how long maintenance breaks typically need to be, and what some of the pitfalls to watch out for are. I plan to take another maintenance break after the second 30 lbs, and probably continue that pattern until I'm done (assuming I can be done--arg). Really hoping this will make a difference, and I won't just drop 60-70 lbs again an pop back up to the 380s. Thank you!!!
Weight Loss and Stress
Hi Heather, You've been so incredibly helpful. I really appreciate you and all that you do. I have been listening for a couple years now, and not doing the things but I think I'm getting it now. I recently went on a maintenance break and successfully maintained my weight for 8 weeks. Over these 8 weeks my kid had their second craniotomy and their tumour was upgraded to stage 2 which means chemo and radiation. We've just finished week one of 6. When I started my maintenance break at the end of November it was going to capture holidays and 2 birthdays including mine. The plan was to go on a small deficit for 4 weeks and then increase it after those 4. With all the crap I'm dealing with (kid's illness, in school full time, off work for mental health reasons and just bought a house) would you suggest staying at maintenance or continuing on with the small deficit plan? Thanks for taking the time to read this. It's more complicated than I can put in a short email but suggestions would be helpful because I'm struggling with body dysmorphia and have weddings coming up and I hate how i feel in my skin. Thank you!