The MakeMeThinner Support Forum

[Dean0408]

I began maintenance in early May. As many of you know, my daughter's wedding was May 21, so I wanted to look my best. I actually became paranoid that I would gain back some flab before the wedding. Because of this, I was extremely careful to make sure that I ate wisely and exercised regularly.

I still jump on the scale each and every morning just as I did during my weight loss phase. I know some people don't like to see a daily weight total, but to me it is a tool to see just where I am and what adjustments (if any) need to be made.

I decided that all food was fair game. The amounts I ate however, were drastically reduced, especially the carbs. I became a Splenda nut while dieting, and continue to use Splenda in place of sugar and look for items at the store that contain Splenda. Splenda does not have that fake aftertaste that other artificial sweetners have, at least to me.

I mentioned in another post that I could eat an entire large pizza on my own. Now, if pizza is being served.......I limit my intake to only 2 slices. This is just an example of how I have cut back on the volume.

When I went to Cincinnati for the wedding, I just had to sample the ribs at Montgomery Inn, the three ways, four ways and coneys at Skyline Chili and of course the best Italian food ever at LaRosa's. I haven't had these things in a while since I live in SoCal. I am leaving something out.......oh yeah......White Castles.........I LOVE White Castle's! They are tiny little hamburgers and were the subject of a recent movie called "Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle" I used to be able to eat a dozen of them........I only got three on this trip.

The first couple of days were spent at my brother's house........he has a gym set up in his basement that rivals any professional gym in the country. Tons of equipment. Each morning I would trudge down there and use the treadmill and/or the rowing machine. The next couple of days were spent in a hotel with other relatives who came in for the wedding. While everyone else was sleeping during the early morining, I would be the lonely exerciser in the hotel's workout room.

Even with all the different foods I tried, the rehearsal dinner, and the food at the wedding (plus drinks), I had only gained a pound and a half by the time we came home.

By going back on the shakes, having a lean and green.......and doing regular exercise, within two or three days I was not only back at goal, I was two pounds under my goal.

Maintenance is a series of decisions. The cool part is they are YOUR decisions. I know that three things are necessary........sensible portions, plenty of exercise (at the right time of the day) and continuing to drink the same amount of water as when you are on the Medifast diet.

Next: Part 2, Exercise

[doglover]

Sounds like a great plan. Are you using MF products at all during the day, like for snacks? I plan to regularly. First bec. I love them; second, they are so full of nutrition; and third they will help me maintain my weight.

Are you eating 6 times a day still?

Thanks for the update and again, I am thrilled you are back
Donna

[dlr2424]

...........before I ask a million questions let me just say........ ..........I"M SO GLAD YOUR BACK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!...............now...... .....how is Heidi?......is school finished for her?..... ......please tell her we miss her too.................how was the wedding........ .........yes we want to hear all about it...... ........pictures and all..............Now..so excited about the 1 1/2 lb gain and 2 lb loss..........GOOD FOR YOU!!!!!!!........ .......gotta run for now .... ...keep up the great maintaining.....................
Donna..dlr2424

[Dean0408]

D...I am not "officially" eating six times a day. Sometimes I may eat that often if you consider that I have a small breakfast, usually a high protein, low carb shake.......or coffee and a medifast bar (I really love those smores bars....they go great with coffee), Lunch (I make lunch my biggest meal of the day.........I have this thing about wanting to have more hours of activity following larger food intake), and a small dinner.......some type of veggie or a salad and some lean protein.

The lunch may be soup and a sandwich (on whole grain bread), followed by some sort of non fattening dessert such as a sugar free jello cup.

In between meals, if I get hungry, I will have a piece of fruit or a snack bar of some type. If I have exercised a lot, or walked for a long way, I may have a shake.

Yes, I do use some of the MF products during the day, but not every day.

On Tuesday, I took the car up for service and then walked about a mile or so to the dreaded golden arches. (I had already walked about three miles early that morning) I had a bad thing for breakfast. Sausage McMuffin with no egg, hash brown and orange juice..........mmmmmmm. I used to eat three of those at least.......including three hash browns. Then I walked back to the dealership. Because I had that high calorie breakfast, I cut back on everything else for the rest of the day.

I take a multi-vitamin each morning along with one of those tiny dose St. Joseph aspirins (yes, I bought the hype about those aspirins helping to avoid heart issues)

I love milk, but I have limited myself to only a half gallon of low fat milk per week. I used to drink a gallon a day in the big belly days.

My second favorite drink was always "Classic Coke". I now drink only diet Coke with Splenda. (it is finally available on the west coast)

I can't tell you how much walking has helped to keep me on track. I will discuss this in part 2 of my maintenance posts.

As I stated, I still drink a lot of water each day. I truly believe it helps to flush out bad stuff in your system.

Donna the WAHM: Heidi is just great. She is about to hit the 40 pound club (I think she has less than a pound to go for this). She finished her semester a couple of weeks ago and started another one right up. She goes three nights a week and is really enjoying it. She is at the point where the lost weight has changed her body shape entirely. She is truly looking great. She has two semesters to go to finish her Bachelor's degree in business. She may even have a dual degree depending on the classes she chooses.

I guess I will have to make a wedding thread and tell everyone the blow by blow events of the wedding. I will say that all was well and that I got tons of compliments from people that I have not seen in many years. They kept telling me that I hadn't "changed a lick"...........little did they know that indeed I HAD changed, but changed back just in time for the wedding.

We didn't take a lot of pictures at the wedding because the photographer was taking so many pictures of every single minute of the wedding and reception. I have a few pics of the rehearsal dinner that I can share.

As I said, I have become fanatical about not regaining an ounce. So much so, that I have to watch myself so as not to drop TOO much weight. A week ago, I dropped 7 pounds below my goal and had to force myself to have a bigger intake. Heidi does not like me to look too thin.......and I don't either. I am going for trim and muscular, not skinny and wimpy.

Nancy talks about eating certain things and uses the statement "Because I can", I must say that I think about this too now that I am on maintenance. I thought that once I was allowed to eat whatever I wanted (within reason), that I would really have to watch myself. As it turns out, I am enjoying the new me and all the compliments so much that I am AFRAID to eat sometimes. That is weird isn't it? My ego has become my most important diet aid. While dieting, I kept thinking about all the stuff I could shove in my face once I got to goal (you always want what you are not allowd to have, right?) Now that I am allowed to have this stuff, I don't even want it. I think knowing that I could have it if I wanted to is enough for me right now.

Another thing I do is plan ahead for an event where I know I will be eating a lot (a lot these days is certainly different from what I used to call a lot), and possibly having a few drinks. (I even switched to Michalob Ultra which is a low card beer).

Tomorrow night, we are going to a huge birthday party for our closest friend. I know there will be food and drink galore. Just as I did for Memorial Day, I planned ahead and dropped a few extra pounds (it is really easy with a good combination of sensible food intake and exercise). This morning I was almost five pounds below goal. This gives me a cushion for when I am "bad" tomorrow night. (and I will be too)

Hope that answered all the questions......feel free to ask more as they occur to you.

Dean

[dlr2424]

......... ..........just happy your both back...... ..........looking forward to the wedding thread....... .........and ........ ......just how bad will you be tomorrow night....... ......sometimes bad can be good....... ......
donna.........dlr2424

[Dean0408]

Yep Donna.......sometimes bad can be VERY good.......hehe

Dean

[fedup]

Dean-
Hi and congratulations!! I am soooooooo glad that someone is posting some detailed maintenance stuff here! That's where I messed up before, and any advice is truly gold! Please keep posting your maintenance info!!

I had tentatively planned to do similar to what you doing... eat healthy food choices, going up slowly in calories... increase my exercise... keep of that coke classic (my downfall too!)... if I have a bigger event, plan ahead and eat light ahead and after if needed... and weigh every day so I can catch any gains early this time and deal with it. It's just great to see someone putting it into practice and it's working for them!!

'Cause that's my biggest fear... that my maintenance plan will not work. Last time I didn't have a plan, I just gave into the "diet over" kind of thought. I WILL NOT do that this time! I read your other post about having a solid mindset before going into transition and I think that is key! SO I've been thinking early about mine.... I look forward to reading about your maintenance! Thanks for sharing it!

[Mommy2girls]

Dean,

Welcome back and a sincere thanks for your insight on maintenance. When I MFasted before (and lost 85lbs) 20lbs came back while I was on maintenance for a full year, but since I had done the FULL FAST to lose the weight, my maintenance consisted of all food. I was very careful about what and how much I ate, and basically followed exchanges for keeping track of what food I ate. It never occurred to me (at the time, this was 7 years ago) to continue using MF products. The drs. office helped me lose the weight, but then I was off on my own for maintenance with no real help. Then the drs. office closed in early 2000 which was right around the time I got pregnant with my first child. The rest as they say was history.

This time around, I'm actually SO HAPPY that we can order MF products for ourselves, (meaning not thru a drs. office) and I don't know if that was the case 7 years ago or not, but they (the drs. office) sure led me to believe that obtaining products thru them was the only way to get them.

I really truly believe that no matter how you lose the weight, it is the keeping it off that is the lifelong struggle.

Dean, you are doing great and I'll keep checking back to see more of your thoughts and insights in what I believe is the MOST important part of this journey...MAINTAIN MAINTAIN MAINTAIN!!!

Sheila

[DonicaB]

Dean~~you are doing a great job on maintenance. I'm glad Heidi is doing well also. (Congratulations Heidi on 40# gone )

I think weighing daily helps on maintenance because you can see how certain foods affect you and what to look out for.

I know you are concerned about obsessing over not gaining the weight back, but that may be what you need right now. You have said before, you love food, so maybe you need to be obsessive right now in order to not go back to your bad foody habits. I think you will find that after you have been on maintenance for a while, it will seem like 2nd nature, and you won't be quite so obsessive. I need to be a little more obsessive.

You're doing great, Dean. You will be successful in keeping the weight off.

DonicaB

[LilMsTexas]

Hey Dean,
How's it going? I haven't had much of a chance to write to you here lately and I've missed our exchanges. I truly appreciate your time and the energy you've put into this post and this forum in general. I hope everything continues to go smoothly for you and Heidi both.

I'm still looking forward to the pictures you will be posting Hopefully Heidi will allow the picture to be of the two of you together

My parents will be here on Wednesday and we'll be vacationing off and on for a week. Other than three days I will be program compliant completely and the other days while gone to Niagra falls and Hershey PA I wil be doing more of a maintenance program...making proper choices and limiting my quantities while remaining faithful to my water.

This close to surgery I could theoretically go on into maintenance for my recovery period but I am choosing to stay on program but allow a little more food here and there so I won't have any tummy troubles. I know I will be getting morphin and heavy pain meds and will have to have more food in my stomach to tolerate that, so I'm just doing a little extra here and there for now. Once I am off my pain medication I will have to assess my weight situation and see if I have more to loose or if I will remain on maintenance. Right now it's all just a scary blur

At any rate....I hope to continue hearing from you and I hope everything continues to go as smoothly as the beginning.

CHEERS!
Christi

[Dean0408]

Well, all I can say is ........it's a good thing I dropped a few extra pounds prior to last Saturday night. In one night I gained 5 or 6 pounds. This put me slightly over my goal weight, so I cut back on eating for the past few days and increased my exercise.........and now I am a pound under goal again.

Christi......your body will require more nutrition for the healing process as well as for tolerating the meds. Check with your doctor and find out what the best course to take is. You can always go back to full compliance after you are healed.

Dean

[LilMsTexas]

I went for my post-op physical yesterday and I have a new doctor. My other one PCSed (military move). He was very excited and encouraging about my weight loss but was unfamiliar with medifast (of course). So talking to him about maintenance and surgical recovery wasn't very helpful. I know that I probally should just go on into maintenance but the thought of that is sooooo scary to me. I'm not at my "goal weight" so it just feels wrong. But...like I said...I'm adding a little here and there...but it is making my old "foodie thoughts" creep back too. I'm just like a kid..give me an inch and I take a mile. But....I'm working on it!

It is also very encouraging to see you talk about a little weight gain over a weekend and your ability to take it right back off!! That's what we ALL SHOULD DO!! FANNNTABULOUS!!

[Dean0408]

Yeah Cristi, I have to think about taking off any gain as soon as it occurs. I would hate to let things get out of control.

It is a whole lot easier to take off 3 or 4 pounds than it is 30 or 40 pounds.

It is easier to clean the house once a week rather than once a year......right?

Keep those foodie thoughts at bay. If you have to nibble, try to stay away from the really bad stuff. Have a little fruit and maybe a sugar free jello. After your surgery, you won't be able to do strenuous exercise, so about the only things that will be burning calories will be your involuntary actions such as heart beat and breathing. Those don't burn much fuel.

Write down some sort of eating plan and stick to it. Make sure you are nourished.........but not OVER nourished. Keep drinking your water.

Dean