Is there anyone here that has maintained their weight loss?

[RedRox]

Wow, an actual interesting discussion without rancor and bitterness!

I don't know if I changed from a fat mindset to a thin mindset as much as changed from a negative, self-destructive mindset to a more positive, health improvement mindset. I don't even know how that happened really, but for some reason I seemed to have decided to stop killing myself on a daily basis and chose to value myself and my life and my health more. I guess getting old does that to you!

I still deal with body image issues at times. I still feel and think I'm "fat" at times despite what others say or what measurements invalidate.

The people I know that are truly thin and fit strike me as constantly vigilant and conscientious about food and exercise...to me that is a thin mentality.

But if we take Jams' observation as true, then I have a "thin mentality". It just doesn't feel like it so much to me I guess. I think of it more as a "fear of being fat or dead" mentality!

[oldpjams]

I guess what I mean is that if I do everything I can to give 100% to eating well and exercising, day after day, I do get to a point where I feel like I am the best I can be at this point in life. That takes a few months. It's physically and mentally tiring. I can't sustain that indefinitely. I start to feel like I'm missing out on some foods and the level of exercise can't be sustained for many reasons (family commitments, burnout, fatigue). Eventually I need to back off a bit and I do gain some weight and lose some fitness. Then it all starts again. Just like in any sport...you can't be "in season" and at your peak all year long.

[RedRox]

Yeah I get that. Especially for what you do. I'd burnout in a few days on your schedule. I'm more of a consistent plodder. I'm not training for anything or trying to get/maintain a competitive edge. I just keep working on that contstantly vigilant thing. It's just pretty ingrained in what I do on a day-to-day basis at this point. It's as boring as the rest of my life!

[DebbyC]

boring except for us....

[oldpjams]

I'm all about consistent plodding! Eat, ride, eat, sleep. That's it. More eating and riding, but that's the idea.

[lisa30]

Interesting!


Even when i lost the weight the first time and knew i was very slim...i still would cover up if my boyfriend walked in on me naked?

I still had the fat mentally and the dreaded fat voice which acted as the devil on my back screaming 'eat the cake and then some, because you are thin now'!!!


The eating of the cake to shut the voice up, would result in feelings of guilt and negativity which just put me right back into the vicious circle that made me overweight in the first place.

I felt so in control on the SBD, i thought i had really cracked it this time......but my old mentality krept in and bad habits to follow.
I never gave up the SB way of life but the junk and more of it just came back in.

I have also realised how the fat mind plays tricks all the time just to eat some junk.....sad really. Even being overweight now, my mind says you look ok really and another bad day wont hurt.....of course one day leads to another

Then every now and again i see my reflection in a shop window as i walk by and see how big i have gotten again...i feel angry and sad and of course i want to eat!!!

I see i am overweight and so i want to eat more?? Backwards really!

Anyway i wont give up!

It is all common sense in the end...but interesting to hear how others deal with it

[oldpjams]

i posted an article called comfort food for monkeys here:
http://www.southbeach-diet-plan.com/for ... hp?t=88300

[lisa30]

I wish i was a monkey

[yayme1227]

I lost most of my post-baby weight using South Beach diet principles for the most part. I have lost over 50 pounds since 2004. I still have 20 pounds to go. I did South Beach for a couple of months about 3 times over the last 4 years. I have pretty much kept it off but I work out a lot and I still have not met my goal. I find it hard to stay on South Beach longer than a few months because I tire of it and end up adding the carbs back in and totally fall off..plus I train for half marathons here and there and I eat way more carbs during training and it messes me up. So, of any diet I have ever been on this one works the best for me. I find I lose about 10--15 pounds per try and then I just do what I can to maintain that loss for a year. Slow progress but it has worked for me. SO here I am back again (I think) to lose the last 20 or heck even 15 would make me happy. I have tried counting calories, weight watchers, etc during this past year and I find I do well during the week and binge on weekends so I cannot lose anything with either of these methods. So I think I am finally ready to be back on the Beach once again.

[DebbyC]

I guess this is a stupid question, but it seems to me that on phase 2, there are plenty of "carbs" so when one mentions that they eat "more carbs" than SBD allows, it makes me wonder- are you genuinely eating "more carbs" or eating the wrong carbs and using exercise as an excuse? Because last I saw... ww breads, whole grains, ww pastas, starchy veggies, milk, beans....all carb-y.... now I"m not a marathon runner - or even walker by any stretch of imagination, but I do recall some successful SBD runners and bikers and exercisers who do get plenty of carbs and proteins, but do it within the limits of SBD. Just wondering...

[lorka150]

Personally, I just portion what I eat through the day. I eat mostly "carbs", because the foods that I eat are rich in carbohydrates. Grains, vegetables, fruits are all carbohydrates and make the bulk of my diet. I'm also a vegan, so my proteins are "carbohydrate" heavy, too. I'm an avid exerciser, so I fuel my body for its personal needs.