I have been far from perfect in maintenance, and I have been over 200 three times. Last week at one point, I was up seven pounds from my maintenance weight (not including the +/- accuracy range that Kristoise always reminds me about). But I reined it in, had a couple of days where I ate fewer calories and only veggies and protein, and I get back to my maintenance weight with relative ease. Back in my Weight Watchers days, I would gain a couple of pounds for no apparent reason, and it would take me two weeks to get them back off. On this diet, I only gain when I've eaten too much or had a sugar binge, and it comes right back off. For that reason, I do think my metabolism is working correctly in a way it hasn't for a long, long time.
| Day 1 | 12/14/2010 | 198.2 |
| Day 2 | 12/15/2010 | 198.6 |
| Day 3 | 12/16/2010 | 198.4 |
| Day 4 | 12/17/2010 | 197.0 |
| Day 5 | 12/18/2010 | 198.4 |
| Day 6 | 12/19/2010 | 199.2 |
| Day 7 | 12/20/2010 | 198.8 |
| Day 8 | 12/21/2010 | - |
| Day 9 | 12/22/2010 | 199.0 |
| Day 10 | 12/23/2010 | 199.6 |
| Day 11 | 12/24/2010 | 200.6 |
| Day 12 | 12/25/2010 | 202.8 |
| Day 13 | 12/26/2010 | 203.2 |
| Day 14 | 12/27/2010 | 201.0 |
| Day 15 | 12/28/2010 | 199.8 |
| Day 16 | 12/29/2010 | 197.6 |
| Day 17 | 12/30/2010 | 198.6 |
| Day 18 | 12/31/2010 | 198.2 |
| Day 19 | 1/1/2011 | 198.6 |
| Day 20 | 1/2/2011 | 198.6 |
| Day 21 | 1/3/2011 | 200.2 |
| Day 22 | 1/4/2011 | 199.8 |
| Day 23 | 1/5/2011 | 199.2 |
| Day 24 | 1/6/2011 | 201.2 |
| Day 25 | 1/7/2011 | 200.0 |
| Day 26 | 1/8/2011 | 199.0 |
| Day 27 | 1/9/2011 | 202.0 |
| Day 28 | 1/10/2011 | 205.4 |
| Day 29 | 1/11/2011 | 201.6 |
| Day 30 | 1/12/2011 | 199.8 |
| Day 31 | 1/13/2011 | 199.6 |
| Day 32 | 1/14/2011 | 199.4 |
I definitely have lost some attention and focus, which I think is natural but also a little dangerous. On her password-protected blog, Olivia (who is also in maintenance), wrote:
"I never want to return to the way I lived before, and I find myself doing so, not as much on a weight level as on an emotional level. I would say that although I've gained only 2.3 pounds back, I'm about 80% back to the way I lived before."Olivia, I'm wondering if this is still true for you two weeks later or if you have made adjustments?
I can relate. Although my weight seems fairly stable, I am getting back into some habits that will probably not be good for me long term. When I was on the HCG portion of the diet, I was very conscious of caring for myself during what felt like a challenging period--long baths, early bedtimes, naps whenever possible, striking lipstick at least once or twice a week, not wearing yoga pants all day (I work from home, so can easily get away with looking very schlumpy on a regular basis). I never ate a single bite of anything after 7 p.m. I was eating all organic foods. Not a molecule of sugar, wheat, or artificial sweeteners. I've slipped on all these areas.
People talk about this diet as "miraculous." You know what? It's not really that miraculous. Honestly, to maintain this weight, I have to be committed to life changes long term, which I always knew intellectually but am now really understanding. Yes, I lost weight fairly easily and fairly quickly, and that felt miraculous at times, for sure. But there is nothing miraculous about keeping the weight off--it's about paying attention and not getting too far off course. A miraculous diet would be one where I could eat ice cream all day and still be thin. This ain't that!
I have always thought that my goal was to get to the place where I never think about or worry about weight and food. But I am trying to adjust my image of what it will be like to be a normal weight person. I am already getting to the place where a daily weigh-in feels like information more than it feels like a judgment, and as long as that's the case, I think a daily weigh-in most days for the rest of my life will probably be really useful.
A friend I went running this morning on the treadmills and we were next to a man who told us he was 75 years old, and that he weighs himself every morning, and if he's ever over 175, he makes an adjustment in what he eats for a few days until he gets back under. That doesn't seem crazy and obsessive, that seems like a really good fucking idea.
I start my second and final round in about nine days (I'll do load days not this coming weekend but next, and then start the drops and the 500 calories either Sunday or Monday). I'm actually not looking forward to it. It wasn't that hard the first time once I got over the initial hunger, but it was so damn inconvenient and ostentatious. So I'm kind of dreading it. And I don't hate my body quite so much any more, so the motivation to do something extreme isn't as strong. Still, it was so fast and effective that there really isn't a good reason not to do it, especially since I'd really like to do a sprint triathlon this year, and doing it without an extra 25-30 pounds will make a big difference in my training and likelihood of injury.
I'm going to do another post about goal weight, which is my latest mind fuck.
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