This spring, I reached my goal weight. I was thrilled, relieved, and terrified. Thrilled, because I had worked so long and hard, and had finally achieved my goal. Relieved, because I once thought it wasn’t possible. Terrified, because I had absolutely no clue how to maintain. Losing weight? I had become pretty confident in my ability to do that (finally), after I lost over 100 pounds. Gaining weight? I think we all know I was confident I could do that as well. Maintenance? I had no clue how to do that. I’d never been at goal weight, so I certainly had never maintained.
I embarked on this new journey with a little bit of trepidation, but I was eager to get started. Everyone has different opinions about how maintenance should be done with Weight Watchers. Some eat every point coming to them in weight loss, and they continue this in maintenance. Some eat only their dailies (which increase by 6 in maintenance mode), and others are somewhere in between. I used only my dailies most of the time. Once I entered maintenance mode, I wasn’t sure what I should do. First, I tried sticking to my dailies. I lost two pounds. I knew I needed to adjust my points, or I would continue losing. I tried eating more. I gained…then I gained some more. I went up 5 pounds in total, and showed no signs of stopping. I went back into weight loss mode, readjusted my goal weight, and began losing again. Once again, I reached goal, went back to maintenance, and began gaining weight. I am still tweaking my methods and figuring things out, and I seem to be getting on the right track.
I am still not sure what maintenance will look like for me, but I know I will figure it out. I know that this is where I am meant to be. I won’t give up, no matter how difficult things may get. The journey to healthy living, weight loss, and maintenance is never finished. It takes adjustment to figure out what works for you. Never give in. Never stop believing in yourself.
This is a post I have been holding onto for a long time. I felt like I was holding myself back a little in sharing with everyone, because I am still figuring this out. However, I have realized that by sharing struggles, we can all learn from each other and we can feel a little less alone. Please let me know if you have questions, need support, or if you have suggestions for future posts. You can send me a message on Facebook, Twitter, or email me at the address on the right of the page! (I’m sorry I had to remove the contact form, but I was getting a ton o’ spam!)
You are doing great! I am so proud of for sticking to it.You will succeed,because of who you are! Love you!