Do you plan to keep this up forever?

I know that in order to achieve lasting weight loss you need to keep up a healthy lifestyle, but does living like this FOR THE REST OF YOUR LIFE ever seem daunting?

 

I've always been a calorie counter, but I'm new to exercise. Sometimes I just don't want to go to the gym, but I manage to drag myself there because I know that if I go I'll lose weight. What will I tell myself when I've lost the weight? Will I still need to go to the gym, even if I don't eat more?

Do you have some sot of maintenance plan worked out, or will you just keep doing what you're doing, +500 calories?

I don't go to the gym; I'm just not a gym person.  I've incorporated exercise into my life in other ways (walk to work, use my bicycle more for fun, go swimming, etc.) and I plan to keep those up.  Foodwise, I'm already eating what should be maintenance levels for me and it works pretty well.  I'm satisfied.  I get to have treats.  I get to eat "normal" food.  I just eat less junk and more healthy stuff.  I can do this for the rest of my life.

For me... yes I really do expect to keep this up the rest of my life, both the counting and exercise.

I'm told with counting that once your done losing and you maintain for a while that you start to be able to tell what your portions are and how much to eat.  At that point you can stopping counting for the most part and maybe just weigh in once a week or once month to keep an eye on things.  If your trend line changes then you may need to count again for a while.  But in general you should eventually get good at knowing what you need... it's like any other habit.

I'm told the same happens with exercise.   It also helps to find exercise you enjoy.  Once you get used to it and it isn't so hard any more... it just becomes easier.  Maybe even becomes your personal time.  Some people say they don't feel as well, or get grumpy and out of sorts if they don't have thier run or thier gym time.  

I really can't wait for either/both of these things to happen.

But generally yes.  That's why CCers encourage life style change over dieting.  And lifesyle is life long.

I was thinking about that earlier today. Having actually seen a healthy weight on my scale this morning, I'm able to let myself look beyond the immediate work of weight loss to the not-so-distant future where I'll be switching to maintenance.

I do believe I can do this for the rest of my life, but I can never slip into the sort of mindlessness I allowed myself before I decided that enough was enough and 227 pounds was more than enough.

The eating is overall the easy part. I will continue to exercise, though I don't know if I will constantly maintain the intensity I strive for. I want to. I feel better for it, and it definitely helps that I have been able to make a connection between my mental well-being and my workouts.

The phrase I once heard was.... 'don't do anything to lose weight that you can't see yourself happily doing for the rest of your life'. 

The key word there is 'happily'... voluntarily, enthusiastically, naturally.  So, like susiecue, I didn't embark on some punishing gym routine because it's simply not me and I know I'd never keep it up.  Instead I do other activities that I enjoy and that seems to do the trick.   Same goes with the menu..... the criteria for everything I eat is that it has to be delicious, not simply low-cal or 'healthy'.  Has to be food I actually want to eat and prefer to eat..... not food I think I should eat.

I've been maintaining my weight for 4 years now with varying degrees of success!  (Using CC at the moment to remove an annoying 10lbs that has appeared...)   It's very rewarding and not daunting at all.

I can`t imagine doing it any differently now. I look at my energy and optimism when eating healthy, and remember what it was like before, and can`t think of any reason in the world why I would want to go back there.

Sure, a few pounds will creep up here or there, as I am definitely not a food nazi so I tend to go overboard on my nuts every now and then. But whenever my pants feel a little tight I am reminded to manage my portions better and everything is back to normal before I know it.

I do plan on keeping it up to an extent. I don't have a maintenance plan, but I'm at least 40-50 pounds from my goal weight, so that's irrelevant for now. I think I'll probably go a few days counting and then a few days without counting to see if I'm really estimating portions well, and then see what happens from there. If I have to go back to calorie counting, despite what my family and friends might think, it's actually become easy and natural now, and I don't really mind it.

The exercise part I think I'm ok with too. I don't always exercise and when I do it's walking or the bike or just parking further away from an entrance or doing any other thing that comes natural to me. Plus, I like exercise, I like lowering my anxiety levels and having more energy and feeling stronger and more flexible the way I do after I exercise.

I guess after going on so many diets, I've learned to take it easy and have a plan that I can stick to. I have treats, I eat things I love, I'm rarely hungry (and when I am, I can give myself a few calories without feeling guilty) and I do think I can keep this up without it being a burden.

I did the gym thing for a while and I hated it so much I couldn't even keep it up for the sake of weight loss. But I have come to love cycling and fast walking, and I can see myself doing that for the rest of my life. It's not just healthy in terms of fresh air and getting my body moving, I also find it very stress-relieving. At the moment I'd go nuts without it .. It's also the only time I get to "read" a book, because I listen to audio books in the meanwhile. Plus, I'm 5'3, without exercising, I'd have to maintain at like 1600 calories. Terrible! With a little extra exercise, I can allow myself a piece of chocolate every now and then much more easily ;)
As for the calorie counting, I don't want to do that forever. I will do it until I have learned how to estimate precisely enough to go without. I never ate junk food to begin with, so that's not an issue, luckily :)

ETA: double post

I'm probably a freak, because the gym is the favorite part of the day/week for me. I was an athlete for most of my life, skating competitively, so exercise puts a smile on my face. There's also something about exercise that brings people together like nothing else - exhaustion makes all people equal. So yes, I do plan on keeping this up for the rest of my life. Since I plan on being this active, however, calorie counting won't be as big of an issue and I'm counting more on healthier choices for maintenance than actual calorie counting.

I've found as I maintain that even though my goals have changed I still have goals. I am no longer trying to lose weight but I am trying to run a faster 5k  and finish the New Rules of Lifting program. I want to do a century bike ride by the end of the summer. There are always things I want to work toward and achieve and that works really well for my personality type. When I achieve one goal I'll just set another one for myself. I'm sure on my death bed I'll be planning out my first ever after-life marathon. Now I need to add that I loathe exercise and the only time I ever feel happy that I do it is when I am DONE for the day.

The eating right bit just becomes habit and you no longer think about it, at least I don't.

yep. I always feel happier knowing I'm eating healthy and exercising because when you're sitting there at the end of the day about to go to bed, you have that sense of accomplishment. I love it! plus you feel better and don't get so worn out. I want to be healthy and live a long life and not have a heart attack at age 40 because my arteries clog up like my grandpa's toilet after he eats some chili.

Right now I eat ~1400 calories, with 1 high-calorie day at 1600 calories. I definitely won't be on 1400 calories for the rest of my life, but I will eat the same kind of foods. When I get to the weight I want to be, I will probably slowly up my calories (first week after: 1500, 2nd week after: 1600, 3rd week after: 1700, etc) until I hit my maintence level.

I might slightly increase proportions of each meal (obviously, since right now I'm losing weight), but I plan on eating healthy forever with a small 'unhealthy' treat every two week or so. I will defintely also excercise at the same level because what I'm doing right now I can totally deal with. :)

t is a scary thought that i wont be able to eat chocolate everyday for the rest of my life :( and the gym will be a second home to me which it is now anyway i've been 5 days a week every week for the past... 3 years .. but i guess if it means i wont have problems with health and bones later on i'm all for it.. i plan to be squating 100 kgs in my 50's and 150 by the time i'm 70 haha..

Yes, this is for life. I love my lifestyle right now. I am a triathlete so I exercise quite a lot. I hate the gym, though...I honestly don't think I'll ever be able to step inside one again. It's so much wonderful running outside and biking on a real bike, rather than a spinning machine. 

I feel very healthy in what I eat, too. McDonald's or donuts don't even appeal to me anymore. I'm not even tempted to buy a candy bar at the grocery store. I love healthy food - it tastes far superior. 

and Timtams, I plan on eating chocolate everyday for the rest of my life...seriously! I have about 2-4 little pieces of Dove chocolate everyday....literally. It's very very rare for me to skip my chocolate on a day. I consider myself to be very healthy and to have a very clean diet. high quality chocolate is a lot better than some brands of cookies, cakes, and certainly candy bars. I need a little indulgence everyday, and a tiny bit of chocolate does the trick!

The gym part will get easier, and ya know what?  Soon you will start to love it.  At the begining one has low muscle ratio and sometimes extra weight on them, as the ratio of muscle increases, the more you burn, the more weight comes off and the easier EVERYTHING is.  I lost 40 lbs.  I think about a thin person with a 40 lb dogfood bag on their shoulders trying to exercise- it's hard and it sucks, but once that weight is off and the muscle increases, you will not have to be a gym rat anymore and can maintain on 3 times a week instead of 5.  You also will burn more calories resting because you have more muscle.  Stick it out - it will be well worth it in the end!

It can seem intimidating if you think in terms of "the rest of your life," so I don't think in those terms. I try to look at it as, I only have to do it for one day--today. We only experience one day at a time, so why not just focus on the one day you have?

Original Post by gi-jane:

The phrase I once heard was.... 'don't do anything to lose weight that you can't see yourself happily doing for the rest of your life'. 

The key word there is 'happily'... voluntarily, enthusiastically, naturally.  So, like susiecue, I didn't embark on some punishing gym routine because it's simply not me and I know I'd never keep it up.  Instead I do other activities that I enjoy and that seems to do the trick.   Same goes with the menu..... the criteria for everything I eat is that it has to be delicious, not simply low-cal or 'healthy'.  Has to be food I actually want to eat and prefer to eat..... not food I think I should eat.

I've been maintaining my weight for 4 years now with varying degrees of success!  (Using CC at the moment to remove an annoying 10lbs that has appeared...)   It's very rewarding and not daunting at all.

I think there is definite wisdom here (and I have to say, over the last few weeks of scanning/lurking these forums, I've become a bit of a fan of yours-you always give great advice!), but we should also remember that when you're first starting out, NOTHING is going to feel natural.  If you're used to eating fast food and watching tv all day, cooking on your own and going for a walk regularly can be gigantic steps.

For me personally, I have never enjoyed sports or really anything active.  I hate the gym and gym equipment, stair climbers etc.  I think what's important is taking those first few steps and if you can't stick to one activity, try another.  And keep trying until you DO find the one activity you enjoy so well you want to keep on doing it.  And when you're sick of that one, find a new one.  Same with changing your diet.  I'm having a ball now finding new recipes and figuring out how to adapt old recipes to be healthier.

And as for the topic at hand, yes, I do find it incredibly daunting to think about changing my habits for the REST OF MY LIFE.  But what's the alternative?  The alternative is not changing, remaining overweight and unhappy with my body. 

There's a reason they tell addicts of all kinds to take it "one day at a time".  Heck, when I was quitting smoking, sometimes that was down to 10 minutes at a time.  lol.  It can be incredibly overwhelming to think about your entire life in one fell swoop.  So concentrate on what you can do today to eat healthier and move a bit more.  As the days go on your small healthier choices will become habits.