I recently watched a documentary on weight loss where a specialist said something that really resonated with me. It was in French so I'll do my best to translate:
"The biggest challenge for people who have lost a lot of weight is that from the outside, they look like someone with a normal, stable weight, but fundamentally they are not and never will be. Fear of gaining it all back is a constant presence. In order to maintain their weight loss these individuals need to make a continuous effort to enforce the changes in their way of eating and their relationship with food, whereas the moral support completely disappears once they reach their goal weight.
During the weight loss phase, these individuals get encouragement and support from their entourage, but what happens once they slim down? Well, now they're like everyone else right? ... So why do they need encouragement anymore?
Whereas the reality is that every pound not gained back is a victory that should be lauded just as much as weight loss. Instead what happens is the people in their entourage forget, or even start to get annoyed by their new food restrictions and limitations"
That message really struck me because a lot of times maintenance means being viewed like I'm just this oddball with weird food hangups. This especially happens with people who met me when I was already slim. They say, "oh, but you're obviously one of those naturally skinny people, you don't need to watch what you eat." They really struggle to understand that no, actually, the precise reason I need to watch what I eat is so I can stay this way.
Also, you lose that positive feedback loop of seeing the scale go down. The important thing to remember is every pound not regained is also something to celebrate! I gave myself little milestones over time instead of scale goals: for example I would celebrate one month of maintenance, 3 months, 6 months, etc. As if I were celebrating milestones during the loss phase.
Anyway, sorry for the long post but the documentary really struck a chord and I wanted to share my experience of the rest of the journey 🙂
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