I think I have been successfully maintaining my weight loss! I was terrified that after I reached my goal weight, I would go right back to my old habits and the weight would slowly come back on. I haven't wanted to even accept or celebrate the fact that I got to my goal for fears that I would hit said goal and then start gaining again. I've now been at my goal (+-5lbs) since April and it feels amazing to finally realize that I did it!
My tips for maintenance: Just keep at it. Yes, you can relax a little - I have stopped calorie counting which has been freeing - and I've been able to eat basically whatever I have wanted to eat (within reason). In the past, I would have multiple treats in the evening (some chips and candy and then maybe ice cream), whereas now I just pick one of those. I also find that now that I know and am aware of how many calories are in certain things (like fast food, milkshakes, etc) it really detracts me from wanting to eat those things. I realize now that most of the time they are just not worth it - for the 5 min of happiness I get while eating, having 1000 or more of my daily calories gone sucks. Plus now that I've been eating healthier I just end up feeling crummy after. Don't get me wrong, I still do eat those things on occasion, but knowing the calories and how those affect my body allows me to pause and think about whether I REALLY want that treat - sometimes the answer is yes, but many times it's no, not worth it today.
Another tip is that I continue to weigh myself every morning and if I get close to 5lbs over my goal weight (usually after a camping weekend), I reign things in and eat closer to what I was doing when I was losing. Usually those 5lbs are mostly just water weight and within a couple days I'm back down again. In the past I would have not wanted to look after a "bad" weekend of eating, and put off the scale, and then all of a sudden those 5lbs of mostly water became 5lbs of mostly fat, and much harder to get off.
I think ultimately the most important thing for me has been maintaining my activity level. I have continued to run most mornings and go for walks on my lunch break. This definitely allows me to indulge more in what I eat! If you hate exercise (like I did), just start walking walking walking. It is such an effective weight loss tool!
Now, I hope this post doesn't come across like I'm a know it all - I have just been so grateful to this community and wanted to pass along some tips that helped me!
My stats: F32, 5'5", SW189 GW145
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