28 replies to this topic

[dijarm]

Here I am plugging away at maintenance, (goal -6lbs) doing well so far! Getting here I found the forums usually helpful but, sometimes contradictory. Everyone has their own opinions about what is working for them. In response to some of the threads here is what I have to say about how I got to goal and maintenance:

-Keep a picture of "fatty" you handy to remind yourself what you don't want to go back to.

-Stick with the JC concept! 1200 calories and follow closely amounts in the different food catagories. JC hasn't cornered the market on this concept. It's all over the internet. They just offer the convenience of pre-made meals to make it easy and support.

- EXERCISE!! This is what gives the metabolisim a jump start. Can't be unrealistic however, with what you can maintain after reaching your goal. I started with walking 30min 3days. Increased to 5 days, then starting carrying 5-6lbs weights. I also bought a cheap eliptical machine and added another 15minutes after my walk. Also did some free weights-- just to keep the skin from going saggy.

-Eat those veggies! Every week I make up a batch of the cabbage soup diet recipe. I have a bowl with lunch every day. Great freebie and I get tons of veggies in 1 bowl. Fills up the tummy nicely too.

-Alcohol, not something I could give up for the rest of my life so I figured I better be able to loose weight and still enjoy. 7 glasses of red wine & 1 bottle of beer every week with never having a weight gain. Coffee? couldn't give that up either. I switched to 5% cream and blended 1/2 sugar and 1/2 splenda in my sugar bowl and have a teaspoon in my coffee. Couldn't go straight to splenda only.

-Bananas, enjoyed those (kept them small) Some people think you shouldn't eat them on the plan, I sure did. It's a fruit for crying out loud. Kept me feeling full between breakfast and lunch.

-Replacement meals. Enjoyed those too since week 2. LC and WW have more variety for us vegetarians. Didn't sweat the difference in the numbers compared to JC. (all pretty close anyway) My consultant said as long as they were still around 300 calories it was ok. Not to mention more cost effective.

-Canadian bars, I sometimes replace with slimfast bars. I find them tastier. I still eat them as mid-afternoon snack to get the extra protein.

- Snacks. Replaced those too. Grocery store offers lots of 100 calorie snack packs. But my fav. is to have 10-12 triscuits with a wedge of laughcow lite. After dinner if I am still hungry I bake an apple sliced up in foil with sprinkle of cinnimon and splenda (sometimes raisins too). It counts as a fruit and tastes like a dessert.

Sorry for rambling, if it helps anyone out getting to goal though, worth it. This of course is what worked for me and I thought I would share.

[onehotmama2be]

Yay! Great advice here.

Are you really maintaining on only 1200 calories? I worked my way up to where I am maintaining on about 1700+ calories; it makes life more fun for me. My 500 extra calories probably come from a bit more protein and starch. It's good b/c that way I know that whenever I hit the high end of my weight range, I can just drop those 250-500 calories a day and drop those extra 2-5 pounds.

Glad you are at maintenance and living the benefits of a healthy life!

Sue

[camille g]

Thanks for the tips. I am just about at my goal weight, but so afraid once I give up JC food I will start gaining. I am only on a 1200 calorie diet and hope I can keep that up, once I reach my goal.

[Blessed4Life2]

Thanks for the tips. I am just about at my goal weight, but so afraid once I give up JC food I will start gaining. I am only on a 1200 calorie diet and hope I can keep that up, once I reach my goal.

Camille, once you reach goal you will want to maintain on more than 1200 cals a day....otherwise you will still be in the 'losing' calorie range.

[dijarm]

Sorry for any confusion. As I mentioned the above is what I did to GET to goal and maintenance. So yes, it was 1200 calories. Now that I am ON maintenace I do enjoy more calories. It was a simple adjustment of adding the extra fruit and veggies and I switched from using weight watchers bread (2 slices count as 1 starch!) which I ate breakfast and lunch to whole wheat regular bread which added 2 starches. I then added a liitle extra starch at dinner. No major adjustments from 1/2 way. Keep it simple. Make sure I eat every 2 hours, and always have an idea of what I'm going to eat at the start of the day so I don't make last minute bad decisions.

[walk2lose]

I still have my drivers liscense with my picture with my before weight. It's good to take with me to the grocery store, etc so I can pull it out to keep myself in check. I still have 3 years to go and can renew it for another 4 after that, and plan to, that's 7 more years it can remind me.

Nancy

[SuzieS]

I'm starting my first week of maintenance tomorrow! Thanks for the tips!

[Baby B Grandma]

I had my drivers license renewed last week. The lady attendant looked at my new form and said, "Hmmm, dropped some weight, have you?" I, of course, smiled and said, "Yup!" She asked how and I quickly told her my story.

I, too, kept my old license and it's tucked right behind my new, better one. I've got a new person in my wallet.

[swanss77]

Dijarm,
WOW! That was one of the most helpful posts I've read! Thank you so much for posting it to help us 'newbies'! Love hearing what things worked for you! I completely related to the alcohol and coffee! LOL! I have worked it into my program the last 3 weeks and have still been losing weight. Glad to hear you were able to do that too! Again, thank you for your post!

[swanss77]

Baby B Grandma, on 04 August 2011 - 06:24 PM, said:

I had my drivers license renewed last week. The lady attendant looked at my new form and said, "Hmmm, dropped some weight, have you?" I, of course, smiled and said, "Yup!" She asked how and I quickly told her my story.

I, too, kept my old license and it's tucked right behind my new, better one. I've got a new person in my wallet.

Baby B Grandma,
I love your driver's license story! I will do that too! I think having that picture tucked away as a reminder, once I do get to my goal weight, will be a good little reminder! You look great, by the way!

[Baby B Grandma]

Thanks, Stephanie.

I have also learned to accept the fact that I will always have a 2-3 pound leeway and that I should NOT panic when I hit that top end but just resign myself to getting it back off.

[Sea Glass]

this info is very helpful as I have reached my goal and nervous about coming off the JC food. Any tips for easy meal ideas would be great.. I take both breakfast and lunch to work with me everyday.
thank you

[Johnsgirl53]

I just reached maintenance and feel like I have been thrown to the wolves. I have my body media buddy where I can calculate my intake and my output. I go to the gym 5 days a week for one hour on the elliptical. I sometimes mix it up with stationary, elliptical or classes. I get the feeling we just have to find our own way to keep stable after our loss.

[PishiCat]

What do you mean thrown to the wolves? I dont get it.

[dijarm]

Me again! Just checking in and glad to see I have been helpful to some! It's now 4 1/2 months since I made the post and proud to say I'm following the same routine and still maintaining! I have switched up my exercise and now alternate my days between 30 min. on the eliptical and 5k run. The running made me drop extra pounds so I had to increased my calories a bit since then.

Im sorry if some of you feel lost after reaching maintenance. The key is to still follow the guide only you can increase the amounts in your different food catagories. Your JCC should have at least told you how many from each group to suit your personal needs i.e 6 carbs, 7 protein, 3 fat, 5+ veg and so on .....

For example you should know that a carb = 80-100 cal, 3g fat or less and about 3g protein. So when you go to the store to shop you make sure your reading your labels. If the loaf of bread says 1 slice of bread falls into the above description you are counting it as 1 carb, 2 slices = 2 carbs.

Follow the same process with all your food groups, the info is in your hand guide and your bookelts and you should know which foods fall into each of the different food groups.

Here are acouple of websites I found useful

http://www.exrx.net/...dExchanges.html

http://www.livestron...-exchange-diet/

you can browse through the livestrong website to find lots of useful info. The food exchange system is what the JC diet is based on


Good luck!

[PishiCat]

Awesome Information. Thank you , thank you , thank you.

[robrob]

Great post dijarm, I love reading everyones tips, and always pickup something hearing what everyone else does. I also didn't get much from my JCC's after going on maintenance, just a quick weigh-in, and 'do you need any food'. I know they are't dr's, and its just a job to alot of them, but they are nice, and did give me encouragement when i needed it. I feel like I should be a diet expert myself, as I have participated in almost every diet on the market, and read every book ever printed about it. But you know, when I decided to start JC, something just clicked, and I feel certain I won't regain again. I have not reverted to my old ways, I do not go out to lunch everyday, and I make sure I am getting my daily exercise. I plan ahead, and make better choices. If I can keep my head on straight, I feel I will continue to be sucessful.

[I Called Jenny]

robrob, on 01 December 2011 - 12:00 PM, said:

Great post dijarm, I love reading everyones tips, and always pickup something hearing what everyone else does. I also didn't get much from my JCC's after going on maintenance, just a quick weigh-in, and 'do you need any food'. I know they are't dr's, and its just a job to alot of them, but they are nice, and did give me encouragement when i needed it. I feel like I should be a diet expert myself, as I have participated in almost every diet on the market, and read every book ever printed about it. But you know, when I decided to start JC, something just clicked, and I feel certain I won't regain again. I have not reverted to my old ways, I do not go out to lunch everyday, and I make sure I am getting my daily exercise. I plan ahead, and make better choices. If I can keep my head on straight, I feel I will continue to be sucessful.

Great attitude, RobRob! Sounds as if you have it all under control.

Now just remember, if the scale ever starts to head toward that "magic" five pound mark, don't try to be a hero and think you can do it yourself. Run, don't walk, back to Jenny. I wish I had done that. I waited until I was 10 lbs. over and that was just a stupid sense of pride on my part that I'll NEVER again repeat.

Phyllis

[robrob]

Phyllis, you are always so supportive! You could be the perfect JCC! I know they all haven't been where we've been, and sometimes the experience is what people need to hear.

[SaintJoan]

robrob, on 01 December 2011 - 12:09 PM, said:

Phyllis, you are always so supportive! You could be the perfect JCC! I know they all haven't been where we've been, and sometimes the experience is what people need to hear.

Many people on this forum think and feel the very same. Perfect.