MAINTAINING!
Once you’ve passed the 90 day mark, the behaviors you’ve changed to achieve a more healthier lifestyle are in a phase called maintenance.
The newness of the program has worn off. You’ve tried new foods, new exercise tapes, clothes, and routines. Friends and acquaintances stop remarking about how ‘great’ you look. So, what keeps you going? Were you actually doing this for the praise, the compliments, the attention, or for yourself?
You’ll succeed if you didn’t push yourself too hard. If you have learned to tolerate the plateau periods you also learned to accept your imperfections. You have learned what your limitations are and have accepted these. You enjoy the process of learning, rather than the end result. You accept when you get off track and know what you need to do to get back on track.
How do you get back on track? Take the Small Changes Do Count Checklist below and see where small habits are creeping back.
Remember what we talked about the first week - all the predictors of success in a weight management program? Gather those support people and call them up when you need them. Did you pair up with a coach the first week of class? Be there for the person you are supporting, and ask for support when you need it. Set a follow- up time NOW! Remember - you have to continue to work at this.
SMALL CHANGES ADD UP ONE BITE AT A TIME:
You may not realize it until you see the numbers down on paper, but small daily additions to your diet really add up. The extra tablespoon of lite cream cheese that you add to your bagel and the extra tablespoon of non-dairy creamer in your coffee all add up to extra calories and fat in your diet. The next time you say to yourself, "How did I gain five pounds? I haven't changed what I've been eating," think about this:
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SMALL CHANGES ADD UP DURING THE DAY |
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| Food - Breakfast | OOPS, Add | Extra Calories and fat |
| Bagel, 1 tablespoon Lite cream cheese plus jelly | 1 extra tablespoon Lite cream cheese and jelly | 87calories, 3 grams fat |
| Coffee | 1 extra tablespoon non-dairy creamer | 20 calories, 1.5 grams fat |
| Food - Lunch | ||
| Grilled Chicken/ | 1 tablespoon mayonnaise in place of honey mustard | 99 calories, 11 grams fat |
| Small salad | 1 extra tablespoon Lite dressing | 30 calories, 6 grams fat |
| Pass by a candy dish | 2 chocolate kisses | 50 calories, 3 grams fat |
| Food - Dinner | ||
| Baked Potato | 2 extra tablespoons Lite sour cream | 45 calories, 3.5 grams fat |
| 1 cup skim milk | 1% milk in place of skim | 27 calories, 3 grams fat |
| 1 chocolate sandwich cookie | 1 extra chocolate sandwich cookie | 50 calories, 2 grams fat |
| Snack | ||
| 1 cup sherbet | 1 cup ice cream in place of sherbet | 81 calories, 9 grams fat |
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TOTAL: 489 calories
42 fat grams |
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If you find the pounds slowly creeping on, then it's time to detail all those extras you are eating throughout the day. The extra tablespoons here and there do add up. Remember that it takes about 3500 extra calories in your diet to gain one pound of body fat. An extra 500 calories a day equals a one pound weight gain per week. You can see from the above example - that's just a tablespoon here and a tablespoon there! Take the Small Changes Do Count Checklist below.
Contract 9: SMALL CHANGES DO COUNT CHECKLIST
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What if after all your weight loss efforts you start to regain your weight? What could you be doing that you are unaware of? Are you: |
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Behaviors I may be doing |
This is what I need to work on: |
| Increasing portion sizes?
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| Adding 2 extra cookies? (100 calories)
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| Forgetting healthful dining out techniques? Are you still ordering dressing on the side? Are you ordering the grilled chicken rather than the breaded and fried? | |
| Passing by the candy dish at work and sneaking out a couple pieces? (60 calories) | |
| Skipping exercise because you had a cold, you've been too busy...and the excuses go on. Add it back. Exercise preserves muscle mass. Add a small amount of weight lifting to your routine for something different - just 10-15 minutes per day to add muscle and preserve what you have. | |
| Skipping breakfast or other meals? Eat several small meals. Research shows that you will hold onto the calories more if eaten at one time than if spaced throughout the day. You will feel better with protein and fat in each meal per day, as well as fiber (especially if you are a middle aged woman). | |
| Drinking your water? Drink 64-ounces per day to fill you up. | |
| Adding 20-25 grams of fiber in your diet each day? Fiber acts to fill you up. | |
| Zooming into what you are hungry for | |
| Giving up fat in your diet? You will feel more satisfied with 30% of your calories from fat in your diet. Remember that you need fat. | |
| Journaling? If you kept a journal while losing weight, refer back to it as a booster to remind yourself of what you did to lose the weight. Re-evaluate and set new goals. | |
Signed _______________________________________________ Date_________________________________________
You will find the following nutrition tools helpful. Cooking With MyPyramid is a family cookbook with helpful tips, nutritious and delicious recipes, and contains many challenges to motivate you to prepare recipes and make changes. The book comes with a
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