What do you eat to maintain your weight?

lydia1959

18 years ago

I lost about 35 lbs. 2 years ago, but unfortunately managed to gain almost 20 of that back this year. I always swear it won't happen, but somehow it does.

Right now I am in a size 14/16 jeans, Medium or Large top. I'm tall which means even at the 20 lbs. less I was only 1 size smaller.

This is my ordinary days diet:

Breakfast - maybe a hard boiled egg or an apple, sometimes nothing.

Lunch - a green salad with veggies (radishes, celery, tomato) with a flaxoil/vinegar dressing I make myself (Stevia added) OR leftover meat and a low carb veggie.

Snack - consists of 2 squares dark (70% cocoa) chocolate and a handful of walnuts OR a apple.

Dinner - Meat, low carb veggies, an occasional roll or rice (I did low carb for so long I rarely have the bad carbs anymore). Maybe once a week I'll have a dessert (usually ice cream).

Snack - late at night rarely, but if I am hungry I might have some cashews (always in a little bowl, never right out of the can).

I never eat chips or drink soda. No white potatoes, no white bread. Rarely ever do I buy boxed foods like HB Helper, Rice a Roni ect. Rarely do we ever have fried foods (maybe 3 - 4 times a year). There are no cookies, snack cakes in my house. The only think I drink is water and organic coffee. No artifical sweeteners, no sugar - just Stevia. Occasionally I'll have a few beers with friends.

My question really is what happens when I lose the 20 lbs. again. How much less can I really eat, be happy and still maintain the lower weight. It just doesn't seem plausible to me right now.

I do go to Curves 2 to 3 times a week also.

So - what do you eat to maintain the weight/size you are at now? Do those of you who are a size 8 eat less than those who are a size 20?

Comments (4)

gandbb
18 years ago
I'm certainly not a size 8, more like a 16 and only recently a size 20. Studying the eating habits of thin people has convinced me that they do in fact eat less. I went to a diabetic support group last week and a woman complained that her dietician told her she could eat only 12 grapes at a time. She said it couldn't be done. Of course it can, and my skinny friends would be quite likely to say "12 grapes! Who could eat that many?" Still, I am surprised that you could gain weight on the diet your described. Do you exercise? I eat low carb, but really very high fat because I inhale nuts and cheese and still I am losing weight, but I have had to give up my life-long devotion to being a couch potato. As a diabetic, I have to exercise after a meal so that the fuel I have taken on can be used by both my brain and body rather than being stored as fat.
lydia1959
Original Author
18 years ago
I don't exercise much - 30 minutes at Curves 2 to 3 times a week - that's it. I'm not gaining weight at this point, but maintaining. If I eat just a bit more or eat badly (family get-togethers where I overindulge) I will gain weight quite rapidly.

Just 8 years ago I ate much more and was in a size 10/12. I did smoke then, but didn't exercise at all. Age has definatly thrown me a curve.

I had a thin friend who ate maybe a bit less than me, but she always something sweet for breakfast (doughnut or ding-dong) and snacked on candy all day. There's gotta be more to it than calories in and calories out.
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carrie2
18 years ago
Lydia, I'm a size 16/18 and also tall. It doesn't look as though your daily diet would contain more than 1500 calories. I could lose quickly on your diet. Once you get to where you want to be, just add in something you really like, but don't overdo it. If you start to gain again, you'll know you have to adjust your intake down. I think it's important to weigh regularly, though not necessarily every day.
rholl
18 years ago
Just some ideas:

My husband was on 1800 calories and not losing, then he tried 1/4 tsp cinnamon a day and started to lose 1 lb per day. There is good research out there about the benefits of cinnamon for sugar balance and metabolism, and it's on the internet if you google it.

Are you getting the right nutrition? I mean, I know you eat extremely well, but as we age, small imbalances can have a greater impact, and maybe there's a mineral or something that you need more of. Even if you eat organic, it can be hard with our soil depletion to get enough of what we need.

I know you do Curves, but do you believe you are losing muscle mass? Maybe CLA or something would help?

Do you eat the same things? Sometimes I get too much in a routine and my weight loss stalls because my body really wants other things that it's not getting. I may walk around the supermarket and see what "jumps out at me".

Have you had any surgery or pharmaceuticals that would be changing your endocrine balance? My mom had to have her medication changed because the hormone balance was making her fat, but she had to see the endocrinologist, not just the internist.

Hope this helps....

Take care!!!

What do you eat to maintain your weight?

Comments (4)

gandbb

lydia1959
Original Author

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rholl

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What do you eat to maintain your weight?

Comments (4)

gandbb

lydia1959Original Author

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rholl

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lydia1959
Original Author