When to Stop Losing and Start Maintaining: Transition to the Rest of Your Life

Monday, March 14, 2011

There was "pre-Beck" (2 weeks). I've finished Beck (4 weeks). And now it's "post Beck" -- the "transition to the rest of your life" part. To which (not suprisingly) she allocates a chapter, but without specifying a daily program.

But -- based upon the comments of my fellow Beck trekkers, who've completed the program ahead of me -- I'm suspecting that Chapter 11 is the most important chapter of all.

And that's why I'm going to work through Chapter 11 slowly and consider the concepts jam packed within this final flourish carefully. It's clear that "post Beck" requires weeks and probably months of monitoring if I'm going to achieve what has so far been that elusive goal of maintenance without yo-yoing.

If only 20% of people who lose weight keep it off successfully, that seems to be because people lose weight and permit it to creep back on without deliberately and consciously determining what their maintenance weight will be. That's what I've done in the past: regaining and relosing the same 10 pounds over and over again during the past decade since I did the BIG weight loss of 80 pounds.

And so, if I don't want that yo-yoing to occur again, how do I know when I've lost as much as is appropriate for me? Beck helps by asking us to consider: what is the difference between "lowest achievable weight" and "lowest sustainable weight"?

Today I'm at 148, up 2 pounds from 146 where I hovered for several days. Oh well. Really. I do KNOW that this is a blip, because I do KNOW that I stuck with my program, without deviation. Well within my calorie range. Moderate exercise as possible (given recovery from flu).

Is 148 a good weight for me? My "ideal goal" might be 138 -- I remember weighing that little in first year university and feeling quite quite slim . . . .

What about my "satisfaction goal" -- what Beck defines as the weight at which I would be "minimally satisfied", or "slim enough"? Right now I am reasonably happy being under 150 -- into all my size 8s, a few generous 6s, wearing my "challenge" wardrobe items . . . everything comfortable. Is this my satisfaction goal? Umm -- still feeling a bit of a roll around the tummy. So maybe not quite.

(Reality check time: Either of these weights is lower than the "goal weight" of 155 SP originally set for me. But either of these weights is also within a healthy BMI range. So: I'm not over-reaching, not aiming for "model skinny" size 0 or anything remotely close to that . . . ).

Beck then asks me to consider: has my weight "naturally plateaued" yet? That's what happens when you eat a fairly consistent number of calories every day, get about the same amount of exercise a week, and your weight remains constant for several weeks.

So, no: my weight has not yet naturally plateaued. I have been very consistent with food and fitness, and I have not yet stopped losing weight. I don't want to be at a "good enough" weight for about 3 days and then start regaining. I want to break that pattern, for good. I need to carry this experiment on further, until my weight does stabilize.

When I do stop losing weight, then I need to consider: it will be sensible to do one of two things. I will need to decide:

Can I further reduce my calorie intake by 200 calories a day or so? Or can I increase my calorie burn through exercise?

After all, I do know that by increasing my calories by just 100 calories a day, over a year I will put on 10 pounds. So the reverse should be true, too: right? Possibly my weight will slow, and I will lose that further 10 pounds to my "ideal weight" of 138 if I persist with the program over the next year. Or . . . maybe not.

For now, I am going to follow my Beck trek AS IS. I will arrange my environment to hide the food triggers. I will preplan my meals, and track them. I will preplan my exercise, and track it. I will sit down to eat and eat slowly, waiting for fullness. I will tolerate hunger. I will identify and cope with sabotaging thoughts, including the sabotaging thought that I am all done with Beck: I will continue to take the time that dieting requires. And wait until my weight naturally plateaus. So I can see what that weight actually is. In relation to my "ideal goal", and in relation to my "satisfaction goal".

And then I will deliberately and consciously make the "maintenance weight" decision. Which will not be my "lowest achievable" weight -- but my "lowest sustainable" weight. And accept that the lowest sustainable weight is bound to be some pounds heavier.

And while I am waiting for my weight to plateau on the program I'm following, I will weigh every day and post my weight on the tracker. Every day. So there will be no fooling myself about being within maintenance range, and no "creeping up" into yo-yo territory again.

My maintenance range has yet to be determined. This is the transition to the rest of my life.

  

  Member Comments About This Blog Post:

CRYSTALJEM 3/14/2011 10:13PM

Awesome blog! Lowest achievable vs. sustainable. Excellent point. I want to feel good and have my body in really good physical shape. I'm not sure what that weight is yet, but I do know what it "looks like" in my mind. I always thought that aging gracefully would be a breeze, I'm finding it isn't. My perception of reality and of myself is challenged daily. Sometimes I like it, sometimes I don't. While I admit I don't always make all the right choices, being a part of the spark community and reading your adventures on your Beck journey has helped me make so many better choices more often. I am actually in awe of how quickly and easily (at least compared to what I thought) making better choices became, once I started educating myself on techniques, exercise and calories. My fingers are crossed that those 100+ calories that I decrease each day will have visible payback in that year. May we all allow our perfect bodies to manifest with perfect timing. Report Inappropriate Comment

SLENDERELLA61 3/14/2011 9:07PM

Another great blog, Ellen!! I'm excited for you applying this natural plateau phenomenon. Sounds like a great way to choose a goal weight to me. I feel very confident it will work well for you!! -Marsha Report Inappropriate Comment

TRYINGHARD1948 3/14/2011 7:09PM

So pleased you have found the lifestyle that is working for you. Report Inappropriate Comment

FREELADY 3/14/2011 4:15PM

Reading your blog is so therapeutic to me. Thank you! Even though I'm a year from goal, these issues are swirling on the edges of my mind. Hearing you process these matters helps me stay the course. Report Inappropriate Comment

KALIGIRL 3/14/2011 1:43PM

Sounds like a super strategy - here's to your success! Report Inappropriate Comment

JHADZHIA 3/14/2011 12:53PM

Very well written! I really like this concept of "lowest sustainable weight" I liken it to listening to your body. Its better than trying to force your body into the weight you think you would like. Ideally, it should mean you get to eat well balanced meals and not have to exercise your brains out every day in order to maintain.. I found if I can stay between 1600-1900 calories and get one hour of vigorous exercise a day I can maintain just fine and not feel deprived with my food at all.. Good luck with this!! You can do it!! Report Inappropriate Comment

KRISTI2661 3/14/2011 11:20AM

Good stuff! I need to get motivated to pick up Beck again - seems to be working for a lot of SP friends, I just need to take the time to do it! Congrats! Report Inappropriate Comment

Prepare for the Future: Beck Day 42

Sunday, March 13, 2011

You mean to say I've got to keep on doing this?

For the indefinite future?

Like, forever?

No kidding.

What are the statistics on diet recidivism?? Fewer than 20% of people who take weight off keep it off. Apparently that's so: see link below

http://www.abc.net.au/health/thepulse/st
ories/2005/08/03/1429212.htm

And: see also the research from the National Weight Control Registry:

http://www.nwcr.ws/default.htm

So: if I'm serious about maintaining weight loss, that means I can't go back to my old ways -- unless I want to go back to my old weighs too. Cruel truth. But it makes all kinds of sense.

Today I've finished the 42 day 6 week program. And I've gone from an estimated 163 Saturday January 29 at the start of "pre Beck" to 156 Sunday February 13 when I weighed in officially, to 146 Friday March 11 and maintaining 146 still today.

But: I'm thinking that the two "post-Beck" lessons still to come are going to be rather crucial.

Beck offers two more days, in which she deals with the transition from LOSING to MAINTAINING. And MAINtaining is the MAIN thing I'm determined to do. Yes it is!!

So I will be paying close attention!!

  

  Member Comments About This Blog Post:

OHSOSVELTE 3/13/2011 10:41PM

You've done it!!! Rocked 140ville and look at you amazing, amazing results!! Sure am glad you're blazing the trail .... glad you stop by once in awhile too!!! Love ya'!! Report Inappropriate Comment

JOHAL52 3/13/2011 10:17PM

Wow Ellen, congratulations on the terrific weight loss! . I backslid a bit after finishing Beck but I find that getting back on track is way easier than it has been pre-Beck. Report Inappropriate Comment

KALIGIRL 3/13/2011 4:03PM

MAINtaining is the MAIN thing and if anyone can Report Inappropriate Comment

NANCY- 3/13/2011 11:09AM

You rock!!! New habits can give us what we want. Report Inappropriate Comment

JHADZHIA 3/13/2011 11:07AM

Well done getting through the program with flying colors!! You are going to rock maintenance!! This was a great program with really motivating ideas! Keep up the great work!! Report Inappropriate Comment

Keeping Skills Fresh: A New To Do List Beck Day 41

Saturday, March 12, 2011

In the workbook, Beck refers to keeping skills fresh: in the text itself, she recommends making a new to do list.

Here's the key sabotaging thought: "It's too much trouble to keep on doing this".

And the more helpful response: "Dieting and exercise DO REQUIRE a significant amount of time and energy".

But -- not as much time and energy as my nay-saying excuse-seeking self wants to assert!!

And: not as much time and energy as lugging around excess weight.

So I spend10 minutes a day pre-planning food and exercise -- and schedule 30 minutes cardio + ST at least 3 times a week (total gym run, with shower, door to door maybe 1 hour 30 minutes).

When I gain weight, how much time and energy does it take? Oh, yeah, that's right: I lug it around 24/7. When I buy a new bag of chow for Charlie (50 pounds) and carry it out to my car, I sometimes remind myself: until I peeled off the 80 pounds in 2001, I was lugging around way more than a bag of dog chow every where I went. I lugged it up and down stairs. I pumped blood through it. And I had to stretch my (size 18-20) clothes around it, with not a single skirt or pair of pants which was truly comfortable through the waist band! It was great to lose that weight.

But in the last 10 years, since I lost the weight the first time, I've lost 100 MORE pounds -- which would be 10 pounds regained, and 10 pounds lost. At least 10 times. Yo-yoing.

Learning cognitive strategies to make my "diet work" and eliminate the yo-yo (with all of the associated health threats of yo-yoing ) is absolutely worth it to me. Yes, it is. And I now believe that this is going to happen.

So: what are the key cognitive skills Beck has taught me?

1. Arrange my environment to reduce food triggers: hide the chips, the peanut butter and the cheddar cheese. The surplus of these foods in the cupboard/fridge since I started "hiding" them from myself has dramatically illustrated for me who (ME!!) was eating this stuff.

2. PRE-PLAN the food and the exercise: and thanks, SP, for providing trackers that work so well to support pre-planning. Still don't want to do this, still crave freedom and spontaneity ("now what would I like to eat right now") but pre-planning is very effective and supports the "NO CHOICE" at the heart of Beck. If it's not on the plan (food) I'm not eating it: if it is on the plan (exercise) then I'm doing it.

3. Sit down to eat; eat everything slowly and enjoy every bite. I was eating way too much food standing up -- food that was either "undocumented" or "underdocumented". And I've stopped, almost entirely. Eating slowly gives satiety a chance to kick in -- and now I've demonstrated for myself that fullness happens if I give it enough time, about 20 minutes.

4. Tolerate hunger. Hunger is not an emergency. Hunger actually helps me anticipate and enjoy my next meal more.

5. Identify and cope with sabotaging thoughts, including the self-indulgence which "permits" overeating because "life is so tough". My goodness, Beck does require a real mental workout. But, I can use my brains to make my life work. And I'm not embarrassed to admit, losing weight and keeping it off has given me more of a sense of accomplishment than quite a number of other accomplishments picked up along the way here and there . . .

There is more -- of course there is -- but these are my "top five".

These will be on my to do list for the foreseeable future.

  

  Member Comments About This Blog Post:

NANCY- 3/13/2011 11:07AM

Great blog. Doing Beck's program I prefer to think of it as cognitive strategies to make my "life work" I know what I was doing before did not work. These strategies are giving me the life I want. Report Inappropriate Comment

FREELADY 3/12/2011 11:54PM

Number 5 hit where I am today. Thank you. Your courageous confrontation of reality in all these areas really blazes the trail for many of us who are thrashing through the bog of denial and avoidance. You are fighting the good fight for honesty and responsibility. I can do this, too! Report Inappropriate Comment

TRYINGHARD1948 3/12/2011 8:00PM

Are you still"hiding" that food? If I buy, I have already decided that even with the best of intentions someone in the house is going to eat it and it's not the best thing for anyone. So, I have to start from the moment I make that shopping list to decide not to buy or I will eat it. Temptation is not good for me. I am way too human. Once again Ellen your blog is very illuminating and gives much food for thought. Thank you. Report Inappropriate Comment

SLENDERELLA61 3/12/2011 4:07PM

Once again, your blog is very responsive to Beck and helpful to me. I have become more and more aware that hunger is not an emergency. And, surprise, dealing with hunger does not cause me to binge. I really can withstand hunger. I had not thought about the fact that hunger helps me prepare for my next meal and enjoy it more. Either I missed it in Beck or you added another concept totally appropriate and helpful. You are right. In reading your blog, it hits me that my pre-planning is slipping. I need to get back on it. I do really love the lack of struggle that the NO CHOICE approach affords. Thanks for the reminder. You are almost done with the intense Beck days!! Here's hoping we never leave them totally behind us. Report Inappropriate Comment

ERIKO1908 3/12/2011 3:43PM

I'm with you on the taking the time to recognize satiety. My son and I went to Famous Dave's last night...I ordered the Georgia Chopped Pork w/ Firecracker Green Beans & Wilbur Beans - the corn-on-the-cob & cornbread muffin were included. I also ordered a glass of red wine. I sipped my wine slowly prior to the food showing. Once it arrived, I looked it over & slowly started nibbling on the green beans. When they were gone I tackled the corn...slowly...next up a couple of bites of the pork & then the baked beans. At that point I looked at my plate and realized I was full & I still had half a glass of wine to sip. I packaged up the rest of the meat and the corn muffin...still haven't touched it now that it made it home. It is amazing to know that just months ago this same plate of food would have been polished off the whole meal without even starting to think about what I was "feeling" hunger-wise. I love Spark and all the tools it has given to me!! Keep up all your hard work...yo-yoing will become minimal!! Report Inappropriate Comment

CMB2048 3/12/2011 12:15PM

Of your favorite 5, I think the first one is the most important for me and probably a lot of other people. I just read The End of Overeating for the second time and that book really points out how the "triggers" and food "cues" cause us to overeat. Just seeing food, smelling it, works on our brain circuitry to make us eat it. If it is out of sight, you have a much better chance of not eating it. You might want to read that book. It also points out how the food industry consciously designs and creates foods to make us want to eat more. Really an awful story that our food industry would purposely work to make us want to eat more. AND it points out that our American culture sets us up for overeating. He says that in France, no one would even thing of bringing their coffee or donuts into a morning meeting, no bagels with cream cheese either, BECAUSE it is considered impolite in that country to eat at a meeting. In general they woudln't dream of doing it. Interesting book with a lot of information about how our brains are changing in response to all this food we have around us. The chapter on children is really interesting. The researchers said that even a decade ago, children stopped eating when they were full and if they overate at one meal they naturally ate less at other meals to compensate for it. NOW, they said, children in their studies just eat and eat and eat until they have to tell them to stop. They said they've never seen anything like it before. Oh well, I'm babbling but suffice it to say that the old saying "out of sight, out of mind" is true and good for people watching their weight! Report Inappropriate Comment

Life is Rich: Beck Day 40

Friday, March 11, 2011

Beck's important advice on Day 40 is to enrich your life now. Not to wait until you're slim, not to assume you're not worthy of the good times until you've lost the weight. But to make your life worth living in the present.

I'm reminded of lawyer Susan Estrich's wise counsel in her remarkable book on weight loss, "Making the Case for Yourself", which is to begin by dumping the granny panties. Buy yourself some pretty underthings right away -- you deserve satin and lace. It's uplifting! (Yup: literally quite often as well as figuratively, all puns intended!!)

On a more serious note, consider JANEWATKINS's recent and thought provoking blog, "Dying is part of living", in which she poignantly speaks to the attitude of her sister-in-law during her end stage of cancer treatment; here is the link:

http://www.sparkpeople.com/mypage_public
_journal_individual.asp?blog_id=4082504

This blog reminds me -- and it's number one on my Advantage Response Card list -- that my primary motivation for weight loss maintenance is reducing the chances of recurrence of breast cancer given my history -- the type of estrogen rich tumour which thrives in fat-tissue environment.

What's on Beck's list of "enrichment activities" for right now? When I review the list, I'm reassured that yes, I'm squeezing all the juice possible out of my life right here and right now.

Travelling: Done plenty, will do more.

Buying new, more fashionable clothes: Guilty as charged, need no encouragement here (and thrift store works very nicely too).

Taking up a hobby: Gardening, my renewed interest in cross country skiing which has made this past winter my best in decades.

Signing up for a class: Just enrolled in a mediation course which will begin next month.

Improving your work situation: Mine may be stressful but it's very good, with supportive colleagues -- and we're in a process of continuous improvement procedurally and substantively.

Looking for a new job: I love the new jobs which roll in the door with each new client-- no two cases are ever the same.

Dating: DH is fulfilling that role very nicely, thank you!

Joining a group, club or team: I'm active at my Y and my golf club, and really enjoy my collaborative team members professionally.

Going to the beach: Yes, regularly in the summer, and love living so close to great beaches.

Making social plans with new people: Regularly, including a business lunch today, a planned get-together with a "cancer support" team which has been helping a colleague very soon.

Volunteering: Doing that.

So check, check and check.

How about just noticing the abundant pleasures of the natural world all around us? Not on Beck's list: but there are birds, flowers, sunsets, dogs, little kids and so much more. The world brims over with mentions. Mentions of joy.

How about participating in Spark People? Also not on Beck's list -- but it's a key source of resources, friendships, support and fun in my life. For which I thank you all continually. And most sincerely. .

Should you enrich your life now? Find things other than eating which are fun to do? Which you cannot do while simultaneously eating? Which are more fun to do if you haven't engaged in a lot of excess eating?

Yes yes yes.

Thanks, Judith S., for helping me notice: My life is rich. I am continuously seeking out opportunities to keep it that way. And to enrich it further.

Gonna keep on doing that. More consciously. More deliberately.

  

  Member Comments About This Blog Post:

CMB2048 3/12/2011 11:06AM

I love her list of how to enrich your life. I need to re-examine those things for myself. Report Inappropriate Comment

FREELADY 3/11/2011 11:06PM

GREAT blog! About not waiting until I've lost the weight, not thinking that THEN I'll be "worth it" . . . Last year after this item I decided to go ahead and get the new hairstyle I'd put off "until I'm thin." It gave me such a boost. It really made me feel, "Hey, I'm worth it!" Thanks for sharing! Report Inappropriate Comment

TRYINGHARD1948 3/11/2011 10:00PM

Awesome reflection Ellen and so uplifting. Thank you. Report Inappropriate Comment

SLENDERELLA61 3/11/2011 7:20PM

Your life is rich! Celebrate! Celebrate! Thanks for another great blog, Ellen. I love what you said about the abundant pleasures of the natural world. You are right. Although my absolute favorite thing is to share those natural abundant pleasures with my daughter and granddaughters! My life is rich, too. We are blessed!! -Marsha Report Inappropriate Comment

CRYSTALJEM 3/11/2011 11:05AM

Awesome! Thanks for the reminder of just how wonderful this very simple moment is. May you find the joy each moment holds. Namaste. Report Inappropriate Comment

SUCHAHOOT 3/11/2011 9:53AM

What a wonderful blog! You have inspired me to look as my life, what I am doing now and what I would like to do differently. You seem to be on a wonderfl track. Thank you! Report Inappropriate Comment

TRAVELGRRL 3/11/2011 9:26AM

What an inspiring blog! You are so right; there is so much we can doand notice right this minute to improve our moods and lives. You've turned your bout with cancer into a positive that's fundamentally improved your life on every level. That's amazing and exciting. "Squeezing all the juice possible out of my life" -- what a wonderful thing to be able to say! Report Inappropriate Comment

NANCY- 3/11/2011 9:17AM

Life is so exciting, if we just open our eyes. What a wonderful way to live life! Report Inappropriate Comment

Keeping Up With Exercise: Beck Day 39

Thursday, March 10, 2011

Not a problem.

I'm at 249 minutes of cardio this week already conservatively estimated from cross country skiing and gym sessions on the elliptical (plus two vigorous ST workouts).

I'm a life-long exerciser, going well back to my teen years. I've changed up the times I exercise to accommodate changing life circumstances. And when medical issues have intervened, I've got right back to working out again as soon as health permitted.

I don't particularly expect to want to go and exercise -- in advance -- ever. Getting out of bed at 5 am to go to the gym -- is not appealing. But I do know that exercise always makes me feel better after I've done it: the old "after acquired motivation" -- actually quite similar to the after acquired motivation for weight loss.

Exercise is important for mood, fitness, toning. But it frankly doesn't help me much with weight loss or weight loss maintenance. I have to work way too hard to burn even a few calories. This morning, 400 calories on the elliptical took 34 minutes at level 8 because my RPMs were only about 51: and I realized afterwards that I've caught my DH"s flu (achy, sore throat, low energy).

So be it. The predicted rain is turning my cross country ski dreams to slush. And I'm not likely to get to the gym tomorrow or maybe even on the weekend, if the flu runs its predictable course as well. But in the long run, I know: exercise is not my issue.

It's all about food.

  

  Member Comments About This Blog Post:

JOHAL52 3/11/2011 2:05AM

Head to bed!! Chicken soup, a good book. You will burn plenty of calories being sick--time to rest dear friend!!! Report Inappropriate Comment

SLENDERELLA61 3/10/2011 7:25PM

Great that you are dedicated to exercise!! It is so good for you. Your years of good habits has made you far healthier than you would have been without it. It's good that you recognize that food is your issue. But give yourself a great deal of credit for those wonderful exercise habits!! Report Inappropriate Comment

TRYINGHARD1948 3/10/2011 5:38PM

Hope you feel better soon. Report Inappropriate Comment

CHANLSURFR 3/10/2011 12:17PM

Level 8? Man, I'm still working on Level 1 and trying to get past my excuses to go farther. Maybe I need to take lessons from you on going up the levels. Sorry to hear you caught the flu. Try a warm towel over your eyes to help open you up. Put hot (not scalding) damp towel over your eyes. When cool, wipe the corners of your eyes with the corners of the towel. Repeat as necessary. Not great for getting rid of the flu, but will help ease the symptoms of the pressure around your head around your eyes. And gargle with warm salt water for a sore throat. These home remedies have usually made colds and flu a little more tolerable until it has run its course. Hope you feel better soon. Report Inappropriate Comment

JHADZHIA 3/10/2011 12:00PM

So sorry you caught the flu :( The wacky weather catches us again! There is actually the risk of freezing rain here tonight!! Won't that make a skating rink out of our trails, sidewalks and streets.. I have always loved to exercise too and had long recoveries after surgeries, but got right back on the wagon. But it is frustrating doing a lot of working out and getting small results, as what happened with me before I finally did lose all the excess weight. It is the food. You really ARE what you eat.. Hope you feel better soon, hugs, Linda Report Inappropriate Comment

PHEBESS 3/10/2011 11:53AM

Yeah, for some of us the activity level is not an issue, it truly is the food. Ah well, at least when we're chubby we're still healthy! Report Inappropriate Comment