Welcome to the Bootcamp Maintenance thread!

[BIWI]

As several people look like they're reaching or soon reaching their target, I thought it would be a good idea to start a maintenance thread.

I know lots of people are worried about how they're going to maintain, so having a support thread for ideas and suggestions sounds like it's going to be important!

Beef casserole in the oven for later. No flour to thicken it.

I thought I might dust off the bike today. I was just about to get changed to head out when I remembered it’s fecking freezing with ice on the roads! I would have broken my neck!! Parked that idea.

I’ve just stuck my details into a BMi calc. I’m 22.7 which only puts me in the upper 3rd of healthy! My range is 8.6 to 11.6! That’s a huge range!! At 8.6 I’d look beyond I’ll!

The BMI ranges are insane aren't they? According to mine I could still lose another 2 stone and be a healthy weight. I would have to chop off a leg to do that.

Glad you didn't go out on your bike Brassica! Gorgeous day for a walk though, wish I was up a mountain in a woolly hat instead of on way to work.

One problem with BMI is that it doesn't take body composition into account. At 9 st 2 lb my BMI was 21 which sounds perfect but I still had plenty of flab. I was "skinny fat" with a body fat percentage of about 24%. What I needed wasn't to lose weight as such but to lose another few pounds of fat and to increase my muscle mass by about 3 lb through exercise. So the answer wasn't to keep trying to lose weight but to do bodyweight exercises and start strength/weight training.

Furry I think you have to take frame into account as well. I know it's a cliche to say you're big-boned but it's definitely a factor. I have a very small frame, my wrists are tiny, so I need to be on the bottom end of the normal BMI range to be a healthy BMI.

Looking appraisingly at my body (tummy, thighs etc) I think I’ve got heaps more to lose. But I think I’m still going to head for a target of 10.2 (2lbs then a few more to create a buffer zone) then maintain that for 4-6 months before trying to lose again.

Brassica there's something to be said for a planned pause in your weight loss. It gives your body a chance to reset its "set weight" and for hunger hormone levels (such as insulin, ghrelin and leptin) to reach a new normal balance. Also making changes to your way of eating every so often is a good way of avoiding physiological homeostasis. Here's an article about homeostasis and weight loss although it isn't written from a low carb point of view.

You're right stunt about the BMI range, I think I have spent my life interpreting 'big boned' as fat, whereas I am quite a strapping lass even if I was an my goal weight. I shall never be a delicate sort...sadly!

Nothing carby furry i had just eaten pork with leeks and cabbage with a bit of cream and cheese, perfect low carb meal, so no idea why I reacted, haven't been feeling great for a while, so could be a bug I guess.

I had some sweet chilli sauce today and it almost blew my head off I can't believe how my tastes have changed, it never tasted so sweet before

I'm probably 4-5ibs off my final weight now though I'll be interested to see where I end so definitely thinking about maintenance

I think the alcohol analogy is spot on. It's like going through a door into a different world and I just can't eat carbs in moderation

I will be so happy if I have stayed roughly the same by the end of Christmas

I've had a terrible day today. Massively over eaten, more on volume than carby but feel terrible for it. Was out for lunch and had friends over for tea.

Lunch was a Greek salad which was lovely but covered in balsamic dressing which was really sickly sweet, I agree about tastes changing! It also had mixed beans.... Made fathead pizza for dinner a day felt stuffed. Also demolished loads of dark chocolate.

Not a good day at all and feel bloated and crappy for it. It reminds me what a slippery slope it is as yesterday wasn't great either and it's just continued.

Tomorrow will be eggs and veg in an attempt to make Monday's weigh in bearable!

How is everyone getting on? I had 3 days of Christmas events over the weekend, so my plan was to fast for breakfast each day, allow myself some carbs at event and then a low carb meal, it worked well. I didn't go overboard on the carbs, felt quite bloated though so pleased to be back to my normal woe

One xmas meal down for me with no carby cheating. Another one booked for Thursday.
Still 1.5lb up this week. My body is well and truly fecked, I really don't need many calories at all

Oh and another xmas "meal" Friday. But it's likely to be crappy (breaded) chicken in a basket etc. I'm going to find a polite way of skipping this meal completely. I'm not blowing this WOE for a crappy meal! When I blow it it's going to be for something amazing!

What carbs and how many starsky?

I have at least another stone to go yet so will be on the next bootcamp. In terms maintenance, I like the one or two carbs a week concept and suspect that will be my max without weight gain. On a carbish day then, would I just not eat high fat to compensate?

Here's what i ate:
Fri
B fasting
L chicken, bacon and brussel sprouts
D work xmas party - goats cheese & beetroot, then turkey and stuffing, leeks, spouts, parsnips, carrots, couple of bites of potatoes and Yorkshire pud, but left the rest and a chocolate mousse thing for dessert. Plus alcohol.

Sat -
B fasting
L - xmas fair - 2 sausages in bread roll, obviously could have left the bread, but didn't!
D chicken thighs and brussel sprouts

Sun
B fasting
L - kids xmas party - wraps and crisps and some mini pastries
D chicken fajitas, using lettuce leaves as wraps

Weight
Fri - 9st 3
Mon - 9st 5
Today - 9st 4

So put on 2lbs, but lost 1 of those already. Probably helped by the fact that I ended up doing a 24hr fast on Monday after not getting a break for lunch!

Just had a lovely dinner of Indian spiced lamb and roasted broccoli.

Ooh that looks good. It's more of a hat tip to cheating rather than falling into the pool of cheating!!

I haven't had a Pizza Hut or dominos since September. I'm beginning to really feel the urge

Ooh I forgot, I also had a salted caramel profiterole dessert on Sat night! Certainly more carbs than I plan to have on a more normal weekend, but pleased that I navigated multiple events where carbs where freely available and didn't go crazy. Also that I didn't use it as an excuse to have carbs all weekend and stuck to low carb at other meals. I guess that is how maintenance will be going forward, just need to find the right balance!

brassica does fathead pizza not hit the spot?

I'm already in this mode and finding a combination of 5:2, no breakfast ever, no snacking ever.
, and standard salad lunch is enough to maintain if the other meals aren't low carb. (But what that tends to mean is some potatoes, grains occasionally bread and wine- we're not really into biscuits, sweets, pasta and so on.)

Shoot me now Grumpy

@BrassicaBabe huh?

Maintenance is strict! There are in easy get outs. It's a long old road.

Well, that has worked for me for 12 months now, with a little creep when I didn't follow it on holiday and which I lost in two weeks of Bootcamp.