How I've maintained my weight loss since stopping low carb

[Appalonia]

I've done low carb diets before but always put the weight back on. However, after losing 18lbs since January I was determined not to put it back in again. I started by experimenting with a few healthy carbs, like brown rice, potatoes etc. I'd weigh my self every morning so I could see very quickly if I was putting the weight back on.

However, what I've found is that just not having breakfast seems to be working in keeping my weight stable. I'm still eating healthily and don't really have sugar, don't eat UPF, apart from the very occasional bag of crisps ( and one chocolate bar ) I don't know why this is working, and if I suddenly piled the weight back on, I'd go back to low carb, I'm just so happy that I seem to have found a way to moderate and not put the weight back on!

Sounds positive. I keep telling myself I’m going to reread the Atkins chapter on maintenance, it gives a list of carbs to slowly start reintroducing so you get to your sweet spot. I’m not a breakfast person either so I won’t be eating that.

Are you doing maintenance now? I actually think it's harder than doing LC because on a LC diet you know exactly what you can and can't eat. But once you can, in theory, eat anything, it's v easy for the weight to slowly creep back on ( which is why I've got into the habit of daily weighing, to nip that in the bud )

So, today, I had a cup of tea in the morning, was out for the day, had jacket potato with tuna for lunch in a cafe and tonight had chicken and salad for lunch.

I really wish the LC Boot camp had a maintenance thread, as it's just as important. And, as we know, trying to eat out or at social functions is v difficult as carbs are everywhere.

Not yet but will be in a fortnight or so. Your right, that’s when the hard work begins.

@Appalonia I did set up a maintenance thread a while ago, but nobody posted on it!

In part, I think it was because they wanted to keep chatting on the 'main' thread - but also probably reflects the difficulty that people have with maintenance.

Low carb is no different from any other weight loss plan. If you go back to eating what you were eating before you started dieting, then the weight will go straight back on.

Where low carbing is different is that you have work work quite hard to establish what kind of carbs, and how many, you can tolerate before you gain weight. And it's different for everyone.

Congrats, Appalonia, It’s awesome that you’ve found a balance that works for you. Skipping breakfast and sticking to whole foods sounds like a great way to maintain your progress. It's smart to stay flexible and keep an eye on what works for your body. Keep up the great work.

It's been 4 months now and I've still kept the weight off!😁

I have also found no breakfast a simple way to maintain weight loss. I don't miss breakfast at all and looking back I think I gained weight to start with because the dietitian insisted that breakfast was essential for health.

I’m 3lb away from my target weight so have been starting to think about maintenance. I lost a significant amount previously, but then went back to eating how I had been and gained it all back. This time I’m thinking I’ll continue to low carb Mon-Fri, and just have carbs at weekends, and see how that goes.

I read somewhere that if you are going to eat carbs, then potatoes are the best way to do it in terms of weight loss!

Perhaps by skipping breakfast you are simply reducing you daily calorific intake to just the right amount to maintain your weight.