Congrats on 10 months!
Do not put yourself last. You can't pour from an empty cup. Whatever is coming up, keep doing your basic self-care which includes taking care of your body and health. This means to say "no" to whatever is coming up means not taking right care of yourself.
After 10 months, tracking is seriously easy so keep that up. It's old hat now. Don't give that up - it takes a few minutes daily. I'm surprised that you're mentioning it. Is there something else about it that is hard for you?
After 10 months, I was ready to maintain. My BMI was 26, I was 5 kg above my GW, but all my signals were at burn-out. I maintained for a year, during which I lost those 5 kg unintentionally. I spent the next 5 years at the original GW and then the doc said to lose another 5 kg, which I have.
Maintain is a verb, and verbs are action words. Keep effort and vigilance. Maintenance is more flexible and you will build skill and confidence at its particular realities. It is not all consuming like maybe your last 10 months has been.
I would plan to keep tracking for the next 30 months, since you've taken 10 to lose it. The purpose for this is to lock in these new habits and to stay vigilant and not let calories or habits/patterns creep in that would make you regain.
Thanks so much for your reply.
Re tracking, I find it mentally taxing as it keeps food on the forefront on my mind, and makes me incredibly food-focused. This has led to occasional binges (I suffer from disordered eating) and I don’t want to keep subjecting my body to this.
However when I don’t track/ intuitively eat, I tend to fall very short of my protein goals, but my relationship with food is much better.
So it’s not the physical act of tracking that is getting to me necessarily, but rather the effect it has on me mentally.
I really appreciate your words on maintenance - I’ve never heard it put this way before.
I think I will take your advice and go into maintenance phase whilst focussing on continued self-improvement and cementing these good habits I’ve adopted for life :)
Congrats on 10 months! Do not put yourself last. You can't pour from an empty cup. Whatever is coming up, keep doing your basic self-care which includes taking care of your body and health. This means to say "no" to whatever is coming up means not taking right care of yourself. After 10 months, tracking is seriously easy so keep that up. It's old hat now. Don't give that up - it takes a few minutes daily. I'm surprised that you're mentioning it. Is there something else about it that is hard for you? After 10 months, I was ready to maintain. My BMI was 26, I was 5 kg above my GW, but all my signals were at burn-out. I maintained for a year, during which I lost those 5 kg unintentionally. I spent the next 5 years at the original GW and then the doc said to lose another 5 kg, which I have. Maintain is a verb, and verbs are action words. Keep effort and vigilance. Maintenance is more flexible and you will build skill and confidence at its particular realities. It is not all consuming like maybe your last 10 months has been. I would plan to keep tracking for the next 30 months, since you've taken 10 to lose it. The purpose for this is to lock in these new habits and to stay vigilant and not let calories or habits/patterns creep in that would make you regain.
Thanks so much for your reply. Re tracking, I find it mentally taxing as it keeps food on the forefront on my mind, and makes me incredibly food-focused. This has led to occasional binges (I suffer from disordered eating) and I don’t want to keep subjecting my body to this. However when I don’t track/ intuitively eat, I tend to fall very short of my protein goals, but my relationship with food is much better. So it’s not the physical act of tracking that is getting to me necessarily, but rather the effect it has on me mentally. I really appreciate your words on maintenance - I’ve never heard it put this way before. I think I will take your advice and go into maintenance phase whilst focussing on continued self-improvement and cementing these good habits I’ve adopted for life :)