I'm close to goal and have been thinking alot about the maintenance phase of my journey as the weight loss phase been successful so far. I took my first baby steps towards this being a lifelong lifestyle change by not tracking everything in myfitnesspal anymore. It was invaluable to me in terms of what I was consuming but at this point, I'm well aware of the calories/sodium/sugar/protein of most of the foods I eat regularly and I'm trying to be less obsessive.

I'm still weighing out my food as that gives me a sense of comfort and control but I hope to stop doing that as well one day. I just don't want to be thinking about food all the time...even if it's not thinking about eating it, but thinking about how much I can eat and what I can eat. It's actually a little scary but necessary I think for me and my journey.

I can totally identify! I'm trying not to be OCD about it, but it's so hard. I'm afraid if I don't control every little thing then it will get away from me again. I think it's great that you're letting go slowly, because you're absolutely right, thinking about food whether it's can I eat this, should I eat this or how much of this can I eat is exhausting, so kudos to you for taking those little steps! I think it's a necessity for long term success and your sanity! Great job on almost reaching goal!!!!

Yep, I've been giving thought to how I'm going to wean myself of my obcessions once the weight is gone. I think I'm going to start with relocating my scales to my daughters house and weighing weekly for a while. I don't want it to get out of control and if I need to regroup, I want to do it early. We'll see.

We are all different. I need to weigh daily, I step on those scales every single morning. It is essential for me in maintenance as I don't want the weight to start creeping on again and not be aware of it happening. I was in denial before my surgery, stepping on those scales every day keeps me authentic.

I also still track everything. I want to know I am getting enough to eat to maintain, I want to track nutritional content and I want to know that I am exercising enough to burn off excesses when I enjoy them.

At this stage I can't imagine not doing these things, they feel very necessary to me in my maintenance.

I can totally relate. I'm trying to make this transition as well, as I'm only a pound away from my goal weight. I'm not opposed to losing more weight, but I, for the first time in my life, feel happy with where I am!

I'm just beginning to set my new goals, to keep me living a healthy lifestyle forever. I want to (and feel the need to) break myself of being so obsessive with both daily weighing, and recording my every bite. So, my goals as of right now is to do a weekly weigh in, instead of a daily. Also, only to record the foods I'm don't have first hand nutrition info for (ie. dinner at a restaurant). I have been terrible with exercise, as my main focus has been my nutrition. Now I feel more than ready to fit in regular exercise.

The idea of maintenance scares me. I feel like the weightloss was the 'easy' part, and the 'hard' part's yet to come. I just have to remember I have the band for a reason, and it does it's job beautifully! I need to trust it, and have faith in myself!

Thank you for posting this, as it's good to know there are others who can relate to how I'm feeling! Wishing you the best of luck...wishing us ALL the best! We can do this!

I can totally relate. I'm trying to make this transition as well, as I'm only a pound away from my goal weight. I'm not opposed to losing more weight, but I, for the first time in my life, feel happy with where I am!

I'm just beginning to set my new goals, to keep me living a healthy lifestyle forever. I want to (and feel the need to) break myself of being so obsessive with both daily weighing, and recording my every bite. So, my goals as of right now is to do a weekly weigh in, instead of a daily. Also, only to record the foods I'm don't have first hand nutrition info for (ie. dinner at a restaurant). I have been terrible with exercise, as my main focus has been my nutrition. Now I feel more than ready to fit in regular exercise.

The idea of maintenance scares me. I feel like the weightloss was the 'easy' part, and the 'hard' part's yet to come. I just have to remember I have the band for a reason, and it does it's job beautifully! I need to trust it, and have faith in myself!

Thank you for posting this, as it's good to know there are others who can relate to how I'm feeling! Wishing you the best of luck...wishing us ALL the best! We can do this!

Same here Manda. Once I understood I could live with the band, and incorporate it into my life, the weight loss was easy. No...not easy...do-able is probably the better word. But like many of us, this is not the first time I've lost alot of weight. The real success is to maintain this. I have a cousin who was heavy as a kid and she lost alot of weight when she was a young woman. FF 35 years and she's still slender and no one really remembers the fat Michelle. I would like to attain that same thing...to not have anyone recall the fat me. Same for my son. He was a very big boy and he's kept the bulk of his weight off for more than five years. I saw a picture of him the other day when he was much heavier and I truly forgot how large he used to be. That is my new goal I think. To be smaller long enough for folks to forget how big I was. Yes...I think that's a good goal to shoot for.

After I reached goal I still logged my food intake for a couple months but then I continued to lose both weight and inches so I stopped. I been stopped weighing my food because I can just look at food and can tell how much is too much or not enough. Good luck with reaching and maintaining your goal.

Maintenance is such an exciting discussion. I'm still 35 lbs away from goal so I've never given this much thought. Before reaching goal, I think you sort of see maintenance as the end. i.e. once I get there it's all done & over with. But that is not really the case, is it?! It's really a new beginning with new challenges & new things to learn.

Congrats on maintenance! I can't wait to get there myself!