Maintenance: The One Celebration That Doesn’t Include A Meal Selection…

Today is a classic day where I’m hopping back onto the ‘Healthy Wagon’ after enjoying the ‘fruits’ of my sister’s wedding (I swear, I did eat some fruit), while not regretting one crumb or calorie I happily consumed. However, enjoying a wedding to the fullest is an example of where the mental game that exists with maintenance will likely rears its ugly head (and, for me, its head is in the shape of a large platter of cheese, crackers, and any kind of hors d'oeuvre followed by a good ole helping of guilt!).

Maintenance has a tendency to be a bit of a roller coaster for many people. For example, I went from weighing the least I have ever weighed, 149.8 lbs, (and buying the smallest sized dress I’ve ever bought) to eating to my heart’s content in just one week! The highs and lows from this can be tough to deal with, however, the key to maintenance is to always get back on track, no matter what!

If this means that you have to freeze all the left overs that your generous family sends home with you so that you will only have them accessible for when guests come over-then do it! (Insert my stuffed freezer full of leftover pastries from what seemed like a bakery shop's full week worth of sales just for my sister’s post wedding brunch). 

My Sister's Post-Wedding Brunch: Pastry Heaven!...(now deep in my freezer)

Do what you need to do to get back on track-freeze the food, throw it out, have your loved ones hide it from you, or even give it to your skinniest friends so that they can ‘fluffen’ up a bit haha-you must do what is right for you in order to get yourself back on track.

Depriving yourself during moments like a wedding where it (hopefully-haha) only happens once in your loved one’s life isn’t true maintenance (and I was so happy to see that a few of you commented on previous posts with this sentiment as well!).

You can’t get mad at yourself for allowing yourself to enjoy these moments! Yes, it may be frustrating that food is the centerpiece to every celebration that practically exists-but don’t allow it to surround the biggest celebration of all-your weight loss! Take moments to remember how far you’ve come and that a few meals, or even few days of just enjoying life and the treats that come along with it, (like the three day affair I just had with pastries, cheese, and buffets) won’t cause you to gain the weight back...

Here are two pictures that I took to show myself how far I’ve come-these serve as a reminder that a few unhealthy, or even ‘normal’ meals, will not send me back to that-I'm a new person now, and that old 260 LB-er is gone forever! This is the one constant celebration that doesn't come with a meal selection or congratulatory dessert!

The dress shown was my prom dress from senior year in high school in 2005. It was a size 22…the dress I bought for my sister's rehearsal dinner is a size 6! 

(Note, this dress is actually a wedding dress-they didn't have any prom dresses in my size so I actually had to buy a wedding dress...you never forget unsettling moments like these...)

As long as you don’t allow your few days of indulgence to turn into a few weeks-you will continue to maintain. Celebrate the accomplishments you have had in your weight loss-celebrating these will help you get back on track and will remind you that you are far from the person you used to be!

During maintenance you have to loosen up a bit, and enjoy a freaken slice of cake once in a while! One slice of cake won’t make you fluffy again, however, the entire cake in a whole other story...

What do you do to remind yourselves of how far you have come, and that you are allowed to enjoy treats sometimes?

Until next time, keeping the bulge at bay...