Well my weight has fluctuated a little but it's been within my 2 kilogram ballpark. I'm tracking really well. For the first time in my life I feel like I'm really getting a grip on the eating monster that has made my life up to this point kind of hell.
Maintenance is when you really come to grips with this eating monster. Maintenance is when you learn to apply lessons that you have learnt whilst you are on the program in the real world - well actually, it starts for 1-2 days at your halfway weight, but at maintenance, you're planning 7 WHOLE days! Think of it like a plane. A plane's navigation system doesn't just go direct from A to B. It actually strays a little off course and then corrects itself and it does this over and over, zigzagging to its final destination. Well I have gone from being an out of control jumbo to being a rather on track, cuddly Learjet...one with a few love handles.
It's now that I realise what support really means and how it makes all the difference between success and failure. It's in maintenance that I'm continuing to solve the problems that I've previously faced on my own and been unable to solve. I'm learning it is not because I'm hopeless when I lapse nor that I have a fat gene that has doomed me to be fat for ever; it's that I have a problem that I haven't been able to solve yet. And in some instances it can take a few weeks (or even longer!!) to work out with your consultant what that problem is. That's what I've been doing in my recent consultations. For example it took me several weeks to work out that whilst talking to Adele my consultant every time she mentioned 5000kJ (the menu I was due to follow to lose my last few kilograms before reaching my goal) inwardly, secretly I was flipping out, I was going straight into deprivation mode, panicking and feeling I was about to be deprived for the rest of my life which then made me want to eat more. I then started to be tempted, tempted to binge, tempted to go back to some of my old habits and it has taken Adele and I a few weeks to pinpoint that this is the issue that I have. 5000 kilojoules was too much of a drop for me at this point in time and also the prospect of feeling deprived felt like it was going to be life sentence; the consequence of years of unrealistic diets. So what was the solution...
The solution came with more information and looking at the fact that I had been losing weight on the higher kilojoule level, and as long as I kept up my physical activity, I may be able to reach my goal without dropping a kilojoule level. I was happy, as I felt that the solution was right for me to feel good both physically, emotionally and mentally. Then we talked about a sensible transition to a higher kilojoule level to maintain my weight once I reached my goal, and I realized I wasn't going to be deprived after all!
There is also science involved , so you can rest assured that you'll be provided with the right number of kilojoules to meet your needs, depending on how old you are, your weight, and how much activity you do. I thought I was smarter than the science and all I did was outsmart myself. So what have I learnt since goal?
First thing is just to keep turning up to the consultations. As hard as it feels at times - and there have been times when I really haven't wanted to - the most important lesson I've learnt is just to keep turning up. It's the one thing that you must do.
The second thing is not to be frightened because the consultant is there to help you find a solution and to find a way through some of the problems that you have once you are doing your own 7 days of menus ar maintenance.
The third thing is not to expect the entire problem to be solved in one session, which then relates back to the first point. You need to keep turning up.
And finally, personally, all I can say is: the more I have to do with this organisation the more impressed I am with their level of expertise, their caring and their support.
Maintenance is the continuation of my journey to develop a normal, happy, healthy relationship with food. And in doing so I'm debunking and challenging a lot of the false assumptions I've had. I'm showing myself that I can do it, without relying on the Jenny Craig food.
Firstly, losing weight and keeping it off is not a one off event. Just because you have managed to lose the weight does absolutely not mean you have solved your eating issues. It is a learning journey I will be on for the rest of my life. But I have also learned that this is not a grim and unpleasant journey. The truth is, I am actually tasting food and flavours for the first time. I am sorry but no crappy lolly can compete with the deliciousness of mango, yoghurt and some chopped up date! YUMMMM!! There is a whole world of scrummy, healthy things out there for me to discover. And when you are fit a whole world of beauty and wonder opens up to you - nature walks along cliff tops or round local parks. Going to the beach with family and friends. Going camping. Climbing hills. Riding your bike. Swimming in the ocean. Playing soccer with your friends. Dancing the night away. FUN!!
Secondly, slipping up, even in a big way, is not failure. This is a learning journey like learning the piano and you would hardly expect to be able to play Moonlight Sonata having only heard it once. Learning requires practice. Repetition. And eventually the lesson will sink in and become automatic.
That is why it is great to have a consultation every week, and then every month for maintenance, because the truth is every time I go off the rails I do feel like a failure. But this feeling is starting to diminish. I need to give myself some credit. I mean, for heaven's sake - I have managed to "fail my way" down to 85 kilos haven't I?! It's great to have friends doing the programme as well coz we also talk about all this stuff. it also takes practice to know when you really are in trouble and that is where your consultant is the most important person in your life at this time.
There were a lot of things I was convinced I could never change. I have changed in ways I would never have thought possible: I eat breakfast and regular meals every single day; I love to eat fruit; I can live, and indeed thrive, without butter; I now prefer a skinny latte to full fat - full fat is too rich; I exercise on average 3-4 times a week; I love walking; and most incredible of all...I love crunchy, fresh celery!!
So I'm sticking with Jenny Craig. I would be broken hearted if I went back to the way I was before. I know that there is no shortcut to this. Like I keep saying, I am in this for the long haul. And so is Jenny Craig. So I just have to stick to the program and more importantly stick with the people who are the experts and who know what they are doing because right now my life has never been better.
