lonniehuffman's Journal, 27 Jul 20

Why not make your next reward a non-food item, like a new electronic gizmo, or getting a massage from Wifey? (The latter will require some extra bargaining, of course.) Then you won't have to approach the scale with apprehension. Good luck tomorrow!  

That's a great suggestion, JustBananas, but I'm not trying to lose anymore weight. I'm in maintenance, and my food rewards are part of keeping me from getting too thin. I go on a strict diet when my weight goes above 172 until I'm back under 172. When I get too low, I have a treat to bring my weight back up. It's probably a quirky method of maintaining my weight, but it's worked so far. When I was in the losing phase of my diet, I did reward myself with non-food items, and that really helped. Nowadays though, I get to satisfy my cravings as long as I stay below 172. Thanks for your comment! 🙂 

Well being where you are I think you are doing just great!!!! 

I cant ever think of anything non-food related as a reward. The only thing that motivates me is food haha. 

your the king of maintenance man. you know how to do it 

Winner 🥇  

Thank you, liv001! 😊 

The last non-food reward I got, mbd121, was a gamepad, which is a controller I can use with my VR (virtual reality) headset. My VR headset came with a remote that allowed me to see lots of the amazing and mind blowing videos and games in VR, but there's a lot more to do and see with a gamepad. When I lost 37 pounds, reversed pre-diabetes and no longer had to take blood pressure and cholesterol medicine, a reward was warranted. I didn't want a food reward, because I still had weight to lose, so I got the gamepad I wanted. Yes, I'm just a big, grey-haired kid. 🙄  

Thank you, One! 🤴 

😘@Melissa! 

Wifey is going to sit on your shoulder and tap you to help you!! 😊😉 

Gosh that's not a bad gain for a burger...🤤 

Aww! Thanks, Wifey! I look forward to your help. ❤ Just please let me weigh myself without you on my shoulder, then you can jump right back on. 😂 

Haha haha absolutely! I’d your scale 😭😭😭😭 

Gosh I appreciate you, SherryeB! Thank you for that reminder. I too have thought about that. My previous health problems were pre-diabetes, high cholesterol and high blood pressure, and I sure don't want to ever go down that road again! I've been monitoring my blood pressure, and while it did go up a little bit for a brief period after I started maintenance, it appears to have stabilized now. I think I may have gone through some sort of adjustment period when I returned to eating more calories than I was while losing weight. I've had really good blood pressure lately, and I'm continuing to check it almost daily. I rarely have sweets, even though I love them, because I worry about the pre-diabetes coming back on me, so I'm careful not to have too much sugar. We don't even keep anything sweet around, just so I won't be tempted. When I go back into diet mode, after I've had my treat, I closely watch how much cholesterol I allow myself. My whole diet plan revolves around counting nutrients, not calories, so I'm closely watching my cholesterol, sugar and all the other nutrients on the days that I'm not having a splurge. I'm gonna blame Kevin this time for our having Wendy's again, because he was craving it. I'll own some of the blame though, because it sounded so good, and it was good. I share some of the blame because I was the one shoving it into my mouth after all. When I'm not having a treat, I'm mindful of my previous issues, and I'm doing what I can to avoid their return. Just to be safe though, I've made plans to go to a doctor to have my bloodwork done. There's a doctor Kevin went to, and liked, in Jerome, Idaho. We'll be back in Jerome in about three months and I'll go to that doctor to see how I'm doing. Three months should be enough time to see if there's been any negative impact from my maintenance plan. If there is, I'll get right on fixing it. Thanks again, SherryeB. Thanks for caring! ❤ 

Lonnie, I deleted my comment after I returned from my walk cause I didn't want you to take it the wrong way. Afterall, I don't always eat perfectly myself. It looks like you took it in the spirit it was offered & I'm glad. 😊 I feel like we've become friends and I just wanted to offer a gentle nudge to remember it's about being healthy. Enjoy, indulge occasionally but stay on the track to good health. 

I hope you enjoyed your treat meal, Lonnie! 💖 Just keep listening to your body and do what feels right. You are doing an amazing job maintaining while still enjoying the good things in life that some people may struggle with by trying to cut them out completely. If I remember correctly, you lost an impressive amount of weight in 6 months by focusing solely on nutrients. You know what to do and you do it so well! That Lonnie buffer is major goals! I appreciate you sharing parts of your journey here and I also appreciate you sending me virtual bites of your treats. 😋 

I took your comment only as a loving comment from someone who cares, Sherrye. I really appreciate the nudge. It would be so easy to fall back into my old ways of stuffing myself at every meal and only getting exercise from chewing. Please, feel free to help me stay on track, Sherrye.  

I did enjoy it, newname! It was Kevin's idea to get Wendy's again as he was craving it. It was a great idea, and I didn't gain any weight from it because I was careful before and after the treat. How about that?! 

The message from SherryeB and your response make be admire you both all the more. What a wonderful, supportive community this is! ❤️🌹❤️