what happens in maintenance?

i am a long way off maintenance, but still thought i would ask all you that have made it there! when we stop going to the chemist and buying TFR...what do we buy then? do we buy maintenance sachets? and how long do we stay on it for? will we get support still from lipotrim?

You can buy the sachets if you wish and you can still go to the chemist for weigh ins and advice and you can still email or phone lipotrim for advice etc but essentially maintaince is just that - trying to maintain the weight you are at.

Its not a stroll in the park and is defo one of the hardest things i have done and still attempting to do which is why i still live on this forum :giggle:

I still live here too but I'm quite sure that's why I'm still at goal 62 weeks after finishing TFR and Refeed! Well - that and eating healthily!!

Looks like you're halfway to your goal so well done you! And in only 9 weeks?!

I think initially the main thing is to plan, plan, plan. Refeed is THE key to getting back to a 'normal' diet without piling lbs on (this would only be water but it's scary nevertheless). My advice would be at least 2 weeks of refeed and then carry on adding a little more in here and there until you find you are staying around the same weight. It really is trial and error.

You CAN buy maintenance products (you can also get free samples from the website, one of each variety so you can see what you like) but they're not an absolute necessity. I used ordinary shakes and my free samples during refeed. After than I DID used to carry around a maintenace bar with me because initially I was terrified of being 'caught short' in a situation where I needed a meal out and couldnt find anything suitable. This was the total irrationality of the TFRer of course . Now I know that we can ALWAYS find something suitable, even if it has to be tweaked a little and even if we end up having something 'naughty' all we have to do is cut back a bit to allow for it.

As Tanya has said - it ISN'T easy but at the end of the day it's where we all want to be. And far better to be dealing with the difficulties maintence might pose than the weight issues we've finally, thankfully left behind us!

Good luck with the rest of your journey and I look forward to seeing your maintenance diary on here in a few weeks xx

Oh Jan i wanted to rep you for that reply but ive gota spread the love first! :giggle:

*thumbs up*

Well done on your losses to date. You are now half way there. It is such a positive thing to be thinking forward to refeed and maintenance. It is really the point at which we succeed or fail with TFR.
Personally, I do not think it is necessary to use the maintenance sachets. Follow the refeed sheet to the letter. Do this by sitting down and planning out your menus in advance. Be very, very careful in regard to portion sizes. The amount our bodies actually need is so much smaller than what we see with our greedy eyes.
After refeed follow some eating plan. Research a number of these both on this forum and elsewhere. You can choose from WW, SW, Calorie Counting, Low fat, Gi/GL or various proprietary diets which are variations of GI/GL and healthy eating.
Weigh yourself daily or weekly to keep track of your progress.
The important thing to remember is that you cannot return to your old ways. If you do then you will regain some or all of your weight.
Personally, I have gotten my head around the fact that I must learn to enjoy new foods, cut back or keep away from others in order to maintain my TFR losses.
It is not always easy but once you get your head around that and find a plan that suits your lifestyle then you can follow an 80/20 rule. Simply put, it means you stay on track for 80% of the time and have a bit of a splurge on occasion.
Do a bit of research during your last weeks on TFR and do a lot of thinking of what, why and when you eat so you can identify the triggers that make you overeat or just eat the wrong foods.
keep up your great work and lots of luck.

Thank you All, i will remember all of this when i start on maintenance, i do like your 80/20 view molly- will have to keep using that myself , will speak to you all again when my holidays are over x