“Are you still on that diet?”  I get that question all the time from my friends, colleagues, and family.

Well it depends on how you look at it?  For me, I do not consider myself on that diet, but I do consider myself as having new healthy eating habits that are an outcome of having gone to the Weigh Station, following the diet program (which is amazing) and somewhat following their guidelines for maintenance.

Everyone has to find and determine what “maintenance” means to them.   For me personally, I know that maintenance means that although I have added back whole wheat and sour dough bread on occasion, that having bread every day will not work for me.   There are other foods that I've been able to add back successfully - grilled corn on the cob, baked sweet potatos, and dark chocolate.  On an occasion I do treat myself to things that I was restricted while I was on the WS diet.  It’s all about portion control and keeping a healthy balance. 

Our family went on vacation to the beach this summer.  It’s a tradition to go to “The Scoop” for ice cream.   When we went, I had decided that I was going to pass on the ice cream.  My family said “You’re on vacation, you’ve worked so hard to lose the weight, and you should treat yourself.”   So, I did have a child’s size serving of ice cream.  You know, it was good, but not as good as I remembered.  It was more about the tradition of doing this with the family than eating the ice cream.  

When you get to the maintenance stage of the diet it’s up to you what you decide to do.  For me, I now physically feel better than I have in a long, long time.  I like the size I am.  I’m happy with myself.  I like enjoy my healthy eating habits.  I worked hard to get where I am today and I don't want to go back to where I was before.

And yes, inquiring minds do want to know: Yes, I am maintaining my weight loss, I am fluctuating between 56-58 lbs total weight loss.   

I’m blessed to have gone through the program so successfully.  I’ve shared my experience with a number of friends and colleagues.  Some of my friends are now attending the Weigh Station - even my Mom and Dad.  It’s working for all of them and it will work for you too!!!