I hit the 100 lb weight loss marker Oct. 2014, officially conceding to "goal" 5 months later, at 110 lbs lost. I struggled, trying to find my niche and ended up losing up to the total of 129 lbs off during the process. Took me about a year to fully realize that JUDDD is not only the BEST diet for for weight loss but also the BEST woe for maintenance.
How does maintenance look for this JUDDDer? Almost always I use the up / dn pattern (no 5:2 or 4:3 as I can eat more when I stick with ADF). Currently, I'm doing two 500 calorie DDs followed by twice my TDEE (3400 calories) on UDs. It works nicely.
I think of my calorie consumption something like a savings account. Save here, save there, so I can spend it on Friday night! Yesssss! I sure do love my diet! Who woulda thought it could happen to me?! If it can happen to me, it can happen to anyone. I really believe that. The keys are the same for maintenance as they are for weight loss:
- Calorie cycling
- 100-170 g protein on UDs
- Mostly protein on DDs (500-1000 calories)
- Spiking (aka Controlled Cheating)
I have done a great deal of research into maintenance. I have a couple of books that describe others who've gotten to maintenance, along with statistics, etc. (These are of little value to me.) In the end, each of us need to carve out our own path with this journey. Some days I feel as though I'm re-inventing the wheel. No one else can do this for me. Not enough research has gone into maintenance in general, other than to be told to continue on with what you were already doing when you got to goal. I want more than that because the basic JUDDD (alone) is not enough for me at this stage! I also am forever wanting to boost my metabolism. Because, truth be told, it is all about the food. 😀
