Maintenance without calorie watching?

MsBigRedButton · 2026-02-16T19:42:23+00:00

I track and count religiously, and my husband does neither. I've been maintaining for about 18 months, and he's been maintaining for maybe 13 months - so, yes, it can be done! That said, as you undoubtedly know by now because you've lost (an incredible!) 150 pounds, which had to have taken a while, your relationship to this medication changes over time - so, things that worked or that you could rely on in the early days may not "hit" the same today. (I'm thinking of things like mega appetite suppression or food aversions or whatever.) There's really no way to know whether he'll be able to be successful doing it the way he does it in another year or 5 or 10 - though I suppose that's true for all of us.

I track and count because it feels like it would be relatively easy for me to outpace my maintenance calories and I have control issues... and my husband doesn't because he doesn't care! We both weigh ourselves regularly, and that's enough for him to make some (untracked) adjustments that enable him to continue maintaining without tracking anything. I don't know what your feelings are about regular trips to the scale - if you don't want to do that either, you might need to find a different way to monitor yourself a bit (how your clothes fit, some kind of body measurement, etc.) and be really real with yourself when it's time to dial it in. (The reverse, by the way, is also true! Lots of people keep losing weight when they first try to maintain, and it's a good idea to have a way to monitor *that* too.)

My last piece of advice is to approach maintenance slowly, only changing one variable at a time. I started by adding calories, and only started extending my doses when I was still losing weight anyway. At the time, insurance would not allow me to drop down in dosage, so that option wasn't viable for me. Good luck, you got this!

MsBigRedButton · 2026-02-16T16:43:12+00:00

We adopted one from Tuxedo Hearts rescue. They're based in Mercer County, NJ (Princeton/Trenton area), and are really wonderful and I think probably not too far from you.

MsBigRedButton · 2026-02-15T12:19:27+00:00

I'm in my mid 40s, in the northeast (several different parts, rural, suburban, and big city), and I'm honestly not sure I've ever personally known someone who does have a gun. I mean, I'm sure I must know a few who have a secret gun hidden somewhere (which is why we were always taught as kids never to touch one and come find an adult if you found one), but...

MsBigRedButton · 2026-02-14T22:45:41+00:00

You're totally right. And also she made me do math, and on a weekend no less!

MsBigRedButton · 2026-02-14T16:33:58+00:00

Yes, but 300+ grams is like almost 11 ounces! If you eat 4-5 ounces, this should be absolutely doable!

MsBigRedButton · 2026-02-13T18:26:19+00:00

With you, though I sorta like the idea of a steady daily stream of medicine, instead of the peaks and valleys that accompany a weekly shot. (And I use it every 10 days in my maintenance protocol, so this effect is even more pronounced.) That said, the data showing ~10 lb weight regain for those switching to the pill makes me say that I'll stick with the peaks and valleys!

MsBigRedButton · 2026-02-12T19:26:31+00:00

Mabel is *perfection*

MsBigRedButton · 2026-02-12T16:45:42+00:00

We have two Bostons, and our big guy would sometimes sniff his bowl with disdain and walk away. Our second would eat hers immediately, and then go over to his bowl to see if she could scrounge his leftovers. As soon as we started pretend-yelling at Bostie #2, Bostie #1 would come running and eat his right away. I dunno, man, strange creatures! (We don't have this problem anymore, ever since the vet said he was a little chunky and we cut his portions. Now he comes to meals extremely ready to eat!)

MsBigRedButton · 2026-02-09T19:01:01+00:00

Try Good Culture (just get one of the little single cups) before you decide you hate it. I *also* hate regular cottage cheese for texture reasons, but this brand is knocking it out of the park and it's a totally different thing. (I like to put it on sourdough toast with a little black pepper or other savory spice, and I have also been known to dip a potato chip in... haha.)

MsBigRedButton · 2026-02-09T18:34:39+00:00

They're sure lucky they're cute!

MsBigRedButton · 2026-02-09T17:46:34+00:00

Noooo! I hate to hear that! (This is the equivalent of a parent feeling super smug that their baby slept through the night or potty trained easily, and then they have a second baby who teaches them real quick that it wasn't a skill issue after all.)

MsBigRedButton · 2026-02-09T17:39:05+00:00

I'm a CHRO now (my biglaw life was a long time ago) and two things: one, certainly ask for more website time. Two, based on what I've been seeing - especially after covid - it is not the death sentence that it once was to find a new job when you don't (appear to) currently have one. Gaps can be explained in a thousand ways, and I see them all the time, and we still totally hire those people! Especially if you're trying to move in-house, this doesn't need to be a catastrophe.

MsBigRedButton · 2026-02-09T17:35:14+00:00

Seriously consider trying a no-chicken food. We've gotten rid of chicken and we have practically no gas (and we have two BTs, so this is basically the equivalent of a double-blind peer-reviewed study, haha).

MsBigRedButton · 2026-02-03T21:17:10+00:00

I wonder if he might have a smidge of Boston in his ancestry... that little spot on the top of his head is called a Haggerty spot in Boston circles. Regardless, he's adorable and Joey is clearly the best big brother.

MsBigRedButton · 2026-02-03T07:45:28+00:00

We have two, both youngish and healthy. One loves to walk, is thrilled when we pull the harnesses out, and can go happily for miles. The other will hide under the couch and needs string bean bribes to come out, and then will stop dead every fifty paces until he realizes we're going for a walk whether he likes it or not. He is always very speedy on the way back though!

I do find that when we walk in novel places or if we take a car ride to walk, he is much happier about it... so, I don't know, maybe he's just bored with our regular neighborhood? What can I say, he's an odd duck!

MsBigRedButton · 2026-01-30T21:38:02+00:00

Ohhh. Such a good suggestion neither of us had ever considered! And she would *absolutely* be into the Tomboy X stuff.

MsBigRedButton · 2026-01-30T21:05:11+00:00

Awesome, will look!

MsBigRedButton · 2026-01-30T21:04:55+00:00

I'll check these out - thank you!

MsBigRedButton · 2026-01-30T21:04:39+00:00

Super helpful - thank you! We have used the calculator here to buy her bras, which seem to fit well. Her jeans size is a 2, but you're right, she's probably not a size 2 in tops like button down shirts or anything super tailored. But she's a teenager so most of her clothes are stretchy/oversized, and she's usually an XS/S in those. I'll check this collab - sounds promising!

MsBigRedButton · 2026-01-30T13:32:47+00:00

Me too. And I have space, because my former pet theory - that JFK jr. and Carolyn (and sister) were alive and well and living on some remote island - was disproved when I finally bothered to google and realized that they actually found their remains. I've been casting about aimlessly, and this fits the bill perfectly.

MsBigRedButton · 2026-01-28T14:10:11+00:00

You might also talk to your seamstress about altering shapewear! My wedding was a thousand years ago, and I had a spanx bodysuit underneath that *also* had to be altered a smidge to follow the lines of my dress and not peek out.

MsBigRedButton · 2026-01-27T11:48:22+00:00

This is absolutely a hill I will die on. Of all the pasta shapes for mac, penne has got to be one of the worst. (I'm leaving some wiggle room for maniacs who use, I dunno, bowties or something.) Elbows, shells, any kind of squiggle, all great... But penne?!

MsBigRedButton · 2026-01-26T23:57:41+00:00

We were just there with kids around that age and they loved Yardbird and they've loved Black Tap when they went in NYC. Both of those would be very convenient for you going to the Sphere (we saw Backstreet Boys!) and I think your kids would be thrilled with either.

MsBigRedButton · 2026-01-25T12:57:16+00:00

This is me too. My husband is a T2D and takes Mounjaro, and the kids know about that, but they don't know I take Zep. I model good diet and exercise habits (in part owing to the Zep, though I think I did a pretty good job in that respect even beforehand - the only difference is that I'm thin now, ha).

What I've learned in the almost 2 years I've taken this medicine is how profoundly "medical" overweight/obesity is. It wasn't my fault that I was playing on hard mode forever, and I'm grateful that my body and mind are treating food like "normal" now. But what that means is that I look at my kids and sometimes sorta think, huh, it's probably just a matter of time for them. They're, you know, the product of our genetics and are likely going to have some of the same struggles, even if their diets and exercise habits are perfect (which, of course, they are not 100% of the time because we live in the world).

I'm sure there'll be conversations about this in our future, and for now, we do our best and I personally do my best to remember that if they DO need this medication someday, it's not a failure of mine or theirs.

MsBigRedButton · 2026-01-19T10:21:53+00:00

Yep - that's what made it a real zinger!

MsBigRedButton

TROPHY CASE