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Pre-Maintenance: Prepare for Permanent Slimness
You’ re almost there! All your good work and healthy eating habits have paid off, and you now have only 5 to 10 pounds left to reach your goal weight. Give yourself a good pat on the back; you deserve it!
Having said that, I have to insert a note of caution. You may not like what follows, but it is vitally important that you hear it.
If you have been racing along the road to your destination, now is the time to put on the brakes. Much as it is tempting to say, " I can banish these last pounds in a few weeks now that I know how to do Atkins," I strongly advise you to do something that seems quite the opposite on Pre-Maintenance, the all-important third phase of Atkins. As you advance toward Lifetime Maintenance, my advice is to proceed so slowly that your weight loss is almost imperceptible. I know that this snail ' s pace can be excruciating when the end is in sight. But remember, getting to your goal weight is not your ultimate goal; your real goal is to maintain that magic number indefinitely.
Our focus is now different. There is little doubt you can and will reach your goal weight. The only doubt is whether you will stay at that weight for life. The purpose now is to create the optimal lifetime eating program-one that fits you so perfectly you will want to stay on it for life.
When you moved to OWL, you deliberately slowed down your weight loss by adding more carbs and more variety to your menus. Now I am going to ask you to slow things down even further. The more you learn about eating as you lose those last few pounds, the better. Your next assignment is to increase your carbohydrate consumption until you ' re losing less than a pound a week. The additional foods will provide increased nutrition and culinary enjoyment. Ideally, you should spend at least a month and preferably two or three in this phase.
There is method in what may sound like madness here. If you search for the level that achieves a small amount of weight loss, by the time you reach your goal weight you will, in effect, be on Lifetime Maintenance, at which time your weight loss will naturally slow to a halt. During PreMaintenance, you will both accustom yourself to your lifetime eating plan and get a good indication of what it will be like. Think of this phase as a learner ' s permit, like the one you had when you were just beginning to drive. You were allowed out on the roads, but only with a licensed driver by your side. Pre-Maintenance is like that. You ' re out there doing it, but you still need some more hours behind the wheel before it ' s safe to allow you on the highway all by yourself.
That ' s why it is crucial that you NOT make the assumption that Pre-Maintenance and Lifetime Maintenance must be pretty much the same thing because their names sound alike. Not true: One is a training program; the other is the rest of your life. If you have any misguided ideas about
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