The day has arrived. You have reached the pinnacle. You have arrived at the place where you once were in your high school days. You look great and the mirror doesn’t lie. Take a moment and congratulate yourself. Now, for a reality check. The hard part is just beginning.

As many of us know, regaining the lost weight is a fact of life. But it doesn’t have to be this way with the Atkins Diet. The distinction between pre-maintenance and lifetime maintenance is sometimes blurred. With Lifetime Maintenance your weight and food plans have stabilized and you are in a fairly constant routine. Your new habits and food choices will allow you to stay slim for the rest of your life. Review the rules of lifetime maintenance below.

1.Adhere to your Critical Carbohydrate Level for Maintenance (CCLM)
2.Continue to eat natural, unprocessed, nutrient dense carbohydrates.
3.Exercise regularly.
4.Continue to take nutritional supplements, modifying your regimen to meet your needs.
5.Develop a strategy for dealing with temptation.
Never let yourself get 5 pounds above your goal weight.

TIPS
Start getting in the habit of looking at the food labels of packages. Avoid sugar, corn syrup, white flour, cornstarch and hydrogenated oil. Learn to develop alternatives to the foods you were addicted to in the past. For example, you could switch from potato chips to pigs ears or have a Atkins Advantage Bar instead of a Snickers.

Become more food aware and learn to apply the 5 lb. rule when your weight increases. It is a lot easier to lose that 5 lbs. than it is to lose 20 lbs.

Exercise, exercise, exercise – Make it a part of your life!