Your tips to maintaining?

LivingtheLeanDream

cwolfman13 wrote: »

The difference between my maintenance and losing is a mere handful of calories...that's it...a couple of snacks really.

Well said ☺

AshleyAnn9

I don't count calories. I use to whe I first started losing. But now I'm more aware of what I put into my body. If I'm eating healthy foods then I don't worry as much. I don't gorge or anything but I don't obsess over the number of calories I eat.

michellemybelll

i plan on doing mostly the same. probably take my weekly running mileage down a bit, and slowly increase daily calories. i'll still count - i really like the awareness.

Wantingtolose1

I have a few meals that I can go to for breakfast and lunch that I know their calorie counts so pick on those for those 2 meals. Then for dinner I have whatever but keep it to one plate. I have an evening treat most nights but keep it to a half cup serving or a single serve. Also I weigh myself everyday and if my weight is up ill eat from a smaller plate at dinner and not have a treat until my weight is back down.

Roxiegirl2008

I am almost to my maintenance weight range. I want to be between 125-130 and I am so close. I will say that for me I NEED accountability and I feel like if I see I can keep a better handle on the calories in/out and to keep myself from getting where I was when I started. I will say that if I miss a day I don't freak out but I still will put that food in just to see where I was that day and what I did.

Phill2488

I don't count. Now I just eat when I'm hungry (Before I used to eat for the sake of eating) and I weigh myself regularly (3 days a week) to make sure that my weight stays in check. I also make sure to only drink water and diet soda's.

Sabine_Stroehm

RunRutheeRun wrote: »

cwolfman13 wrote: »

The difference between my maintenance and losing is a mere handful of calories...that's it...a couple of snacks really.

Well said ☺

Yup. Or a couple of glasses of wine. Cheers.

rosehips60

I reached my goal in September and logged faithfully until Thanksgiving when it just got too hard to figure out my meal! That being said I was careful about my portions and no seconds. That is how I'm doing it now. I don't log but I'm very aware of what I eat. I've actually lost 5 more pounds since I stopped logging because I'm scared I'm going to overeat I actually eat less now. I'll give it 5 more pounds and then if I'm still losing I'll start logging again. I'm 54 and don't want to get too thin and look saggy. Maintenance is fun!!

janicelo1971

Roxiegirl2008 wrote: »

I am almost to my maintenance weight range. I want to be between 125-129 and I am so close(range 129-134 weekly). I will say that for me I NEED accountability and I feel like if I see I can keep a better handle on the calories in/out and to keep myself from getting where I was when I started. I will say that if I miss a day I don't freak out but I still will put that food in just to see where I was that day and what I did.

This!

rdillard5

I have reached 180 range and have been concerned for some time about maintaining once I got here. I expect to maintain my calorie log as it is good to know input versus output to maintain consistency. My concern right now is making sure I eat enough to maintain and not continue to loose. I started my journey January 2014 at 275+ pounds and since starting MFP have lost 94.5 lbs. Recent visit to Nutritionist tells me that my body still thinks I should be 180 and will be 6 months before it believes that 180 is my correct weight. So next 6 months will be tracking like I have been till this time.

spoiledpuppies

Mostly just remain mindful. For me, it helps to weigh-in every day. I don't get caught up too much on numbers, but weighing every day ensures that I won't be caught by surprise. More importantly, though, I think it sets me up for a mindful day. If I start by weighing, I also start by reminding myself of my priorities. I also continue to log/count calories, but I've never tracked exercise calories. (I guess I'm on more of a TDEE program.) I like logging mostly because, again, it keeps me mindful. I'm also working with a trainer--and paying for that!--so I like to know that I'm sticking quite to my program in order to be able to assess it. Sometimes I also need to make sure I'm eating enough to support my activity/strength gains.

Good luck!

alinedera

gothchiq wrote: »

For me, continuing to count and continuing to work out are key.

i dont work out but i count. I suppose that's ok?

SideSteel

I'm not currently tracking.

I think it's a good goal to eventually maintain weight/body composition without logging unless you enjoy logging. I have run across a few people who really like seeing the numbers and they actively enjoy logging so they prefer to do it. That's a rare circumstance (IMO) where long term logging is a great idea and great fit.

Alternatively if you dislike logging or you dislike what effects it may have on you then seeking out methods of weight management that don't involve logging would be a good idea.

You can check out some of Georgie Fear's material, you can check out some of Precision Nutrition's material, you can check out my blog for some material on it. (There's a handful of things from PN that I don't agree with but they do have a fairly good resource on non logging methods -- I just think they take a stance against calorie counting a bit strongly and I don't agree with some of their assertions about it).

If you decide to maintain without logging I'd recommend that you do a few things:

- Start paying attention to your meal frequency and overall meal structure while you are still logging and maintain that structure when you stop logging. So for example if you eat 3 to 4 meals per day with 1 snack I'd generally suggest sticking to that when you peel away the logging.

- If you don't have consistency with respect to meal frequency, develop that now. Same with meal structure in that it would be a good idea to compose meals with some sense of regularity such as having a palm sized serving of protein and one to two handfuls of vegetables with each meal, and add in carbs/fats based on caloric availability in your diet/etc. But the point is that you should develop some of these habits and ALSO develop awareness about these habits so that as you discontinue the logging you'll have some of this regularity in place in your diet.

-Consider starting by taking away the food scale on everything but the most energy dense items. From there, consider taking a day or two away from logging. Monitor what happens over a week or two, then remove another day or two, etc.

-Monitor the proportion of whole foods in your diet and keep it relatively high as a percentage of total calories. Upwards of 80-90% IMO and this becomes somewhat more important when you're not logging for satiety purposes. Same goes for fibrous vegetables and fruit content of your diet.

Not a perfect science but the point I'm getting at here is that you're gradually picking away at the logging while monitoring your habits and monitoring your weight.

And I'd look at a rolling average of your bodyweight and I'd give yourself a tolerance range of about 5lbs or so in that if you gain a pound or two you don't react to it just yet.

Then there's environmental management but I'm rambling enough as is and I should go get more coffee and my son is crawling up my leg.

arditarose

I'm not looking forward to maintenance. I'm not losing weight now, which means I'm over eating and already eating at maintenance...And I'm still hungry. Fun.

splashtree5

Keep the average food you have eaten and keep training.

47Jacqueline

Don't stop working out but replace some cardio with strength training - I do classes that have botth.
Don't sweat the weight fluxuations - if you panic over a 2lb gain you'll be frustrated all the time.
If you can't log at least check in for the day. The accountability helps.

michellemybelll

SideSteel wrote: »

I'm not currently tracking.

I think it's a good goal to eventually maintain weight/body composition without logging unless you enjoy logging. I have run across a few people who really like seeing the numbers and they actively enjoy logging so they prefer to do it. That's a rare circumstance (IMO) where long term logging is a great idea and great fit.

Alternatively if you dislike logging or you dislike what effects it may have on you then seeking out methods of weight management that don't involve logging would be a good idea.

You can check out some of Georgie Fear's material, you can check out some of Precision Nutrition's material, you can check out my blog for some material on it. (There's a handful of things from PN that I don't agree with but they do have a fairly good resource on non logging methods -- I just think they take a stance against calorie counting a bit strongly and I don't agree with some of their assertions about it).

If you decide to maintain without logging I'd recommend that you do a few things:

- Start paying attention to your meal frequency and overall meal structure while you are still logging and maintain that structure when you stop logging. So for example if you eat 3 to 4 meals per day with 1 snack I'd generally suggest sticking to that when you peel away the logging.

- If you don't have consistency with respect to meal frequency, develop that now. Same with meal structure in that it would be a good idea to compose meals with some sense of regularity such as having a palm sized serving of protein and one to two handfuls of vegetables with each meal, and add in carbs/fats based on caloric availability in your diet/etc. But the point is that you should develop some of these habits and ALSO develop awareness about these habits so that as you discontinue the logging you'll have some of this regularity in place in your diet.

-Consider starting by taking away the food scale on everything but the most energy dense items. From there, consider taking a day or two away from logging. Monitor what happens over a week or two, then remove another day or two, etc.

-Monitor the proportion of whole foods in your diet and keep it relatively high as a percentage of total calories. Upwards of 80-90% IMO and this becomes somewhat more important when you're not logging for satiety purposes. Same goes for fibrous vegetables and fruit content of your diet.

Not a perfect science but the point I'm getting at here is that you're gradually picking away at the logging while monitoring your habits and monitoring your weight.

And I'd look at a rolling average of your bodyweight and I'd give yourself a tolerance range of about 5lbs or so in that if you gain a pound or two you don't react to it just yet.

Then there's environmental management but I'm rambling enough as is and I should go get more coffee and my son is crawling up my leg.

good info and advice - thanks!

Phill2488

I don't count calories. I eat whenever I'm hungry, and I weigh myself 3 days a week to make sure I stay within my range

MelissaPhippsFeagins

I still log, but to make sure I am eating enough more than to make sure I am not eating too much. I have an autoimmune disease and certain foods make me feel awful. Losing weight was easy for me this time, but eating enough to maintain AND eat safe foods can be difficult. (My brother has the same problem and drinks boost twice a day.) I ate a ridiculous amount of food yesterday without going over my maintenance calories and I rarely eat back my exercise now. I have allowed myself tons of candy that I made this year as I was slightly under my maintenance range when the holidays started. I'm back at 152 this morning and happy with that.

I do think that continuing to exercise has been key to my ability to maintain. In my case, it makes me hungry enough to eat, but everyone I know who maintains successfully continues an exercise program. I lift 2-3 tomes per week and take a barre class once a week and a yoga class if I can squeeze it in around the kids' activities.

FitPhillygirl

I stopped counting calories. I simply eat healthy foods, stay from junk foods likes cakes, cookies, ect.. and make time to excercise 6 days a week. Sometimes I lose a few pounds, so I will just eat a little more during the week to gain those pounds back.