Starting to Maintain

crose093

I recently hit my goal weight of 115 lb. I'm 26 years old and 5'4". I was actually this weight before christmas but continued at 1240 net calories because of the shameful amount of cookies I ate. With the holidays over I'm definitely happy with where I'm at and want to switch to maintenance. I've seen a lot of posts about upping calories by 100/week but I've also seen others that say to increase all at once to maintenance (according to fitness pal that would be 1790 for me.) I started with upping to 1490 (0.5 lb weight loss a week) calories a week and after 5 days I was ravenous. I was so hungry it was actually keeping me up at night. Has anyone else experienced this? After those 5 days I actually lost about a half a pound. So now I upped my calories to 1600 and my hunger is only slightly improved. Any advice on what to do? I'm nervous about increasing too quickly and gaining a bunch of weight if my metabolism is slower from the deficit. Just for background I do cardio about 5 days a week (usually around 6-8 miles) and rock climbing (1-2 times a week) and I add my exercise back in. Does anyone have insight into the amount of temporary weight they gained after switching to maintenance and how long it took to even out?

paradi3s

We're almost the same! I'm 115, 5'4 and 18 years old and trying to maintain. I started increasing my calorie intake by 100 calories per week mid-December. I started eating at maintenance level of 1,800 two days ago. My weight now is around 113-118 lbs, giving my weight a range instead of an exact number since it fluctuates. Just based from my experience, I would say to slowly increase it by 100-200 calories. But if you're feeling hungry, just eat what you want, so long as it reaches your maintenance level (presuming it's 1,800, too). I didn't gain any inches or pounds while I slowly increased my calorie intake, by the way. I'm still 115 lbs (113 in the morning, 115 in the afternoon, don't weigh myself in the evening), my measurements are still the same (though I lost .5 inches in my waistline).

I read that some people would gain weight temporarily, but would lose it in two weeks, or depending on the person itself. It may take a few weeks, it may take a month. But don't let it scare you, just keep working out, reaching your calorie goal and stay away from the scale and be more into what you see in the mirror and measurements. :-)

pkw58

Congrats on getting to goal!! I find that 100% of my hunger pangs come from not eating enough protein at my meals or not drinking enough water. I didn't get the temporary weight gain on maintenance, but I do get constant fluctuations. (I am a big fan of the 2% rule - up or down the number of pounds that correlates to 2% - in my case 128 pounds x 2% = 2.56 pounds or 3 pounds.) Do you know how much of your ravenous is "cookie withdrawal" vs true hunger? That being said, i went thru a three month "stabilization" process when I hit maintenance where I learned to add foods/calories/types of dense foods (avocados, nuts, etc) so that I didn't lose all my healthy habits. If you went on pure calories in, that may not work for you. I am going into my 4th year of my new healthy lifestyle. I do know it is all about what works for you, but what works for me is sticking to my nutrition plan and then adding more calories. And the occasional celebration where it is appropriate to enjoy cake (wedding)... stick around the maintenance forum... people all focus on staying within "the range" vs on the dot with the scale! My favorite book on the subject is "Ballet Beautiful" as it address the need for food for health and energy. Written by a ballerina who transitioned after her dancing for money days were over...

crose093

Thank you so much for your responses. It's a scary time to start increasing calories and to face possibly losing some of what you worked so hard for. My family thinks I'm crazy because I'm at my goal weight and they tell me I can relax now. But I know I can't do that just yet until I'm effectively maintaining. Even after I think I'll always be counting to remain vigilant. I weighed myself today though and was 115.5 so just a small fluctuation after the increase and I'm so relieved.

paradi3s, thank you for your input. It really puts me at ease to read your experience since our body stats are so similar. I know I'll have to give myself some wiggle room on the scale as my body adjusts. Is there a number you've set for yourself that if you see you would start to think about lowering calories back down? I agree that I should start measuring instead of weighing as I continue strength training and cardio.

Pkw58 I definitely noticed a difference yesterday with the protein/hunger after I had tuna for lunch and for the first time didn't feel so hungry. I will take your advice and try to keep protein percentage higher. I do believe it's true hunger although I was facing "cookie withdrawal" for a few days after christmas haha. I keep sugar really low in my diet besides fruit that I have with yogurt and granola. But I am certainly more interested in just being healthy now. I purchased a vitamin/protein powder to mix into smoothies after working out and I want to add in more healthy fats (nuts, avocados, olive oil like you said) since I have a few more calories to afford them. But congratulations to you too! It makes me very excited to hear about someone who continued to maintain for 4 years when so often you hear that it's impossible. I just want to do it right and treat my body good.

nxd10

I got really hungry when I upped my calories. I had increased carbs and not fat and protein, as I should have. They always make me hungry.

It's also COLD in lots of the US. I am always ravenous in the cold.

Good luck!

paradi3s

now that i'm maintaining, i see my weight more of a range than a number. because it fluctuates a lot throughout the day, i set a 5 lb range (113-118). ever since i started reverse dieting, i never had to decrease my calorie intake. a week has passed since i started eating at the maintenance level MFP and TDEE calculators suggested to me, and so far, no gains and actually lost .5 inches around the waist (26.5 as of now!). but that's just a week of maintenance. will check again after 3 weeks to see if this is truly my maintenance level or if i'll need to increase/decrease my calorie intake :-)

it's advised to measure/weigh yourself weekly instead of everyday. or if you prefer to weigh yourself everyday, make sure it's at the same time and same weight of clothes (or no clothes).

sijomial

crose093 wrote: »

Does anyone have insight into the amount of temporary weight they gained after switching to maintenance and how long it took to even out?

Zero - zilch - nothing.

It takes a while to figure out maintenance calories and even then from time to time you need to adjust.
Don't worry about normal daily fluctuations, look for the trend and allow yourself a sensible weight range.