New to the boards--need to stop losing weight (sorry if this is a repost)

hellionhellion

Hello--I did a few searches and didn't seem to find a thread along these lines, so I apologize if this is a repost of a previously exhausted subject.

So I've been using MFP for a solid 8 months (after using it a few years ago for a while and then falling off the wagon). I reached my goal to lose 20 pounds in November, re-set my goals to "maintenance," and then proceeded to lose five more pounds over the next 7 weeks--which I don't mind, but honestly, I am very happy with where I am now and don't want to lose any more weight. I am at a comfortable, healthy weight, and I'm continuing to use MFP to log food and exercise so I don't "magically" put the 25 pounds back on.

So--should I modify my activity level from "sedentary" to "lightly active," even though I do have a full-time desk job? Outside of work, I have two young children, so I chase them around a fair bit. I received a Garmin Vivosmart for Christmas and I seem to be getting in about 8000 steps per non-workout day. I exercise 5-7 days/week for 40-60 minutes per session.

Anonycatgirl

Almost no one's actually sedentary, especially not a mom of young children, so I'd rest to lightly active.

williams969

hellionhellion wrote: »

Hello--I did a few searches and didn't seem to find a thread along these lines, so I apologize if this is a repost of a previously exhausted subject.

So I've been using MFP for a solid 8 months (after using it a few years ago for a while and then falling off the wagon). I reached my goal to lose 20 pounds in November, re-set my goals to "maintenance," and then proceeded to lose five more pounds over the next 7 weeks--which I don't mind, but honestly, I am very happy with where I am now and don't want to lose any more weight. I am at a comfortable, healthy weight, and I'm continuing to use MFP to log food and exercise so I don't "magically" put the 25 pounds back on.

So--should I modify my activity level from "sedentary" to "lightly active," even though I do have a full-time desk job? Outside of work, I have two young children, so I chase them around a fair bit. I received a Garmin Vivosmart for Christmas and I seem to be getting in about 8000 steps per non-workout day. I exercise 5-7 days/week for 40-60 minutes per session.

Yes, definitely up your calories. 8,000 steps/day is def. not sedentary. At least "lightly active", if not active. Try one level up for a few weeks, then reevaluate.

hellionhellion

Thanks for the feedback. I'm very numbers-driven and goal-oriented, and I hate exceeding my daily calorie goal!

ahoy_m8

Congrats on reaching goal! Lots of successful maintainers add calories gradually, so they continue to lose a couple pounds until they reach their true maintenance. It sounds like you have done that, intentionally or not.

TDEE has been simpler to manage in maintenance for me, but my exercise is pretty consistent week-to-week. Rather than tracking exercise calories and "eating back" some of them, I plot my 7-day average intake (includes wine kcal on weekends) and 28-day average weight (eliminates monthly cycle variation). That makes it easier for me to see empirically the TDEE required to maintain a certain weight over time.

The TDEE method assumes exercise is constant, however, so if exercise is variable over the average period (7days for me), the TDEE method won't work.

Good luck finding what works best for you!

hellionhellion

Where can I learn more about TDEE? It sounds like a less stressful, more holistic approach than the day-to-day method. I do use the "weekly" calorie/nutrition feature in MFP so I don't feel like a failure on calorie overage days.

middlehaitch

Go to iifym.com.
Agree that if your exercise routine is pretty consistent TDEE is easier to log.
If you continue to use MFP numbers, up your active level, and play with how many of your exercise calories you should eat back.
I am luck and eating back what MFP recommends works for me, but most people have to adjust to between 50-75%.
It all takes some tweaking.
Cheers, h.

stealthq

Did a quick calc based on your loss of 5 pounds in 7 weeks. Whatever adjustment you make: TDEE, change to lightly active, etc, according to that you need to increase your calories in the ballpark of 357 cals/day.

hellionhellion

I do love to eat. Hooray for more daily calories! Thanks, everyone, for all the great advice.

LivingtheLeanDream

You need to eat more is all....some great suggestions above so i'll not repeat it ☺

bwogilvie

You've gotten good advice. One word of caution: as you return to eating at maintenance, your muscles will start to store more glycogen. Since glycogen is stored with water, you'll add water weight as they do so. It's nothing to worry about, but it will mean that the scale might creep up a few pounds. If it happens, don't freak out; just wait for a few weeks and it will level off.

hellionhellion

I've reset my activity level to "lightly active" and have adjusted my eating accordingly. Thanks for the water weight tip--I was a little worried when the scale looked about a pound up this morning.

melimomTARDIS

lightly active for sure. Play around with your calories until you find a good spot, sometimes the MFP recommended can be a little low/high. If my weight dips too low I try to have a few more decadent meals/meals at restaurants than normal, to pick me back up.