Is maintenance hard for anyone else?

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Francl27
Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
in Goal: Maintaining Weight
I guess I've been maintaining for 6 months now, but does it get easier? I mean, I've been on MFP for 2 years, but I still struggle and there isn't a day that goes by when I'm actually satisfied and don't wish I could eat more (except the days when I go 500 calories over maintenance or something).

I mean, I'm not depriving myself by a long shot and I'm typically not particularly hungry except those few days a month when hormones make me ravenous, but still. I swear it's so much harder when you have a sweet tooth! At least when I crave something salty it keeps me full... chocolate and dessert don't quite cut it. Sure, I'm satisfied with less than I used to, but still... it still takes a pretty substantial amount. And I still binge too much (I still keep a deficit to make up for those days).

I know I'm rambling a lot, I just didn't expect maintenance to be so hard at times!

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Replies

  • melimomTARDIS
    melimomTARDIS Posts: 1,941 Member
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    Yup, maintaining is hard for me sometimes. I chew lot of gum, drink a lot of no calorie beverages.
  • boatsie77
    boatsie77 Posts: 480 Member
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    Over the past 2 years, your main focus has been weight loss, and you've succeeded. Now, in addition to maintenance, try focusing on a new long-term goal. In my case it was training for a marathon (which I just completed)...but it not only needs to be fitness oriented (but it does blend nicely with maintenance), it can also be education (get a degree, learn a language); creative (learn piano, take up oil painting); or career broadening (search for a new job that is different or more challenging).

    When your mind and body are engaged in learning new and satisfying activities, they'll have less time to become bored and wallow in thoughts of cravings.
  • KANGOOJUMPS
    KANGOOJUMPS Posts: 6,473 Member
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    nope, how bad do you want it? I want it bad,. I am here only to maintain.
  • WestCoastJo82
    WestCoastJo82 Posts: 2,304 Member
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    I've been maintaining for a year and a half now, and there are still days that I'm really annoyed I have to pay attention to intake. I do think it's gotten easier over time though. For me, I love beer, so while I still have fun "let's taste every single beer this tap room has" days, this is a much less frequent occurrence than when I was gaining weight. The obvious answer (so I'm going to assume it's been considered and discarded, but I'll still put it out there) is to increase activity levels somehow so you can eat more and feel more satisfied.
  • sartezalb
    sartezalb Posts: 27 Member
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    The only difference between maintenance and weight loss is that the calorie cap is higher. All of the lessons from before--managing your appetite, staying away from foods that make it hard to stick to your diet, etc.--still apply.

    For example, you mentioned that you're "satisfied with less" sweets than before--think about what you did back then to reduce your sweet tooth and keep doing that until you're better able to be satisfied with what you eat.

    You probably used a variety of other tricks during your diet phase to stay sane: spacing of meals, sticking to certain foods, avoiding other foods, etc. Those tricks will still work! In fact, they'll be easier to use this time since you're not eating at such a deficit.

    Overall, you might be feeling disappointed that maintenance is not a magical period where you can eat exactly as much as your appetite demands. If so, I empathize--I've seen several of my maintenance periods get derailed because of that idea.

    But if you think of it more like what you were doing during your diet, except with much more generous limits, then you'll find yourself a lot more satisfied compared to 6 months ago. I just finished a meal where I felt like I was "pigging out," but I only actually used a third of my day's calories. By continuing to live under my past regimen of portion control and food choice, I'm able to stay satisfied with less in my maintenance phase.
  • jane837
    jane837 Posts: 68 Member
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    Yes, it's really hard! I don't think it will ever be easy for me, but for I do think that the positive changes have outweighed the negatives, so I keep at it.

    There's a great essay called "What I miss from 135lbs ago" on a blog called Can You Stay For Dinner.... http://www.canyoustayfordinner.com/2011/05/09/what-i-miss-from-135lbs-ago-part-1/ It's three parts, all worth reading.





  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,811 Member
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    When I set my goals for this year weight wasn't a factor at all - it's a given now so yes I suppose it does get easier and becomes a habit but haven't really found it hard at any stage. Far, far more pleasant than losing weight as I like my food!

    I did deliberately try and make my weight loss phase as close to how I intended to maintain as possible though - nothing excluded, just calorie control.

    Trusting the numbers helps a lot, which comes over time - makes you much more relaxed about temporary fluctuations, holidays etc. Means you are able to relax the iron grip some people seem to try and hold over their weight to the detriment to flexibility and fitting your diet (noun) around your life and not the other way round.
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
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    jane837 wrote: »
    Yes, it's really hard! I don't think it will ever be easy for me, but for I do think that the positive changes have outweighed the negatives, so I keep at it.

    There's a great essay called "What I miss from 135lbs ago" on a blog called Can You Stay For Dinner.... http://www.canyoustayfordinner.com/2011/05/09/what-i-miss-from-135lbs-ago-part-1/ It's three parts, all worth reading.





    This is great! Thanks!
  • melimomTARDIS
    melimomTARDIS Posts: 1,941 Member
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    As I said before, it is hard sometimes, however, I dont wanna go back to how I was feeling/living/etc before the loss, because it was harder living with the heartburn and excess pounds. I'd rather be a little hungry then a lot sick.
  • Hornsby
    Hornsby Posts: 10,322 Member
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    I didn't do anything that I didn't continue doing after I got to maintenance so it hasn't been that difficult. The only thing that is different is that I eat more.
  • SuggaD
    SuggaD Posts: 1,369 Member
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    boatsie77 wrote: »
    Over the past 2 years, your main focus has been weight loss, and you've succeeded. Now, in addition to maintenance, try focusing on a new long-term goal. In my case it was training for a marathon (which I just completed)...but it not only needs to be fitness oriented (but it does blend nicely with maintenance), it can also be education (get a degree, learn a language); creative (learn piano, take up oil painting); or career broadening (search for a new job that is different or more challenging).

    When your mind and body are engaged in learning new and satisfying activities, they'll have less time to become bored and wallow in thoughts of cravings.

    This!
  • brenn24179
    brenn24179 Posts: 2,144 Member
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    are you kidding, why do 90% gain their weight back? It takes work but like the others it is worth it, love wearing my clothes. I was such a glutton and still want to be. I have to say enough, stop to myself all the time. I eat plenty, I am just greedy. Same way with money, cant spend what I want.
  • SuggaD
    SuggaD Posts: 1,369 Member
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    I generally don't find it that hard. But I'm also so active that I can get away with overeating often enough. I find it hardest when I try stress over calories and macros as I have been doing recently.
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
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    brenn24179 wrote: »
    are you kidding, why do 90% gain their weight back? It takes work but like the others it is worth it, love wearing my clothes. I was such a glutton and still want to be. I have to say enough, stop to myself all the time. I eat plenty, I am just greedy. Same way with money, cant spend what I want.

    So true!

    I haven't changed the way I eat at all... I just eat a bit more.
  • scrittrice
    scrittrice Posts: 345 Member
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    I found it fairly easy in the fall--in fact, I continued to lose a little weight when I was trying to maintain. But winter is definitely harder. I like to eat a lot, and I don't mind working out to do so, but indoor exercise is so boring to me.
  • Bry_Fitness70
    Bry_Fitness70 Posts: 2,480 Member
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    Maintaining is where everyone strives to be, but isn't pleasant on a lot of levels. People aren't as impressed to hear "I weigh the same as I did last year" when you can look at pics of people that just lost 100lbs. You look the same, so no one is going to tell you that you look thinner / better. You've been exercising for awhile and maybe your routine is getting boring and you want to do something different, but are a little tentative to change things if what you currently do is working.

    But these are just minor annoyances - you have reached your goals, are in a great place where a vast majority of people on this site wish to be, and you aren't in a position where you have to suffer very much in terms of restricting calories consumed. I eat back most of my calories, and this has been tremendously helpful in keeping my morale up during times when I get sick of being disciplined and need to gorge a little!
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
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    bw_conway wrote: »
    I eat back most of my calories, and this has been tremendously helpful in keeping my morale up during times when I get sick of being disciplined and need to gorge a little!

    Well you can't technically maintain without eating back your exercise calories anyway...
  • earth_echo
    earth_echo Posts: 133 Member
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    Maintenance, from my experience, isn't about being full or even satisfied after a meal. It's about being in a state of not being hungry. Any more than that is almost always going to be too much food.
  • snowflake930
    snowflake930 Posts: 2,188 Member
    edited January 2015
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    I think maintaining is harder than losing the weight was. It has been almost 15 months on maintenance for me. My goal now is to be one of the very small percent of people that keep the weight off. It helps me to still have goals and helps me keep focused. I know I will have to continue logging and monitoring for the rest of my life. I have to keep reminding myself how much better I feel physically, and how great it is to be a normal sized person, after being morbidly obese for most of my adult life. As for most people, I do not want to ever go back. This is a pretty powerful incentive to keep going, at least it is for me.
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
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    earth_echo wrote: »
    Maintenance, from my experience, isn't about being full or even satisfied after a meal. It's about being in a state of not being hungry. Any more than that is almost always going to be too much food.

    Yeah but most days I get hungry at one point or another. I guess I should just learn to balance my days so I stop overeating on some days and being hungry on others... spread out my treats more I guess.

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