New to maintaining..confused

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higgins8283801
higgins8283801 Posts: 844 Member
edited February 2015 in Goal: Maintaining Weight
Yesterday was weigh in day and I reached 124.8, my goal was 125, and my starting weight was 171.

So I exceeded goal (yay me). I switched mfp to maintain and my new daily goal is 1540. I worked out and with myfitbit was able to earn a calorie allowance of over 2000.

My question is, do you eat all those or do you stay under a bit to allow for error? Today I ate 1922 and my completed diary still has me losing about 2lbs in 5 weeks.

Can someone tell me what they do with mainteance. Do you eat every last one given to you or how do you do it?!?!
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Replies

  • Just_Ceci
    Just_Ceci Posts: 5,926 Member
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    I eat as much as I can until I start gaining, then cut back.
  • arditarose
    arditarose Posts: 15,573 Member
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    No clue. I'm trying to get into maintenance too. I was going to use TDEE but thought I should keep doing NEAT for awhile since my cardio is all over the place. I guess I'd have to agree with the poster above...eat as much as you can until you gain and cut back.
  • Sabine_Stroehm
    Sabine_Stroehm Posts: 19,263 Member
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    No clue. I lost until I stopped losing. I wasn't counting. In the end what I did is close to fat2fit radio's "eat like the thinner you" formula.

    Congrats on losing the weight!!!! NOW the journey really begins.
  • RAinWA
    RAinWA Posts: 1,980 Member
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    I'm with everyone else - I stayed stable for a few months and then started losing again so upped my calories again. I think it's a moving target.

    Congrats on hitting your goal!
  • zyxst
    zyxst Posts: 9,135 Member
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    I changed MFP to maintain and ate up to that number. I gained 3# the first 3 days, which I expected (plus getting my period didn't help, lol). I lost that weight in 2 weeks, then lost my ToM weight, and have been between 161 and 162 for the last 10 days. I planned to eat at MFP maintenance for at least 4 weeks going up to 8 weeks (Dec 31, 2014 - Feb 28, 2015) just to find out what my maintenance calories are. Since I've been at a "stable" weight (minor fluctuations due to water and sodium) the last 10 days, I feel comfortable enough to say 2100 calories are what I maintain on. I'm going to go another week, then cut down to a small deficit and work on getting the last 22# off.

    Yeah, it's scary at first, especially when you see a sudden weight gain. I couldn't be patient and up 100 cals a day as most suggest. I just wanted to eat all the foods.
  • arditarose
    arditarose Posts: 15,573 Member
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    zyxst wrote: »
    I changed MFP to maintain and ate up to that number. I gained 3# the first 3 days, which I expected (plus getting my period didn't help, lol). I lost that weight in 2 weeks, then lost my ToM weight, and have been between 161 and 162 for the last 10 days. I planned to eat at MFP maintenance for at least 4 weeks going up to 8 weeks (Dec 31, 2014 - Feb 28, 2015) just to find out what my maintenance calories are. Since I've been at a "stable" weight (minor fluctuations due to water and sodium) the last 10 days, I feel comfortable enough to say 2100 calories are what I maintain on. I'm going to go another week, then cut down to a small deficit and work on getting the last 22# off.

    Yeah, it's scary at first, especially when you see a sudden weight gain. I couldn't be patient and up 100 cals a day as most suggest. I just wanted to eat all the foods.

    So when you lost the 3 pounds in two weeks, did you lose them while eating at a deficit or you kept at those maintenance calories? That seems like a dumb question but I guess I just don't understand if the sudden weight gain is maintenance is just water weight or what.
  • higgins8283801
    higgins8283801 Posts: 844 Member
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    Ceci_O_K wrote: »
    I eat as much as I can until I start gaining, then cut back.


    I will do that. I ate about 200 more than I have been today. Hopefully my gradually increasing it I will be better able to spot my limt.
  • higgins8283801
    higgins8283801 Posts: 844 Member
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    arditarose wrote: »
    No clue. I'm trying to get into maintenance too. I was going to use TDEE but thought I should keep doing NEAT for awhile since my cardio is all over the place. I guess I'd have to agree with the poster above...eat as much as you can until you gain and cut back.

    I'm all over the place too. Some weeks I can get 5 60 minute workouts in, and others I'm lucky to get 3.
  • arobed53
    arobed53 Posts: 2,004 Member
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    Congrats on reaching your goal. I've been in maintenance for almost three years now - staying in 5 lb range and I eat pretty much all my calories (and sometimes over). And I keep logging so I know what I have eaten.
  • arditarose
    arditarose Posts: 15,573 Member
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    higgins8283801 wrote: »
    arditarose wrote: »
    No clue. I'm trying to get into maintenance too. I was going to use TDEE but thought I should keep doing NEAT for awhile since my cardio is all over the place. I guess I'd have to agree with the poster above...eat as much as you can until you gain and cut back.

    I'm all over the place too. Some weeks I can get 5 60 minute workouts in, and others I'm lucky to get 3.

    I feel like I'm going to have a hard time figuring it out because I mostly lift, and it seems like the exercise that all the calculators ask for would be things that burn more calories.
  • nxd10
    nxd10 Posts: 4,570 Member
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    I eat them all back if I'm hungry, and eat as many of them as I want to if I'm not. I don't systematically try to go under, but I do think it makes up for some of the error in my logging (although I work really hard for accuracy).

    I'm usually under 500-1000 calories a week and I've maintained a couple years. I tend to be hungrier in the winter, especially when I am outside a lot, so I know I'm burning more calories, and I tend to eat closer to what I 'should' then. In the summer I tend to go way under, be not hungry, and lose a few pounds. It average out.

    But the bottom line is - you will figure out your equilibium point and it will change over time. Once you get into a pattern that works, stick with that.
  • ILiftHeavyAcrylics
    ILiftHeavyAcrylics Posts: 27,732 Member
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    I pretty much eat every calorie. But you could just as easily leave some on the table in case you want to have higher calorie days on the weekends. Just keep in mind that maintenance is about ranges. You're not going to eat exactly the same amount all the time and you're not going to weigh exactly the same amount all the time. As long as I'm within a 5 lb range and within 500 calories of my weekly goal I don't worry about it.
  • zyxst
    zyxst Posts: 9,135 Member
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    arditarose wrote: »
    zyxst wrote: »
    I changed MFP to maintain and ate up to that number. I gained 3# the first 3 days, which I expected (plus getting my period didn't help, lol). I lost that weight in 2 weeks, then lost my ToM weight, and have been between 161 and 162 for the last 10 days. I planned to eat at MFP maintenance for at least 4 weeks going up to 8 weeks (Dec 31, 2014 - Feb 28, 2015) just to find out what my maintenance calories are. Since I've been at a "stable" weight (minor fluctuations due to water and sodium) the last 10 days, I feel comfortable enough to say 2100 calories are what I maintain on. I'm going to go another week, then cut down to a small deficit and work on getting the last 22# off.

    Yeah, it's scary at first, especially when you see a sudden weight gain. I couldn't be patient and up 100 cals a day as most suggest. I just wanted to eat all the foods.

    So when you lost the 3 pounds in two weeks, did you lose them while eating at a deficit or you kept at those maintenance calories? That seems like a dumb question but I guess I just don't understand if the sudden weight gain is maintenance is just water weight or what.

    I've been eating maintenance for over a month. Those 3# were water weight from having my ToM and my body storing things due to having extra calories. I think it went like this:

    My body "Oh boy, more food! Let's store it up in the liver for laters!"

    2 weeks later "Um, we're still getting extra food. It's enough to keep going, so maybe we don't need this extra stuff in the liver?"

    It's not scientific, but it's how I understand my maintenance gain.
  • loulamb7
    loulamb7 Posts: 801 Member
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    ILiftHeavyAcrylics wrote: »
    I pretty much eat every calorie. But you could just as easily leave some on the table in case you want to have higher calorie days on the weekends. Just keep in mind that maintenance is about ranges. You're not going to eat exactly the same amount all the time and you're not going to weigh exactly the same amount all the time. As long as I'm within a 5 lb range and within 500 calories of my weekly goal I don't worry about it.

    This is true for me also. Don't overreact to small fluctuations, in fact expect them. Whatever target calories you chose, stay there for 2-4 weeks and then adjust.

  • AntonioP23
    AntonioP23 Posts: 80 Member
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    I have moved into a maintenance phase after losing the fat I wanted to.

    I have upped my calories by 100 per week. i.e. NET Cals a day 1800, 1900, 2000 etc.

    I am now on 2600 kcals and I am still dropping weight lol

    Just see what your body adjusts to...
  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,811 Member
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    You will probably have to experiment to find the sweet spot that keeps you in an acceptable weight range for you. You must allow for normal weight fluctuations and not react to every little change in weight or it will drive you mad.

    In the first few weeks your weight may jump around seemingly out of all proportion to your intake. Just trust the numbers and enjoy maintenance.
  • belimawr
    belimawr Posts: 1,155 Member
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    Thanks OP, I was about to post something similar, as I've exceeded my target and think it's time to start maintaining soon.
  • bwogilvie
    bwogilvie Posts: 2,130 Member
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    I learned from my previous food and exercise logs that I need about 1800 calories to maintain, plus any exercise that I do (my Garmin HRM/GPS gadgets seem to estimate calories burned fairly well). So rather than believe the maintenance calories that MFP estimated, I set my goal to 1800.

    I'm going to continue to follow the advice in the chapter "Perfect Weight Forever" in John Walker, The Hacker's Diet. I weigh myself first thing in the morning and use TrendWeight.com to calculate the exponentially smoothed moving average. If that gets more than a couple pounds above my goal, I'll go back to eating at a deficit. I put on about a pound over the winter holidays (less moving, more eating), so I've actually aimed for a small deficit over the last few weeks. I also put on a few pounds after oral surgery last month, but that was water weight and disappeared quickly.

    Some people have success with intuitive eating after they reach maintenance, as long as they continue to eat a balanced diet and don't return to the old habits that led to weight gain. I might give that a try at some point, since the weight trend would provide an "early warning" about weight gain. For now, though, I'm continuing to count calories.
  • ndj1979
    ndj1979 Posts: 29,136 Member
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    trial and error …but once you have the number pegged it makes gaining/cutting/maintaining easier….

    Also, you may gain a few pounds from glycogen replenishing, but that is not fat it is just water weight….

  • MickeyCastello
    MickeyCastello Posts: 269
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    Congrats on your success. Now comes the hardest part, for me anyway, keeping it off. I have been in maintenance for about three years. I too swing within a 3 - 5 lb. range, mostly around the holidays, and just go back to my losing regimen to get back down. I still do my cheat days on Friday, but I don't get too carried away. Good luck!

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