Losing a bit more after maintaining

arussell134

So I reached my goal weight of 135 lbs about 3 months ago. Now that I've been successfully maintaining here, I've decided I'd like to lose a few more pounds, to get to a better racing weight for performance reasons.

Curious if anyone else has broken maintenance to lose more weight and if they found it was just as easy as the first time, or if there were unique challenges.

I made this decision a few weeks ago, but seem to have problems "getting going" again so to speak. Thoughts? Stories?

The_Enginerd

I've gone through additional weight loss a couple of times. I maintained my weight for over a year after my initial weight loss. Then I went through a slow bulk/cut period to do some body recomposition (increase muscle mass, decrease body fat) over a 9 months period. I maintained that for a while, but as I got more into running and wanted to increase my performance there, I dieted again to reach my race weight which was about 10 lbs less than my original goal weight.

Personally, I found it easier than losing weight the first time. I already knew HOW to lose weight the next time around, and the change wasn't as drastic as it was the first time around. It was a couple of weeks of suck as I switched back to losing weight each time, but I eventually acclimated to less food. It definitely had an effect on my performance, my lifts suffered noticeably.

You may find it helpful to ease into weight loss again. Each week, move your goal down 50-100 calories/day until you hit your desired weight loss calorie goal. Given you are already at a healthy weight and you need to fuel your runs, 1/2 lb per week would be my recommendation.

arussell134

The_Enginerd wrote: »

I've gone through additional weight loss a couple of times. I maintained my weight for over a year after my initial weight loss. Then I went through a slow bulk/cut period to do some body recomposition (increase muscle mass, decrease body fat) over a 9 months period. I maintained that for a while, but as I got more into running and wanted to increase my performance there, I dieted again to reach my race weight which was about 10 lbs less than my original goal weight.

Personally, I found it easier than losing weight the first time. I already knew HOW to lose weight the next time around, and the change wasn't as drastic as it was the first time around. It was a couple of weeks of suck as I switched back to losing weight each time, but I eventually acclimated to less food. It definitely had an effect on my performance, my lifts suffered noticeably.

You may find it helpful to ease into weight loss again. Each week, move your goal down 50-100 calories/day until you hit your desired weight loss calorie goal. Given you are already at a healthy weight and you need to fuel your runs, 1/2 lb per week would be my recommendation.

Great encouragement! Yes, I just reset my goal with a 1/2 lb per week. I cannot afford to lose to rapidly given my current activity level. I also do not want to lose lean body mass.

I appreciate you taking the time to share your thoughts & story - thank you!