How can i maintain a healthy weight? Maintenance sucks!

tinglesby

hello! Well so i am wanting to find out from some of you, what is it i am doing wrong? I cant seem to conform my diet to a maintenance phase after getting to my goal weight. I always seem to yo-yo and gain some of it back. this has happened 3 or 4 times in my life! I just want to get to my goal and then STAY there. Any tips would be truly appreciated.

Thank you!

DopeItUp

How much are you gaining after you try to go on maintenance? You're going to gain a little water weight once from upping your calories/carbs in general. Or are you gaining weight constantly? Maybe you've calculated your maintenance calories incorrectly? A little more detail might be needed behind what is actually happening in your situation.

crystalflame

It's hard. There's a sense of achieving your goal, so you should be able to eat whatever you want - only that's not true at all. A lot of people struggle with it... There's good advice in this group, if you want to spend some time reading through a few threads:

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/forums/show/169-maintenance

tinglesby

I seem to always get sidetracked and dont log as fluently as i would in the weight loss mode. Sidetracked, or non-motivated. Maybe its just a matter of motivation to stick with it? ive gained back about 25 lbs of the 50 i lost. Maybe just a shove to keep in control would suffice?

thank you for responding!

micheleld73

You cannot accept complacency. You're not dieting, you are making a life change. After you lose, you adjust enough to stop losing weight -not losing momentum, passion and the desire to be the healthiest you can be. You'll still need to watch what you eat and exercise - there's no other way!

TallGlassOfQuirky

Well, most of us have a maintenance "range" - up or down 5 pounds or so from our goal, which is normal, but finding your TDEE and eating that (mine used to be higher than it was calculated at, so you may have to play with the numbers to find your "sweet spot") is pretty important if you want to maintain.

RobynLB83

Go 5 lbs under your goal weight to account for replenished glycogen / water / more food in your system. Up your calories to maintenance in two phases. Don't get in the "now I'm skinny I can eat whatever I want mindset." That's what gets me, and I put on and take off the same 5 lbs every few months. Or you can just roll with it. Maybe you're setting your goal at a level that you can't comfortably maintain.

running_shoe

If you lost weight successfully with MFP, all you need to do is set your profile to maintain and then keep doing what you were doing. The amount of work does not change; continue the lifestyle of counting calories and exercise, measuring and weighing food, balancing your macros as best you can. Weigh once a month. If you go five pounds off your goal weight, set your profile to adjust you back to your goal.

Calliope610

The secret to weight loss it sustainability. If you lose weight as a result of "dieting" in a non-sustainable manner, you will find maintenance to be VERY difficult.

Lose weight by eating in a manner with which you can eat FOR THE REST OF YOUR LIFE, then maintaining your weight will be much easier. A restrictive or low calorie diet plan may be very effective for weight loss, but is it something that you can sustain for the long haul? If it is not, once you reach your weight goal, and start eating in the "real world" again, the weight will come back on.

Strive for long term sustainability, which sometimes means slow weight loss, but you will be able to keep it off, instead of the yo-yo.

tinglesby

thank you for the push! i KNOW i can do this!

meredith1123

I always eat very healthy monday through friday. then on saturday and sunday i can kind of cheat and eat what i want (no binging). that way it fluctuates and balances out each week.
I also still exercise 3 to 5 days a week if possible. sometimes my schedule prohibits it but no less than 3 days a week.

oh and I STILL LOG foods and exercise each week!

ahmadfahmy

hello! Well so i am wanting to find out from some of you, what is it i am doing wrong? I cant seem to conform my diet to a maintenance phase after getting to my goal weight. I always seem to yo-yo and gain some of it back. this has happened 3 or 4 times in my life! I just want to get to my goal and then STAY there. Any tips would be truly appreciated.

Thank you!

how many extra calories are you eating once you go on maintenance?

runawayescape

Bump

honeysprinkles

I seem to always get sidetracked and dont log as fluently as i would in the weight loss mode. Sidetracked, or non-motivated. Maybe its just a matter of motivation to stick with it? ive gained back about 25 lbs of the 50 i lost. Maybe just a shove to keep in control would suffice?

thank you for responding!

Maybe you should try to re-lose those 25 pounds a lot slower, so you basically know how to eat at maintenance and are less likely to regain it. 25 pounds is a lot to regain, I would weight myself every two weeks and if I noticed a gain of more than 5 pounds or more, I'd be back to logging at a small deficit until it's gone. It's a lot easier to focus on losing 5 pounds every now and then than it is to basically have to redo half your weight loss!

I'm close to maintenance, but not there yet. I plan to continue logging on and setting fitness goals instead of weight goals so I'm still motivated and dedicated like I am now.

Good luck!

NovemberJune

Maybe setting new goals would keep you on track. Depending on what you like--Like squatting X pounds, or running a 5k in under X minutes, or being able to do X number of push ups.
Good luck!

honeysprinkles

The secret to weight loss it sustainability. If you lose weight as a result of "dieting" in a non-sustainable manner, you will find maintenance to be VERY difficult.

Lose weight by eating in a manner with which you can eat FOR THE REST OF YOUR LIFE, then maintaining your weight will be much easier. A restrictive or low calorie diet plan may be very effective for weight loss, but is it something that you can sustain for the long haul? If it is not, once you reach your weight goal, and start eating in the "real world" again, the weight will come back on.

Strive for long term sustainability, which sometimes means slow weight loss, but you will be able to keep it off, instead of the yo-yo.

I completely agree with all of this, that's why I haven't cut ANYTHING completely out of my diet. I still go out to eat, have fast food, sometimes go out on the weekend... it's really important (and a bit difficult) to learn how to do all those things moderately. If you give them up completely during weight loss only to resume doing those things again, weight gain is very likely! Either give it up forever or not at all is my way of thinking.

kathyvstephan

bump

crazybookworm

I hear ya! Being in Maintenance mode can be tough. First, we make the drastic change to lose weight, then once we reach our goal, we have to adjust all over again to learn how to maintain that. Dealing with the up's and down's that come with it(just like during our weigh loss journey). You just have to find a program that works best for you.

What has been successful for me: Portion control, moderation, substitution and exercise. Yes, it does sound like a weigh loss program, but you adjust these things with your new maintenance mode calorie intake. You are still watching your portion control but with your new maintenance intake. Moderation, I still have guilty pleasures, and I still allow myself to have them! Moderation is key. I watch how often I have said guilty pleasure, and I watch my portion size, too! When I can, I try to substitute my not-so-good for me snacks for something healthier. Kale chips, air popped popcorn, veggies and hummus, etc. And of course, now that I am in maintenance, why would I stop the exercise? Yes, my calorie burns may go from 600 to 350 or 400. Or I am now concentrating on strength more than Cardio to tone up. But just like everything else, you adjust your current program to accommodate the new you!

Once you reach maintenance mode, you are just simply adjusting the program that has worked for your weight loss, to now work for your maintenance! It is a lifestyle, so it is important to find something that you can maintain for life.

Good luck! I hope this helps!:flowerforyou:

tinglesby

The secret to weight loss it sustainability. If you lose weight as a result of "dieting" in a non-sustainable manner, you will find maintenance to be VERY difficult.

Lose weight by eating in a manner with which you can eat FOR THE REST OF YOUR LIFE, then maintaining your weight will be much easier. A restrictive or low calorie diet plan may be very effective for weight loss, but is it something that you can sustain for the long haul? If it is not, once you reach your weight goal, and start eating in the "real world" again, the weight will come back on.

Strive for long term sustainability, which sometimes means slow weight loss, but you will be able to keep it off, instead of the yo-yo.

I completely agree with all of this, that's why I haven't cut ANYTHING completely out of my diet. I still go out to eat, have fast food, sometimes go out on the weekend... it's really important (and a bit difficult) to learn how to do all those things moderately. If you give them up completely during weight loss only to resume doing those things again, weight gain is very likely! Either give it up forever or not at all is my way of thinking.

THANK YOU so much for this advice! i cannot begin to tell you how much it motivates and inspires me!!

ninerbuff

Chances are you changed the way you like to eat for a program of eating just to lose weight. Till you find a lifestyle you can stick with, you'll continue to lose and regain.

A.C.E. Certified Personal/Group FitnessTrainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

tinglesby

I hear ya! Being in Maintenance mode can be touch. First, we make the drastic change to lose weight, then once we reach our goal, we have to adjust all over again to learn how to maintain that. Dealing with the up's and down's that come with it(just like during our weigh loss journey). You just have to find a program that works best for you.

What has been successful for me: Portion control, moderation, substitution and exercise. Yes, it does sound like a weigh loss program, but you adjust these things with your new maintenance mode calorie intake. You are still watching your portion control but with your new maintenance intake. Moderation, I still have guilty pleasures, and I still allow myself to have them! Moderation is key. I watch how often I have said guilty pleasure, and I watch my portion size, too! When I can, I try to substitute my not-so-good for me snacks for something healthier. Kale chips, air popped popcorn, veggies and hummus, etc. And of course, now that I am in maintenance, why would I stop the exercise? Yes, my calorie burns may go from 600 to 350 or 400. Or I am now concentrating on strength more than Cardio to tone up.

Once you reach maintenance mode, you are just simply adjusting the program that has worked for your weight loss, to now work for your maintenance! It is a lifestyle, so it is important to find something that you can maintain for life.

Good luck! I hope this helps!:flowerforyou:

THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!! I honestly think i needed some inspiration and guidance. i will definitly keep you posted!!

emlee01

You cannot accept complacency. You're not dieting, you are making a life change. After you lose, you adjust enough to stop losing weight -not losing momentum, passion and the desire to be the healthiest you can be. You'll still need to watch what you eat and exercise - there's no other way!

Bump!

For what it's worth, I've been on "maintenance" for about a year, and every time I've started to lose sight of "making a life change", the weight has tried to come back with a vengeance. You can't wish to stay the same weight any more than you wished to reach your goal weight in the first place. It's been harder for me to maintain than to lose the weight because I wasn't always committed to maintaining the vigilance necessary to protect what I achieved. Maybe it's the same for you, or maybe not.

In any case, you have to ask yourself what is more important: foregoing inconvenience to have a healthy life or settling for less than the goals that motivated you in the first place. Once you make that choice, and I hope it's the 1st one, you have to come up with new ways to challenge yourself. There are plenty of folks here on MFP who are happy to support you.

All the best in this next stage of your journey!

tinglesby

You cannot accept complacency. You're not dieting, you are making a life change. After you lose, you adjust enough to stop losing weight -not losing momentum, passion and the desire to be the healthiest you can be. You'll still need to watch what you eat and exercise - there's no other way!

Bump!

For what it's worth, I've been on "maintenance" for about a year, and every time I've started to lose sight of "making a life change", the weight has tried to come back with a vengeance. You can't wish to stay the same weight any more than you wished to reach your goal weight in the first place. It's been harder for me to maintain than to lose the weight because I wasn't always committed to maintaining the vigilance necessary to protect what I achieved. Maybe it's the same for you, or maybe not.

In any case, you have to ask yourself what is more important: foregoing inconvenience to have a healthy life or settling for less than the goals that motivated you in the first place. Once you make that choice, and I hope it's the 1st one, you have to come up with new ways to challenge yourself. There are plenty of folks here on MFP who are happy to support you.

All the best in this next stage of your journey!

Thanks!! i really appreciate the support!!

p.s. ive seen it three times now...what does bump mean??

RobynLB83

This is besides the point, but HoneySprinkle, I LOVE that bikini!

csuhar

A challenge with maintenance is that, like maintenance on a vehicle, it still takes a degree of work. Logging food and exercise accurately is still important. The main thing that changes is your caloric goal, because you're not willing to lose weight.

The other thing that is different when maintaining rather than changing your weight is that you do need to expect a degree of yo-yo movement. When you were losing weight, you probably had times you lost faster than others because of fluctuations in your actual deficits. Because maintenance is focused on a stationary point, this will manifest itself as going above and below your target. It may be better to change your approach to a "target weight range" that goes above and below your specific target weight. That way, you still have those red flags that pop up and tell you to take a hard look at what you're doing when your weight changes, but you won't have to stress out about being right at X pounds and you don't need to fret when your weight changes because life got in the way. In my case, 5 pounds above and below tends to provide enough leniency to have fun (like going on cruises or enjoying the holidays) while still keeping me from getting out of control.

micheleld73

You cannot accept complacency. You're not dieting, you are making a life change. After you lose, you adjust enough to stop losing weight -not losing momentum, passion and the desire to be the healthiest you can be. You'll still need to watch what you eat and exercise - there's no other way!

Bump!

For what it's worth, I've been on "maintenance" for about a year, and every time I've started to lose sight of "making a life change", the weight has tried to come back with a vengeance. You can't wish to stay the same weight any more than you wished to reach your goal weight in the first place. It's been harder for me to maintain than to lose the weight because I wasn't always committed to maintaining the vigilance necessary to protect what I achieved. Maybe it's the same for you, or maybe not.

In any case, you have to ask yourself what is more important: foregoing inconvenience to have a healthy life or settling for less than the goals that motivated you in the first place. Once you make that choice, and I hope it's the 1st one, you have to come up with new ways to challenge yourself. There are plenty of folks here on MFP who are happy to support you.

All the best in this next stage of your journey!

Thanks!! i really appreciate the support!!

p.s. ive seen it three times now...what does bump mean??

I've determined bump means that the person likes the post, doesn't have anything to add at that time and wants to be able to return easily to track the additional posts. But that's just my best guess.