Did you just "know" when to begin maintenance?

Gska17

Once I reach my goal weight I might try to lose more (I'm one pound away). How does one realize "enough! Let's maintain!"

Can you share with me your stories? Thanks in advance!

rosehips60

I reached my main goal in September (down 30 lbs) and now that spring is springing I want to lose 10 more. Then I know I'll be done

yirara

I looked in the mirror and knew. My face was getting too thin and my hip bones pointed out too much. Hey, when I sit sideways with curled up legs my arm feels unpleasant on my hip bones. I am in a healthy BMI range though at 21.2 or so. I just happened to lose weight at the wrong spots. I'll never have thin legs. Oh well...

CrabNebula

No, it was something I had to think about. I've been 'done' lots of times before, but I think I am finally done now. My BMI is well within the range of normal, I look nice and curvy clothed. I am not sure what added benefit losing more weight would have. My focus has shifted to recomping, replacing fat with muscle while maintaining a certain weight range.

BigLifter10

I built in 'break periods' where I would test myself to see if I could do it (it took over a year to have any confidence that I could). During these time frames I would still chart my intake (however, for the first six months I did not and quickly realized I had to). I had a strong feeling where I would go off course, but wanted to really see it on the screen/paper. I now see where and how I EVER go off track and how it is a specific pattern and how that pattern unveils itself. Those periods usually lasted about two weeks and that was long (and short) enough for me to tell a difference in how my body responded.

That said, I find that when it is relatively easy to maintain, then I'm pretty good, overall. If I feel I'm still gaining I can tell and that goes for losing too. I have a pair of jeans that, if I can wear them, then I know I'm going to look a little thin. I comfortably hover around one particular size.

TheBitSlinger

@GingerSka My doctor told me it was time to stop losing; he said I was exhibiting some wasting at my temples. After losing 185 pounds, I was not able to lose any more in any case.

kristen6350

I got to a BMI of 21.2, started seeing bones in places. My bra band got so small I can't find bras at stores because the cup is too big. And I didn't want to buy any more clothes. Size 6/8 was good enough.

maxit

I hit a wall of sorts with progressing on my weight training & moved to maintenance 10 days or so ago. It seems to me I am having more productive (and more fun) workouts and feeling less run over by a truck afterwards.

Gska17

Something just dawned on me...I can go back and forth as needed. DUH.

(Thank you everyone for the replies, they're really helpful. Maintenance sounds so daunting.)

nxd10

I hit my initial goal and decided to lose another 10 pounds. Then I hit that and decided to hit a goal zone that was 5-10 pounds lower. I got to the top of that and said 'yes, this feels good'. I was loosing very very slowly at that point but very comfortable with what I was eating, so just stayed there. I got to the bottom of it and said 'yep! this is it'. I upped my calories.

This was, btw, my recommended healthy weight that I never thought I'd get to. I still lost a few more pounds, but I've bounced up into my zone. I expect this summer I'll exercise more and drop down a little more again.

sgthaggard

I set my goal weight on day 1 and started maintenance the day I reached it. I set it low enough that there wasn't much temptation to take it any lower.

maasha81

When I reached my goal weight, I still wasn't happy but then I realised if I lose more then I would look haggard. So I started to do body recomposition as I wanted more definition to my body. I was a typical cardio junkie doing a few bodyweight exercises ..now I'm starting to lift.

Francl27

I did it too early, lol. Increased my goal to maintenance with 3 pounds left thinking 'I'll keep a deficit when possible and get there eventually'. But I got used to eating more and it was hard for me to keep a deficit, and 8 months later, I still wasn't there, actually starting to gain back a little, so I went back to cutting last month (might be there now, I'll know after my period).

So this time I'm waiting until I actually reach it then will increase my calories by 200 and see. It will be right in the middle of the normal range so if I lose a bit more, I won't complain.

ILiftHeavyAcrylics

Not really. I started to realize that my upper body was getting too thin-- my ribs were sticking out and my sternum was starting to show. But I still had quite a bit of fat to lose on my thighs/butt. I was getting pretty down about it because it didn't seem possible to get the body I wanted. Then I discovered recomp and started lifting weights while eating at maintenance. 2 years later I wouldn't say my body is perfect by any stretch but it's 1000% better, and more importantly I've stopped caring as much. Lifting put me in touch with what my body can do, not just what it looks like.

Foamroller

I was hit by major diet fatigue after hard dieting and exercise for 4 months and some other life events, leaving me at about 4 kg away from GW. I realized that forcing myself to further dieting would only lead to disaster. So instead I chose to go on a full diet break.

I've now successfully "maintained" scale weight within range for 3-4 months while accidentally noobgained muscle AND lost a bit of belly fat as well. I've tried to eat what I want intuitively, but within reason and logging that. So I guess my body has found the sweet spot. I always knew my body is smarter than me

It's quite challenging though, cause if I start *kitten* myself finding excuses to comfort eat, I know that path is slippery. Having an honest dialogue with oneself is crucial to "intuitive" eating, I think.

As someone mentioned above, dieting techniques can be used here and there to reign in. There's no need for black and white, either or. I sometimes put in semi-fasting to create a contrast and deficit. It helps enormously to retrain perceived hunger. It's very odd, but for ME, overeating consistently over a period of time, seems to not only physically extend belly capacity. I also feel hungrier when I eat a lot. But I've been a binge eater. I guess we're all different in many aspects.

Phrick

I *didn't* hit my goal weight but knew it was time anyway. I saw myself naked one day and thought "I think I looked better 10 pounds heavier; these last 6 pounds are achievable but won't look good on me. I'm done."

kindrabbit

ILiftHeavyAcrylics wrote: »

Not really. I started to realize that my upper body was getting too thin-- my ribs were sticking out and my sternum was starting to show. But I still had quite a bit of fat to lose on my thighs/butt. I was getting pretty down about it because it didn't seem possible to get the body I wanted. Then I discovered recomp and started lifting weights while eating at maintenance. 2 years later I wouldn't say my body is perfect by any stretch but it's 1000% better, and more importantly I've stopped caring as much. Lifting put me in touch with what my body can do, not just what it looks like.

and THIS, ladies, is why we lift

jenniferjohnsonament

I set my goal to my pre wedding weight. That is a time I felt beautiful and healthy in my own skin. I've been thinner then this and (obviously) quite a bit heavier.

When I got "here" I wasn't happy...ironically I felt great 10 lbs heavier (go figure!)

Soooo about 3 weeks ago I decided that "here" is where I'm staying for the time being....I'm upping my calories every week that I still lose or stay to get to my maintenance calories..BUT I'm working out more and I can tell that I'm losing fat, building lean muscle, and losing inches.

It's more then a number.

yirara

Karen_libert wrote: »

ILiftHeavyAcrylics wrote: »

Not really. I started to realize that my upper body was getting too thin-- my ribs were sticking out and my sternum was starting to show. But I still had quite a bit of fat to lose on my thighs/butt. I was getting pretty down about it because it didn't seem possible to get the body I wanted. Then I discovered recomp and started lifting weights while eating at maintenance. 2 years later I wouldn't say my body is perfect by any stretch but it's 1000% better, and more importantly I've stopped caring as much. Lifting put me in touch with what my body can do, not just what it looks like.

and THIS, ladies, is why we lift

I like lifting, but please explain how body recomp would prevent my face from looking even thinner? After all, in a recomp I'd still be losing fat and building muscles instead. But building muscles in my face? Hmmm

ILiftHeavyAcrylics

yirara wrote: »

Karen_libert wrote: »

ILiftHeavyAcrylics wrote: »

Not really. I started to realize that my upper body was getting too thin-- my ribs were sticking out and my sternum was starting to show. But I still had quite a bit of fat to lose on my thighs/butt. I was getting pretty down about it because it didn't seem possible to get the body I wanted. Then I discovered recomp and started lifting weights while eating at maintenance. 2 years later I wouldn't say my body is perfect by any stretch but it's 1000% better, and more importantly I've stopped caring as much. Lifting put me in touch with what my body can do, not just what it looks like.

and THIS, ladies, is why we lift

I like lifting, but please explain how body recomp would prevent my face from looking even thinner? After all, in a recomp I'd still be losing fat and building muscles instead. But building muscles in my face? Hmmm

I don't know that it would do anything for your face since you're not going to be building muscle there. For me I built some abs which helped my ribs not look as unnatural and some upper body muscles that helped with the sternum issue. And I lost some of the remaining thigh fat, so overall it gave the impression of just evening everything out.

eta: I have heard some ladies say that when they start bulking they find they can keep a higher body fat percentage and still be happy with the way they look because of the muscle they built underneath. So that might help with things like faces getting too thin. But I can't vouch for that since I haven't done it, and of course bulking is different from recomp.

Sabine_Stroehm

I stopped losing weight. One pound below my rough goal weight. I figured I'd found a sort of balance. So I stopped there. (I hadn't been counting to lose)

ntinkham88

I started maintaining when I realized I was exactly where I wanted to be. I liked the way my clothes fit, I was confident, and I was at a healthy weight. You'll know when you get there

MildredBarhopper

I liked how I looked, and was finding it harder and harder to eat at a deficit as my intake requirements went down with my weight, and I felt ready to start eating a bit more.

bunnypy

My goal was to get into size 8 jeans, ones they fitted properly i jumped for joy and increased my calories per week to maintenance

dopeysmelly

I stopped when I got to the upper range of where I initially set my goal. I figured I would have a break to let my body settle down a bit first, since I had some loose skin. 6 months later, practically all the loose skin has tightened up and I'm now tackling the last 10lbs.

I've not found "how I look" to be particularly helpful in my case. I spent most of my adult life either overweight or obese, so I'm looking at a completely new body anyway and I was never motivated by appearance only health. I have bony bits, but I'm in the middle of the healthy range and with a few flabby bits left to go, so I figure that's just my build. I quite like my leaner torso and shoulders and my flat chest. I think it looks neat.

I've been working out and my strength has improved significantly, but I don't know if it'll make a big difference to my appearance. I guess time will tell!

TitaniaEcks

Not really. I've always known what weight range looks best on me, and I started maintenance when I got back to it.

I guess it's different for the people who spent their adult life with extra weight and didn't know what a certain weight would look like until they reached it. My body naturally tends toward the size I am now, but I put on some extra weight because of stupid lifestyle choices, so losing weight for me was a matter of getting back to a previous state that I was already familiar with.

Sarasmaintaining

The day I hit my original goal weight I realized I wasn't there yet. I decided to start transitioning into maintenance and up my calories, but to still eat at a deficit. Ended up losing 15 more pounds before I knew I had arrived (I actually lost a few more than this and didn't like how I looked so I gained a few pounds back).

arditarose

ILiftHeavyAcrylics wrote: »

Not really. I started to realize that my upper body was getting too thin-- my ribs were sticking out and my sternum was starting to show. But I still had quite a bit of fat to lose on my thighs/butt. I was getting pretty down about it because it didn't seem possible to get the body I wanted. Then I discovered recomp and started lifting weights while eating at maintenance. 2 years later I wouldn't say my body is perfect by any stretch but it's 1000% better, and more importantly I've stopped caring as much. Lifting put me in touch with what my body can do, not just what it looks like.

This is kind of where I am. I keep trying to take it farther, but I'm tired and my lifts are suffering...and the butt/leg fat isn't going away. Considering starting maintenance/recomp this week or next.

kristenveganvixen

I'm at a healthy BMI of 23 atm but want rid of some more wobbly bits, ideally I'd like at least another 7-10lbs shifted, I keep slowing down or switching to maintenence for a while every so often to save myself from burning out and giving up altogether.

sunnydays851

I haven't switched yet, but when I do I know it will be because I won't be able to go back. I'll probably gain it all back

Kenda2427

I had hit my goal weight and then decided to go for 5 more "vanity" pounds. I really struggled and lost most of it but husband said I had gone too far and looked gaunt, face and collarbones all hollowed out. Like a poster above said looking at myself naked and realized I looked better at the slightly heavier weight. We went on vacation and I gained 7 lbs so I'm just couple of pounds over my best weight. I am waiting for my book New Rules of Lifting for Women to start that program which should help firm up the flubber.