OK so how do you stop shrinking when at goal?

SaraBrown12

Hi all,

I know you will be secretly whispering b*£"ch under breath when you read this. I am at a weight i am happy with now, I have upped my calories so to speak. I am trying to do it gradually to maintain. My problem is when i got to my "happy point" i was a UK size 12. I think i have lost 2-3LB in the last few months tops. My problem is i still exercise, i can't stop myself because i am left lethargic and feeling generally rubbish if i don't do some form of physical activity within the day. I am still losing inches like lots and fairly quickly!!! I have gone from a 12 down to an 8 and some 8's are getting big. I am starting to get the "Ohhhhhh don't lose anymore weight, your too skinny.. blah blah blah" comments. I really don't want to get any smaller but its clearly just toning up that's going on hence inch loss. Stopping exercise is not an option for me. When i say exercise i am pretty active an average day would be 60 min 3.5mph dog run and maybe 30-60 mins on exercise bike while i catch up on soaps and then 150 kettle bell squats before bed. I am training for race for life in july. I am determined to do race in 20-25 mins (hence squats with kettle for stronger legs) but i switch up my 60 min dog walk and run for 30 instead.

I don't want to stop the toning process as OFC who wants to be at goal and still wobble. But i don't see how i can do this and not keep losing inches. Any advice would be great.

I am loving buying clothes now and it will stop being fun if i have to go down to a uk6 as they are few and far between. Plus the nice but negative comments have the same effect as the "sheesh shes a big lass" comments.

Morninglory81

From what I understand to stop shrinking you have to eat at maintenance. Not sure what that is for you. Hopefully someone will be better help.

Congrats on reaching your goal!:flowerforyou:

BinaryPulsar

I did not have much weight to lose at all. And I also had the same problem of continuing to lose. Being a size 00 petite (UK size 2) I definitely did not want to lose anymore. So, every time I stepped on the scale and saw a pound lost I increased my calories. Trust me, if you do that, you will eventually stop losing. I was up to 2400 to 2800 calories and after eating that consistently I did gain a few pounds back. I also do not decrease my exercise because I am a dancer and I also lift weights.

_Waffle_

I've been running 40 - 50 miles a week and maintaining my weight. You need to track your calories burned during exercise and eat it all back. Continue working out as hard as ever but make sure and keep the gas tank full. I'm still cutting body fat slowly while maintaining. It's a very gradual process but I don't have any thing else I want to do different.

FYI I need 4,000 - 5,000 calories a day on exercise days to maintain. The only thing that matters is NET calories.

rencawdor24

First of all, congratualtions on reaching your goal weight.
I can understand that you want to continue being active, as I would also like to continue exercising after I have lost the weight due to the better mood and more energy that it brings about.

I would have thought that to maintain, you need to up your calories so that you are eating as many calories as your are using. So if you track all your excercise aswell as food, you should eat back all your exercise calories.

MzManiak

I did not have much weight to lose at all. And I also had the same problem of continuing to lose. Being a size 00 petite (UK size 2) I definitely did not want to lose anymore. So, every time I stepped on the scale and saw a pound lost I increased my calories. Trust me, if you do that, you will eventually stop losing. I was up to 2400 to 2800 calories and after eating that consistently I did gain a few pounds back. I also do not decrease my exercise because I am a dancer and I also lift weights.

I would agree with this. Just like we have to find the number it takes for us to lose, we have to find that number it takes for us to maintain. The calculators can give us estimates... but we have to make the changes that work for us. I think if you are still losing weight, you need to raise calories. And keep doing it until you are staying at the same weight. I don't, however, see how you can keep "toning" and not lose inches... You get "toned" by losing body fat.... less body fat means less inches.

msstatz

Commenting to follow thread as I am in the same situation.

staceypunk

Exercise is not only about losing weight. It's about maintaining your health- kudos for sticking with it. I am not at your point yet, but from what I have read here on MFP seems you should add in calories with healthy foods like almonds, olive oils, peanut butter, and other things that add up quick. Also, if you are using any reduced calorie or low-fat products switch over to the full version (which is usually more healthy because of less chemicals and added sugars or sodium and such).

Awesome job getting to your goal!

momzeeee

I think most people go through this when transitioning-I lost 10lbs after I called goal lol. It just takes some time of tweaking to find your maintenance sweet spot I didn't follow MFP's calorie program for weight loss but instead an IF plan, so for me I started experimenting with different variations of IF. If you're doing a calorie plan maybe just add a few calories every week and keep doing that until you stop losing, but don't gain.

Also, you should have a maintenance window, instead of a hard-set number, just because you're weight will fluctuate based on factors that have nothing to do with 'weight' (time of month, water, exercise etc). a 5lb window seems to be the most popular; I have a 3lb window and that works well for me.

divacat80

Well, i thought it would be as easy as switching mfp to maintenance mode, and eating all the "remaining calories" and entering the amount of calories burned (i use a heart rate monitor and i'llkeep using it until i find the right balance). But it's not that simple. I found i was still losing weight,even when i switched to maintenance mode suddenly,without increasing my calories gradually. But i kept on losing fat.
I guess it's all due to the amount of strength training, since more muscle burns more fat. But i don't know,i'm still struggling to find the right balance. I don't mind looking lean, but i want to keep a weight/body fat percentage that i know for sure i can maintain in the long run. And of course, i can't afford a new whole wardrobe of new tinier clothes again.

What i'm doing right now is limiting my strength training to no more than twice per week and trying not to overdo cardio, to avoid muscle loss. And i'm trying to eat a bit more(*)

So i guess it's just as someone on mfp once told me,you never know how your body is going to react (balance in macronutrients in your diet, body composition and metabolic rate play a huge role i guess) so it's a matter of trial and error.
As the others say, calculators only give you an idea of how much to eat, and even heart rate monitors aren't as accurate as we would wish to track how much our bodies are really burning ona daily bAsis.

Good luck!

*note, just in case you look at my diary, this week i'm dieting because my birthday is right aroundthe corner and i'm planning to indulge like...LOTS hehe

SaraBrown12

My weight is pretty much staying the same. Its the inch loss that's bothering me but i have no clue how to stop it! I have looked at a calculator that explains what calories i need to maintain. I have not changed goals and details on here yet to maintain as i am unsure what is going to work for me. I eat around 2000 a day at present, i am sure i could up that more and maintain but i really struggle to eat 2000 Then i am told to eat exercise calories back on top of that. Its just not possible for me. Ergh... whoever thought i would end up here moaning about this???

_Waffle_

I eat around 2000 a day at present, i am sure i could up that more and maintain but i really struggle to eat 2000 Then i am told to eat exercise calories back on top of that. Its just not possible for me. Ergh... whoever thought i would end up here moaning about this???

Peanut butter. Problem solved.

yo_andi

Start eating at maintenance, which may be between 500 and 1000 calories more than what you're eating right now. It's going to take some experimentation to figure out what maintenance is for you.

BinaryPulsar

My weight is pretty much staying the same. Its the inch loss that's bothering me but i have no clue how to stop it! I have looked at a calculator that explains what calories i need to maintain. I have not changed goals and details on here yet to maintain as i am unsure what is going to work for me. I eat around 2000 a day at present, i am sure i could up that more and maintain but i really struggle to eat 2000 Then i am told to eat exercise calories back on top of that. Its just not possible for me. Ergh... whoever thought i would end up here moaning about this???

If you are lifting weights and eating at maintenance I think it's normal, at first, to lose a few inches (even though your weight stays the same). That happened to me also. And I wondered if it would stop. It did. And my waist stayed small, but my thighs ended up getting a little bigger (from muscle, just an inch or so). The body goes through shifts and changes, but eventually gets into a fairly steady place while you continue to improve your fitness level. There will always be fluctuations (water weight gain and loss as well). Some days after lifting, the muscles swell, then later return smaller again. Obviously muscles always get pumped after lifting, but I mean sometimes they swell for a while (only noticeable if you are measuring).

Sqeekyjojo

Unless you're particularly tall, teenage clothes will fit you - and they have the advantage of not carrying VAT, so they'll be significantly cheaper.