How did you find your maintenance?

lucyholdcroft363
lucyholdcroft363 Posts: 124 Member
in Goal: Maintaining Weight
With 10 pounds left to go, I'm getting my head in gear for plans of maintenance. How did you guys find what calorie amount helped you to maintain? How do you keep up your motivation? What about holidays abroad and birthdays, do you 'save up' or lose a little beforehand?
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Replies

  • socioseguro
    socioseguro Posts: 1,679 Member
    I recommend you read the existing threads in this message board.
    Here is one link:
    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10178002/most-helpful-posts-goal-maintaining-weight-must-reads#latest
    My experience. I started by not eating at a deficit any longer. each week I will increase my daily calorie target by 50 calories (others prefer 100 calorie steps, your choice). It took me a couple of months until I found my range, when I started to increase my weight all other factors being equal, then I stopped. I have a calorie range, not just one number.
    My motivation is being healthy. I believe it is cheaper being healthy than the alternative.
    I take my holidays and enjoy birthdays. I just go back to my nutrition plan as soon as possible. If my weight increases, I eat at a deficit until the weight goes down again to my preferred range.
    Good luck in your healthy journey
  • loulamb7
    loulamb7 Posts: 801 Member
    Once I hit goal, I added 100 daily calories per week until I hit anticipated maintenance. Monitor expected maintenance for 2-3 weeks and adjust up or down depending on results.

    For holidays, I've done both, ate less before the event or ate less after returning.

    Enjoy maintenance!
  • SKME2013
    SKME2013 Posts: 704 Member
    Trial and error. I just went by what MFP gave me. I go by weekly goals, so if I go over one day I go under one of the following. It is actually much easier than you think. I weigh myself regularly and if I go consistently out of the range of 1kg I eat either more or less.
    Stef.
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
    Easy for me because I ended up maintaining by mistake after a couple hungry months, so I just did the math.
  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,809 Member
    How did you guys find what calorie amount helped you to maintain?
    Experimentation and patience.

    How do you keep up your motivation?
    Maintaining in my goal weight range is just as valid a goal as weight loss was - plus it's more fun. It's also just one of my goals (fitness/strength for example).

    What about holidays abroad and birthdays, do you 'save up' or lose a little beforehand?
    Diet fits into my life and not the other way round. Holidays and special events are to be enjoyed, it matters far more what you do in the rest of the year!

  • ExRelaySprinter
    ExRelaySprinter Posts: 874 Member
    I found my TDEE via this calculator (although i'm still losing about 0.5lb a week, so it must be slightly higher).
    http://www.sailrabbit.com/bmr/

    I find that doing an hour of Cardio 5 times a week ensures i can eat a good amount of calories each day, without any worries.
  • arditarose
    arditarose Posts: 15,573 Member
    edited June 2015
    I took a look at my stats. I had been losing .5 a week (ish), without eating exercise calories back. So I assumed that MFP was actually giving me my TDEE (I do very little cardio, so unfortunately weight lifting factored in about perfectly with the "lightly active" option). The I added 100 calories each week until I had added all 250 back. I stuck with that for about 4 weeks and am testing the waters with another 100 right now.

    I'm the opposite as others. I'm doing as little cardio as I can, because I hate it, to see what my maintenance will be without it. I'm never going to do cardio 5 days a week, so I might as well find the most realistic TDEE.

    As far as holidays and events go, I run a weekly calorie goal. I always eat about 700-800 over maintenance on the weekends, so I shave off 100 per day during the week.
  • ExRelaySprinter
    ExRelaySprinter Posts: 874 Member
    arditarose wrote: »
    I'm the opposite as others. I'm doing as little cardio as I can, because I hate it,....
    Have you thought about doing a Dance class or Zumba,..... something fun like that?

  • arditarose
    arditarose Posts: 15,573 Member
    ExRelaySprinter wrote: »
    arditarose wrote: »
    I'm the opposite as others. I'm doing as little cardio as I can, because I hate it,....
    Have you thought about doing a Dance class or Zumba,..... something fun like that?

    Yeah, when I feel like it I'll hit a zumba class up or something. And my tap shoes still fit me so I keep meaning to go to a tap class but forget. Maybe I'll look into it tomorrow.

    Honestly I'm not that concerned though. Even if I do a dance class once or twice a week, it's not going to do much for how much more I can eat.
  • hgycta
    hgycta Posts: 3,013 Member
    I followed MFP's recommendation and then after assessing my weight each week adjusted it until I discovered my maintenance goal was 1,600 calories (which was only about 50 more than the app suggested). Weight fluctuations are completely normal with maintenance, but I give myself a 5-10 pound range I feel comfortable, happy, and satisfied with and try to stick with it; if I'm over this range I'll watch my calories and eat slightly less or work out more, and if I'm under it I'll allow myself a few more "cheat" meals.

    For holidays and birthdays I still try to be good and stick with my maintenance calories. Now everyone is completely different with how they approach these events, but for me personally I like to try and be good every day and get a small treat each day rather than cut back all week and feast out on the weekend, as this cycle leaves me feeling uncomfortably full and then super hungry the next day. Just because a social gathering usually involves large amounts of food doesn't mean you have to eat it all!
  • griffinca2
    griffinca2 Posts: 672 Member
    Concur w/above; mostly trial & error. I used the MFP caclulater and started adding calories (went from 1190/1200 to 1290/1330 [+/-]. Only just started maintenance so figure it's going to take some experimentation.
  • bunnypy
    bunnypy Posts: 109 Member
    I actually gained weight from following MFT suggestion of 1470 as opposed to th new found magic number 1350, went on with it on thinking it was just water and that it will go away, i realised that nope, i was eating more than i needed, went back to doing deficit for a month, then went to maintenance starting from 1250 a day, adding 50 untill i found my balance!
  • bunnypy
    bunnypy Posts: 109 Member
    I actually gained weight from following MFT suggestion of 1470 as opposed to th new found magic number 1350, went on with it on thinking it was just water and that it will go away, i realised that nope, i was eating more than i needed, went back to doing deficit for a month, then went to maintenance starting from 1250 a day, adding 50 untill i found my balance!
  • DeguelloTex
    DeguelloTex Posts: 6,652 Member
    I have a spreadsheet that tracks a lot of things, including my calories in, my fitness band's estimate of my TDEE, and my weight loss. I'm using the first and third of those to get an estimate of my TDEE and how it compares to what my band says to get my starting point.

    If all goes well this week, I'll be bumping up to expected maintenance next Sunday and go from there.
  • GaleHawkins
    GaleHawkins Posts: 8,159 Member
    I changed nothing that I was eating while losing and just ate a bit more but mainly when back to eating close to bedtime (11 PM) vs stopping at 5 PM when when I was in loss mode. I tested this when I was at 209 for 90 days. At the end of 90 days I was 209 and my range was 201-211 pounds for that quarter.

    Because for the past 40 years when I lost weight I ALWAYS had a 100%+ regain I did nothing during weight loss that I was not planning to do for the rest of my life because at 64 I do not want to risk one more regain.

    I still weight at bedtime, on waking and after the first pit stop but before I eat or drink as was my only weighing and tracking while losing weight.

    You are smart be starting to get your maintenance plan in place now because losing is the easiest part for many of us. Best of success.

  • GaleHawkins
    GaleHawkins Posts: 8,159 Member
    I changed nothing that I was eating while losing and just ate a bit more but mainly when back to eating close to bedtime (11 PM) vs stopping at 5 PM when when I was in loss mode. I tested this when I was at 209 for 90 days. At the end of 90 days I was 209 and my range was 201-211 pounds for that quarter.

    Because for the past 40 years when I lost weight I ALWAYS had a 100%+ regain I did nothing during weight loss that I was not planning to do for the rest of my life because at 64 I do not want to risk one more regain.

    I still weight at bedtime, on waking and after the first pit stop but before I eat or drink as was my only weighing and tracking while losing weight.

    You are smart be starting to get your maintenance plan in place now because losing is the easiest part for many of us. Best of success.

  • _lyndseybrooke_
    _lyndseybrooke_ Posts: 2,561 Member
    I haven't maintained for an extended period of time, so I'm no expert. I "maintained" at 121-122 lbs from November through March by eating at what Scooby's site said was my TDEE (2150 calories/day). I wasn't all that strict about my macros then - I just made sure to at least hit my protein goal and stay under my carb goal every day, and be under my calorie goal when averaged over the week. I did a little cut from March through May and dropped to 116-118 lbs and maintained that for almost a month before going on vacation. I just got back a couple of days ago and haven't weighed in, but I'm sure I gained at least a pound. Now I focus more on macros than anything else, and I treat them all like goals to hit every day as opposed to minimums or maximums. I like to be within 5 grams of each macro goal daily. Sounds like a pain in the butt, but my Type A personality loves it.

    I log 99.9% of the time, including holidays and vacation, but that certainly doesn't mean I stay within my goals 99.9% of the time. I eat whatever I want on Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve, and Christmas. I also have one weekend per month where I treat myself to things I want that simply won't fit into my macros ever. In between, I eat things I love, including things like ice cream, burgers, fries, pizza, etc. and fit them into my goals. I don't eat "clean," and all of my macros are kept at moderate levels (no low-carb, low-fat, etc).

    If I want Olive Garden, I'm eating breadsticks, appetizer, entree, and tiramisu for dessert - I'll be damned if I'm ordering off their light menu. Therefore, Olive Garden will NEVER fit my macros, even if it was the only meal I ate all day. That's what my monthly weekend thing is about. This girl can put away some serious calories, and I enjoy being able to do that every now and then. I don't "save up" calories the week prior or "make up" for what I did by eating less the following week. I just have my fun and continue on as normal when it's over. It hasn't resulted in weight gain.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    I set my goal on a TDEE calculator for maintenance and then just made adjustments per my real world results.
  • giusa
    giusa Posts: 577 Member
    arditarose wrote: »
    I took a look at my stats. I had been losing .5 a week (ish), without eating exercise calories back. So I assumed that MFP was actually giving me my TDEE (I do very little cardio, so unfortunately weight lifting factored in about perfectly with the "lightly active" option). The I added 100 calories each week until I had added all 250 back. I stuck with that for about 4 weeks and am testing the waters with another 100 right now.

    I'm the opposite as others. I'm doing as little cardio as I can, because I hate it, to see what my maintenance will be without it. I'm never going to do cardio 5 days a week, so I might as well find the most realistic TDEE.

    As far as holidays and events go, I run a weekly calorie goal. I always eat about 700-800 over maintenance on the weekends, so I shave off 100 per day during the week.
    To find a true TDEE I agree with limiting the cardio. That's what I've been *trying* to do but I've been struggling.

    Your post is making me wonder…since mid April I've tighten my logging habits (logged daily and weighed everything humanly possible) and using TDEE - 20% = 1248 (as you, with little to no cardio). And transferred all information to chart form to review. But now wondering if the calculators are wrong (Scooby, IIFYM, ExRx/average) and my maintenance TDEE is really the 1248... But that can’t be because the last 2 times I tried with MFP 1200 cals and still didn’t lose weight until I added cardio 6x a week (started out a couple of days with no results till 6 days a week).
    I realize that a deficit is not considered maintenance, but I’ve been trying to figure out why I’m struggling to lose weight so I’m examining all possibilities. Can’t wait to get the blood results, maybe then I’ll get some answers.
  • LivingtheLeanDream
    LivingtheLeanDream Posts: 13,342 Member
    Almost a year of being at maintenance and things are going just fine :smiley: I found I gained a couple of pounds during winter, eating a few more cals in the form of comfort food but now summer is here I'm back to my lowest goal weight (I have a goal weight range between 133 and 137lbs)
    I still enjoy being able to eat lots of calories each day and still stay same weight :smiley:
    (5ft 2 /46yrs/ active/ TDEE 2300 - I eat from 2100-2200 cals daily, just a slight deficit to account for logging inaccuracies.)

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