Maintenance question?
sweetteadrinker2
Posts: 1,026 Member
Looking for opinions/strategies. I'm 3.3 pounds from maintenance as of today. When do I switch my calorie allotment to maintain current weight? The first time I see my gw or below on the scale, try to let it stick a few days, lose a couple pounds beyond that and then transition? Should I up my calories all at once, or slowly over a few weeks? I'm not planning to increase carbs by much if at all, but will probably be more conscientious of including fruit into them since I'll be able to have more fat to go with it.
I've literally never been this close to goal weight EVER! So not sure what to do.
I've literally never been this close to goal weight EVER! So not sure what to do.
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You go!
I hit "maintenance" a month or so ago. I stopped tracking calories and carbs about a month before that.
So now I just enjoy The Way.
My former deficit basically got me to my current maintenance level, but I'm still losing a little bit. And I still have enough fat sticking around that I'm starting to think about weight training just to look a bit more buff.
IOW, no need to change a thing.0 -
I haven't hit the holy grail of goal weight ever before, but as I creep closer I've given it some thought and personally I plan to push 3-4 pounds below goal weight, to give me some leeway for accidental weight gain whilst deciphering my maintenance sweet spot. I'll then gradually raise my calories until I find an intake that keeps the scale steady. Obviously if i gain weight I'd reduce cals back down a bit, but I'll have 3 or 4 pounds in the bank to cover that eventuality.
That's what makes sense to me at this point, but it could always change as I learn more.0 -
sweetteadrinker2 wrote: »I've literally never been this close to goal weight EVER! So not sure what to do.
Good problem to have. Congratulations!
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I'm about the same spot you are. I increased my calorie goal about a month ago to slow the loss, but I'm finding that with the reduced hunger im still closer to my new aggressive weight loss calories.
I've noticed that I'm getting more relaxed on my logging so at some point I may stop altogether and check my weight once a week to make sure I'm not gaining.
I might actually change my goal lower too, once I get there.0 -
I plan to "reverse" diet once I hit goal weight, adding the calories back in gradually until I hit the point where my weight levels out, then maintain that calorie level for a month or two to make sure that actually -is- what my maintenance is. I figure this will take me a bit below goal weight, which I would be fine with, my goal weight is not super aggressive. The goal is to get to the point where I am maintain a weight range with loose or no tracking and weekly weigh ins.
Having said that, I -was- 375 lbs. If I end up keeping tracking to keep the weight off, I will.0 -
I'm 2 lb below my goal so I upped my calories and carbs as of last week to see where it will take me. I still can't meat my calories and my carbs are still below my 40 g this week. Weight day is on Sunday and I picked up some work outs to get on track. Last week was totally worthless, no physical activities due to back pain. I'm getting back on track now.0
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I'm 9lbs from goal and trying to get my headspace ready too. When I'm 4lbs from goal I will slow from 1lb a week loss to 0.5lb and see if I continue losing. I am setting myself a 4lb range each side of my goal weight and if I go one or other side of that I will adjust my calories by 200 a day up or down for 2 weeks and see what happens. I'm planning to do logged maintenance for at least 9 months after hitting goal and I think by that point I might be reasonably good at knowing how to do this!0
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I'm really glad to see this thread, even though I am so far away from maintenance that I can't think about it too much - gotta keep my eyes on the prize.
I think that THIS is where many of us go wrong. We don't have a strategy for LIFE. We don't like that we're gaining a few pounds and don't look like we'd like to look or like society says we should look, and thus we have the multi-billion dollar diet industry. We try this diet and that, and our focus is weight and our looks, not eating for our health.
That "strategy" (or more appropriately lack thereof) leads us to then lose and gain the same 50 lbs. for decades, screwing up our health and messing up our minds.
That's my story, anyway....
So - If you were magically transported to your goal weight, what would you do? Do you have a strategy?
It seems to me that not having a strategy for maintenance (what do I do when I get there) is a HUGE issue for long term health.
Here are a few strategies that I've heard:
1) **Eat everything in sight that you've been denying yourself and that got you there in the first place?!?
(I think that this lurks in the back of the minds of many "dieters", and will rise up and bite you in the butt, and there will be lots of butt to bite!!)
2) **Binge a little on forbidden foods, but watch the scale and jump back on LCHF if you gain weight?? (It seems that this strategy ends up nailing us and results in that frustrating yo yo where so many of us have lived.)
3) **Slowly increase calories until you began to gain, then back off? (here the goal & marker is your weight, and the strategy is to find your maintenance calories then eat that much.)
**Slowly increase carbs until you began to gain, then back off? (here the goal & marker is also your weight, but you're looking for a number of carbs and will be tracking that for the rest of your life.)
**A combination of both?? (This overall approach demands as much attention as the actual counting carbs, maybe more. There is no such thing as "Yay, I'm skinny! I can eat what I want!")
4) **Stay keto for the rest of your life, but increase carbs until you're on the edge of ketosis, then back off? (here the goal is to stay in ketosis for the benefits, with weight as a secondary marker.) (This would take careful measuring of ketosis, breath or blood because the pee tests would be unreliable. This also presupposes that even after you are where you want weight wise you will still be carefully tracking what you eat.)
**I suppose a variation of this would be staying deep in ketosis or just barely on the edge of ketosis. I honestly haven't seen much discussion on this topic in my binge researching.
**Are there other strategies that I'm missing? Seems that most of the ones I've heard are a variation of the above.
I am older (58), I want to LIVE in the years I have left, and if I am fortunate enough to drop the 100+ pounds I need to lose I don't want to sabotage myself by throwing a party when I reach my goal weight but having no strategy for what is next. It seems to me that for those of us who are morbidly obese (and even some who are obese), that tracking what and how we eat is something that we must live with the rest of our lives. Getting ourselves in the proper "head space" for that while we're in process seems to me to be as important as what we are putting in our mouths.0 -
My strategy was to think about maintenance from day 1.
I set my carb intake to a level I felt I could sustain forever. I ate foods I liked. And I had a mild calorie deficit that corresponded approximately to my TDEE at my goal weight.
So once I got to my goal weight, I needed to make no changes.
Also, I started exercising from day 1. Partly because studies suggest that successful long-term weight-loss maintenance includes exercise. I want to be one of those long-term maintainers.0 -
I've always exercised, always assumed I would log and count(carbs and cals) for the foreseeable future if not the rest of my life(maybe when I'm close to 100 I'll cut myself some slack...) it's just the logistics that confuse me. Since weight fluctuates so much, is it wise to jump into maintenance the first time I see my goal weight, or do I need to let it stabilize?
My plan for life is to enjoy it. Eat low carb foods, log low carb foods, weigh daily etc. But allow myself to go to dinner with friends, or on a date, without being so neurotic about knowing where we will be going and what the menu is so I can prelog it.0 -
Am I the only one without a specific scale number for a goal? I really don't care what the number is when I get to my desired body fat % level.0
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Logging food for life sounds like a prison sentence.
Are you eating to satisfy your hunger now? To me, that's the secret of low-carb, and that's why I'm still losing weight even after reaching my goal.
Logging helped me a ton in the beginning, but I've taken off the training wheels, and I haven't yet fallen off my low-carb bike.
In terms of goal setting, it is somewhat arbitrary. For me, the main metric was blood lipids, but that was hit pretty early, so I next set a goal of "normal" BMI. After hitting that, I just arbitrarily set it for 10lbs lower.
My only real goal at this point is to not regress. The process of getting here taught me what my triggers were and taught me how to avoid them. It would be nuts to force myself to eat more or to eat stuff known to trigger overeating just because I hit my arbitrary target.
Statistics tell us that maintenance is the hard part. A lot of people regress. Set yourself up for success. If that's logging, then keep on logging.0 -
Am I the only one without a specific scale number for a goal? I really don't care what the number is when I get to my desired body fat % level.
I originally set a goal of 145 on the scale. But now I feel like, eh who cares about the scale I'm more concerned with reducing fat and strengthening muscle. To be strong and lean regardless of what the scale says.
I still hold on to that original goal though because I haven't met it yet. Not as focused on it though so if the scale goes up and down forever it's no big deal.0 -
I've maintained weight since January. Down about 2 sizes on the way. Still about 3 lbs from «goal weight», but that's just vanity pounds.
I continued this phase with as many experiments as during losing phase. Trying dfferent carb levels and types, while keeping FA. Upping calories! Cycling levels works best for me. Focusing on fitness and staying sane and healthy. Experimenting with weening off tracking atm too. Surprisingly hard to not weigh, when I done so for almost 2 yrs. More eyeballing stage 1. Gradually less tracking stage 2.
Life is never «done». There's always something more I'm curious about or want. Guess I'm a greedy in many ways
Right now I'm wondering if I can get to visible abs. Not that I need it or intend to keep it. Curious. I also wanna be able to some day do some of those insane yoga poses. A longer project. I look forward to the future This is my way of doing it. You have to find yours. 0 -
Am I the only one without a specific scale number for a goal? I really don't care what the number is when I get to my desired body fat % level.
Not at all. I have no idea what I'll look like at 220, 200, much less 175-180 or even 150, though I sincerely doubt I'll ever go that low. I'm 5'4" and 39 years old, and the last time I weighed 140 was at 19 years old, I had no muscle strength or physical ability to speak of.
My goals are about health and fitness. I want to be off as much medication as is feasible. I want to be able to shop FIRMLY into the adult women's sizes, not plus sizes. I want my health markers to be amazing. And I want to be able to participate in any physical activity that I choose, allowing for delays due to acclimatizing to the sport itself, but not having to "get fit" enough to play.
None of those things, or any of the dozen others I've thought of off and on have a specific weight target on them. So I do not have an end goal that includes a scale number. How will I know when I've gotten there? There is no THERE. I want to improve my life, my health, and everything else. Just as we never stop learning, we never stop keeping healthy. I'll tweak things as I go, and focus on health all along the way.
My eventual goal is to up my carb levels slightly and slow my loss rates as I get into healthier territory. I can't see myself every really getting "too thin" as I'm a woman who celebrates her curves. I'm sure people in my life with holler if they get concerned... I'm honestly expecting to "end up" near 175-ish.0 -
My strategy was to think about maintenance from day 1.
I set my carb intake to a level I felt I could sustain forever. I ate foods I liked. And I had a mild calorie deficit that corresponded approximately to my TDEE at my goal weight.
So once I got to my goal weight, I needed to make no changes.
Also, I started exercising from day 1. Partly because studies suggest that successful long-term weight-loss maintenance includes exercise. I want to be one of those long-term maintainers.
This approach seems to make the most sense for me. I still have a good ways to go, but I want to plan aheah, you know? I can't imagine eating more carbs than I already do (with the exception of the occasional cheat), since that WOE got me into trouble to begin with, but I also can't imagine eating more fat or more calories either. Basically, I like the way I am eating now, and I plan to keep doing it forever.
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annalisbeth74 wrote: »My strategy was to think about maintenance from day 1.
I set my carb intake to a level I felt I could sustain forever. I ate foods I liked. And I had a mild calorie deficit that corresponded approximately to my TDEE at my goal weight.
So once I got to my goal weight, I needed to make no changes.
Also, I started exercising from day 1. Partly because studies suggest that successful long-term weight-loss maintenance includes exercise. I want to be one of those long-term maintainers.
This approach seems to make the most sense for me. I still have a good ways to go, but I want to plan aheah, you know? I can't imagine eating more carbs than I already do (with the exception of the occasional cheat), since that WOE got me into trouble to begin with, but I also can't imagine eating more fat or more calories either. Basically, I like the way I am eating now, and I plan to keep doing it forever.
Your hunger levels and food needs will naturally balance as your weight and body composition change. That's a great benefit to this WOE... It will be that, "wow, I'm already full?" bit that pops up sometimes.0 -
Yes! Funny, I was reading this thread at lunch and not a few minutes later looked at my half-eaten salad and thought, meh. I'm done. I'm still not used to that sensation after 3 months. But give me carbs? I'll never stop eating!
I definitely won't be able to go the extra-carb route for maintenance. For those who can, more power to you. For me? Slippery slope.0 -
annalisbeth74 wrote: »Yes! Funny, I was reading this thread at lunch and not a few minutes later looked at my half-eaten salad and thought, meh. I'm done. I'm still not used to that sensation after 3 months. But give me carbs? I'll never stop eating!
I definitely won't be able to go the extra-carb route for maintenance. For those who can, more power to you. For me? Slippery slope.
Bang on. I'm with you 100% on this @annalisbeth74
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