Disappointed but need to maintain for 6 weeks and scared!!!

prettyleelee

So I have been on my weight loss journey for four months I have managed to lose 35 lbs in the process and am extremely happy with myself. I am however getting married in October on the 10th. Due to this wedding and my dress my seamstress says that I have to stop losing weight in the beginning of September and maintain until after the wedding. This scares me in all kinds of ways. One if I start to maintain I am afraid I wont be able to start losing again after the wedding. Two what if while learning to maintain I actually gain or lose more weight. Three what if I lose my momentum. I have no idea how to maintain right now. I am maybe worrying to much about this, but I have never lost this much before and I have a long ways to go still. Can anyone help me learn how to maintain?

CarlydogsMom

First, calm your mind down. Relax for a minute here. Second, think and use your intuition. This is actually a VERY good opportunity to practice maintenance. After all, at some point, you will have lost the weight you wanted, and will move into the maintenance world, right? Use this month to see what happens when you practice maintenance.

Now, think a bit more: You're in a caloric deficit now, right? Let's just think about what would happen if you added a hundred or so calories, maybe 200, to your daily diet. You'd probably maintain, MAYBE lose a tiny bit over time. That's FINE. Even if you lost a pound or two, your wedding dress would still fit, right? It's just a month or so. You're not going to gain 10 pounds in a month, right, if you just up the calories a little bit? It doesn't add up.

If you're going to add some calories into your daily diet, why not just find a food or foods that you like, but don't normally eat very much of, that adds up to an extra couple hundred calories a day. Extra butter on your toast plus a cookie. A full-fat serving of yogurt. A banana with peanut butter for a snack. Whatever. Pick ONE or TWO things that will allow you to add just a bit of calories to your day.

Then, when it's time to get back on your calorie restrictions, just drop that, or those, foods. Quit eating them.

Hopefully by now, you have realized (also read the many threads here) that maintenance is usually easier when one develops a habitual lifestyle of their eating and exercising. And, hopefully, you're on that track where you're comfortable with your overall diet.

So add one or two items to your day that you normally don't have and may not even miss once you take them away again, and you'll be fine.

I purposely went on a caloric excess last winter because I started weightlifting to build muscle. My trainer told me to GAIN about a half-pound a week. It was very freaky because I had figured out my maintenance lifestyle. So, I ended up adding additional protein-based foods: every day a glass of whole or chocolate milk, and a serving of full-fat plain Greek yogurt. I liked the foods, but they're not the hill I want to die on if I had to give them up again. So this summer, when I started "cutting" to lose the fat (while continuing to lift weights), I just gave those two things up. Bam, back to maintenance.

You'll be fine. Worst case is that it's a chance to test your ability to maintain, so when you go into maintenance, you have some tools and tricks to work with, you will know what may work for you and what may not.

prettyleelee

CarlydogsMom wrote: »

First, calm your mind down. Relax for a minute here. Second, think and use your intuition. This is actually a VERY good opportunity to practice maintenance. After all, at some point, you will have lost the weight you wanted, and will move into the maintenance world, right? Use this month to see what happens when you practice maintenance.

Now, think a bit more: You're in a caloric deficit now, right? Let's just think about what would happen if you added a hundred or so calories, maybe 200, to your daily diet. You'd probably maintain, MAYBE lose a tiny bit over time. That's FINE. Even if you lost a pound or two, your wedding dress would still fit, right? It's just a month or so. You're not going to gain 10 pounds in a month, right, if you just up the calories a little bit? It doesn't add up.

If you're going to add some calories into your daily diet, why not just find a food or foods that you like, but don't normally eat very much of, that adds up to an extra couple hundred calories a day. Extra butter on your toast plus a cookie. A full-fat serving of yogurt. A banana with peanut butter for a snack. Whatever. Pick ONE or TWO things that will allow you to add just a bit of calories to your day.

Then, when it's time to get back on your calorie restrictions, just drop that, or those, foods. Quit eating them.

Hopefully by now, you have realized (also read the many threads here) that maintenance is usually easier when one develops a habitual lifestyle of their eating and exercising. And, hopefully, you're on that track where you're comfortable with your overall diet.

So add one or two items to your day that you normally don't have and may not even miss once you take them away again, and you'll be fine.

I purposely went on a caloric excess last winter because I started weightlifting to build muscle. My trainer told me to GAIN about a half-pound a week. It was very freaky because I had figured out my maintenance lifestyle. So, I ended up adding additional protein-based foods: every day a glass of whole or chocolate milk, and a serving of full-fat plain Greek yogurt. I liked the foods, but they're not the hill I want to die on if I had to give them up again. So this summer, when I started "cutting" to lose the fat (while continuing to lift weights), I just gave those two things up. Bam, back to maintenance.

You'll be fine. Worst case is that it's a chance to test your ability to maintain, so when you go into maintenance, you have some tools and tricks to work with, you will know what may work for you and what may not.

Thank you very much for the advice I have been trying to settle my mind all week its not really working all that well right now lol.

Thank you for your advice I am still very early into learning new lifestyles and understanding calorie intakes and outs.

Giolis

At the beginning of September, when you have to stop losing, enter your current weight into MFP and then change your weekly weight loss goal to 0 pounds a week. This will set your daily calorie limit for maintaining. You might have to tweak it a bit if you're still losing or gaining a bit.

Then continue tracking as normal. Weigh your food and continue to enter it daily on MFP. This way nothing is really changing in your daily routine. The worst thing you can do is to stop tracking. Then after the wedding change your weekly weight loss goal back to what it is now and continue where you left off.

prettyleelee

Thanks Giolis just worried is all.

chamblisk

Good advice from Giolis and CarlydogsMom. I think you may be displacing some nervous energy about your upcoming nuptuals into weight issues. You have been so immersed in getting healthier and losing weight, you are focused on that being the problem. Pre-wedding jitters is normal and happens to everyone. Momentous step in anyone's life. You will find yourself again. Try to relax, follow your heart, enjoy the journey. You won't go too far astray. Congratulations and good luck to you.

Giolis

It a major life event! Very understandable and very normal!!!

The unknown always causes anxiety even when it's a good event. Definitely, talk to your spouse to be, it'll not only alleviate some of the anxiety but hopefully create a stronger bond. Focus on the bond you have and the life you'll be creating and what a kick @ss party the wedding will be. The rest will fall into place. It always does...

Best of luck.

BettyBoles

Don't take too much tension. You have got what you want. It's the time for you to maintain the same weight. Pre-wedding anxiety happens to all. But you must have patience and confidence within you. Take proper diet and if possible take some anti-anxiety medications with it.