One piece of advice for maintenance

alias1001

This thread is inspired by the one from Success Stories.

Today is my first day of maintenance. (26 pounds and 4 inches from my waist; huzzah!)

Some of my friends on maintenance have commented that it's really tough.

What one piece of advice would you give for someone starting maintenance?

Thank you in advance!

desiresdestiny

You will fluctuate so def have a weight range rather than an exact number.

yesimpson

Keep active.

joshuasheldon

keep up with using myfitness pal to track your calories and increase 50 calories each week and keep track of the scale one time a week untill you keep staying at the same weight to see how many calories you can take in without gaining if you add a couple hundred calories and start gaining a little maybe just take off 50 calories this is what i'm trying to do at the moment I eat between 1500 and 1700 a day im not very active my weight it 116 to 120 height 5ft 4in I want to maintain this weight I was eating 1350 1500 to loose weight so I am still working on it myself everything works different for everyone. Congrats on the success .

PinkyPan1

Continue to be honest and log you calories. Keep moving daily and weigh yourself weekly.

rhtexasgal

Keep an acceptable weight range in your mind so you don't freak if you go up a pound or two ... keep active ... keep logging ... eat back most of your exercise calories ... add an extra rest day to your exercise plan. Once I hit my weight loss goal, my next goal is toning and building some muscle. That means, harder weight training. I found that I had to have an extra rest day to recuperate and that is totally ok ... I am still maintaining and have been for 6 months.

Jennloella

don't stop moving. I've been in maintenance for over 5 years and haven't counted calories in four. I stay very active so that I can eat/drink how I like - within reason - that's the tough one for some people, but I was never a binger so I do good just eating when I'm hungry. common sense stuff like after a night of birthday cake and beers I might add in an extra mile, etc. but the only number now I pay attention to is protein

MissJay75

Congratulations on making it this far!!

Treat maintaining like losing. You have a calorie goal. Yes it's bigger - but it exists. You need continue to be diligent in weighing, measuring, logging, working out etc.

And don't freak out if the first week of maintenance you gain - this happens to a lot of people when they stop eating at a deficit. Usually it's just your body replacing glycogen stores.

dindon68

keep tracking, keep moving, keep looking in the mirror

Barbados1965

I still track my food to keep myself honest. It also helps me with keeping my macros in the right proportions for my physical activity (strength and cardio training)

VeryKatie

I'm not there yet, but make sure all your clothes fit you properly now, don't wear your bigger stuff any more, don't keep them. Get rid of them - that way you don't have them to fall back on or to wear on a "fat" day - because I know at least for me, "fat days" are really days where I'm finally feeling all my over eating catch up to me and I've actually stopped tracking and have gained 5-7 lbs. My aunt said that's what made her weight loss finally stick. Committing to the new weight.

North44

Don't stop weighing yourself at least weekly.

KaiUneeda

Maintenance is not a job, so do not let it overwhelm you. Also, the cake is a lie.

kommodevaran

You can't go back to the way you used to eat (which made you overweight). You have to find a balance between losing and gaining. Whether you choose to keep counting calories or not, some kind of structure to your eating is important even in maintenance. Find a type and level of control that blends seamlessly and effortlessly with your lifestyle, food that makes you happy and energized, and keep movin' Congratulations on your achievement and welcome to the realms of maintenance

alias1001

I'm thinking that always having new fitness goals will be helpful. Really a way to motivate the "keep moving" sentiment.

Thowe92

Do what you have always been doing up until now and try to be happy as you can be.

cwolfman13

I've maintained for over two years, and have done so without logging. I don't find it tough...I live and enjoy living a very healthful lifestyle...I love nutrition, cycling, lifting...and just pretty much everything about doing the things that healthy and fit people do.

when you're doing the things that healthy and fit people do, maintaining a healthy weight is a no brainer...literally, I don't even think about it...it's a natural bi-product of living a healthful life.

people who have difficulty, in my experience, are ones who've never really adopted a sustainable, healthful way of living...they just did a bunch of stuff to lose weight without thinking about what their lifestyle overall should be afterwards...IMO, it's one of the issues with putting so much emphasis on some number on the scale rather than putting the emphasis on overall health and well being...i.e. "I'm eating this way to lose weight" vs "I'm eating this way because it's a healthful way of eating and balanced and full of nutrients"...or "I'm running to lose weight" vs. I'm running to improve my fitness with the understanding that regular exercise is fundamental to health and well being".

MissJay75

cwolfman13 wrote: »

people who have difficulty, in my experience, are ones who've never really adopted a sustainable, healthful way of living...they just did a bunch of stuff to lose weight without thinking about what their lifestyle overall should be afterwards...IMO, it's one of the issues with putting so much emphasis on some number on the scale rather than putting the emphasis on overall health and well being...i.e. "I'm eating this way to lose weight" vs "I'm eating this way because it's a healthful way of eating and balanced and full of nutrients"...or "I'm running to lose weight" vs. I'm running to improve my fitness with the understanding that regular exercise is fundamental to health and well being".

I'm sure this is true for some people, but I know for me - even though I lost the weight in a healthy, sustainable, reasonable way - I will always have to be diligent in logging. My natural tendency is to eat far more than I need. Maybe after years of maintaining that will change - but 10 months in and I still need to have that line in the sand of a calorie goal.

hgycta

Just because you're maintaining doesn't mean you can go back to old eating habits. Continue watching your portions, seek out healthy alternatives, and hold yourself accountable. A small slice of cake or little nibbles of food every here and there that you don't bother logging because you "get more calories" anyways will quickly add up and the weight will sneak up on you very easily. Also, listen to your body not your brain; if you're full, stop eating, no matter how much you want a few extra bites or another small serving.
Also, if you fall off the wagon jump right back on it (even if it's the same day). The earlier you address your mistakes the easier they'll be to fix!
I wish you all the best, and congratulations by the way!!!

cwolfman13

MissJay75 wrote: »

cwolfman13 wrote: »

people who have difficulty, in my experience, are ones who've never really adopted a sustainable, healthful way of living...they just did a bunch of stuff to lose weight without thinking about what their lifestyle overall should be afterwards...IMO, it's one of the issues with putting so much emphasis on some number on the scale rather than putting the emphasis on overall health and well being...i.e. "I'm eating this way to lose weight" vs "I'm eating this way because it's a healthful way of eating and balanced and full of nutrients"...or "I'm running to lose weight" vs. I'm running to improve my fitness with the understanding that regular exercise is fundamental to health and well being".

I'm sure this is true for some people, but I know for me - even though I lost the weight in a healthy, sustainable, reasonable way - I will always have to be diligent in logging. My natural tendency is to eat far more than I need. Maybe after years of maintaining that will change - but 10 months in and I still need to have that line in the sand of a calorie goal.

what i'm referring to is people having issues because they ditch their healthful habits once they hit their goal weight...they're so focused on exercise being all about weight loss...they lost the weight so, meh...no need to exercise any more. same for nutrition...they ditch the healthy eating and go back to old habits.

that's the overarching point I'm getting at here. but beyond that, most people I know who live a fitness and nutritionally driven lifestyle have very little trouble maintaining weight without logging...that doesn't mean they aren't aware of what they're taking in...i logged for a long time so I have a pretty good idea of what I'm taking in without having to log it...just because I don't log doesn't mean I'm not paying attention.

Sabine_Stroehm

I've maintained for about 14 years now by continuing to do what I know works for me: healthful eating, and moving.

MissJay75

cwolfman13 wrote: »

MissJay75 wrote: »

cwolfman13 wrote: »

people who have difficulty, in my experience, are ones who've never really adopted a sustainable, healthful way of living...they just did a bunch of stuff to lose weight without thinking about what their lifestyle overall should be afterwards...IMO, it's one of the issues with putting so much emphasis on some number on the scale rather than putting the emphasis on overall health and well being...i.e. "I'm eating this way to lose weight" vs "I'm eating this way because it's a healthful way of eating and balanced and full of nutrients"...or "I'm running to lose weight" vs. I'm running to improve my fitness with the understanding that regular exercise is fundamental to health and well being".

I'm sure this is true for some people, but I know for me - even though I lost the weight in a healthy, sustainable, reasonable way - I will always have to be diligent in logging. My natural tendency is to eat far more than I need. Maybe after years of maintaining that will change - but 10 months in and I still need to have that line in the sand of a calorie goal.

what i'm referring to is people having issues because they ditch their healthful habits once they hit their goal weight...they're so focused on exercise being all about weight loss...they lost the weight so, meh...no need to exercise any more. same for nutrition...they ditch the healthy eating and go back to old habits.

that's the overarching point I'm getting at here. but beyond that, most people I know who live a fitness and nutritionally driven lifestyle have very little trouble maintaining weight without logging...that doesn't mean they aren't aware of what they're taking in...i logged for a long time so I have a pretty good idea of what I'm taking in without having to log it...just because I don't log doesn't mean I'm not paying attention.

I get what you are saying. I didn't mean to imply you don't need to pay attention. And I know there are plenty of people out there like you, who are aware of things, but don't need to actually count and log, and maintain just fine.

I just wanted to clarify that just because you are struggling with maintenance doesn't automatically mean you didn't make proper lifestyle changes during the weight loss part (although it often does). It's entirely possible to have done all the 'right' things and still struggle to maintain. For those of us in that camp - we have to keep doing all the stuff on purpose with effort that you sort of naturally do.

OP is going to have to determine for herself if she is the sort who will be able to upkeep her good habits with more effort or less. And I think many people here would advise her to err on the side of more effort. Especially for the first few months of maintenance.

ewrook

Don't buy too many new clothes - your shape will continue to change even though your weight will stay the same. But at least make sure you have a few attractive outfits that show off your wonderful accomplishment.

LivingtheLeanDream

Keep doing what you always did when losing weight...you just get to enjoy extra calories now....sweeeeeet!

icedcupcake1981

Just wanted to say well done for reaching your goal and starting maintenance. Thank your for your thread, today is my first day of maintenance and if i'm honest i'm feeling nervous. Peoples replies to your thread have been very helpful. Good luck with maintence. ☺

segacs

For me, so far, maintenance is just like losing, except with an extra 150 calories in my daily allowance. I'm doing all the same things I did during loss, including logging and tracking every day, pre-planning my meals, and staying active.

The two things I'm finding the most challenging about maintenance are:
1. Not having that dopamine high from seeing the scale drop to a new low -- that was a big part of my motivation before, and not having it to look forward to is tough.
2. Lack of a "buffer" of weight loss. I mean, when I was eating at a deficit, if I went over once in a while, chances are I was still going to be under my maintenance goal. Now at maintenance, if I'm lax about it or go over my calories, I'm likely to gain. No margin for error is tough.

Well, I'm still at the very beginning of maintenance. So we'll see how it goes. One thing's for sure: I can't go back to my old habits, or else I'll just gain it all back.

kommodevaran

segacs wrote: »

For me, so far, maintenance is just like losing, except with an extra 150 calories in my daily allowance. I'm doing all the same things I did during loss, including logging and tracking every day, pre-planning my meals, and staying active.

The two things I'm finding the most challenging about maintenance are:
1. Not having that dopamine high from seeing the scale drop to a new low -- that was a big part of my motivation before, and not having it to look forward to is tough.
2. Lack of a "buffer" of weight loss. I mean, when I was eating at a deficit, if I went over once in a while, chances are I was still going to be under my maintenance goal. Now at maintenance, if I'm lax about it or go over my calories, I'm likely to gain. No margin for error is tough.

Well, I'm still at the very beginning of maintenance. So we'll see how it goes. One thing's for sure: I can't go back to my old habits, or else I'll just gain it all back.

I had those same worries. I also feared the "now what". None of them came true. Now my goal is to have the same weight as last month, and adding another day/week to the "maintenance calendar". I had a small gain when I stopped counting calories, but I just cut back a little on my milk/nuts/cheese/rice portions (and cut out the daily dessert), and got back to my preferred weight in, I think, 10 days. I have learnt what it feels like to eat what I need. (It's almost like I'm ten again.)

Unknown

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BigGuy47

Set a fitness goal.

maxit

Pay attention to your weight and resume a small deficit if you weight creeps above the top end of maintenance range.

jwseip

yes have a range. Mine is 160-165 and today im 160.5 and it goes up & down so dont freak out