One piece of advice for maintenance
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cwolfman13 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.
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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.0
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Keep doing what you always did when losing weight...you just get to enjoy extra calories now....sweeeeeet!
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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. ☺0
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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.0 -
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.)0 -
Set a fitness goal.0
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Pay attention to your weight and resume a small deficit if you weight creeps above the top end of maintenance range.0
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yes have a range. Mine is 160-165 and today im 160.5 and it goes up & down so dont freak out0
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When you get on the scale celebrate that you are within your range.
If you are getting to the top of your range, take action- count calories or decrease portions for a couple of weeks. Don't let it get out of hand.
Whether you log or not, be aware of what you did to lose the weight, and continue doing it.
I have maintained for 6 years. Usually I don't log, I am very aware of my portion size, but I log for a few weeks every year as my routines change ( more, or less exercise) just to make sure I have all my numbers good for the upcoming season.
Relax.
Cheers, h.0 -
You've got to keep your habit of exercise and logging. Stay accountable to yourself. I have been maintaining for about 6 months now and I still log even the few croutons I add to my salad! This has to be a new lifestyle, not just a "for now" kind of thing. I still eat ice cream, donuts, pizza, etc. I just log it, wince a bit and do better the next day because now I don't look at my daily goals as often but focus on my weekly calorie goals - my overall average. I find that I maintain easily, even with a few off days each week.0
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sobriquet01 wrote: »What one piece of advice would you give for someone starting maintenance?
Thank you in advance!
Moderate intake more often than not.
Realize you might fluctuate 5 lbs, but don't freak. Just refer back to the first point.
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