Nervous about maintenance transition

I'm a couple pounds away from my weight loss goal. Male, 36. Right now per MFP I'm on 1600 calories. Once I change to maintenance it says 2600 calories. Seems like a large jump. How have others handled the transition? What's the weight range I should target before I start having to lose weight again?

Replies

  • PinkPixiexox
    PinkPixiexox Posts: 4,142 Member
    I'm around 6lbs from maintenance - also nervous.

    Supposedly I can have around 1800 to maintain. Seems way too good to be true but my fitbit confirms also! I guess we just need to trust in the process.

    I plan to gradually raise my calories by 100 per week until I'm no longer losing - maybe try it that way? :)
  • AsISmile
    AsISmile Posts: 1,004 Member
    briggs45 wrote: »
    I'm a couple pounds away from my weight loss goal. Male, 36. Right now per MFP I'm on 1600 calories. Once I change to maintenance it says 2600 calories. Seems like a large jump. How have others handled the transition? What's the weight range I should target before I start having to lose weight again?

    That sounds like you are currently on a 2lbs a week weightloss. If you are close to your goal, try switching to a 0.5 lbs loss rate. That way you can get used to more calories.
  • LivingtheLeanDream
    LivingtheLeanDream Posts: 13,342 Member
    AsISmile wrote: »
    briggs45 wrote: »
    I'm a couple pounds away from my weight loss goal. Male, 36. Right now per MFP I'm on 1600 calories. Once I change to maintenance it says 2600 calories. Seems like a large jump. How have others handled the transition? What's the weight range I should target before I start having to lose weight again?

    That sounds like you are currently on a 2lbs a week weightloss. If you are close to your goal, try switching to a 0.5 lbs loss rate. That way you can get used to more calories.

    Good advice ^^
  • samthepanda
    samthepanda Posts: 569 Member
    AsISmile wrote: »
    briggs45 wrote: »
    I'm a couple pounds away from my weight loss goal. Male, 36. Right now per MFP I'm on 1600 calories. Once I change to maintenance it says 2600 calories. Seems like a large jump. How have others handled the transition? What's the weight range I should target before I start having to lose weight again?

    That sounds like you are currently on a 2lbs a week weightloss. If you are close to your goal, try switching to a 0.5 lbs loss rate. That way you can get used to more calories.

    Good advice ^^

    I second this. Then, when you are at goal try increasing calories at 100 per week and see how it goes rather than a big jump all at once. Monitor closely, but don't panic if the scale number goes up, just drop it down a notch. Allow yourself a range of 3-5lbs. Maintenance is a new journey and just like weight loss there will be lessons to be learned and it will take a little time but then you settle into it. Good luck.
  • MissJay75
    MissJay75 Posts: 768 Member
    How much weight per week are you losing on 1600 calories? If you are losing 1 pound per week, you are at a deficit of 500 lower than your TDEE, so you would maintain at your TDEE of 2100.

    Do the math, trust the numbers.

    A ton of people gain a little when they quit eating at a deficit. It's water weight, and it might stay, but that's fine. It will take a week or 2 to put on any real weight if your maintenance numbers are wrong. So don't let fluctuations freak you out.
  • KANGOOJUMPS
    KANGOOJUMPS Posts: 6,474 Member
    heck no,,, giddy up!
  • briggs45
    briggs45 Posts: 5 Member
    edited October 2015
    I'm at a 2 lb per week weight loss pace. Its been fairly consistent at 2 lbs per week. No idea what tdee is and the only numbers in really watch are calories and nutrients (specifically protein and fat). Everything else i try to ignore. I like numbers but didnt want to over analyze my goal. Just wanted to get it done.

    I'll trust the numbers and do a gradual work up. Only 2 lbs left till I hit my goal.

    Thanks for the responses.
  • Kimegatron
    Kimegatron Posts: 772 Member
    What would happen if you just jump from a minimum calorie goal to maintenance calories? Nothing? Weight gain? If weight gain, would it just taper off eventually?
  • pita7317
    pita7317 Posts: 1,437 Member
    I have been maintaining for 7 months. Increased my calories 200-400 a day, depends. Go by how I feel how much I eat. But everyone is different.
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  • MissJay75
    MissJay75 Posts: 768 Member
    Kimegatron wrote: »
    What would happen if you just jump from a minimum calorie goal to maintenance calories? Nothing? Weight gain? If weight gain, would it just taper off eventually?

    In theory, nothing should happen. In reality if you are going to regain a few pounds of water weight, it might be more noticeable is you jump into all your calories. I think the reason people suggest adding a few calories at a time is to that you don't just get all excited by extra food and add junk or revert to old eating habits thinking you have tons of room to play now. It gets you gradually used to the idea of what the right amount of food looks like.

    I dropped to .5 pound a week deficit for the last 5 pounds. When I hit maintenance, I just added all the calories back at once, since it was only 250 a day. My weight fluctuates a lot from day to day due to water, so it's hard to tell, but I think I gained about 2 pounds water weight which was not a surprise, since it's so common.

  • tracoleman99
    tracoleman99 Posts: 51 Member
    edited October 2015
    The transition to maintaining weight is a big shift. Once you get used to it, you do fine. I eat snacks between every meal which gives me a lot more calories.

    [Edited by MFP Mods]
  • loulamb7
    loulamb7 Posts: 801 Member
    MissJay75 wrote: »
    Kimegatron wrote: »
    What would happen if you just jump from a minimum calorie goal to maintenance calories? Nothing? Weight gain? If weight gain, would it just taper off eventually?

    In theory, nothing should happen. In reality if you are going to regain a few pounds of water weight, it might be more noticeable is you jump into all your calories. I think the reason people suggest adding a few calories at a time is to that you don't just get all excited by extra food and add junk or revert to old eating habits thinking you have tons of room to play now. It gets you gradually used to the idea of what the right amount of food looks like.

    I dropped to .5 pound a week deficit for the last 5 pounds. When I hit maintenance, I just added all the calories back at once, since it was only 250 a day. My weight fluctuates a lot from day to day due to water, so it's hard to tell, but I think I gained about 2 pounds water weight which was not a surprise, since it's so common.

    I agree that in theory nothing should happen but would add that the potential, initial weight gain if you have a drastic increase (500-1000 calories per day) might be unsettling to someone who has been losing weight. A slower transition also helps the body adapt to higher calories.
  • loulamb7
    loulamb7 Posts: 801 Member
    briggs45 wrote: »
    I'm a couple pounds away from my weight loss goal. Male, 36. Right now per MFP I'm on 1600 calories. Once I change to maintenance it says 2600 calories. Seems like a large jump. How have others handled the transition? What's the weight range I should target before I start having to lose weight again?

    What's your height/weight? Based on maintenance calories I'm guessing you're about 6' or a little more. My impression is that most people have a +5 lbs range. As has already been mentioned, you may want to start transitioning to maintenance now by decreasing your deficit to lose only 1 lb/week. Monitor for 2-3 weeks then decrease to .5 lb/week. Again monitor for a few weeks then increase to maintenance. When you change your intake, you may experience a small increase in weight, don't panic, this is normal. Best of luck.
  • BurnWithBarn2015
    BurnWithBarn2015 Posts: 1,026 Member
    I took a maintanence range for myself
    between 145lbs and 150 lbs
    At this moment 149 lbs

    and i am slowly upping my calories till i stop losing weight
    Just 100 every two weeks...

    You wont gain suddenly everything back so no need to be nervous :) you can do it just take it a week at the time

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