Maintaining tips

GsKiki

Hey guys!
I started this journey with a goal of losing 10-20 lbs. So far I've lost a bit more than 10, and feel like I am almost done, with my goal now being lowering body fat.
My question is, do you still count all calories while maintaining? Do you use MFP calculator to tell you how much?
Also, when you exercise do you now eat back all calories?

When I maintained in the past I didn't count calories, and I gained 20 lbs slowly over the course of 5 years, but would like to prevent that this time, so any help is welcome!

sijomial

My question is, do you still count all calories while maintaining?
- Sometimes I do, sometimes I don't. Sometimes I log in a casual way.

Do you use MFP calculator to tell you how much?
- No, I use my own data and track record. MFP number was just a start point. Using your own data corrects for logging inaccuracies and any variance you may have from an average person that has your stats.

Also, when you exercise do you now eat back all calories?
- I've always taken them into account whether losing or maintaining. I do a lot of exercise so it's very significant for me. They are part of your calorie needs though whatever your exercise level.

When I maintained in the past I didn't count calories, and I gained 20 lbs slowly over the course of 5 years.
- Set either an acceptable goal range (not one fixed point) or set an upper top limit which triggers you to react. Don't try to maintain in a tiny range though - that's just a recipe for stress.

- I weigh myself daily but just regard it as data with no emotional attachment, it helps understand your normal weight fluctuations. Some people like weight trending apps to even out the day to day noise of fluctuations.

BikeTourer

I've continued to log my food and use a Fitbit to track my exercise. Some choose to calculate their TDEE. I use MFPs calorie and adjust daily based on my Fitbit adjustment. I have negative calories on so if I am exceptionally lazy or sick that shows on my burn too. Whether you eat back your exercise calories or not depends on how accurate you think your food and exercise logs are. Before the Fitbit, the estimators for women of my age were so horrid, I couldn't eat all back or I'd gain. With the Fitbit Surge, if I always have a small deficit then I continue to lose. Obviously, eating to 0 every day not possible or practical, I go over some days and under others.

kommodevaran

I'm in my 16th month of maintenance, yay, never thought I'd be able to say that! I counted calories up until this summer. Then it just felt more and more like an annoyance and less and less of a help, so I stopped. I still plan/log my food, but in a spreadsheet, and I weigh some items, but not all. I have a good grasp of portion sizes now, and I find it easy to follow my meal plan. Something I do differently now, as opposed to every time I started to gain weight after losing, is eating food because I really like it, and not just because it's supposed to be healthy. I could't continue eating boring food, and it does get boring after a while, when the excitement of weight loss wanes.

I have never bothered tracking exercise (at least didn't this time around), and I don't do a lot of that anyway.

I weigh myself every morning and jot it down in Fitbit. It gives me a graph that makes me "sort of" ignore the noise of the fluctuations. It also synchs with Trendweight, but that one started to drive me a little crazy; it's not meant for maintaining, just for losing.

Panda_brat

I am bookmarking this thread. I just switched to maintenance, or even adding some muscle weight. I would love to hear any other tips as well.

RoxieDawn

I am done yet with everything I want to accomplish. I am no longer trying to loosing weight per se, but I am doing cut and bulk cycles so yes logging still and will continue as long as it is needed.

I track cardio (Garmin does this for me), but it is my bonus when cutting, do not track lifting at all while cutting, maintenance or bulk. I do weigh daily first thing a.m. and it is only to check to make sure fluctuations are noted. I do a weight range and not a spot on weight.

GsKiki

Thank you all for great tips

BurnWithBarn2015

What works for me is:

1. I keep on logging and weighing my food.
2. I exercise daily
3. I weigh myself daily
4. I keep track of my food, weight, and exercise in my own diary ( so not MFP) So i made my own database and my own USDA checked food list.
5. I switched to TDEE, which means for me that extra push to exercise daily or i can not eat around that 2100 calories a day.
6. I never freaked out over fluctuations and since maintaining even less.
7. I started to try to cut/take a portion of food and than weigh it. So trying to train myself in some portion control without first weighing the food. But i keep a check on it and always weigh it afterwards.
8. I cycle a bit with my calories. One day i eat 1700 other day i eat 2500 calories. But in the end the week must be around a total of 14000-14700 calorie intake and a total of 2100 burned calories of exercise.

That's about it, and for now holding fine...even still lost weight last month which would mean to up the calories soon. But for now i wait a bit what this month does.

swim777

BurnWithBarn2015 wrote: »

What works for me is:

1. I keep on logging and weighing my food.
2. I exercise daily
3. I weigh myself daily
4. I keep track of my food, weight, and exercise in my own diary ( so not MFP) So i made my own database and my own USDA checked food list.
5. I switched to TDEE, which means for me that extra push to exercise daily or i can not eat around that 2100 calories a day.
6. I never freaked out over fluctuations and since maintaining even less.
7. I started to try to cut/take a portion of food and than weigh it. So trying to train myself in some portion control without first weighing the food. But i keep a check on it and always weigh it afterwards.
8. I cycle a bit with my calories. One day i eat 1700 other day i eat 2500 calories. But in the end the week must be around a total of 14000-14700 calorie intake and a total of 2100 burned calories of exercise.

That's about it, and for now holding fine...even still lost weight last month which would mean to up the calories soon. But for now i wait a bit what this month does.

Hoping I can have a weekly total of calories and total of exercise calories to burn in my head when I hit true maintenance. Sounds like you really have this down!

BurnWithBarn2015

swim777 wrote: »

BurnWithBarn2015 wrote: »

What works for me is:

1. I keep on logging and weighing my food.
2. I exercise daily
3. I weigh myself daily
4. I keep track of my food, weight, and exercise in my own diary ( so not MFP) So i made my own database and my own USDA checked food list.
5. I switched to TDEE, which means for me that extra push to exercise daily or i can not eat around that 2100 calories a day.
6. I never freaked out over fluctuations and since maintaining even less.
7. I started to try to cut/take a portion of food and than weigh it. So trying to train myself in some portion control without first weighing the food. But i keep a check on it and always weigh it afterwards.
8. I cycle a bit with my calories. One day i eat 1700 other day i eat 2500 calories. But in the end the week must be around a total of 14000-14700 calorie intake and a total of 2100 burned calories of exercise.

That's about it, and for now holding fine...even still lost weight last month which would mean to up the calories soon. But for now i wait a bit what this month does.

Hoping I can have a weekly total of calories and total of exercise calories to burn in my head when I hit true maintenance. Sounds like you really have this down!

Thank you.

I think pretty simple about it. Weekly total to meet. And when i lose i can up it a bit ( wont be much anymore and maybe nothing.)
And when i gain i cut a bit back
For be personally it is obvious that i can not do it without logging or some control over what i eat ( otherwise i would not have been here).

And when i started to lose weight i straight away decided that i would make it as easy/pleasant/comfortable as possible for myself. I also dont see it all as losing/maintaining/gaining weight.
It is controlling my weight!
And that means and make it also possible that i go out and eat more than i can have...so i know the next days or days before i have to cut back or work a bit harder

when i dont see that or want to see that or be honest about it i will gain weight.

So control be it! and i try to eat as much as possible and enjoy the hell out of it I just make all the goodies fit. I did that when i was losing on 1200 calories and when i was upped after some months. And the rest of the journey on 1500 and 1600 calories etc. I made it fit when i wanted it. And there were time i went over. No big deal.

Same now...i make things fit. I dont and didn't cut out any foods. But just a balanced diet now and when i was losing.
Exception is salt ( this because of a medical issue with it)

I am a big believer in losing weight with eating the same food as you later want to maintain with. And that is what i did and do.

ARGriffy

I don't weigh my food, after 2 years I really can guestimate pretty well, I log but casually, I know that I don't log everything (milk in coffee. .. oil in cooking...) as I know approximately how many extra cals they are on my days total. I don't bother log if i have a cheat day, I know one day won't cause gain. I've not gained more than 5 lbs in the year I've maintained, and that's just water that bounces about! I use the MFP recommended maintaince cals but am pretty flexible around it.