Now that I'm at maintenance- some advice please

dramaqueen45

I read through the "long term maintainers" posts but I still have a few questions. If anyone can help I would appreciate it. It took me a little over a year and have to lose 57 pounds- actually took about a year to lose 45 and then another 6 months to lose the last 10-12. So I was hovering around maintenance for quite a while and the only way I lost those last pesky pounds was not eating back any exercise at all. I had my loss goal set at .5 per week for the last 5-10 pounds, so my calories were at 1240 per day. This was fine, but like I said I could only lose those last few by not eating back exercise calories (whereas before I was eating about half of them back- I had less and less success with this the closer I got to my goal and then finally - just didn't eat them back for the most part). I'm 48 year old premenopausal and I have hypothyroidism.

Anyway, when I now set my calories to maintenance, it gives me 1470. Should I eat up to that and NOT eat back exercise calories to maintain, since before when I was eating about that with the exercise calories I was basically maintaining (albeit at a slightly higher weight). I have always seen on here how you should only eat back half of your exercise because of the high estimates that that machines or MFP gives you- I'm assuming that applies to maintenance. I am a little afraid to even eat back half of my calories because usually that would then be 1620 calories.

I plan to log and track everything, at least for a few months and of course weigh every week to track weight. Anyone else at this point and if so what has worked for you? I'm 5'4" and my last weigh in was 123.6 pounds. I want to maintain in a 5 pound range- I'm fine with 123-128.

bioklutz

If you lost 0.5 lbs/week eating 1240 that means you were eating 250 calories less than you needed to and should have a TDEE around 1490. TDEE means total daily energy expenditures. A TDEE will include exercise calories so you would not eat those back.

You may see a slight increase on the scale as you eat more. That is not fat - it is water weight. Try 1490 for a month or two. If you are gradually gaining weight - scale back. If you are still losing - eat more!

BurnWithBarn2015

bioklutz wrote: »

If you lost 0.5 lbs/week eating 1240 that means you were eating 250 calories less than you needed to and should have a TDEE around 1490. TDEE means total daily energy expenditures. A TDEE will include exercise calories so you would not eat those back.

You may see a slight increase on the scale as you eat more. That is not fat - it is water weight. Try 1490 for a month or two. If you are gradually gaining weight - scale back. If you are still losing - eat more!

THIS

Maintaining is nothing else than losing. Keep counting..the only fun part is that you have more calories to play with

Weight will fluctuate up and down. And that is normal too.

For me it works to keep weighing my food ( i am bad at eyeballing my food, that is how i landed here) and keep track of my weight. Too much up means cutting a bit back. Too much down means party time lol

kidding, but just a bit more. Life is sometimes more active sometimes less. So when you eat around your "right" maintaining level your weight will move up and down because you were more active or less active.

I know it is just more relaxing and the more i can eat the more energy i have. Which means more exercise. I try soon a small deficit again, planning on losing 5 more lbs......i think

fiddletime

Since you were close to maintenance before, you should have a feel for it. My maintenance calories are 1340 on MFP and that's pretty accurate. I eat more on the weekends, and then stick to 1340 or below during the week. I gain a pound or two, but then lose it. It's nice to get to eat more but takes awhile to get the hang of it. I weigh daily and log daily and it's been 4 months of maintenance for me.

JanetMMcC

I've been at maintenance since early November. I eat back most of my exercise calories, often all of them. I don't worry if I go a few over. And lately I've been hovering around 140, the low end of the 5-pound maintenance range I gave myself, rather than the high end of 145.

BikeTourer

I have a desk job so I set my settings to sedentary, use my Fitbit to track calorie burn over my sedentary settings and eat them back. I don't exercise the same daily and prefer eating to align with my daily activity rather than average it over time. With mfp and Fitbit this is really easy.

I have a Fitbit with HR tracking which I think it more accurate than the exercise estimators and step based trackers.

JanetMMcC

How's it been going this week?

dramaqueen45

I had an off week at the end of last week, and ate three pieces of Pizza Hut pan pizza and the next day ate half of a donut plus a lot of tortilla chips and guacamole as well as potato chips and cottage cheese- so I was up by 4 pounds the following day, which I am sure was sodium causing water retention. I'm back to trying to eat at a deficit to be sure I can take those off and going to wait an extra week to weigh in as it's almost my TOM and I don't want to get discouraged. In any case my clothes are not too tight and I believe I'm maintaining overall. Thanks for asking.

ARGriffy

dramaqueen45 wrote: »

I'm 5'4" and my last weigh in was 123.6 pounds. I want to maintain in a 5 pound range- I'm fine with 123-128.

So I'm 5'4" also and my maintaince weight for nearly 2 years has been 125-130 range and my average calories has been 1600 but some days I still go way over, I know that if I log or not but sometimes I know I'm also way under so it seems to be balancing out!

Barbs2222

dramaqueen45 wrote: »

I had an off week at the end of last week, and ate three pieces of Pizza Hut pan pizza and the next day ate half of a donut plus a lot of tortilla chips and guacamole as well as potato chips and cottage cheese- so I was up by 4 pounds the following day, which I am sure was sodium causing water retention. I'm back to trying to eat at a deficit to be sure I can take those off and going to wait an extra week to weigh in as it's almost my TOM and I don't want to get discouraged. In any case my clothes are not too tight and I believe I'm maintaining overall. Thanks for asking.

This, this exactly, is why I want to get to goal. So I can have days like this and then go back to cutting a couple days to keep even. I think you are doing great to set a high limit and then reign it in. Plus when the jeans get tight I start telling people, "I'm just not hungry." Congrats on getting to goal!!!

LivingtheLeanDream

Food logging inaccuracies make such a difference when closer to goal hence it taking so long to lose the final pounds.

Yes, eat your exercise cals back but be aware that mfp inflates them so perhaps 50-75% would be more realistic a number to eat back. You will know better after several weeks of tracking your weight how that goes. Maintenance is a learning curve and tweaking of cals as we go along.

Congrats on getting to goal

nxd10

BikeTourer wrote: »

I have a desk job so I set my settings to sedentary, use my Fitbit to track calorie burn over my sedentary settings and eat them back. I don't exercise the same daily and prefer eating to align with my daily activity rather than average it over time. With mfp and Fitbit this is really easy.

I have a Fitbit with HR tracking which I think it more accurate than the exercise estimators and step based trackers.

Me too. I did change from fitbit to apple watch - I like the heart rate tracker.

zumbaconnie

I am 6 pounds away from my goal. I'm 60 and def not new to the diet scene. However, this is the first time I have used MFP and counted calories. I am an old timer Weight Watchers member. I started 1/2/16 and I have lost 19 pounds. I work out 6 days a week. Currently I do not count my exercise calories. But as I am getting closer to maintenance, I too have been wondering how to keep at my goal weight. I use to count points during the week and not count on weekends. However, I am really more about eating healthy all the time now. I do currently have one cheat meal about every other week. Will change that to every week when I reach my goal. I just don't want to do cheat weekends. Thanks for all the comments. I need advise for maintenance also.

mommarnurse

bioklutz wrote: »

If you lost 0.5 lbs/week eating 1240 that means you were eating 250 calories less than you needed to and should have a TDEE around 1490. TDEE means total daily energy expenditures. A TDEE will include exercise calories so you would not eat those back.

You may see a slight increase on the scale as you eat more. That is not fat - it is water weight. Try 1490 for a month or two. If you are gradually gaining weight - scale back. If you are still losing - eat more!

Yes but the MFP calc is not TDEE. It is considering not exercising. The 1490 is for not exercising. If you exercise burning a consistent 2100 calories a week then your TDEE is 1790 and that is the real maintenance number.

bioklutz

dramaqueen45 wrote: »

I read through the "long term maintainers" posts but I still have a few questions. If anyone can help I would appreciate it. It took me a little over a year and have to lose 57 pounds- actually took about a year to lose 45 and then another 6 months to lose the last 10-12. So I was hovering around maintenance for quite a while and the only way I lost those last pesky pounds was not eating back any exercise at all. I had my loss goal set at .5 per week for the last 5-10 pounds, so my calories were at 1240 per day. This was fine, but like I said I could only lose those last few by not eating back exercise calories (whereas before I was eating about half of them back- I had less and less success with this the closer I got to my goal and then finally - just didn't eat them back for the most part). I'm 48 year old premenopausal and I have hypothyroidism.

Anyway, when I now set my calories to maintenance, it gives me 1470. Should I eat up to that and NOT eat back exercise calories to maintain, since before when I was eating about that with the exercise calories I was basically maintaining (albeit at a slightly higher weight). I have always seen on here how you should only eat back half of your exercise because of the high estimates that that machines or MFP gives you- I'm assuming that applies to maintenance. I am a little afraid to even eat back half of my calories because usually that would then be 1620 calories.

I plan to log and track everything, at least for a few months and of course weigh every week to track weight. Anyone else at this point and if so what has worked for you? I'm 5'4" and my last weigh in was 123.6 pounds. I want to maintain in a 5 pound range- I'm fine with 123-128.

mommarnurse wrote: »

bioklutz wrote: »

If you lost 0.5 lbs/week eating 1240 that means you were eating 250 calories less than you needed to and should have a TDEE around 1490. TDEE means total daily energy expenditures. A TDEE will include exercise calories so you would not eat those back.

You may see a slight increase on the scale as you eat more. That is not fat - it is water weight. Try 1490 for a month or two. If you are gradually gaining weight - scale back. If you are still losing - eat more!

Yes but the MFP calc is not TDEE. It is considering not exercising. The 1490 is for not exercising. If you exercise burning a consistent 2100 calories a week then your TDEE is 1790 and that is the real maintenance number.

She wasn't eating her exercise calories to lose the last few pounds.

JanetMMcC

Once you hit maintenance, just see how it works. If you're worried about eating back your exercise calories, don't. If you find yourself still losing, try eating them all back. If you find the trend (not daily, but overall trend) is upward, reduce the percentage of exercise calories you eat back. You'll eventually figure out what you need to do.

Jubee13

I was the same - had to be at 1,200 not eating back exercise calories to lose the last few. But when I went to 1,400 - 1,600 to maintain, I kept losing. So I think you may be pleasantly surprised that you'll be able to eat more than that and still maintain.