Preparing for maintenance??

Mikkamoo12

Hi all.. when is it time to drop down to losing 1/2 lb per week. Im 140lbs at the moment goal weight is between 130-135 lbs n im 5"4".. i just seen pple in da forums saying u should drop your losses to prepare for maintenance??

jessicarobinson00

I would start transitioning now, so you can ease your way in and find your sweet spot. Congrats!!!

AnnPT77

I started trying for 0.5lb loss per week maybe a little bit before the point you're at now, if I recall correctly - I think it was at 10 pounds to go. It worked out well.

It's not just to prepare for maintenance, BTW - though coasting into maintenance makes for a less abrupt transition. It's also that when you have less left to lose, losing at a slower rate is believed likely to be muscle-sparing.

Mikkamoo12

Thanks for your replies.. oh i never even thought of muscle-sparing.. i think i have been so focused on losing the weight i havent really thought of much else..

richardgavel

I also gradually moved towards maintenance to get used mentally to eating more calories. Adding 250 calories every day turned out to be a challenge, it took a while to allow myself to have those additional calories given the habits I had formed.

nxd10

I found my weight loss dropped to a crawl when I got close to my goal. If I'd dropped my deficit down more, I would never have gotten there. Alternative strategy:

I had a 5 pound weight range I counted as 'success'. I celebrated success when I hit the top. I dropped to half that deficit when I was in the middle. And I got rid of the deficit when I got to the bottom. It took 6 months to go from 'almost there' to at the bottom. That was more than it took me to lose the previous 30 pounds.

Domicinator

nxd10 wrote: »

I found my weight loss dropped to a crawl when I got close to my goal. If I'd dropped my deficit down more, I would never have gotten there. Alternative strategy:

I had a 5 pound weight range I counted as 'success'. I celebrated success when I hit the top. I dropped to half that deficit when I was in the middle. And I got rid of the deficit when I got to the bottom. It took 6 months to go from 'almost there' to at the bottom. That was more than it took me to lose the previous 30 pounds.

I do it just like this. I got to my goal of 175 lbs. several months ago, and I allow myself anywhere between 175 and 180, as I can fluctuate that much from day to day anyway. If I'm consistently up by 180, I raise the deficit for a few days just to see if that gets me back down to where I should be.

To the OP--by the time I hit goal, I couldn't stand eating at a deficit anymore. It was getting to be torture. I decided to just go to the number that MFP suggested would be my maintenance number. It has been working beautifully. I continue to keep a rigid food log and stick to my calorie goal daily, but eating more is great. I am still allowing exercise to sync in to my log as well, but I try to not eat any of it back and consider it to be bonus calories burned toward keeping my weight down.

STEVE142142

richardgavel wrote: »

I also gradually moved towards maintenance to get used mentally to eating more calories. Adding 250 calories every day turned out to be a challenge, it took a while to allow myself to have those additional calories given the habits I had formed.

As someone who's also transitioning to maintenance I've lowered my weight loss goal to about .5 pounds per week. It kinda is weird to realize that I can eat all this extra food. It is taking a little adjustment as I'm not used to doing that. And I think that's one of the tricks to successfully transition to maintenance it can't be something abrupt.

LivingtheLeanDream

Yes I would encourage your transition now and set your loss to o.5lbs loss per week.

Mikkamoo12

Thanks for all yer replies i think i will try dropping to 0.5 loss a week n c how i get on