Losing weight vs. maintaining weight, which do you think is harder?
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Agreed with all of this! Maintaining is easier for me. I have so much more energy to achieve my fitness goals! I don't count calories now, but I know roughly how to eat in proper portions and it's working great.Maintaining is far more enjoyable for me:- It's easier to stick to a higher calorie goal than a lower goal.
- Feeling more energetic, training and recovering better.
- More personal satisfaction of meeting my goal (maintaining) than working towards my goal (losing).
- Feeling happy in my own skin.
- I can maintain my weight without food logging but have to log to lose.
- I love food and hate having to eat at a deficit.
It was a good motivator to see the number drop on the scale but it's just as great of a motivator to see my lifts increase! Just today, I've upped my weight on the bent over row to 50 lb! It's oddly satisfying seeing a big dude next to me use 35 lb dumbbells. I don't lift to compete with others, but *kitten*! It still feels good when I can outlift a guy!
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For me maintaining. Dieting to me is kinda a game where I get to use fancy technology which is my hobby and obsession anyway to "level down". Maintaining is harder because its well maintenance. Kinda like how driving a Ferrari is fun but changing its oil isn't. Sure you get to eat more but it could easily turn into "what is an extra piece of cake? I just lost 100 pounds I deserve it" and before you know it you've gained some back.That being said I've *kitten* up quite a few times in the 2 weeks I've tried maintenance and am still down maybe half a pound. So maybe it's not that hard.1
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I like maintaining better because I'm skinny now lol. Losing weight wasn't actually anymore difficult than maintaining, I'm basically continuing to do the same things. I still weigh and log food, still exercise, still weigh myself regularly. I don't feel like I get to eat much more now. I started out so obese and I was breastfeeding so I actually was losing weight initially on more calories than k get to eat in maintenance. But I still feel ok with where I'm at calorie wise.
When I first switched to maintenance I had a hard time with my weight not going down. I missed seeing that and it was weird to still be working hard at eating well and exercise while the number on the scale stayed the same. But now that some time has passed I don't miss that and I'm happy just to see the number stay around the same every day. I have other fitness related goals now that are more fun and I still get to see positive changes in my body.2 -
I have lost weight before through Weight Watchers, and their idea of maintenance was not sustainable to me. Frankly, neither was the weight loss program. I always felt deprived.
This time around, I am eating food that I love. I am able to track and record meals that I make from my own recipes. Maintenance will be scary, nonetheless, but I will have guidance from my nutritionist.1 -
For the last 10 LOSING for me is harder! Maybe because I'm already at a "healthy" weight (top) I eat as healthy as I can and exercise most days (cardio+lift) so my body is not that impressed anymore2
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Oh and I have to add that I lost 40 lbs (WW) and maintained without a problem for years, now that I want to lose a few more "vanity" lbs is when it got HARD2
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I lost just over 80 lbs in the last two-ish years.....Finally hit "maintenance" in January....I love maintenance, but I do find it harder. My body and brain seem to have adjusted to weight loss after so long, that I am actually finding it hard to STOP losing weight! Eating over 1600 a day, but some days I have to scale back my cardio that I love, just to keep my net from being too low. ~2
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JustMissTracy wrote: »I lost just over 80 lbs in the last two-ish years.....Finally hit "maintenance" in January....I love maintenance, but I do find it harder. My body and brain seem to have adjusted to weight loss after so long, that I am actually finding it hard to STOP losing weight! Eating over 1600 a day, but some days I have to scale back my cardio that I love, just to keep my net from being too low. ~
This is EXACTLY what I am dealing with, trying to stop losing. With the weather turning nice, my cardio workouts are outside and longer. Upping my calories to match is difficult mentally. I hope when winter comes and I'm back inside that I'll be able to dial it back down.2 -
I find maintaining harder because for me it takes a lot of diligence to keep that weight balance. At the same time I find it more enjoyable because I have more self confidence, I love choosing clothes, I'm healthier and get to eat more yummy stuff.3
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I'm relatively new to maintenance and struggling to find that perfect place. I've lost a lot, enough that I will never go there again, but I still struggle between not going over so much on weekends that I can't relax a little more any other time. I'm really careful during the week, but I see the water, weight creep on Monday and I spend the week trying to get it back down. I am staying on the higher end of my range, and I'm actually trying this week to get back down to the mid or low point! Too many celebrations lately!1
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@swim777 if you can't deal with scale hikes on a Monday morning stay off the scales for a few days?
You either learn to ignore the water weight hikes and just go by your average trend weight. Hence its a good idea to have a goal range or +/-5lbs.
We all have weeks when we are eating more than others, but even that wont harm our weight in the long run as long as we get back to eating at maintenance calories again.2 -
Maintaining is much harder. You almost have to find some kind of piece with not being perfect all the time. I have a pretty big "Ok" zone. If I'm anywhere between 150 and 160 (I'm 5'11) and my clothes still fit, game on. This wasn't the same mentality I had 2-3 years ago when I was coming off of losing 50lbs. I felt I had to be within 3 pounds. Yeah, not happening. I have a pair of size 6 jean capris from Eddie Bauer that if they get tight I need to do something. That's it, it's as easy as that. It's amazing when I go back to watching and weighing food and thinking about exercising how much I realize why I'm back in this prediciment in the first place. But I'll never see above 170 again. (I started a 193).2
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I'm in remission of cancer but before then, I was in better shape. I have since gotten back where I need to be and have used myfitnesspal to get me there. I hate the guess work of knowing what I can or cannot eat, so I let it MFPal do the math for me. I don't have a problem losing weight, especially when im doing chemo, just putting muscle on.1
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If you've ever been married, I equate losing weight and maintaining weight is the same as getting married and then staying married.
Its a lot of work to woo and win over someone to say "yes" to getting married, but the work doesn't just end there. It takes a lot of work to stay married. Same with weight loss. It hard to lose it but its also something you have to work at to keep it off.
If I get married and then just sit on the couch in my underwear eating Cheetos and watching SportsCenter every day, all day, I'm not going to stay married for long. If I lose weight and then just stop being healthy or watching my diet or paying attention to my health and activity level, I'm going to put it all back on.
So weight loss and maintenance are as different as dating and marriage. When you get married you don't have to go out every weekend and you don't have to impress the other person as much, but you still have to give them attention and love and make them feel special. Once I've lost the weight I don't have to be so anal about everything I do or don't eat and I don't have to eat at a deficit and be so stringent, but it doesn't mean I don't have to still watch what I eat and use the tools that helped me get there.
That's how I think of it anyway. And yes I'm married (happily!) for a long time!13 -
Maintaining is so much harder and for some reaon, I'm hungrier0
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I am sometimes! I was at such a deficit for so long...once I've allowed myself to have more..I really feel deprived and hungrier if I cut back again too much. I have my snacks that I really enjoy.0
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Losing weight requires no thinking, once you have your method. Maintaining requires effort.1
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I am not there yet, but a friend on MFP says that for her there is very little difference. She lost weight slowly, and was fortunate enough to choose a calorie/macro combo that had to be tweaked very little when she reached her goal, I think she said she added 100-200 calories is all. As she lost weight, she gradually increased her activity level and now is quite active on a daily basis. A good role model, I think.1
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I lost 36 pounds 2 years ago, kept it off. You have to want to succeed1
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