Scared to move to maintenance because of weight gain

hina2398

So I think I'm at the weight I desire and I know I should be at maintenance, but I'm super scared to gain weight and fat. I keep hearing that the fat loss will disappear as soon as I increase calories but I think the mentality is getting to me. Any advice/before-and-after pics would really be helpful and motivating to me! P.S hit me with a friend request! I promise I don't bite

RoxieDawn

Fat loss does not disappear when moving into maintenance.. that only happens if you over eat your maintenance/TDEE regularly and gain actual fat back..

However what you will see is some fluctuations on the scale. Reverse diet slowly. If you weight daily, use a weight trending app. You will be able to make peace with the scale and always use a weight range,, never a spot on weight.

Your anxiety is normal and once you do this for a period of time, all will be right with the world!

arditarose

Think about this logically. If you're losing weight eating what you eat now, why would you gain weight if you went into maintenance? You might gain some water weight but it'll even out. My advice...get over it. You can't eat in a deficit forever.

arditarose

Also congrats on your loss

STEVE142142

Agree with the other posters fat loss will not disappear when you're in maintenance your fat level will stay where it is as long as you don't overeat.

As far as the scale don't get fixated on one number you will drive yourself nuts. Give yourself a plus or minus range to work with. Your body is constantly in a state of change. The only time your weight will ever be constant is when you die.

I have access to scales at work and as part of the learning process when I went into maintenance I started to weigh myself multiple times during the day. My weight could fluctuate 1 to 5 pounds depending on what time of the day it was and under what conditions.

lorrpb

STEVE142142 wrote: »

Agree with the other posters fat loss will not disappear when you're in maintenance your fat level will stay where it is as long as you don't overeat.

As far as the scale don't get fixated on one number you will drive yourself nuts. Give yourself a plus or minus range to work with. Your body is constantly in a state of change. The only time your weight will ever be constant is when you die.

I have access to scales at work and as part of the learning process when I went into maintenance I started to weigh myself multiple times during the day. My weight could fluctuate 1 to 5 pounds depending on what time of the day it was and under what conditions.

Weight fluctuates 1-5 pouns per day during weight loss as well. Once you've proved this to yourself, weigh only ONCE per day, first thing in the morning. Multiple daily weigh ins are pointless for weight management purposes.

GaleHawkins

hina2398 wrote: »

So I think I'm at the weight I desire and I know I should be at maintenance, but I'm super scared to gain weight and fat. I keep hearing that the fat loss will disappear as soon as I increase calories but I think the mentality is getting to me. Any advice/before-and-after pics would really be helpful and motivating to me! P.S hit me with a friend request! I promise I don't bite

@hina2398 this is a very common fear for many of us. I moved to only drinking water vs. soft drinks that took out needless calories.

AnnPT77

hina2398 wrote: »

So I think I'm at the weight I desire and I know I should be at maintenance, but I'm super scared to gain weight and fat. I keep hearing that the fat loss will disappear as soon as I increase calories but I think the mentality is getting to me. Any advice/before-and-after pics would really be helpful and motivating to me! P.S hit me with a friend request! I promise I don't bite

You're not going to gain lots'o'pounds overnight from a moderate increase in daily calories.

Some people see a small (<5 pound) scale jump as they hit their maintenance calories, probably largely from extra water weight related to glycogen replenishment, plus perhaps a higher average weight of food/drink still in your system. One strategy for dealing with this potential jump is to overshoot goal weight a little (i.e., go a couple pounds lighter) before increasing to maintenance calories.

As others suggested, "reverse diet" to find your actual maintenance calories, rather than just adding back your whole deficit in one lump.

Add (say) 100 daily calories to your goal, then monitor your weight for a week or two. If you keep dropping, add another hundred. If your weight increases consistently (not just that small possible initial jump) then cut back a little. Keep doing this until your weight stays reasonably stable, with a goal range. (It will likely take a longer wait after each calorie add to know with certainly whether your weight is stable or not - it takes a loooong time, days to weeks, for a small amount of calories above or below goal to actually affect your weight materially.)

As you go into this process, set a goal weight range (not just a single weight) that is centered on your goal weight, plus and minus a small number of pounds, with that range set so it encompasses the daily weight fluctuations you routinely see. (My range is 120 pounds, plus or minus 3 pounds.) If you go over the high end of the range for more than a few days in a row, cut back a little on eating, or move a bit more. If you go below the bottom more than briefly, eat a bit more.

It takes around 3500 calories over maintenance to gain a pound. If you accidentally eat 100 calories too many every single day, it'll take over a month to add a pound. You're not going to pack on pounds of actual weight quickly. You may see some water weight fluctuations (up and down) but any real gain will be so gradual you'll have plenty of time to adjust.

Try not to stress. You can do this. It's a healthy part of the process. Be brave!

JinjoJoey

Easing into it slowly might help calm your fears too. When I moved into maintence, what I did at first was tell MFP that I wanted to be at maintenance, saw the calories it gave me and then set a custom goal about 75 calories under that and just ate at that tiny defecit for a couple weeks, to which I discovered, I was still losing weight, so I bumped the calories up another 50 and found that was perfect. Now, my weight fluctuates a few pounds back and forth, depending on what I eat, etc... Your weight will always move around a bit.

nxd10

I know what you mean. I just upped it 250 of the 500 calorie deficit to see that it really was okay. When I felt comfortable, I upped it some more.

Longevity100

hina2398 wrote: »

So I think I'm at the weight I desire and I know I should be at maintenance, but I'm super scared to gain weight and fat. I keep hearing that the fat loss will disappear as soon as I increase calories but I think the mentality is getting to me. Any advice/before-and-after pics would really be helpful and motivating to me! P.S hit me with a friend request! I promise I don't bite

Congrats on reaching a weight you desire. It's understandable to be scared about weight gain at this point. Take refuge in the fact that you developed some positive habits to get to your desired weights. Follow those same habits as you move forward. Start by slowly increasing your calories every 2 weeks and monitor what happens. If you have any questions make sure to post them here and people will be happy to help.

flagrantavidity

I was scared about switching to maintenance mode too. I have been in maintenance mode for a couple of months now and cringe when I see the scale move up a pound. A week later, its down a pound, a week later its up a pound.... I am happy to say, for me, I found a nice middle ground. Congrats on your weight level and good luck on maintaining it. Don't fret, if the scale creeps up more than you want, you know how to loose the weight and simply will need to adjust your calories or exercise level, or both.

SR_403

I'm very close to entering maintenance after spending the last few months losing 30 lbs. I'm also scared of regaining weight when I up my calories. It's a lack of faith in my will power that makes me nervous about possibly falling back on old eating habits. But I like the advice about upping my calories slowly until I find that sweet spot where I'm neither gaining or losing weight.

CoachJen71

I did go up too high on cals and gained back a little bit of weight (a few lbs more than just glycogen refueling.) It's been hard mentally to cut cals back again after the luxury of extra cals daily. I think what I wish I had done instead was stick with my original dieting plan of eating lighter Sunday-Thurs, maintenance cals Fridays, and do my hikes followed by a scrumptious dinner out on Saturdays where I could have applied those little bit of extra cals I got back at maintenance rather than spreading them out daily.

johnnylloyd0618

justified fear, but it is only fear. I do find it more tedious "maintain" weight. But that's just me. I find it harder to actually meet my calories versus being under. Just continue logging your food, it will give you a good gauge.

jessicarobinson00

Just ease into maintenance: this will take some of the "sticker shock" of the water weight gain that can come with upping your calories.