I've heard maintaining is harder

leanjogreen18

than actually losing. Why is this? It seems once the calories amount is dialed in for maintenance that it would be equal to losing. Does one tend to loosen the calorie restriction a bit?

I have about 7 months to go before I begin maintenance but I think about it often and I'm trying to focus on how to learn from this so that I can maintain for life.

kommodevaran

It's neither harder nor easier, and it's both. It's another set of challenges. When losing, you are "on plan", and see changes from week to week. You get compliments (maybe) and feel that you are doing something important. At maintenance, you can eat more, but not much, if you have lost at a healthy rate. You have to be just as vigilant, just to see the same number on the scale every day. You even have to ignore fluctuations, while at the same time make sure they really are fluctuations, and not creep. The boring, normal, life can feel like a drag. You can feel like you need to get in some foods or other indulgencies that you have missed while losing weight. You can reintroduce some, but not all, if you want to maintain. This can be tricky. It's often easier to "just say no". To say "a little" means that you have to decide every time what "a little" means. This can be exhausting. If you have learnt good habits and eatien what you like during weight loss, all this will be easier.

feisty_bucket

johunt615 wrote: »

I think about it often and I'm trying to focus on how to learn from this so that I can maintain for life.

Super, right on. Yeah, kommodevaran said good stuff.

It's very common to mess up maintenance (ie: all the diet screwups/yoyo stuff you can read about here all day long). Harder though? Nah, just different.

sijomial

Far easier for me - I like food and dislike restriction so eating more is a good thing.

I wonder if the people who think, or fear, it's harder are either doing their weight loss phase "wrong" or trying to maintaining in an unsustainable way?

Maybe my experience is different as I didn't have a slow upward weight gain, my weight went on suddenly and effectively I maintained fat for 20 years. So for me maintenance is normal.

Weight was also only one of my goals so I have a very relaxed "relationship" with the bathroom scales.

icemom011

For me personally, the beauty of this in not excluding any foods, just adjusting the amount. Saying no to something consistently creates feeling of deprivation, and soon enough I'm ready to say, screw it, i want that. And having been not allowing it for myself for a period od time, it makes it too difficult to control. So maybe it works for some, but I'd rather do portion control than exclusion. Other than that, agreed with kommodevaran.

kommodevaran

icemom011 wrote: »

For me personally, the beauty of this in not excluding any foods, just adjusting the amount. Saying no to something consistently creates feeling of deprivation, and soon enough I'm ready to say, screw it, i want that. And having been not allowing it for myself for a period od time, it makes it too difficult to control. So maybe it works for some, but I'd rather do portion control than exclusion. Other than that, agreed with kommodevaran.

Oh, I think we agree there too Some people choose to cut out certain foods during weightloss, because it can be easier to just say no. It's probably easier short term for a lot of people. But it can be easier long term, to - already in the weight loss phase - to learn to eat in moderation everything that you plan to continue eating when you reach goal weight. This is what I mean with "good habits" and "eating what you like".

Lynzdee18

I'm finding maintenance somewhat harder than the loss... The up down swing of the scale drives me batty, but not weighing is worse.

I'm trying to learn to judge my weight by my clothes, but fat has been a lifelong battle for me. I want this to be the final time I lose mega pounds.

For me it boils down to mostly a matter of moving my body more. If I'm really active, I can eat pretty much what I want. Over the year plus that I've been mindful of what I put in my mouth, I've learned better eating habits. I have days where I eat more of the high calorie items I used to love. They aren't as wonderful as I remember and I find myself wanting low fat Greek yogurt and hard boiled eggs when I don't eat them for a few days. I believe that's a sign I've got my food monster under control.

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teetertatertango

Some people feel hungry with maintenance calories. To feel a bit hungry while losing is normal and expected. To think that you may have to feel a bit hungry *for the rest of your life* in order to maintain can be unbearable and unsustainable. Sets the stage for falling back into old habits. You start rationalizing a big meal here and there, and try to explain the gradual weight gain with a list of excuses, until one day you "wake up" and realize you are back where you started.

257_Lag

Not saying it is right or wrong but I loved weighing daily and charting it while losing. I have every intention of weighing daily for the rest of my life. Most of the people I know that gained weight back stopped weighing themselves and then were "surprised" when they did months later and were up.

I'm pretty happy in the lower 190's after losing 60 but my ultimate goal is to get to 185 and then let myself float in the 180's, taking action if I ever see 190 again.

Kenda2427

I have never mastered maintaining. I gain and I struggle to lose and then it creeps back on and I start all over. Every time I say this is the last time but it never has been. But I keep up the fight.

kommodevaran

Kenda2427 wrote: »

I have never mastered maintaining. I gain and I struggle to lose and then it creeps back on and I start all over. Every time I say this is the last time but it never has been. But I keep up the fight.

I think you have to find a way that is not a fight and a struggle, if you want to succeed. You are fighting your own body.

faramelee

It's been 25 months and I personally have had no problem with maintenance, I re-learnt what to eat during the weight loss phase and that seems to have bode well for me. Many people 'diet' in a particular way, get down to goal weight then automatically go back to how they used to eat and wonder why the hell the weight is going back on..... It's not harder, it's different, just ensure you prepare yourself with the tools now and you'll be fine.

Best of luck!

leejoyce31

Lynzdee18 wrote: »

I'm finding maintenance somewhat harder than the loss... The up down swing of the scale drives me batty, but not weighing is worse.

I'm trying to learn to judge my weight by my clothes, but fat has been a lifelong battle for me. I want this to be the final time I lose mega pounds.

For me it boils down to mostly a matter of moving my body more. If I'm really active, I can eat pretty much what I want. Over the year plus that I've been mindful of what I put in my mouth, I've learned better eating habits. I have days where I eat more of the high calorie items I used to love. They aren't as wonderful as I remember and I find myself wanting low fat Greek yogurt and hard boiled eggs when I don't eat them for a few days. I believe that's a sign I've got my food monster under control.

Agree!

static808

maintenance is a different challenge for me because of a few reasons. for one, i was used to seeing the numbers on the scale steadily decline. as i approached my goal weight, the decline was definitely slower in rate, until i eventually hit my goal weight (157lbs) and the numbers stopped going down at all. this was a psychological hurdle for me to overcome, having been so accustomed to tangibly seeing my progress every morning. i'm not gonna lie, for the first few weeks of not seeing my weight go down, i felt like a bit of a failure, despite the fact i knew that i was on maintenance and no longer on a deficit.

another reason is something that others have brought up, and it's that it can be tricky trying to balance re-integrating higher amounts of food. i didn't deprive myself of foods during my cut, but i was definitely much more rigid about how much or how little i was going to eat. now that i'm at maintenance, the knowledge that I can eat a bit more can sometimes give me a false sense of freedom. i'm not gonna lie, i'm still as religious about logging in stuff as i used to be, but have been "eyeballing" portions more now in comparison to when i was on a cut.

finally, i've tried to integrate muscle building into my program. without being able to constantly assess my body composition, i'm having a hard time delineating between muscle gains and weight gains. currently the scale says i'm about 3 pounds heavier than at my leanest, so I feel my maintenance has been a decent success. since the chest and arms of my shirts feel tighter, here's to hoping that those added 3lbs are mostly muscle mass!!

rankinsect

Sometimes maintenance can make you hungrier, too. A prolonged deficit somewhat paradoxically makes you less hungry - your body seems to assume you are simply unable to acquire food and reduces hunger signals somewhat. Once you eat at maintenance again, you can get a rebound hunger effect.

cwolfman13

I've been maintaining going on 3.5 years...I've found it to be pretty easy...I'm into fitness and nutrition though...I don't log and haven't in ages...I just do the things that lean, healthy, and fit people do and the rest takes care of itself.

oocdc2

I'm maintaining and recompositioning, so it's been a journey so far. I still have to log, still have to weigh food any myself once a week. I think the biggest challenge is the mindfrak of eating more calories than you're used to--I was worried I'd wake-up one morning back to my old weight because I added 200/cal more a day. I did get used to it, though.

leanjogreen18

Thank you all for your experiences I think it's helpful to understand what struggle if any I may face next year.

TP_Flint

A simple solution is to never stop striving. Always have a goal in mind. You hit your target weight? Awesome. What about your target body fat percent? Or dress size? Or your weight lifting performance in the gym? Or what about training for a 5k? 10k? Marathon? What about running a certain number of races per year, or a certain number of miles per week? The way I see it, there is always something to strive towards, to aim for, which then leaves never a dull moment on your fitness journey.

sllm1

I just slipped into thinking that I was thin, so I could be a little more lax with my logging. It's a slippery slope, and once you're sliding, it's difficult to get back on the plan. Tomorrow, tomorrow...

nxd10

I found it easy. Same behaviors, more calories. You just have to keep it up - I've been doing it four years. What motivates me is that my goal is to keep the goal off FOREVER. If your goal is to lose the weight, you'll regain.

musclegood_fatbad

I feel like it can be harder if you view your weight loss as a diet. If you change your lifestyle to fit your desired outcome, I feel it is easier. Many people get to their goal weight and go back to the old habits that got them overweight to begin with though.

Therealobi1

i just think when you start this thing you have to factor in maintaining. its all very well losing the weight but what happens after. This is the reason why we see so many people put it back on. I am not as strict as when i was losing but still have to be very mindful of what i am doing. i really dont want to start all over again.

rainbow198

Maintenance isn't hard for me. I treat it just like I did when I was losing weight. The only difference is that I eat more so that I would stop losing weight.

Everyday I still work with planning and trying to make good food choices and I am active daily.

My biggest issue was missing the highs of losing an inch here and there or a pound, but I now make new fitness goals regularly and that helps me out a lot by keeping me focused.

I also look at my old pics and try on old clothes that used to fit tight on me that now fall off on me (like in my profile pic) to help remind me how far I have come.

leanjogreen18

So basically if I learn from this year of losing and continue on the same path with a few more calories, it shouldn't in theory be any harder. Thanks so much for the responses. I eat near maintenance on Wednesday so I know around the amount of food I will be able to have for the rest of my life. I just didn't know if hunger is any different after that biggest loser study.

cmriverside

Whenever you read/hear anything coming from Biggest Loser - change the channel, flip the page. Disregard.

leanjogreen18

cmriverside wrote: »

Whenever you read/hear anything coming from Biggest Loser - change the channel, flip the page. Disregard.

There was a legit study that came from following some of the contestants 6 years after their weight loss. All but one gained most if not all of their weight back. They were burning fewer cal at rest than before they started the show even though they gained their weight back.

At any rate I agree about the show itself.

TangledThread

johunt615 wrote: »

So basically if I learn from this year of losing and continue on the same path with a few more calories, it shouldn't in theory be any harder. Thanks so much for the responses. I eat near maintenance on Wednesday so I know around the amount of food I will be able to have for the rest of my life. I just didn't know if hunger is any different after that biggest loser study.

I find maintaining to be exactly the same as losing but better. There are just enough more calories that I'm not hungry.

snowflake930

It is harder for me.
While losing, I had the actual weight loss, and all the comments to inspire me, and keep me going.
Now I just have to keep telling myself that I can never go back to where I was.

johunt615 wrote: »

cmriverside wrote: »

Whenever you read/hear anything coming from Biggest Loser - change the channel, flip the page. Disregard.

There was a legit study that came from following some of the contestants 6 years after their weight loss. All but one gained most if not all of their weight back. They were burning fewer cal at rest than before they started the show even though they gained their weight back.

At any rate I agree about the show itself.

Maybe so, but the statistics for all people that lose weight are that over 80% of the people gain all of the weight back, some gain even more weight, within 5 years. This is part of the motivation that keeps me going. It will be 3 years on 11/3/16 that I have maintained my weight loss (I weigh less than 1/2 of what I weighed when I began MFP 3/12/12), and it is hard for me. There are threads here every day with people starting over. I am now striving to not be one of the people that gain the weight back.

Aaron_K123

For me it is harder because weight loss is a goal, its something to work towards, its something to aim at and because of that I can remain focused. Maintenance is not really a goal in the same way, it doesn't feel like progress to just not change weight over time and so I tend to get listless and start paying attention to other aspects of my life. 2 years later I've put on 20 pounds basically not paying attention.

I think thats why the type of weight loss that sticks is the type where you lose weight by learning new habits that just happen to support a leaner version of yourself in the first place and just stick with that as your new routinue as it transitions into maintenance naturally.