Has anyone successfully managed to switch to a higher weight maintenance?

Francl27

WinoGelato wrote: »

Francl27 wrote: »

It's not crazy cardio at all though. I usually burn 350-400 calories in 1.5 hour (from my HRM) of cycling. It's not that much. I do it because I might as well burn some calories instead of vegetating on the couch while watching TV shows.

My hunger's pretty much gone now since day 2 of my period too. As it usually does. But I have to save calories that week so I have to be very careful about what I eat too. Sigh.

Doesn't matter what advice people give, or observations they make, it always comes back to your cycle. I don't know what else to say. You didn't answer my question about why not weighing more often so you could try to hone in on weight fluctuations due to calorie fluctuations. Basing everything on hunger and your period just doesn't seem like a reliable form of measurement.

I don't weigh more often because I retain water like crazy from the time I ovulate to the 5th day of my period - I had ultrasounds done because of my ovarian cysts and was told by the technician that I had a bunch of water in there, and I'm always extremely bloated before/during TOM (I look 6 months pregnant at times!).

So I just don't see what weighing more often would tell me, as I can't tell if it's fat or water. While I was losing, for example, I only lost during the week after my period, and just maintained/gained the other 3 weeks... so weighing once a month (or I should say 'one week a month') was actually the most accurate way of judging my progress... so it's pretty much still what I do (and mostly go by how my clothes fit as a whole really).

Hope it answers your question. Unfortunately for me, it really comes down to my cycle.

amusedmonkey

Are you sure you don't have PCOS? Pretty much everything you describe from wild hunger swings to losing only the week after period to bloating describes me to a T. It's not that hard to manage once you know how things work. I keep a monthly budget because a weekly budget wouldn't work. I allocate more calories to the days around ovulation and the week before period pretty much to maintenance, a higher deficit from day 3 of period (that's when my hunger usually starts dropping) up to ovulation, and a medium deficit for the rest. Of course since you are maintaining, you could allocate a deficit for your known "not hungry" days, a surplus for your known hungry days, and maintenance to the rest. I know how it sometimes throws a curveball and things aren't always structured exactly, and that's where a monthly budget comes in play. If a certain day does not play out as you have planned it, you would be able to make up for it on an unplanned lower appetite day. Just keep an excel sheet that starts on the first day of your period and ends on the expected day of your next period that does all kinds of calculations, including available/debt calories.

Here are the headers I have for my sheet



I have Christmas Eve planned, and you could plan your hungry days/event days similarly




I have currently have some calories in debt



Some basic calculations where I get to choose how many calories I want to average or how much I want to lose + if today is a low appetite day, to remove the debt completely I would have to net 1019 calories, I may or may not remove the debt all at once.

Francl27

amusedmonkey wrote: »

Are you sure you don't have PCOS? Pretty much everything you describe from wild hunger swings to losing only the week after period to bloating describes me to a T. It's not that hard to manage once you know how things work. I keep a monthly budget because a weekly budget wouldn't work. I allocate more calories to the days around ovulation and the week before period pretty much to maintenance, a higher deficit from day 3 of period (that's when my hunger usually starts dropping) up to ovulation, and a medium deficit for the rest. Of course since you are maintaining, you could allocate a deficit for your known "not hungry" days, a surplus for your known hungry days, and maintenance to the rest. I know how it sometimes throws a curveball and things aren't always structured exactly, and that's where a monthly budget comes in play. If a certain day does not play out as you have planned it, you would be able to make up for it on an unplanned lower appetite day. Just keep an excel sheet that starts on the first day of your period and ends on the expected day of your next period that does all kinds of calculations, including available/debt calories.

Here are the headers I have for my sheet



I have Christmas Eve planned, and you could plan your hungry days/event days similarly




I have currently have some calories in debt



Some basic calculations where I get to choose how many calories I want to average or how much I want to lose + if today is a low appetite day, to remove the debt completely I would have to net 1019 calories, I may or may not remove the debt all at once.

I don't know about PCOS because otherwise my periods are pretty regular (usually). But yeah, it's what I have to do, I keep a deficit and try to stick to it whenever I can to make up for the bad days. It's worked so far but it's what's so hard for me... I pretty much have to keep a 1500-2000 calorie deficit 1-2 weeks a month if I want to be able to maintain, and it's not always easy at all when life happens - one Holiday during that week and I end up over for the month (last year I ended up gaining 2 pounds over the Holidays because of that and a wedding).

I guess it would just be nice to be able to eat at maintenance without playing 'catch up' for the hungry days (when obviously I have to watch what I eat too because I can't afford empty calories at all).

Rachel0778

I was exactly where you are now 3 years ago. I had dieted down to 130lbs (at 5'5) and I drove myself so crazy trying to maintain that weight that I landed myself into counseling for developing eating disorder behaviors. I can 100% say that the number on the scale is not worth it! I know that it's scary to step away from that number, but it is absolutely worth it. A number on the scale or a certain clothing size is not worth the years of obsession or constantly battling your body's hunger signals.

I am now at a (still healthy!) 145lbs. I look great, I feel great, and I only went up 1 size in pants. The best part is, my appetite has regulated and I no longer obsess over when my next meal is. I do fitness activities that I love instead of suffering through exercise that I hate. There are so many activities out there that can help build strength other than straight weight lifting. Boxing, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, Roller Derby, and Pole Dancing just to name a few (that I personally love!).

Once you make the change you will regret how much time you spent obsessed with staying at that same arbitrary number. I've got my current body photos on my wall, feel free to add me if you need an example for how 145 can look at a similar height.

Lynzdee18

cwolfman13 wrote: »

Francl27 wrote: »

I think I'm starting to realize that it might just not possible for me to maintain 135 pounds. I'm just too hungry and miserable because the only way to maintain is to really deprive myself...

Has anyone been in the same situation, gained back a few pounds, then managed to maintain that weight successfully? I'm hoping that maybe my hunger will calm down if I gain a couple pounds back? My main worry obviously is that I'll end up gaining the weight back because the hunger won't go away (I've been around 133-135 for 2.5 years now).

Also, are you trying to stay at exactly 135 Lbs...that's pretty much impossible...body weight isn't static. Do you have a maintenance range or are you driving yourself bat *kitten* crazy trying to stay exactly one number.

This speaks to me!

Being hungry and miserable isn't worth it.

I agree a lot of your misery might result from trying to maintain that single number rather than the range! You've been focusing on 135 for 2.5 years? Yikes! I've been in maintenance since mid April and I can't keep to my 'magic number' of 141. Which I've been at a total of, I think, 5 separate days over the past seven months. Looking over my bouncing weight chart, if I'm honest, my 'ideal' weight should be 145. But I don't like that number? Why? No idea. Do I look different at 145 in comparison to 141? My best friend says my collarbones are sharper at 141. Not sure if I want sharp collarbones? But my jeans fit the same. For me, it's having control of something I've never had control of before.... I can 'make' my body lose weight if I want to so I set a magic number to maintain.

Yup. Crazy stuff....

jenilla1

I lost some weight, went into maintenance for awhile. Then I went up 5 pounds from my lowest and liked it better, so maintained there. I've been at this "new" weight for 5 years now. Don't know why going up a little and then maintaining would be a hard thing to do. It's just as easy as maintaining at ANY given weight. It's all numbers. You hit your calorie goals consistently over time, you maintain. Simple.