How to make the transition to maintenance?

salvyhead

Wow congrats on hitting an amazing goal. I, too, am 1 lb. away from mine so I am also thinking about maintenance.

Three things:

1) Be careful with the numbers. They can lie. Example. MFP says I can eat 2100 a day and maintain. Other calculators give me as much as 2300. Both bogus. If I eat 2300 I will blow up like a a balloon in the Macy's parade. So I am thinking more like 1800 or it could even be as low as 1700 but I hate the thought of it. Experience is the best teacher - and I know 2100 is way too much. Your mileage, of course, may vary.

2) Keep your protein up. My dietitian tells me it helps you feel full longer so you're less likely to snack and overeat throughout the day. More on that here http://www.purdue.edu/newsroom/research/2011/110330CampbellPork.html

3) Think about weekly calories instead of daily. So - if, for example, my most dire predictions turn out to be correct and I can only eat 1700 a day - it's better to think of that as 12,000 a week. (Another tip from my dietitian.) That way - you can have a 3000 pig-out day and not feel bad about it as long as you behave the next few and hit your weekly number. This will serve me well on weekends when both my food and beer consumption tend to be higher.

Good luck!

Sal

nxd10

I hit my goal, am losing really slowly at this point, and am really comfortable with my calories, so I'm just sticking here. I expect when it gets cooler in the Fall, I'll get hungrier and I'll up my calories. Right now, it's hot, I'm exercising a lot (I try to eat my exercise calories) and I'm not hungry.

What I have done is INCREASE MY EXERCISE! Research says that logging, staying within a tight weight zone, and EXERCISE are critical in maintaining. I know for me, I need more muscle, not less weight.

Another key factor is including food you love in your daily routine. Don't deprive yourself. This is the rest of your life.

And congratulations!

5brownsnc

Sorry, just marking as I would love to see advice,

nxd10

quote]

Congrats on reaching your goal!!!

I won't comment on the technical part of maintenance (how many cals, TDEE, etc).

But I'm surprised by how hard it is mentally to switch to maintenance mode. I've been at maintenance since May. Like an above poster, I also lowered my goal by 5 lbs just for kicks and giggles. I lost 2 of those 5 lbs when I experimented with 5:2 fasting for a month, and I've just sort of maintained that, but I'm not trying to lose more. I fluctuate on any given day 2-3 lbs anyway.

What's hard is the fear of gaining the weight back. It's not a rational fear at all. I stopped counting calories for a couple of months, and at first I found it liberating, but now I just find that not knowing my daily calories is adding stress. Even though I know what I'm eating, the lack of tracking is stressful in its own way. So I decided to go back to tracking... not to lose more weight, but to just let the data it gives me feel more in control.

* snip *

Tigersword, come back when you have been at maintenance for a while and see if you feel the same way.
.

I am not as worried as the poster. But I do feel, not anxious, but conscious of the fact that all the research that says it's harder to maintain than to lose. And there are fewer rules.

I LOVE data. It's why I really like MFP and it worked for me. I like to know where my calories are coming from. I like to know what I'm eating and how to make good choices. I like to see my weight fluctuate because it helps me know it's a normal part of how your body works - and it will come back down.

I have no plans to stop logging and recently bought a fitbit - which I love - because it tells me that I exercise naturally less than I think I do, so I can up my game.

I'm not obsessed and I don't think I have more of a distorted body image now than I did when I was overweight and thought I looked fine. Having the information allows me to NOT think about this stuff so I can think about the other, more important things in my life. We're all different.

5brownsnc

Congrats on reaching your goal!!!

I won't comment on the technical part of maintenance (how many cals, TDEE, etc).

But I'm surprised by how hard it is mentally to switch to maintenance mode. I've been at maintenance since May. Like an above poster, I also lowered my goal by 5 lbs just for kicks and giggles. I lost 2 of those 5 lbs when I experimented with 5:2 fasting for a month, and I've just sort of maintained that, but I'm not trying to lose more. I fluctuate on any given day 2-3 lbs anyway.

What's hard is the fear of gaining the weight back. It's not a rational fear at all. I stopped counting calories for a couple of months, and at first I found it liberating, but now I just find that not knowing my daily calories is adding stress. Even though I know what I'm eating, the lack of tracking is stressful in its own way. So I decided to go back to tracking... not to lose more weight, but to just let the data it gives me feel more in control.

We went on a beach vacation earlier this month, and I told my hubby to take a picture of me, because "I may never be this thin again". He thought I was nuts for saying it. It's like I don't really believe that I've lost the weight, or that I'll be able to keep it off. Even though I've completely changed my eating habits from "the old me" and I'm not going back to old behaviors, I still fear gaining.

For the past couple of weeks, I've had my house for sale and I've moved the scale out of my bathroom. I think that's created the most stress of all. Without that data point in the morning, I find that I look in the mirror and see more fat and think, "Oh my Gawd, I've gained weight back". Then I pull out the scale, and find that I haven't, and it's a case of distorted perception.

Anyway... no particular advice here, but just a "beware". I find it's harder mentally than being in loss mode.

- I love your honesty ! The things we put ourselves through..haha

Jessicalg1981

Thanks for all the advice, guys!! When I say I have a fear of gaining it back I don't mean the fluctuations of regular life- I mean the bulk of it- all 86 lbs and 6 dress sizes of it! When I told my husband all of this he said, "Why are you so worried? You eat great, you exercise regularly, and have a rock solid will power!" I had been fat my whole life though! It's hard not to worry about gaining it back even though logically I know I would never let it happen. I didn't realize MFP had a maintenance setting. I might try that first but slowly creep up to the calorie amount they give me. It's strange to even think about eating more right now lol.

Everyone has been very helpful!! Thanks again!!

Sizethree4Ever

Bump for later.

jbirkett7

Bumping for reference.