Very anxious about transitioning to maintenance

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  • ahoy_m8
    ahoy_m8 Posts: 3,053 Member
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    MelanieCN77 wrote: »
    I reached my GW last weekend and am just taking things really slowly. I added back 70 cals to my allowance but because I exercise quite a lot I have lost another half pound. Tomorrow I plan to add another 50-100 cals onto my day and give it another week. I'm too nervous to make really big changes, it took me almost a year to get here, no rush to reverse course.

    Awesome. Congratulations!
  • MelanieCN77
    MelanieCN77 Posts: 4,047 Member
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    Thanks :)
  • mjffey
    mjffey Posts: 72 Member
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    I'm scared too. I decided to go into maintenance three days ago, because i got fed up with not losing anymore on my 1200 cals. I gained 1kg over christmas and i'm still not back where i was before christmas, so maintenance for me is a kind of holiday from trying to lose weight. I yo yo per day at the moment. That can be as large as 1kg per day. Very scary. I'm addicted to my foodscale. It's that bad that even when we're away on holiday ( i.e. family visit) i weigh everthing and try to avoid going out for diner. Let see where maintenance brings me. Good luck to you.
  • BeeerRunner
    BeeerRunner Posts: 728 Member
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    I was nervous too. I've been maintaining my 40 lb loss for 1 year now. Just keep doing what you're doing and you'll be successful.

    I do allow myself breaks when I vacation, but then I go into a deficit until I've lost the vacation weight and back to maintenance.

    I was expecting to have more calories to work with though in maintenance. Oh well...lol!
  • Rusty740
    Rusty740 Posts: 749 Member
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    mjffey wrote: »
    I'm scared too. I decided to go into maintenance three days ago, because i got fed up with not losing anymore on my 1200 cals. I gained 1kg over christmas and i'm still not back where i was before christmas, so maintenance for me is a kind of holiday from trying to lose weight. I yo yo per day at the moment. That can be as large as 1kg per day. Very scary. I'm addicted to my foodscale. It's that bad that even when we're away on holiday ( i.e. family visit) i weigh everthing and try to avoid going out for diner. Let see where maintenance brings me. Good luck to you.

    "Yo-yo"ing 1 kg a day is normal. Don't worry about it. :smile:
  • jeepinshawn
    jeepinshawn Posts: 642 Member
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    For some we have to really pay attention. Some people can be successful with a over today under tomorrow approach, others need to eat the same every day. Some people can stop logging others still need to. My experience is that as long as I have the accountability of logging I can do all right. Without that I tended to over eat.
  • 1432Melanie
    1432Melanie Posts: 1 Member
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    I have struggled with food, most of my adult life. Consider myself an addict, no matter what my weight is.
    I am accustomed to the nutritional expectations at my existing weight loss plan however I struggle to consume the calories. I do not have the natural sense of hunger. Ever.
    Moving into 'maintenance' sends mission impossible music playing in my head. I do not want to add foods, with sugars back into my diet, and consuming additional calories seems overwhelming. I am nearing the low side of my "healthy weight" BMI and need a logical plan, that I can live with. I have bumped up my weight loss goal, and changed to loose at a slower rate, allowing for transitioning.
    Very anxious. My nutritionist has confidence that myfitnesspal is my best tool.
    I suspect this is common, in general people are resistant to change. We can't be the only people with both a phycological and nutritional dilemma.
  • Hiawassee88
    Hiawassee88 Posts: 35,754 Member
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    Eat breakfast every day, if you can. Maintenance is fun. Edge your way in very slowly and it won't overwhelm you. Add 50, 100, 200, 300, 400 calories and so on until you reach your threshold over a period of time. Refresh your calorie/exercise goals every two weeks until you reach your optimum weight. Maintenance is the reward for a job well done. It has challenges but maintaining your exercise program is key to long term weight stability. Keep tracking your data points if it doesn't affect your comfort level. Your nutritionist is your guide but MFP is a good tool to make the transition.
  • kaydensmom2009
    kaydensmom2009 Posts: 57 Member
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    I kept losing weight when trying to transition to maintenance. I’m below my goal technically but am happy here but really don’t want to lose more, and it doesn’t seem like long but I have been able to maintain for like 2 weeks when I was consistently dropping trying to maintain for about 2 months. It’s been a slow process of increasing my calories but I’m finally getting to the point that I can eat actually maintainence calories and not feel bad about it. But I was in a deficit mindset for about 17 months so it took me a while to mentally flip that switch. But yes the fear of gaining weight back has been real for me.
  • LiveOnceBeHappy
    LiveOnceBeHappy Posts: 432 Member
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    kaydensmom2009 wrote: »
    I kept losing weight when trying to transition to maintenance. I’m below my goal technically but am happy here but really don’t want to lose more, and it doesn’t seem like long but I have been able to maintain for like 2 weeks when I was consistently dropping trying to maintain for about 2 months. It’s been a slow process of increasing my calories but I’m finally getting to the point that I can eat actually maintainence calories and not feel bad about it. But I was in a deficit mindset for about 17 months so it took me a while to mentally flip that switch. But yes the fear of gaining weight back has been real for me.

    I have lost more than I wanted to also. I've had multiple goals, and the last one was the for-real goal (125 lbs). But then I got to 120 lbs. Then I got to 116 lbs. Ack! I'm working on finding the right balance. It's weird, but it was easier to lose weight than it is to find the maintenance balance, for me.
  • sbelletti
    sbelletti Posts: 213 Member
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    I'm close to Maintenance and plan to simply up my calories gradually over a few months but otherwise do exactly what I've been doing. This hasn't been a diet, so there's no going back to "normal" eating.

    This is my second time losing 40+ pounds on MFP, and I've learned that I need the accountability of logging and weighing so I plan to continue indefinitely.
  • rosiekin
    rosiekin Posts: 78 Member
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    For lots of people, I think anxiety around moving into maintenance, and worrying about a potential weight gain, is quite common. It certainly was for me anyway. Like others have said, maintenance isn’t that much different than losing weight, so just continue doing what you’re doing now, with the added ‘luxury’ of eating a few more calories. If you increase calories gradually until your weight stabilises, you’ll probably lose a little more weight, not gain any. That’s what worked for me, and I’ve been maintaining a 90lb+ weight loss for nearly 8 years. Good luck.
  • csplatt
    csplatt Posts: 1,028 Member
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    Maintenance for me is not that far off of my deficit — maybe a roll at dinner and a small bowl of ice cream. Or chips with lunch and a second serving of protein at dinner. With that in mind, I have still felt really in control at maintenance!
  • Letsdothis749
    Letsdothis749 Posts: 34 Member
    edited July 2022
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    Ugh, so basically dieting forever. That sounds awful.

    I have decided that if I'm going to eat junkfood again sometime and have to decide between half a piece of pizza every day and four pieces of pizza every three weeks (ignore the math), I'm going to do the second one. I don't know. I find it easier to get my fill once and have to wait longer than to constantly feel that I've eaten "too little."

    It's a version of "eat in moderation," just not the way I originally heard it.

    But I will probably continue to eat healthy food first so I don't just gorge myself because of waiting too long to eat.

    I also think I'll buy a small or something because if I buy a large for myself I either end up a) forcing myself to eat pizza no longer at it's prime (for the whole week) or
    b) tossing it. (How's that for a "better deal.")

    I also think I'm going to take into consideration that the leptin theories seem accurrate. After I eat one junky thing, it takes a while for my hunger to be manageable (or does that mean my metabolism increased?). Maybe I'll eat junk even less often, so as not to make myself suffer even more.


    I've toyed with the idea of trying to get below my goal weight so I have a little more wiggle room. (I also worry about the dismal long-term success rates.) But maybe that would just make the metablic effects worse.

    Wow. These posts are old...buy still relevant.
  • Letsdothis749
    Letsdothis749 Posts: 34 Member
    edited July 2022
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    1432Melanie wrote: »
    I have struggled with food, most of my adult life. Consider myself an addict, no matter what my weight is.
    I am accustomed to the nutritional expectations at my existing weight loss plan however I struggle to consume the calories. I do not have the natural sense of hunger. Ever.
    Moving into 'maintenance' sends mission impossible music playing in my head. I do not want to add foods, with sugars back into my diet, and consuming additional calories seems overwhelming. I am nearing the low side of my "healthy weight" BMI and need a logical plan, that I can live with. I have bumped up my weight loss goal, and changed to loose at a slower rate, allowing for transitioning.
    Very anxious. My nutritionist has confidence that myfitnesspal is my best tool.
    I suspect this is common, in general people are resistant to change. We can't be the only people with both a phycological and nutritional dilemma.

    supposedly some people are triggered (biologically) by carbs and sugar more than oils.

    Maybe adding popcorn and (occassional) cheese is more your style?

    Even some peanut butters seem mostly oily.

    Nuts in general seem to be high-calorie and usually aren't bad.

    Anything fast food likely has more calories than you bargain for though.

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