Can't get back on track

JGilchrist23

In 2016, I went from 182lbs to 149lbs but since Xmas I have bounced between 150 and 154 lbs and I just cannot seem to get started again. My current goal is 132lbs so I only have another 20lbs to drop. I know what I need to do and how to do it but every day, I eat my allotted cals (everything weighed out on a scale) by dinnertime and then, by the time I go to bed, I have kept on eating up to maintenance, another 300-400 cals every day. Thankfully, something is still stopping me at maintenance cals and my exercise burn is helping there too so at least I'm not gaining. The problem is that now, eating to deficit cals leaves me slightly hungry whereas eating to maintenance is satisfying me each day. I didn't have this problem last year, I'm eating the same meals and food as before but as each week goes by and I make no new progress, I am getting more and more frustrated! I guess I just needed to write this out and acknowledge to myself what I am doing and then get back to it old school - meal plan, keep unnecessary snacks out the house (I just ate the last mini Magnum anyway!) and take it one day at a time again!

Has this happened to anyone else and if so, what steps did you take to break out of your fug!

panda4153

This was me for a long time. Lost 55 Lbs and then kind of just maintained. I would have a really good couple of days and then go out to eat, or have drinks with friends and wipe out my deficit. I was not gaining but still, I was not losing. What worked for me was to focus on having a small deficit every day, even if it was just 50 to 100 calories as time went by I was able to up it. Since like you I only have 15-20lbs to go I now aim for an average of 300 cal deficit per day. Some days i am not as hungry and it will larger, other days I want to eat my own hand, and so I am much closer to maintenance. I also pre plan each month for any special occasion days, holidays, celebrations, when I know I will eat well over maintenance. There always seems to be at least one, and by planning those days out in advance, I am less likely to allow a random day to become a surplus day.