Maintenance Busted!

musick79

[quote="Trina2040;39174469" You control the food, it doesn't control you. Eat an appropriate amount of calories with a small deficit so that you don't eat all the food on those bottomless pit days, which we all have. You'll drop that weight in no time, just have patience.[/quote]

Great advice!! I have put back on 20lbs after 3 years losing 60+. Back to "controlling my food" Love this!!

WinoGelato

I agree that if you are confident that your mainentance cals are 2100, then cutting all the way to 1700 might be too far. How much more weight are you trying to lose? Maybe go with 1900, or even 1850, that would be a 250 cal deficit and 0.5 lb/week. Having a higher baseline may make you more consistent and you may get things moving again.

I actually found the opposite to be true for me, than what you experienced. I kind of hit a plateau before I officially decided to move to maintenance, and I wasn't interested in cutting calories lower. I was at one of my original goal weights, so I decided to call my loss "complete" and I changed my goal to "maintain" but I didn't really up the calories much (since I was already in a plateau and not losing). When I did that, I realized I no longer had a buffer, so I was much more careful about not going over, and lo and behold, I started losing again. Very slowly, about 0.25 lb/week, but I ended up losing about another 5 lbs to my new maintenance range before I really did decide that I was done losing and happy with my weight. I started eating banking calories during the week for more indulgent weekends, but making sure that my weekly average was right about at my TDEE (per my FitBit). That has worked well for me to give me the illusion of the buffer again, and I've been maintaining that way for about 2 years now.

fiddletime

I gained 17# over the top of my maintenance and have lost 11 of them. What got me going again was that I realized that I was either going to keep gaining- or go the other direction. How much did I want to have to lose?

My plan is to lose 6 more pounds and slow my weight loss down. There is no "I'm done". For me, it will be never ending as once I slip into eating all the food I craved before, it's very hard to stop. I don't want to slip big time again. I want to eat 1500 cal, not 1200 (I'm 62 and 5'2).

LilacLion

Thanks for posting this. I have taken a two-week break after losing a bunch and upped my cals by about 400 per day. I gained a pound but lost a pants size. For me the vaca was appropriate and now I know more. I'll take a good look for the problems mentioned.

Kimblesnbits13

I'm curious about this also since I'm pretty much at my maintenance calories. I'm planning on going back to losing my last 3 lbs in June but not sure where my mindset will be then. I'm hoping these last few lbs will just fall off as I'm still playing with upping my calories but I'm not sure they will. I can only hope I'll be as lucky as @WinoGelato !

mmmpork

I have always struggled with this kind of food obsession and overeating cycle, countered with complex diets that were more like a religious cult. I sought help for some other symptoms I was experienced and was diagnosed with a mental disorder (ADHD) that required medication. The medication didn't cure me but at least gave me some chance of success at applying CBT methods when I experienced symptoms since my brain wasn't sabotaging me due to lack of dopamine. Through this process, I finally admitted I was struggling with binge eating disorder and orthorexia. Is it possible you have a brain chemical disorder such as low dopamine which your brain translates as a craving for these types of foods? In my case, I can't stop thinking about the food, it's disruptive, and I'm practically crawling the walls until I can eat it. Now I still get the urges as a stress response and am most vulnerable during PMS. I have succumbed to them BUT I was able to dialogue with myself about why and find the emotional trigger, and then seek to balance that aspect of my life. I also recognize that certain foods are especially difficult for me. I test myself sometimes by having small amounts in the house at a time and only allowing an appropriate portion size. If it's hard for me to skip a day or I find myself obsessing about the food, then I don't get to get more once it's gone until I'm in a better place. This might be a total long shot but it's something to consider if you find yourself struggling with food obsession despite your best efforts. Dopamine deficiency is a *kitten*.

5stringjeff

@nowine4me: I've read somewhere (maybe here, maybe elsewhere online) that it takes our hunger hormones about a year to recalibrate to our new maintenance levels. It sounds like maybe that could be contributing to what's going on, since you mentioned cravings and "the belly gremlin." You've gotten a lot of other good advice here, so good luck!

nowine4me

There is most definitely a mental aspect to this puzzle. My husband eats like a normal person-- orders, eats until he's full-- and that's it. Me on the other hand, I order, gobble the whole plate (salad or otherwise) then am anxious about how soon I can eat again. He can eat a tiny bit of -- for example--Cadbury mini eggs, and be satisfied. I finish the bag and want to drive back to the store. It makes consistency difficult. I find reading these boards and blogs and knowing I'm not alone is very reassuring.

girlgroves

I also struggle with this on occasion - I put it down to a complete lapse of discipline on my part - whether consciously or subconsciously - it's almost as though I give myself permission! I read somewhere (probably here on MFP) that discipline is a choice between what you want now and what you want most. I'm trying to make that my new mantra...... because I definitely know what I want most ultimately. And it's certainly not another biscuit! Don't give up. Good luck.

fiddletime

Same here NoWine. Sometimes it's very hard to "just have one", or to stop when full. Very frustrating and I struggle with that weekly.