From Cutting to Maintenance

iMattchuu

I've spent the past 12 weeks on a slight deficit (0.5 lbs per week) and I am satisfied with my results. I spent a lot of that time using a scale, measuring out my foods for meal prep, and splitting my meals up into 3 main meals (breakfast, lunch, dinner) and 3 snacks throughout the day about 2-3 hours apart. I have also had no issues while on a cut as I have had a couple of cheat meals (family parties, events, etc.), but for the most part I am very consistent and always living up to my macros.

I am beginning to aim towards maintenance, so that I can bulk later on down the line. The thing I am having trouble with is reaching my caloric value and keeping up with my macros. During my cut, I went from 2650 calories to 2320 calories and I was able to reach within 5-100 calories of that value, which was fine, but now that I am switching to maintenance, I am allowed 2510 and the problem I am having is eating more food because I am so used to eating my 3 meals and 3 snacks that I am not hungry and I am satisfied with how much I am already eating. I feel like purposely eating more is defeating the purpose, but I was wondering what examples of meal plans some of you guys may have (calories and macros included), so that I could get an idea of how to adjust and eat more without forcing myself to reach my goal every day.

richardgavel

It's not really defeating the purpose physically. It's more mental than anything and from experience, as you add calories, your mind and body will get used to that level. That's what makes getting overweight so easy to happen, among other things. Think about people who bulk to gain muscle, eating 3500-4000 a day. That's eating purposely and they probably get tired of eating that much.

SideSteel

iMattchuu wrote: »

I am beginning to aim towards maintenance, so that I can bulk later on down the line. The thing I am having trouble with is reaching my caloric value and keeping up with my macros. During my cut, I went from 2650 calories to 2320 calories and I was able to reach within 5-100 calories of that value, which was fine, but now that I am switching to maintenance, I am allowed 2510 and the problem I am having is eating more food because I am so used to eating my 3 meals and 3 snacks that I am not hungry and I am satisfied with how much I am already eating. I feel like purposely eating more is defeating the purpose, but I was wondering what examples of meal plans some of you guys may have (calories and macros included), so that I could get an idea of how to adjust and eat more without forcing myself to reach my goal every day.

I would suggest adding something to the meals and/or snacks to increase the palatability and energy value of the foods.

Good examples: honey, peanut butter, oils
Bad examples: more vegetables

Point being, you should find a way to basically do the opposite of what we would recommend for weight loss. Make your meals more palatable and less hunger-blunting so that the caloric increase doesn't feel difficult to do.

Rusty740

Along with what SideSteel said, take it slow. Increase to maintenance over several weeks. Your body will get used to it (or so I've heard). I'm just slowly going to maintenance after 13 months of losing.