During weight loss, how often should I have a day I eat for maintenance?

katherineduweck
katherineduweck Posts: 22 Member
edited November 17 in Health and Weight Loss
I've been doing well with my plan lately and the scale REALLY started tipping in my favor when I started incorporating calorie negative foods into my diet (a mix of fruit an veg like green beans, carrots, strawberries, blackberries, raspberries, grapefruit, spinach, cucumber). I'm eating and exercising for a weight loss of 1.5-2 lbs a week, but I'm losing more. Must be the calorie negative foods.

With that snapshot, how often should I have a day that I eat for maintenance instead of weight loss calorie-wise? I'm doing this for long-term lifestyle and health, not an event or beach season. I'm not worried about "losing" a day -- this is about the rest of my life. I'm also not talking about supplementing with junk food, I mean a normal day with an extra meal or larger portions of calorie-heavier healthy food. (Maybe I'll have extra Greek yogurt with cinnamon and put a WHOLE avocado on my salad! :))

Thanks all; I appreciate the feedback and support in advance.

Replies

  • Erotyka
    Erotyka Posts: 82 Member
    As others have said - calorie negative foods aren't a thing, really. The stuff you're eating is just lower in calories than whatever you were eating before.

    You don't 'need' a maintenance day. Feel free to have as many as you like, however. There are no rules!
  • Sabine_Stroehm
    Sabine_Stroehm Posts: 19,263 Member
    Silentpadna wrote: »
    livingleanlivingclean wrote: »
    There are no such thing as negative calorie foods.

    You can have a "maintenance" level day as often as you like - it's your journey, and you decide how long you take to get there!

    OP is most likely referring to what have been called "negative calorie" or "negative calorie effect" foods. Those that supposedly take more energy to digest than what they contribute.

    In reality of course, there are no "negative calorie" foods - they all count.

    I think the concept is a little misleading and an emphasis on them masks the overall goal of simply eating at a deficit.
    Yup. I assumed that. You usually hear that for celery. Not for raspberries, green beans etc. Regardless, right, it's not really a thing.
  • ijsantos2005
    ijsantos2005 Posts: 306 Member
    Celery and iceberg lettuce for sure!
  • ddveedub
    ddveedub Posts: 140 Member
    I have my settings at .5# which gives you a little more wiggle room and closer to your maintenance calorie range, maybe that would work for you too? I have found, for me at least, that if I'm kinder and more realistic I am with my family's food, the less grumbling I have at meals;o) I have also made a commitment to our family's health. We are eating for life here. Add a little granola to your greek yogurt with cinnamon(yum). You will find what works for you, I'm positive. Happy, Healthy life to you!
  • lthames0810
    lthames0810 Posts: 722 Member
    Although you don't need a maintenance day, I've read other threads on the topic of diet breaks and apparently some people benefit from it both psychologically and physiologically. They don't just eat at maintenance for a single day, but for a period of 10 days to two weeks.
  • srk369
    srk369 Posts: 256 Member
    Some also raise to maintenance at their TOM if cravings or hunger are huge, special family events or holidays. This makes the events less stressful and more like they will be once you reach maintenance. And less stress is always good for hormone levels!
  • starryphoenix
    starryphoenix Posts: 381 Member
    srk369 wrote: »
    Some also raise to maintenance at their TOM if cravings or hunger are huge, special family events or holidays. This makes the events less stressful and more like they will be once you reach maintenance. And less stress is always good for hormone levels!

    This, plus sometimes I'll pause for a couple of weeks every 5 or 10 pounds I lose.
  • lorrpb
    lorrpb Posts: 11,463 Member
    You can eat at maintenance as often or infrequently as you wish. There's not a magic rule that creates special results. You don't s as you how much you have to lose, but unless it's more than 50 lbs, your 1.5-2 lb per week is too much. Losing too fast will result in more muscle loss.
  • katherineduweck
    katherineduweck Posts: 22 Member
    Anything I was referring to as "negative calorie" theoretically requires more energy for the body to process than they contain. I'm still counting everything I eat and staying within calorie goals daily. (I'm incorporating different ideas, but I'm not foolish; maybe other factors are boosting my metabolic rate.) I'm not having frequent cravings, but when I do I just work it into my day.
    I'm making sure my nutrition is balanced, getting enough fat and protein, I'm doing light strength training, and if MFP tells me I need to stay within 1400 calories a day, I usually max that out; how can I tell if I'm losing muscle mass or eating too little? I'm always eating so I'm never hungry. I'm just eating a lot of fruit and veg.
  • livingleanlivingclean
    livingleanlivingclean Posts: 11,751 Member
    katherineduweck wrote: »
    Anything I was referring to as "negative calorie" theoretically requires more energy for the body to process than they contain. I'm still counting everything I eat and staying within calorie goals daily. (I'm incorporating different ideas, but I'm not foolish; maybe other factors are boosting my metabolic rate.) I'm not having frequent cravings, but when I do I just work it into my day.
    I'm making sure my nutrition is balanced, getting enough fat and protein, I'm doing light strength training, and if MFP tells me I need to stay within 1400 calories a day, I usually max that out; how can I tell if I'm losing muscle mass or eating too little? I'm always eating so I'm never hungry. I'm just eating a lot of fruit and veg.

    Again, these foods don't exist. I eat kgs a week of what you've called negative calorie foods and I haven't disappeared yet. If they existed I would be needing to eat an equal amount of other food to maintain the deficit I have.
  • annacole94
    annacole94 Posts: 994 Member
    I eat maintenance-ish when I have an event where it's just easier to enjoy it rather than worry about my keeping my portions at my usual deficit. Large family dinners, occasions at nice restaurants, work travel. Typically, it's a couple times a month. You'll probably find that life tells you when to take a day (or meal) easy.
  • mlsh1969
    mlsh1969 Posts: 138 Member
    Eat at maintenance, once every two weeks is my suggestion, or around the TOM is also a good idea
  • officials
    officials Posts: 33 Member
    I sometimes do it on the weekend but don't like staying in the same place for too long. If I'm tired or feeling physically bad, I might eat at maintanence. This is also because I don't have much to lose and I'm in no rush.
  • creyes4182
    creyes4182 Posts: 29 Member
    I usually eat a little more on days I workout heavy.
  • ashleighs148
    ashleighs148 Posts: 335 Member
    The only maintenance days I've planned are when I went away on a weekend break. But I do eat at maintenance every couple weeks or so, it's not planned but if I go out for dinner and I know I'm going to go over, I just make sure it's closer to my maintenance calories.
  • youdoyou2016
    youdoyou2016 Posts: 393 Member
    I don't think there is a "should" regarding how you decide to plan out your calories. One thing I've learned is that it's a numbers game, and what works and feels good for each of us can vary widely.

    (My guess is that what you're currently experiencing regarding the berries and green beans, etc is that these are low-calorie items that are bringing down your total number calories consumed per day or week.)

    Another thing to keep in mind as you continue this process is that what works for you now may not necessarily work in the future: as you get closer to your ideal weight, the margin for error is small -- but, again, it's ultimately about the numbers: if you're extra hungry one day, it would make sense to eat berries rather than a banana as you'd get more bang for your buck, so to speak.


  • katherineduweck
    katherineduweck Posts: 22 Member
    youdoyou2016 wrote: »
    I don't think there is a "should" regarding how you decide to plan out your calories. One thing I've learned is that it's a numbers game, and what works and feels good for each of us can vary widely.

    (My guess is that what you're currently experiencing regarding the berries and green beans, etc is that these are low-calorie items that are bringing down your total number calories consumed per day or week.)

    Another thing to keep in mind as you continue this process is that what works for you now may not necessarily work in the future: as you get closer to your ideal weight, the margin for error is small -- but, again, it's ultimately about the numbers: if you're extra hungry one day, it would make sense to eat berries rather than a banana as you'd get more bang for your buck, so to speak.


    I appreciate those thoughts; right now I still have about 55 pounds to lose from an original 85 or 90 pound goal; I've made a lot of progress, but have a ways to go and my body is reacting differently as I go through different lifestyle changes, and even if my caloric intake has stayed the same, swapping out 200-300 calories of whole grains and dairy for fruit and veg may be causing the change I'm seeing, and it could be a temporary metabolic
    adjustment that will wear off in a couple more weeks.

    As I get closer to my goal of 160 I will need to adjust my activity and nutrition, absolutely, however even if I keep going as I am with progress, the earliest I'll need to worry about that is fall. :)

    Thank you. <3
  • youdoyou2016
    youdoyou2016 Posts: 393 Member
    katherineduweck wrote: »
    youdoyou2016 wrote: »
    I don't think there is a "should" regarding how you decide to plan out your calories. One thing I've learned is that it's a numbers game, and what works and feels good for each of us can vary widely.

    (My guess is that what you're currently experiencing regarding the berries and green beans, etc is that these are low-calorie items that are bringing down your total number calories consumed per day or week.)

    Another thing to keep in mind as you continue this process is that what works for you now may not necessarily work in the future: as you get closer to your ideal weight, the margin for error is small -- but, again, it's ultimately about the numbers: if you're extra hungry one day, it would make sense to eat berries rather than a banana as you'd get more bang for your buck, so to speak.


    I appreciate those thoughts; right now I still have about 55 pounds to lose from an original 85 or 90 pound goal; I've made a lot of progress, but have a ways to go and my body is reacting differently as I go through different lifestyle changes, and even if my caloric intake has stayed the same, swapping out 200-300 calories of whole grains and dairy for fruit and veg may be causing the change I'm seeing, and it could be a temporary metabolic
    adjustment that will wear off in a couple more weeks.

    As I get closer to my goal of 160 I will need to adjust my activity and nutrition, absolutely, however even if I keep going as I am with progress, the earliest I'll need to worry about that is fall. :)

    Thank you. <3

    Congratulations on your loss and success thus far!

    I know I said a few times in my post that "it's a numbers game," but I also think you're onto something with your response. Foods do affect each of us differently, and I avoid grains and dairy as well. My weight will go up a few lbs with even one slice of toast, and it will stay up for several days. I know it's not fat, but I also do not lose the weeks I have a piece of bread despite being in my usual calorie deficit. (I get back to my original, pre-toast weight, but nothing less than that.) I guess it's a numbers game once you figure out which foods you want to play with.
  • Daddy78230
    Daddy78230 Posts: 125 Member
    I spend about half of my week in a calorie deficit and the other days at maintenance. 3 days dieting the other 4 days mindful eating to my macros.

    I thought it would make weightless more bearable, but I actually find it enjoyable and motivating. I like to think of eating at maintenance as practice when I don't have to lose anymore. Plus it makes social engagements less of a big deal. I lose about 1% per week.
  • tinkerbellang83
    tinkerbellang83 Posts: 9,129 Member
    It's up to yourself really, for me, I tend to eat at maintenance maybe 6 or 7 days a month or when I'm away travelling. But there are some days when I come in slightly under my calorie goal too so all in all it doesn't have that much of an affect, I've my loss rate set in goals to around 1.5lb per week and I'm still averaging around that.
  • Machka9
    Machka9 Posts: 25,616 Member
    When I started, I took my first diet break at 16 weeks. I had lost 15 kg, which was my first goal, and was going on holidays then. So I took a 1-month diet break.

    Then I resumed the diet for another 16 weeks.

    That's what worked for me! :)
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