Now What?

jbean1990

In March I was 215lbs and a waist 38". I am now down to 168lbs and a 32/34" waist. 47lbs later I'm now at goal and thinking, now what? I've reached my target through reducing my calories to 1660 and sticking to the religiously, aside from maybe 1 cheat weekend a month which has actually been a great help. I run with a club so do about 40km a week and burn off around 3200 - 400kcal per week running. I'm also a teacher and spend most of the da on my feet on-the-go. So fairly active. Obviously the summer break is coming up so I won't be as active but will portly run more.

I just don't know where to go from here, I don't want to lose anymore, which I can't seem to help doing. I thought about upping calories but I'm worried suddenly upping will resulting weight gain?

Any advice is great!

For reference:
current MFP Target: 1660 (-2lbs p/w)
-1.5/lbs = 1750 p/w
-1lbs = 2130 p/w
-0.5lbs = 2300 p/w
Maintain = 2540 p/w

janeinspain

First of all, congratulations! You've done an amazing thing!

Now, to answer your question, from what I've read here and there, ideally you should up 100-150cals and keep the new number for a week or two, then increase again and maintain another couple of weeks, until you reach the point where you don't lose anymore. It's better not to jump straight to maintenance, but ease into it.

livingleanlivingclean

Congrats on reaching your goal!
If you keep eating in a deficit, you're going to keep losing though .... Surely the thought of more food is appealing to you? I would never say no to more calories!

You could gradually increase your cals until you reach a point where you're maintaining. Small increases shouldn't mean you'll have a sudden bug jump in weight, although you're likely to hold a bit more water due to more carbs. Perhaps try tracking your weight daily on a trending app so you can see what's going on? Remember you will have a maintenance "range" too, so your weight won't stay constant every day.

jbean1990

Thanks, I was thinking it would be better to increase gradually. Now I'm really into running it's made a big difference, some eeeks even burning around 6000 just from exercise, plus regularly hitting 15-20k steps through work. This may sound daft, but what is a maintenance range?

livingleanlivingclean

jbean1990 wrote: »

Thanks, I was thinking it would be better to increase gradually. Now I'm really into running it's made a big difference, some eeeks even burning around 6000 just from exercise, plus regularly hitting 15-20k steps through work. This may sound daft, but what is a maintenance range?

Your weight is likely to fluctuate.... Hormones, food, water, high sodium etc. Just like weight loss isn't linear, maintenance isn't either. Going up and down a few lbs isn't cause for concern - that's why a weight trending app can be helpful.

jbean1990

Should I be eating exercise calories back? I use a garmin forerunner to track runs but don't eat any back at all, kind of ignore them and stick to the original calorie limit

livingleanlivingclean

jbean1990 wrote: »

Should I be eating exercise calories back? I use a garmin forerunner to track runs but don't eat any back at all, kind of ignore them and stick to the original calorie limit

Yes.

MysticGoalie

Congrats

jbean1990

Even eat them back if it's 1000 burnt off?!

jbean1990

livingleanlivingclean wrote: »

Congrats on reaching your goal!
If you keep eating in a deficit, you're going to keep losing though .... Surely the thought of more food is appealing to you? I would never say no to more calories!

You could gradually increase your cals until you reach a point where you're maintaining. Small increases shouldn't mean you'll have a sudden bug jump in weight, although you're likely to hold a bit more water due to more carbs. Perhaps try tracking your weight daily on a trending app so you can see what's going on? Remember you will have a maintenance "range" too, so your weight won't stay constant every day.

The idea of more calories is brilliant! But I get a bit OCD and because I've been cutting them for so long I can't help but worry!

lorrpb

You would gain weight only if you up them by more than what your deficit has been. Get youOCD self to do the math & keep logging. Set a 5 lb maintenance range. If you get to the top, resume a 250 deficit til you get back to mind range.

sijomial

jbean1990 wrote: »

Even eat them back if it's 1000 burnt off?!

Why does the size of the number matter if it's realistic?
It's about balance - in versus out.

I burned c. 2800 yesterday on a long bike ride. If I don't eat them back I can't maintain my weight.