Any maintenance advice for a newbie?
GrumpyHeadmistress
Posts: 666 Member
Just got to goal weight (125lbs) after 666 days eating 1300. Still losing rapidly - 122.4lbs when I stepped on the scale this morning but am not worried about that since my maintenance range is going to be 120-125 and I know I’ll gain when I first go to maintenance calories.
Was planning to add in 100 calories per day for a couple of weeks and then repeat until I maintain.
Does that sound sensible? Any advice from long time maintainers gratefully received!
Was planning to add in 100 calories per day for a couple of weeks and then repeat until I maintain.
Does that sound sensible? Any advice from long time maintainers gratefully received!
3
Replies
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yep that'll work.
were you eating at 1lb deficit or 0.5lb deficit before now?2 -
TavistockToad wrote: »yep that'll work.
were you eating at 1lb deficit or 0.5lb deficit before now?
I was eating at 0.5lbs deficit but never actually managed to lose just 0.5lbs a week. Averaged about 1.5lbs a week. I think I massively under estimate my exercise burns.1 -
GrumpyHeadmistress wrote: »TavistockToad wrote: »yep that'll work.
were you eating at 1lb deficit or 0.5lb deficit before now?
I was eating at 0.5lbs deficit but never actually managed to lose just 0.5lbs a week. Averaged about 1.5lbs a week. I think I massively under estimate my exercise burns.
then i would add 200-300 straight away (if not more) and then add in 100 a week from there.3 -
TavistockToad wrote: »GrumpyHeadmistress wrote: »TavistockToad wrote: »yep that'll work.
were you eating at 1lb deficit or 0.5lb deficit before now?
I was eating at 0.5lbs deficit but never actually managed to lose just 0.5lbs a week. Averaged about 1.5lbs a week. I think I massively under estimate my exercise burns.
then i would add 200-300 straight away and then add in 100 a week from there.
Plan. I’m off on holiday from Saturday so I’ll need to keep an eye on my calories as I always lose too much on holiday.0 -
GrumpyHeadmistress wrote: »TavistockToad wrote: »GrumpyHeadmistress wrote: »TavistockToad wrote: »yep that'll work.
were you eating at 1lb deficit or 0.5lb deficit before now?
I was eating at 0.5lbs deficit but never actually managed to lose just 0.5lbs a week. Averaged about 1.5lbs a week. I think I massively under estimate my exercise burns.
then i would add 200-300 straight away and then add in 100 a week from there.
Plan. I’m off on holiday from Saturday so I’ll need to keep an eye on my calories as I always lose too much on holiday.
that is not a sentence i have EVER said :laugh:16 -
TavistockToad wrote: »GrumpyHeadmistress wrote: »TavistockToad wrote: »GrumpyHeadmistress wrote: »TavistockToad wrote: »yep that'll work.
were you eating at 1lb deficit or 0.5lb deficit before now?
I was eating at 0.5lbs deficit but never actually managed to lose just 0.5lbs a week. Averaged about 1.5lbs a week. I think I massively under estimate my exercise burns.
then i would add 200-300 straight away and then add in 100 a week from there.
Plan. I’m off on holiday from Saturday so I’ll need to keep an eye on my calories as I always lose too much on holiday.
that is not a sentence i have EVER said :laugh:
I know, it’s such a stupid issue to have! It’s just that jet lag means I wake up at 5:30am US time and the only thing that is open at that time is the YMCA so I end up swimming for a hour every morning. Then i calorie count and end up coming back a lot lighter than I went. And I eat all my exercise calories, promise! I think my watch underestimates.
0 -
GrumpyHeadmistress wrote: »TavistockToad wrote: »GrumpyHeadmistress wrote: »TavistockToad wrote: »GrumpyHeadmistress wrote: »TavistockToad wrote: »yep that'll work.
were you eating at 1lb deficit or 0.5lb deficit before now?
I was eating at 0.5lbs deficit but never actually managed to lose just 0.5lbs a week. Averaged about 1.5lbs a week. I think I massively under estimate my exercise burns.
then i would add 200-300 straight away and then add in 100 a week from there.
Plan. I’m off on holiday from Saturday so I’ll need to keep an eye on my calories as I always lose too much on holiday.
that is not a sentence i have EVER said :laugh:
I know, it’s such a stupid issue to have! It’s just that jet lag means I wake up at 5:30am US time and the only thing that is open at that time is the YMCA so I end up swimming for a hour every morning. Then i calorie count and end up coming back a lot lighter than I went. And I eat all my exercise calories, promise! I think my watch underestimates.
where abouts in the US are you going?
the best i have managed was being really disappointed after only gaining a pound from a week in Las Vegas!!!
you know what they say though, if you cant fuel the workout properly, don't do it.2 -
TavistockToad wrote: »GrumpyHeadmistress wrote: »TavistockToad wrote: »GrumpyHeadmistress wrote: »TavistockToad wrote: »yep that'll work.
were you eating at 1lb deficit or 0.5lb deficit before now?
I was eating at 0.5lbs deficit but never actually managed to lose just 0.5lbs a week. Averaged about 1.5lbs a week. I think I massively under estimate my exercise burns.
then i would add 200-300 straight away and then add in 100 a week from there.
Plan. I’m off on holiday from Saturday so I’ll need to keep an eye on my calories as I always lose too much on holiday.
that is not a sentence i have EVER said :laugh:
Same
I happily gain 6-10lbs on my holidays.
Adding 100 calories a day is the way I do it as well after a cut.1 -
TavistockToad wrote: »GrumpyHeadmistress wrote: »TavistockToad wrote: »GrumpyHeadmistress wrote: »TavistockToad wrote: »GrumpyHeadmistress wrote: »TavistockToad wrote: »yep that'll work.
were you eating at 1lb deficit or 0.5lb deficit before now?
I was eating at 0.5lbs deficit but never actually managed to lose just 0.5lbs a week. Averaged about 1.5lbs a week. I think I massively under estimate my exercise burns.
then i would add 200-300 straight away and then add in 100 a week from there.
Plan. I’m off on holiday from Saturday so I’ll need to keep an eye on my calories as I always lose too much on holiday.
that is not a sentence i have EVER said :laugh:
I know, it’s such a stupid issue to have! It’s just that jet lag means I wake up at 5:30am US time and the only thing that is open at that time is the YMCA so I end up swimming for a hour every morning. Then i calorie count and end up coming back a lot lighter than I went. And I eat all my exercise calories, promise! I think my watch underestimates.
where abouts in the US are you going?
the best i have managed was being really disappointed after only gaining a pound from a week in Las Vegas!!!
you know what they say though, if you cant fuel the workout properly, don't do it.
Texas - Dallas, Austin, San Antonio and Houston.
The buffet at the Bellagio was my undoing. That and the frozen hot chocolate from Serendipity 2. Drool.
0 -
GrumpyHeadmistress wrote: »TavistockToad wrote: »GrumpyHeadmistress wrote: »TavistockToad wrote: »GrumpyHeadmistress wrote: »TavistockToad wrote: »GrumpyHeadmistress wrote: »TavistockToad wrote: »yep that'll work.
were you eating at 1lb deficit or 0.5lb deficit before now?
I was eating at 0.5lbs deficit but never actually managed to lose just 0.5lbs a week. Averaged about 1.5lbs a week. I think I massively under estimate my exercise burns.
then i would add 200-300 straight away and then add in 100 a week from there.
Plan. I’m off on holiday from Saturday so I’ll need to keep an eye on my calories as I always lose too much on holiday.
that is not a sentence i have EVER said :laugh:
I know, it’s such a stupid issue to have! It’s just that jet lag means I wake up at 5:30am US time and the only thing that is open at that time is the YMCA so I end up swimming for a hour every morning. Then i calorie count and end up coming back a lot lighter than I went. And I eat all my exercise calories, promise! I think my watch underestimates.
where abouts in the US are you going?
the best i have managed was being really disappointed after only gaining a pound from a week in Las Vegas!!!
you know what they say though, if you cant fuel the workout properly, don't do it.
Texas - Dallas, Austin, San Antonio and Houston.
The buffet at the Bellagio was my undoing. That and the frozen hot chocolate from Serendipity 2. Drool.
we had breakfast at the MGM grand buffet every day... i remember they had AMAZING peanut cookies on the dessert section...
we're hoping to go back next year, i will have to remember to check out the Bellagio buffet!0 -
Sounds too slow a rate of increase to me - you are so far away from maintenance calories I think you need a far bigger initial jump up and then save the 100 cal adjustments for later when you need to fine tune.
Personally I would jump at least 500/day immediately and be unconcerned about any water weight bounce, that would most likely still be a deficit.
Had a look at your exercise diary and couldn't really understand it all TBH.
Your swimming doesn't sound an unreasonable estimate but your "walking @ 3mph, walking dog" is massively over-estimated - unless you are walking up a mountain and carrying an extremely large dog perhaps?
Maybe the inaccuracy comes from elsewhere. Atypically over-estimating food or the wrong activity setting perhaps?
Unfortunately you don't have a lot of solid data to go on as your results have been so far away from predictions. A lot of experimentation is going to be required. I'd be tempted to make a completely fresh start including deciding on methodology that would suit you at maintenance long term.
Including considering if your watch is hindering rather than helping if it's not accurate?9 -
My newbie tip is to set a 5-10 lb maintenance range. Weigh yourself regularly. When you get to the top or bottom of your range, adjust your calories by 100-200 per day until you're back in mid range.
I encourage you to browse the other threads in this forum, all of which are full of newbie tips.6 -
If you were trying to lose .5 per week and you were losing 1.5 then I would definitely add more than 100 calories per day. If I were you I would start by adding at least 300 calories per day maybe more. If you are losing 1.5 per week then that means you are at a 750 per day deficit. I have had a hard time finding my maintenance calories. I have a fitbit, but it underestimates my calorie burn. I always try to eat at least 200-250 more calories than what fitbit gives me. It seems crazy, and most people will think that it is a good problem to have. But there are plenty of people who have a hard time stopping their weight loss. I didn't gain when I went to maintenance calories. I just kept slowly losing. I think for me it is because I am so much more active than before.0
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GrumpyHeadmistress wrote: »Just got to goal weight (125lbs) after 666 days eating 1300. Still losing rapidly - 122.4lbs when I stepped on the scale this morning but am not worried about that since my maintenance range is going to be 120-125 and I know I’ll gain when I first go to maintenance calories.
Was planning to add in 100 calories per day for a couple of weeks and then repeat until I maintain.
Does that sound sensible? Any advice from long time maintainers gratefully received!
The "add in 100 calories per day" seems odd, since that really doesn't allow much time to see the impact. I assume a week is needed to see the impact of any change, especially one that small.2 -
Sounds too slow a rate of increase to me - you are so far away from maintenance calories I think you need a far bigger initial jump up and then save the 100 cal adjustments for later when you need to fine tune.
Personally I would jump at least 500/day immediately and be unconcerned about any water weight bounce, that would most likely still be a deficit.
Had a look at your exercise diary and couldn't really understand it all TBH.
Your swimming doesn't sound an unreasonable estimate but your "walking @ 3mph, walking dog" is massively over-estimated - unless you are walking up a mountain and carrying an extremely large dog perhaps?
Maybe the inaccuracy comes from elsewhere. Atypically over-estimating food or the wrong activity setting perhaps?
Unfortunately you don't have a lot of solid data to go on as your results have been so far away from predictions. A lot of experimentation is going to be required. I'd be tempted to make a completely fresh start including deciding on methodology that would suit you at maintenance long term.
Including considering if your watch is hindering rather than helping if it's not accurate?
The walking is uphill (the steepest incline the treadmill will go) so hopefully isn’t too far off.
I religiously weight everything so I would hope that I’m not than far off with “calories in”.
But you’re right, something is off somewhere.1 -
My newbie tip is to set a 5-10 lb maintenance range. Weigh yourself regularly. When you get to the top or bottom of your range, adjust your calories by 100-200 per day until you're back in mid range.
I encourage you to browse the other threads in this forum, all of which are full of newbie tips.
Thanks!0 -
If you were trying to lose .5 per week and you were losing 1.5 then I would definitely add more than 100 calories per day. If I were you I would start by adding at least 300 calories per day maybe more. If you are losing 1.5 per week then that means you are at a 750 per day deficit. I have had a hard time finding my maintenance calories. I have a fitbit, but it underestimates my calorie burn. I always try to eat at least 200-250 more calories than what fitbit gives me. It seems crazy, and most people will think that it is a good problem to have. But there are plenty of people who have a hard time stopping their weight loss. I didn't gain when I went to maintenance calories. I just kept slowly losing. I think for me it is because I am so much more active than before.
I’ll definitely consider that, thanks.0 -
richardgavel wrote: »GrumpyHeadmistress wrote: »Just got to goal weight (125lbs) after 666 days eating 1300. Still losing rapidly - 122.4lbs when I stepped on the scale this morning but am not worried about that since my maintenance range is going to be 120-125 and I know I’ll gain when I first go to maintenance calories.
Was planning to add in 100 calories per day for a couple of weeks and then repeat until I maintain.
Does that sound sensible? Any advice from long time maintainers gratefully received!
The "add in 100 calories per day" seems odd, since that really doesn't allow much time to see the impact. I assume a week is needed to see the impact of any change, especially one that small.
Sorry maybe I wasn’t clear. I was planning to add 100 calories a day (so go up to 1400 initially) and leave things there for a couple of weeks. If I still lose, I’ll add another 100 calories a day (1500) and then give it a couple of week.
2 -
I have been adding a 100 every 2 weeks and what I have found is that the 1st week I kind of sit still and then the 2nd week im continuing to lose a little bit. Only 4 weeks of data so far. I am on week 5 and added 300 from weight loss level. Just trying to ease on up to where things level out. But I think it will be on going process forever. And the best advice is a above. Monitor averages and trends and energy and adjust from there.
Honestly the first weeks have been a little scary worried my TDEE was really low.3 -
GrumpyHeadmistress wrote: »Sounds too slow a rate of increase to me - you are so far away from maintenance calories I think you need a far bigger initial jump up and then save the 100 cal adjustments for later when you need to fine tune.
Personally I would jump at least 500/day immediately and be unconcerned about any water weight bounce, that would most likely still be a deficit.
Had a look at your exercise diary and couldn't really understand it all TBH.
Your swimming doesn't sound an unreasonable estimate but your "walking @ 3mph, walking dog" is massively over-estimated - unless you are walking up a mountain and carrying an extremely large dog perhaps?
Maybe the inaccuracy comes from elsewhere. Atypically over-estimating food or the wrong activity setting perhaps?
Unfortunately you don't have a lot of solid data to go on as your results have been so far away from predictions. A lot of experimentation is going to be required. I'd be tempted to make a completely fresh start including deciding on methodology that would suit you at maintenance long term.
Including considering if your watch is hindering rather than helping if it's not accurate?
The walking is uphill (the steepest incline the treadmill will go) so hopefully isn’t too far off.
I religiously weight everything so I would hope that I’m not than far off with “calories in”.
But you’re right, something is off somewhere.
I wasn't so far off in guessing walking up a mountain then!
I was very much a "lazy logger" and my variance was only about 200cals when losing weight, your variance is huge.
Activity setting being wrong could be a contributor - it seems a lot of people chose sedentary when they aren't.
Some people have far higher NEAT than others (like a cat on a hot tin roof rather than a cat asleep in front of the fire...) but still not seeing such a big difference.
Good luck with your experimentation, your rate of increase does sound too conservative to me but I'm someone who always strives to eat the maximum rather than the minimum.
At least it seems you are going to be able to eat a decent amount of food at maintenance.4
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