How do you do maintenance/recomp?

jjpptt2

I'm not far off from shifting my focus from bulk/cut cycles (or more accurately, caring/not caring cycles) to a longer term recomp. I get the math and the action part of it... but what I'm wondering about is the approach, the practice, the mindset.

When someone tries to lose weight, they have to maintain a calorie deficit, but how they actually accomplish that can and does vary. That's what I'm asking about here.

How do you maintain/recomp?

1. What do you track? Weight? Cals? Both? Neither (intuitive)?
2. How much leeway/range do you give yourself? Over what period of time? Is a 3lb fluctuation ok? How long does it take before you consider a fluctuation to actually be a gain or loss? See what I'm getting at?

CarvedTones

https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10177803/recomposition-maintaining-weight-while-losing-fat

1 - Both

2 - That decision (range) varies by person. 5 pounds seems common. I use an absolute upper limit and just stay reasonably far below. Lately I have been 4-5 below it. I may drop down as much as 10 below it but no further.

seska422

I track everything I tracked when losing. Maintenance, for me, is like weight loss but with a slightly higher calorie budget.

I like a 5 pound range for my trend. I haven't hit the lowest weight yet and that's fine. I try to keep my trend around the middle.

My daily calorie goal is still at a bit of a deficit so that my weight drifts downward. I'll have a high-calorie treat meal every 5-10 days to counteract that deficit. If my daily weight gets near the bottom of the range, it's time to eat out.

sijomial

What do you track? Weight? Cals? Both? Neither (intuitive)?
I monitor my weight daily and keep a casual idea of any trends, haven't logged my food for ages.
Still log my exercise to give me an idea of my burns as they vary wildly.
I eat mindfully rather than intuitively, my intuitive eating level has always been higher than my actual needs.

How much leeway/range do you give yourself? Over what period of time? Is a 3lb fluctuation ok? How long does it take before you consider a fluctuation to actually be a gain or loss? See what I'm getting at?
I vary up to 7lbs over the course of a year, higher in winter, lower in summer.
My normal fluctuations can be as much as 5lbs in a week. 3lbs in a day wouldn't be that unusual.

I set myself an upper weight limit that triggers action. That tends to be things like skipping breakfast or reducing snacks. A lower limit isn't required for me as I've never lost weight unintentionally.

lorrpb

I track my weight and adjust intake accordingly. I’m pretty good at eyeballing portions and lost 125 of my 150 lbs that way. I allow a 5-7 lb upswing before I panic. That was based on tracking my normal daily fluctuations for awhile to learn my patterns. It really is a process of trial and error. After 1.5 yrs of maintenance I wouldn’t say I’ve mastered it lol

ryenday

CarvedTones wrote: »

I use an absolute upper limit and just stay reasonably far below.

This. I don’t calorie count/ log because that depresses me. I have a vague idea what I need to eat/not eat and Intermittent fasting helps keep my calories in check. If I near my absolute upper limit I will probably go back to logging for a while to get a reign on things.

My exercise and weight training varries in the opposite manner. I have an absolute minimum I require myself to do. Some weeks I’m very motivated to do so much more, some weeks minimum is all I got.

BeccaLoves2lift

I have an upper weight limit as well. My weight does fluctuate a couple of pounds throughout the week, I use Libra to track it. I was calorie counting mainly on the weekdays and not on the weekends. Then I did a month of mindful eating and ended up losing weight so I started tracking again. I'm going to try mindful eating again when I get home from vacation next month.

middlehaitch

I rarely log, and weigh infrequently.

My weight is very stable (mirror and clothing), so it is only when my routine changes drastically that I will weigh myself and take action if needed.

I have a range of 5lbs and sit in the middle of that most of the time.

My maintenance has been ongoing for 8 years. The first 4 was maintaining both weight and fitness. The next 3 were spent doing a slow recomp.

This past year, there have been so many months that I have had to be away from home, right now I am in Scotland (live in Canada) looking after my mum, that I have put the recomp on hold and am happy to just maintain, my weight and fitness level, and focus on supporting my family.

Once life settles I'll be back recomping.

Cheers, h.

rainbow198

How I maintain my weight:

- I don't log, but I plan and track my meals in my written food journal. I also keep track of my daily exercise, water intake, monthly measurements + weight and any notes for the day as well.

- I keep a 10 pound range year round. During the summer I'm in the lower end and during the holidays/part of the winter I'm closer towards the upper end, but I've never surpassed my range. The middle is my sweet spot.

- About once a month I weigh myself and take my measurements. I have a good handle on my weight now, but for the first couple years of maintenance I weighed-in once week. I'm more focused on my measurements and my body composition then my scale weight so daily weigh-ins aren't necessary or needed for my goals.

- I still stay on my plan everyday. I watch what and how much I eat. I don't overeat and stop eating when I'm close to getting full. I workout/move daily. I stay humble and vigilant about my weight...those weight regain stats after a big loss are very grim.

This all works very well for me. I celebrated my 5th year maintenance anniversary last week and everything is habit now.

sgt1372

jjpptt2 wrote: »

How do you maintain/recomp?

1. What do you track? Weight? Cals? Both? Neither (intuitive)?
2. How much leeway/range do you give yourself? Over what period of time? Is a 3lb fluctuation ok? How long does it take before you consider a fluctuation to actually be a gain or loss? See what I'm getting at?

1) I track my BW weight, net cals and macros daily on MFP, Libra and Excel and have done so since the start of my current weight loss/maintenance effort 2 years ago.

2) I consider it a "gain or loss" when the trend line of my weight goes "up or down" and stays in that direction for at least 3 months.

While I use a weight range of +/- 2# to signal a change in direction, I do not use the range to define the change as a "gain or loss"; I only use a prolonged change in the trend line to do that.

Using this approach, over the last 2 years, I lost 46# from 196 to 160 (-18.4%) in the 1st 7 months. lost an additional 3# (-1.9%) in the next 6 months from 160 to 157, gained 2# (+1.3%) in the next 6 months from 157 to 159 and lost #4 (-2.5%) in the last 5 months from 159 to 155. Net loss in the last 17 months was only 3.1%.

Over this time period, my BF% also dropped from over 25% at 196# down to 8% at 155 while my LBM increased by about 4# (or 2.9%) from 138 at 196 to 142 at 155 resulting in a huge loss of weight primarily to a loss of BF with minor recomp effect that corresponded with the net loss of 3.1% BF over the past 17 months.

While technically "in maintenance" for the past 17 months, my weight actually dropped 5# during that time period from 160 to 155 and I am now using 155 as my new "set point" from which to measure further weight changes.

Any further change +/- 2# in weight would signal another change in direction which would only be confirmed as a "gain or loss" after a consistent change in the trend line beyond 3 months.

I now consider 155 an ideal weight for me and if there is any such change, I would have to adjust my diet/cal intake accordingly to bring it back to 155.