Maintenance (+/-20#)

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  • AEC50
    AEC50 Posts: 124 Member
    sheltrk wrote: »
    I've been in maintenance mode for about 5 years. I've managed to keep my weight right around 150 lb (+/- 5 lbs) during that time. What works for me: I eat at a ~500 calorie/day deficit Monday-Thursday, and sometimes Fridays. I log my food intake and exercise calories *rigorously on weekdays*. I usually get a workout in on weeknights, and with my low-calorie breakfasts and lunches (and very little or no snacking), I usually have enough to "pay" for a small dessert or a beer after dinner, while maintaining that deficit goal. I use the deficit calories that I build up during the week to splurge on the weekends. Over the past couple of years, I've stopped rigorously logging on Saturday or Sunday, because I've found I just don't *want* to eat enough food to splurge into a surplus for the week. Typically, my weight will head downwards very slowly over weeks or months. To compensate for the downward drift, I don't worry about calorie-counting over our annual summer vacation (1-2 weeks) or winter break (~2 weeks). My weight tends to jump up a few pounds during those breaks, which offsets my losses from the previous ~6 months. Travel for work, holidays, (or trips to the fair) act as minor blips on the radar, which I have learned to adjust for. By letting myself splurge on the weekends, I don't really feel like I'm "missing out" by rigorously controlling my food intake on weekdays. The diet breaks I take twice a year seem to reset my metabolism a bit, which helps. Anyway, it's been working really well for me for a while now.

    TLDR; Weekly Calorie Cycling and Semi-Annual Breaks For The Win In Maintenance!

    This is my goal balance. I've been maintaining for about a year, but have not found the right calorie deficit during the week yet.
  • sheltrk
    sheltrk Posts: 111 Member
    AEC50 wrote: »
    This is my goal balance. I've been maintaining for about a year, but have not found the right calorie deficit during the week yet.

    When I first hit on the "weekly calorie cycling" thing, I was still logging rigorously every day, including weekends. That way, I would know both how many calories I had "banked" for the weekend, and how many calories I *actually* splurged on the weekend. That was how I ended up finding a weekday deficit that worked for me. I would absolutely recommend logging every day--even on your surplus days--at least until you figure out the right deficit that works for you (and probably for a while after that).

    It took me a couple of years of maintenance (in weekly calorie cycling mode) before I discovered that I didn't *need* to continue logging on my surplus days. I noticed that if I eat to satiety on surplus days, I tend to not exceed 2800 net calories. These days, I always put a number down for my *non-logging* surplus days--3000. But I know that number is an over-estimate, based on past experience, and continuous monitoring. (I keep a spreadsheet of my calories in, calories out, weight, estimated metabolic rate, and body fat %, among other things. I'm data-driven.) I do adapt when I can't work out, or if I'm on a work trip, holiday, etc. I also "check" myself periodically by logging on surplus days. It's a dynamic balance, but it works for me!
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,876 Member
    hikinggal11 wrote: »
    For those of you who have been in maintenance for a while, do you ever stop obsessing with your weight? I am paranoid that I will regain all of my weight that I lost. I know the statistics of this is high in the general population so I make myself sick with worry if I am up a pound or two. I logically know that 1-2 lbs fluctuation is not a big deal, but I am terrified that the fat fairy is going to find me and wack me with her wand even though I dillagenly weigh and track my food and eat my recommend calories.

    I most definitely don't obsess about my weight. I developed a lot of healthy habits when I was losing and I maintain those habits in maintenance...I eat well for the most part and exercise regularly and I find it pretty easy. My weight typically creeps up a little in the winter when I'm less active overall...I don't worry about it a ton because it always comes off in the spring when the cycling season gets underway and nicer weather makes it convenient to just be more active in general.
  • SummerSkier
    SummerSkier Posts: 4,780 Member
    nowine4me wrote: »
    This is how it rolls for me. Starting weight 220#, goal weight 135#. Just finished second full year of “maintenance “...if you can call it that.

    So far this year.....
    Jan-Mar: stayed at 135 (GW)
    April - hit UGW 125
    June - 130, must be retaining water
    July - 135, must be food stuck up in there
    August- 140, must be putting on muscle
    Today - 144. Oh, must be eating too much

    Now, back to the grind. Please tell me this get easier in year 3, because year 3 was certainly NOT a walk in the park.

    I think it's important for us to see posts like this and support each other in our efforts. I don't think maintaining is easy and I am only just past the 1 year mark. 20 pounds is a lot to gain in 4 months but you were 10 under your goal so think of it as only 9 to lose now. Much better to get back on track for a few weeks and lose the 9 than continue along. As a veteran yo yo er for almost 45 years I know all to well all the mind games we play with ourselves to ignore the regain. "it's water weight. I could drop it in a week" "maybe my goal is to low and my body needs the extra" "I should give myself a few more pounds because I am older"... Thanks for starting this thread and best of luck getting yourself back in the groove.
  • cmriverside
    cmriverside Posts: 33,937 Member
    ...and don't forget about the brakes.
  • nowine4me
    nowine4me Posts: 3,985 Member
    Parking brake, emergency brake.....parachute perhaps!
  • mk2fit
    mk2fit Posts: 730 Member
    @nowine4me I am in year 4 of MFP; year 3 of maintenance. I am 60 years old, have lost 70ish pounds. I have found that maintenance is a good thing - BUT it took me a year or so to regulate my weight. At some point, we all learn how to eat and maintain. If you are still having trouble, maybe it is time to re-evaluate what it is you are doing.
    I, too, am 5'7". I weigh in at 115# and have kept my weight between 114-117 for a couple of years.
    We have this!
  • Rocknut53
    Rocknut53 Posts: 1,794 Member
    nowine4me wrote: »
    This is such great insight. The bottom line, if I take my foot of the gas for even a few contiguous days it shows.

    I think what I’m having the most trouble with is focus. After I hit goal, I want to concentrate more on strength, but then for whatever reason my weight pops up (and it ain’t muscle).

    Thanks for chiming in. It’s nice to know I’m not alone and that y’all have my back.

    You are definitely not alone. I'm in your exact shoes only it has taken me a little over a year to slowly creep up 20 pounds. My low was 128, now at 147+/-. Luckily, I got rid of all my "fat" clothes so if I gain any more I have nothing to wear. I'd like to blame it on all the crap going on in my life but that's just excuses, the same ones that vaulted me to my high of 190 over many years.

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