How do you keep the wieght off?

FitKim39

FitKim39

FitKim39 wrote: »

I have been working hard to eat right and work out. I initially got down to my goal wieght 155. But now I'm back up at 163ish. I still for in the smaller sizes I got down to. But, I'm a little worried I added too much calories too soon. I don't want to gain again and am finally happy with my body.
How do you keep the wieght off??

TavistockToad

Keep weighing and measuring and logging.

DawnOfTheDead_Lift

Bring Calories up too maintenance, keep logging. Set a goal that is conducive to continuing the habits that led you to where you are at.

nowine4me

You keep it off the same way you took it off, but with a handful more calories.

FitKim39

nowine4me wrote: »

You keep it off the same way you took it off, but with a handful more calories.

I think I added too many calories too soon.

FitKim39

DawnOfTheDead_Lift wrote: »

Bring Calories up too maintenance, keep logging. Set a goal that is conducive to continuing the habits that led you to where you are at.

I stopped logging everything

TavistockToad

FitKim39 wrote: »

DawnOfTheDead_Lift wrote: »

Bring Calories up too maintenance, keep logging. Set a goal that is conducive to continuing the habits that led you to where you are at.

I stopped logging everything

There you go then

FitKim39

TavistockToad wrote: »

FitKim39 wrote: »

DawnOfTheDead_Lift wrote: »

Bring Calories up too maintenance, keep logging. Set a goal that is conducive to continuing the habits that led you to where you are at.

I stopped logging everything

There you go then

That's usually what happens. I reach my goal them go on reward mode. I know that if I don't log everything I really lose track of what I am eating. Last week I was injured and couldn't work out for the entire week. But I still ate like I was....😜

sijomial

"I think I added too many calories too soon."
&
"I stopped logging everything"

The too soon part isn't a problem, some like to work up their calories slowly, some switch immediately from deficit to maintenance - you should have a pretty good idea of what your maintenance level is but some fine tuning might be required.

Don't change everything at once or you won't see the effect of each individual change.
I don't log food any more but I maintained for quite a while before stopping logging. There's no rush - you have the rest of your life to experiment and evolve.

The job isn't done when you get to goal weight, the job just changes. Set new goals, challenge yourself in new ways, the reward of being in your desired weight range should be just as satisfying as when your weight was dropping.

jasmon

I've slowly added 100 cals a day per week for 6 weeks now and pretty much (apart from water fluctuations ) have stayed the same. I started approaching maintenance going from 1500cals a day to at the moment 2350cals a day because of my holiday soon. I started at 68kg & 1500cals and am today 68.2kg & 2350 cals.

CarvedTones

I think the answer is the simplest yet most complex - don't do the things that made you gain the weight in the first place. As others point out, a big one is not monitoring what you eat; that seems to be the most common cause of regainig weight. A related one is not quickly reacting to an upward trend in body weight. If it's a couple of spikes in a row and it was an over reaction to eat below maintenance for the next couple of days until weighing again, so what?

cmriverside

Yeh, for me it is logging food and weighing myself. I do both daily. It's how I catch an upward weight trend. I have a three to five pound range. When I get near the top of it, I cut back on food a tiny bit (like a couple hundred calories a day) until I'm back down a pound or two.

I think most people do what you did. Lose the weight, eat all the food they were restricting, gain back 10-20 pounds, oops, start again. After a time or two of losing that last 10 pounds, I found a way to not do that!

Welcome to sort-of Maintenance.

FitKim39

I think I've taken for granted how easy it is to lose a few pounds in a few days with the right foods. My one "bad food meal" a week turned into 2 or 3. So, little discouraged that I'm up almost 10 lbs again. But, I will try stick to it better.

me0231

I think it's mindset mostly for me. I had to learn that I'm not 'off the diet' and get to reward myself with all the yummy foods. I have to keep going almost exactly as I was with the advantage of a bit more food. And honestly my hunger right out of the deficit was out of this world. I could have eaten 4k calories and not feel satisfied. It didn't last long but I think the first week or two of maintenance is brutal.

It's been about 8 months in maintenance now and I weigh and log everything still. I'm not as diligent but I've had to tighten up logging several times as the calories/weight crept up slowly. It's annoying but I think I'll be logging for a long time to come.

cwolfman13

It is typical to gain some weight going into maintenance as you replenish glycogen stores and have more inherent waste in your system from eating more. In my experience, this is usually 3-5 Lbs or so...if you were low carb while dieting and increase carbs in maintenance, it could be more as you would inherently be holding onto more water.

Beyond that, maintenance is really just a handful more calories per day. I've more or less maintained for over 5.5 years. I don't count calories, but I am mindful of what I eat and if I have a big calorie day, I usually have a lower calorie day, etc. I also exercise regularly and monitor the scale...if I go above the upper limit of my range, I just cut out some snacks for a couple weeks.

cheryldumais

I've been in maintenance almost a year and I still log daily. If I didn't I know I would end up gaining. This is just a part of my daily life like brushing my teeth. I hardly even think about it anymore.

its_me_april

After logging off and on for probably 4-5 years, I’ve gotten to the point where I pretty much know what and how to eat to maintain without it. I usually “reign it in” during the week, roughly track calories only and splurge a little over the weekend. I’ve maintained like this for years now. Good luck! You look great 👍

erjones11

jasmon wrote: »

I've slowly added 100 cals a day per week for 6 weeks now and pretty much (apart from water fluctuations ) have stayed the same. I started approaching maintenance going from 1500cals a day to at the moment 2350cals a day because of my holiday soon. I started at 68kg & 1500cals and am today 68.2kg & 2350 cals.

I sort of did the same thing but added 100 every couple of weeks just to try to measure the effects slowly over time. I am at 1970 plus I cut the calories in half that MFP adds for logged exercises.

TonyB0588

FitKim39 wrote: »

I think I've taken for granted how easy it is to lose a few pounds in a few days with the right foods. My one "bad food meal" a week turned into 2 or 3. So, little discouraged that I'm up almost 10 lbs again. But, I will try stick to it better.

The thing is to make it a "lifestyle change", not a "diet". So you don't switch off what you were doing. You continue to live this new life.

I've been on MFP 909 days, and my weight just fluctuates at most 2-3lbs from where I need to be. Surprised I stuck at it so long, but it's now become my way of living. Counting calories, watching portion sizes, and monitoring my weight.