Maintaining after a diet.
andorian2015
Posts: 10 Member
Hey everyone, so I have dieted for the past 3 years, getting to my goal weight then slowly increasing by 10kg until the next time I’m motivated... I’m on a diet now, and loosing weight well and enjoying the diet, the point is this time I want to maintain my goal weight permanently, any tips on maintaining weight long term post dieting??
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Replies
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Welcome and congratulations! Keep doing exactly what you’ve been doing, but with a few more calories. Simple as that.10
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^^ agree completely.
Honestly, maintenance for me is re-gaining and re-losing the same 5 lb over and over. I’m ok with that. I let it get to a 7 lb gain one summer and made a mental note to correct at 5 lb in the future. At 0.5 lb/wk, I get a little deficit weary after 10 weeks. It’s not a big deficit, so it’s not that bad, but I’m happier catching the creep sooner rather than later.
So my tip would be to decide on the maintenance range comfortable for you and to weigh yourself frequently enough to catch a gain that’s bigger than you want. Then go back to what’s working for you now until you’re back in range.15 -
Yeah as others have said, maintenance is no different to when losing, we just get some extra calories to work with.4
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I regained too much over the holidays, about 8 pounds.... and tell you what, I'm doing what I need to do..,but I will never gain more than a few pounds ever again. I'm thinking three pounds max for me. I've spent all of January working on it.. maybe by Valentines I'll be back to ground zero.
It isn't that it is hard to get it off..because we all know what to do, . It makes me feel foolish for some reason.
I don't know if I have a tip since I slipped lol.. but I think weighing regularly or trying on your tightest clothing item every week to catch the creep early on. I did not do these things. now I am.4 -
Save for my usual 8ish Lb winter weight gains, I've maintained going on 6 years. I eat the same in maintenance as I do when I'm dieting...just a bit more calories. I still exercise regularly (this dips in winter and thus the slight weight gain). I monitor my weight and weigh in at least weekly and I just don't let things get too out of hand.4
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Be vigilant - don't let a drift become a slide.
Set a limit and react to it if you breach it.
Set new goals that are nothing to do with weight - fitness goals perhaps?5 -
I'm curious as to why so many people say they only have "a few more calories" in maintenance? Is this because they're working at a smaller deficit? I'm at 2 lbs lost per week roughly so about 1000 calories of a deficit per day. I assume the difference in maintenance should be at least 700 to 800 more than what I'm eating now?1
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@purple4sure05 can’t speak for others, but yes. For the last 5# or so, my deficit was about 250 cals. So I literally added an Apple and serving of peanut butter to get myself to maintenance11
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purple4sure05 wrote: »I'm curious as to why so many people say they only have "a few more calories" in maintenance? Is this because they're working at a smaller deficit? I'm at 2 lbs lost per week roughly so about 1000 calories of a deficit per day. I assume the difference in maintenance should be at least 700 to 800 more than what I'm eating now?
By going straight from the most aggressive deficit to what you believe are your maintenance cals - can have some adverse effects. Rebound weight gain from glycogen stores being replenished, difficulty fitting in 700-800 extra cals of food, plus slowly working your way into maintenance let’s you find exactly what your maintenance range (weight and cals) is. Some people find it sets off a yo yo pattern for them as well.
It’s usually advisable to drop to 1 lb/week when you only have about 50 lbs to goal and then 0.5 lb/week when you have 20 lbs to goal. Yes it slows down the process but it ensures preservation of lean muscle and helps ease the transition to maintenance.11 -
@purple4sure05purple4sure05 wrote: »I'm curious as to why so many people say they only have "a few more calories" in maintenance? Is this because they're working at a smaller deficit? I'm at 2 lbs lost per week roughly so about 1000 calories of a deficit per day. I assume the difference in maintenance should be at least 700 to 800 more than what I'm eating now?
I lost pretty consistently at 1lb/week and bumped +500 cals to maintenance initially and more a couple of months later when I unintentionally started losing at my original maintenance goal.
As my cycling volume went up my cals went up again, after I retired my cals went up again. I'm eating at a level to maintain that for most of my adult life would have resulted in rapid weight gain.
It's individual, situational and you can significantly influence some of the relevant factors such as exercise and activity.9 -
purple4sure05 wrote: »I'm curious as to why so many people say they only have "a few more calories" in maintenance? Is this because they're working at a smaller deficit? I'm at 2 lbs lost per week roughly so about 1000 calories of a deficit per day. I assume the difference in maintenance should be at least 700 to 800 more than what I'm eating now?
In your profile pic you look lean so if you are set to 2lbs a week loss its time to revise that. As others say, its about preserving lean muscle and it does help ease us into maintenance.
I only ever aimed for a loss of 0.5lb a week as I hadn't more than 20lbs to lose, so maintenance meant I only got an extra 250 calorie to work with a day - which is pretty much only a Mars bar.8 -
Wait a minute....they still make Mars bars?6
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I upped by 100 daily cals every week until I found the level at which I could maintain and not gain. In my case I had lost 35 lbs in 2015. I am now 66 , 5ft 4 and 133 lbs and maintain on 1550 calories . I allow myself a fluctuation of up to 4-5 lbs before I take action.3
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purple4sure05 wrote: »I'm curious as to why so many people say they only have "a few more calories" in maintenance? Is this because they're working at a smaller deficit? I'm at 2 lbs lost per week roughly so about 1000 calories of a deficit per day. I assume the difference in maintenance should be at least 700 to 800 more than what I'm eating now?
I guess " a few" is not really specific.
But I certainly didn't gain 700 - 800 when I swapped to maintenance. I went from 1460 to 1710 - so a difference of 250.
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to add to the above post...as you lose weight.. your calorie allowance will go down...you won't have 1000 deficit a day by the time you hit your goal.0
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Hi
I’ve lost 31 pounds since I started using this app in July and am 2 pounds away from my goal.
Currently on 1290 calories and set to loose 1 pound a week.
I think I’m ready to look at maintaining now but am so scared to add calories back. I’m kinda really used to my current intake. I’m not starving. But if I set to maintain it goes up to 1800 and I don’t think I want to or even can go that high. I wanna stay as I am now and not put it all back on.
This is the first time I’ve lost this much weight and I’m so proud to be back to pre kids shape.
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heikeeberwein9208 wrote: »Hi
I’ve lost 31 pounds since I started using this app in July and am 2 pounds away from my goal.
Currently on 1290 calories and set to loose 1 pound a week.
I think I’m ready to look at maintaining now but am so scared to add calories back. I’m kinda really used to my current intake. I’m not starving. But if I set to maintain it goes up to 1800 and I don’t think I want to or even can go that high. I wanna stay as I am now and not put it all back on.
This is the first time I’ve lost this much weight and I’m so proud to be back to pre kids shape.
Change your settings to lose 0.5lb a week, you'll get around 250 calories extra and that way it will prepare you for maintenance. Congrats on basically reaching your goal
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heikeeberwein9208 wrote: »Hi
I’ve lost 31 pounds since I started using this app in July and am 2 pounds away from my goal.
Currently on 1290 calories and set to loose 1 pound a week.
I think I’m ready to look at maintaining now but am so scared to add calories back. I’m kinda really used to my current intake. I’m not starving. But if I set to maintain it goes up to 1800 and I don’t think I want to or even can go that high. I wanna stay as I am now and not put it all back on.
This is the first time I’ve lost this much weight and I’m so proud to be back to pre kids shape.
Are you losing about 1 lb/week at your current intake? Are you eating back any exercise calories? How accurate is your logging?
Its usually recommended to ease into maintenance and slow down weight loss by changing your goal to 0.5 lb/week when you get within 20 or so pounds of your target. This also helps preserve lean body mass by not losing more than your current fat stored can reasonably support. Plus it gives you practice eating a few more calories, 250, and can help minimize the short term rebound weight gain that people often see when they switch rapidly to maintenance.
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WinoGelato wrote: »heikeeberwein9208 wrote: »Hi
I’ve lost 31 pounds since I started using this app in July and am 2 pounds away from my goal.
Currently on 1290 calories and set to loose 1 pound a week.
I think I’m ready to look at maintaining now but am so scared to add calories back. I’m kinda really used to my current intake. I’m not starving. But if I set to maintain it goes up to 1800 and I don’t think I want to or even can go that high. I wanna stay as I am now and not put it all back on.
This is the first time I’ve lost this much weight and I’m so proud to be back to pre kids shape.
Are you losing about 1 lb/week at your current intake? Are you eating back any exercise calories? How accurate is your logging?
Its usually recommended to ease into maintenance and slow down weight loss by changing your goal to 0.5 lb/week when you get within 20 or so pounds of your target. This also helps preserve lean body mass by not losing more than your current fat stored can reasonably support. Plus it gives you practice eating a few more calories, 250, and can help minimize the short term rebound weight gain that people often see when they switch rapidly to maintenance.
Looking at last month, I’ve lost 4 pounds. I try to end each day at +/- 50 calories left which includes a few extra calories from the iPhone step counting.
And I log everything that passes my lips. It’s become an obsession if I’m honest 😕
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heikeeberwein9208 wrote: »WinoGelato wrote: »heikeeberwein9208 wrote: »Hi
I’ve lost 31 pounds since I started using this app in July and am 2 pounds away from my goal.
Currently on 1290 calories and set to loose 1 pound a week.
I think I’m ready to look at maintaining now but am so scared to add calories back. I’m kinda really used to my current intake. I’m not starving. But if I set to maintain it goes up to 1800 and I don’t think I want to or even can go that high. I wanna stay as I am now and not put it all back on.
This is the first time I’ve lost this much weight and I’m so proud to be back to pre kids shape.
Are you losing about 1 lb/week at your current intake? Are you eating back any exercise calories? How accurate is your logging?
Its usually recommended to ease into maintenance and slow down weight loss by changing your goal to 0.5 lb/week when you get within 20 or so pounds of your target. This also helps preserve lean body mass by not losing more than your current fat stored can reasonably support. Plus it gives you practice eating a few more calories, 250, and can help minimize the short term rebound weight gain that people often see when they switch rapidly to maintenance.
Looking at last month, I’ve lost 4 pounds. I try to end each day at +/- 50 calories left which includes a few extra calories from the iPhone step counting.
And I log everything that passes my lips. It’s become an obsession if I’m honest 😕
That’s really good! Having accurate logging and losing at the predicted rate means you can feel confident I the calorie projections of MFP.
Change your weight loss goal to 0.5 lbs/week. This should take you to 1540. Keep doing exactly what you’re doing but add in something small. Could be a treat you’ve been restricting or just a little bigger portions of things you’re already eating. Cook with full fat oil or add butter, cheese, mayo, something like that. Put some peanut butter on a banana instead of eating it plain.
Do that for several weeks and track your continued progress. When you get to your goal, consider if you want to maintain a weight range, vs a specific number. This is helpful since weight naturally fluctuates.
There’s a maintaining weight Forum, check it out for more tips.4 -
Just curious, but are you measuring your food and/or slacking on exercise? What I've found over the years, people are diligent about hitting their goals and they are very consistent with diet and exercise. After they hit their goal, they become lax on their diet or exercise and slowly creep back to the way they used to be....their diet and not exercising as consistently. One thing to keep reminding yourself of is that this a lifestyle change, meaning it is a permanent change, otherwise you regress and start playing yo-yo.1
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middlehaitch wrote: »
I think the Mars bar outside the United States = our Milky Way bar... a quick Google returned:In 1932, Forrest Mars, son of American candy maker Frank C. Mars, rented a factory in Slough and with a staff of twelve people, began manufacturing a chocolate bar consisting of nougat and caramel covered in milk chocolate (using Cadbury's chocolate couverture), modeled after his father's Milky Way bar, which was already popular in the USThe worldwide Mars bar differs from that sold in the US. The American version was discontinued in 2002 and was replaced with the slightly different Snickers Almond featuring nougat, almonds, and a milk chocolate coating.In September 2016, Ethel M Chocolates, a gourmet chocolate subsidiary of Mars, Inc. launched the 'original American recipe' of the Mars Bar in their stores and on Amazon.com. Unlike Snickers Almond and later incarnations of the American Mars bar, this bar does not contain caramel.
Lot's more here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mars_(chocolate_bar)1 -
We can get both Mars bars and Milky Ways here in Australia and they are not the same.
They are both chocolate bars but quite different to each other.1 -
Same in the UK both Mars Bar and Milky Way have nougat but Mars Bar also has caramel and is usually a bit bigger.0
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Just curious, but are you measuring your food and/or slacking on exercise? What I've found over the years, people are diligent about hitting their goals and they are very consistent with diet and exercise. After they hit their goal, they become lax on their diet or exercise and slowly creep back to the way they used to be....their diet and not exercising as consistently. One thing to keep reminding yourself of is that this a lifestyle change, meaning it is a permanent change, otherwise you regress and start playing yo-yo.
Have you just been reading my bio0
(the protein ones I mean, not the regular 
) 
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