Help! How do I achieve maintenance?

Hi .....I am very close to my goal weight and now I am panicking. I don’t know how many calories a day will sustain my weight loss long term. I am also obsessing over the numbers and now find it hard to go out to dinner without fearing the scale the next day. Any suggestions?

Replies

  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 34,412 Member
    Multiple people's ideas and approaches discussed in this thread:

    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10638211/how-to-find-your-maintenance-calorie-level
  • garystrickland357
    garystrickland357 Posts: 598 Member
    I feared maintenance as well. Here's a thread I started that you might look through. https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10707239/how-do-you-conquer-the-fear-of-gaining/p1
  • MadisonMolly2017
    MadisonMolly2017 Posts: 11,152 Member
    Maxxitt wrote: »
    What I would do, OP, because I am a nerd, is calculate calories in for the last 8 weeks, and weight lost over that same time. I'd multiply pounds lost by 3500, add that to the 8 weeks' calories-in total and divide that by 8 to get a rough estimate of current TDEE over a week's time - then divide that by 7 to get rough daily TDEE estimate.

    @Maxxitt
    Thank you! I did your calculation & it helped me realize what I should do after I lose the last couple of pounds!
  • rosiorama
    rosiorama Posts: 300 Member
    The idea of switching to maintenance stresses me out because I’ve never done it successfully longterm. I keep losing and gaining the same 10-15 pounds over and over. My problem is that I eventually stop logging and let the weight creep up for too long before I do something about it!

    If we can learn to lose weight successfully, we can learn to maintain. It isn’t that much different!
  • rosiorama
    rosiorama Posts: 300 Member
    @rosiorama that is exactly what I do. I really want long term success this time. Plus I already bought my dress for my daughters wedding in October so I can not gain this weight back!

    That sounds like a great reason to figure out this maintenance thing. Then, after October, you need to find a new reason the make it stick!


  • SCoil123
    SCoil123 Posts: 2,111 Member
    I’m currently transitioning back towards maintenance and I relate to the anxiety around this. I maintained successfully for 3yr before gaining half back so I don’t really trust myself even though I know why I gained it back and have made sustainable lifestyle changes to prevent it from happening again. I’m still nervous.

    I just got over an illness where I dropped weight fast so I’m eating at what I think maintenance is now to try it out while I build my strength back up. It’s a few weeks ahead of my planned schedule but given the weight lost while sick it feels like the things to do.

    You can feel free to add me if you want a buddy to transition to maintenance together with.
  • dianabuckheit
    dianabuckheit Posts: 8 Member
    @SCoil123 I definitely could use support through the change over to maintenance...I am still learning how this messaging system works. This is the first time I have used my fitness pal. I am a lifetime WW member and have done Jenny Craig. I lost a lot on Jenny but gained about half back. This time MFP seems to be working for me about 5 more pounds to go and then I hope maintenance! Glad you are feeling better!👍
  • SCoil123
    SCoil123 Posts: 2,111 Member
    @SCoil123 I definitely could use support through the change over to maintenance...I am still learning how this messaging system works. This is the first time I have used my fitness pal. I am a lifetime WW member and have done Jenny Craig. I lost a lot on Jenny but gained about half back. This time MFP seems to be working for me about 5 more pounds to go and then I hope maintenance! Glad you are feeling better!👍

    I just sent you a friend request. I lost just over 80lb years ago when my son was little and maintained for 3 years before gaining half back, and that’s when I found this site.
  • dianabuckheit
    dianabuckheit Posts: 8 Member
    @SCoil123 Morning! I accepted the request .....now I have to figure out how to chat! Each pregnancy was a challenge to lose the weight my last one was twins and then with 3 kids it was hard to do. ( that was awhile ago!)
  • Dilvish
    Dilvish Posts: 398 Member
    I think the most important thing to take away from all this is that sustained weight loss means changing habits, not just dieting.

    This is one of the biggest reasons WW and Jenny Craig and all the other commercial diets typically get the weight down but don't sustain it, as you have already found out.

    Sustained weight loss means adapting a lifestyle where you move more and eat less or simply eat to nourish the body on a regular basis. There is no "end" to the process because it is something that you have to do for the rest of your days.

    The sad part is that most people reach their goal weight and then just stop or slow down what they were doing to lose the weight in the first place. That's why studies prove these commercial diets almost always (85%) fail because participants typically gain back all or some of the weight lost on the program once it has ended.

    Slowly changing lifestyle to incorporate proper eating habits and regular exercise is the only healthy way to maintain a weight loss.
  • SCoil123
    SCoil123 Posts: 2,111 Member
    Dilvish wrote: »
    I think the most important thing to take away from all this is that sustained weight loss means changing habits, not just dieting.

    This is one of the biggest reasons WW and Jenny Craig and all the other commercial diets typically get the weight down but don't sustain it, as you have already found out.

    Sustained weight loss means adapting a lifestyle where you move more and eat less or simply eat to nourish the body on a regular basis. There is no "end" to the process because it is something that you have to do for the rest of your days.

    The sad part is that most people reach their goal weight and then just stop or slow down what they were doing to lose the weight in the first place. That's why studies prove these commercial diets almost always (85%) fail because participants typically gain back all or some of the weight lost on the program once it has ended.

    Slowly changing lifestyle to incorporate proper eating habits and regular exercise is the only healthy way to maintain a weight loss.

    The lifestyle is what caused me to gain half back after maintaining nearly 3yr. I moved in with my now husband who is a private chef so I started eating more having nice big meals every night with him. I also switched jobs at the same time. I went from being an administrator at a summer camp where I commuted 10min and could hike on my break to commuting an hour with a job that has me at a desk 100%.

    Increased intake + decreased activity level =gain

  • scottsimmons9803
    scottsimmons9803 Posts: 3 Member
    If you weigh yourself everyday you could always take the average for the week and record that as your weekly weight. This way it smooths out the fluctuations as others have said.
    After 2 weeks you can then compare and see what your body is doing from week to week since you can record it as an additional measurement in mfp.