Help! How do I achieve maintenance?

dianabuckheit

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?

William54321

It just takes time to get it right. Depends on intake and exercise balance. Just give it a try and keep logging and you will be in control. Tried not logging and didn’t work for me. Good luck

cwolfman13

dianabuckheit wrote: »

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?

Anything on the scale the next day is water weight...you don't put on Lbs of fat overnight.

This and other calculators can give you a maintenance target when you switch your goal to "maintain"...or you can just do the math and increase your calories according to your own data and loss rate. Just like losing weight, you monitor the trend over time and make adjustments as necessary.

MikePTY

You can switch you goal to "maintain your current weight" and MFP will give you an estimate of how many calories you need to maintain. It may not be exact to you, but it will get you started. Remember that "maintaining" is still a range. You will not have the same reading on the scales every day. Most people fluctuate withing 5-10 pounds of their goal weight.

kgirlhart

You need to set a maintenance range of maybe 5-10 pounds depending on what type of water fluctuations you normally have. When you eat out and your weight is up the next day that is not fat, it is water and possibly undigested food still in your system. What rate are you losing at now? Theoretically you can add back whatever deficit you are at now and maintain. If you are losing 1 pound per week then you can add back 500 calories per day and maintain. Some people like to add the calories back gradually. It will really just take some time to figure out what your maintenance calories will be, but changing mfp to "maintain" and eating at that level for about 4-6 weeks is a good place to start.

AnnPT77

Multiple people's ideas and approaches discussed in this thread:

http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10638211/how-to-find-your-maintenance-calorie-level

heikeeberwein9208

I’m just like you. Was so worried of adding back calories.

I changed from loose 2 pounds a week to loose 1 pound a week once I got close to my goal weight.

Found it really hard to get myself to add 250 calories into my diet. Mentally mostly.... took 3 days and was ok. Some days I’m now going a bit over 1600 calories and I’m still loosing weight very slowly. It’s more like maintaining actually as I’m just 2 pounds from my target.

I’d say try changing to loose 1 pound a week and see how it goes. I thought I’ll put on weight by doing that, but I’m actually still eating at deficit

Good luck!

garystrickland357

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

funjen1972

I was afraid, too! I totalled all my calories the past 3 months then added 3500 for each pound lost to equal maintenance calories. The jump was too big for me to do without anxiety so I gradually increased calories to slow my loss. I went a few pounds under target, but that just gave me some extra cushion. I've been maintaining within a 5 pound range for about 6 months now.

I still eat very similar meals to when I was losing. My extra calories come from meals out with friends or an extra cocktail or treat. Those things are easy for me to limit if the weight starts to creep up.

cwolfman13

Also remember that bodyweight isn't static...maintenance isn't a static number. I generally fluctuate anywhere from 0-3 Lbs up or down, sometimes more if I have a really high sodium day, travel by plane, etc. I weigh myself regularly and look at the overall trend. I typically put on 8-10 Lbs over the winter and that's my intervention point.

dianabuckheit

Thanks everyone for the words of encouragement! I appreciate it! I didn’t know that switching to maintain would give me an approximate calorie goal for maintenance. I am losing very slowly, unfortunately being short my calorie allowance is pretty low as it is and I am losing less than a pound a week. I have lost and gained this weight more times than I care to remember. This time I really want to keep it off. Thanks again going to look at that thread on maintaining too.

Maxxitt

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.

MadisonMolly2017

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!

nowine4me

I can tell you what NOT to do. Don’t take a calculator in blind faith and assume it’s right for 6 months while you steadily put on 10#. Oh, did I say that out loud?

rosiorama

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!

middlehaitch

nowine4me wrote: »

I can tell you what NOT to do. Don’t take a calculator in blind faith and assume it’s right for 6 months while you steadily put on 10#. Oh, did I say that out loud?

That made me do a silent giggle with my belly jiggling.
(SO 5ft away and frowning at the belly shudder only made me jiggle more)

Cheers, h.

Lillymoo01

Once I got to within a few of pounds from my goal weight I gradually added 50-100 calories a week until I started to maintain, rather than lose. This approach helped me with my fears of maintenance.

dianabuckheit

@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!

rosiorama

dianabuckheit wrote: »

@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!

mk2fit

Oh, Lordy, maintenance can be a real b!tch. I was one of those who kept losing for months until I figured it out. See? It can go in one of several directions. Go with your gut and fiddle with the numbers. MFP is not the end all, be all when it comes to maintenance.

Another thing to keep in mind. When losing, your stuff shows up on your timeline and everyone says "Yay!" When you are on maintenance...nothing. It can get frustrating, but do not let it get to you. Surround yourself with others who are maintaining. We still don't see each other's non-progress, but can still cheer each other on.

You will be fine! Maybe not tomorrow, but soon enough. Please consider setting maintenance in your head to a 3-5 pound variance. Water weight, etc. can make a big difference on a day to day basis. TOM, dining out, rest days can all make a difference. Do your clothes still fit? Do you feel good? Don't let the scale dominate your maintaining.

I lost 70ish pounds several years ago and have kept them off plus or minus a few pounds for over three years.

SCoil123

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.