Maintenance Harder than Losing?

jan110144

I am in my third month of maintenance. So far, I have found it to be much more challenging than losing! I have had more problems with uncontrolled eating (in terms of frequency over a fairly short time period) than I ever had during the active weight loss phase. I am still in my maintenance range, but the inconsistencies bother me. I am working on figuring out what this is.

Anyone else having problems figuring out maintenance? Insights? Suggestions?

pierinifitness

I read this repeatedly during my weight loss period while reading posts about it from those who are in maintenance and I took note. Now that I'm in maintenance, I've taken an approach of being constantly reminded of this and have chosen to do what I did that got me my weight loss - detailed journals and eating as close as possible to my calorie allowance. If I had a strong desire to eat more, I just showed my mind and body who was boss, reminding myself how dang hard I worked to arrive and that the slight discomfort of wanting to eat more was small in relation to the hard work I did to "arrive." Guarding what I've achieved like those guards at Buckingham Palace is my approach.

Look yourself in the mirror during moments of weakness and say who's the boss.

SummerSkier

There was a very good thread written on here about different personality types. Some folks are able to come out of a deficit and open the pandora's box of more calories with ease. Others find that once the box is open it leads to uncontrollable binging. And some of course can moderate. It takes a little while (I am in year 2 of maintaining) to figure out what you CAN and can't allow yourself. I have every faith you will figure it out!

You need to make sure you monitor of course. I know that the rare bird can stop weighing regularly and stop logging and be successful but most of us either need to log or weigh or both to not fall into any traps.

Best of luck!

sijomial

Not for me - I might be a bit unusual in that I maintained within a reasonably narrow band while I was overweight rather than having a gradual weight increase that many have.
My diet was an unpleasant interlude of eating a bit less and then I returned to what I regard as "normal" maintenance. I do monitor my weight daily but I always did that when I was chubby too.

As regards "inconsistencies" - I don't suffer from uncontrolled eating but I do expect inconsistency in my food intake, my exercise, my activity level and of course my weight. To me that's just part of life rather than something I want to micro manage.

Apart from your calorie limit what did you change whilst you were in your weight loss phase?

sardelsa

For me it is. Not because of calories but because I find it so boring. Every time I hit maintenance I end up entering a gaining cycle of some sort. It's like I can't stay stagnant, even recomping is not enough for me. Maybe one day I'll be ok with it.

gallicinvasion

I would say it would be helpful to codify what your maintenance plan is, and build in those inconsistencies. If you create consistent weigh-in habits, consistent logging habits, and consistent activity habits that are reasonable and easy to stick to for the foreseeable future, then you can look ahead to your upcoming events/stressors and see what is going to disrupt your plan, and find a work-around before it happens.

My plan is:

1. Over the week, calories average out to around 1900 per day (individual days don’t matter as long as it all averages out).
2. The only weeks I’ll ignore this is thanksgiving week, Xmas holiday week, my birthday, and a yearly vacation (if I get one of those 😂).
3. Weigh-in every weekday and record on Happy Scale app.
4. Very light exercise (15 min circuit training) 3 days per week, unless i’m sick and need rest.
5. Log all food and drink in MFP even on weeks that I will be over.
6. Don’t beat myself up if I make a mistake; just pick up this plan again tomorrow.

These are the only rules I’m sticking to. Type of food doesn’t matter, I’m not sticking to macro goals, dessert, fast food and restaurant food is fine. High-calorie days (for weddings, parties, tough days etc) are easy because I can just shave off a few calories from other days in the week. I’m trying to make sure my plan is as easy as possible while still allowing me to maintain; this way, I don’t feel like I need to stray from my plan to enjoy myself, fit in fun events, or comfort myself during a stressful time.

nxd10

I found it easier, but I did have to watch what I ate. I added back carbs first. They tend to make me hungry. Up your protein (and fat) and watch your macros. I try to keep my carbs under 40%. It makes me much less hungry and it's healthier too.

cwolfman13

I have found maintenance to be pretty easy. I eat the same way I ate while losing weight, just more calories...still exercise regularly, etc. I'm going on 6 years maintenance later this month.

SummerSkier

Here is the link to the thread I was talking about. Some good links inside it also. One thing I have found is that maintenance is not some stagnant consistent thing either. It is it's own beast or angel and changes over time. Sort of like life.

https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10709958/i-have-two-modes/p1

kimny72

jan110144 wrote: »

I am in my third month of maintenance. So far, I have found it to be much more challenging than losing! I have had more problems with uncontrolled eating (in terms of frequency over a fairly short time period) than I ever had during the active weight loss phase. I am still in my maintenance range, but the inconsistencies bother me. I am working on figuring out what this is.

Anyone else having problems figuring out maintenance? Insights? Suggestions?

Are you still logging? I still find prelogging my meals and snacks in the AM really helps me make sure I'm staying on track.

Sometimes the problem with maintenance is the lack of a goal. Maybe set yourself some goals around good habits to keep you on track. Like daily logging, or sticking to a workout schedule, or working up to a certain amount of veggies or protein.

But yes, lots of people lose the weight but few keep it off. You are definitely not alone. Just keep being mindful and learning and prioritizing it. You'll figure it out

Dilvish

I am having the same problem but I recognize sustained weight loss is a lifestyle change and for me something I have to incorporate for the rest of my days, so I just keep logging my foods, keep exercising and watching what I eat.
Most days I feel as though I'm just not satisfied and just keep eating. I also know that it means adding more exercise or eating less the next day. It takes time and patience and the journey continues. sustained weight loss has no destination, IMHO.

AnnPT77

IMO, even though it's important during weight loss, maintenance makes it really, really important to know myself (habits, preferences, character, etc.), and use that insight to support my goals. (I'm in year 3 of maintenance.)

For example, I'm fundamentally self-indulgent and hedonistic, not very good at routine or rules. For me, part of a maintenance strategy has been eating a little under maintenance calories most days (not many, 100-200 probably), and banking those calories to spend on indulgence once a week or so.

On top of that, I know I need to worry about the future (widow, 63, live alone, no kids, no sibs). So, I remind myself about the importance of balancing future Ann's well-being with current Ann's pleasure.

I'm kind of easily bored (but also somewhat easily entertained), and consistency with boring things (like logging) is challenging for me. I try to keep myself engaged by trying new veggies and fruits, or different food combinations, often; and finding ways to hit my fairly high nutritional goals on lower calories (not to lose weight, but as a game to "buy" treats for Ann-the-hedonist).

I'm not saying these specific things would work for others. I think they mostly wouldn't.

I'm just trying to give examples of how I game my nature to make maintenance work better for me. It's not perfect, but it helps.

Hang in there, figure out what works best for you (maybe inconsistency is OK, if you balance by the week?). Maintenance takes a little learning and practice for some of us. That "patience" thing that worked during weight loss is a good tool.

Best wishes!

WeighandPray

Personally, maintaining was like Christmas every day for me. I did it for a year and a half, and the extra 500 calories never got old. It was only when I was getting bad about logging and started guesstimates that I had trouble. Now, I've set a new goal for myself (a bf %), and the results are so slow that I yearn for the good old (maintenance) days.

admaarie

I was struggling with maintenance for a few months and I had to be honest with myself
- my initial weight was harder for me to maintain personally. 10 lbs up and I’m fine
- I had a bad relationship with food that I had to repair before anything else can take place
- I had to be honest with myself.

Once I got my *kitten* together, which has really only been for a few months I understood that maintenance isn’t going to always be linear and for me it’s about constantly getting back on track &/or trying new things

staticsplit

admaarie wrote: »

I was struggling with maintenance for a few months and I had to be honest with myself
- my initial weight was harder for me to maintain personally. 10 lbs up and I’m fine
- I had a bad relationship with food that I had to repair before anything else can take place
- I had to be honest with myself.

Once I got my *kitten* together, which has really only been for a few months I understood that maintenance isn’t going to always be linear and for me it’s about constantly getting back on track &/or trying new things

Yes, definitely. Me and my thoughts around food were very disordered. It's once I started digging into why I felt this overwhelming need to control, to over-restrict and then inevitably lose control, that I finally healed (or am in the process of healing). I'm even in therapy for it so I can knock it for good this time and just enjoy food--eat enough but not too much--stay active, and enjoy life. I got too much stuff to do for it to take up this much of my mental bandwidth.

admaarie

^ yes!! I tried to be perfect way too often resulting in me beating myself up if I was less than perfect
I started to erase the morals I’ve attached to food. Food is food. None of it is good nor bad, and it’s made my transition a lot easier. I also fit in foods that I typically wouldn’t have to get over the “fear” of them. Like I’m gonna have a chunky kit Kat bar tonight and I can’t wait 😂

laurenhugs23

admaarie wrote: »

^ yes!! I tried to be perfect way too often resulting in me beating myself up if I was less than perfect
I started to erase the morals I’ve attached to food. Food is food. None of it is good nor bad, and it’s made my transition a lot easier. I also fit in foods that I typically wouldn’t have to get over the “fear” of them. Like I’m gonna have a chunky kit Kat bar tonight and I can’t wait 😂

Same!
I had 8 Thin Mints last night that I had been saving in my freezer for a day when I was low on cals and carbs (a rarity), and it went great! I had been having 2-4 at a time and finding that wasn't enough to satisfy my craving. I was so happy I could enjoy 8 cookies and not freak out and have that turn into a binge-fest.
I love the "if it fits your macros" mentality, without individual food judgements/values of good or bad.

twdlove89

When I see my goal range on the scales I get too comfortable and eat rubbish cuz I feel like I can. I still do my exercising but eating is the problem for me.
I’m so bloated recently so today I’ve been shopping for lots of fruit and veg and other healthy food. I have some dark choc in the house when I’m craving sweet things but I’m gonna try to not go overboard anymore.
When I was losing weight I found it easy to eat healthy and saying no to temptation but when I hit maintenance I just seem to relax too much

riffraff2112

Maintenance for me isn't too bad. I definitely have months where I let things slip but I tend to reel it back before things get way out of hand. Fortunately I have built some good habits, gave up some things for life, and discovered a love of weight training so I will never look as lousy as I did when I started!
But not having the reward of watching the weight peel off can be tough for some people who fall in love with that kind of feedback.

Sharon_C

Maintenance for me (and I've only been doing it since January) is the same as cutting. I still weigh and log my food. I still work out, I still weigh myself every single morning. I can just eat more calories.

nowine4me

No matter what else, don’t stop weighing! That’s the kiss of maintenance death, that I learned the hard way.

pierinifitness

I have not yet encountered the surprises or challenges of maintenance that I've read about here because my daily approach hasn't changed besides eating more. Weigh each morning, log all food eaten using the MFP app, wash, rinse and repeat. Maybe my turn hasn't come up yet but this daily, business-as-usual-approach, is like a powerful radar that will detect when the enemy weight-gain is approaching. And, when "he" does, I'll take him out with a rapid-fire machine gun. Let my lean and mean fighting machine weight get away from me once before and it ain't going to happen again. As George Zimmer used to say, "I guarantee it."

Diatonic12

For many, it's more than mental. It's ghrelin. I'm in maintenance for the 2nd time. The first time I crashed and burned. The body can fight against you for up to 2 years after a major weight loss, 85, 125 and so on. It's ghrelin. It takes due diligence to maintain your hard-won weight loss. I haven't made it past the 2 year mark but when I do I hope that ghrelin settles down.
http://www.yourhormones.info/hormones/ghrelin/