Forgot how to do this- have been at maintenance too long!

freespirit427
freespirit427 Posts: 65 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Hello!

I promise this isn’t another “plateau” thread! I’ve been using MFP for just about 4 years now and SW:230. GW:150.

I recently went from 150 to 155 from 155 to 160 now over the last 4 or 5 months.

I’ve been eating at a “lazy maintenance” for probably almost a year because I’ve been where I wanted to be. I rarely check my weight anymore because the scale used to run my life!

My relationship with the scale is much more healthy now and when I first noticed the gain I figured water weight etc.

Long story short- I’ve got 10 lbs to get off again. I feel like I forgot how to eat at a deficit!

I’ve always eaten roughly 1500 to 1800 calories. I’m pretty active ( fit bit is 12 to 18k steps daily )

I reset my MFP goals and it reads 1400 calories. - I eat a lot of bread and peanut butter—carbs are my enemy sometimes.

The nice part about logging everyday for the last 4 years is I can see the gradual carb increase and the looser logging etc.

How to I revamp?

Replies

  • DancingMoosie
    DancingMoosie Posts: 8,619 Member
    Just log. Use a scale as much as possible.
  • cmriverside
    cmriverside Posts: 34,419 Member
    Heh. Peanut Butter is my best friend. Sometimes it's a toxic relationship. Like the other day I had the container and a huge Honeycrisp apple...1000 calories later.

    Peanut butter is one of the first things to go when I have to lose weight again. That and most wheat products. I cut down to two slices of bread per day for weight loss. No cracker, cereal or snack food or dessert with wheat. Wheat is a trigger food for me, just like peanut butter. Or trail mix. Or chips. You get the picture.

    I gained 10 pounds in my first year of maintenance, too. Welcome to the club. :flowerforyou:

    Now I just log and step on the scale daily. It never gets further than my five pound range that way.
  • freespirit427
    freespirit427 Posts: 65 Member
    A normal food routine:

    Breakfast:
    Coffee w/ creamer
    English muffin w/ peanut butter.

    Lunch:
    Coffee w/ creamer
    Protein shake or like a salad with fish on top.

    Dinner:
    Oatmeal and some type of protein bar. ( I work nights and do not get a sit down dinner. )

    Usually comes to about 1300-1400 calories depending.

    Weekends are the worst... I usually get an iced coffee with skim, ice cream or a slice of cheesecake.

    Besides the junk on the weekends- I’m not really sure where to adjust.
  • cmriverside
    cmriverside Posts: 34,419 Member
    You say:

    SW:230. GW:150.

    Surely you learned what to do during that impressive weight loss? That food doesn't sound like much food...are you eating sweets? That can make hunger difficult.

    My suggestion: lots of high volume food like vegetables, whole grains, whole fruits. Easy on the sugar. Weigh and log everything. Those last 10 pounds are the worst, especially when I realized I had already lost it ONCE. Grr.
  • girlwithcurls2
    girlwithcurls2 Posts: 2,281 Member
    In the same boat. Maintained-with-a-creep for 4 years. Now I've got 10-13 pounds to get off, depending on the day. And as fast as I want this gone, I'm not sacrificing muscle for it, so it's going to be a slow grind. My downfall is after dinner drink(s) which lead to late night snacking. So, that's where I'm putting my energy. Limit the drinks, eliminate the snacks. That was the path to success last time. What did I learn? That's the path to successful maintenance.

    You can do this. It's not fun to do it again, but we know how...

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