Maintaining Weight!

Daveybaseball

I lost a decent amount of weight and thus far for almost the past 3 weeks have been able to keep it off. Just wondering for those who have lost weight what you have done to keep it off and if you have any advice for others?? So far I have been doing much of the same as I did when I lost weight. I keep track of what I eat to the best of my ability estimating my calories the best I can and continuing to exercise or at least get my steps in everyweek and keeping track of my water intake. This is much the same as I did when loosing the weight so sticking to what works right now and making sure I get my workouts in. Anyone else in a similar situation?

venkatcvb

basics of losing weight is 80% from diets and 20% from excercise. ..Cut off sugars completely and you will maintain to a great extent... I keep myself off sugar and ready food....and try to walk around the neighbourhood errands...

sytchequeen

Daveybaseball wrote: »

doing much of the same as I did when I lost weight
keep track of what I eat
continuing to exercise
much the same as I did when loosing the weight

yep. you got this maintaining idea down.
the thing is, like most of us you probably put on the weight in the first place by not doing this. Although you may find you can be a little more flexible as the years go by with maintenance you can probably never completely stop being cognizant of the basics. You may still need to weigh in monthly to check how things are going, and occasionally be a little stricter with your calorie intake if you put on a few pounds. Maintenance is all about have a range of weight you are okay with, and being aware if you stray out of that range. Then correction.

LivingtheLeanDream

Yep maintaining is basically the same as when losing, we just get extra calories to work with.

xcazax

What works for me is still weighing myself once a week so I can keep myself in check

Daveybaseball

Thanks everyone!

kcmcbee

Transitioning to maintenance is New to me too! Tracking as close as I can same as you. Keeping new healthier habits going is the key for me. Also Lost a good bit over 7 months and leveling out now.

riffraff2112

maintenance can be difficult for some, usually because they stop doing what the did to get to a target weight. So keep doing what it takes!
I have been at this for awhile and have been able to loosen up a bit (or a lot) especially in the food logging because I eat very consistently and tend to be more focused on strength and athletic gains so gaining a few pounds doesn't concern me much. Having said that, I do use the mirror and clothes as my best metric. When certain pants get tight...I tend to get strict with eating and cardio for a few weeks to reel it back in

koalathebear

venkatcvb wrote: »

basics of losing weight is 80% from diets and 20% from excercise. ..Cut off sugars completely and you will maintain to a great extent... I keep myself off sugar and ready food....and try to walk around the neighbourhood errands...

I don't think it's necessary to cut out sugar and 'ready food'. It's about:
- remaining within your calorie budget and making sure you're not eating more calories than you burn
- ensuring you eat enough basic nutrients to keep you healthy

Unless people have a food intolerance, it's not necessary to cut out a type of sugar altogether...

amusedmonkey

I do much of the same things too, the only difference is that now I have more calories to play with so there are foods I eat more often than I did when I was dieting simply because I can afford them more often. My tracking is a little bit looser than it used to be. I do still weigh most things, but I don't sweat it if I had to log "medium apple" when in a hurry.

robmin1

I find that losing the weight is a bit easier than maintaining a steady weight. I've kept off 30 extra kilos for the past 5 years with the following tips. Prior to this regime, I'd lose and gain on a regular cycle.

I enter my average weight for a week on myfitnesspal, of course on a weekly basis. Monday is a good day to do this because it covers any weekend excesses. I give myself a window of 1 kg below and one kg above my target weight. If I hit the one kg above, I put myself back on diet mode until I get back to where I want to be.

I still enter my daily calories, but not as religiously as previously. I make a point of logging on everyday.

You can actually plan on holidays and vacations with such a system. Lose an additional kg below your target weight, then feast on the big day. Keep active during the holidays so that the eventual recovery back to the target weight is not too hard. Also, plan the holidays, they are not from Halloween to Easter! You can take a break from over indulgence for example between December 27 and New Years to get back on track.

From Monday to Thursday I eat strictly vegan. This ensures I get my quota of fruit and veggies. Also no booze during these days to prevent busting the diet. Of course if there is a business meeting, I will have a light beer or two. On the weekends I tend to get a lot of exercise and eat more meat and dairy products, and a tipple or two.

Twice a year I engage in a mini fast, during the month of September and during the entire Catholic Easter Fast. September is good to recover from letting myself go a bit in August, especially with some minor weekday drinking (hey, it gets over 30 degrees Celsius here!) and the Catholic Fast is 6 weeks. Although I am not a practicing Catholic, these six weeks gives me the time to reflect on my relationship to food. Plus, if you can't stop drinking for six weeks, you probably shouldn't be drinking at all. So no booze, all vegan, no white flour....

I saw the comment regarding exercise being only 20% of part of a good diet. I disagree. Get yourself a heart-rate monitor and hit the road. Burn off 500 calories and enjoy your healthy dinner. When you think you have no time, learn to get up earlier, if you're not already. Oh, buy a hyperactive dog that will destroy your house if you don't take it for a daily run or a walk for an hour. That tip is worth 10 kgs annually at least!

Good Luck

Zimm7

Maintenance is hard, but you have a plan that seems to work. Sticking to the plan is the main thing.

MadisonMolly2017

I ask myself: “How might I/we make maintenance easy?”

I don’t want my precious life force occupied by stress of regain. I really don’t. I want to pursue my relationships and artistic pursuits, travel & time in nature...

So I’m s l o w l y figuring out a way of eating that will allow me to attend less & will be more automatic.

Not there yet, but closer each day, week, month...

Latest aha: Net carbs of 135-142 g spread over the day eliminates my cravings, food thoughts, and “hunger.” That’s how I lost my weight, but thought I should/could eat more. That was a slippery slope that resulted in many more carbs/desserts/etc and weight creep.

Things that help me the most:
Same breakfast (that I love)
Eating at home (more food/nutrients for the calories) fewer temptations
Daily walking

I’m committed to continuing to modify and tinker/iterate until I find an “easy” way to maintain.

I weigh myself daily & have since 1/1/16.
I track everything I eat & have since before 9/25/17.
8-12 c water
Daily exercise (walking 7,500-11,000 per day)
I plan to continue these for the rest of my life.

whitneybex

I log food on MFP and synch with my Fitbit. Simple maths tells me when I am eating more calories than I am burning. I walk a lot (have dogs), and currently can eat 2300-2500 calories a day and keep to my goal weight (reached 4 years ago). I don't eat so healthy, too many carbs. Being vegetarian I lack protein (and lack interest in cooking!).

Maxxitt

Maintenance for me has involved periodic bouts of slight-deficit eating to stay within a range over time.