What does maintaining mean?

dewit

I have seen quite a few people saying that they have kept the weight they lost (20+ lbs) for years. What does maintaining mean? How much fluctuation is acceptable? What weight gain can you ignore and keep doing what you've learned to do in the process of losing the weight? Like others that I've seen here, I get way too worried whenever I am a few lbs away from my "ideal weight" and end up by gaining a few more on top. Also, I am interested of how closely you monitor your eating. Did you just change habbits for good or maybe you eat only (or 90%) homecooked meals, do you never "binge" (i.e. eat till you'll really full or one too many)? Just wondering...

cwolfman13

Maintenance is a range...it's going to be different for everyone because natural fluctuations are going to be individual. In much the same as you track the trend when losing, you look at the overall trend in maintenance. My average maintenance weight is 180...but I typically fluctuate anywhere between 178 and 183 with 180 being the average over time.

I eat the same as I ate when losing weight...just a handful more calories. I was never on a really strict diet...I eat well for the most part and also enjoy pizza and movie night most Friday nights just as I did when losing weight...I still enjoy pub grub about once or twice per month just as I did losing weight. I've never been a binge eater at any point in my life and don't like the feeling of being overly full...the closest thing to that would be holiday feast meals which are occasions so they're pretty immaterial to the big picture.

I eat well for the most part, but don't deprive myself of indulgences...as long as they are actual indulgences and not all the time things, it's fine. I exercise regularly and monitor my weight. I've been more or less maintaining for going on 7 years this spring. I usually put on 8-10 Lbs from October through the New Year and I'm fine with that. My activity and exercise dips and I'm spending time relaxing and enjoying the season with friends and family and indulging a bit more. Once the holidays are over, my eating and exercise habits start returning to what is normal for me. We start getting some spring like weather in February, so that's kind of when my cycling season starts to kick off...I usually drop my winter coat by April or so with no problem.

Maintenance in the spring, summer, and early fall tend to be fairly easy...my general activity is higher when the weather is nicer and I can get pretty lost in cycling and mountain biking. Foods tend to be on the lighter side too with more grilled lean meats, veggies, salads, etc since it's too hot to have anything overly heavy. My fluffy season is more stews, casseroles, and of course holiday food and cheer.

vollkornbloedchen

Same as for weight-loss the answers to your questions are highly individual.

I'm maintaining for ~ 3.5 years after losing 116 lbs.
The main-thing that (for me) changed from the weight-loss to the maintenance part of the journey is that weight-loss (for me) required a daily deficit, while maintaining works fine on a weekly balance basis.

I still monitor my intake, even though not that rigid anymore, I still step on the scale on a weekly basis.

How much fluctuation is acceptable? What weight gain can you ignore

My goalweight is 77 kg (169.76 lbs) the zone in which I consider myself "at ease with my weight" is the range from 76 - 81 kg (167.55 - 178.57). Below 76 kg for me is "No Go Area", above 81 requires immediate action, while tolerance ends at 79.

do you never "binge" (i.e. eat till you'll really full or one too many)?

As said above: I'm striving for a balanced week, so there may be (and for sure ARE) meals and/or days that are way out of budget ... But I'm far more relaxed now, than I was when losing weight.
So: Of course I, occasionally, eat till I'm full and then one on top. What would be the point of it all if that wouldn't be allowed?
The keyword here is "Occasionally", which boils down to ~ every two months ...

Hope that answers your questions

dewit

vollkornbloedchen wrote: »

Hope that answers your questions

Yes, it definitely does! The change begins within. For me it means I need to stop striving for perfection. I might be doing better than I am willing to believe. Will probably be doing even better, if I'd stop obsessing over it...

However, I do not regret asking, since I believe that you answers might help others, too!

Thank you both! :flowerforyou:

sijomial

At maintenance you get to set your own parameters but I'm very much of the mindset that to be sustainable maintenance has to be both "normal" and enjoyable.

My normal is a very erratic calorie intake and enjoying social events involving food and drink.
I'm also quite comfortable taking a long view about drifts in weight as long as I don't breach my upper intervention weight - that's my trigger to take action, mostly not drastic action but I'll work on changing the direction of my trend weight more than fixating on the speed of weight loss.

My lowest weight (for important cyclng events) is about 11lbs away from my upper intervention weight but mostly I'm bobbing around in the middle of that wide range as I don't stay at the extremes for long. More typical range is about 5lbs and I tend to be heavier in winter as my activity and exercise reduces with the shorter/colder/wetter days.

My only change in eating habits was for the duration on my main weight loss, I maintained overweight for ages and have now maintained at a good weight for six years hence seeing maintenance as normal for me. I don't monitor my food at all closely, I'm just generally but casually mindful about how much I need as opposed to want. But I do weigh daily to keep aware of my trend weight.

spiriteagle99

I've been maintaining a 55 lb. loss for about 5-6 years. I try to maintain within a 5 lb. range. I am a regular runner and walker, so I eat a lot of calories most days. If I weren't running 35 mpw, I'd have to either change my diet significantly or accept gaining some weight. I track what I eat and the exercise I do, so I have a fairly good idea of how much leeway I have. I don't weigh my food (never have) but I do log everything I eat. When I am on vacation, I don't track and usually gain a few pounds, which I lose as soon as we get home again. For me the key to maintenance is to keep logging, since it means I stay aware of what I'm eating, and to stay active, so I can eat the food I enjoy.

apullum

I lost 100 pounds and have maintained for over two years at 110-115 lb. Sudden jumps above 115 don't bother me if I know I've recently eaten more food than usual yet stayed within my calorie range. That happens on most weekends because I "bank" calories during the week for larger meals, which lead to more waste and water fluctuation. I know those rapid weight fluctuations aren't fat, and they resolve in a few days. I still weigh and log food to the best of my ability, and stay within my calorie goal almost every week.

SummerSkier

We probably should not call it 'maintaining' as that implies such a static type of goal. To me the whole idea is I got the extra stuff off and now I can play around with shaping my body within certain parameters. One of those is weight. Each individual must decide for themselves. Friends, family etc may influence but it is a personal decision, and it is not going to remain the same month after month or year after year. However I think you do have to pay attention. Either to logging or weighing or fitness or shape. Ignoring everything and thinking you will not regain the weight is probably what led to me yo yo ing almost all my life since being a teen.

I think MFP friends are also very important not just to losing but to the rest of the journey. Not a lot of family or friends irl have an understanding of the effort we undertake here or how difficult it can be. Having helping hands along the way (not cheerleaders but more someone to bounce ideas off of) is almost like a secret weapon. Reading about "maintainers back on track" or "Monthly maintenance logs" is often inspiring and can expose the traps many of us need to avoid or how to deal with same.

Good luck!

dewit

Thank you all! I read between the lines that awareness is the key. You all also seem to feel comfortable and not at all disturbed by a bit of fluctuation. At the same time, you all seem to be eating mindful and not mindless and as a consequence also avoid extremes.

mtaratoot

Maintaining can surely include daily fluctuations. As an example, here's three months of data showing some fairly big daily weight swings but an overall trend that stays within a five-pound range centered on a goal.



I started in maintenance in July 2018. I am now observing seasonal fluctuations in addition to daily. My trending weight was up from October through November last year, and it is again this year. The good news, to me, is that it isn't up as much, so I can maybe give myself kudos for getting better at maintaining and observing the short term fluctuations and keeping them small overall. Looking back to 2017, I also had an increase in weight October through December, but I wasn't at maintenance yet. Still -- it fits my annual trend. I'm trying to get THIS in my head and be ok with it.

I definitely have big food days. I always log it even when it's ugly, although sometimes I have to make a guess. I have some meals saved for things like dive trips and river trips that are just an estimate of calories made of protein, fat, and carbohydrate that should be at least a rough estimate of what I eat.

There are some "trigger foods" I try to stay away from. Potato chips are my kryptonite. I generally don't bring them in the house. I have tried to pour a small bowl and put the bag away, but the trouble is I remember where I put the bag and go back for more. I can eat them at a party or something; I just don't bring them home. No foods are off limit, but I am mindful of what I'm eating. I fail routinely. Then I get back on the path and continue the journey. I think that's pretty common.

hotskytrotsky

For me, whether weight gain is a problem depends on why I'm gaining weight. I weighed more when I lived in the Midwest than when I lived in California, because my lifestyle was different. But both could be stable, healthy weights - if I moved back to the Midwest, I'd expect to gain a bit but it doesn't need to be a problem. As I get older, I expect to slowly gain a little weight. For me, I notice that I've gained or lost weight suddenly when I'm not getting enough sleep, under a lot of stress and not proactively managing it, experiencing anxiety around food, and when I've tried certain medications. These would be things that I'd want to address.

My maintenance range is very narrow (122-124 lbs, at 5' 3") but I think I could be comfortable outside of that range if the change were slow and not caused by something that was otherwise affecting me negatively. To be honest, I do panic a little too much if my weight is outside of that range. But this is also a range that has proved to be pretty stable in the absence of other dramatic events, and when I wind up outside of it I know I'm not taking care of myself and need to slow down and get enough sleep.

I don't regularly monitor my eating. I think my habits changed. I usually eat a lot of fresh fruits and vegetables (from a local grocery store that sells big bags of overstocked produce for 99c!!!!), often nuts, eggs, beans, rice, corn tortillas. A few times per week I also eat yogurt or meat. I definitely indulge sometimes with something like nachos or curry or pastries, but usually split this with my partner. That's a far cry from what I used to do - wait as long as possible to eat until I was starving, and then eat a ton of candy and sweets but basically not much with nutritional value. I rarely binge now, sometimes at parties. I try to eat small amounts of healthy food regularly and I find this really helps with binges.

rheddmobile

I have a range, anything below 153, with 150 as my goal weight. Wouldn’t mind getting down as far as 137 but that’s not likely to happen unless I work hard, so there’s really no bottom limit to the range. The upper limit is what someone else called a “scream weight” which is when you scream “AHHHH! I gained too much weight, I gotta start paying attention before this gets out of hand!”

I have seen really big fluctuations due to injury and a steroid shot (gained a pound a day for a week). As long as it’s not fat gain I try not to stress about it.

I have to log every day regardless because I am a diabetic and need to stay aware of carbs, so I both log and weigh every day. Weighing both at night and in the morning also gives me an idea of any oncoming health problems - usually I drop about four pounds overnight. When I don’t, I can be pretty sure I’m about to have a lupus flare. Ordinarily I wouldn’t recommend weighing so often but it really is useful information for me. I also take photos of my body from the front and side every month on the first of the month. That was really helpful to me recently when I had gained a couple of pounds and was worried that I needed to cut back - photos revealed my abs looked better than before but my arms were more muscular. That’s good news!

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nxd10

I had a 5 pound zone I set as my goal zone. I'd bounce around every day but stay there. Perfect maintenance would be staying in that zone. I was there 5 years. I am now over that weight, but still consider myself in maintenance because I am logging every day, hitting my goals, watching what I eat, but not actively trying to lose. I haven't gained a lot or rapidly and I'm at a healthy weight (BMI 23). I'm hitting my calorie goals and not ready to do more. So maintenance (I'm in year 7). I gained weight at the same calories because I've gotten older and gotten less active.

In January, I am going to go back into weight loss mode, lower my carbs, get back to exercising (both are critical for my body to maintain), I will also lower my calories. But my goal then will be to LOOSE not to stay stable. After I get back in my zone I'll drop back into maintenance.