Trade-Offs and Treats

mylittlerainbow

Okay, I am fully aware of how I got to how I was and that I need to remain accountable to myself not to go back up! But I do like to plan treats into my day and I guard them jealously. So I pre-log my meals for each day to see what's left. Do I have enough for an Enlightened bar? 1/4 cup of unsalted mixed roasted nuts? A protein brownie with applesauce on top? If I decide to throw edamame into my entree salad at lunch, does that mean no afternoon snack of a Built bar?

I'm probably smaller than many of you (5'0"). When I log net calories of around 1400, MFP gives me a 5-week projection of about my current weight. As I start getting up over 1400, it has me gaining gradually over the 5 weeks, up to gaining rather quickly at 1450 calories per day. (And in these months, I have learned that these MFP projections are pretty accurate for me.) So I don't have much wiggle-room and do have to plan accordingly. Hence the pre-logging. But oh, how I resent when I have to give up my almond butter cooky because I decided I really want blueberries and raspberries in yogurt for my morning snack!

I don't see this getting easier down the road, but I'm only 7 months into maintenance, so perhaps it does become more of a routine and less obsessive as time passes?

tequila5000

I hear you about not having much wiggle room. Are you exercising? If yes, be sure to log some of your exercise calories and you might have more wiggle room, to add in another “treat” .

AnnPT77

Just a couple of thoughts, even though I'm a bigger person with a different situation and different maintenance strategies:

First, keep an eye on the scale. 7 months is a ways into maintenance, but still pretty new. Some people see a gradual TDEE increase after eating at maintenance for a while, which shows up as ultra-slow loss on the scale, even if the MFP estimate was solid during loss. (Some people are able to push this a little by adding a small number of calories daily, waiting a week or two, adding another small increase, etc.) No guarantees in any of that, but I'm simply encouraging you to be open to the possibility so you don't ignore/discount it if it seems to be happening at some point.

Second, if you haven't already, maybe give some thought to pushing your daily life (non-exercise) activity a bit, creating a bias toward more movement in your routine day. This is not something you can estimate as you do it, and tack onto your calorie goal, but it will show up on the scale gradually. Some people are able to squeeze out as much as a couple of hundred extra calories daily, surprisingly. Again, no promises, just something to consider. This thread has people sharing their ideas for increasing daily life activity:

http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10610953/neat-improvement-strategies-to-improve-weight-loss/p1

Third, from other threads I think I remember you talking about exercising, but I don't recall whether that includes progressive strength exercise. If it doesn't, that's another possibility for *small*, *gradual* improvements in TDEE. The extra calorie burn of muscle tissue at rest is truly tiny, and it's slow work to increase it, but increased strength can conspire positively in the "bias toward movement in one's day" kind of thing, I suspect, because the stronger/fitter we are, the more easy and pleasant it is to move. Of course strength increase is useful in itself, so it's not a waste even if there's not noticeable calorie-needs increase.

Personally, I have experienced some subtle changes over the course of maintenance (5+ years now). I can't say that that's included less actual juggling, but has included less anxiety over tradeoffs; and feeling more like adjustments are easier and more automatic, vs. being an explicit thought process. I'd say I've felt more intuitive trust for me over time that minor variations aren't going to lead to disaster, as long as I don't go crazy. I also have fewer issues with appetite/serving size wishful thinking now, I believe, but it's pretty subtle. If I had to say, I'd say that appetite changes were quite slow to come along, maybe like year 3-ish for me? I'm sure that's individual, though.

Overall, however, I do know that it helps me that I have a higher TDEE (combination of fairly high exercise + mysteriously high calorie needs to start with), so probably that helps make things less difficult than they are for you with a tighter budget. I'm trying to be very honest/open here about things that I truly think could apply for you, despite differences in our size, base strategies, etc.

Hoping it *does* become easier and less stressful for you!

mylittlerainbow

Yes, I make a point of exercising at least 60 min per day, and varying my routine from day to day. I'd read that you need this to be able to maintain your weight. That's why I was so careful to refer to "NET" calories.

I do move a whole lot more than the exercise I log already! I live on the third floor and routinely walk up and down the stairs. And my neighborhood is highly walkable - library, bank, tire place, grocery stores, drug stores, hair salon, dentist, post office, and more than 40 restaurants - and I leave my car in the garage and pretty much walk everywhere. This is not included as part of my formal exercise program, just my going about my business doing my errands. Not taking walks. And I am not one to watch television but am usually moving around the house doing things. So yeah, I'm not what you would call sedentary.

I guess I didn't interpret what I had posted as complaining in any way. If you're 72 years old and weigh 95.6 lbs and are 5'0" tall, you're not going to have a huge daily calorie allowance. I was just talking about the balancing act, the tradeoffs in letting myself have X one day and therefore I don't get Y or Z. EVERYBODY here has to be doing some of that, right?!

AnnPT77

mylittlerainbow wrote: »

Yes, I make a point of exercising at least 60 min per day, and varying my routine from day to day. I'd read that you need this to be able to maintain your weight. That's why I was so careful to refer to "NET" calories.

I do move a whole lot more than the exercise I log already! I live on the third floor and routinely walk up and down the stairs. And my neighborhood is highly walkable - library, bank, tire place, grocery stores, drug stores, hair salon, dentist, post office, and more than 40 restaurants - and I leave my car in the garage and pretty much walk everywhere. This is not included as part of my formal exercise program, just my going about my business doing my errands. Not taking walks. And I am not one to watch television but am usually moving around the house doing things. So yeah, I'm not what you would call sedentary.

I guess I didn't interpret what I had posted as complaining in any way. If you're 72 years old and weigh 95.6 lbs and are 5'0" tall, you're not going to have a huge daily calorie allowance. I was just talking about the balancing act, the tradeoffs in letting myself have X one day and therefore I don't get Y or Z. EVERYBODY here has to be doing some of that, right?!

FWIW, I didn't take you as complaining: Apologies if it came across that way.

Sure, I can't eat every single thing I'd like to eat every time, in the portion size I might prefer: There are tradeoffs. I think it's gotten less or easier, with time, psychologically and physically - takes up less mindshare, certainly.

lesdarts180

I feel your pain - I'm similar stats to you, 70 years old, 155 cm (5' 1.5") and 49 kg (107 lb), and my maintenance calories (net) are around 1500. I've been maintaining now for 2 years and I log almost all my meals most days, and constantly aware of trade-offs.
I am pretty active and take actual exercise every day but even so I rarely exceed 1,800 cals gross.

It does get a bit easier, and of course by weighing myself daily I can nip any increase in the bud but I see it as a lifelong commitment.

It's worth it to be healthy as we age.

Good luck!

vanmep

I try to make a connection between the exercise I do and the food I eat. Instead of saying - if I eat these blueberries I won’t be able to eat that cookie, I wonder if it would change the perspective to say, if I go for a walk right now I’ll be able to eat that cookie and the blueberries?

wunderkindking

My handling of this when I really want something is to just log it, split across the week. Tiny bites out of each day instead of a huge bite out of one day's calories.

Granted, I have a decent calorie allowance to begin with, but I still like to eat and I'm not denying myself the occasional cookie for the rest of my life, so this works to balance within a week or so and doesn't sacrifice nutrition on any given day to do so.

mylittlerainbow

lesdarts180 wrote: »

It does get a bit easier, and of course by weighing myself daily I can nip any increase in the bud but I see it as a lifelong commitment.

That's the crux of it, absolutely: Lifelong commitment. But of course we should have that toward our own health to start with! It's just soooo hard. Most people seem completely oblivious to what or how much they're eating - sure, a nibble from your plate or another trip to the buffet? No calculations involved - just eat what you want and trust it will be within bounds. I don't expect ever to be one of them.

mylittlerainbow

wunderkindking wrote: »

I'm not denying myself the occasional cookie for the rest of my life

I don't, either. That's why I prelog meals - I see how many calories I have left for the day and work in my treats! Just not ALL of them every day!! (sadly)