When should I start a maintenance diet?

GloriaBJN
GloriaBJN Posts: 78 Member
edited September 2022 in Health and Weight Loss
Hey all. I've been logging in for 22 days and have been faithful to the calorie limitations. I've dropped consistently, more at the beginning but averaging a 0.6 lb per day loss. Having lost 14 lbs. in 22 days, I wonder if I should be doing a maintenance diet at this point, or if I should stick with the calorie limits I have now and continue to lose weight until my body decides to stop losing, and I could just do a maintenance diet then? At this point, I can leave some calories uneaten and still be satisfied at the end of the day, anywhere from 0-250 calories. Also, should I be eating calories I don't feel like eating? Snacking in the evening when I don't feel like snacking just gets me hungry again. My original (ambitious) goal was losing 60 lbs in 1 year, but I doubt realistically I'll reach that. How do I prevent the yo-yo dieting?
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Replies

  • quiksylver296
    quiksylver296 Posts: 28,439 Member
    You've lost 14 pounds in 22 days?!? Over half a pound a day?!? How much do you have to lose??? That is way too much, way too fast, unless you have an immense amount of weight to lose.
  • GloriaBJN
    GloriaBJN Posts: 78 Member
    edited September 2022
    Sorry, it was 27 days, not 22. I'm following the calorie limitations that were calculated for me based on my goal. I have a lot of weight to lose. But I had quickly gained 17 lbs within the last three months before I started the diet, so I think most of that loss was weight correction at the beginning. I still have three more lbs. to go to get back to where I was three months ago, so I'm not overly worried about the speed of the weight loss. I'm more concerned about maintenance.
  • GloriaBJN
    GloriaBJN Posts: 78 Member
    CORRECTION: It was 27 days, not 22.
  • quiksylver296
    quiksylver296 Posts: 28,439 Member
    GloriaBJN wrote: »
    Sorry, it was 27 days, not 22. I'm following the calorie limitations that were calculated for me based on my goal. I have a lot of weight to lose. But I had quickly gained 17 lbs within the last three months before I started the diet, so I think most of that loss was weight correction at the beginning. I still have three more lbs. to go to get back to where I was three months ago, so I'm not overly worried about the speed of the weight loss. I'm more concerned about maintenance.

    You can take a maintenance break at any time during your weight loss. It's good to practice for when you are at goal weight. Set your goals here to maintenance and eat to that calorie goal for a week or so, and go back to a calorie deficit when you are ready.
  • lulalacroix
    lulalacroix Posts: 1,082 Member
    You say you have a lot to lose but then ask if you should be maintaining. I'm confused. Or are you talking about a short diet break?
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 34,203 Member
    edited September 2022
    That's still very fast, if it was fat. Gaining 17 pounds in 3 months would imply only about 700 excess calories (above maintenance calories) eaten daily, on average, if the whole 17 pounds was body fat. That much extra eating - or less moving, or a combination - is IME surprisingly easy to do. But you may be right, that some was water retention that rebalanced, rather than fat.

    Your average weight loss rate, after a multi-week period (whole menstrual cycles if that applies), is a better guide to calorie needs than the starting estimate MFP gives you. It's just telling you the population average for people similar to you. You may be statistically unusual, and the reasons might not be obvious. (I can eat 25-30% more calories than MFP predicts for weight loss or maintenance, for example, based on over 7 years of logging & weight management experience so far. If I rely on MFP's estimates, I lose weight dangerously fast.)

    The generic answer about when to go to maintenance calories is "when you reach goal weight". However, there can be reasons to take breaks at maintenance calories periodically during a lengthy or extreme period of weight loss. For more information about the what/why of that, read this thread:

    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10604863/of-refeeds-and-diet-breaks/p1

    But you're only at 22 days, though I admit the loss looks extreme at this point.

    Losing weight too fast is generally not a good idea, counterproductive, can have bad health consequences, etc. Be careful.

    That said, losing 60 pounds in a year is not crazy fast, for an otherwise healthy person (without boatloads of other stress in their lifestyle), if they have that much to lose. It would likely be done a little faster at first, slower toward the end. (I lost 50+ pounds in a bit under a year, for example, ending in a healthy weight range in the lower half of the normal BMI range for my height. I've been maintaining in that range for multiple years since.)

    I feel like your question makes a number of assumptions that may not be realistic, though - that you should go to maintenance calories after 22 days (even 22 days of fast loss), that your body will necessarily somehow stop losing at some point mysteriously, that MFP's estimate of your calorie needs is gospel, etc.

    As far as how to stop yo-yo cycles: Don't focus on how to lose weight fast. Instead, focus on finding sustainable, happy new habits that will gradually get you to a healthy weight range, then keep you there forever, almost on autopilot, because the habits are just that easy and natural to your preferences, strengths, and challenges. I'm talking about habits of eating and activity both, and not just exercise activity.

    Treating weight loss as a quick project with an end date, after which things "go back to normal" - IMO that's a common on-ramp to yo-yo dieting.
  • Retroguy2000
    Retroguy2000 Posts: 1,847 Member
    edited September 2022
    So you gained 17 pounds in 3 months, then you spent 1 month losing 14 pounds in 27 days, and now you want to go to maintenance despite needing to lose another 46 pounds to reach your goal? But you also want to avoid yo-yo. I'm really confused.

    You say you're following the calorie limits MFP produced based on your goal, and you still have uneaten calories at the end of the day. What goal? Because >3.5 pounds per week is really fast.

    As for when to go to maintenance, a few weeks in is far too early for your body to need a maintenance break. You may want a break, which is fine, but I think you'd be better off revising your goals to a more sustainable 1-2 pounds per week target instead.
  • GloriaBJN
    GloriaBJN Posts: 78 Member
    lulalacroix wrote: »
    You say you have a lot to lose but then ask if you should be maintaining. I'm confused. Or are you talking about a short diet break?
    quiksylver296 wrote: »
    GloriaBJN wrote: »
    Sorry, it was 27 days, not 22. I'm following the calorie limitations that were calculated for me based on my goal. I have a lot of weight to lose. But I had quickly gained 17 lbs within the last three months before I started the diet, so I think most of that loss was weight correction at the beginning. I still have three more lbs. to go to get back to where I was three months ago, so I'm not overly worried about the speed of the weight loss. I'm more concerned about maintenance.

    You can take a maintenance break at any time during your weight loss. It's good to practice for when you are at goal weight. Set your goals here to maintenance and eat to that calorie goal for a week or so, and go back to a calorie deficit when you are ready.

    Thank you so much for your insight. My concern is that once I do maintenance, my body will decide it's done losing weight.
  • GloriaBJN
    GloriaBJN Posts: 78 Member
    lulalacroix wrote: »
    You say you have a lot to lose but then ask if you should be maintaining. I'm confused. Or are you talking about a short diet break?

    Yes, to adjust to healthy eating to maintain where I'm at before I go any further. I think that's how you avoid yo-yo dieting.
  • GloriaBJN
    GloriaBJN Posts: 78 Member
    AnnPT77 wrote: »
    That's still very fast, if it was fat. Gaining 17 pounds in 3 months would imply only about 700 excess calories (above maintenance calories) eaten daily, on average, if the whole 17 pounds was body fat. That much extra eating - or less moving, or a combination - is IME surprisingly easy to do. But you may be right, that some was water retention that rebalanced, rather than fat.

    Your average weight loss rate, after a multi-week period (whole menstrual cycles if that applies), is a better guide to calorie needs than the starting estimate MFP gives you. It's just telling you the population average for people similar to you. You may be statistically unusual, and the reasons might not be obvious. (I can eat 25-30% more calories than MFP predicts for weight loss or maintenance, for example, based on over 7 years of logging & weight management experience so far. If I rely on MFP's estimates, I lose weight dangerously fast.)

    The generic answer about when to go to maintenance calories is "when you reach goal weight". However, there can be reasons to take breaks at maintenance calories periodically during a lengthy or extreme period of weight loss. For more information about the what/why of that, read this thread:

    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10604863/of-refeeds-and-diet-breaks/p1

    But you're only at 22 days, though I admit the loss looks extreme at this point.

    Losing weight too fast is generally not a good idea, counterproductive, can have bad health consequences, etc. Be careful.

    That said, losing 60 pounds in a year is not crazy fast, for an otherwise healthy person (without boatloads of other stress in their lifestyle), if they have that much to lose. It would likely be done a little faster at first, slower toward the end. (I lost 50+ pounds in a bit under a year, for example, ending in a healthy weight range in the lower half of the normal BMI range for my height. I've been maintaining in that range for multiple years since.)

    I feel like your question makes a number of assumptions that may not be realistic, though - that you should go to maintenance calories after 22 days (even 22 days of fast loss), that your body will necessarily somehow stop losing at some point mysteriously, that MFP's estimate of your calorie needs is gospel, etc.

    As far as how to stop yo-yo cycles: Don't focus on how to lose weight fast. Instead, focus on finding sustainable, happy new habits that will gradually get you to a healthy weight range, then keep you there forever, almost on autopilot, because the habits are just that easy and natural to your preferences, strengths, and challenges. I'm talking about habits of eating and activity both, and not just exercise activity.

    Treating weight loss as a quick project with an end date, after which things "go back to normal" - IMO that's a common on-ramp to yo-yo dieting.

    I have not lost water. I've been replacing the calories with lots of water. I may not be the healthiest person for stress, but the nutrition assessments are doing an amazing job in helping me assess where I lack, and even when I've been taking too many supplements.
  • GloriaBJN
    GloriaBJN Posts: 78 Member
    edited September 2022
    Retroguy2000 wrote: »
    So you gained 17 pounds in 3 months, then you spent 1 month losing 14 pounds in 27 days, and now you want to go to maintenance despite needing to lose another 46 pounds to reach your goal? But you also want to avoid yo-yo. I'm really confused.

    You say you're following the calorie limits MFP produced based on your goal, and you still have uneaten calories at the end of the day. What goal? Because >3.5 pounds per week is really fast.

    As for when to go to maintenance, a few weeks in is far too early for your body to need a maintenance break. You may want a break, which is fine, but I think you'd be better off revising your goals to a more sustainable 1-2 pounds per week target instead.

    "but I think you'd be better off revising your goals to a more sustainable 1-2 pounds per week target instead." Okay I didn't know I could do that. Maybe I don't know how to configure the settings for that. I'll check. The other thing is that I don't mind sitting at my current weight for awhile if it means I don't gain it all back again and more. It's not about wanting to take a break. It's about being realistic and not pushing myself into what is considered dangerous dieting. I tried several macros, from keto to high carb, to what the original settings were. I settled on a diabetic diet, but not stuck on meeting the macro calculations. My Dad developed diabetes in his late 70's.
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 34,203 Member
    GloriaBJN wrote: »
    AnnPT77 wrote: »
    That's still very fast, if it was fat. Gaining 17 pounds in 3 months would imply only about 700 excess calories (above maintenance calories) eaten daily, on average, if the whole 17 pounds was body fat. That much extra eating - or less moving, or a combination - is IME surprisingly easy to do. But you may be right, that some was water retention that rebalanced, rather than fat.

    Your average weight loss rate, after a multi-week period (whole menstrual cycles if that applies), is a better guide to calorie needs than the starting estimate MFP gives you. It's just telling you the population average for people similar to you. You may be statistically unusual, and the reasons might not be obvious. (I can eat 25-30% more calories than MFP predicts for weight loss or maintenance, for example, based on over 7 years of logging & weight management experience so far. If I rely on MFP's estimates, I lose weight dangerously fast.)

    The generic answer about when to go to maintenance calories is "when you reach goal weight". However, there can be reasons to take breaks at maintenance calories periodically during a lengthy or extreme period of weight loss. For more information about the what/why of that, read this thread:

    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10604863/of-refeeds-and-diet-breaks/p1

    But you're only at 22 days, though I admit the loss looks extreme at this point.

    Losing weight too fast is generally not a good idea, counterproductive, can have bad health consequences, etc. Be careful.

    That said, losing 60 pounds in a year is not crazy fast, for an otherwise healthy person (without boatloads of other stress in their lifestyle), if they have that much to lose. It would likely be done a little faster at first, slower toward the end. (I lost 50+ pounds in a bit under a year, for example, ending in a healthy weight range in the lower half of the normal BMI range for my height. I've been maintaining in that range for multiple years since.)

    I feel like your question makes a number of assumptions that may not be realistic, though - that you should go to maintenance calories after 22 days (even 22 days of fast loss), that your body will necessarily somehow stop losing at some point mysteriously, that MFP's estimate of your calorie needs is gospel, etc.

    As far as how to stop yo-yo cycles: Don't focus on how to lose weight fast. Instead, focus on finding sustainable, happy new habits that will gradually get you to a healthy weight range, then keep you there forever, almost on autopilot, because the habits are just that easy and natural to your preferences, strengths, and challenges. I'm talking about habits of eating and activity both, and not just exercise activity.

    Treating weight loss as a quick project with an end date, after which things "go back to normal" - IMO that's a common on-ramp to yo-yo dieting.

    I have not lost water. I've been replacing the calories with lots of water. I may not be the healthiest person for stress, but the nutrition assessments are doing an amazing job in helping me assess where I lack, and even when I've been taking too many supplements.

    That's not necessarily how water retention works. A healthy body holds onto extra water for lot of different reasons. With some of those reasons - like retaining water because we ate more salty things than usual (even if still a perfectly healthy amount), drinking more water can potentially lead to less water retention. Eating fewer carbs than usual can lead to less retained water, irrespective of water intake. Bodies can be complicated. Dehydration - drinking too little, or less than ideal - is not the only way to lose retained water.
    GloriaBJN wrote: »
    lulalacroix wrote: »
    You say you have a lot to lose but then ask if you should be maintaining. I'm confused. Or are you talking about a short diet break?

    Yes, to adjust to healthy eating to maintain where I'm at before I go any further. I think that's how you avoid yo-yo dieting.

    That's a fine thing to do if you want to do it, or if it helps you in some way to establish the habits/routines that will be easy to sustain as you go along through weight loss then maintenance at goal weight.

    But at 22 days in - even 22 days of fast loss - it's not that you have to somehow game or trick or convince your body not to yo-yo. Unsustainable dieting - too low calories, or eating foods you don't like, or that leave you feeling unnecessarily hungry - that can potentially contribute to yo-yo. That's because if you can't stick to the routine for some reason, for long enough to lose a meaningful amount of weight, you might fall back into over-eating or other old but tempting habits.
    GloriaBJN wrote: »
    Retroguy2000 wrote: »
    So you gained 17 pounds in 3 months, then you spent 1 month losing 14 pounds in 27 days, and now you want to go to maintenance despite needing to lose another 46 pounds to reach your goal? But you also want to avoid yo-yo. I'm really confused.

    You say you're following the calorie limits MFP produced based on your goal, and you still have uneaten calories at the end of the day. What goal? Because >3.5 pounds per week is really fast.

    As for when to go to maintenance, a few weeks in is far too early for your body to need a maintenance break. You may want a break, which is fine, but I think you'd be better off revising your goals to a more sustainable 1-2 pounds per week target instead.

    "but I think you'd be better off revising your goals to a more sustainable 1-2 pounds per week target instead." Okay I didn't know I could do that. Maybe I don't know how to configure the settings for that. I'll check. The other thing is that I don't mind sitting at my current weight for awhile if it means I don't gain it all back again and more. It's not about wanting to take a break. It's about being realistic and not pushing myself into what is considered dangerous dieting. I tried several macros, from keto to high carb, to what the original settings were. I settled on a diabetic diet, but not stuck on meeting the macro calculations. My Dad developed diabetes in his late 70's.

    You don't necessarily configure settings for that. Do you have monthly menstrual cycles? If so, continue your current routine for at least one whole cycle, then compare your body weight at the same relative point in the two cycles (like the first or last day of flow in each cycle, for example). If you don't have cycles, use at least 4 weeks. Calculate your average weight loss per week in that time period. (Number of pounds divided by number of weeks.)

    If you want to lose slower, figure out how many pounds per week slower, and add 500 calories to your average calories eaten for each additional pound. For example, if you've been losing 3.5 pounds per week, but want to lose 1.25 pounds per week, that would be 3.5-1.25 = 2.25 pounds slower. Then multiply 2.25 x 500 = 1,125 calories more to eat each day, to get the slower 1.25 pounds per week. Add that 1,125 calories to what you've been eating on average daily. That's total is your new goal, to lose 1.25 pounds weekly. Try that new goal out for a month, and adjust again if necessary.

    Those are just example numbers. I'm not saying 1.25 should be your new goal, just giving you an example of how to do the arithmetic to get a new goal.
  • GloriaBJN
    GloriaBJN Posts: 78 Member
    AnnPT77 wrote: »
    GloriaBJN wrote: »
    AnnPT77 wrote: »
    That's still very fast, if it was fat. Gaining 17 pounds in 3 months would imply only about 700 excess calories (above maintenance calories) eaten daily, on average, if the whole 17 pounds was body fat. That much extra eating - or less moving, or a combination - is IME surprisingly easy to do. But you may be right, that some was water retention that rebalanced, rather than fat.

    Your average weight loss rate, after a multi-week period (whole menstrual cycles if that applies), is a better guide to calorie needs than the starting estimate MFP gives you. It's just telling you the population average for people similar to you. You may be statistically unusual, and the reasons might not be obvious. (I can eat 25-30% more calories than MFP predicts for weight loss or maintenance, for example, based on over 7 years of logging & weight management experience so far. If I rely on MFP's estimates, I lose weight dangerously fast.)

    The generic answer about when to go to maintenance calories is "when you reach goal weight". However, there can be reasons to take breaks at maintenance calories periodically during a lengthy or extreme period of weight loss. For more information about the what/why of that, read this thread:

    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10604863/of-refeeds-and-diet-breaks/p1

    But you're only at 22 days, though I admit the loss looks extreme at this point.

    Losing weight too fast is generally not a good idea, counterproductive, can have bad health consequences, etc. Be careful.

    That said, losing 60 pounds in a year is not crazy fast, for an otherwise healthy person (without boatloads of other stress in their lifestyle), if they have that much to lose. It would likely be done a little faster at first, slower toward the end. (I lost 50+ pounds in a bit under a year, for example, ending in a healthy weight range in the lower half of the normal BMI range for my height. I've been maintaining in that range for multiple years since.)

    I feel like your question makes a number of assumptions that may not be realistic, though - that you should go to maintenance calories after 22 days (even 22 days of fast loss), that your body will necessarily somehow stop losing at some point mysteriously, that MFP's estimate of your calorie needs is gospel, etc.

    As far as how to stop yo-yo cycles: Don't focus on how to lose weight fast. Instead, focus on finding sustainable, happy new habits that will gradually get you to a healthy weight range, then keep you there forever, almost on autopilot, because the habits are just that easy and natural to your preferences, strengths, and challenges. I'm talking about habits of eating and activity both, and not just exercise activity.

    Treating weight loss as a quick project with an end date, after which things "go back to normal" - IMO that's a common on-ramp to yo-yo dieting.

    I have not lost water. I've been replacing the calories with lots of water. I may not be the healthiest person for stress, but the nutrition assessments are doing an amazing job in helping me assess where I lack, and even when I've been taking too many supplements.

    That's not necessarily how water retention works. A healthy body holds onto extra water for lot of different reasons. With some of those reasons - like retaining water because we ate more salty things than usual (even if still a perfectly healthy amount), drinking more water can potentially lead to less water retention. Eating fewer carbs than usual can lead to less retained water, irrespective of water intake. Bodies can be complicated. Dehydration - drinking too little, or less than ideal - is not the only way to lose retained water.
    GloriaBJN wrote: »
    lulalacroix wrote: »
    You say you have a lot to lose but then ask if you should be maintaining. I'm confused. Or are you talking about a short diet break?

    Yes, to adjust to healthy eating to maintain where I'm at before I go any further. I think that's how you avoid yo-yo dieting.

    That's a fine thing to do if you want to do it, or if it helps you in some way to establish the habits/routines that will be easy to sustain as you go along through weight loss then maintenance at goal weight.

    But at 22 days in - even 22 days of fast loss - it's not that you have to somehow game or trick or convince your body not to yo-yo. Unsustainable dieting - too low calories, or eating foods you don't like, or that leave you feeling unnecessarily hungry - that can potentially contribute to yo-yo. That's because if you can't stick to the routine for some reason, for long enough to lose a meaningful amount of weight, you might fall back into over-eating or other old but tempting habits.
    GloriaBJN wrote: »
    Retroguy2000 wrote: »
    So you gained 17 pounds in 3 months, then you spent 1 month losing 14 pounds in 27 days, and now you want to go to maintenance despite needing to lose another 46 pounds to reach your goal? But you also want to avoid yo-yo. I'm really confused.

    You say you're following the calorie limits MFP produced based on your goal, and you still have uneaten calories at the end of the day. What goal? Because >3.5 pounds per week is really fast.

    As for when to go to maintenance, a few weeks in is far too early for your body to need a maintenance break. You may want a break, which is fine, but I think you'd be better off revising your goals to a more sustainable 1-2 pounds per week target instead.

    "but I think you'd be better off revising your goals to a more sustainable 1-2 pounds per week target instead." Okay I didn't know I could do that. Maybe I don't know how to configure the settings for that. I'll check. The other thing is that I don't mind sitting at my current weight for awhile if it means I don't gain it all back again and more. It's not about wanting to take a break. It's about being realistic and not pushing myself into what is considered dangerous dieting. I tried several macros, from keto to high carb, to what the original settings were. I settled on a diabetic diet, but not stuck on meeting the macro calculations. My Dad developed diabetes in his late 70's.

    You don't necessarily configure settings for that. Do you have monthly menstrual cycles? If so, continue your current routine for at least one whole cycle, then compare your body weight at the same relative point in the two cycles (like the first or last day of flow in each cycle, for example). If you don't have cycles, use at least 4 weeks. Calculate your average weight loss per week in that time period. (Number of pounds divided by number of weeks.)

    If you want to lose slower, figure out how many pounds per week slower, and add 500 calories to your average calories eaten for each additional pound. For example, if you've been losing 3.5 pounds per week, but want to lose 1.25 pounds per week, that would be 3.5-1.25 = 2.25 pounds slower. Then multiply 2.25 x 500 = 1,125 calories more to eat each day, to get the slower 1.25 pounds per week. Add that 1,125 calories to what you've been eating on average daily. That's total is your new goal, to lose 1.25 pounds weekly. Try that new goal out for a month, and adjust again if necessary.

    Those are just example numbers. I'm not saying 1.25 should be your new goal, just giving you an example of how to do the arithmetic to get a new goal.

    That's a lot of stuff. Thanks for so much help.
  • GloriaBJN
    GloriaBJN Posts: 78 Member
    AnnPT77 wrote: »
    GloriaBJN wrote: »
    AnnPT77 wrote: »
    That's still very fast, if it was fat. Gaining 17 pounds in 3 months would imply only about 700 excess calories (above maintenance calories) eaten daily, on average, if the whole 17 pounds was body fat. That much extra eating - or less moving, or a combination - is IME surprisingly easy to do. But you may be right, that some was water retention that rebalanced, rather than fat.

    Your average weight loss rate, after a multi-week period (whole menstrual cycles if that applies), is a better guide to calorie needs than the starting estimate MFP gives you. It's just telling you the population average for people similar to you. You may be statistically unusual, and the reasons might not be obvious. (I can eat 25-30% more calories than MFP predicts for weight loss or maintenance, for example, based on over 7 years of logging & weight management experience so far. If I rely on MFP's estimates, I lose weight dangerously fast.)

    The generic answer about when to go to maintenance calories is "when you reach goal weight". However, there can be reasons to take breaks at maintenance calories periodically during a lengthy or extreme period of weight loss. For more information about the what/why of that, read this thread:

    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10604863/of-refeeds-and-diet-breaks/p1

    But you're only at 22 days, though I admit the loss looks extreme at this point.

    Losing weight too fast is generally not a good idea, counterproductive, can have bad health consequences, etc. Be careful.

    That said, losing 60 pounds in a year is not crazy fast, for an otherwise healthy person (without boatloads of other stress in their lifestyle), if they have that much to lose. It would likely be done a little faster at first, slower toward the end. (I lost 50+ pounds in a bit under a year, for example, ending in a healthy weight range in the lower half of the normal BMI range for my height. I've been maintaining in that range for multiple years since.)

    I feel like your question makes a number of assumptions that may not be realistic, though - that you should go to maintenance calories after 22 days (even 22 days of fast loss), that your body will necessarily somehow stop losing at some point mysteriously, that MFP's estimate of your calorie needs is gospel, etc.

    As far as how to stop yo-yo cycles: Don't focus on how to lose weight fast. Instead, focus on finding sustainable, happy new habits that will gradually get you to a healthy weight range, then keep you there forever, almost on autopilot, because the habits are just that easy and natural to your preferences, strengths, and challenges. I'm talking about habits of eating and activity both, and not just exercise activity.

    Treating weight loss as a quick project with an end date, after which things "go back to normal" - IMO that's a common on-ramp to yo-yo dieting.

    I have not lost water. I've been replacing the calories with lots of water. I may not be the healthiest person for stress, but the nutrition assessments are doing an amazing job in helping me assess where I lack, and even when I've been taking too many supplements.

    That's not necessarily how water retention works. A healthy body holds onto extra water for lot of different reasons. With some of those reasons - like retaining water because we ate more salty things than usual (even if still a perfectly healthy amount), drinking more water can potentially lead to less water retention. Eating fewer carbs than usual can lead to less retained water, irrespective of water intake. Bodies can be complicated. Dehydration - drinking too little, or less than ideal - is not the only way to lose retained water.
    GloriaBJN wrote: »
    lulalacroix wrote: »
    You say you have a lot to lose but then ask if you should be maintaining. I'm confused. Or are you talking about a short diet break?

    Yes, to adjust to healthy eating to maintain where I'm at before I go any further. I think that's how you avoid yo-yo dieting.

    That's a fine thing to do if you want to do it, or if it helps you in some way to establish the habits/routines that will be easy to sustain as you go along through weight loss then maintenance at goal weight.

    But at 22 days in - even 22 days of fast loss - it's not that you have to somehow game or trick or convince your body not to yo-yo. Unsustainable dieting - too low calories, or eating foods you don't like, or that leave you feeling unnecessarily hungry - that can potentially contribute to yo-yo. That's because if you can't stick to the routine for some reason, for long enough to lose a meaningful amount of weight, you might fall back into over-eating or other old but tempting habits.
    GloriaBJN wrote: »
    Retroguy2000 wrote: »
    So you gained 17 pounds in 3 months, then you spent 1 month losing 14 pounds in 27 days, and now you want to go to maintenance despite needing to lose another 46 pounds to reach your goal? But you also want to avoid yo-yo. I'm really confused.

    You say you're following the calorie limits MFP produced based on your goal, and you still have uneaten calories at the end of the day. What goal? Because >3.5 pounds per week is really fast.

    As for when to go to maintenance, a few weeks in is far too early for your body to need a maintenance break. You may want a break, which is fine, but I think you'd be better off revising your goals to a more sustainable 1-2 pounds per week target instead.

    "but I think you'd be better off revising your goals to a more sustainable 1-2 pounds per week target instead." Okay I didn't know I could do that. Maybe I don't know how to configure the settings for that. I'll check. The other thing is that I don't mind sitting at my current weight for awhile if it means I don't gain it all back again and more. It's not about wanting to take a break. It's about being realistic and not pushing myself into what is considered dangerous dieting. I tried several macros, from keto to high carb, to what the original settings were. I settled on a diabetic diet, but not stuck on meeting the macro calculations. My Dad developed diabetes in his late 70's.

    You don't necessarily configure settings for that. Do you have monthly menstrual cycles? If so, continue your current routine for at least one whole cycle, then compare your body weight at the same relative point in the two cycles (like the first or last day of flow in each cycle, for example). If you don't have cycles, use at least 4 weeks. Calculate your average weight loss per week in that time period. (Number of pounds divided by number of weeks.)

    If you want to lose slower, figure out how many pounds per week slower, and add 500 calories to your average calories eaten for each additional pound. For example, if you've been losing 3.5 pounds per week, but want to lose 1.25 pounds per week, that would be 3.5-1.25 = 2.25 pounds slower. Then multiply 2.25 x 500 = 1,125 calories more to eat each day, to get the slower 1.25 pounds per week. Add that 1,125 calories to what you've been eating on average daily. That's total is your new goal, to lose 1.25 pounds weekly. Try that new goal out for a month, and adjust again if necessary.

    Those are just example numbers. I'm not saying 1.25 should be your new goal, just giving you an example of how to do the arithmetic to get a new goal.

    Actually Ann I'm not trying to lose less weight per week if my body is comfortably losing what it's losing now. I miscalculated on a potato last night, ate an extra 90 calories, and actually went up ever so slightly just on 90 calories, so I would never venture your calculations of an extra 500-1,000 calories/day for a slower weight loss. As before stated, I have days when I'm actually leaving calories out of my day because I don't feel like eating. I just want to work with my body, so if I'm not hungry for the balance of the calorie count per day, I wouldn't try to push MORE calories unless my loss is unhealthy. I'm not really trying to trick my body. I've read so often that if you lose weight too fast your body thinks it's starving, so it holds onto the weight you have. I checked my goal again and the calculation for 60 lbs/year loss is actually 1 lb. per week. Not sure how I got so blessed, other than what I said earlier - it must be a weight correction, not an actual loss. Count me happy. I just don't want to ruin what got started.
  • Lietchi
    Lietchi Posts: 6,826 Member
    edited September 2022
    To add onto what @AnnPT77 has said (always good advice) I'd like to say explicitly what she has implied in het post: that you can't judge one day's intake based on your weigh-in the next day. Weight fluctuates daily from variations in water weight and food waste in your system, weight (fat) loss is judged over weeks, not days.
  • paperpudding
    paperpudding Posts: 9,281 Member
    GloriaBJN wrote: »
    lulalacroix wrote: »
    You say you have a lot to lose but then ask if you should be maintaining. I'm confused. Or are you talking about a short diet break?
    quiksylver296 wrote: »
    GloriaBJN wrote: »
    Sorry, it was 27 days, not 22. I'm following the calorie limitations that were calculated for me based on my goal. I have a lot of weight to lose. But I had quickly gained 17 lbs within the last three months before I started the diet, so I think most of that loss was weight correction at the beginning. I still have three more lbs. to go to get back to where I was three months ago, so I'm not overly worried about the speed of the weight loss. I'm more concerned about maintenance.

    You can take a maintenance break at any time during your weight loss. It's good to practice for when you are at goal weight. Set your goals here to maintenance and eat to that calorie goal for a week or so, and go back to a calorie deficit when you are ready.

    Thank you so much for your insight. My concern is that once I do maintenance, my body will decide it's done losing weight.

    I don't understand this comment.

    Isn't that the point of maintenance - you want to stop losing weight and maintain at your goal weight from there on?

    Of course some people make the choice to have short periods of maintenance calories along the way - but that won't stop you continuing to lose once you reduce your calories again.

    Your body won't decide anything, only your mind can do that - and then your body will biologically respond to whatever intake you choose.
  • GloriaBJN
    GloriaBJN Posts: 78 Member
    edited September 2022
    AnnPT77 wrote: »
    GloriaBJN wrote: »
    AnnPT77 wrote: »
    GloriaBJN wrote: »
    AnnPT77 wrote: »
    That's still very fast, if it was fat. Gaining 17 pounds in 3 months would imply only about 700 excess calories (above maintenance calories) eaten daily, on average, if the whole 17 pounds was body fat. That much extra eating - or less moving, or a combination - is IME surprisingly easy to do. But you may be right, that some was water retention that rebalanced, rather than fat.

    Your average weight loss rate, after a multi-week period (whole menstrual cycles if that applies), is a better guide to calorie needs than the starting estimate MFP gives you. It's just telling you the population average for people similar to you. You may be statistically unusual, and the reasons might not be obvious. (I can eat 25-30% more calories than MFP predicts for weight loss or maintenance, for example, based on over 7 years of logging & weight management experience so far. If I rely on MFP's estimates, I lose weight dangerously fast.)

    The generic answer about when to go to maintenance calories is "when you reach goal weight". However, there can be reasons to take breaks at maintenance calories periodically during a lengthy or extreme period of weight loss. For more information about the what/why of that, read this thread:

    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10604863/of-refeeds-and-diet-breaks/p1

    But you're only at 22 days, though I admit the loss looks extreme at this point.

    Losing weight too fast is generally not a good idea, counterproductive, can have bad health consequences, etc. Be careful.

    That said, losing 60 pounds in a year is not crazy fast, for an otherwise healthy person (without boatloads of other stress in their lifestyle), if they have that much to lose. It would likely be done a little faster at first, slower toward the end. (I lost 50+ pounds in a bit under a year, for example, ending in a healthy weight range in the lower half of the normal BMI range for my height. I've been maintaining in that range for multiple years since.)

    I feel like your question makes a number of assumptions that may not be realistic, though - that you should go to maintenance calories after 22 days (even 22 days of fast loss), that your body will necessarily somehow stop losing at some point mysteriously, that MFP's estimate of your calorie needs is gospel, etc.

    As far as how to stop yo-yo cycles: Don't focus on how to lose weight fast. Instead, focus on finding sustainable, happy new habits that will gradually get you to a healthy weight range, then keep you there forever, almost on autopilot, because the habits are just that easy and natural to your preferences, strengths, and challenges. I'm talking about habits of eating and activity both, and not just exercise activity.

    Treating weight loss as a quick project with an end date, after which things "go back to normal" - IMO that's a common on-ramp to yo-yo dieting.

    I have not lost water. I've been replacing the calories with lots of water. I may not be the healthiest person for stress, but the nutrition assessments are doing an amazing job in helping me assess where I lack, and even when I've been taking too many supplements.

    That's not necessarily how water retention works. A healthy body holds onto extra water for lot of different reasons. With some of those reasons - like retaining water because we ate more salty things than usual (even if still a perfectly healthy amount), drinking more water can potentially lead to less water retention. Eating fewer carbs than usual can lead to less retained water, irrespective of water intake. Bodies can be complicated. Dehydration - drinking too little, or less than ideal - is not the only way to lose retained water.
    GloriaBJN wrote: »
    lulalacroix wrote: »
    You say you have a lot to lose but then ask if you should be maintaining. I'm confused. Or are you talking about a short diet break?

    Yes, to adjust to healthy eating to maintain where I'm at before I go any further. I think that's how you avoid yo-yo dieting.

    That's a fine thing to do if you want to do it, or if it helps you in some way to establish the habits/routines that will be easy to sustain as you go along through weight loss then maintenance at goal weight.

    But at 22 days in - even 22 days of fast loss - it's not that you have to somehow game or trick or convince your body not to yo-yo. Unsustainable dieting - too low calories, or eating foods you don't like, or that leave you feeling unnecessarily hungry - that can potentially contribute to yo-yo. That's because if you can't stick to the routine for some reason, for long enough to lose a meaningful amount of weight, you might fall back into over-eating or other old but tempting habits.
    GloriaBJN wrote: »
    Retroguy2000 wrote: »
    So you gained 17 pounds in 3 months, then you spent 1 month losing 14 pounds in 27 days, and now you want to go to maintenance despite needing to lose another 46 pounds to reach your goal? But you also want to avoid yo-yo. I'm really confused.

    You say you're following the calorie limits MFP produced based on your goal, and you still have uneaten calories at the end of the day. What goal? Because >3.5 pounds per week is really fast.

    As for when to go to maintenance, a few weeks in is far too early for your body to need a maintenance break. You may want a break, which is fine, but I think you'd be better off revising your goals to a more sustainable 1-2 pounds per week target instead.

    "but I think you'd be better off revising your goals to a more sustainable 1-2 pounds per week target instead." Okay I didn't know I could do that. Maybe I don't know how to configure the settings for that. I'll check. The other thing is that I don't mind sitting at my current weight for awhile if it means I don't gain it all back again and more. It's not about wanting to take a break. It's about being realistic and not pushing myself into what is considered dangerous dieting. I tried several macros, from keto to high carb, to what the original settings were. I settled on a diabetic diet, but not stuck on meeting the macro calculations. My Dad developed diabetes in his late 70's.

    You don't necessarily configure settings for that. Do you have monthly menstrual cycles? If so, continue your current routine for at least one whole cycle, then compare your body weight at the same relative point in the two cycles (like the first or last day of flow in each cycle, for example). If you don't have cycles, use at least 4 weeks. Calculate your average weight loss per week in that time period. (Number of pounds divided by number of weeks.)

    If you want to lose slower, figure out how many pounds per week slower, and add 500 calories to your average calories eaten for each additional pound. For example, if you've been losing 3.5 pounds per week, but want to lose 1.25 pounds per week, that would be 3.5-1.25 = 2.25 pounds slower. Then multiply 2.25 x 500 = 1,125 calories more to eat each day, to get the slower 1.25 pounds per week. Add that 1,125 calories to what you've been eating on average daily. That's total is your new goal, to lose 1.25 pounds weekly. Try that new goal out for a month, and adjust again if necessary.

    Those are just example numbers. I'm not saying 1.25 should be your new goal, just giving you an example of how to do the arithmetic to get a new goal.

    Actually Ann I'm not trying to lose less weight per week if my body is comfortably losing what it's losing now. I miscalculated on a potato last night, ate an extra 90 calories, and actually went up ever so slightly just on 90 calories, so I would never venture your calculations of an extra 500-1,000 calories/day for a slower weight loss.
    If you ate more carbs than usual - even perfectly healthy amount of carbs - you'll potentially retain more water until those carbs are metabolized. (There's a reason they're called carbohydrates.) That water adds weight on the bodyweight scale.

    If you ate 90 extra calories above your calorie goal, but still below your maintenance calories for your current weight, you didn't gain net body fat from that potato.

    As before stated, I have days when I'm actually leaving calories out of my day because I don't feel like eating. I just want to work with my body, so if I'm not hungry for the balance of the calorie count per day, I wouldn't try to push MORE calories unless my loss is unhealthy.

    That's what people here are telling you (and not just me): That your current weight loss rate is unhealthy.
    I'm not really trying to trick my body. I've read so often that if you lose weight too fast your body thinks it's starving, so it holds onto the weight you have.

    If that were true, no one could ever starve to death, or they'd be fat when they died. Many thousands of people starve to death daily, worldwide, sadly. They're not fat when that happens.
    I checked my goal again and the calculation for 60 lbs/year loss is actually 1 lb. per week. Not sure how I got so blessed, other than what I said earlier - it must be a weight correction, not an actual loss. Count me happy. I just don't want to ruin what got started.

    There are 52 weeks in a year, not 60. Close enough, though.

    I think you believe some things about weight loss that are not true, from a scientific perspective. Clearly, my advice is unwanted, so I'm out of this thread. I wish you success with your goals, and good health along the way, sincerely.

    I actually quite appreciate your comments. I'm just saying adding 500-1,000 calories per day doesn't seem to be the solution for how my body is reacting to caloric intake when I was actually gaining over a mere 90 calories extra; and as previously mentioned, not everyone reacts the same to the same scenario. Re: "there are 52 weeks in a year, not 60", I would assume the auto calculation would have rounded the number to 1. Thanks for your help..and I do appreciate it.
  • GloriaBJN
    GloriaBJN Posts: 78 Member
    TicTacToo wrote: »
    Put very simply, if you weigh however much yourself, then eat a potato, then immediately weigh yourself again, you'd expect your total weight to increase temporarily by the weight of the potato because it's now inside you.

    That doesn't mean your fat stores increased.

    LOL. I guess, since you put it that way. I don't quite feel silly yet. I've never really taken calories and weight loss seriously before. This is all new to me, so truly count me a beginner.
  • GloriaBJN
    GloriaBJN Posts: 78 Member
    Retroguy2000 wrote: »
    GloriaBJN wrote: »
    I actually quite appreciate your comments. I'm just saying adding 500-1,000 calories per day doesn't seem to be the solution for how my body is reacting to caloric intake when I was actually gaining over a mere 90 calories extra; and as previously mentioned, not everyone reacts the same to the same scenario. Re: "there are 52 weeks in a year, not 60", I would assume the auto calculation would have rounded the number to 1. Thanks for your help..and I do appreciate it.
    Sigh. That isn't how it works at all. Two people already informed you of this, yet you keep insisting. You say you're glad for the help, but it doesn't seem like you're actually taking it on board.

    I appreciate the input. I guess that doesn't mean I'm reqired to agree.
  • GloriaBJN
    GloriaBJN Posts: 78 Member
    edited September 2022
    Alatariel75 wrote: »
    Yup, putting aside ALLLLL the other complicated biological functions, it takes food up to 3 days to fully pass through the digestive system. You can't think of it in terms of "I ate X calories yesterday, I weigh X lbs today, therefore eating X causes Y" because the truth is wildly more complex.

    Good to know. I ate out (over 1,062 calories for supper) on the weekend including a fully loaded potato and cheesecake, but walked a lot more. Despite the fact I still had calories allowed for a snack at night (not much) I decided to not attempt a snack later. I ate a cabbage leaf (6 calories), and ended up with no significant fluctuation the next morning, but it kind of killed my losing streak. So I kind of gave up on trying to figure "me" out. I enjoyed my meal.
  • Alatariel75
    Alatariel75 Posts: 18,224 Member
    edited September 2022
    GloriaBJN wrote: »
    Alatariel75 wrote: »
    Yup, putting aside ALLLLL the other complicated biological functions, it takes food up to 3 days to fully pass through the digestive system. You can't think of it in terms of "I ate X calories yesterday, I weigh X lbs today, therefore eating X causes Y" because the truth is wildly more complex.

    Good to know. I ate out (over 1,062 calories for supper) on the weekend including a fully loaded potato and cheesecake, but walked a lot more. Despite the fact I still had calories allowed for a snack at night (not much) I decided to not attempt a snack later. I ate a cabbage leaf (6 calories), and ended up with no significant fluctuation the next morning, but it kind of killed my losing streak. So I kind of gave up on trying to figure "me" out. I enjoyed my meal.

    One thing that actually DOES show up on the scale the next day is sodium - and eating out generally means a bunch of it! I can see a 4lb "gain" the day after a salty meal, but the key is to know the cause and know it isn't a 'real' gain but a bloat gain. I can tell when I have a sodium bloat on because of the way my rings fit - my fingers make it very obvious. I have one today because I had a soy sauce heavy stir fry last night, now my rings are tight. I also know that it is temporary and will go away.

    You can figure stuff out about "you" looking at a day to day result such as what sodium, or higher carbs does to your body and on the scale, but the absolute main thing is to remember that this doesn't represent fat loss. Your body doesn't hit the middle of the night, tally up what you ate and what you burned and shelve the excess as fat. It's a complicated, sometimes unfathomable process and letting a day to day fluctuation on the scale get to you, or derail you is self defeating.

    I don't have one, but it would actually be really helpful if someone who has kept a daily Libra or similar tracking of their weight over a period of time would post it for you to look at - I've seen a few around but can't remember who has one, but it truly shows the day to day changes which are not reflecting of fat loss/gain.
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 34,203 Member
    edited September 2022
    Alatariel75 wrote: »
    GloriaBJN wrote: »
    Alatariel75 wrote: »
    Yup, putting aside ALLLLL the other complicated biological functions, it takes food up to 3 days to fully pass through the digestive system. You can't think of it in terms of "I ate X calories yesterday, I weigh X lbs today, therefore eating X causes Y" because the truth is wildly more complex.

    Good to know. I ate out (over 1,062 calories for supper) on the weekend including a fully loaded potato and cheesecake, but walked a lot more. Despite the fact I still had calories allowed for a snack at night (not much) I decided to not attempt a snack later. I ate a cabbage leaf (6 calories), and ended up with no significant fluctuation the next morning, but it kind of killed my losing streak. So I kind of gave up on trying to figure "me" out. I enjoyed my meal.

    One thing that actually DOES show up on the scale the next day is sodium - and eating out generally means a bunch of it! I can see a 4lb "gain" the day after a salty meal, but the key is to know the cause and know it isn't a 'real' gain but a bloat gain. I can tell when I have a sodium bloat on because of the way my rings fit - my fingers make it very obvious. I have one today because I had a soy sauce heavy stir fry last night, now my rings are tight. I also know that it is temporary and will go away.

    You can figure stuff out about "you" looking at a day to day result such as what sodium, or higher carbs does to your body and on the scale, but the absolute main thing is to remember that this doesn't represent fat loss. Your body doesn't hit the middle of the night, tally up what you ate and what you burned and shelve the excess as fat. It's a complicated, sometimes unfathomable process and letting a day to day fluctuation on the scale get to you, or derail you is self defeating.

    I don't have one, but it would actually be really helpful if someone who has kept a daily Libra or similar tracking of their weight over a period of time would post it for you to look at - I've seen a few around but can't remember who has one, but it truly shows the day to day changes which are not reflecting of fat loss/gain.

    This is one of mine from a time period where I was intentionally losing pretty slowly (around a pound a month or a little less). The mostly downhill-ish line is the statistical trend, the vertical lines connect daily weights to the trend, so the line-ends farthest from that trend line represent the daily weights. Yup, they bounce all over. When I was focusing on losing faster, the trend line was a bit smoother downhill, but the dailies still jumped around.

    ru6b8n55lc0p.png

    Dunno whether that helps or not.
  • nsk1951
    nsk1951 Posts: 1,304 Member
    @GloriaBJN ... are you feeling a little 'beat up' yet by all the helpful 'advice' your thread has gotten you? I hope you haven't turned black and blue from it all because I do believe it is all meant to be helpful. ... That said ... (personal reflection here) ..
    ... I can remember back a long time ago when I first started using this site to help me lose weight. ... I honestly thought I knew somethings about how the body worked and about nutrition but have to admit thinking about calories was new to me. In the past, when I wanted to lose weight it was food and quantity of food that I thought about. So, when I started reading all about calories, and macros and all the other stuff available on here, I started to get confused also. And, like you, I found myself trying to relate what I'd just eaten the day before to what I saw on the scale ... and, also like yourself, I found that there just wasn't any reliable or clear picture on it. ...

    ... Since that long ago time, I have learned much more about how our body actually uses the food we eat and how different foods affect my mood, hunger or satiety, bloating, weight loss over time, and my own relationship with food. I've also learned about how much I generally eat to feel satisfied, what foods I like the best that fit into my 'healthy eating' habits. Most importantly, I've learned that weight loss is not something that happens quickly or is static. ... Also that for me ... It works to take 'maintenance breaks' often because if I don't I tend to lose my motivation to stay away from specific trigger foods that I still struggle to eat very little of. Not so much because of their affect on my weight loss efforts but for they effect they have on things like my fasting glucose measurements, bloat, cravings, overeating on stuff.

    Good luck to you ... The only advice I can offer you is to keep trying whatever you can think of that interests you as you find your OWN method of eating to support your goal of weight loss. It will be yours and it will work for you. Never give up.

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