Hit my goal weight, now what?

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emilymayzes
emilymayzes Posts: 19
in Goal: Maintaining Weight
So long story short, I have hit my goal weight of 135 pounds (yay!!) but now I'm a little confused about what to do next. I think after eating less and exercising for such a long time I'm kind of scared to eat more and cut down on exercise, because I don't want to gain back the weight I worked so hard to get off in the first place. So, what do you guys reccomend for transitioning from loosing weight to maintaing? Slowly add more calories each week? What if I gain weight? Any advice, tips, personal experiences would be greatly appreciated!:smile:
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Replies

  • KMiYong
    KMiYong Posts: 130 Member
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    I haven't gotten there, but from what I read in the forums, some people would tell you you could start lowering bf% and train your muscles, some would say that to maintain slowly add a certain amount of calories to your diet. that only depends on what you wanna do. gaining a couple of lbs won't hurt, it's natural (and some people lose some extra lb before maintaining), and you don't have to cut on exercise, I don't think :P I think you should keep exercising as much as you like, and make sure you eat equally to how much you burn, so to not create a deficit.
  • Maisylouise2
    Maisylouise2 Posts: 10 Member
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    Congratulations on reaching your goal ! I too reached mine last week :) and feel the same way you do. I thought mfp would send some kind of acknowledgement/ further instructions. But... No. I find this community forum helps. Members are forthcoming and generous with advice & info. One if the best things I read was to always have another goal. Fitness/ life/ etc. if you stop striving to better yourself in some way you get complacent and all of your hard work unravels. As far as maintenance goes- my scale budged slightly upward after 2 days! But it's a journey of discovering what works for you. I adjusted my new calorie allotment and am upping my exercise. I found my new daily calorie limit was a top end - not for everyday. But that's just me. Like I said - read more posts . You'll get great tips . Good luck! And always strive for something.
  • DopeItUp
    DopeItUp Posts: 18,771 Member
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    You will definitely gain a small amount of weight, it's inevitable. Extra food weight, extra carbs and sodium will contribute to water retention, etc. It's just the way it is. Usually around 3-5lbs or so.

    Having said that, reverse dieting is the way to go. Add 100calories/day for a week at a time until your weight levels off and then stay there.
  • NRSPAM
    NRSPAM Posts: 961 Member
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    Congratulations!!! However, not much will change. Only difference is, you can now eat 500 calories more than you have been, and if you cut down on your exercise, then you don't get the whole 500 calories. Just focus on eating healthy, and keep doing what you've been doing. Make sure you keep logging. :)
  • Thinspired48
    Thinspired48 Posts: 2
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    Congratulations!!!
    I've also reached my goal, and have discovered the 'secret' for staying there: www.theedendiet.com (getting back in touch with your hunger pains) and www.the5-2dietbook.com (learning to fast for good health). Don't be turned off because of the word 'diet' in the titles -- they're not about dieting, really, but about learning a new (old, actually) and doable way to think about food.
    Best luck!
  • geekyjock76
    geekyjock76 Posts: 2,720 Member
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    As you increase calories back to adjusted maintenance, you're going to immediately replenish water and glycogen weight that was reduced when you first began restricting. As stated, this will be a few lbs and should not be interpreted as a gain. If you didn't lose weight rapidly by engaging in a very low calorie diet, then your weight should begin to stabilize after recovering the lost water and glycogen stores and reaching your maintenance intake of calories.

    Regardless if you included exercise or not to lose weight, you definitely should exercise to help maintain your weight.
  • walleyclan1
    walleyclan1 Posts: 2,784 Member
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    Enjoy getting to eat more! Keep exercising! It will likely take some trial and error to find the best combo of calories/exercise to maintain but keep adjusting til you find it!
  • MUALaurenClark
    MUALaurenClark Posts: 296 Member
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    hit goal weight, what next? get stronger and faster.
  • awise19
    awise19 Posts: 154 Member
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    hit goal weight, what next? get stronger and faster.

    THIS
  • agggie550
    agggie550 Posts: 281 Member
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    And now your story fades into credits, and we all sit there waiting for the sequel. Being healthy isn't a race, there is no goal there is no finish line. Congrats on making it to this point, but now you have to maintain, or redefine what you want for yourself. Is 135 it, and if so then maintenance it is, but like other people said, now you have a chance to define you. If you want to be stronger, do that. If you want to be faster do that. If you want to learn now to do a back flip, practice doing that, its all up to you now. There is no end, just a change in direction. Good luck and congrats.
  • Capt_Apollo
    Capt_Apollo Posts: 9,026 Member
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    you're going to gain weight. your weight will go up and down, even on maintenance. i'd love to tell you that now that you've hit that goal, you'll stay there forever as long as you eat and exercise the same as always, but i'd be lying to you.

    it'll go up five pounds, it'll go down six, back up... you get the idea.
  • anewlife1980
    anewlife1980 Posts: 225 Member
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    You keep doing what you are doing, you don't eat more & exercise less, that will mean gaining it back. You continue to exercise the way you have been put switch to maintain mode & eat some higher calorie foods & prepare yourself to fluctuate. My husband started maintaining about 2mths ago, at first he lost a few extra pounds, then he gained 2lbs, lost it again. He wanted to lose 85lbs & he is between 85-90lbs lost. I think it takes your body a while to readjust to the new foods the same as when you are losing but you don't stop. You keep going, you get stronger & better every day :-) Congrats on reaching your goal!
  • Summer_Lunatic
    Summer_Lunatic Posts: 543 Member
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    hit goal weight, what next? get stronger and faster.



    ^^^^^ This x 10.
  • alpine1994
    alpine1994 Posts: 1,915 Member
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    It's kind of trial and error. You have to see what works for you and what you're comfortable with doing. I've been in maintenance for 7 months and I'm up a few lbs right now (as a result of the State Fair of Texas!! Thanks a LOT fried food!) so I'm lowering my calories a bit this week to get it off. I would give yourself a range that you're comfortable staying within (mine is -3 to +3) and keep an eye on it.

    Try a new exercise program or something to keep you motivated to work out too. Exercise has so many other benefits besides weight loss but you already knew that. :)
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,874 Member
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    1 - why do you need to cut back on exercise...I've been maintaining for 6 - 7 months now and workout just as much or more than I did when i was losing...having extra calories means I can actually crush a workout. Exercise is far more important in maintenance than it is for losing. One of the biggest reasons people fail to maintain weight is that they stop getting their fitness on...they fail to actually set independent fitness goals and so closely associate exercise with "losing" that they just stop....worst thing you could possibly do.

    2 - When you increase your calories to maintenance you will gain some weight due to the fact that you will be replenishing your glycogen stores. When you are at a deficit of energy (calories), your glycogen stores are chronically depleted...eating to maintenance keeps them full...this is your rocket fuel for crushing your workouts in number 1.

    3 - Maintenance isn't static...I pretty much fluctuate between 180 - 185 Lbs day to day throughout the week depending on sodium intake, waste in my system, whether I've had a really intense workout, etc. It's normal and it's not fat. Those people that talk about gaining and losing those same 2-5 Lbs...well, they're really just maintaining.

    4 - There is no finish line...if you think of this as some kind of finish line then you're most likely going to put your weight back on. You've simply completed 1 goal. You should always be setting goals for yourself and then crushing them. Fitness and nutrition are lifetime endevours.

    5 - Keep getting your nutrition on and fitness on. Maintenance is really just a few hundred more calories per day...that's it...it's not a license to revert back to old eating habits.
  • littlebrownbat3
    littlebrownbat3 Posts: 54 Member
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    I'm in the same boat as you...I've set my calorie counter in myfitnesspal to lose half a pound a month, and I'm tapering off. Losing another 5 pounds won't be bad, it's just vanity, and I'm trying to get a grip on what it feels like to eat at higher calorie levels slowly. I found when I went to maintenance, I would just figure, hey, an extra 500 cals a day, I can eat whatever....and then I saw I was consistantly over eating.
    I still work out a lot though, I think if I didn't, I'd go mad. Not that if I went insane I'd stick out in a graduate department, I might blend in better...
  • iechick
    iechick Posts: 352 Member
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    So long story short, I have hit my goal weight of 135 pounds (yay!!) but now I'm a little confused about what to do next. I think after eating less and exercising for such a long time I'm kind of scared to eat more and cut down on exercise, because I don't want to gain back the weight I worked so hard to get off in the first place. So, what do you guys reccomend for transitioning from loosing weight to maintaing? Slowly add more calories each week? What if I gain weight? Any advice, tips, personal experiences would be greatly appreciated!:smile:

    It seems to be pretty common to gain a bit as you transition into maintenance, though for me I continued to lose and my weight didn't settle until I was over 15lbs under my original goal weight. I've been in maintenance for months now and I'm still doing a lot of trial and error-there is no one perfect way for everyone since we're all at different stages in our lives (ages, fitness, medical conditions etc etc). Just experiment and see where it takes you :)

    I agree with other poster though-why would you cut back on exercise, just because you hit goal? I didn't do any exercise until after I started transitioning to maintenance and now my walking/running is a big part of my maintenance strategy. If you're bored with what you've been doing mix it up-this is a great time to try new things!
  • QuirkyD
    QuirkyD Posts: 68 Member
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    Congrats and great topic! Can't wait to be asking the same question.
  • coffee4me57
    coffee4me57 Posts: 195
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    I'm a long way from goal but you may find this helpful
    https://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/993865-why-you-gain-weight-if-you-eat-more-than-your-cut
  • lina011
    lina011 Posts: 427 Member
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    you're going to gain weight. your weight will go up and down, even on maintenance. i'd love to tell you that now that you've hit that goal, you'll stay there forever as long as you eat and exercise the same as always, but i'd be lying to you.

    it'll go up five pounds, it'll go down six, back up... you get the idea.

    i totally agree ....

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