Cals moving to maintenance

elliej
elliej Posts: 466 Member
in Goal: Maintaining Weight
Hi everyone, I've hit my goal (25lb lost in 6 months) and am ready to start maintenance...

My question is do you a) sudden jump - decide one day to eat mainenance? or b) add in 100-200 cals every day or two over a week or two until you get there?

I hear that its likely going into maint will mean an up to 5lb increase as your glyco store repletes, is this accurate?

Replies

  • Ideabaker
    Ideabaker Posts: 538 Member
    Bump--hoping folks will reply!
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    Well, ideally you should have brought yourself in for a nice easy landing and not gunned it the entire time...moving into maintenance is kinda like landing a plane...you can't do it at mach 1. Past being what it is though, just up them slowly over the course of the next month or so...you'll probably lose a little yet, but you won't throw your body into the shock of suddenly jumping up 500 - 1000 calories to your estimated maintenance calories overnight. Plus, when you do eat maintenance you're going to gain a little anyway due to replenishing glycogen stores that are chronically depleted when you're cutting...so losing a couple extra in this process won't be a huge deal.
    My question is do you a) sudden jump - decide one day to eat mainenance? or b) add in 100-200 cals every day or two over a week or two until you get there?

    Personally I'd add in 100 - 200 calories to your overall daily intake each week...probably for 3-4 weeks..i.e. if your calore goal is 1300 calories make it 1400 calories per day for a week...then 1500 the next...1600 the next and so on and so forth until you level off.
  • angie007az
    angie007az Posts: 406 Member
    I found Intermittent fasting recently. It's been a God send. I plan to use it to maintain my weight once I lose the fat. Lots of good books out there on Intermittent fasting. Some are really cheap if you get the Kindle editions. Good luck to you!!
  • nxd10
    nxd10 Posts: 4,570 Member
    I did go full gun the whole time, but my weight loss slowed at the end. When I was at the bottom of my 5 pound goal zone, I upped my calories by 250. I actually dipped below that zone for a little while, but have maintaining within 3 pounds for several months now.

    Weight moves around a bit and it can take a week or two before anything happens, so I think it's best to undershoot your goal zone, up by some fraction of your deficit, and stick there for a while. If you still lose, up your calories a bit more until you hit equilibrium.
  • acogg
    acogg Posts: 1,870 Member
    I went straight to my maintenance calories. The hardest part of maintenance that I experienced was not logging at all. I had a fear of overeating and so I under ate and continued to lose weight unintentionaly. I had to start logging again to make sure I was getting in enough calories. A few months of that and I was able to maintain by feel. I have not logged my food for several months. Today I started to log again because I want to lose about 5 pounds before a vacation. I plan to be extra naughty.:devil:
  • Wingg
    Wingg Posts: 22
    Do you guys normally lose weight while finding your maintenance calories intake? Becaue I am trying to find my maintenance calories intake I gained weight when I am only eating 1200 calories per day. I am really confused.
  • Katieaholloway
    Katieaholloway Posts: 13
    when i was loosing my goal was 1200 but i hardly ever reached it (after exercise everyday etc) i started to add more daily once i had reached a certain weight and now trying to gain and tone a little.

    now i have upped my cals to make sure i hit 1200 and more as i still exercise most days (little cardio and weights) yet i am still loosing weight ?!

    i know this isn't much at all (and eating under 1000 daily was probably unhealthy but i got used to it).. but its a whole lot more than i had been on so how am i not maintaining or even gaining ? :/ (i do want to gain)
  • elliej
    elliej Posts: 466 Member
    Both of you above, from what I understand 1200 is not maintenance for any one. Maybe try the losing weight forum?

    Thanks to those who've tried to answer my q... any more replies welcome!
  • GingerLolita
    GingerLolita Posts: 738 Member
    I think increasing slowly will be the best options. As someone else already pointed out, you might put on a few pounds as your body adjusts.

    Katie, it's no mystery you're losing weight at 1200 calories/day. Find out your actual maintenance numbers on MFP and try eating closer to that. MFP can also calculate a goal for weight gain.
  • Cheeky_and_Geeky
    Cheeky_and_Geeky Posts: 984 Member
    when i was loosing my goal was 1200 but i hardly ever reached it (after exercise everyday etc) i started to add more daily once i had reached a certain weight and now trying to gain and tone a little.

    now i have upped my cals to make sure i hit 1200 and more as i still exercise most days (little cardio and weights) yet i am still loosing weight ?!

    i know this isn't much at all (and eating under 1000 daily was probably unhealthy but i got used to it).. but its a whole lot more than i had been on so how am i not maintaining or even gaining ? :/ (i do want to gain)

    I suggest posting a topic on the Gaining Weight forum if your goal is to gain weight. My hubby is underweight & he's now eating 3500 calories a day & gaining about .125lbs a week.
  • Cheeky_and_Geeky
    Cheeky_and_Geeky Posts: 984 Member
    Do you guys normally lose weight while finding your maintenance calories intake? Becaue I am trying to find my maintenance calories intake I gained weight when I am only eating 1200 calories per day. I am really confused.

    What is your TDEE? Are you weighing your food & logging every piece of food that you eat? I don't weigh my food & have learned that I've been grossly underestimating the amount of food I've been eating. (like eating 1 1/2 cups of cereal every morning instead of 3/4 cup estimation on a daily basis). Small things like that make a huge impact. I have my calories set at 1350 but I'm guessing I consume at least 1550 a day from guestimation error. If you're eating 1200 per day & want to move to maintenance, then up your calories by 100 every week til you hit your TDEE. Good luck!
  • Phoenix_Warrior
    Phoenix_Warrior Posts: 1,633 Member
    Tagging. I'm 8 lbs away from my goal weight and have been slowly upping my calories by about 50 a week. Hoping this is a worthwhile approach. I figured slow and steady!
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  • TAMayorga
    TAMayorga Posts: 341 Member
    Either way is fine. It's more about what's best for you.


    I freaked out with the extra Calories when I moved to maintenance. My personality/habit has always been to treat my daily Calories as an upper limit - I frequently ate at (or even a little over) my Calories. I knew that if I did that with the extra that was given to me on maintenance, I'd start pushing the limit and be back where I started. So I've done this: I took myself off of maintenance and adjusted my "goal" 5 pounds lower than I actually want to be. I dropped down by two more pounds, and have kind of settled there. But it's only been a couple of weeks, so we'll see how that works long-term. Good luck, and congrats on reaching maintenance! :smile:
  • MattLBennett
    MattLBennett Posts: 24 Member
    Came into maintenance on a 500ish loss and am upping it by 200ish a week (this being the first week). I have gained like people said and i'm trying not to panic.....which is hard.
  • Wingg
    Wingg Posts: 22
    Do you guys normally lose weight while finding your maintenance calories intake? Becaue I am trying to find my maintenance calories intake I gained weight when I am only eating 1200 calories per day. I am really confused.

    What is your TDEE? Are you weighing your food & logging every piece of food that you eat? I don't weigh my food & have learned that I've been grossly underestimating the amount of food I've been eating. (like eating 1 1/2 cups of cereal every morning instead of 3/4 cup estimation on a daily basis). Small things like that make a huge impact. I have my calories set at 1350 but I'm guessing I consume at least 1550 a day from guestimation error. If you're eating 1200 per day & want to move to maintenance, then up your calories by 100 every week til you hit your TDEE. Good luck!

    My TDEE is 1755cals, I've been weighing the food that I'm eating and I'm also doing exercises as well... Thanks for your advice! It's really not easy to move on to maintenance...
  • elliej
    elliej Posts: 466 Member
    What about logging? Does everyone log faithfully when moving to maint?
  • spoiledpuppies
    spoiledpuppies Posts: 675 Member
    What about logging? Does everyone log faithfully when moving to maint?

    I hope to be there soon, and I do plan to log faithfully -- I'd guess for at least several months, first while I find my maintenance number then to get use to what that looks like on my plate.
  • alienrite
    alienrite Posts: 314 Member
    I think logging is as important when beginning maintenance as it is during the fat loss process. I would slowly raise your calories over a period of weeks. You are likely showing a lower than "true" weight because you are eating in a deficit and are perpetually depleted. In the end, you want your average weight to be at your goal weight and you should expect your weight to vary from 2 to 5 lbs daily. Another important thing in maintenance is become more reliant on your measurements than you weight. Congrats on the weight loss and just stay balanced and focused and maintenance should be a breeze.
  • paperpudding
    paperpudding Posts: 9,304 Member
    When I changed my setting from lose weight to maintain weight it only increased my daily calories by 100, so not a huge difference.
    I did have it set at losing 1/2 pound a week though, the lowest lose setting.


    After I hit my goal weight and stayed it for 3 weeks, I changed the setting. That was 3 weeks ago, have not gained weight yet.
  • Brandolin11
    Brandolin11 Posts: 492 Member
    What about logging? Does everyone log faithfully when moving to maint?

    Me! :) I'm approaching 650 days. I'm an OA person and MFP acts as a "higher power" that I submit myself to - in other words, it's my accountability structure, helps me remember my boundary lines and where I need to stop each day. Plus, I am just missing that long-term memory chip that can remember what I ate that day - so this thing acts as my 2nd brain. I look at it like making my bed or brushing my teeth - just another daily task, no big deal.
  • WestCoastJo82
    WestCoastJo82 Posts: 2,304 Member
    I didn't have a whole lot to lose (15 lbs) and I lost it pretty slowly so there wasn't a big difference in calories for me - having an extra IPA every night made the difference between losing and maintaining for me. I think because I was at such a small deficit, I didn't have any weight gain once I was done losing. I don't log anymore either, but I do weight myself everyday. If I started hitting numbers that I didn't like, I'd probably start logging again, but I think I have a good handle on what I should eat and how I should move.
  • Cheeky_and_Geeky
    Cheeky_and_Geeky Posts: 984 Member
    Do you guys normally lose weight while finding your maintenance calories intake? Becaue I am trying to find my maintenance calories intake I gained weight when I am only eating 1200 calories per day. I am really confused.

    What is your TDEE? Are you weighing your food & logging every piece of food that you eat? I don't weigh my food & have learned that I've been grossly underestimating the amount of food I've been eating. (like eating 1 1/2 cups of cereal every morning instead of 3/4 cup estimation on a daily basis). Small things like that make a huge impact. I have my calories set at 1350 but I'm guessing I consume at least 1550 a day from guestimation error. If you're eating 1200 per day & want to move to maintenance, then up your calories by 100 every week til you hit your TDEE. Good luck!

    My TDEE is 1755cals, I've been weighing the food that I'm eating and I'm also doing exercises as well... Thanks for your advice! It's really not easy to move on to maintenance...

    Good luck & no its not very easy. Some say lose an extra 5lbs because you may gain some lbs moving into maintenance.

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