Worried about maintaining

Happymelz

I am actually still 11 lbs away from maintenance, but I'm excited to move on from "always trying to lose weight".

I got to my goal weight 4 years ago on WW. The WW meetings in my area aren't really set up for those who are maintaining. I was told "well, you just keep adding and taking away until you figure it out."
No one told me that I might gain a few lbs back quickly and then level out. So, when I saw that I had gained 4-5 lbs back I gave up on tracking and eventually gained it all back.

I worked on maintaining over this summer because my body REFUSED to lose after years of eating too few calories. I'm losing about 1 lb a week now, and I am very excited to be done losing weight.

My goal is to stay under 150. 147-149 is perfect for my curvy self.

My question is: Should I plan to lose below my actual goal, to give myself a cushion for the few lbs I will gain back at maintenance?
To me that makes sense...but I wanted to ask the people who are actually at maintenance.

Domane1963

Some people do re-gain their glycogen stores when transferring onto maintenance, some don't. Sounds like you do so therefore it would be sensible to go a few pounds under your target so that you can fluctuate without going over. I've been maintaining for five and a half weeks now.... and I am SO proud of myself for this as I have spent many many years being a yo-yo dieter. I am more proud of myself for maintaining than losing the weight in the first place. I was terrified when I hit my target but I'm relaxing a bit now. Still weighing myself daily and logging everything on here but I'm happy to do that for the time being. If you up your calorie intake by 200 when you hit maintenance and then see how you get on for a fortnight before assessing again and changing, if necessary.

Good luck. Remember that you have to eat an additional 3500 calories on top of your usual limit to gain a pound so if you do have a slip up, remember it is unlikely to be adding loads of weight in one hit. If I eat lots of carbs, I retain loads of water for a couple of days to process them so the amount of weight I gain is not relative to the amount of carbs I've eaten. Now I know this fact, it makes me realise why I "gave up" so many times in the past instead of sticking to my plan.....

SoDamnHungry

Like the above poster said, refilling glycogen stores can suddenly add weight when you start eating your maintenance calories. But I would suggest getting to your goal weight and seeing if that actually happens. I just started maintenance a week ago and haven't weighed myself yet. If I go up a few pounds, I'll start losing again, but there's no need to go very far under your goal unless you're sure that the weight will increase due to glycogen stores.

RipperSB

I've been maintaining for over a year now and my approach was to just redo my goals with the maintenance weight. Initially selecting 145 lbs (male, 5'8", 51 yrs) and MAINTAIN and followed the numbers (don't remember what they were). I continued to lose, however, due to the fact that the net calories were always below for the day (red numbers-bad, green numbers-good) so there's your cushion. I now use 142 as my target (1840 cals/day) but the range can be any where from 140-145. When I started maintenance I also started measuring neck, chest, waist and hips twice/month, you might want to consider that as well. Take care.

PaytraB

I found the numbers a bit concerning at first, too. I bounced (and probably still do) about 1-1.5Kg. That seems to be my "normal".

I found that following the numbers on the scale was stressful and, like RipperSB, starting tracking my measurements on MFP instead. I found that my weight may fluctuate but my measurements never have. In fact, they've gone down as I continue to tone up.

It's not always about the scale. Keep that in mind, too. Maintenance is a whole other mind set. It takes awhile to get comfortable with it.

likitisplit

I actually stopped 10 pounds from goal, maintained for 6 weeks and then lost the last bit of weight. Having that 6-week break and then losing again taught me a lot about how much error margin I have in terms of moving the needle up or down (I actually have quite a bit, if you discount spikes and dips.)

Sabrang

Maintaining has been a life-long issue for me. I can lose weight, and I certainly can gain weight! Once I lose weight, I have to either keep losing, or I gain. I am on here starting over again, because I have gained back nearly all that I had lost If I am about 220, I easily maintain that, but anything lower, I cannot. Being very short, that is not a weight I should be. I have tried numerous dieting methods, but just keep yo yo ing:(

Happymelz

Some people do re-gain their glycogen stores when transferring onto maintenance, some don't. Sounds like you do so therefore it would be sensible to go a few pounds under your target so that you can fluctuate without going over. I've been maintaining for five and a half weeks now.... and I am SO proud of myself for this as I have spent many many years being a yo-yo dieter. I am more proud of myself for maintaining than losing the weight in the first place. I was terrified when I hit my target but I'm relaxing a bit now. Still weighing myself daily and logging everything on here but I'm happy to do that for the time being. If you up your calorie intake by 200 when you hit maintenance and then see how you get on for a fortnight before assessing again and changing, if necessary.

Good luck. Remember that you have to eat an additional 3500 calories on top of your usual limit to gain a pound so if you do have a slip up, remember it is unlikely to be adding loads of weight in one hit. If I eat lots of carbs, I retain loads of water for a couple of days to process them so the amount of weight I gain is not relative to the amount of carbs I've eaten. Now I know this fact, it makes me realise why I "gave up" so many times in the past instead of sticking to my plan.....

Thank you for sharing!

Thank you everyone for the feedback.

blackcows15

Your not alone, I actually came to this forum to ask a similar question and found your post. I've lost 32 pounds and have 8 to go, I'm comfortable being at 200 pounds but am going to 190 for a cushion. I watch numbers close and weigh everyday and like you I am nervous about being able to maintain. I suppose it's similar to weight loss once you get in the groove it becomes second nature.

Mike

JesterMFP

I would get to where you feel happy and comfortable with your size and how you look in the mirror, and how your body feels. Then, start maintaining. A few pounds of glycogen rebound aren't going to make much difference to that. At this point, it's less about the actual number on the scale, and more about how you look/feel. You may even lose a few more as you move into maintenance, that happens to some people too. And, as others have said, you'll fluctuate a bit anyway. You're not going to hit one goal number and stay there. You'll have a range.

cwolfman13

My question is: Should I plan to lose below my actual goal, to give myself a cushion for the few lbs I will gain back at maintenance?
To me that makes sense...but I wanted to ask the people who are actually at maintenance.

some people do, but to me it's ridiculous given that the weight you put back on is glycogen and water, not fat. That just means you can now go out and crush your workouts because you won't have chronically depleted glycogen stores. i've personally never understood the mentality of getting to some arbitrary scale weight even if what you're talking about is basically water.

The trick to maintenance...just keep getting your nutrition on and your fitness on. People fail because they feel that they've crossed some arbitrary finish line...that they're "done"...in reality, they're just getting started on what should be a lifetime endeavor of fitness and nutrition.

themedalist

To me, the most important thing is to have a solid plan for maintenance. How are you going to keep the weight off once you've lost it? My maintenance strategy is to weigh myself regularly and make adjustments to food and exercise anytime my weight goes up by more than 3 pounds. I will simply not allow myself to regain the 50 pounds it took me a year to lose. I also have shed the bad habits (like mindless late-night snacking) that piled on the weight in the first place.

Don't fear maintenance. Maintenance is a great place to be! More food and a bit less exercise...enjoying the fruits of all your hard work. Maintenance is very achievable if you have a game plan and you keep moving forward.

Best Wishes!