how do you start maintaining?

disney_girl125

When you get to the weight you want to be at, do you just adjust your goals on mfp and immediately start eating your maintenance calories? Or how does it work? I don't have far to go, so i'm wondering how it works. Thanks for the help!

carrieous

I just stop tracking but continue to weight myself every week to make sure im not gaining

sarahg148

I'm not at goal yet...but would also set my goals to maintain and eat. Also, I would weigh myself frequently to monitor my weight. Then adjust as needed. I hope to be working on this in a few months or at the very latest, by Summer! :bigsmile:

disney_girl125

Do some people still track their calories when they are maintaining? I feel like I probably need to. Since i've been close to goal and it was the holidays, I let myself have 2 off days. Unfortunately I was really bad and had over 3000 calories in 1 day. Therefore, i'm the type that really has to track..lol. I plan to give myself some off days every now and then though.

nxd10

I do everything I did before (log everything, weigh daily) but upped my calories. Many people go up 100 calories at a shot until they find a balance point. I didn't.

I also got a fitbit to measure calories more accurately. I have focused a bit more on exercise.

spoiledpuppies

I'm just two pounds away from goal. I plan to increase my calories by 100 for a week, then another 100 for the next week, and so on until I find maintenance. It may take 1-2 months to do so. Then I think I'll still continue to log for awhile to get accustomed to what my maintenance eating/portions really look like. And I know for sure that I will weigh myself every day for the rest of my life. I lost 50 pounds about 10 years ago, and I kept it off easily for 7 years. It was only when I stopped weighing daily that my weight started to creep up.

MoreBean13

When I was within 10 lbs, I switched to 0.5 lbs/wk (TDEE-250)
When I was within 5 lbs, 0.25lbs/wk (TDEE-125)

So the process was slow, and when I hit maintenance the difference was only 125 calories.
It was SUPER easy, and I was well adjusted to what I needed to be eating at that point. I kept logging religiously for about 3 months, until I realized that logging wasn't really doing anything for me anymore, and I tested the waters of not logging. Every few months, I feel like I'm losing my grasp on my diet, and I start logging again, for a reality check.

The_Enginerd

I would ramp up. It makes the transition easier. Some people do it in 100 calorie increments. I just adjusted my weight loss goal from 1 lb/week to 1/2 lb/week when I was within 5 lbs of my goal, then straight to maintenance.

Sarauk2sf

I am also in the 'ramping calories up slowly' camp. Maintenance calories can be a little fluid so it may take a few tweaks and adjustments to get there.

kms1320

This is what I have found.. maintenance is near impossible. What I mean is, when you lift a lot of the restrictions you had, your scale is going to fluctuate enough to make you worry. I gave myself a range. If I went outside it, back on the diet.. down near the low end, I let myself eat. What fun is hitting your goal if you can't enjoy the fruits of your labor. Just weigh, and know where you stand.

Ophidion

I can only add from my experience as I am currently reversing out of a deficit into maintenance before a bulk.

I use the formulas set out in this link for my macros/cals...

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/819055-setting-your-calorie-and-macro-targets

I had for the last several weeks been adding 80cals a week via an extra 20 carbs a week.

Have reintroduced 700cals to my daily intake and not gained. (Besides Christmas and NYE indulgences which I have lost already)

hope that helps.

ETA: Obviously tweaks will be needed to be made due to changes in activity level and the body can be a tricky bugger.

ChrisS30V

I went about going into maintenance a little quicker than I probably should've. I was eating at about a 500-700 calorie deficit (1800-2000 cals) and when I wanted to stop losing weight, I began eating at what MFP said would be my maintenance (2500-3000 cals) the next week and have been maintaining there for the past 7 months. If that didn't stop the weight loss, I was going to continue to increase until it did stop. At first I weighed myself just about everyday just to make sure I wasn't losing or gaining, but once my weight flat-lined, I eased off a bit

Nowadays, I eat around 2500 cals, with a bit more on heavy activity days and weigh myself once a week or so. I find maintenance a hell of a lot easier than losing because not only do you get to eat more, you can be much more lax with how much you do eat.

KANGOOJUMPS

i am here just to maintain, and stay on track,,i keep at it strong
and watch what i eat and log food and exercise,
i never quit
i stay strong.
never been fat
want to stay fit my whole life.

Ideabaker

I just entered maintenance before the holidays. Bumped up my calorie goal, but have blown straight past it nearly every day. So far, weight is staying right at goal weight. Will probably bump down the goal for a week or two in mid January, then will "play" with the amounts to keep within a five pound range of goal weight.

Looking forward to hearing how others plan to begin their maintenance.

zacharydeveaux

The day I hit my goal weight, I immediately changed my MFP goals to maintenance and began eating more. My own paranoia has still kept me normally eating less than my maintenance calories. I think it's going to take awhile to learn what 'normal eating' is.

paperpudding

When you get to the weight you want to be at, do you just adjust your goals on mfp and immediately start eating your maintenance calories? Or how does it work? I don't have far to go, so i'm wondering how it works. Thanks for the help!

That's what I did - yes.

I had already had it set on lowest loss amount, 1/2 pound a week so it wasn't a lot different, only upped my calories by just over 100.

I still weigh aprox weekly and track calories as before (except 2 days over NYE) - I am giving myself a range of 1.5 kg either side of my ideal weight - if I reach over or under that ,I will re adjust.
have maintained within this range since September.

Siansonea

I just reset my goal to maintain, and started eating at that calorie limit. I think it's a bit low, eating at that level, I lost another pound, so now I eat slightly above that most days. Seems to have evened out. I still track everything, no reason to stop doing that now. In fact, it's probably more crucial. If my weight fluctuates going forward, I'll have a pretty clear picture of what my true maintenance calorie value is.

einzweidrei

Once I lost twenty pounds, which was my initial goal, I changed my goals from losing 1 pound/week to 0.5/week until I lost ten more pounds. Then I changed my calories to maintenance calories. I found it to be pretty easy and a smooth transition.

I would also have a weight range that you feel comfortable being in. For example, do not stop at 140 pounds and obsess at staying there. Instead, say something like, "I'm okay being between 138-142." Or something like that.

Also, I pay attention to weekly calories. I was doing 5:2 and went to 6:1. I move my calories around a lot. So I'll be under one day and then I'll be more than 1,000 over on a day like today. ;-P

andypandy1109

it has to fit into your lifestyle and be liveable...I kept my weight off for 8 years by having the weekends a non count and by that I don't mean go mad just relaxed but no counting worries and then count and stick to it as you have prev mon to fri...