Maintenance Thread

mia66

Wow i think I need to check my maintanance thread a few times a week, so many posts and I enjoyed reading them.

Gail- I liked what you had to say about shopping. I love to buy clothes now too. Very excited to be able to wear the youger styles and pull them off. Love going to work and turning heads and love my low riser jeans. I use to think they were discusting when my girls wore them but not any more. It is fun.

This week was an emotionally challenging week for me. My appetite decreased a little so I really tried to make sure that I ate all of my calories, and I did. When I weighed myself this morning my weight had gone down. I do not want to go below 124 lbs and I was at 123.4 lbs. So it is time for me to raise up the calories a little. i was thinking 50 extra calories a day for this month and see if that will work.

Any suggestions on that number from anyone would be great.
Thanks everyone for your thoughts.

Mia






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barbiecat

This week was an emotionally challenging week for me. My appetite decreased a little so I really tried to make sure that I ate all of my calories, and I did. When I weighed myself this morning my weight had gone down. I do not want to go below 124 lbs and I was at 123.4 lbs. So it is time for me to raise up the calories a little. i was thinking 50 extra calories a day for this month and see if that will work.

Any suggestions on that number from anyone would be great.
Thanks everyone for your thoughts.

Mia

:bigsmile: Mia, I weigh myself every morning and write down the weight so I can see trends rather than getting too concerned about a single weight........often a single weight has more to do with sodium (or the lack of it) or bulky or less bulky foods.....if a trend continues for a few days then I think about making changes.......adding 50 calories a day for a week or two would be a good place to start and see how it goes.

:flowerforyou: we've had turkey ham twice this week(along with some bread and almond milk) with a lot more sodium than I'm used to and my weight this morning was two pounds higher than Monday.....tomorrow I do an Isagenix cleanse day and my weight will go down lower than it should and will probably stabilize by mid week

pamp1emousse

@RaiN81 - Good luck with the race! When is it? When I did my half marathon I had a big bowl of pasta with tomato sauce about 2 hours before and a banana 45mins-1hour before. I don't know how that compares to other options in terms of performance but it worked really well for me

@Mia - I'm sorry you've had a rough week - I hope everything is ok :flowerforyou: An extra 50 cals a day sounds good. I don't know how often you weigh yourself but you could always check after 1 or 2 weeks instead of a month? If you're anxious not to lose more then you may want to add more calories sooner if you need to?

So I had a pretty rocky week trying to juggle my new job with good eating, but I've got a few days off now and I'm back on track. Woohoo! I weighed in today and it said I'd gone up 3lbs which, despite my 2 bad days, is definitely crap. So I'll drink loads of water and try again tomorrow. I think it may be because of my very salty pasta and yummy cocktails (all within daily goal of course!) on friday I have a chance to get back to the gym too which is nice... I hadn't been for about 10 days before friday (had a little outdoor run in that time but that's all) and was shocked to see it actually made a difference to my fitness level! Hmph :grumble: But I'm definitely glad to be working out again. I think if I go every day that I'm not working (just toooo shattered on working days - 5.30am starts = not my thing) or when I'm starting late then that should make 3-4 times a week. Good enough for maintenance I hope.. I think it should be.

How do you all manage your exercise calories? I used to eat them all when I was trying to lose because I went 6 times a week, but now I'm thinking maybe I should only eat an extra 150 so that I can eat more on non-exercise days... I've heard negative things about calorie banking though. Any thoughts? It wouldn't be saving up to binge on chocolate or anything, just so keep consistent calorie levels throughout the week.

Hope everyone's having a nice, relaxing sunday!

pamp1emousse

O, and @barbiecat - I weigh myself like that too! My weight fluctuates quite wildly so if I just weighed in once a week the chances are I'd be pretty shocked most times (in a bad way)

gailosborne

Maxine - I used to count cals and eat roughly half my exercise ones back so I could eat a little more on non exercise days.

I don't count calories now but am in a routiene about what I eat and stick to it most days. I get weighed once a month but check myself at the gym more regularly if I've been away for the weekend etc so I know if I have gained.

I hope that we all have a great week. Special good wishes to everyone experiencing difficulties.

Gail x

barty

Hi, I have just looked back and valentines day was the last time that i visited the maintenance thread :embarassed: I was also at goal weight then and am now to frightened to get on the scales as have had a compulsive urge to eat probably since then :sad: but I will try harder to get back on track from now on :happy: . Have been reading your posts and you are all doing FAB well done !!!

Bermudabarbie

Hi everyone -- Pleased to report that I am back up to 135-136. At least that's what I was at before my little "end of the winter" break for 4 days last week. I really ate a lot. Rarely did I go over my new, maintenance calories which are set pretty high (over 1,700), but I did go over in sodium and fats a few days. It is so very difficult when you are traveling around with others who are not following such a controlled eating plan.

I am right back at it late yesterday and today. Eating "healthier" and being more active is my "norm" now. However, you still have to be flexible around others. The awareness, though, is just so important.

It sure didn't take long to gain back those few pounds. Now I just want to stay at that 135-136 range until the end of the Spring. Any other adjustments can be made in May or June.

Thanks, everyone, for your awesome support!

Robin1117

Good morning Maintainers.

things are decent. This past weeks goal was to get back on track after a gigantic feast the week before (when I was out of town). that week I averaged 1850 calories and only half the exercise and felt horrible. This week I exercised a little more than usual (about 7 hours vs. 6) and was back down to 1350 net calories. By end of week I felt great so have high expectations to continue again this week. This morning I felt particularly thin and thought I was safe to try the scale. Well, it said 125. this is 4 lbs over where I was this past summer, and about 1-2lbs over the last time I went on the scale maybe a month ago. I am still trying to wrap my head around the fact I'm in better shape, my clothes are actually loose, I know I'm not bigger..... It's just such a hard concept to grasp that sometimes you weigh more when you are stronger, and that it's OK. Sometimes I happily get it; sometimes I stew about it. Gail--nice to see you are seeing this too.

Anyway, @maxine--I have continued to exercise pretty much at the same level as when I was losing so still always eat my exercise calories. If I do take a rest day and do not have sufficient calories for that day I do look at the average for the week to see if I'm generally on plan so I don't worry if I'm over on one or 2 days, I usually make it up. I don't know if the numbers would work for me though if I only exercised on the weekends.

Barbie--so glad you are back up to a comfortable weight! I know you were really worried about that last month.

Yvonne--glad you checked in--I was wondering where you went! Glad you are on track!!

Well, my son just woke and we have another snow day home....time to be a mom. Have a great day!!

MacMadame

I am still trying to wrap my head around the fact I'm in better shape, my clothes are actually loose, I know I'm not bigger..... It's just such a hard concept to grasp that sometimes you weigh more when you are stronger, and that it's OK. Sometimes I happily get it; sometimes I stew about it.

I go through this too. I'm deliberately trying to put on muscle and I know that means the scale may go higher. But I still freak out when it does. I try to keep my eye on my body fat percentage instead.

yvonnej1

I am still trying to wrap my head around the fact I'm in better shape, my clothes are actually loose, I know I'm not bigger..... It's just such a hard concept to grasp that sometimes you weigh more when you are stronger, and that it's OK. Sometimes I happily get it; sometimes I stew about it.

I go through this too. I'm deliberately trying to put on muscle and I know that means the scale may go higher. But I still freak out when it does. I try to keep my eye on my body fat percentage instead.

Yep I am exactly the same too. My clothes still feel good, I've got lots stronger but still feel uncomfortable about the scale going higher despite knowing that weight is only one factor. I have started recording my waist measurement now though so that I have another way to gauge how I'm doing.

Oishii

My mfp fast starts tomorrow, and for the first time, this morning, my bmi is my actual target of 20! I chose it because lower can affect fertility and I'd love my son to be a big brother some day. I hope I'll still be around there when I see you again at Easter.

The best of luck to all of you, in the meantime, and I hope you achieve all of your goals.

Robin1117

Oishii--MFP fast??? We'll miss you! Nice to think about another child--good luck to you!

Yvonne, MacM - glad to hear you both say this, about the extra weight when you are actually in better shape. Somehow we all think it's just us going through these challenges and it sounds like something typical of maintainers.

have a good day everyone!

RaeN81

My first race went well. Thanks for the tips on nutrition--I think it's something I should look into more closely. I actually had sushi about 2 hours before the race and this worked well for me since it is high in both protein and complex carbohydrates. I think a little extra sugar (like gatorade or something) right before the race would be helpful.

My time? 23:57 for 300 m swim and 3 km run. (I'm guessing the swim was about 6 min and the run was about 18 minutes). I took yesterday off from working out but I am back on for training for the next race which is an actual triathlon called "See Jane Tri for the Cure" near the end of June. Some of the proceeds will be going towards breast cancer research which is a nice added bonus.

gailosborne

Congratulations RaeN81 - amazing, congratulations!! I'd love to do a triathlon!!

swimmermama

Hello all,

I finally found the maintenance thread! Yay!

I recently got back to my goal weight after losing about 20 pounds (about half with MFP) of baby weight. I want to stick with MFP to track my protein, vitamins, and calories to make sure I get enough of the good stuff and not too much of the bad. My main goal is maintaining lean muscle and building endurance. My exercise goals are to run a half marathon with my hubby next spring, which will be difficult since I am primarily a swimmer, and to keep up my swimming endurance. Once my little one is a bit older, I would love to get back to a masters swimming program!

I would love to chat with folks about switching from a dieting frame of mind to a maintenance one and how to eat right for building and/or maintaining muscle rather than losing weight.

Robin1117

Good morning. Just thinking about those non-scale-victories all the weight loss people on the boards keep talking about. It made me think about how as maintainers it's really hard to get feedback on the hard work we are doing every day.

I hate to say it but I'm jealous I haven't been able to post anything resembling a weight loss in months and months and months.....I feel like I just trudge on and on and on.....

So we can lose inches, right?
We can feel like our endurance is better.
Our small clothing still fits.

But Hmmmm, are there any other things we maintainers can measure easily that can help us stay motivated?

Just wondering about all of your thoughts.....

have a great weekend!

And..welcome swimmer! congrats on your weight loss...you are in the right place!

yvonnej1

Not something that's easy to measure, but my confidence and how I view my body is so much more positive since I lost the weight that I want to keep the weight off as I know how rubbish I would feel if I put it back on.

mjheinrich

Good morning. Just thinking about those non-scale-victories all the weight loss people on the boards keep talking about. It made me think about how as maintainers it's really hard to get feedback on the hard work we are doing every day.

I hate to say it but I'm jealous I haven't been able to post anything resembling a weight loss in months and months and months.....I feel like I just trudge on and on and on.....

So we can lose inches, right?
We can feel like our endurance is better.
Our small clothing still fits.

But Hmmmm, are there any other things we maintainers can measure easily that can help us stay motivated?

Just wondering about all of your thoughts.....

have a great weekend!

And..welcome swimmer! congrats on your weight loss...you are in the right place!

I agree that not having specific goals other than 'to maintain' can be a bit hard to measure and less rewarding in some ways. On the other hand, since I've been a goal other times in the past and then weight always creeps back up for me, when I step on the scale now and I am still at goal weight it is fairly rewarding to me. That feeling of success may diminish over time. The big difference in the past, was my attitude which was 'AH, now I can relax a bit not work as hard as I was when taking the weight off'. I've learned that's a myth and yes, you do need to keep working as hard! I've come to the conclusion that I will probably have to log and track the rest of my life in order to maintain but if it works, that's a small price to pay for good health and a great looking body!

Another 'goal' I am working on is to not be quite as compulsive about weighing. I've always felt I HAD to weight daily and I often found myself jumping on it multiple times per day. Now I am working on just trying to weigh maybe twice per week. That's a huge change in practice for me so even something as simple as that gives me something to work toward which gives me a healthier outlook on my weight (not quite so OCDC with the scale!)

Welcome also swimmermama! I'm a frequent half-marathon runner and have one coming up in 2 weeks so let me know if I can help you with anything. I also signed up for the Chicago full-marathon this October. A motivator for me to do another marathon (its been 9 years since my last one) was that I was finally at Goal Weight! Thus, maintaining that weight this year will be critical for me to help with my running as I don't need to lug around any extra pounds for that 26 miles....