Feeling Trapped at Maintenance

Makoce

After a long year of calorie restricting and deficits I have moved into maintenance!
Exciting, but you start to get into the "finally" mentality... which is how Im feeling.

I am very short, so my maintenance is only around 1463 calories total....
This totally isn't enough to satisfy me as a "normal" eating day .. so Im finding myself, literally, in the gym as much as I can ( 2 - 3 days a week )doing cardio for one - two hours just so I can eat closer to 1,700 - 2,000+ calories which satisfies me much longer and I dont feel like I have to crunch numbers to eat the meals I want or pre-plan everything to fit.

And since you're maintaining.. it's not like if you over eat one or two days, you're in a deficit so you just maintain. There's the real possibility of gaining again...

I just want to be able to relax and eat what I'd like within reason now, and have some normality back into my eating routine.

Anyone else feel this way when hitting goals? Or is it just me being food-greedy.

Dnarules

Is your maintenance number something you determined online? Do you know you will gain if you eat more? Have you tried adding calories a little at a time to see what happens? I'm not saying your number is wrong. I am just wondering if you need to tweak it a little and see if it is right for you.

Makoce

MFP along with most calorie-calculators I've used online gives me exactly 1463.
I've been kinda scared to tweak it...

Serah87

How tall are you?

twixlepennie

MFP along with most calorie-calculators I've used online gives me exactly 1463.
I've been kinda scared to tweak it...

Have you figured.out TDEE? That gave me almost 500 calories more than what MFP gave me and I'm maintaining perfectly with the higher number There's several calculators, I like this one- http://www.fitnessfrog.com/calculators/tdee-calculator.html

nxd10

When I hit maintenance, I bought a fitbit zip. It counts all my daily steps. If I make an effort to walk during the day, I earn a few hundred extra calories a day without going to the gym. It was worth the $39 I paid on ebay for that alone.

I would also look at good easy low cal breakfasts and lunches you enjoy so you make sure you can get snacks, dinners, and desserts you love. I do plain yoghurt, fruit, coffee, and granola for breakfast for 200 calories and a roast beef rollup with coffee for lunch. 500 calories total, so I have 900+ to play with for snacks, dinner, and dessert.

I happen to like both those meals, but you may find others that you like. Look for the calories you don't care about, drop those, and prioritize the ones that make you feel like you're living again.

Good luck!

P.S. I am 5'10" and I only get 1450 to maintain. Which is why I really want those easy calories.

Makoce

I'm 5'2

And I was apprehensive about TDEE because my exercise is my always the same week by week.
So I just use sedentary and add them back.

Ang108

After a long year of calorie restricting and deficits I have moved into maintenance!
Exciting, but you start to get into the "finally" mentality... which is how Im feeling.

I am very short, so my maintenance is only around 1463 calories total....
This totally isn't enough to satisfy me as a "normal" eating day .. so Im finding myself, literally, in the gym as much as I can ( 2 - 3 days a week )doing cardio for one - two hours just so I can eat closer to 1,700 - 2,000+ calories which satisfies me much longer and I dont feel like I have to crunch numbers to eat the meals I want or pre-plan everything to fit.

And since you're maintaining.. it's not like if you over eat one or two days, you're in a deficit so you just maintain. There's the real possibility of gaining again...

I just want to be able to relax and eat what I'd like within reason now, and have some normality back into my eating routine.

Anyone else feel this way when hitting goals? Or is it just me being food-greedy.

Are you sure that you did your math right ? I am just under 5 feet and 66 years old and my maintenance without exercise is 1839 calories. My numbers were figured out by a specialist and are not from MFP or internet calculators, even though I have to admit that my MFP estimate is only 100 calories less. With the amount of calories you eat, you would have to be four feet tall.

Serah87

I'm 5'2

And I was apprehensive about TDEE because my exercise is my always the same week by week.
So I just use sedentary and add them back.

I am 5'2, 44 yrs old and you are younger than me, you should be eating way more than that. I am not even at maintenance yet and I eat 1700-1900 calories.

dmt4641

Are you truly sedentary? With that much exercise I doubt you are the type to sit all day. What are your cals if you set lightly active?

Makoce

I'm 21, 5'2 obviously female.
I sit at a desk all day everyday other than walking my dog 30 minutes a day.
Twice to three times a week I might hike or go to the gym for an hour.

It's never linear. Though. Some weeks I might not move an inch some weeks I might walk 50 mile total.
So that's why I have it set to sedentary.

Right now I'm at 1400 cals so not even at full maintenance yet and I've already stopped losing.

Strongandhealthy1234

Even with 1760 calories per day I totally feel like you. There is never enough in the daily budget! Ha ha. Weight loss is easy on paper. Anytime I exercise and have extra calories my appetite goes up and so again I feel there is not enough in the bank. Over the few months of maintenance if I went over the number I gain weight.
So I am monitoring closely and try each day to stick to the budget I have which is not easy.

QuietBloom

I'm 5'2

And I was apprehensive about TDEE because my exercise is my always the same week by week.
So I just use sedentary and add them back.

That's the perfect time to use TDEE.

Makoce

I'm 5'2

And I was apprehensive about TDEE because my exercise is my always the same week by week.
So I just use sedentary and add them back.

That's the perfect time to use TDEE.

Er. I meant NOT always the same.

QuietBloom

Even with 1760 calories per day I totally feel like you. There is never enough in the daily budget! Ha ha. Weight loss is easy on paper. Anytime I exercise and have extra calories my appetite goes up and so again I feel there is not enough in the bank. Over the few months of maintenance if I went over the number I gain weight.
So I am monitoring closely and try each day to stick to the budget I have which is not easy.

Yeah. *sigh* I have a FitBit and it's a struggle to keep within my calorie limit. Especially since there is CARROT CAKE and freshly baked CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES downstairs. My husband is the grocery shopper and cook. He eats and I get to exercise my self control.

Makoce

AHHHH cookies.

acogg

Right now I'm at 1400 cals so not even at full maintenance yet and I've already stopped losing.

I am at maintenance and went through a time that though I was under goal, I still wanted to see losses. I still have just a little niggle of that feeling every morning when I weigh myself. That may be your real problem. You may be slightly addicted to seeing a loss. The rush is gone. Could this be what is bothering you? What helped me to get through it was to start focusing on strength and fitness, dialing in my nutrition numbers and generally learning what it takes to be the healthiest me as possible. Fitness and strength are goals that are always ongoing. I hope this helps!:flowerforyou:

Dnarules

I'm 21, 5'2 obviously female.
I sit at a desk all day everyday other than walking my dog 30 minutes a day.
Twice to three times a week I might hike or go to the gym for an hour.

It's never linear. Though. Some weeks I might not move an inch some weeks I might walk 50 mile total.
So that's why I have it set to sedentary.

Right now I'm at 1400 cals so not even at full maintenance yet and I've already stopped losing.

I can imagine it is harder when your exercise differs week to week. Why don't you start with lightly active, try it for a few weeks, and see what happens. If you don't lose or gain, add a 100 calories or so and try again. You won't put all the weight back on at once .

If you don't feel comfortable with lightly active, start with the number you have now. Add 100 or so calories to this number and eat that amount for a few weeks and see what happens. If you don't gain, add some more and try again for a few weeks.

Plus, I have heard it is better to have a weight range, since weight fluctuates. So don't freak out if you go up a little. Apparently there is a bit of trial and error to this.

eso2012

Thank goodness I am not alone While I did not have a goal weight per se, I knew I had made it. Very happy zone - eat, move, eat move, all amazing.

Then wham binge-eating disorder relapse which had not happened for AGES.

After some self-observation and talking with folks on the BED board on MFP, I realized that many of us could have taken the tracking too far. It's like having all those numbers in your head...it is a mental burden. And definitely not too natural.

Like you, I am small, and I can never burn gazillion calories in one workout session. Unfortunately, calories in food remain the same nomatter who's eating it

The best advice I have heard is: It is not a one-time goal. It is a life long journey that is NOT a straight line, but a wiggling one.

So now as I celebrate my achievements, I also don't kick myself for not maintaining the "gold standard" (logging down to 1 calorie). I want to live, and I want to have a healthy mind which will, no doubt, lead to a healthy body.

So, as someone in the same boat, I would say, do "loose tracking" and find that sweet spot where you are no longer tied to MFP/specific program/whatever/.....but still mindful of all the great habits you have created.

eso2012

BTW, I used HRM religiously so haev a good idea of my burn per workout. TDEE wise, about 1750 I think, for 5:3', 45 year old, 111 -114 pounds. I can eat way more than that, I tell you!

acogg

Thank goodness I am not alone While I did not have a goal weight per se, I knew I had made it. Very happy zone - eat, move, eat move, all amazing.

Then wham binge-eating disorder relapse which had not happened for AGES.

After some self-observation and talking with folks on the BED board on MFP, I realized that many of us could have taken the tracking too far. It's like having all those numbers in your head...it is a mental burden. And definitely not too natural.

Like you, I am small, and I can never burn gazillion calories in one workout session. Unfortunately, calories in food remain the same nomatter who's eating it

The best advice I have heard is: It is not a one-time goal. It is a life long journey that is NOT a straight line, but a wiggling one.

So now as I celebrate my achievements, I also don't kick myself for not maintaining the "gold standard" (logging down to 1 calorie). I want to live, and I want to have a healthy mind which will, no doubt, lead to a healthy body.

So, as someone in the same boat, I would say, do "loose tracking" and find that sweet spot where you are no longer tied to MFP/specific program/whatever/.....but still mindful of all the great habits you have created.

Perfect!