Is maintaining weight, just as hard as losing weight?

Blue801

Glad you asked this OP. I've been a little bummed about facing a constant struggle with weight for the rest of my life.:frown:

SaebraSpirit

In some ways easier and some ways harder.

Diet and exercise are not 'short term' solutions so once you reach your goal you must keep the healthy eating habits and working out regimes!
Of course who ever says no to cake on their bday


~~But you get what I mean, healthy is for life, not a few months!~~

cwolfman13

People tend to think of reaching their goal weight or whatever as crossing some kind of finish line. The reality is that you've just arrived at the starting line of the real race. People think they're done...but they're actually just beginning. They are finished losing weight...so they slack on their nutrition. People so closely relate exercise to losing weight that they fail to set independent fitness goals and they slack on their fitness and/or drop it altogether when they're done losing weight. These are the things that lead to putting all that weight back on.

It's not hard per sei...but people for the most part fail to truly make a "lifestyle change"....and really, maintenance is where that change comes through. Lifestyle change isn't about logging or keeping a diary or whatever. Ultimately, long term success is only sustainable when you make nutrition central to your dietary eating habits. You ultimately have to live a life that is fitness centric. Your nutrition and fitness have to be your new lifestyle and this is where pretty much everyone fails (about 95% of the population).

The only difference between losing an maintaining is a few hundred calories...that's it. You still have to rock your nutrition and rock your fitness. Failure to do so will ultimately lead to putting your weight back on. Hopefully you've spent some time while you were losing to really learn how to eat...learn portion control and moderation rather than deprivation as they are ultimately pretty necessary tools for maintenance.

Gingernut1949

With any other diet in the past I've always got to my goal, stopped dieting and weighing myself - and put it all back on again!
I've lost three stone (42 pounds, 20 kilos) on the 5:2 way of life and have maintained my weight loss since April last year by just eating up to 500 calories one day a week for the health benefits of fasting. I always weigh myself once a week so I can catch any rogue pounds before they multiply!

misskris78

Maintaining is easier for me - losing or maintaining is just a numbers game and when you are maintaining you have more calories to play with. So once I've hit my macro targets I've got more "fun calories" to enjoy.

It's important to replace weight loss goals with something else IMO. Fitness, body comp, weights, speed, distance, sporting or event goals - whatever floats your boat.

^^^ Yes! Just because you have lost the weight, it doesn't mean you shouldn't have a goal anymore. Maybe your goal is to do a single unassisted pull up, a 10k, 50 burpees, hike all 46 peaks in the Adirondacks, hike the Appalachian Trail... whatever. Maintenance doesn't meant that you stop having goals - it just means that you have the flexibility to adjust them a little bit.

CipherZero

It took me about a month to get it dialed in, but once I got it figured out I've been steady at 160±1 pounds.
It'll make the coming bulk/cut cycles a lot easier.

(Edit: Typing is hard!)

Slim_strategy

I've been maintaining for about 3 months now and you do have to stay focused , I still can't stop logging because I don't trust myself (I've tried but it's compulsive habit) xD you have more calories to play with so you have to be careful that it doesn't make you TOO relaxed that you fall into bad habits.

I've been eating about 80% healthy and 20% naughty ( so one treat a day eg. small dessert after lunch) throughout my day and this helps me to stay within my calories or I save a few calories for a nice treat on saturday like takeaway hehe
I think it also helps to set yourself new goals, like maybe to be more active more times a week or getting your 5 a day or something like that because it helps you to stay focused .
Whatever is manageable and keeps you happy because it is indeed a lifestyle change, no reverting back once you're done

themedalist

I think maintenance is easier than losing weight. I consider eating a healthy diet, exercising, and maintaining a healthy weight as the cornerstone of self care. Yes, there is no end point, but so what? We should never stop taking care of ourselves. We do a whole slew of things (hopefully!) to look after ourselves (regular check-ups, wearing a seat belt, flossing and brushing our teeth) and those things also have no expiration date.

editorgrrl

I consider eating a healthy diet, exercising, and maintaining a healthy weight as the cornerstone of self care.

I love this!

Go_Mizzou99

It took me about a month to get it dialed in, but once I got it figured out I've been steady at ...

ditto...

btw - maintenance rocks!

MelissaPhippsFeagins

I've only been maintaining for a couple of months, but what I have found difficult is eating enough to stay in my acceptable range (153-157). I haven't gone over my goal weight of 155 at all, but I've struggled to eat enough to keep from losing more. I'm 153 this morning. Part of this is finding the right number and part of this is that I am basically a bear: I move a lot from spring to fall -- I garden, I bike, I hike. In the winter, all I do is walk at lunch and walk the dog most afternoons. Well, it's getting warmer here. I hiked last weekend; I gardened this week (prep work for planting next week). I don't try to eat back all of my exercise calories, but I haven't eaten back enough of them this week. I upped the goal number yesterday, hoping to keep myself on the level instead of losing more while I'm moving more. We'll see how it goes, I guess.

Inshape13

I have found it to be harder.

FindingAmy77

I think it will be more difficult because the lazies kick in more. I am anticipating this anyways.

Leiki

I reached my goal in 2012, and my weight has been fluctuating about 5 lbs. around my goal weight, since.

florentinovillaro

It's not simple but here's a good starting point. Take the amount of pounds you lost over the past 90 days, divide that by 90, then multiply that by 3500. This will give you your current deficit and the amount of calories you'll need to increase daily to maintain. Considering that your eating and exercise numbers are consistent on a daily basis.

tappae

Last year, I gained back the 40 pounds I lost the previous year. I wasn't really trying to maintain, so I guess it doesn't answer your question, but I think it's hard. This time, I'm doing something a little different. I tried to estimate my TDEE at my goal weight and that's what I've set my calorie goal to. The idea is that the deficit will automatically get smaller as I lose weight and I can enter maintenance without changing how I eat. Right now, it's a pretty steep deficit (>1000 calories some days, depending on exercise), but it should be getting better soon.

ChrisS30V

I've not found maintaining to be anymore difficult. Just like when I was losing, I devised a meal plan consistent with my goals and I have stuck with it. The only real difference is that in maintenance I try to shoot for a caloric range (in my case 2500-3000 cals on most days, slightly more on heavy exercise days) instead of adhering to a particular "magic number" to stay under. My exercise routine has remained constant as well. I've also cut my weigh-ins back from once a week to twice a month, just enough to keep me informed and in check.

It's a system that's working for me and the beauty of it is, if I ever start unintentionally gaining or losing I know why and what to do to get back on track. The ball is in my court.

newteachermom

I think about this all the time. So glad you asked!

I'm on my journey and with the help of myfitnesspal.com am getting there much more effectively. I hope you meet your goal and successfully and healthily maintain it forever!

Try this site: http://www.thinandhealthyforever.com/CalorieRequirement.asp

I've been meaning to google, "How many calories to maintain 125 lbs" and it came up, along with some other really helpful sites.

Either way, the suggestion was 1,849 calories a day (for my height and age), which is about 500 more calories than I'm consuming now daily. That makes a lot of sense and I think will be easy to add in. But I want to be careful to make them smart calories, you know? Like whole wheat pasta or something (I've cut processed sugars and refined carbs).

Plus, I plan to continue logging my daily calories for several months (or maybe indefinitely!) to keep me in check.

All the suggestions you've gotten are so helpful! Again, I hope we both reach our goals and keep them for life!

newteachermom

Joebob8

Guys, I have maintained a seventy pound loss for *ten* years so I feel I have some authority here: losing weight and maintenance are very similar. These are lifestyle changes. It will be sustainable only if you change habits. Get into fitness and get into healthy eating. Make sports and cooking your hobbies. It's so much easier when you are focused on fun things (like getting faster, stronger, better at a particular sport, figuring out new recipes,etc) than deprivation. You have to find new loves in life other than tv and treats.