How do I maintain? Who is the MFP expert out there?

PlayBall5

I finally did it this last weekend!!! I hit my goal weight of 175 lbs. I lost 26 lbs since January 1st. I worked my butt off. Now I need to know how to maintain and I am looking for all you MFP experts. I have always hated lifting weights because I was so skinny growing up and all my friends were big. They would make fun of me so I stayed away from the gym. When I started a new desk job a couple of years back, the lbs found me and I quickly went over 200 lbs. I coach a travel youth baseball team and was challenged by the kids to get into shape so I did. I started lifting weights even though I am still really uncomfortable doing it and that is how I lost so many lbs quickly. The question I have now is how do I maintain and also how do I get rid of the saggy skin and the little remaining fat I have around my belly. I know someone out there has the answer. Feel free to send me a friend request because I am looking for some fitness pals who will keep me motivated. PLAY BALL !

Joebob8

First question: What did you do to lose weight?

littleburgy

Congratulations!

I'm an expert.


(Actually, no, I'm not.)
I just recently started maintaining the last couple of weeks. So far, MFP's numbers are working fine for me. But for calorie amount, the only way you will know is trial and error for yourself. Bump up the calories so you don't lose any more, but keep weight training. A lot of people (myself included) have seen their body "tighten up" even though the weight is the same. Even though it took me a long time just to lose my last few pounds, people thought I'd lost more than I really had because I was more toned. So I think as you keep training and eating at maintenance, the tightening up will come naturally over time.

husseycd

A trick I've used to maintain is to eat at a slight deficit most days of the week so that you have wiggle room in your calories for dinners out, drinks, birthday cake, etc. I've maintained like this for years.

Hornsby

Well, first, if you intend on being 175, and will get upset if you see the scale go over 175, I suggest getting to 170 before you start maintaining.

Other than that, it's just playing with your calorie intake for a couple weeks at a time and seeing what keeps you steady.

TavistockToad

losing 26lbs in 2 months means you lost about 3lb a week, so i would hazard a guess you werent eating a great deal?

i would start by continuing your exercise routine and up your caloreis 200 per week till you get to what MFP thinks is your maintenance.

after about 6 weeks at that figure, if you're still losing weight, eat more...

PlayBall5

I went to the gym every morning at 4:30. Didnt miss a day except last saturday when I went into celebration mode and stayed home when I weighed myself. I even went sometimes twice a day. I would do high intensity intervals on the treadmill for 30 minutes on odd days and then lift weights for the next 20 minutes. On even days I would do high intensity intervals for 15 minutes then lift for the last 45 minutes. When I was lifting I only allow myself 30 seconds between reps so I could keep my heart rate up. I brought 20 lb dumb bells to my office and did one rep of something every hour. I walked up and down the stairs at work for my last 20 minutes of lunch break. My diet totally changed also. I started eating breakfast and stopped eating out for lunch. I made sure I ate a healthy snack every 2 hours and drank a lot of water. I made sure I ate my dinner around 6:00. Sometimes I would have to make me my own dinner when the meal my wife cooked wasnt going to be ready in time. It was hard to eat oatmeal knowing my family would be eating lasagna in the next couple of hours. I would then have a piece of fruit before I went to bed. It was hard but totally worth it. I have never felt better.

ILiftHeavyAcrylics

Well, I've been in maintenance for a year and a half, but my experience losing was completely different from yours so I'm not sure how much my advice will help. I never did anything to lose weight that I didn't want to do in maintenance. So I just kept doing the same workouts and eating the same food, and I gradually increased my calories until I stopped losing.

You know, meal timing really doesn't matter except in terms of adherence. You seem pretty hung up on that. Just focus on your overall calorie goal and hit your macros. Continue to lift weights and eat 1 gram of protein per pound of lean body mass (or .8 grams per pound of weight if you don't know your LBM) to improve your body composition. Increase your calories slowly. Realize that you may put on some water weight at first from increased carbs. Set yourself a maintenance range. My low weight is 123, but generally as long as I fall in the 123-128 range I'm happy. My advice is to keep logging at least for awhile. You may or may not need to log long-term, but you should at least do it long enough to get a feel for how much food you get for your maintenance calories.

The other main thing is to set some new goals. It sounds like improving your body fat % is a new goal you can work on. Also, I set strength and cardio goals for myself. It can be a bit of a letdown not to get the "reward" of seeing the scale drop anymore. Having a new goal helps keep me motivated, so I started to focus on deadlifting my body weight, then squatting my body weight, then running a 5k, etc.

eta: also rest days are important. Take more of them.

TavistockToad

I started eating breakfast and stopped eating out for lunch. I made sure I ate a healthy snack every 2 hours and drank a lot of water. I made sure I ate my dinner around 6:00. Sometimes I would have to make me my own dinner when the meal my wife cooked wasnt going to be ready in time. It was hard to eat oatmeal knowing my family would be eating lasagna in the next couple of hours.

why not eat the lasagne!? i always eat my dinner later than 6pm... meal timing makes no difference to weight loss.

Phaedra2014

Well, I've been in maintenance for a year and a half, but my experience losing was completely different from yours so I'm not sure how much my advice will help. I never did anything to lose weight that I didn't want to do in maintenance. So I just kept doing the same workouts and eating the same food, and I gradually increased my calories until I stopped losing.

You know, meal timing really doesn't matter except in terms of adherence. You seem pretty hung up on that. Just focus on your overall calorie goal and hit your macros. Continue to lift weights and eat 1 gram of protein per pound of lean body mass (or .8 grams per pound of weight if you don't know your LBM) to improve your body composition. Increase your calories slowly. Realize that you may put on some water weight at first from increased carbs. Set yourself a maintenance range. My low weight is 123, but generally as long as I fall in the 123-128 range I'm happy. My advice is to keep logging at least for awhile. You may or may not need to log long-term, but you should at least do it long enough to get a feel for how much food you get for your maintenance calories.

The other main thing is to set some new goals. It sounds like improving your body fat % is a new goal you can work on. Also, I set strength and cardio goals for myself. It can be a bit of a letdown not to get the "reward" of seeing the scale drop anymore. Having a new goal helps keep me motivated, so I started to focus on deadlifting my body weight, then squatting my body weight, then running a 5k, etc.

eta: also rest days are important. Take more of them.

+1

Don't do any kind of workout now that you won't be able to maintain for the long haul. I know, for sure, there is NO WAY I want to be in a gym twice day or doing intensive cardio for 2 hrs. at a time. My weight loss was gradual, it had some stalls, then it picked up, but like ILHA said, I do what I know I will be able to do even two years down the road with heavier weights, more distance maybe, better yoga poses.