Simple plan for maintenance

brillanta

I have 3.5 pounds to go for maintenance and realized I need a plan. So I am thinking stick to the eating plan I have used for weignt loss. I have tried to stick to higher protein, less carbs. So I am thinking I would add in more carbs, starting with more fruits, maybe a couple of more starches like bread/rice/pasta, maybe some wine, maybe some cheese and crackers. I suppose I need to change my MFP to maintenance for the new calorie level and KeEP LOGGING. Am I on the right track here??????

canadjineh

Sounds good, brillanta... That's what I'm doing and it's working for me for the past 2 weeks lol. I'm trying to keep my fat grams low at dinnertime and not mix them up so much with my carbs (ie: fat poor meal at dinner, carb poor meal at lunch) It doesn't always work that way of course but that's what I'm aiming for.
Good luck.

wtdia

Definitely keep logging no matter what you do. This is my two year anniversary from starting my journey on MFP. I still use it daily. I refuse to miss. I have been on 'maintenance' for 1.5 years now after losing the weight over a 6 month period....that was two years ago. This tool has kept me accountable. Some days I fall off the wagon, but I make myself look at it...and usually it isn't because I made poor food group choices, just because I ate more because I was a hungry girl....so just keep making healthy choices. Another thing I did was to set my MFP setting for activity to sedentary so that it would give me the least possible calories. I wear a pedometer and track my calories burned from exercise each day as well. I add those to my daily calorie allowance (which is set low at sedentary) and then that is my goal. You get in a pattern so that you already know what you can and can't do each day, but keep yourself accountable. I have fallen off track so many times and this time I have made up my mind to keep tracking what I eat/exercise so I don't lose track again. This is the longest weight loss I've maintained ever...still going strong :-). Good luck and congrats on the weight loss.

970Mikaela1

Maintenance is hard. Good to have a plan. Great work.

Helloitsdan

Good idea! Also understand that maintenance is a week to week like any other diet!
You'll see ebbs and floes in weight fluctuations.
So long as you are the same weight within 3-5lbs, you'll do great!

ABsolute85

You have to do what works for you...are you maintaining your weight now with what you are eating? Don't switch up too much, just make small changes and see how your body reacts...that way you'll know exactly what each change does...

Edensienna

I'm entering maintenance too and will follow this thread

salvyhead

Congrats on homing in your goal.

Keep logging for sure. A few bits of advice

1) Take the online TDEE predictions with a grain of salt. they are guidelines, only - not hard and fast accurate for everybody. You may have to eat less or you may be able to eat more. You'll know once you start and can adjust using real-world data.

2) Figure out your true weight with a weight averaging tool. It fluctuates a lot - in my case mostly dependent on sodium intake. Easy to freak out when it zooms upward but it doesn't mean anything if you're tracking it properly.

3) Think about considering your calories on a weekly instead of daily basis. For me, it's easier on my mental health to hit a weekly goal and not worry about the occasional day I go over. I typically go over one or two days a week but I almost -never- go over my weekly goal. It's happened only once since Dec. It's easy to track on the smartphone app but unfortunately the web app doesn't have it best of my knowledge.

Good luck. Sal

geekyjock76

What is your weekly weight loss as of now? How much are you presently eating?

As long as you aren't losing too rapidly with a large deficit, you won't face a steep increase in calories and risk severe paranoia.