Struggling Maintaining/Need Support

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PlayBall5
PlayBall5 Posts: 125
in Goal: Maintaining Weight
I am looking for friends who is in the maintaining mode. I just started maintaining a couple of weeks ago and am struggling on the right ways to do it. Am I eating too much, too little? Am I excercising too much, too little? I have never liked lifting weights but when I started this journey I have found I really enjoy it however I am such a novice at it I am afraid I am doing it wrong. Please add me if you feel you can give me the advice and support needed to maintain. I log everyday.

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  • tegalicious
    tegalicious Posts: 629
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    I am maintaining! Feel free to add me!
  • Armyguy744
    Armyguy744 Posts: 32
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    i struggle with maintaining too! I was were I wanted to be for 1 year and in the last month, I have been so destructive, I now need to lose to get back to where I was. Feel free to add, accountibility is key!
  • jabbruz777
    jabbruz777 Posts: 8
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    This is a really good topic and something I struggle with too. Does anyone have advice on how to know if your calories and workouts are actuallt maintaining and not making you gain or lose? I know the scale fluctuates a lot and it seems kind of difficult to know that youre doing it right. I feel like I just go back to gaining and then have to lose again all the time. Which has to be terrible for your health. Is anyone a super maintainer? ;)
  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,811 Member
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    Q/ Am I eating too much, too little?
    Your weight over a period of weeks will tell you. You may get a small bounce in weight initially that doesn't match your calorie intake but really you need to set a weight range either side of goal. Your recent speed of weight loss will give you a guide to where your maintenance calories will be but a bit of experimentation and patience will let you fine tune things.

    Q/ Am I exercising too much, too little?
    Are you enjoying your routine? Are you fatigued? Any aches or pains?
    You may find exercise at maintenance much more enjoyable than exercise in a calorie deficit - it has a big impact on my performance and recovery.

    Replacing your weight loss goal with fitness, sports, strength or body composition goals helps keep focus.
  • eslcity
    eslcity Posts: 323 Member
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    I personally have learned to enjoy exercising... it isn't a chore it is something I look forward to.. even if i had a hard day at work.. so i worry a little about maintaining my weight.. because... i know I will have to eat alot more calories... to stay my idea weight plus muscle development.
  • animalldy
    animalldy Posts: 140 Member
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    I've been maintaining for about 6 weeks now. It was really nerve racking at first not having that calorie deficit buffer. I'm less focused on daily totals and more focused on weekly totals. I also have tried to get a lot more protein since switching to maintenance and I've replaced some cardio with weight training. I also just bought a food scale and a HRM so I can be more accurate and hopefully dissipate some of my fears.

    I'm sure you will figure it out, listen to your body but keep logging and exercising. If you're hungry then eat. If you're super tired then don't workout. That's what works for me, I know everyone is different.

    Everyone, feel free to add me!
  • nxd10
    nxd10 Posts: 4,570 Member
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    This is a really good topic and something I struggle with too. Does anyone have advice on how to know if your calories and workouts are actuallt maintaining and not making you gain or lose? I know the scale fluctuates a lot and it seems kind of difficult to know that youre doing it right. I feel like I just go back to gaining and then have to lose again all the time. Which has to be terrible for your health. Is anyone a super maintainer? ;)

    Find your normal fluctuations - 3 or 5 pounds probably. Make sure you're in it. If you stay in it over time, you're maintaining. It really isn't complicated.
  • Graelwyn75
    Graelwyn75 Posts: 4,404 Member
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    If your diary is accurately logged, going back to when there is food logged, you appear to be under-eating, for someone still losing weight, let alone maintaining ?
  • hesn92
    hesn92 Posts: 5,967 Member
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    Me too. I was on MFP two years ago, January through August or so. I lost 20 pounds by May and then after that I kept logging and working out but then I started working full time and lost track of logging my food, but I still kept my weight in check. But then in March (a year ago) I moved in with my boyfriend who eats a ton of food, and I think I kind of slowly started eating more and more ... it was hard for me to stay on track when I live with him and eat with him every day. I gained damn near all my weight back. But a couple months ago I decided to get back on MFP and lose the weight again. I've lost 10 lbs so far. (again)
  • jpapp13
    jpapp13 Posts: 73 Member
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    I've been in 'maintain' mode sine January, feel free to add me.
    What has really helped me is not logging on the weekends, I don't take it as 'cheat' days as I still try to be aware of portions, etc. But sometimes it's nice having that mental break from weighing/logging etc. Once I hit what I felt was a good weight for me, I allow a +/- 5 range and monitor from there, as it allows for water weight, etc.

    This is a lot different than losing, for me losing was easier because all I had to do was make sure I was under by x a day, now it's figuring out how much to eat, if I should eat all my exercise calories back, etc.

    Good Luck!
  • mwhediger
    mwhediger Posts: 4 Member
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    I am just starting to figure this maintaining issue out...I think.
    I joined weight watchers and lost 57 pounds in the past year - all the weight I had gained after a back injury.
    I started lifting weights in Oct 2013 to prevent loss of muscle.
    My new goal was to ADD muscle weight! and based on my workouts I was struggling to eat enough. Quite a contrast from trying to eat less and lose weight.
    I am VERY faithful at logging my food and drinks daily. I switched from the "Lose It" app to "my fitness" app because it gives you more info...i.e. vitamin percentages.
    But one of the main benefits is that after I log all my entries for the day it tells me what I would weigh in 5 weeks if I continued with my current intake. This has allowed me to adjust my fats and carbs as needed. I also substituted foods until I got the numbers I wanted.
    I would suggest reviewing your food and exercise input and make sure you are adding everything. Remember, if you do certain jobs they count as exercise also and would reduce your daily calories. I clean our church and was surprised to see the number of calories reduced. Experiment with activity input and see if it makes a difference.
    Of course if you don't do any exercise all the calories count.
    I hope this helped and didn't confuse you.
  • Junebuggyzy
    Junebuggyzy Posts: 345 Member
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    This is a big one for me. I got down to my last goal weight the end of the summer. Then I started drinking a lot of wine, which I had given up when I was dieting. The wine stimulated my appetite, and I started eating junk food. Ice cream, cake, pizza, etc. I don't know why I let myself go like that. By February, I was back up twenty pounds.

    This time I want to learn how to maintain. I'm thinking if I continue logging weight and exercise that will be good. But won't it get tedious after awhile? One thing I like about my fitness pal is that it's pretty easy and quick to log foods. There is so much in the database that it is easy. If it weren't quick, I probably would not log my food.

    What's the key to maintaining? I want to do it this time, instead of yo-yoing every time.
  • cfl68
    cfl68 Posts: 48 Member
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    0.2 lbs away from maintaining. I too will need all the help I can get, as the tricky part starts now. Feel free to add me (or anyone else for that matter) Let's keep all the success we have had so far going :D
  • PlayBall5
    PlayBall5 Posts: 125
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    Thank you all for the advice. I think maintaining is harder than losing weight.
  • djk721
    djk721 Posts: 59 Member
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    I have been maintaing for 16 months. I quit logging food and exercise after a full year of maintenance, but started back again after the holidays. I still exercise everyday for 30 minutes, including hand weights every other day. Some one earlier said maintaining is harder than losing, with which I agree! I weigh myself once a week, and it fluctuates up to 5 pounds--if it is up, I try eat a little less each day the next week, and it is back down. I never exercised before MFP other than walking, but now I enjoy it and I look forward to it. On the rare ocassion I miss a workout, I feel so guilty!
    Feel free to add me if you would like!
  • cfl68
    cfl68 Posts: 48 Member
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    Just started maintaining also. I'll connect.
    Bump to everyone else too. The more we have in our circle the better chances we have at success :)
  • PlayBall5
    PlayBall5 Posts: 125
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    This is a really good topic and something I struggle with too. Does anyone have advice on how to know if your calories and workouts are actuallt maintaining and not making you gain or lose? I know the scale fluctuates a lot and it seems kind of difficult to know that youre doing it right. I feel like I just go back to gaining and then have to lose again all the time. Which has to be terrible for your health. Is anyone a super maintainer? ;)

    Great question...Anyone have an answer?
  • DrWonga
    DrWonga Posts: 20
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    Feel free to add me. I'm new on MFP, but I have used other tracking sites before, so I know the game ;)
  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,811 Member
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    This is a really good topic and something I struggle with too. Does anyone have advice on how to know if your calories and workouts are actuallt maintaining and not making you gain or lose? I know the scale fluctuates a lot and it seems kind of difficult to know that youre doing it right. I feel like I just go back to gaining and then have to lose again all the time. Which has to be terrible for your health. Is anyone a super maintainer? ;)

    Great question...Anyone have an answer?
    At first you really need to give yourself a matter of quite a few weeks to have confidence you are in the right zone for your maintenance calories - early on I certainly saw a few variations that simply didn't seem to have any correlation to any of the well known triggers for losses/gains.
    Now I've been maintaining a while it's pretty easy as long as I don't have unreasonable expectations that my weight will be static.
    I weigh daily so I can understand how my weight fluctuates within + or - 3lbs on a daily basis. If over the course of a week I start to see a drift I just start undercutting (or going over) my goal calories by a few hundred calories.

    Small adjustments and patience work. It also means that special occasions can be enjoyed without fear or guilt knowing that any gain is only temporary.
  • BobcatGirl110
    BobcatGirl110 Posts: 364 Member
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    I am also looking for people who are maintaining or at least very close to their goal weight. It's a different mindset to just have "exercise goals" and "fitness goals" rather than scale goals. I log everything and looking for people who are trying to balance their eating and fitness rather than constantly looking for a calorie deficit :) I run and I just started "strength training" to the tune of 30 Day Shred for the first time so I'm new at the "strength" goals :)

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