Maintenance enquiries

Wingg_

1) do you actually weigh your bread? I'm actually weighing my bread because it says it's 142calories every 2 slices which is 70g. Should I actually weigh my breads? Or should I just grab 2 slices? I will normally weigh 70g of my bread and also weigh my peanut butter. Or should I weigh my bread but it weighs more than 70g I should just adjust the data accordingly?? Because I'm learning about portion size now so that I can quit weighing my food in the future so I'm kind of confused now. Which is a better approach?

2) should I weigh myself daily or weekly? My weight is pretty constant when I weigh myself on weekends or during the holidays at around 10-11am however I weigh myself around 6.30am on weekdays. Which is more accurate? I'm just afraid that if I don't weigh myself daily my weigh will just suddenly creep up unknowingly...

3) do you eat back all your exercise calories? I was told to have a suppressed calories and I'm planning on increasing my calories by 100 cal this week even though my exercise calories maybe more than that... So do you actually eat all your exercise calories to maintain? The thought of upping calories is kind of scary given that I'm not gaining or losing eating 1640 cal now

I will really appreciate your help to clear my doubts!

elliej

Personally I do not weigh my bread, I didn't even do that when I was losing, but for some people it's the only way. I figure the calorie estimate per slice is still an estimate anyway - it'll always be slightly wrong. You know that 2 slices is your portion, obviously if you at some point buy an enormous loaf you KNOW it's going to be more.

From what I understand its more important that you weigh yourself under the same conditions each time. Wearing the same & having eaten or drank the same amounts & at the same time of day & same scale & on the same flooring. I do every few days but that's because I would never starve myself for changing by a couple of pounds like some people are inclined to.

I don't focus on a calorie goal for exercise, I eat extra if I'm hungry. Generally I think that works even within the calorie goal, eat back as much as you are hungry for?

einzweidrei

1. Never.
2. Weekly is fine. Weight can't creep up on you if you are still weighing in weekly.
3. Always. I will go for a walk just to give myself calories back.

Wingg_

Personally I do not weigh my bread, I didn't even do that when I was losing, but for some people it's the only way. I figure the calorie estimate per slice is still an estimate anyway - it'll always be slightly wrong. You know that 2 slices is your portion, obviously if you at some point buy an enormous loaf you KNOW it's going to be more.

From what I understand its more important that you weigh yourself under the same conditions each time. Wearing the same & having eaten or drank the same amounts & at the same time of day & same scale & on the same flooring. I do every few days but that's because I would never starve myself for changing by a couple of pounds like some people are inclined to.

I don't focus on a calorie goal for exercise, I eat extra if I'm hungry. Generally I think that works even within the calorie goal, eat back as much as you are hungry for?

Maybe I should stop weighing my bread and just grab any 2 slices. If I listen to my body and eat only when I'm hungry I guess I will be under eating by a lot calories...

Wingg_

1. Never.
2. Weekly is fine. Weight can't creep up on you if you are still weighing in weekly.
3. Always. I will go for a walk just to give myself calories back.

By weighing I actually realise that 2slices of bread are always not 70g they're always more than 70g though...
Are you able to maintain your weight eating all your exercise calories? What's your activity level set at?

Slim_strategy

I was in maintenance for a few months (successfully, only now decided to lose a bit more)

1. no I have never weighed my bread, loads of companies just round up their calorie contents so it's always going to be a bit of an estimation in the first place.

2. Once a week under the same conditions

3. YEP ( set at sedentary and eat them back)

Wingg_

I was in maintenance for a few months (successfully, only now decided to lose a bit more)

1. no I have never weighed my bread, loads of companies just round up their calorie contents so it's always going to be a bit of an estimation in the first place.

2. Once a week under the same conditions

3. YEP ( set at sedentary and eat them back)

Sedentary? How do you consider one to be sedentary or lightly active?...

addean1

1- I don't weigh bread, and many other things. Serve things like peanut butter, cream cheese, cereal, etcI will continue to weigh, because I haven't figured out estimating with those very good yet. I would like to use the scale less as I'm in maintenance, but sometimes I need to check and make sure I'm estimating correctly.

2- I weigh myself every couple of days or so, and just have a number I don't want to be above. If I'm above that, I'll cut calories and bring it back down. Haven't encountered that yet. Thank goodness!

3- I eat back all my exercise calories on average. Long run days it's tough to eat an extra 800 calories, so I'll eat over my goal a could of other days to balance it out. I have it set at lightly active.

lporter229

Don't over complicate it. If you are in maintenance, your goal should be to develop habits that you can sustain for the rest of your life. Are you really going to weigh every piece of bread you eat from here on out? This type of behavior can lead to an unhealthy obsession. Some people continue to log and I think that is okay, but just practice getting an idea of what is an appropriate amount of food for you.

I do weigh myself everyday, but this is not the answer for everybody. You have to be willing to accept that you will have daily fluctuations and that is okay. You need to focus on the general trends. But weighing yourself in the morning before eating or drinking anything is likely to give you the most consistant results.

As far as eating back exercise calories, I do not because I try not to associate exercise with food and weight, but something I do to improve my overall health. If you work out regularly and monitor your weight, you will notice that you just have to increase your daily calorie intake to keep from losing weight from exercise.

djk721

I don't weigh my bread either. I figure what the package says to be close enough for me.
I weigh myself once a week, right after I get out of bed. I have been maintaining for over a year, and this has worked for me. My weight fluctuates by 3 lbs. When it is up, I reduce my calories a little until it is back down.
I don't plan to eat back my exercise calories--I just log my exercise and food and try to stay under 1650 calories a day.

geekyjock76

1) I weigh all foods including bread and pre-packaged since weight for such items are not consistent.

2) I weigh in every two days so I have more data points.

3) I eat to meet my calorie goals.

qtiekiki

1. I don't weigh anything.

2. I suggest weekly. I don't really weigh myself. I kind of gauge by how my jeans fit.

3. I eat back everything. I exercise, so I can eat more.

dlbredesen

I don't weigh any food. I weigh myself every morning but don't get uptight with normal fluctuations. I eat back part of my exercise calories.

JesterMFP

1) I always weigh my bread. When I eat bread it tends to be the kind that is unsliced (or it's homemade, so unsliced too). So, I wouldn't really have a clue how much I'm eating otherwise. I would honestly recommend to do what works for you. If you have a good idea of how much a slice weighs, then maybe you don't need to weigh each one. Weighing and measuring is very important for accuracy, but for some people, it's not the best thing to do for your mindset. It can easily become obsessive. If you go for a while without weighing your bread, and find that you are still maintaining weight, then there's really no problem, is there? If you find that you're gradually gaining, then you would know that's one area to look at. Personally I would like to get to the point where I am weighing/measuring and logging food much less, but I'm not yet in the frame of mind where that can happen.

2) How often you weigh yourself is up to you. Don't obsess over what's the most accurate - your weight will fluctuate through the day, and the week. It's the trend over time that matters. If you weigh every day, don't panic if it goes up and down a bit.

3) I eat back all my exercise calories because I use the MFP method to work out a calorie goal that does not include planned workouts. I just prefer that method. If I used the TDEE method to calculate a goal based on all exercise - then I would not eat back additional exercise calories because they would already be accounted for. When you're maintaining, you will soon find out if you're overeating because you will see your weight increase (increase over time - not talking about those daily fluctuations). You're unlikely to get a completely accurate calorie goal whichever method you use, so it takes a bit of trial and error to work out exactly how much you should be eating. Most people seem to have a maintenance range, so you may find that even though you're not losing now, you can eat a little bit more and still maintain.

All of this stuff is about trial and error and finding what works for you. Don't panic! Unless you're massively overeating, you're not going to suddenly put on 10 lbs of fat. If the weight gradually creeps up, you can make the necessary adjustments to stop that.

Wingg_

How do you his determine your activity level?? Now I'm not sure if I should be sedentary or lightly active...