A taste of maintainance

perdikatherine
perdikatherine Posts: 30
in Goal: Maintaining Weight
Hi! Next week I'll have visitors so I'll have to change my routine around accommodating daily trips and showing them around. This means that I won't be able to work out as much as I do now, I don't know if I'll be able to work out at all I'm afraid.

So, I decided to see it as a trial of how it'll be when I'll be maintaining. I'll try very hard to eat safe but I don't know how many calories I should eat if I don't exercise as much as now. MFP says I should eat 1400 calories (I'm moderately active) but now I usually eat 1100-1200.

How do you manage to maintain you weight without gaining?

Any suggestions, tips or advice please...?

Replies

  • editorgrrl
    editorgrrl Posts: 7,060 Member
    It takes trial & error to find the number of calories at which your weight stabilizes. Set your goal to maintenance, and eat back your calories at the same rate you did while losing. After two weeks, reevaluate.

    Read this: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1080242-a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants
  • Ulwaz
    Ulwaz Posts: 380 Member
    Its all trial and error really, but your calories are low, you should never really eat below 1500
  • kdiamond
    kdiamond Posts: 3,329 Member
    A moderately active person will never eat 1400 calories for maintenance...that's a bare minimum type of number. I lose weight if I eat at 1400 calories, and I'm a small person.

    You are going to have to use trial and error to figure out what your maintenance calories are. You can start at 1400, see what the next week or two brings you (you'll probably keep losing weight), add another 100 calories daily, etc., etc.
  • ShannonMpls
    ShannonMpls Posts: 1,936 Member
    Just a warning - if you switch to maintenance calories for a week, you're going to see the scale shoot up due to your very low intake currently. I'm mentioning it to you now so when you weigh yourself you don't freak out thinking you put on 4 pounds of fat in a week. It will be glycogen, primarily, and also water retention due to the inevitable increase in carbs and salt that will come from your calorie increase.
  • sfbaumgarten
    sfbaumgarten Posts: 912 Member
    Just a warning - if you switch to maintenance calories for a week, you're going to see the scale shoot up due to your very low intake currently. I'm mentioning it to you now so when you weigh yourself you don't freak out thinking you put on 4 pounds of fat in a week. It will be glycogen, primarily, and also water retention due to the inevitable increase in carbs and salt that will come from your calorie increase.

    THIS. Brace for impact.
  • perdikatherine
    perdikatherine Posts: 30
    Oh, my God! Now I'm terrified. I don't want to gain back all that I have lost. And as the days get closer to my visitors coming, I get more and more nervous. I've been working out 5-6 times a week for the last 4 months trying ot lose weight slowly and steady so that I can keep it off. I'm afraid that if I don't exercise, I'll gain weight.

    I DON'T KNOW HOW TO MAINTAIN... Help...?
  • editorgrrl
    editorgrrl Posts: 7,060 Member
    Don't panic! Raise your calories by 100 every few days. That will help minimize the glycogen & water gains.

    But you need to understand that your weight will fluctuate once you're in maintenance. If you panic every time you gain, you're in danger of spinning out of control.

    Pick a range (for example, +/- 1kg.). Whenever your weight goes above your comfort zone, reduce your calories by 100. Give it a week. If you're still gaining, cut 100 calories & wait another week. When you go below your comfort zone, add 100 calories.
  • nxd10
    nxd10 Posts: 4,570 Member
    .
  • sfbaumgarten
    sfbaumgarten Posts: 912 Member
    Oh, my God! Now I'm terrified. I don't want to gain back all that I have lost. And as the days get closer to my visitors coming, I get more and more nervous. I've been working out 5-6 times a week for the last 4 months trying ot lose weight slowly and steady so that I can keep it off. I'm afraid that if I don't exercise, I'll gain weight.

    I DON'T KNOW HOW TO MAINTAIN... Help...?

    Don't be terrified, just be informed. We're telling you what's going to happen when you initially increase your intake. It's better that you expect this little jump rather than freak out and think you're out of control and gaining everything back. When you decrease again, it's likely that the same handful of pounds you gained at maintenance will drop right off.

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