Pre-Maintenance

dswolverine

Continuing to weigh in is definitely key - for me at least. I lost 10 or so lbs a year or two ago, then stopped weighing but continued exercising, and when I noticed my clothes getting tighter i finally hopped on the scale again and- whoops! There were those 10lbs. I DON'T want that to happen again.

Mischievous_Rascal

I have 8-10 lbs. that I want to lose before going into maintaince. I want to ensure that I do not gain anything back once I stop losing. How can I speed up my metabolism and start losing again? How can I do ensure that I will not gain anything back once I add 200 calories in the maintainence phase? Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated.

As someone who has been in maintenance for just a few months, I'd say to make sure that you have realistic expectations. It is highly likely that you will gain back a couple of pounds when you go into maintenance- because your body will replenish its glycogen stores. DON'T PANIC! This is normal.

A lot of people lose a few extra pounds before going into maintenance just for that reason- so say you want your maintenance weight to be 130. You could consider losing a few extra pounds down to 127 before going into maintenance, knowing that you're going to rebound back up to 130. No problem!

My other tip would be to expect your weight to fluctuate. Most people have a 3-5 lb band that their weight fluctuates in. As long as they're within that band, then they know they are maintaining. If they go over or under that band then they can eat less or more to fix the fluctuation. For me, that band is 126-129. If I weigh in at 130, I would double check to make sure I'm not overeating. If I go under 126 then I make sure that I'm eating enough to account for my exercise.

Good luck with maintenance! Enjoy the extra food! :drinker: :flowerforyou:

This is all true. Also, I gradually increased my calories by 100 a day for a few weeks before I hit maintenance, too. It helped keep everything steady.

DonM46

Been maintaining for about 2 1/2 years.
When you get within a pound or two or three of your goal weight, increase your calorie intake such that you cut your deficit roughly in half.
Yes, that means the last couple of pounds will come off more slowly, but you've come this far ... what's another couple of weeks?
As others have said, you might go UNDER your goal a bit, just to give yourself some adjustment room.
Now that you've reached (or gone a bit below) your goal, cut your deficit in half again, and monitor your weight for a couple of weeks.
If you continue to lose, increase your daily calorie intake by 50 or so ... it's NOT an exact science.
If you gain, decrease the allowable intake by 20 or 30.
Keep logging & continue to monitor the weight, but don't run yourself ragged with a 10 calorie increase or a 5 calorie decrease.
You'll NEVER find the exact number due to normal daily fluctuations.
I gave myself +3 pounds & -2 pounds from 'goal' before I changed my calorie allowance.
Look for trends and the reasons behind them.
If you binged at a pot luck supper, expect an increase.
If you were super-busy or didn't feel up to par & didn't exercise for a few day, expect an increase.
Don't panic & cut your calories based on special, short-term cases.
Similarly, don't boost your limit if the opposite happens -- you jogged 5 miles instead of 3, etc.
You've dedicated a lot of time to accomplish your goal.
Be prepared to continue investing your time to STAY THERE.
Some have stopped logging.
I'm such a poor judge of calorie content, I can't afford that luxury.
If logging is a major pain, you might try the omission, but let your clothing and the scale guide you.
When the numbers creep up or the clothes start feeling tight, consider a resumption of the logging.

geebusuk

I'm planning to transition from circa-1000 calorie average deficit to 250 calorie surplus over 5 weeks or so, eating 250 calories extra per week.

I weigh daily and use the 'libra' app which does all the fancy graph stuff to work out an average figure - idea is I base my food consumption on the average weight going up by half a pound a week. As I still don't have a massive amount of muscle in the grand scheme of things, hopefully most of this should be muscle.

I've got about 5lb to go, but plan to start bringing calories up in 3lb time - if everything were constant, this would see me a little under my calorie goal. But I've had a bit of a weight loss stall the last couple of weeks, so shall have to see how it works out,

The 'set point theory' mentioned in another article is interesting - I've read stuff along similar lines, but not heard a specific term for it. Though, seems it's unlikely to be nearly as clear cut as the '10%' many claim.

Junebuggyzy

Hi

This thread is just great - so many valid points. This will be my third time of getting to goal weight and i am determined to maintain this time. So stuff that i have learned from reading the forum and my own experience.

1. Keep exercise -don't stop. Build it into your normal routine for life.
2. Increase cals slowly 100k cals a week until you stop loosing weight
3. Weigh regularly - normally i weigh weekly but on maintenance i weighed twice a week.
4. Plan you day/meals - no shopping without a list or going beserk at restaurants. You can have treats but need to earn them.
5. Keep tracking on myfitness plan food and exercise. If poss find a maintenance buddy.
6. Accept that some foods will not be part of your future - for me it was bread and cheese - they are like a red rag to a bull. Ijust can not help myself. So i just cut them out completely and only by exception would I select/eat them.

Good luck everyone!

I love that people are posting specific routines here! This is great. I can learn a lot from this. I like your plan, except I like to shop without a list. I love going to the ethnic fruit and vegetable markets here in Chicago. I get whatever is freshest, or in season, or on sale! Like strawberries have been less that $1.00 a box, so I have been loading up on them.

But I know what you mean about cutting foods out of my life. Wine is the big one for me. If I have a glass, soon it will invite all its friends over for me too drink, and before I know it, I drink a whole bottle. Better for me just to cut it out. If I drink at all, I am back to drinking way too much. Tonight at Passover dinner it is a tradition to drink four cups of wine. I brought my own bottle of sparkling mineral water, and had that instead of wine.

Junebuggyzy

Been maintaining for about 2 1/2 years.
When you get within a pound or two or three of your goal weight, increase your calorie intake such that you cut your deficit roughly in half.
Yes, that means the last couple of pounds will come off more slowly, but you've come this far ... what's another couple of weeks?
As others have said, you might go UNDER your goal a bit, just to give yourself some adjustment room.
Now that you've reached (or gone a bit below) your goal, cut your deficit in half again, and monitor your weight for a couple of weeks.
If you continue to lose, increase your daily calorie intake by 50 or so ... it's NOT an exact science.
If you gain, decrease the allowable intake by 20 or 30.
Keep logging & continue to monitor the weight, but don't run yourself ragged with a 10 calorie increase or a 5 calorie decrease.
You'll NEVER find the exact number due to normal daily fluctuations.
I gave myself +3 pounds & -2 pounds from 'goal' before I changed my calorie allowance.
Look for trends and the reasons behind them.
If you binged at a pot luck supper, expect an increase.
If you were super-busy or didn't feel up to par & didn't exercise for a few day, expect an increase.
Don't panic & cut your calories based on special, short-term cases.
Similarly, don't boost your limit if the opposite happens -- you jogged 5 miles instead of 3, etc.
You've dedicated a lot of time to accomplish your goal.
Be prepared to continue investing your time to STAY THERE.
Some have stopped logging.
I'm such a poor judge of calorie content, I can't afford that luxury.
If logging is a major pain, you might try the omission, but let your clothing and the scale guide you.
When the numbers creep up or the clothes start feeling tight, consider a resumption of the logging.

This is really helpful!!

Junebuggyzy

What I don't understand, is if I am eating around 1200 calories a day now, that is only a 300 to 400 calorie deficit per day. That only comes out to about a pound a week. But I am losing about two pounds a week. Oh well. This thread isn't about losing weight, This thread is about maintaining our healthy bodies.

Junebugzy, I have experienced the same thing since I started on here. I've always had my deficit set to lose 0.5 lb a week, but have found that it's usually closer to 0.75 lb or so each week. Perhaps we're both more active than we let the computers think, or we're logging a little more food/less exercise than we actually get, or maybe (this is my suspicion for myself) our metabolisms are a bit faster than the averages used for the calorie intake calculations.

Question for everyone: have you heard that as one gets close to maintaining, one should slowly up one's calories so the last few pounds are lost even more slowly than 0.5 lb a week? I've heard that on here-- the people who mentioned it said that doing this will prevent the immediate gain of water/glycogen weight when you up your calories for maintaining mode. I like the sound of that, but I'm not so keen on slowing my weight loss even more-- I'd love to be done with that part of this journey, and want to just get there.

I'm interested to hear what you all know or have heard about that.

I like the idea of slowly upping our calories. My typical weight loss is half a pound a week. Logging my food and exercise here is definitely what is pushing it to two pounds a week. Aha, a faster metabolism could be the reason I am losing faster. Makes sense to me. And I am adding in the exercise calories in to the 1200 a day, so a lot of times I get to have more than the 1200 calories.

dopeysmelly

Been maintaining for about 2 1/2 years.
When you get within a pound or two or three of your goal weight, increase your calorie intake such that you cut your deficit roughly in half.
Yes, that means the last couple of pounds will come off more slowly, but you've come this far ... what's another couple of weeks?
As others have said, you might go UNDER your goal a bit, just to give yourself some adjustment room.
Now that you've reached (or gone a bit below) your goal, cut your deficit in half again, and monitor your weight for a couple of weeks.
If you continue to lose, increase your daily calorie intake by 50 or so ... it's NOT an exact science.
If you gain, decrease the allowable intake by 20 or 30.
Keep logging & continue to monitor the weight, but don't run yourself ragged with a 10 calorie increase or a 5 calorie decrease.
You'll NEVER find the exact number due to normal daily fluctuations.
I gave myself +3 pounds & -2 pounds from 'goal' before I changed my calorie allowance.
Look for trends and the reasons behind them.
If you binged at a pot luck supper, expect an increase.
If you were super-busy or didn't feel up to par & didn't exercise for a few day, expect an increase.
Don't panic & cut your calories based on special, short-term cases.
Similarly, don't boost your limit if the opposite happens -- you jogged 5 miles instead of 3, etc.
You've dedicated a lot of time to accomplish your goal.
Be prepared to continue investing your time to STAY THERE.
Some have stopped logging.
I'm such a poor judge of calorie content, I can't afford that luxury.
If logging is a major pain, you might try the omission, but let your clothing and the scale guide you.
When the numbers creep up or the clothes start feeling tight, consider a resumption of the logging.

This is so helpful! I'm saving this one on Evernote.

Anonycatgirl

BMR for Men: = 66 + (6.23 X weight in pounds) + (12.7 X height in inches) – (6.8 X age)

BMR for Women: = 655 + (4.35 X weight in pounds) + (4.7 X height in inches) – (4.7 X age)

Is the 66 for men versus 655 for women correct? It's a huge difference!

idojpdx

BMR for Men: = 66 + (6.23 X weight in pounds) + (12.7 X height in inches) – (6.8 X age)

BMR for Women: = 655 + (4.35 X weight in pounds) + (4.7 X height in inches) – (4.7 X age)

Is the 66 for men versus 655 for women correct? It's a huge difference!

Seems to be correct. I verified with three different sites, including Wikipedia, and they all show the Harris Benedict Equation with 66 for men and 655 for women.

There are also many automated BMR calculators online that you can Google if you don't want to do the equation yourself. However, I've found that many of them aren't as precise. But then, I've also read that these equations are often right only about 60% of the time. It worked very well for me, when I maintained for 12 years, but really it's just a starting point and you may need to adjust it to suit your individual metabolism.

Linnaea27

What I don't understand, is if I am eating around 1200 calories a day now, that is only a 300 to 400 calorie deficit per day. That only comes out to about a pound a week. But I am losing about two pounds a week. Oh well. This thread isn't about losing weight, This thread is about maintaining our healthy bodies.

Junebugzy, I have experienced the same thing since I started on here. I've always had my deficit set to lose 0.5 lb a week, but have found that it's usually closer to 0.75 lb or so each week. Perhaps we're both more active than we let the computers think, or we're logging a little more food/less exercise than we actually get, or maybe (this is my suspicion for myself) our metabolisms are a bit faster than the averages used for the calorie intake calculations.

Question for everyone: have you heard that as one gets close to maintaining, one should slowly up one's calories so the last few pounds are lost even more slowly than 0.5 lb a week? I've heard that on here-- the people who mentioned it said that doing this will prevent the immediate gain of water/glycogen weight when you up your calories for maintaining mode. I like the sound of that, but I'm not so keen on slowing my weight loss even more-- I'd love to be done with that part of this journey, and want to just get there.

I'm interested to hear what you all know or have heard about that.

I like the idea of slowly upping our calories. My typical weight loss is half a pound a week. Logging my food and exercise here is definitely what is pushing it to two pounds a week. Aha, a faster metabolism could be the reason I am losing faster. Makes sense to me. And I am adding in the exercise calories in to the 1200 a day, so a lot of times I get to have more than the 1200 calories.

Eeek, I just realized I should have said logging LESS food/MORE exercise to see a greater weight loss than expected. :ohwell: Duuuuhhh.

I saw that someone posted a pretty detailed description of how to do the slow calorie increase, above-- I guess you have already noticed and quoted it! That approach sounds reasonable to me but I'm not sure if I can psychologically do it. I think I am going to continue doing what I'm doing, get to goal, and start the slow increase then; if I lose another pound or so in the process, that will give me some more wiggle room. I still have more belly/hip fat at 2 lbs from my goal weight than I would like so being a little lighter than planned at first would not be alarming/bad to me. However, this is just what I think will work for me-- others may want to approach it differently.

geebusuk

Again, the best tool to work out your deficit and your TDEE relative to your food intake etc is the scales - it will tell you more than a formula on the internet about the state of your body at the time.

idojpdx

Again, the best tool to work out your deficit and your TDEE relative to your food intake etc is the scales - it will tell you more than a formula on the internet about the state of your body at the time.

Possibly, but maybe not for everyone. There's no real one size fits all for this, so we shouldn't be dismissive of any tactic unless it's unhealthy. As stated, the formula is a reference point for someone who doesn't know where to begin a maintenance plan. In my case, it worked much better than trial and error and consulting the scale, and it allowed me to maintain a 60+-pound weight loss for a dozen years. Winging it and adjusting later always resulted in weight gain for me that was beyond normal fluctuations. That can be extremely dispiriting when you have a history of struggling with weight control.

geebusuk

Possibly, but maybe not for everyone.

If we're talking looking at the overall trend shown by the scales, then I'd say it is true for EVERYONE.

If the trend is going up, you are in a surplus, if it's down, you are in a deficit.

Then there's working out WHY.

You also hopefully have an idea of calories in and caloires out. You have an idea of the deficit.

If the figures you have all match up, all is groovy.

If the figures don't match up, then there's something going on "in the middle". It may be metabolism slow down. It may be the food is being over or underestimated (until we have electron-scanning-tricorders, it's always a guess), or over estimated. Same for exercise.

So, if you aren't getting the righthand side of the equation as low as you want and think the left side is reasonable, it may be a case of seeing what in the middle may need 'fixing'.

Junebuggyzy

Possibly, but maybe not for everyone. There's no real one size fits all for this, so we shouldn't be dismissive of any tactic unless it's unhealthy. As stated, the formula is a reference point for someone who doesn't know where to begin a maintenance plan. In my case, it worked much better than trial and error and consulting the scale, and it allowed me to maintain a 60+-pound weight loss for a dozen years. Winging it and adjusting later always resulted in weight gain for me that was beyond normal fluctuations. That can be extremely dispiriting when you have a history of struggling with weight control.

idoJ, I didn't know you lost 60 pounds and maintained it for 12 years! Wow! More than wow, fantastic.

So when you figured out my numbers, it said I will be able to have 1800 to 1900 calories on maintenance. That seems like so much compared to now; someone suggested going up 50 calories at a time. That sounds like a great idea to ease into maintenance, you think?

I have a favor to ask everyone. Could you please not use acronyms, at least once in a post, then use it for the rest of the post? I haven't been around here that long, and I don't know what most of them are.

Linnaea27

I am so glad this thread is still going! Very useful info here!

idojpdx

Possibly, but maybe not for everyone. There's no real one size fits all for this, so we shouldn't be dismissive of any tactic unless it's unhealthy. As stated, the formula is a reference point for someone who doesn't know where to begin a maintenance plan. In my case, it worked much better than trial and error and consulting the scale, and it allowed me to maintain a 60+-pound weight loss for a dozen years. Winging it and adjusting later always resulted in weight gain for me that was beyond normal fluctuations. That can be extremely dispiriting when you have a history of struggling with weight control.

idoJ, I didn't know you lost 60 pounds and maintained it for 12 years! Wow! More than wow, fantastic.

So when you figured out my numbers, it said I will be able to have 1800 to 1900 calories on maintenance. That seems like so much compared to now; someone suggested going up 50 calories at a time. That sounds like a great idea to ease into maintenance, you think?

I have a favor to ask everyone. Could you please not use acronyms, at least once in a post, then use it for the rest of the post? I haven't been around here that long, and I don't know what most of them are.

I did! But I got pregnant at 44, and once I had the baby I got busy and lazy and reverted to old habits. Not to mention slowing metabolism that you can't turn your back on after 40. Gained all but about 13 pounds back. UGH!

Sharon_C

I'm in maintenance right now. Have been since January. In a little while (haven't decided when) I'm going to go out of maintenance and try to lose another 10lbs.

I have a Fitbit so I follow my calories burned using that and I make sure I eat at a small deficit every day. Just a small one. That way it accounts for logging mistakes and if I have a bad day (or two) it will all balance out. The key for me being in maintenance is to still log everything. I'm not sure I'll ever stop logging because that keeps me honest and focused.

Annadriel

Great thread
I am about to start to maintain my weight too... Am a bit worried how this will go... I lost around 11kg and have 2 more to loose and than I switch... ATM I am trying to build my body am so far I was effective I would say. I workout, mostly weight lift, around 70min per day, 6/7 days per week... I kind of like it the hard way...
Anyone who is willing to support me is welcome and I am offering my support as well.
Gl to you all

Junebuggyzy

I think I should get a heart monitor to see what I really burn during workouts. Plus, I love gadgets! My kids got me a Nexus 5 for my birthday. I have it all figured out except phone calls! Don't know how to do call waiting yet. I love the MyFitnessPro app; very easy to use.

idoJ, if you only had 13 pounds to lose, that's not bad at all! For some reason, after I had each kid, I got really thin. I used to complain that my butt was too big. Then my belly started getting big, and my rear end got flatter. I spoke too soon!

Part of the reason I gained weight was from quitting smoking. Then I started drinking a lot of wine, which made me hungry, so I ate more. My highest was 176. I was in a 2X, because I am only 5'1. I am 141 now, and want to get down to 130, maybe eventually 120.

Maintenance for me will still start at 130. I want to lose the last 10 pounds very slowly.

tech_kitten

As someone who has been in maintenance for just a few months, I'd say to make sure that you have realistic expectations. It is highly likely that you will gain back a couple of pounds when you go into maintenance- because your body will replenish its glycogen stores. DON'T PANIC! This is normal.

A lot of people lose a few extra pounds before going into maintenance just for that reason- so say you want your maintenance weight to be 130. You could consider losing a few extra pounds down to 127 before going into maintenance, knowing that you're going to rebound back up to 130. No problem!

My other tip would be to expect your weight to fluctuate. Most people have a 3-5 lb band that their weight fluctuates in. As long as they're within that band, then they know they are maintaining. If they go over or under that band then they can eat less or more to fix the fluctuation. For me, that band is 126-129. If I weigh in at 130, I would double check to make sure I'm not overeating. If I go under 126 then I make sure that I'm eating enough to account for my exercise.

Good luck with maintenance! Enjoy the extra food! :drinker: :flowerforyou:

+1!
Great advice!
I hope that when I get there I will be able to take all of these tips and be successful at maintenance.

EvilFeevil

I'm still anywhere from 10-20 lbs from my goal (out of 40-50 to go at the start of this journey) and I plan to continue doing what I'm doing now when I get to maintenance, which is counting and daily weighing. As a female, it's important for me to know how hormonal and dietary changes affect my weight so I don't get freaked out if I suddenly gain 3 lbs, hence the daily weighing.

I'm not even sure if I can eat my projected maintenance calories without gaining and I don't know what my final weight will be until I get there. If I feel thin enough at 110 lbs, I'll stop trying to lose and go on maint. If I need to go to 105 or 100 before I can lose my muffin top, so be it. I used to weigh 100 back in the pre-muffin top days but maybe I'll be happy at 105 or 110 at this stage of my life. As soon as I can get back into my old size 3 and 5 (US) jeans (comfortably), I'll know I'm at my goal. And never looking back!

Thanks for the good reads, everyone!

idojpdx

I think I should get a heart monitor to see what I really burn during workouts. Plus, I love gadgets! My kids got me a Nexus 5 for my birthday. I have it all figured out except phone calls! Don't know how to do call waiting yet. I love the MyFitnessPro app; very easy to use.

idoJ, if you only had 13 pounds to lose, that's not bad at all! For some reason, after I had each kid, I got really thin. I used to complain that my butt was too big. Then my belly started getting big, and my rear end got flatter. I spoke too soon!

Part of the reason I gained weight was from quitting smoking. Then I started drinking a lot of wine, which made me hungry, so I ate more. My highest was 176. I was in a 2X, because I am only 5'1. I am 141 now, and want to get down to 130, maybe eventually 120.

Maintenance for me will still start at 130. I want to lose the last 10 pounds very slowly.

Hoo boy! I wish I only had 13 to lose. I actually gained back all but about 13 pounds of my original loss of 60.

Junebuggyzy

Hoo boy! I wish I only had 13 to lose. I actually gained back all but about 13 pounds of my original loss of 60.

I know you will do it!!! You have been doing so well. It really helps to have you all as cheerleaders.
You all that are on maintenance and sharing your stories with us, I just want to let you know how much you are helping us figure out what we will do once we get to maintenance.

I wondered why I rarely get as far as maintenance. I started thinking, maybe there's something in it for us to self-sabotage our efforts. To go through all the work to get fit and healthy, then let it all go. I just wonder what is in it for us.

I have a sister who has been overweight as long as I can remember. She shared it with me that she feels protected by a wall of fat around her. Maybe that's it, somehow we feel insulated from the world if we stay heavy.

skittlesnhoney

I'm not nearly there yet, but I couldn't agree more.

IIIIISerenityNowIIIII

I'm supposed to hit my GW in mid-July and planning to get pregnant around December so I have to figure out how to maintain the weight between those months and then gain healthily for a pregnancy.

bumblebeez86

A lot of people lose a few extra pounds before going into maintenance just for that reason- so say you want your maintenance weight to be 130. You could consider losing a few extra pounds down to 127 before going into maintenance, knowing that you're going to rebound back up to 130. No problem!

My other tip would be to expect your weight to fluctuate. Most people have a 3-5 lb band that their weight fluctuates in. As long as they're within that band, then they know they are maintaining. If they go over or under that band then they can eat less or more to fix the fluctuation.
Good luck with maintenance!

good advice thanks - I have 5lb till 'goal' weight so might aim a little lower now for the 'rebound' effect

Rose6300

Again, the best tool to work out your deficit and your TDEE relative to your food intake etc is the scales - it will tell you more than a formula on the internet about the state of your body at the time.

I agree with this in theory, but I've not been able to get an accurate number for myself. I have a big spreadsheet I created to track my rolling 7-day average weight during this loss period. I added a few columns on it to try and get at my TDEE, but it ranges from 1200-3000 based on the values in my spreadsheet. I tried to get at my TDEE by taking my loss for the week and multiplying by 3500 then dividing by 7, and adding this value to my net calories for the week divided by 7. My most likely error is in estimating exercise calories, since I weigh my food etc. etc. But when I try to isolate this as the problem, I can't. And I am pretty good at analyzing data usually so I'm at a loss. End of the day, I'm going to just keep on as I have been during the loss and add back 100 calories the first week of maintenance, another 100 the second week, etc.

geebusuk

You may need to take your averages over a longer time - water weight can cause quite significant fluctuations, especially when hormones come in to play.

I presume you're trying to work out TDEE without exercise?

Normally it would be included - so your TDEE would be deficit from weight loss+food.

Even with a HRM and other sensors (ie cycle, power, GPS mapping which include elevation etc), it's still going to be a bit of a guess. Maybe your body doesn't quite match the algorithms.

Rose6300

You may need to take your averages over a longer time - water weight can cause quite significant fluctuations, especially when hormones come in to play.

I presume you're trying to work out TDEE without exercise?

Normally it would be included - so your TDEE would be deficit from weight loss+food.

Even with a HRM and other sensors (ie cycle, power, GPS mapping which include elevation etc), it's still going to be a bit of a guess. Maybe your body doesn't quite match the algorithms.

What I'm trying to do is work out TDEE assuming my exercise levels stay the same, as I'm planning to keep the exercise up when I hit maintenance. I just reran the numbers using calories eaten instead of calories less exercise, and I get essentially the same results (i.e., all over the map). It's funny because throughout this weight loss journey, my body has pretty much exactly matched what I expected it to, that is, my loss has been remarkably linear. There's probably something wrong with my spreadsheet for this maintenance calc, I'll just have to look at it some more I guess.