Struggling

neveragain84

Maybe it's mental, but maintaining is really difficult right now. Losing was so easy. Just eat less and move more, but now I have to eat the right amount in order to stay put. I'm trying to eat real foods, but I feel so full when I'm trying to eat 2,200 calories to maintain. That and I run, which according to my HRM can burn (on a good day) 400-500 calories or more. So I'm trying to walk a thin line between eating too much junk again and losing more than I planned.

That and when I try to eat to maintain, my sodium and sugar are too high. I worry about sodium because I have a kidney disease. I have and still am working hard to treat my body right and refuse to let myself slip, but eating this much is scary because of what I've seen it do to me. I don't want to wake up with back pain or become prediabetic again.

Does anyone stay within a few pounds of your goal or do you (besides daily fluctuations) move around 5-6 pounds each week? I feel like I'll have to eat to maintain one week and then eat to lose the next.

Thanks for letting me rant.

fanarad

That's a tough one! Do you keep logging on MFP consistently when you're maintaining as well as when you're losing? For me I have a problem with getting lazy with logging once I hit my target and then re-gain a bit. It's a frustrating cycle

PJPrimrose

I'm in the same boat. Losing was easy but I'm bouncing around with maintenance. I, too, tend to eat a lot of sugar and sodium. I need to eat more protein. The sodium is a good thing tho as I sweat out a ton of salt especially if I'm landscaping.

neveragain84

That's a tough one! Do you keep logging on MFP consistently when you're maintaining as well as when you're losing? For me I have a problem with getting lazy with logging once I hit my target and then re-gain a bit. It's a frustrating cycle

Yeah, I'm consistently logging everything I eat. I weigh and measure everything too.

spoiledpuppies

I think you'l adjust, and 2,200 calories won't seem like so much anymore. I would just recommend eating more of the (presumably) healthy foods you ate while losing rather than adding in treats and splurges. Make your meals a bit bigger. I started adding mayo or avocado to sandwiches when maybe I didn't have the calories available for that while losing. Add oil to salads and steamed veggies. I've also switched to eating 3 meals and 2 snacks, and a dietician actually said to think of them all as snacks--so consistently about the same size. (While losing, I didn't really snack.) You'll end up feeling much better.

As long as you are consistently logging, you'll be able to figure out your actual maintenance calories just based on trial and error. (After an expected slight regain for glycogen replenishment, I do seem to stay pretty consistently within a pound, but there have been some days that bounced up/down.)

neveragain84

True. I suppose I just need to give it a try and see where it takes me. I'll try the trial and error method when I have my run days (maybe up my calories a few hundred for each meal) and see how it goes.

SezxyStef

maintenance does not mean staying at one weight...you have to allow for some flucuations.

Set a range you are good with...and stick with it.

As for getting the calories in, easy enough...eat more calorie dense foods...

Already mentioned were avocadoes and oils like Olive oil to cook with

Move to full fat milk if you can (I couldn't but that's me) or full fat cheese and yogurts.

Have treats too like ice cream or the occasional serving of chocolate or chips...

Go_Mizzou99

I fluctuate about 3 or 4 pounds, just on salty food intake. Extreme is 6 pounds weight fluctuation...too many wings, ribs, cocktails.

I tried to quit logging and gained close to 15 pounds...logging for life now.

It took a while to make maintenance feel like routine...hang in there!

ibleedunionblue

My weight has been fairly stable. But I did get sloppy about logging, and 5 pounds came on. I got stricter about logging, went back on diet and have gotten 2.6 of those pounds back off.

Lesson to learn: continue to log and be accountable.