What is your maintenance method?

Smiles_And_Pizza

Hi!
I believe I'm eating far too little calories to maintain, and I finally want to develop a method of maintaining.
I'm just curious as to what some of your methods to maintain are?
For example how many calories do you eat daily? How often do you let yourself splurge? How do you handle going out to eat?

Also, I was wondering if any one has any recommendations to a calculator I could use to determine how many calories I should be eating a day...
Also I'm slightly confused on how to determine my activity level...

jennycina93

http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/ This is a great calorie calculator. You want to find your TDEE and eat to that. That is your total daily energy expenditure. You can put it in how much exercise you do per week.

jennycina93

I should add that the part where it says to put in your goal, you can put anything in there and it will still tell you your TDEE.

SezxyStef

If you are losing weight yes you are eating too little to maintain.

To maintain I have calculated my TDEE which is about 2200...I am working my way up to that calorie goal. This week I am at 1800.

I will continue to increase by 100 calories a day each week until I hit 2000 at which time I will stay there for 1 month...if I lose weight in that month I will up to 2100, if I gain I will lower by 50, if I lose I will up to 2200...rinse repeat until I maintain my weight range of 150-158...

As for splurging...eh I eat what I want within my goals, I don't normally splurge. If I do I log it and go back to normal the next day.

Same thing for eating out. I do that now and maintain my deficet typically. If not I log it and move on.

There are a few calculators online such as scooby Tdee or IIFYM.com that can give you a rough estimate of your maintenance.

As for activity levels you choose the one that fits you best when doing the calculations...for me I choose 3-5 hours of moderate exercise a week since I lift 3x a week and do HIIT or some light cardio like a walk on my off days.

Siannah

During maintenance I don't count/log anymore but will try to stay conscious of portion size etc. and I will log in here regularly, just as a reminder to myself.
I also give myself a margin of weight. I'll allow myself to fluctuate, but when I get to more than 4lbs above my ideal weight (which is now :sad: ), I get back on here and log everything until I'm back to normal.
That's been working for me for a few years now.

mmerry5

Not sure if this is an option or even needed, but I got a Fitbit for Christmas and that is helping me to maintain and be able to eat more accurately. It syncs with MyFitnessPal and adds calories as I move more. It basically figures your TDEE for you every day based on your movements. (It’s not good at taking into account weight lifting calories. It’s really for walking and running and that sort of movement.) I don’t eat back every calorie it gives me to allow for errors, either in my tracking or in Fitbit’s burn numbers. I feel much more confident that I am eating more closely to what I should be. I love seeing those calories added and being able to eat more on those days that I move more! I figure I will be logging calories for a long long time, as I tend to yo-yo too much. Logging in MFP has finally allowed me to keep a more constant weight and for me the Fitbit helps take the guesswork out of maintenance calories.

rainbow198

What has worked for me is eating a little less during the week and eating more during the weekend. Nothing crazy though, but enjoying my Friday night pizza nights and/or going out for lunch or dinner, eating desserts etc.)

Everyday though I make sure I'm watching my portion sizes and make sure I'm eating enough protein, carbs, healthy fats, fiber, fruits and veggies. I really don't drink my calories unless I make my own protein shakes, smoothies (fruit or veggies & greens) or freshly squeezed juice so I drink a lot of water and non-sweetened herbal tea.

Doing this has really helped me to maintain an 80 lbs loss for over a year and it's something I can see myself doing for the rest of my life. I used to be too restrictive and end up binging a little.

I was never one of those people who could have 2 small pieces of chocolate and stop. So banking some calories during the week and eating more during the weekend allows me to maintain my weight and not deprive myself, plus it give me something to look forward to.

I "loosely" count calories. I write down everything I eat in a notebook (I also pre-plan my meals for the next day the night before). I make all of my food at home during the week so I know what I'm eating and how make calories it contains.

I'm quite active too (power walking 3 - 6 miles everyday, lifting 2 - 3 times per week, Pilates, calisthenics, tennis, ice skating) and I eat back all of my calories.

I maintain a 5 lb range. During the weekend I usually gain about 2 - 3 lbs in water weight. It goes away during the week, the weekend arrives again and repeat so I maintain.

It took a lot of trial and errors to come up with my plan. That Scoobysworkshop link is a great way to get started in determining how much you should be eating to lose, maintain or gain. How you split up your calories is all up to you just as long as you are aware of what you are consuming.

Good luck!

stuffinmuffin

I use MFP and my fitbit and eat up to what 'I'm told' each day. I used just the MFP maintenance to start with but then found I was still losing loads of weight. The Fitbit was a real insight into how much I should be eating.
For non-walking/running exercise I use my HRM.

It's probably safe to say that I love my fitness gadgets!

SonicDeathMonkey80

Now that my training cycle is over, I'm in a steady state of exercise, so I use TDEE. I also weigh myself about once a month to make sure I'm staying on track.

addean1

Simple, changed my goal to "maintain my weight" and eat what mfp tells me to, including all exercise calories. I continue to log! And know I will need to or I will gain it back. Next I set fitness goals for myself to accomplish- half marathon and sprint tri, are on the calendar now, If the scale goes above a certain number, I'll cut calories until I'm back under. I've been maintaining since nov, and haven't had to do that yet.


Actually I try and balance and have a weekly average that meets mfp's goal. Because I'm training for a half marathon, and sometimes on long run days, I can't eat back all 1,000 extra exercise calories, so I'll plan on going over a few days a week to average it out.

Tedebearduff

Hi!
I believe I'm eating far too little calories to maintain, and I finally want to develop a method of maintaining.
I'm just curious as to what some of your methods to maintain are?
For example how many calories do you eat daily? How often do you let yourself splurge? How do you handle going out to eat?

Also, I was wondering if any one has any recommendations to a calculator I could use to determine how many calories I should be eating a day...
Also I'm slightly confused on how to determine my activity level...

Calories per day would be different for everyone
Splurge as in indulge? All the time just in small amounts
I don’t over think it , enjoy life and just make smart choices when you go out … pretty simple

I use the site
Only you know your activity level, be honest if you have a desk job then you’re not very active.

I maintained all of last spring/ summer, all I did to maintain was reduced cardio to 1 day a week and kept eating the same way.

Brooke4206

Hi!
I believe I'm eating far too little calories to maintain, and I finally want to develop a method of maintaining.
I'm just curious as to what some of your methods to maintain are?
For example how many calories do you eat daily? How often do you let yourself splurge? How do you handle going out to eat?

Also, I was wondering if any one has any recommendations to a calculator I could use to determine how many calories I should be eating a day...
Also I'm slightly confused on how to determine my activity level...

Calories per day would be different for everyone
Splurge as in indulge? All the time just in small amounts
I don’t over think it , enjoy life and just make smart choices when you go out … pretty simple

I use the site
Only you know your activity level, be honest if you have a desk job then you’re not very active.

I maintained all of last spring/ summer, all I did to maintain was reduced cardio to 1 day a week and kept eating the same way.

This is great. Simple. Thank you.

sijomial

I found my maintenance calories from my own data and switched from following a 5:2 eating pattern (2 very low days a week, 5 days at maintenance) to 6:1 eating pattern (1 day very low day and 6 days at a small surplus - I use the MFP "eat back exercise calories" method for the six days.

Eating out or splurges or holidays I eat what I want and thoroughly enjoy it.
I weigh myself daily but don't stress over fluctuations - just trends.

Still count calories (but more relaxed about accuracy) and still exercise as hard (probably harder) at maintenance as I did when losing weight.

Average daily calories works out at 2670 but only because I'm averaging over 700 calories a day in exercise - I seem to have a lower than average RMR sadly.

einzweidrei

Based on my info, MFP told me to maintain at 1930 calories/day being lightly active. I bumped it up to 1980 and now an even 2000. I will eat back any exercise calories, which for me is usually only walking. I don't care---if I walk four miles, I'm going to eat it back. :-)

Usually I do 6:1 (since I used to do 5:2) so usually I will "fast" one day/week (600 calories) and then take the leftover 1400 calories and use them on a weekend so I can have a day where I eat something like 3400 calories. Sometimes I really just don't give a crap and I will eat 4,000 calories or 5,000 calories on days and that's that. I like food. I go out to eat probably (at least) once a week and if I don't know the calorie counts, I try to estimate/overestimate the best I can.

I eat whatever I want. I just keep an eye on the calories. I do not deny myself anything.

I find the experiences people have had with FitBit interesting, as I had the opposite experience. I ended up desyncing it because it told me I was overeating almost everyday. It had my maintenance calories set even lower than MFP. I also hated how it constantly readjusted. Now I use it as a glorified pedometer and I just log exercise into MFP, which worked totally fine when I was just using MFP.

BTW - Scooby also has my calories set lower than MFP so don't rely on calculators/MFP/etc. to know your real numbers. I have been slowly upping mine and I haven't been gaining weight. Like I said, I don't exercise (except for a brisk or slow walk and that isn't everyday) and my "lightly active" is the fact that I get up and down and walk around a bit at work.

nxd10

I use MFP and my fitbit and eat up to what 'I'm told' each day. I used just the MFP maintenance to start with but then found I was still losing loads of weight. The Fitbit was a real insight into how much I should be eating.
For non-walking/running exercise I use my HRM.

It's probably safe to say that I love my fitness gadgets!

Exactly what I do.

I eat out for lunch several times a week. After two years I sort of know calories and I always split lunch with my husband or, if I'm eating without him, take half of it home or order soup or an appetizer.

I splurge when there's something really good around to eat and I feel like eating it. I'm going to a rehearsal with friends tonight and I'll have pizza and some cookies or cake and it will be around 300 calories more than my usual dinner if I just have one or two slices and one helping of dessert. I never drink soda and am very conscious of drinking milk and other high calorie beverages in small glasses. Drinking water/tea/coffee all the time really helps buy you more calories for other things.

It's not that hard. In fact, when I hit my step goals I have to make an effort to not be too far into deficit.

ShannonMpls

My TDEE is about 2500.

I track five days a week, eating an average of about 2,000 calories.

On weekends, I don't track and eat at a surplus.

I eat treats during the week, occasionally eat out, but typically save my "splurges" for the weekend.

I've stayed within my goal weight range (+/- 3 pounds) almost without exception for almost two years following this method. It also makes me happy If I feel like I'm going a little high, I might track Sunday for a couple weeks at maintenance to even things out.

Rays_Wife

bump to follow

zenalasca

I use the MFP recommended calories for maintaining, and have found I lost weight doing this. My days fluctuate, but I generally follow that number closely. I pretty much just eat what I feel like and if there are no other options what is healthiest.

Since maintaining I have allowed myself an extra 400-600 calorie meal per day for a treat or two. This usually satisfies me and I have lost weight doing this.

cwolfman13

I used a TDEE calculator to figure out how many calories I needed to eat roughly to maintain...I logged for about a month and ate those calories being mindful of what everything looked like and felt like...I quit logging and continued to eat food and workout and have maintained for a year now. I splurge whenever I want...you don't get fat overnight. I am mindful of my nutrition and what I'm eating and keep a rough tally in my head any given day.

Being a pretty active male I need around 2800 calories per day to maintain my weight...some days I need to be around 3200 - 3500 depending on my cycling.

If you use MFP to determine a calorie goal, remember that you're supposed to eat back calories from exercise as per the MFP method....this is where most people go wrong in both their weight loss and maintenance endeavors...they never actually learn how to use this tool properly.

ETA: you also have to not be afraid to eat food...this is an issue for many...they are afraid of food so they just continue to lose more and more weight.

Bernadette60614

I weigh myself every morning. I record the daily weight on a calendar. When I'm up consistently throughout the week (not just an occasional hold over of sodium from the prior evening's dinner, e.g.), I'll cut back.

I track every day on MFP. Saturday night, DH and I have a "date night" and then I'll have a treat meal at a restaurant. It may be pasta or pizza, or if I'm craving something all week, I may have pancakes, but that is the one meal where I don't think about calories.

Over time, I've found my treat meal has gone from lots of bread, a plate of eggplant parmesan, and ice cream to just eggplant parmesan and a cappuccino.

The key for me is to have a treat meal out of the house with my DH...otherwise it is a mindless spurgle which I don't really savor.

Graelwyn75

I weigh every evening before dinner (I practice Intermittent Fasting so that is best weigh time for me) to track what is happening.
I eat anywhere from 2000-3000 calories a day to maintain. I workout 5-6 days a week, usually intensely.
If I eat out, I try to make good choices, but if there is something I really want, I will have it, say I am having a birthday meal or a visit to my mother. I allow more treats in at the weekend, mostly on Saturday, and strive to keep my diet pretty healthy during the rest of the week.