Why is it so hard to get in the maintenance mindset?

cassique

Thank you for all of your advice. Today I decided to rethink my attitude toward maintenance from "keep doing what I'm doing but with more calories" which is sure to eventually lose its luster and I will end up just quitting altogether, to keeping track of what I am doing and the effect it is having on my body and tweaking as needed based on results and lifestyle situations that arise. I guess that is pretty much how I dealt with the weightloss this time around, but it was easy for me to do what I needed to do to lose weight during the summer--I love the outdoors, I love the heat, I love the sun, I love the beach, I love the longer days I love everything in the summer and spring. The fall and winter are a real challenge due to reduced energy levels and my disdain for the cold. My fitness routines will definitely have to change to fit in with my winter lifestyle. I get really cranky when I wake up to darkness and it leads to a lethargic and grumpy day--very unlike my optimistic get up and go attitude in the summer. So what worked for weightloss in the summer is not going to be easily adaptable to maintenance in the winter.

So today I decided to choose new goals for motivation. And my son mentioned to me that he wants to start running so I started c25k with him. I already completed that program and can easily run a 5k (that was a typical morning run this summer) but it is fun to be a coach for him and doing it over. I think that on the days he isn't running I will ask the kids of they want to bike ride and I can jog along side of them. We did that yesterday except I walked because I was wearing flip flops.

AS for strength training, I need to come up with something I enjoy doing more than lifting. I was motivated for a while, but it quickly lost its thrill for me and getting myself to do it is the biggest hurdle. It also has to fit into my busier schedule now that summer is over. As for fitness goals, being able to do pushups and pullups has always been a goal. Strengthening my core is another one. My tummy is feeling a little softer since I stopped lifting and eased up on my runs, so maybe keeping closer track of my waist and less focus on the scale might help.

I'll treat this like a science experiment.

I made up a new spreadsheet (I had an old one that kept track of my calorie deficit and weight loss based on my TDEE. But this new one has an activity rating scale (0 being couch potato- 5 2 hours of intense workout or more) that I can mark every day and keeps a weekly average. I'm hoping I will be able to find out what my winter TDEE is, and monitor my habits.

So here is to fresh starts on a new journey! Thanks again!

Springfield1970

Be prepared to put on a couple of pounds of water, waste, glycogen etc from the extra food you're eating.

It's not fat, it's just your body repleting itself after having been in deficit.

It will balance out again, but it's tempting to start yoyoing and not really understand what is going on.

I cut to a few pounds under for this reason, too far, and then found maintenance very difficult so I turned my overeating by about 250 cals a day into a bulk, which went really well. I've since cut down very very slowly to a 126-129lb maintenance weight which is made up of much more muscle than before so looks really ripped.

Maintenance is hard work but after a few months you'll get used to that too. My body has responded really well to maintenance, my hunger is totally manageable now and I very very rarely get the urge to overeat any more after a lifetime of bingeing or overeating, then silly low calorie diets.

It's taken a couple of years to get here, but I log about 50% of the time now! and that's mainly to make sure I get enough fuel for training.

Good luck!

SezxyStef

I've been in maitenance since May 12th of this year...so...almost 4 months.

Maybe it's because I didn't weigh daily, didn't give up any food just cut portion size that moving to maitenance hasn't been that big of a thing for me...

I am not doing anything different than I did when I was losing...just eating more calories. I still lift 3x a week, I still walk/bike/HIIT training etc...

For me getting on the scale and seeing the same number for weeks on end...even days on end makes me smile...not a lot of flucuations and if there are it's down...

I still weigh most of my food, log it all etc but to be frank I don't have to log it...I can't eat like I used to...and sometimes have to force myself to eat calorie dense foods to get them all in....

Maitenance is life, the normal mundaness of living...and I think that is why lots have a hard time there are no drastic highs/lows etc. I prefer normal life...in weight loss and love.

ILiftHeavyAcrylics

If you're like me you'll need new goals when you get to maintenance. I started running and lifting weights, and that helps keep me on track. I think it's easy to get complacent if there's no goal except to keep doing what you're doing. Now I have fitness related goals, and wanting to hit those goals makes it easier for me to keep logging my food and hitting my macros.

cwolfman13

Because people are scale obsessed rather than health obsessed. Being a healthy weight is just a bi-product of living a healthful lifestyle...it shouldn't be the only reason you live a healthful lifestyle. Maybe establish some actual goals for yourself that don't involve a scale.

brenn24179

My goal is to just stay where I am at. I go up 2-3 lbs, sometimes 5 over a holiday or vacation. Then I have to try to get back down. So I have goals all the time, go up and then try to get back down. Some people say they keep losing but not me. I like to eat too much. Guess I will have to calorie count for a long time, maybe forever.

alphabetsoup2013

I love the idea of time-based rewards. Thanks for suggesting that.

When I was losing weight, I set myself mini weight goals and gave myself rewards when I reached those goals. Now that will not work so I am considering setting time goals. Maybe a reward every month I stay within range. Another thought I had was maybe rewards when I can reach x push-ups, x miles walked per week or something like that. It is important that goals be measurable which is why when losing weight, the numbers on the scale are measurable and give us positive feed back.