When did you all decide ..

N2Couture

To eat at maintenance or eat closer to maintenance? I've been reading old threads
and have seen the lower one gets in their weight, they can lose better by eating
at/near maintenance? Idk .. I'm currently 155 and wish to be under 130 (I've
lost more weight than I currently weigh now!
I am wondering at which point should I transition. Anyone care to tell me how you
decided and which point you did your transition? Thank you.

pkw58

I did per the plan I was on (The Dukan Diet with online coaching)... BUT... on the first part I lost 10 more pounds so I went to get a professional medical opinion on what I should weigh per my body frame, etc. Glad I did. I have a friend that is 4" shorter than I am with a large frame (I am small framed) and by the full formula (frame, age, etc) we should be within the same 5-10 pound range of each other! I think deciding is when you feel great. As in want to be more active, sleep sounder at night, etc.

I have to estimate a lot of my meals calories as I eat out for business. I will say that logging is my friend, but I really like the days at home when I can measure and weigh my food.

There is nothing wrong with maintaining along the way for a month or so as you adjust to your new weight. Sometimes (in my case it was true) choosing a goal by a chart or formula might need validation or refinement by a medical expert.

13bbird13

The last time I lost the 25 pounds I'm currently working on again was with Weight Watchers, and I did have some trouble "leveling off" when I reached my goal, so I see what you're saying. I was supposed to be at 135 but even with maintenance calories I kept dropping until I was at 132... and needing to maintain that four-pound window around my goal weight so I wouldn't have to pay for meetings, I actually went to Dunkin' Donuts after one weigh-in trying to stabilize and quit losing. So, perhaps starting to eat maintenance calories a bit early is a good idea. Probably depends on the individual, but worth considering.

Francl27

When I was within 5 pounds I decreased my deficit to 250 (half a pound a week). It's slowed down a lot though, I have hardly lost anything since then... but I'm much hungrier so I haven't managed to eat less.

logg1e

When I was about 4lb off my target. The intention was to not over-shoot but it happened anyway.

5stringjeff

I worked off a TDEE-500 deficit until I got to about 5 pounds from my GW, when I switched to TDEE-300.

Since hitting my goal weight, I've been increasing my calories by 100 each week.

ahoy_m8

I did not start adding calories until my 7-day trailing average weight was at goal. Then every 2 weeks I added 100 more kcal/day. I did overshoot (undershoot?) my GW slightly, but stayed in the 5 lb maintenance range I desired. I continued tracking with as much accuracy as I could for several months to calculate my "observed" maintenance TDEE. It's hard to calculate because the value varies greatly with small weight fluctuations, even when using a 7-day average weight. Averaging over 4 weeks yielded a consistent result, though, and it is in line with the predictive models, FWIW.

formerfatboy1

If you are eating at maintenance and still losing weight then keep it up. But the more weight you lose the higher your calories have to increase FYI.

12_oz_Curls

Watch out, mind blowing concept about to happen.

Eat at maintenance for your goal weight. Now you don't have to worry about when to taper. you lose bigger when you weigh more, and then you even out as you approach goal. Now you may have to tweak a little on the way, but it's actually that simple.

Please keep in mind that this is one of 25,694,296 methods of doing it, and may not be the one you choose, nor the one endorsed by MFP maniacs or Macronuts, but it works.

N2Couture

Thank you everyone for responding. I'm going to digest all the input.
After eating pretty low 12\1300 a long time, I finally changed it to
a more realistic amount after using calculators. It is coming off slower
but to be fair, I'm just now coming away from surgical recovery so
the trade with the scale/measurements dilemma is in full effect. I'll
probably eat between where I am an at the TDEE of my desired wt
as mentioned just above my response here.
Thanks!

RaspberryTickleChicken

This question reminds me of an older thread called something like 'Did you choose your goal weight or did it choose you?'

And I think like many things there's no one-size fits all answer here.

I am only 4'10" so despite what many MFP posters have suggested for maintenance phase, I decided to carry on to my established routine and ONLY adjusted my calorie daily intake by 30 calories.

I have now surpassed my goal (9 mths & counting) and have leveled off at a very comfortable weight which I can maintain with very little effort.

So if you believe in the theory that your body knows when to stop losing weight then I'd suggest continue to do what you are doing with minimal adjustment.

However if you are struggling then I would suggest to run some numbers using TDEE & BMR and fiddle around with what you find easy to maintain for the long run.

Best of luck!

nxd10

I had a goal range I was going for - 150-155. I was on a 500 calorie/day deficit when I was losing, but was losing VERY slowly towards the end.

When I got to 150 I upped my calories by 250 calories. I maintained a steady weight for a year, so figured that - with imperfect weighing, etc., - this was my new maintenance.

After a year I suddenly dropped another four pounds. After holding that for 3 months, I've upped my calories by another 250, which is what MFP says should be my maintenance (0 change). I haven't gained or lost anything, so I'll stick here.

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In general, once you hit the bottom of the range you want to maintain at, I'd up by half your deficit and see how that goes. Everyone needs to adjust the MFP model to what fits their real body and how they log.

nxd10

Sushi554 - I think you're right about weights choosing you. The weight I am now is where I was in college and what I came back to after each of my children were born. It is an easy weight to maintain at.

I noticed when I weighed more that there were two other weights I 'stuck' at - 164 and 172. I sat at each of those weights for several years. When I was losing, I plateued at each of those weights as well.

RaspberryTickleChicken

Sushi554 - I think you're right about weights choosing you. The weight I am now is where I was in college and what I came back to after each of my children were born. It is an easy weight to maintain at.

I noticed when I weighed more that there were two other weights I 'stuck' at - 164 and 172. I sat at each of those weights for several years. When I was losing, I plateued at each of those weights as well.

hehe ... I am assuming you meant me? ^.^

I tried to find the one thread where the OP asked 'Did you chose your maintaining weight or did it choose you?' without success. Maybe someone else can sift through the maintenance weight threads.

Anyway, I think as long as we are feeling good, continue to make healthy eating choices, exercise regularly, then I think the actual number on the scale shouldn't really matter all that much in maintaining phase.

SKME2013

I started when I was two pounds shy of my goal weight, but than I did only have to lose 9 kg.

For me eating at maintenance was important as I started training for a 10K race. Running and starving does not work for me very well...now I am much more concerned with getting enough calories into my body and the "right" ones to improve my running.

I think it can't harm to eat for a little while at maintenance to see how your body reacts to a break from dieting. You can always pick up again. Alternatively, you could have one or two days a week where you really restrict your calorie intake while eating at maintencance the other days. This way you will create a deficit over the duration of a week while eating "normally" the other days.

Best of luck
Stef.