Anybody go into maintenance mode for sanity?!

Delaina1

Hi! So, I've been at this pretty consistently for about 2 years. I've very very slowly lost about 13 pounds over those 2 years. I'm 5' tall and 130 lbs, so I'm not obese or really even technically overweight, but I am a short little thing so I just know that I would feel better and look better weighing around 120 lbs. I'm not in a hurry and I don't want to feel like I'm killing myself or missing out on life. So for the past 2 years I whenever I get to about a 5lb weight loss, I continue to work out (I love working out) but I up my calories about 250 cals to my maintenance calories. It works like a charm, the weightloss that I have accomplished sticks, AND I don't feel like I'm "Dieting." I'm just wondering if anyone elso does this? I want this to last forever and this seems like the only way! I also find that I don't hit any plateaus because I allow myself to rest at certain points of weightloss and then when I start another "cycle" of weight loss calories then I pick up right where I left off.

FabulousFifty

Yes! I just can't starve myself. I like to work out too. I let myself enjoy life and keep on keeping on! I watch that scale and and have kept it off for over a year. This is a great longterm plan if you don't have tons to lose.

shawty55

I do this too. You can't live your whole life eating just 1200 calories. Well, at least I can't. I just up my work out.

JennLifts

It's not healthy to do prolonged deficits anyhow, so that's the way to go

potluck965

I am in the same situation. I reached what I thought was my goal weight and although I think I need to lose a few more it was getting to feel too miserable to stay on a losing plan. So I switched to maintenance and have even gone over that amount sometimes. I just had to cut loose a little. I was pretty strict for close to 200 days. I didn't want to keep seeing negative numbers on my food diary. That was very depressing.

I figured that I would know when it was time to start again. After maintaining for almost two months (also being very watchful of the scale) I took a hard look at myself the other day and realized I was still too squishy in the middle. I didn't seem to have too much trouble cutting back calories for a few days and dropped a pound and a half. I will only count it as one pound until I'm sure it will stick, though I still keep my goals on "maintenance" but delight in seeing calories left over at the end of the day.

I am also short at 5 1 1/2 and just a few pounds makes a pretty big difference, but it is also pretty hard to lose those last five.

It really made me happy to know that I could maintain and even lose again, so it's all good. The only problem is buying smaller clothes. It's tough for me to realize that where I used to need a large I now can wear a small in some things. I can't get my head around that because I haven't seen these numbers for many decades. That's what we call a "gold plated problem" :laugh: