Struggling with Maintenance!

jxessxy

I have been maintaining for about a week now and it's so hard for me! When reading other maintenance threads everyone else is struggling to eat as much as they should but I feel like I am constantly hungry and could eat more. I run and exercise every day (I've technically only been running a month, before that I used to do the elliptical but running has just changed my body drastically) but I am so strict about what I eat and I measure everything to make sure I have the right amount (because I feel like with maintenance there isn't much room for error). I need advice! I wasn't this hungry while I was dieting! I just want to let go and let myself eat! My body feels weak and tired a lot lately =(

TavistockToad

what are your maintenance cals? if you are feeling weak and always tired then you definately need to eat more! or at least look at what you eat to get more filling stuff in?

i find i am always v hungry after i run regularly, so it could be that the change in exercise has kicked up your metabolism.

i am also in maintenance, and i find the 'having to eat more' a bit weird!

marianne_s

Hi, I know nothing about maintenance... because I'm nowhere near there yet....

But I had a thought.... how did you calculTe your maintenance calories?
Have you had a look here www.fat2fitradio.com/bmr - this site seems to helping a few of my MFP pals that are still in weight loss...
The premise is to eat at your goal weight now.... and it works.... well it is for my pals....
You just eat to the goal calculated .and don't eat back any of your exercise calories.... just make sure you choose the correct activity category.... or a calories amount that in between 2 categories....


Or have you considered cutting back or not doing any exercise for a week or 2...?

suzycreamcheese

if youre weak and tired, then youre not eating enough. Try adding in another snack or two

nsblue

look at everything you are eating. Are you getting in enough protein. Are your carbs in moderation. Hunger can stem from this. or is it "head hunger" ? fatigue makes me wonder on deficiencies somewhere... have you had your blood checked? taking vitamin? eating healthy & balanced meals? sleeping?

seph_house

how big a jump was it from your "diet cal" level up to the "maintainance cal" level?

i know my body hates big changes and will feel crap if i spring them on it but after a couple of weeks it adapts. digestion itself takes a bit of energy so if you have suddenly started eating more/different foods, your body might rebel a bit. eating "too much" makes me feel sluggish and weak, though it doesn't tend to make me feel "hungry" so maybe this isn't what's happening with you.

many possibilities i expect maintainance to be hard for a while with a lot of experimentation though.

CARNAT22

Are you eating your maintenance cals + exercise cals?

jfinnivan

I went on maintenance a few weeks ago. For the first two weeks I was hungry all the time. It changed last week, and now things are back to normal with my appetite.

mikeyrp

Hi There

Firstly - make sure you join the maintenance thread - lots of good support there for us maintainers....

Secondly - I completely get where you are coming from - with running long distances I find that I cant eat enough calories on running days without feeling really bloated and sluggish - but I am also really hungry the day after... which means the best thing to do is to average out your calories so you eat a consistent amount every day.

There are some specific times when it is useful to eat specific food types...

About 2-3 hours before running eat something to fuel your run - Cereals (Porridge or cereal bars) seems to be the best option for me.

As soon as you can after the run, take on some protein & carbs - eggs, chicken or a protein bar with pasta or rice. You can get some good supplement drinks for this too.

Day or two before any serious distance do 'carb loading' - basically eat lots of pasta or similar for dinner!


Finally - drink loads of water before and after exercise. if you can drink during - brilliant - I find it hard to drink when running but I'm trying to get the hang of it (wet your mouth every 10 minutes method - as opposed to drink lots every 40 minutes) .

Good Luck

TavistockToad

Hi There

Firstly - make sure you join the maintenance thread - lots of good support there for us maintainers....

Secondly - I completely get where you are coming from - with running long distances I find that I cant eat enough calories on running days without feeling really bloated and sluggish - but I am also really hungry the day after... which means the best thing to do is to average out your calories so you eat a consistent amount every day.

There are some specific times when it is useful to eat specific food types...

About 2-3 hours before running eat something to fuel your run - Cereals (Porridge or cereal bars) seems to be the best option for me.

As soon as you can after the run, take on some protein & carbs - eggs, chicken or a protein bar with pasta or rice. You can get some good supplement drinks for this too.

Day or two before any serious distance do 'carb loading' - basically eat lots of pasta or similar for dinner!


Finally - drink loads of water before and after exercise. if you can drink during - brilliant - I find it hard to drink when running but I'm trying to get the hang of it (wet your mouth every 10 minutes method - as opposed to drink lots every 40 minutes) .

Good Luck

wheres the maintenance thread?? i havent seen one!?

agthorn

wheres the maintenance thread?? i havent seen one!?

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/191617-maintenance-thread

This is why maintainers need a forum section!! Otherwise you have to either search for maintenance stuff, or just randomly stumble upon it.

jxessxy

Hi, I know nothing about maintenance... because I'm nowhere near there yet....

But I had a thought.... how did you calculTe your maintenance calories?
Have you had a look here www.fat2fitradio.com/bmr - this site seems to helping a few of my MFP pals that are still in weight loss...
The premise is to eat at your goal weight now.... and it works.... well it is for my pals....
You just eat to the goal calculated .and don't eat back any of your exercise calories.... just make sure you choose the correct activity category.... or a calories amount that in between 2 categories....


Or have you considered cutting back or not doing any exercise for a week or 2...?

Love the website! What I can't figure out is my activity level, I have a desk job but I run 45 minutes every day (7 days a week and on the weekends sometimes longer, also trying to start incorporating weight lifting in addition to it all) and sometimes also go for a little extra walk, so I'm not sure what my activity level would be.. but thanks!

jxessxy

Thanks everyone, I think I just have to give it time to figure everything out! It's so confusing, I go over my calories or eat a lot but then I lose... or I gain... my weight fluctuates so much but I tried eating more yesterday and it definetly made me feel better even though I feel like I ate too much, I felt more like myself.


MFP should get a maintenance forum!!!

TavistockToad

[/quote]


Love the website! What I can't figure out is my activity level, I have a desk job but I run 45 minutes every day (7 days a week and on the weekends sometimes longer, also trying to start incorporating weight lifting in addition to it all) and sometimes also go for a little extra walk, so I'm not sure what my activity level would be.. but thanks!
[/quote]

I also have a desk job, so have my activity level as sedentary, and then i log all my exercise and then eat all my exercise cals back.

claire_xox

I'm in the same boat ! I reached my goal, lost about 22lbs, and then in 2 weeks gained back 5 ! worst

Crystalchaos72

Well I know mfp wants me to eat too little so I manually adjust mine. I have been mainttaining for 2 weeks so far, one week I actualy took off 5 days from exercise and ate btween 2300-2800 and stayed the same......and again the next week while eating my exercise cals back as well. It is a learning process for sure, but in my opinion if you feel weak, eat more. Good luck

As a sidenote, I was set to lose 1# a week and always lost more, I am very dilligent about logging and if I overeat I log it, so I guess I have to chalk it up to trial and error the best of luck to you!

mkpeck1

I have been a "yoyo" dieter for so many years. I can lose the weight OK but as soon as I think I am eating "normally" again it all comes back on. The secret (I guess) is that my "eating normally" style has to go. I would like to know how to use my fitness pal as a maintenance plan. I am not near my goal weight yet but I am wondering how I am going to keep the weight off once I get there.