Having trouble convincing myself to set a maintenance goal

alyssamiller77

I suppose this is a good problem to have (so some of you probably hate me now just having read the title), but now that I've reached my weight loss goal I'm moving into the next phase of my lifestyle change which includes trying to build some additional muscle mass. The problem is I'm having a hard time convincing myself to set my caloric goals to a proper maintenance level. I guess I'm worried about setting it too high and undoing the work I've done to drop the 26 pounds and since I'll be trying to build muscle, not being able to tell if weight gains are from muscle or fat going on.

I've looked at some literature about the anabolic diet and it sounds intriguing (and ultimately is what I'd like to do - gaining muscle while losing more fat) but I don't know that it's a diet I can follow. I know the idea of gaining muscle without gaining or possibly losing fat is one of much debate. I'm looking for thoughts and particularly experiences from those out there who've made a concerted effort to build muscle and if/how you were successful in doing so without putting on more fat.

melsinct

I have 3 pounds until goal and currently have MFP set to lose 0.5 pounds/week. I got to this point via counting calories and cardio. I know I need to tone up and strengthen, so in addition to cardio I have started doing strength training (Pilates and core conditioning). I am not sure what to expect regarding weight gain. I know I will probably gain some but I figure as long as my pants aren’t getting tight, then the extra weight is from exercise, not me fattening up on maintenance calories.

I recently asked a similar question to my MFP friends on my news feed. The consensus was I would not gain much weight at all but my clothes would fit looser. We’ll see!

Thetera

ive recently gone on maintenance calories and am having a similar problem, its like adding a whole extra meal for me, and i was perfectly full on the old number of calories so it feels sortof wrong. i always want to throw up when i eat all the way to my calorie goal now. i think my stomach has shrunk. i have gained one pound so far, but i am keeping a close eye on it, my body fat percentage has dropped off a point to 18.5 though and my size sixes still fit the same, so i feel okay about that pound. i'm hoping i don't gain more, and i doubt i will but i think part of that may be due to my physical dificulty fitting so much food in my stomach. XD i got to my starting weight eating entire boxes of kraft mac n cheese and whole medium pizzas by myself, but i think that stomach has been remade by this diet. one thing though is now after i excersize i dont get tired like i used to i just want to eat a burger the size of my head and then i eat half and feel nauseous so im still working on things, i dont know if anyone feels the same way *shrug* but im working my way up, i can consistantly eat about 300 more calories than i did before, but not the full 500 yet.