Maintaining is Harder than Losing.

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  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
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    FALSE!

    but then i only had a small amount to lose to start with, so for me its just maintaining healthier habits. I have been on here since May, lost 17lbs and have been maintaining since september.

    I found maintaining a bit boring to start with - theres none of that expectation when u get on the scales and stuff, but then i changed my goals to fitness ones, and while i am maintaining a 3-4 pound range my fitness is increasing and my bodyfat is reducing as i am still losing inches. The whole 'eating more' thing was a bit weird when i went from 1200 cals up to 1800, but i did it slowly and now i cant imagine ever eating only 1200 again!!
  • Hellbent_Heidi
    Hellbent_Heidi Posts: 3,669 Member
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    Not sure...hoping to be moving to maintenance by the end of the year though.

    I don't expect it to be easy all the time, but I honestly believe it will be much easier to keep myself in check, and if I gain 5lbs, work on losing that - vs. having 30 or more to lose and trying to work on that big amount. I have no intentions of returning to my old bad habits..this is definitely intended to be a lifestyle change.
  • HeidiMightyRawr
    HeidiMightyRawr Posts: 3,343 Member
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    I disagree. For me anyway, losing weight was ALOT harder than maintaining. I only lost 20lbs but it took me near 10 months to lose, I was so glad to be able to eat more again (I love food!)

    Goals don't always have to be about weight. Weight is irrelevant when you think about the fact that 2 people can look the same, but show a completely different number on the scale. For over 100lbs loss it's obviously useful but there's so much more to it than that.
    Maybe you could focus on beating a fitness target (improve your time to run a mile, increase the incline on the treadmill) or you could go strength related. That has always been my focus and it's ongoing, there's never a point for me where I think "right, I'm done now" I'm always looking to improve on the last time, lift heavier than last time etc.
  • Hoosiermomma
    Hoosiermomma Posts: 877 Member
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    bumping for my computer time later. Good topic!
  • iuew
    iuew Posts: 624 Member
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    the maintenance phase of my diet has been more difficult than the diet itself for sure. for one thing, it has been much longer, and it takes constant effort. is it worth it, though? absolutely.

    i think part of it is that we live in a world where almost everyone overeats regularly. there is a ton of peer pressure. every cookout, camping trip, or dinner at a friend's house puts me around large amounts of high calorie foods with everyone there but me eating a ton of it. and when i don't, sometimes people look at me as strange. and even though i have a proven system (i have stayed in a five pound range long term), you still see other people eating a lot, and it can make you feel deprived. it's probably how someone who quit smoking in 1965 must have felt, lol.

    either way, i'm in it for the long haul. i had too many yo yo diets, and i'm not going back there. i always wanted to be this weight, and i'm keeping it.
  • Lift_hard_eat_big
    Lift_hard_eat_big Posts: 2,278 Member
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    False. Just look at the dozens if not hundreds of members that are "plateaued" or "stalled" and are just maintaining but can't lose any more weight.
  • Laura8603
    Laura8603 Posts: 590 Member
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    Yep I've lost 200 pounds and have kept it off for over 2 years now, but I must stay on top of it. I really do not track my calories on a daily basis, but I do weigh everyday. I have given myself a 3 pound limit. If I reach 3 pounds above my goal weight, I track every bite that goes in my mouth and cut my calories to 1300-1500 (down from my usual 2000). I have a deep fear of waking up 200 pounds heavier again : (
  • summalovaable
    summalovaable Posts: 287 Member
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    False. Just look at the dozens if not hundreds of members that are "plateaued" or "stalled" and are just maintaining but can't lose any more weight.

    If that's your reasoning it could work in the opposite, look at the thousands of people who have lost tremendous amounts of weight (or even small amounts) and gained it all back if not more.

    That being said, I find it harder to lose weight. I lost about 30 pounds and have maintained for well over a year an a half. I still want to lose about ten or so pounds more, but I've yet to have the motivation to switch out of maintenance and just kick those extra pounds to the curve. It depends on the state of mind of the person I suppose.
  • ktfitzgerald
    ktfitzgerald Posts: 369 Member
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    For me it is mentally harder. I worked so hard to get where I am, I'm always afraid of losing ground and worried about finding the right balance. But the longer I'm in maintenance and doing fine the more confident I'm becoming. I have had to find new fitness goals to keep me motivated to exercise.
  • Lift_hard_eat_big
    Lift_hard_eat_big Posts: 2,278 Member
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    False. Just look at the dozens if not hundreds of members that are "plateaued" or "stalled" and are just maintaining but can't lose any more weight.

    If that's your reasoning it could work in the opposite, look at the thousands of people who have lost tremendous amounts of weight (or even small amounts) and gained it all back if not more.

    Who told them to overeat or stop working out? Maintenance is easier than losing weight. That is my answer to the question, obviously gaining weight is easy.
  • CouleeRunner
    CouleeRunner Posts: 267 Member
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    Yep I've lost 200 pounds and have kept it off for over 2 years now, but I must stay on top of it. I really do not track my calories on a daily basis, but I do weigh everyday. I have given myself a 3 pound limit. If I reach 3 pounds above my goal weight, I track every bite that goes in my mouth and cut my calories to 1300-1500 (down from my usual 2000). I have a deep fear of waking up 200 pounds heavier again : (

    I love this! I would love to learn how much to eat without tracking daily. I think this is a wonderful way to keep yourself in check.
  • summalovaable
    summalovaable Posts: 287 Member
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    False. Just look at the dozens if not hundreds of members that are "plateaued" or "stalled" and are just maintaining but can't lose any more weight.

    If that's your reasoning it could work in the opposite, look at the thousands of people who have lost tremendous amounts of weight (or even small amounts) and gained it all back if not more.

    Who told them to overeat or stop working out? Maintenance is easier than losing weight. That is my answer to the question, obviously gaining weight is easy.

    You cant just cut out the second part of my post so it looks like I'm trying to be a snob. lol I agreed with you, I personally find it easier to maintain than to lose. I just simply said you cannot say one is easier over the other simply because a vast majority of people have had problems with it (because in the weight loss world it works both ways). No one ever wakes up and says "fantastic, I worked hard for months to lose all this weight, I feel great, i look great, time to be a slob and gain it all right back so i can hate how i look again! :)" No one ever tells you to stop working out and over eat, but when you aren't as committed to maintaining as you were to losing, sometimes it happens.
  • TubbsMcGee
    TubbsMcGee Posts: 1,058 Member
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    I completely agree.
    I've been trying to maintain since February. I've basically been hovering around my goal weight since then, but it's tough to shake the mentality of having to keep losing the weight, after working so hard at trying to reach my goal.
    And it's impossible to not want to track everything you eat. Siiiigh.
  • Lift_hard_eat_big
    Lift_hard_eat_big Posts: 2,278 Member
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    You cant just cut out the second part of my post so it looks like I'm trying to be a snob. lol I agreed with you, I personally find it easier to maintain than to lose. I just simply said you cannot say one is easier over the other simply because a vast majority of people have had problems with it (because in the weight loss world it works both ways). No one ever wakes up and says "fantastic, I worked hard for months to lose all this weight, I feel great, i look great, time to be a slob and gain it all right back so i can hate how i look again! :)" No one ever tells you to stop working out and over eat, but when you aren't as committed to maintaining as you were to losing, sometimes it happens.

    Sorry, I wasn't trying to be sneeky or make you look like a snob. I have OCD and have a thing with quoting long post. But back to the OP's question, which is harder, maintenance or weight loss. Obviously weight loss is harder, eating at a deficit is harder than eating at maintenance. Plain and simple, it boggles my mind when people (not you) feel the need to make simple subject matter into a nuclear fussion test LOL.
  • Improvised
    Improvised Posts: 925 Member
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    Maintaining is WAY easier for me than losing. I can eat a frosted 9x13 cake in a day and not gain. Losing is much, much more difficult for me.
  • Gee45
    Gee45 Posts: 171
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    Maintaining is easier.
    I've been trying to lose for 20 years, lol.
  • kmcrey87
    kmcrey87 Posts: 422 Member
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    I think it is different for everyone....

    Maintaining has been a piece of cake for me ( It has been over four years and my body is still improving) because I never put myself on a strict diet and made gradual changes to my daily routines which made it easier for it to become a routine. I never felt like I HAD to have a "cheat" day. If I wanted something "bad" for me, I ate it and just worked out harder the following day. I have NO guilt over eating something I want which I think has helped me maintain easier because I am not stressing out about every little thing. When ever we go on vacation now I end up losing weight even though I eat way too many calories and drink far too much.
  • stefchica
    stefchica Posts: 257 Member
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    i find it a lot easier to maintain! losing a pound or two versus losing like 10+ pounds takes a lot less effort
  • Hellbent_Heidi
    Hellbent_Heidi Posts: 3,669 Member
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    I think some people diet to lose, with the intention of getting to a goal weight and then being "done", but not taking into consideration that you can't go back to your previous lifestyle, and you can't stop doing the things that got you to your goal in the first place. These are often the people who gain weight back. I have accepted that I'm probably never going to be eating pizza once a week again, or downing a pint of Haagen Daaz because "its my time of month and I'm craving it". I won't be able to stop weighing myself regularly, or slipping back into denial about how I treat my body.

    It should be about making a lifestyle change and becoming a person who takes care of themself. If we all take that approach, maintenance shouldn't be that hard. There will always be challenges and difficult times of the year (holidays, Halloween candy, summer barbeques). We just need to accept that we aren't able to over-indulge just because we got to our goal weight.
  • Paige1108
    Paige1108 Posts: 432 Member
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    For me they are apples and oranges, maintenance and losing present totally different challenges.

    With losing the challenges were all specific and rigid. And because of that is was easy to "measure" my sense of accomplishment. losing also had weekly-ish rewards, the weight in, the new clothes.

    Maintenance is more fluid and the challenges are with myself not a number I can put outside myself. Definitely more challenging than I thought it would be. But my body is the body I've always wanted to day to day I love that.

    I hope that makes sense. Good luck everyone no matter where you are in your journey.

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