Almost at goal...not sure how to maintain without gaining we

dasblondie

Ok...so i am 6lbs away from my goal wieght (i am very excited) but i am not sure how to go about working up to a maintain amount, and not really sure what that would even be. I have been eating 1200 calories for quite some time now...give or take 100cal...i try not to beat myself up to much if i go a little over. But i have noticed if i go a few weeks not really keeping to close track...like over the holidays i seem to gain weight. Now i am sure there are days i am going over even whatever my maintain calorie intake would be, but most days i really don't. I only go up to 1500 or 2000 at most. And i seem to put on weight pretty easily. Now for the time being it seems when i start to track again it comes off pretty easy to once i watch calories. But im not sure what would happen if i continue to eat that amount. So i guess my question is....is there a correct way to work up to a maintain amount of calories so that your metabolism adjust or do you just start eating the maintain amount and your body will adapt...i just don't want to put back on anything after i stop eating 1200 cal a day....

dictations

Been wondering the same thing, but I've heard that you weight will fluctuate dramatically when you're working on maintaining.

peaceinside

bump
I am not even close but would love to get some insight now instead of when it gets close. Good luck!
Peace :flowerforyou:

Tamishumate

its very hard, and takes a while to figure it all out, even with the figuring it all out, I still gained 5 pounds, 4 stay around , 1 comes and goes. I still eat a base of 1200, and if I have something going on or want to eat more, I allow that, but most days its 1200. I also cut my workouts from 10 hours a week to 6 hours a week. That was very important to my family cause that meant more time with them at home, and it was important to me too. I am willing to not eat more than 1200 if it means I can spend more time with my husband and boys. dont freak out if you gain a bit, it most likely will happen. I have been here for 14 months, and my body is not wanting to give up those extra pounds.. not unless I am willing to go back to how I was when I was losing, and I am not ... This is life, this is what I want to figure out..

:flowerforyou: Tami

mamagooskie

its very hard, and takes a while to figure it all out, even with the figuring it all out, I still gained 5 pounds, 4 stay around , 1 comes and goes. I still eat a base of 1200, and if I have something going on or want to eat more, I allow that, but most days its 1200. I also cut my workouts from 10 hours a week to 6 hours a week. That was very important to my family cause that meant more time with them at home, and it was important to me too. I am willing to not eat more than 1200 if it means I can spend more time with my husband and boys. dont freak out if you gain a bit, it most likely will happen. I have been here for 14 months, and my body is not wanting to give up those extra pounds.. not unless I am willing to go back to how I was when I was losing, and I am not ... This is life, this is what I want to figure out..

:flowerforyou: Tami

I am almost at this point as well (only 10lbs to go to goal).....and if this is how you say it`s done, I`m listening to you....you are the pro!!

Tamishumate

its very hard, and takes a while to figure it all out, even with the figuring it all out, I still gained 5 pounds, 4 stay around , 1 comes and goes. I still eat a base of 1200, and if I have something going on or want to eat more, I allow that, but most days its 1200. I also cut my workouts from 10 hours a week to 6 hours a week. That was very important to my family cause that meant more time with them at home, and it was important to me too. I am willing to not eat more than 1200 if it means I can spend more time with my husband and boys. dont freak out if you gain a bit, it most likely will happen. I have been here for 14 months, (goal weight ) and my body is not wanting to give up those extra pounds.. not unless I am willing to go back to how I was when I was losing, and I am not ... This is life, this is what I want to figure out..

:flowerforyou: Tami

I am almost at this point as well (only 10lbs to go to goal).....and if this is how you say it`s done, I`m listening to you....you are the pro!!

Aww thank you. Be sure to listen to your body!

dasblondie

@ tamishumate- u look great congrats on ur work!!!!! Thanks so much for ur input...this is exactly what i was afraid of, your body adjusts to this calorie intake. Oh well it is what it is....when you reached your goal did you up your calories at all for a period of time? If you did, did you do it gradually or as a jump? I was hoping if i tried to up them maybe 50 or 100 at a time it would allow my metaolism to speed up on its own....i dont want to eat 1200 forever and im really bad at exercise (need to work on that) i work alot and have a 7 yr old that takes up pretty much all of my time. Thanks so much!!!

evelyngrice

I am not at this point, but my best advice would be to start slowly increasing your calorie intake now, perhaps by 150 cals every 3 weeks or something? Just so it can give your body a chance to adapt, because I am not sure if it could handle going straight from 1200 to 2000.

But as I said, I am not at this point so cannot give any advice that I know works

:flowerforyou:

melsinct

I am 3 pounds from my goal and have my loss set at 0.5 pounds/week. This, for me, is key because I have slowly increased calories, as it is overwhelming if you go from a 1+ lb/week loss to maintaining and suddenly have 600 extra calories a day to fill in. Start slowly and go to 0.5 lb/week loss. This is a 250 calorie/day deficit from maintenance and will let you slowly add in calories because it is quite an adjustment. Also, the number MFP gives you for maintenance is not absolute. I did maintenance calories for 2 months and my maintenance is actually a hair more calories than what MFP states. When you are in the home stretch, you really have to play around with numbers and see what works for you.

Like I said, I am down to the last few pounds so if anyone else is in the same boat and looking for support, feel free to add me as a friend!

myofibril

I think you are better losing the idea of a goal weight (say 120lbs) and instead thinking of a goal range (for example 118 - 125 lbs). You will go nuts if you have only one specific number that you want to keep as there are just too many variables at play. Weight fluctuations are perfectly normal and are mostly due to water balance issues rather than actual fat gain.

I would begin by slowing raising you calories by say 150 calories per week. So week 1: 1350, week 2: 1500 etc until you find a number where your weight does not fluctuate outside your goal weight [/i]range[/i]

Lots of people freak out when they begin to raise calories as it is quite natural to see a short term spike in scale weight. This is not due to fat gain but rather water / glycogen being replenished. Most people on low cal diets are running around in water/ glycogen depleted states, especially if they are on low carb diets (which are all the rage these days apparently...) Then when they begin raising calories they see the scale going up and falsely believe that this is because they are exceeding their maintenance calories when it is nothing of the sort. If they had held firm for a few weeks they would see that their weight would eventually plateau out despite the increased calories.

Play around with the number over a sufficient number of weeks until you find your natural plateau. Don't fear a short term gain in scale weight as it is bound to happen initially before falling back down.

keiraev

Nobody maintains on 1200 that is still a huge deficit!

You need to check what your maintenance calories are (as in lose 0lb a week) and I think you will find they are 1500+ at LEAST.

I am 5ft 4, 117 lb and my maintenance calories are 1650 NET. I do not put weight on when I eat that amount. I do if I eat over it (ie. Christmas!)

ryno0618

Maintenance is tough. Period. I got down to my goal weight of 180lbs this past October. But trying to maintain at or near 180 was near impossible and I found myself struggling to find a caloric intake that kept me at 180 give or take. So instead I pretty much found myself treading water by gaining and losing the same 5lbs over and over. Up down, Up down. Gain a couple, then try to lose the couple, like a series of mini goals that never ended. I thought my body would eventually adjust and level out but it never go to that point. Instead, the holidays showed up and I gained 10lbs. So now here I am back in weight loss mode going to to try to lose 15lbs then try the maintenance regime again. This time I am going to quit focusing on the scale when I get to maintenance, rather, I am going to create specific new fitness goals to work towards. So basically, I am no help whatsoever, other to say that its tough and I think the way to do it is to find new goals to focus on once you reach maintenance. toning, strengthen abs, etc.

Tamishumate

Nobody maintains on 1200 that is still a huge deficit!

You need to check what your maintenance calories are (as in lose 0lb a week) and I think you will find they are 1500+ at LEAST.

I am 5ft 4, 117 lb and my maintenance calories are 1650 NET. I do not put weight on when I eat that amount. I do if I eat over it (ie. Christmas!)

I do not agree with you at all, I maintain on 1200 , you can not say that nobody does. You also can not speak for anyone elses body but your own, you do not know what other people have put their body through and what their metabolism is like, You may speak for yourself only. And everyone needs to figure out what their body needs to maintain, its not just a matter of numbers on a chart. EVERYONE IS DIFFERENT .

Tamishumate

@ tamishumate- u look great congrats on ur work!!!!! Thanks so much for ur input...this is exactly what i was afraid of, your body adjusts to this calorie intake. Oh well it is what it is....when you reached your goal did you up your calories at all for a period of time? If you did, did you do it gradually or as a jump? I was hoping if i tried to up them maybe 50 or 100 at a time it would allow my metaolism to speed up on its own....i dont want to eat 1200 forever and im really bad at exercise (need to work on that) i work alot and have a 7 yr old that takes up pretty much all of my time. Thanks so much!!!

I tried upping about 100 a week, my DR said it was too much too soon ( when I asked why was I gaining ) I then lowered them back to aroun d 1200. Keep in mind I also started cutting the workouts from 10 hours a week to 6 , that was huge. As I said I was and am, willing to keep the calories around 1200 if it means I do not have to workout 10 hours a week. had I kept my workouts at the same level as when I was losing, I could for sure increase and eat more I bet if you added more cardio in and upped the calories at the same time, you would be fine. take your 7 year old out for walks for bike rides when the weather gets warmer . I took my 9 year old out on a run with me, we ran slow, but he ran a mile ( when he was done he told me I was hard to keep up with , lol) :flowerforyou:

HonkyTonks

Your maintenance level will be much higher, set MFP to that. Do some weights if you aren't already, build muscle and get your BMR up a little bit more.

shakybabe

its very hard, and takes a while to figure it all out, even with the figuring it all out, I still gained 5 pounds, 4 stay around , 1 comes and goes. I still eat a base of 1200, and if I have something going on or want to eat more, I allow that, but most days its 1200. I also cut my workouts from 10 hours a week to 6 hours a week. That was very important to my family cause that meant more time with them at home, and it was important to me too. I am willing to not eat more than 1200 if it means I can spend more time with my husband and boys. dont freak out if you gain a bit, it most likely will happen. I have been here for 14 months, and my body is not wanting to give up those extra pounds.. not unless I am willing to go back to how I was when I was losing, and I am not ... This is life, this is what I want to figure out..

:flowerforyou: Tami

Maybe its best to aim for a lower number then? so for example if I wanted to be 9st 6 maybe I should try getting to around 9st then going into maintenance, if I do put 5lbs back on I'll be about where my actual goal was?

joleanrook

Nobody maintains on 1200 that is still a huge deficit!

You need to check what your maintenance calories are (as in lose 0lb a week) and I think you will find they are 1500+ at LEAST.

I am 5ft 4, 117 lb and my maintenance calories are 1650 NET. I do not put weight on when I eat that amount. I do if I eat over it (ie. Christmas!)

I do not agree with you at all, I maintain on 1200 , you can not say that nobody does. You also can not speak for anyone elses body but your own, you do not know what other people have put their body through and what their metabolism is like, You may speak for yourself only. And everyone needs to figure out what their body needs to maintain, its not just a matter of numbers on a chart. EVERYONE IS DIFFERENT .

Ladies..ladies.. come one now. First of all forums are like alleys, you can say whatever you want but don't be surprised when the knives come out. lol. I just made that up. Seriously though let's try to keep it positive.
Here is the truth about "maintenance" it is absolutely different for everyone and no two bodies are the same. I worked for a major diet company as a weight-loss consultant and I have a medical background so I know what I'm talking about here. Not only is your caloric intake a key to your success but just as important is finding our WHAT FOODS YOUR BODY IS SENSITIVE TO. Some people can just look at a bagel and their scale starts crying, others can have all the carbs they want as long as they avoid cheese like it's an STD. So my point is it's not always how many calories are in that mid-day snack, it's what IS that mid-day snack.

When my clients entered into the "maintenance" phase of their program we ALWAYS phased them in. One week we would increase the % of calories from dairy, one week their % of carbohydrates, one week % from animal products, etc... until we saw the scale jumping like the audience at a Criss-Cross concert.:laugh: LOL. I am on a roll tonight. Anyway, whichever group of foods made the client increase that week it was a light-bulb moment for them to know that their body just did not react well (ie. stored fat or water weight) to that type of food. Badda-bing Badda-boom!

Once you figure that out you'll be a lot happier and less scale-obsessed (insert fish joke here.)

Remember too to constantly shake things up with your work out, and no - I do not mean those ridiculous weights you jerk around like an epileptic... I mean whatever you do routinely should not be a routine, a successful long term work out plan needs to be complex and evolving, rotate out different equipment and change muscle groups that you focus on periodically, throw in a cardio day and MEET THAT GOAL BABY!!!

:huh: If you don't take my advice that's fine, but remember - if you always do what you've always done you'll always get what you've always gotten. Or something like that. :drinker:

dad106

@ tamishumate- u look great congrats on ur work!!!!! Thanks so much for ur input...this is exactly what i was afraid of, your body adjusts to this calorie intake. Oh well it is what it is....when you reached your goal did you up your calories at all for a period of time? If you did, did you do it gradually or as a jump? I was hoping if i tried to up them maybe 50 or 100 at a time it would allow my metaolism to speed up on its own....i dont want to eat 1200 forever and im really bad at exercise (need to work on that) i work alot and have a 7 yr old that takes up pretty much all of my time. Thanks so much!!!

I tried upping about 100 a week, my DR said it was too much too soon ( when I asked why was I gaining ) I then lowered them back to aroun d 1200. Keep in mind I also started cutting the workouts from 10 hours a week to 6 , that was huge. As I said I was and am, willing to keep the calories around 1200 if it means I do not have to workout 10 hours a week. had I kept my workouts at the same level as when I was losing, I could for sure increase and eat more I bet if you added more cardio in and upped the calories at the same time, you would be fine. take your 7 year old out for walks for bike rides when the weather gets warmer . I took my 9 year old out on a run with me, we ran slow, but he ran a mile ( when he was done he told me I was hard to keep up with , lol) :flowerforyou:

Duh it was too much too soon.. It takes at least 4 weeks for your body to get used to any changes. So what you should have done, is upped 100 for 4 weeks... then 100 for 4 weeks. and so on down the line.

This is why people start getting used to maintenance when they have like 10 pounds to go.. They slowly up them, instead of doing it all at once, gaining and then freaking out.

To OP:
My advice, start upping now.. and wait at least 4 weeks for your body to even out. Then up some more, wait 4 weeks, then up some more until you reach maintenance level.

I'd also start doing weights if you are not already.. Cardio is great, but weights is where it's really at.

particleastro

From a fitness point of view now is a good time to look into starting/learning a sport or activity you perhaps couldnt do when you were heavier. That way the emphasis is taken off weight and calorie checking.

Lets say for instance you decide to take up tennis. Your gym sessions and diet will be geared towards making you a better tennis player. Your body will adapt to the best size/shape and weight to optimise your game. That way youll maintain a (resonably) constant body weight (variations of 3 or 4 lbs are normal in a day, sometimes I can gain as much as 7lbs in a day) and be moving towards another goal.

Progession is always the key. So dont see it as your goal weight, see it more as the weight you need to reach in order to do.....

Regards,
J

katkins3

From a fitness point of view now is a good time to look into starting/learning a sport or activity you perhaps couldnt do when you were heavier. That way the emphasis is taken off weight and calorie checking.

Lets say for instance you decide to take up tennis. Your gym sessions and diet will be geared towards making you a better tennis player. Your body will adapt to the best size/shape and weight to optimise your game. That way youll maintain a (resonably) constant body weight (variations of 3 or 4 lbs are normal in a day, sometimes I can gain as much as 7lbs in a day) and be moving towards another goal.

Progession is always the key. So dont see it as your goal weight, see it more as the weight you need to reach in order to do.....

Regards,
J

I agree!
Beside the calorie question, motivation and goals are important. When a person is at goal for awhile the new clothes are bought , the rewards received, compliments slow down; this is just how you look now. Maintenance lacks the Drama of achieving it had.
Now is the time to look out for Boredom and Complacency. Now it helps to look for something new to expend some energy on such as: a new hobby, sport, relationship, goal, job or location.

Tamishumate

@ tamishumate- u look great congrats on ur work!!!!! Thanks so much for ur input...this is exactly what i was afraid of, your body adjusts to this calorie intake. Oh well it is what it is....when you reached your goal did you up your calories at all for a period of time? If you did, did you do it gradually or as a jump? I was hoping if i tried to up them maybe 50 or 100 at a time it would allow my metaolism to speed up on its own....i dont want to eat 1200 forever and im really bad at exercise (need to work on that) i work alot and have a 7 yr old that takes up pretty much all of my time. Thanks so much!!!

I tried upping about 100 a week, my DR said it was too much too soon ( when I asked why was I gaining ) I then lowered them back to aroun d 1200. Keep in mind I also started cutting the workouts from 10 hours a week to 6 , that was huge. As I said I was and am, willing to keep the calories around 1200 if it means I do not have to workout 10 hours a week. had I kept my workouts at the same level as when I was losing, I could for sure increase and eat more I bet if you added more cardio in and upped the calories at the same time, you would be fine. take your 7 year old out for walks for bike rides when the weather gets warmer . I took my 9 year old out on a run with me, we ran slow, but he ran a mile ( when he was done he told me I was hard to keep up with , lol) :flowerforyou:

Duh it was too much too soon.. It takes at least 4 weeks for your body to get used to any changes. So what you should have done, is upped 100 for 4 weeks... then 100 for 4 weeks. and so on down the line.

This is why people start getting used to maintenance when they have like 10 pounds to go.. They slowly up them, instead of doing it all at once, gaining and then freaking out.

To OP:
My advice, start upping now.. and wait at least 4 weeks for your body to even out. Then up some more, wait 4 weeks, then up some more until you reach maintenance level.

I'd also start doing weights if you are not already.. Cardio is great, but weights is where it's really at.

excuse me, "DUH"? nice.

Weights are not "really where its at" They are important to add in yes, I have done them for my whole time of losing and maintaining, But Cardio and fat burning is key.

willywonka

Ok I don't usually respond to this but seriously to dad106 with the duh comment- disrespecting a member's comment that is the strongest example of what this website is about is just wrong. Tammy has led so many of us here to being healthy and she is a huge role model for all of us here. I know that she doesn't need me defending her but this upset me and also we should ALL be here to support not to insult one another.