How many of you...?

lilsassymom

How many of you have stalled and ate at "maintenance" for a few weeks? Did it work? Did you gain? I know you aren't supposed to gain but I am scared to try it. How long did you stay at maintenance?

For me I just feel like I am sooo hungry and I have stalled so I am debating on eating at "maintenance" for a couple weeks and see if I can get my weight loss jumpstarted again when I go into a caloric deficit again.

I know most of you will say "don't do it because you will never come back to MFP and you will just go off the wagon." However, I am MORE afraid of keeping on being in a caloric deficit and getting so frustrated with no weight loss that I am afraid I will give up on my weight loss QUICKER than if I were just to take a break for a week or 2... I know I will come back---I want this more than anything. I have lost 11 lbs and I want to lose around 9-10 more. I want to tone up too, so maybe eating at maintenance will help me tone and maybe lose some fat:huh:. I am currently doing ChaLean Extreme so maybe I shouldn't be in a caloric deficit for these last 10 lbs anyways:huh: ...I am sooo confused on what to do but I am beyond frustrated and HUNGRY:sad: ...

Edited to add I am 5'1 and 30 yrs old and weigh 128 lbs and my MFP is set to lose .5 lbs a week. I am "lightly active" so MFP has set me to 1420 calories a day. I have a Polar FT60 HRM so I know my exercise calories are pretty accurate.

PinkEarthMama

Do you want to open your food diary so we can make some suggestions?

Ephena

I stalled back in October, I did a bunch of research and lived in the message boards for almost a week reading about other peoples experiences.
Finally at the beginning of November I did 2 things. I cut way back on my cardio (I was getting around 15 hours a week) and switched to doing Jillian Michaels Yoga Meltdown and her 30 Day Shred (every day for all 30 days) and I ate at maintenance for 2 weeks.
I stepped on the scale on day 4 of the 30 Day Shred to see a gain, I was horrified and furious but some more time in the message boards assured me a gain around that time frame is normal due to the body holding onto water for muscle recovery. So I vowed to stay off the scale until the end of the month. At the end of the month (2 weeks on maintenance and 2 weeks with goals set for 1 lb per week loss) I had lost 4 lbs!
Eating at maintenance for a short time if you've dieting for an extended period of time is a good thing. It's also called a re-feed and it allows your body to recover it's leptin levels (this is the hormone that helps you feel full so you don't keep feeling hungry), if your leptin levels drop far enough you go into starvation mode and your body will hold onto every calorie it can while using your lean muscle for energy (hello skinny fat).
Good luck! I know it's scary but it's also totally worth it!