What's harder - getting to your goal weight or maintaining y

CrazyLilMonkey

Hello,

I am only 5 pounds away from my goal weight. I have been working my butt off...quite literally ...and am curious on what my next step is once i get there. I would love to hear from my fellow FitnessPals.

So, here is my question - Which is harder....getting to your goal weight or maintaining your goal weight?

goyabean

For I would have to say getting there....by the time you get there it should be a way of life and easier to maintain

Twinsmama75

I'm interested in the answer to this question too.

I lost 40lbs on WW back in 2003 and I had a hard time maintaining. IDK why, but I did. By 2007 I was up 15 lbs and then got pregnant and I haven't tried to lose weight since, and I had another baby in 2009. I'm done having kids, so I thought maybe I could maintain easier now that I don't always have the fact that I want more kids and will gain weight anyway, etc. hanging over my head.

TavistockToad

i found building my cals back up to maintenance odd to start with... having bigger portions, being able to chose full fat stuff etc etc, but now i love it!! once you learn how many cals you can maintain on, its great!!! i net 1800, so eat 2000 - 2100 cals per day. i have treats but my diet is so much healthier than when i first started, plenty of fruit, veg, salad and tonnes of protein!

LorinaLynn

For me, the difference between losing and maintaining is only 200 calories, so it's not much different. The hardest part is purely psychological... getting out of the weight loss frame of mind and relying on other ways of tracking progress instead of the weight on the scale. Not freaking out if the number on the scale floats up a few pounds.

Take photos and compare them every few months. Make new goals that have nothing to do with the scale. And realize it's ok to relax a little bit. Now you have to find out how much you really can eat to maintain it, and that includes testing the limits. If you gain weight, first check your photos and how clothes fit and see if it's actually making any difference (mine didn't... I'm up ~8# from my lowest weight and leaner than I was then!) before flipping out and going back on "a diet." But if you do gain and it's making your clothes too tight, you already know how to lose weight. You'll can do it again.

RayRay1500

I am also worried about this. I will have spent so much time trying to lose that I am scared of maintaining. I am sure once we find the right amount of calories, like we had to do in order to lose, it will work out ok.

XXXMinnieXXX

Personally I can't wait until I get to a point where I can maintain, and it be what I'm trying to do. Sounds like heaven x

cPT_Helice

If you have not only decreased your calories but changed the way you eat to a healthy diet with proper portion control, you just keep on doing what you have been doing. Just increase your portions a little more, if you are hungry or add in an additional snack or two.

DontThinkJustRun

Um maintaining! I've lost 120 lbs and maintaining it these last 18 months have been harder then any weight loss day, but good news, it gets easier with time!

mg720

For I would have to say getting there....by the time you get there it should be a way of life and easier to maintain

agree

kreat

For me, the difference between losing and maintaining is only 200 calories, so it's not much different. The hardest part is purely psychological... getting out of the weight loss frame of mind and relying on other ways of tracking progress instead of the weight on the scale. Not freaking out if the number on the scale floats up a few pounds.

Take photos and compare them every few months. Make new goals that have nothing to do with the scale. And realize it's ok to relax a little bit. Now you have to find out how much you really can eat to maintain it, and that includes testing the limits. If you gain weight, first check your photos and how clothes fit and see if it's actually making any difference (mine didn't... I'm up ~8# from my lowest weight and leaner than I was then!) before flipping out and going back on "a diet." But if you do gain and it's making your clothes too tight, you already know how to lose weight. You'll can do it again.

Yep, thats my biggest fear... Keeping the weight down. I love to eat pizza cake, and all kinds of things. I'm even scared to eat that stuff now. It kinda puts a damper on places to eat with my fiance. She is on a diet as well, but she hasn't signed up on here yet, so she doesn't understand the whole watching calories. I want to be able to enjoy all my foods again, but I guess it really goes purely on portion control......

engineman312

well, as you get closer to your goal weight, you should be increasing your calories, as it will help you get to that goal weight easier, and allow you to adjust to a larger amount of calories little by little.

engineman312

Yep, thats my biggest fear... Keeping the weight down. I love to eat pizza cake, and all kinds of things. I'm even scared to eat that stuff now. It kinda puts a damper on places to eat with my fiance. She is on a diet as well, but she hasn't signed up on here yet, so she doesn't understand the whole watching calories. I want to be able to enjoy all my foods again, but I guess it really goes purely on portion control......

now i want a pizza cake