A couple of questions for those on maintenance

psiren28

Apologies if this has been covered many times before, I've searched and can't find the same questions:

For people who are successfully maintaining, how did you move into maintenance calories? Did you go straight into your maintenance amount or gradually build up to it?

Did you gain weight initially after upping your cals? If so, how long did it take to settle?

Did you find your maintenance amount on MFP was accurate or have you had to tweak it?

I'm 1lb off my goal weight and decided to start upping my calories now but not sure whether to dive straight in with my maintenance amount or increase it say 100cals at a time.

I'd love to hear your stories and what worked for you so thanks in advance for any replies.

roachhaley

bump
i want to know about this too

Angiesolomon

I'm in the same position. I think I'm going to up calories slowly, like by 50 this weak. I'd also cut almost all wheat and I'm wondering about gently reintroducing it. I'd love to hear more opinions on this.

themommie

I too just made it to my goal. I think I will start increasing my cals by 50 a week and work up then if I start gaining weight i can cut back and it will be easy to tell where I should be

Beezil

For me, I gradually increased mine by about 200 calories every week until I reached 2000 calories. (Up from 1200 calories when I was still losing.) Any weight I gained was water weight I believe, either from too much sodium or muscles retaining water to heal. I still fluctuate up and down a bit between 125-135lbs, just depends on how much work I did exercising the day before, time of the month, how much water I drank, what kind of food I ate and how much, etc.

So for me no, I didn't gain weight after upping calories. I was very worried I would, which is why I did it so gradually. MFP calculated my maintenance at about 1850 calories - this was at "active" when before I had put my activity level as sedentary. At sedentary they calculated my maintenance very low, about 1400 I believe. I don't always eat 2000, usually between 1600-1800 on average, but I didn't feel like it was always enough so I upped it to 2000 and haven't had any issues. Typically on my "spike" days or high calorie days I eat around 3000-3500 calories max. I do that once a week usually.

I really don't think you need to be so careful as only upping by 50 calories a week though, that is a bit extreme! Hope this helps!

psiren28

For me, I gradually increased mine by about 200 calories every week until I reached 2000 calories. (Up from 1200 calories when I was still losing.) Any weight I gained was water weight I believe, either from too much sodium or muscles retaining water to heal. I still fluctuate up and down a bit between 125-135lbs, just depends on how much work I did exercising the day before, time of the month, what kind of food I ate and how much, etc.

So for me no, I didn't gain weight after upping calories. I was very worried I would, which is why I did it so gradually. MFP calculated my maintenance at about 1850 calories - this was at "active" when before I had put my activity level as sedentary. At sedentary they calculated my maintenance very low, about 1400 I believe. I don't always eat 2000, usually between 1600-1800 on average, but I didn't feel like it was always enough so I upped it to 2000 and haven't had any issues. Typically on my "spike" days or high calorie days I eat around 3000-3500 calories max. I do that once a week usually.

I really don't think you need to be so careful as only upping by 50 calories a week though, that is a bit extreme! Hope this helps!

It does, thanks. Nice to know you can still fit in a spike day with no adverse effects too, I plan on still having my weekly meal out.

Can I ask how long you've been maintaining for?

And well done on your success, you look amazing.

heather1945

Hi - I've been on maintenance since mid January ,2012. Like you I too was nervous about 'eating' so many extra calories after having been on 1200 for several weeks. I'm now on 1650 a day. I have found that by eating all I want/need in a day, I'm able to keep within my allocated amount, including the 160 calories I'm awarded for my exercise - walking is all I do. Initially I kept losing, about 1lb every couple of weeks until I had lost an extra 3kg (6.5lbs), I had my first gain last week - 500g (1lb) but am still under my goal weight. So my advise is don't be afraid to eat the extra calories you're allocated - you don't have to use them all and I'm sure you'll be pleasantly surptrsed and will learn to relax and enjoy your new 'you.....good luck...:-}

TavistockToad

i have been maintaining for a while now. i changed my cals from losing 1lb to losing 1/2lb when i was 4lbs from goal. when i got to my goal i upped my cals by 100 per week. i lost more wieght when i first upped my cals, which was nice.

i now have a maintenance 'range' instead of 1 number, which is easier, and i jump on the scales every so often to check i am in range, however i more go by how i look and feel as i am still working on a little more muscle tone and a little less bodyfat, so i am always at the top of my range, but i know i am smaller than when i first went into maintenance.

MFP's maintenance was a little low for me, it said 1600 but i actually net 1800 (eat 2000 and burn off 200ish) so you might have to play around with the figures a bit.

Beezil

For me, I gradually increased mine by about 200 calories every week until I reached 2000 calories. (Up from 1200 calories when I was still losing.) Any weight I gained was water weight I believe, either from too much sodium or muscles retaining water to heal. I still fluctuate up and down a bit between 125-135lbs, just depends on how much work I did exercising the day before, time of the month, what kind of food I ate and how much, etc.

So for me no, I didn't gain weight after upping calories. I was very worried I would, which is why I did it so gradually. MFP calculated my maintenance at about 1850 calories - this was at "active" when before I had put my activity level as sedentary. At sedentary they calculated my maintenance very low, about 1400 I believe. I don't always eat 2000, usually between 1600-1800 on average, but I didn't feel like it was always enough so I upped it to 2000 and haven't had any issues. Typically on my "spike" days or high calorie days I eat around 3000-3500 calories max. I do that once a week usually.

I really don't think you need to be so careful as only upping by 50 calories a week though, that is a bit extreme! Hope this helps!

It does, thanks. Nice to know you can still fit in a spike day with no adverse effects too, I plan on still having my weekly meal out.

Can I ask how long you've been maintaining for?

And well done on your success, you look amazing.

Since the end of last November. Really, once you're on maintenance and have found the magic number for yourself, I think it's fine to have a spike day as long as you aren't at a calorie surplus for the week. I try to keep that in mind when I do mine, but going over by a few hundred calories one week isn't a huge deal either, especially if you have a regular exercise routine.

And thank you! Same to you, by the way! I love your profile pic!

psiren28

Thanks everyone, all really helpful replies

gregpack

I went pretty much from 1800 to 3000 calories (my maintenance) in early December. There was a weight increase of a couple of pounds, then the weight stabilized. I've actually lost a few more pounds since then, so i assume I'm still eating a slight deficit on average. My weight fluctuates around from about 212-217.