maintaining is so hard!

lin7604

wow, who would of thought... I hit my goal in Sept and have tried to maintain since then. I find it so hard, i have already put a few lbs back on. It's only been a month.... I really don't want to log and weigh my food for the rest of my life, how can i make this easier?

aimeealee

Same here. My plan over the winter to maintain, is to have my calories set at losing 1/2 pound per week. The upcoming season is always so hard for me to maintain. This year, I am going to log in every day. If this is what it take to keep it off, it is worth it. It is a pain at times, but worth it.

pkw58

I have come to grips that I need to log in every calorie in for the rest of my life. I will weigh every day as well. It's like brushing my teeth or bathing. It is just what it takes to invest in my health. Worth it!

tommygirl15

This is not good news, lol. I'm two pounds away from maintainance and was kind of excited about not logging as much any more when I get there. Is it really that hard? I didn't really think about how it would be harder in the winter, doh

lin7604

ya i am finding it hard, i'm up 2.4 lbs as of today and that is a month of logging still but not measuring/ weighing my foods.... i still had mine set at .5 lb loss as i know with winter and less exercising i will need less cals but man 2.4 lbs ...glad i still weigh in daily to keep myself on top of this!

f15htank

i'm not to my goal weight, but this is the first time i've heard that maintaining is hard. i've heard of someone logging only on weekends or logging only on weekdays, maybe you could try that for awhile? i don't want to have to log much when i'm at my gw, either.

TavistockToad

wow, who would of thought... I hit my goal in Sept and have tried to maintain since then. I find it so hard, i have already put a few lbs back on. It's only been a month.... I really don't want to log and weigh my food for the rest of my life, how can i make this easier?

To be honest I love MFP, I have been maintaining for over a year and don't think I will stop logging any time soon.

As long as u r still measuring your portions, you should know how much you can eat (how many cals you maintain on) so as long as u make a mental note of how many cals you eat on a day you don't need to actually log.

jenbusick

It's pretty depressing. I thought surely with the permanent changes I've made in my eating habits, maintaining would be easier. But when I'd gained seven pounds, I had to go back to logging. Makes me really hate and resent those people whose changes make it all breezy for them "OH, I gave up drinking sodas and lost 20 pounds and now life is great!" I gave up soda, too. Gained seven pounds once I stopped recording every calorie religiously. Go take your easy weight loss somewhere I don't have to hear about it! :grumble:

MrGonzo05

You might need to resume logging. I didn't stop once I hit my goal, and so far so good. It's about finding an approach that works for you.

Martucha123

I have come to grips that I need to log in every calorie in for the rest of my life. I will weigh every day as well. It's like brushing my teeth or bathing. It is just what it takes to invest in my health. Worth it!

this
I do not weight every day or hit my goal every day, but I log ALWAYS, sick, on vacation, 2000 kcal over, I log it.
2 years ago I have lost 30 lbs, and then I put it back in under 1 year. I am not going to let it happen again

lin7604

thanks everyone, i guess i am doomed that i will have to log for the rest of my life. Well not just log as i have still been doing that but weight/ measuring all my portions!!!! i still have been eating the same so thought it was easy. but like yesterday i cut up some strawberries and put them in a container for lunch and then i re thought it and weighted them. well i was over what i logged. i logged 100g and it was 1.20 g so it's all those little bits that add up and get you back in trouble, even though you figure it's healthy food....

hazymary

I feel your pain....I reached my goal back in mid July....I pretty much stopped logging and I stopped lifting. I thought gee whiz I'm so busy with mixing and pouring concrete at the house, yard work and other summer stuff, I stopped going to the gym. Obviously my brain never grasped the concept that this is for LIFE !! Not a diet til I reach my goal. Needless to say I gained a few pounds, but what I really noticed was my tone loss and inches gained. It was a wake up call when I tried on my dress for my boyfriends daughters wedding, it fit, but it didn't look like the day I bought it. So I've started logging again and I'm back at the gym.....I haven't lost any weight, but my tone is back and my clothes feel good again. I PROMISED myself I wouldn't let my weight sneak back and have to do this all over again. I'm glad I took the steps to getting back on track. I played with the calories, 1700 seems to work as long as I get to the gym. I still have special occasions that have me over, but I focus more on my weekly trends. I have to say to..it's more difficult when you don't have that GOAL and it's been so long that people aren'y complimenting your efforts any more. I had to set other goals to keep me motivated.

JesterMFP

i'm not to my goal weight, but this is the first time i've heard that maintaining is hard. i've heard of someone logging only on weekends or logging only on weekdays, maybe you could try that for awhile? i don't want to have to log much when i'm at my gw, either.

I've heard quite a lot of people say maintaining is harder than losing. I mean, you're essentially doing the same thing (albeit with a slightly higher calorie goal) but you no longer have the positive reinforcement of seeing the scale go down, feeling your clothes get loser, and having people comment on your weight loss. I'm not far from goal and I'm a little scared to be honest! I'm definitely going to keep weighing/measuring food and logging, at least to start with.

JesterMFP

wow, who would of thought... I hit my goal in Sept and have tried to maintain since then. I find it so hard, i have already put a few lbs back on. It's only been a month.... I really don't want to log and weigh my food for the rest of my life, how can i make this easier?

I don't know if anyone's mentioned this, but was the gain all in the first week or so, or has it gradually crept on over the month? I think it's pretty common to see a little gain when you up your calories, especially if you had quite a big deficit before. If you're eating more food - that's more food/waste in your system being weighed, and if you're having a higher amount of carbs, you'll be retaining more water naturally, as carbs hold onto water. Its kind of like the opposite of that big loss that a lot of people have in their first week of dieting. If it's a one-off gain, it might not be that you've gained fat at all. Of course, if you're still gaining, then it's more likely an overconsumption issue. Just thought I'd put that out there.

MichelleLaree13

I have yo-yoed from my goal and back up over the last several years. I am not sure what really works for me to maintain but I have some ideas:
1) Weigh myself daily and if my weight is over x (for me the number is 125) amount then I will count until the scale goes back down
2) Exercise daily
3) Eat only healthy stuff
4) Count forever
I am leaning more towards option 1

caterpillardreams

I have not reached goal weight yet but I am mentally preparing myself for these changes to be in my life forever. I believe it has to done that way. maybe not everyday, but an occasional check of calories a few times a week so one does not fall off the wagon.
I have the same feeling about exercising, I figure I will have to keep this up till I'm gone from this world, if not I will gain weight.

At least you recognize it. find the positive in it. You will not be going back to your old self, but just keeping the new you in check.

CoachReddy

You ABSOLUTELY do NOT need to log your food forever! Once you reach the level where you want to maintain, here's the magic combo:

1) eat when you're hungry
2) eat healthy, whole foods with ingredients you can pronounce
3) eat slowly, so your body recognizes when it's full - THEN STOP
4) exercise (and i mean really exercise, not walking) 3-4 days a week

Honestly that's it. The part where people trip up is #2, and often #3 as well. Since stopping your food logging, have you eaten any fried, greasy, fatty, processed foods? those are the things that will kill you. Yes, it's a lifestyle change, but you can either have the knowledge to eat well without counting calories, or you can ignore all that and then you'll be forced to count forever. Up to you!

lin7604

wow, who would of thought... I hit my goal in Sept and have tried to maintain since then. I find it so hard, i have already put a few lbs back on. It's only been a month.... I really don't want to log and weigh my food for the rest of my life, how can i make this easier?

I don't know if anyone's mentioned this, but was the gain all in the first week or so, or has it gradually crept on over the month? I think it's pretty common to see a little gain when you up your calories, especially if you had quite a big deficit before. If you're eating more food - that's more food/waste in your system being weighed, and if you're having a higher amount of carbs, you'll be retaining more water naturally, as carbs hold onto water. Its kind of like the opposite of that big loss that a lot of people have in their first week of dieting. If it's a one-off gain, it might not be that you've gained fat at all. Of course, if you're still gaining, then it's more likely an overconsumption issue. Just thought I'd put that out there.

the gain was about 3 weeks after and my cals only went up 100--200 more. it's been 6 days now 2.4 lbs up, no change? i figured if it was water weight it woudl of been off by now as i am drink plenty of water... i know i am very sensitive to sodium but usually one good day of eating with lots of drinking and the scale is back down. not so much this time?

lin7604

You ABSOLUTELY do NOT need to log your food forever! Once you reach the level where you want to maintain, here's the magic combo:

1) eat when you're hungry
2) eat healthy, whole foods with ingredients you can pronounce
3) eat slowly, so your body recognizes when it's full - THEN STOP
4) exercise (and i mean really exercise, not walking) 3-4 days a week

Honestly that's it. The part where people trip up is #2, and often #3 as well. Since stopping your food logging, have you eaten any fried, greasy, fatty, processed foods? those are the things that will kill you. Yes, it's a lifestyle change, but you can either have the knowledge to eat well without counting calories, or you can ignore all that and then you'll be forced to count forever. Up to you!

i haven't stopped my food logging, i still do it daily. i just wasn't measuring/weighing all my portions as much

Yanicka1

This is why I do not believe in big calories deficit. It goes slower but maintenance is easier.

lin7604

i never had a big cal deficit either, only 250 it took me a year to lose 20-22 lbs.