getting close to maintenance.. need some encouragement

stines72

so im very close to being at maintenance... 2-3 lb to go... im very scared that ill gain weight upping my calories but i know i need to up them.. also should i do less cardio when in maintenance mode? currently do an hour cardio 5 days a week and every 2 days lift weights and do abs...

if im eating around 1,100-1,200 calories a day now, what should i up it to? (for maintenacne)

geekyjock76

Err, if you were that close to your goal, it would have been best to have decreased the deficit to perhaps 250 calories below your previously known maintenance range so it wouldn't seem like such a huge number to get back to. How much did you weight before you lost weight? If it wasn't a large amount, then knowing your previous maintenance range would have given you a rough estimate as to how much to ultimately increase.

Anyway, you need to gradually reduce the deficit by upping calories and reducing additional exercise every other week or so until your weight stabilizes and you are maintaining. You can up calories eaten by 100 while reducing additional energy expenditure by 100. You can change both every two weeks or adjust one each week so you're only reducing the deficit by 100 each week. It's up to you. The first week you will likely gain a fair amount of water weight but it will go away. I do not know what your initial body weight or body fat percentage was or how much of deficit you assumed, or how quickly you lost weight - all those factors determine if and how much fat you regain. Rapid weight loss diets are more likely to lead to a lot of the fat regained whereas slow, moderate weight loss sees very little if any regain.