What Was Easier....Getting There or Maintaining?

burtnyks

I seem to have gone stagnant in my weight loss efforts. I'm not unhappy where I am, but ideally I'd like to lose 10 more lbs. I feel like I have hit a plateau and am not sure how to get over it.

So I got to wondering.....for all of the MFP people out there, what was harder....getting to your goal weight or maintaining it once you got there?

msmith2797

A few years ago I did WW and lost 50 pounds. Loosing the weight was not as hard for me as it was for older people (i was in high school at the time), but it was still challenging. Once i felt good about myself and comfortable with myself, I quit and joined a swim team, so that helped me stay fit while enjoying myself. Now that im in college I quit swimming because I am too busy doing school work and working a job, and i am not gaining weight, but I am maintaining a higher weight. So, for me the hardest part is loosing the weight. I am now trying to loose 20 more pounds and I hope when and if I do, it will be as easy to maintain as it was the last time I lost weight.

JessLov67

I would say getting there. Maintaining is hard, there isn't quite as much motivation, clarity of how to eat, and it's a huge adjustment.

MissFuchsia

I've been maintaining since feb. I think they're both exactly the same. Obviously I can eat more but it takes the same amount of effort to maintain that it does to lose it.

bebreli

Great question!! I feel like maintaining has been easy BUT.. I didn't make it to complete goal. So I am in the middle kind of like you. I have gone stagnant and don't "mind" this weight but would like to lose more. I am a few lbs from goal and have maintained but almost wonder if I should try to lose 10 more or pack on more muscle while maintaining this weight so I look better.

81Katz

Getting THERE was easier. I have been yo-yoing since I hit my goal weight. Up some, down some, back up, back down. It's never ending it seems, stresses me like no other. Food, calories, exercise, on my brain 24/7.

Beezil

For me, getting there was easier. I mean starting out was the hardest part of all, but I think maintaining is rougher because once you hit your goal weight there isn't as much motivation to keep going. I try to look at it like I am always improving something, even though I'm not losing any more weight, and that really does help. But it can be depressing sometimes knowing that I will most likely always have to count calories to keep myself in check, and knowing I will always have to work out to keep the body I've earned. Those are just the facts though, and it is all worth it to me in the end.

mem50

For me getting to where I am now was the hardest part. Lots of setbacks. I lost about 80 lbs and was feeling good....then came the leg injury w/blood clot issue and put back on 40. Lost another 80 some odd pounds and then along came the hypoglycima. Trying to follow the "diet" from the "professional" put me back another 30 lbs. It took another year to get to where I am now.

Went into maintence, it will be a year Dec 1st, and a have found it to be a breeze. Have not gained back any.

I like to think that because it took me so long to lose it that I gained a better understanding of how I need to balance my eating and it finaly clicked. As long as I don't go over my calorie limit, I don't gain. If I do go over my limit, I do more exercise and am extra good for a week.

As for the plateau perhaps try maintance calories for a while then cut back again. Sometimes I found that letting my body adjust to the weight I was at made it easier to lose again.

burtnyks

Nice to read everyone's stories! :-) I have a history of yo yo'ing with my weight (+/-25 lbs), but finally decided this past January that I didn't want to yo yo anymore. Progress has been slow, but at least its going in the right direction. Just wish I could lose these darn last 10 lbs!

burtnyks

As for the plateau perhaps try maintance calories for a while then cut back again. Sometimes I found that letting my body adjust to the weight I was at made it easier to lose again.

Do you mean to go higher on calories and then cut back again in a few weeks? I'm not even sure what my maintenance calories would be..... I plateauded back in September, then cut down my calories by 100 and lost for a few weeks, then plateaued again.