let's hear it for maintainenance

iWaffle

I'm attempting to maintain...trying to find my magic number... I'm still losing, slowly.... but I'm eating like a horse.

This was fairly accurate for me:

http://scoobysworkshop.com/accurate-calorie-calculator/

takumaku

I have been maintaining for two years now. I eat a zig-zag calorie amount which is dependant on how much I run or exercise.

soniabogonia

Bump

Saving for later

3foldchord

I am about at my weight loss goal. I only had <10 # to lose. I notice I lose slowly,,which is fine, but each times go down a couple pounds, my weight waffles back and forth for a week or so.
I was half a pound away from my goal last week, so I have upped my calories a bit, to not lose as fast and be able to maintain.
We are going on a two week vacation to Florida, so it mabe a month before I actualy get that last half pound off.

I would like to hear some maintenance success stories, too.

3foldchord

I'm only about a week into maintainence so not sure how it'll go yet. I did have a bit of a feast on my reaching goal day so have been making up for that I wish Christmas wasn't so close so I could see how I manage staying at 117lbs without tracking but that's going to have to wait till the new year I think.

Congratulations to the others that are at goal!

I am just about at m goal, too, right I time for my birthday and Christmas! Hope to not lose much ground and still enjoy friends and family!

vjohn04

I'm attempting to maintain...trying to find my magic number... I'm still losing, slowly.... but I'm eating like a horse.

This was fairly accurate for me:

http://scoobysworkshop.com/accurate-calorie-calculator/

this makes me want waffles.

wellbur

I'm on my 1st week of maintenance, and would love some friends who are also at maintenance. I am determined now I have this great tool MFP to help me and my lovely friends. I am starting at 1778 calories but will obviously see how it goes, will juggle after Christmas. I am quite excited that i can stay this weight and not do my normal thing of putting on all the weight that i have lost which i have done in the past.

Spikethis

Great info.... bumping for tracking.. I know I have a ways to go for my goal but, I'm interested to see others..

katemateg

For the person who wanted to know heights I am 170cm which is 5ft6 or 7.

I got up to 64.5kg earlier this year and yesterday weighed 57.9kg which is the lowest I have been in years (must be under 128lb I think ). Eating around 1880 cals daily but if I go well over like I did on Wednesday I don't stress too much as other days I will eat well under if I have run mega miles :drinker:

apriltrainer

Am in maintenance...and to tell you the truth..I think it's a bit tougher than losing the weight. I've been on maintenance since about Sept/Oct.

I am starting to have fun with it now though. Doing unorthodox things to see if I can maintain...things I would have never tried when I was trying to lose a bunch of weight. Plus searching for different goals than the number on the scale. THat's what I still have to wrap my head around.

bluefox9er

bump

LaMujerMasBonitaDelMundo

I've been maintaining for over a year now and so far its all good. I went to my all time low weight this February and right now I'm almost 10 lbs. heavier but lost one dress size from size 4 to size 2

Workout is 90% heavy weight lifting twice a week at the gym doing full body with the vast majority of it on the compound movements that targets multiple muscles. The rest are 15-30 min cardio sessions that I do at home with either jump rope, stationary bike or workout DVD's and the sports I play that I also log in as my workouts. I used to workout 6 days a week but now I reduce it to 4-5 times a week since I feel my body needs more resting time for my muscles to recover as I'm doing more heavy weight lifting now. I realized that we don't need long workouts nor working out 7 days a week just to keep weight at bay. Muscle is the key.

As for my diet, since doing my program, my diet has changed. From eating a measely 1200-1400 I'm now eating at 1700-2300 calories.

Not to mention that my quarterly football (soccer) game and twice a month swimming sessions also motivates me to continue training.

REMEMBER THIS: IT TAKES SOME TIME TO LOSE WEIGHT BUT IT TAKES A LIFETIME TO KEEP IT OFF.

LadyIntrepid

I've been at maintenance since around July and actually been having a pretty easy time of it. I allow myself a three pound range, and the nano-second (weighing once a week) I go over that range by even an ounce, I go back into uber-logging, eating at deficit and adding in more cardio. Two out of the three times I've gone above the maintenance range since July, it took me exactly one week to get back. The third time it took me two weeks because it was after Sandy/Thanksgiving. I'm now back at the bottom of my range and it feels great. I think the key is, for me at least, is to nip it in the bud before it gets too far. It's been pretty painless.

cgfol1

This thread has been really helpful.

I hit (passed) my goal I think four or five weeks ago. I have been increasing my calories each week, so now I am up to 300 more in food calories and 100 less in exercise calories, so an added 400, and I am still loosing weight. Its not rapid but it is still happening. Its been really interesting watching the calorie number go up but my butt shrink haha. I think maybe I will take another day off exercising to see if that levels the loss off.

embjojo

I'm just starting maintenance. This has always been my downfall in the past so I'm following this thread for tips.

m1311

I've been in maintenance since August. At that point, I decided I could go it without MFP, but the weight crept up by a couple pounds, and so I jumped back on here. I'm almost 54, and it seems as though it's easy to gain weight without trying at this age.

I'm 5'9.5" and this morning hit 146 for the first time since my wedding day almost 27 years ago (didn't log it, b/c it's not the "official weigh-in day"). I've been trying to maintain at just under 150, the weight that I remembered fondly for a long time. I am getting about an hour of exercise most days. Right now my husband and cook is out of town, and I always lose weight when he isn't around to take care of me, so I am trying to eat as much as I can. We'll be together at the holiday, so I will be making up for lost time.

When I got close to goal, I left my settings to lose 1/2 pound a week. I haven't moved it from there, giving me about 1580 calories, but I have always eaten back my exercise calories, and that means I'm logging what looks like about 2100 a day right now. I'm getting a little lax about measuring things, so I may well be eating a couple hundred more than that. I'd rather not have to measure everything, so this setting feels like it's working for me right now. I weigh myself every morning, because I don't do those wild rides I hear about from others. Most days I'm exactly the same. But if I have gained, I know to step back from my food. If I have lost, I know to try to eat up to my limit that day.

While I don't find maintenance so difficult, I am mildly frustrated that I can't go it alone. I've spent all my married years going up and up, down a little, then up some more. MFP was the first system that helped me really understand what I was eating and how it related to my daily activities. For all the questions I see on the different groups about when to eat, whether to eat exercise calories, how to figure the proportions, I think that the slow-and-steady 1/2 pound a week loss is generally the best, and that by following MFP guidelines most of the time, success is likely in most cases. I would like to be able to apply what I've learned and not be spending the time that I do here. Luckily there are many wonderful people signing in, so I have a nice group of fellow rowers and a few maintenance friends to keep support running strong.

Nettie96fb

wow, good going, I'm getting close to my goal, and am quite apprehensive about the 'maintenance'. It's easy to lose it...well not easy, but easy to count the cals to lose it, but I wouldn't have a clue how much I should eat to stay at the right weight for me.

dorothytd

Maintenance for close to six years, but did drop a few pounds (and develop some muscles) since joining MFP in March. It is so much easier to track here than in my little notebook. And I love the support. I do not own a heart rate monitor - I have actually been successful with the MFP numbers. (Although I do tend to overestimate calories eaten and underestimate calories burned a wee bit...)

Age: 44
Height: 5' 5"
CW: 126
Calories: 1530 PLUS exercise (usually 2000 - 2100)

I exercise 6-7 days a week, cardio and strength

I love maintenance, but for me, it is still a lot of work and balance.

LadyOfOceanBreeze

I'm attempting to maintain...trying to find my magic number... I'm still losing, slowly.... but I'm eating like a horse.

This was fairly accurate for me:

http://scoobysworkshop.com/accurate-calorie-calculator/

this makes me want waffles.

pass the maple syrple please? thanks

workout_junkee

I have been maintaining for awhile know. I eat 2000 calories a day, run 3 times a week, cross train 2 times a week and yoga once a week. My weight has stayed very consistent.

Age: 36
Height: 5' 6"
Weight: 123
Body Fat: 23%