What to do when you reach your goal

mazdauk

I'm almost halfway to my target - and I'm slightly scared what to do when I reach it! I don't want to fall back into bad ways (but I am going on vacation in July - that's definitely going to be a challenge!). I was planning on switching to maintenance and continuing to log until September - should I do it for longer?

I can see that if I've not got the impetus of weightloss I might get pretty bored with logging, but I know I'm not the best for willpopwer.

TavistockToad

i have been in maintenance for over a year and i still log every day!

focus on fitness goals instead of weight goals once you get to your target weight.

khall86790

I'd stick to logging at your maintenance weight until you are truly into a routine of eating that amount, that's what I intend to do. if it takes 1-2 years of maintaining but then you have it down, it's worth it!

BigJza

I dont look at this as a diet plan or a goal.

I look at this as a tool that allows me to focus on eating right and healthy all the time.

My goal was 20 lbs ago....now my goal is just to be as fit as I can be..the #s mean nothing

KarenJanine

As you get nearer to your goal decrease your deficit. e.g. if you are set to lose 1lb per week at present, when you only have 10lbs left to lose switch your goals to lose only 1/2lb per week.

Then as you reach your goal you should only be eating around 250 cals per day below than maintenance. Once you hit your goal slowly bring your daily calorie intake up to maintenance over the course of a few weeks until your weight loss stabilises.

Continue to track your intake for as long as you feel is necessary to ensure you know you are eating at the right level for your maintenance. Some people will be able to do this after a few months, for others it may be necessary to log indefinitely, even if just a few times a week to keep things in check.

JesterMFP

I've bee maintaining for a few months and I'm still logging meticulously. It's what works for me at the moment. I've tried a few days of not logging, and it went badly so, for now, logging is what I'll do. I'm working on being a bit more relaxed on some days because I'd like to be able to ease up on the logging at least some of the time.

I think it partly depends on what led you to gain the weight in the first place. If you've always had a healthy relationship with food and just gradually gained weight through ignorance of how many calories you needed, then you may have more success with stopping logging. I know that some people find that by the time they reach maintenance they are so used to what an appropriate portion size looks like and can make an accurate guess of how many calories they've consumed, that they no longer need to log. It becomes more intuitive.

On the other hand, if you have had problems with any kind of disordered eating - bingeing, restricting, over-eating to soothe emotions, stress eating etc, then you might find it more difficult. For me, calorie counting is a tool to keep my mildly disordered eating habits under control, to make sure that I neither under-eat nor over-eat. I'd like to be able to cope without it, but I think it's going to be a slow process.

As for the boredom - yes it is a lot more tedious when you don't have the changes on the scale, or inch losses to keep you motivated, but that's true of maintenance anyway I think. You no longer see your body shrinking, you no longer get compliments from people; things are no longer changing and being a healthy size becomes part of life, but you still have to keep on top of things. One thing that helps is to make new goals. At the moment, I'm training to do a 10k, and I'm trying to lift heavier than I can right now. Those help to keep me on track with my weight.

Most people who lose a significant amount of weight end up regaining at least some of it. I think you really have to keep being very aware of it all, and not get complacent, to avoid being one of those people.

This is a great thread on the boards recently you might find helpful: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/816542-let-s-hear-it-for-maintainenance

jdhoward_101

First i will show off my super awesome hot body!

After that i think i will continue to log, as maintaining has always been difficult for me, and this site has helped me so much already that i dread to think what would happen to my weight without the logging and the continuous encouragement from the other members

mazdauk

Thanks all. I think if I have managed to make it through this long dreary cold winter and still excercise and not pig out that's a good start! My problem is I know what calories things are but (at least before) I'd tell myself I "needed" it because I was tired/hungry/fed up/happy/hadn't had any of that item all day.

Logging helps me think twice about whether I actually want to eat something or am just bored/fed up/greedy. I'll probably switch to weighing only once a month, but if any of my new clotes (when I get them) get too tight then I'm back here full time until any excess is gone!

RonandDi

I hope to not have to log every day, but I do plan on keeping a regular schedule of weighing myself. I figure if I start to put some weight back on, then I'll log again to see where I am screwing up. I think the biggest thing will be to keep a regular exrecise schedule.

mazdauk

UPDATE - here I am still logging every day, even on holidays. Works for me!!

zyxst

This is a thread necro that is worth it.

Glad things are working out for you.

srk369

That is a great update!!