Need advice - struggling with the end of the diet.

siren1974
siren1974 Posts: 66
in Health and Weight Loss
Hi, I know this is going to annoy some people who are struggling with the start of the journey they are on but I'm at the other end of the road.

I started my journey weighing in at around 240lbs+ in July 2011 and it's been amazingly successful. Today I weigh 119lbs having gone from a UK size 26 to a size 8. My problem now is where do I go from here? I train daily, doing 3 cardio days and 2 strength days. I also do a daily 30 minute pilates routine burning on average between 250 and 500 calories.

I know I need to increase my calories but have no clue what I should increase them to. I'm terrified of gaining weight again. Before this turns into an eating disorder thread, I just want to say that I love food but seem to have got so into the habit of dieting that it's hard to break it.

Any advice is greatly appreciated x

Replies

  • meshashesha2012
    meshashesha2012 Posts: 8,329 Member
    WOAH!! first of all, congrats on your weight loss :happy:

    secondly, you sound like you're overthinking this. just stop eating like you're on a "diet" and start eating at maintenance for your new weight based on your TDEE. if you find that you're losing weight on the maintenance then just eat a bit more
  • Josephina57
    Josephina57 Posts: 170 Member
    WOAH!! first of all, congrats on your weight loss :happy:

    secondly, you sound like you're overthinking this. just stop eating like you're on a "diet" and start eating at maintenance for your new weight based on your TDEE. if you find that you're losing weight on the maintenance then just eat a bit more

    took the words right out of my mouth.
  • Hendrix7
    Hendrix7 Posts: 1,903 Member
    what are your goals from here? What is it you are trying to achieve?
  • FlaxMilk
    FlaxMilk Posts: 3,452 Member
    Are you ready to maintain? If you are, change your goal to maintenance and then eat that number + exercise calories (or set your activity to the appropriate level and don't eat them back.)

    If you aren't ready to maintain but want to increase, set your goal to .5 lbs a week and follow that formula.
  • Nerdy_Rose
    Nerdy_Rose Posts: 1,277 Member
    You can try what I did, and increase your calories very slowly.. I started increasing my calories in January.
    From 1200
    to 1330
    to 1460
    to 1600
    to 1900
    and now I maintain at 2,100 per day :)
  • MsTT80
    MsTT80 Posts: 59 Member
    I would say a daily goal of consuming 1700 cals would be sensible for maintaining your weight considering the amount of exercise you do. When you increase your cals go for healthy options...lots of veg, fruit, salad and low fat proteins.

    Good luck!
  • MichelleLaree13
    MichelleLaree13 Posts: 865 Member
    I am about 8 lbs from my goal. I have lost all the excess in the past but rebounded within a year. I completely understand your concern because I have been there and am again close to it again. I have looked up some stuff and mostly what I found is it takes a full year for your body to be happy with the new weight. When I loose this last bit, I plan on counting calories for a full year so my body can get use to the new weight. I think the main thing is to keep stepping on the scale and making sure you dont gain/lose more than a couple pounds each way. Hope this helps :flowerforyou:
  • Lleldiranne
    Lleldiranne Posts: 5,516 Member
    Your loss is amazing! Congrats!!

    Now, as far as the "end" of the diet, I would gradually increase calories. Go up one level at a time (from -2lbs to -1 lb to -1/2 lb to maintenance) and let yourself adjust to the new calories. Keep exercising. In fact, now that you are at your weight goal, it's a great time to set some fitness goals. Do you want to run a 10k? Lift a certain amount? Something else? In my experience, as long as there is some goal to work to, I keep the fitness and eating right up. When I stop having goals, I start being carless and gain again.

    While you will be modifying your calorie goals, you don't have to stop tracking your calories. You're not going off a diet and back to your old habits. You're maintaining your healthy habits while changing the details to meet your new goals. So it's maybe not quite as much of a change as you're woried about.
  • MichelleLaree13
    MichelleLaree13 Posts: 865 Member
    You can try what I did, and increase your calories very slowly.. I started increasing my calories in January.
    From 1200
    to 1330
    to 1460
    to 1600
    to 1900
    and now I maintain at 2,100 per day :)

    This is a great idea.
  • Jipples
    Jipples Posts: 650 Member
    Start over. You're welcome.
  • chicpeach
    chicpeach Posts: 302 Member
    Congrats on your weight loss and making it to goal! Don't adjust upwards all at once, it'll be too much of a shock for your body. Slowly bump up your calories and reintroduce foods like cheese and non-lean meats, etc. Let your body adjust to a couple new, higher cal foods a week until you are eating normally. You may continue to lose a little more weight at much slower pace. That's fine. When you level out, you know that you're stabilized and that's your diet from now on.
  • crazyvermont
    crazyvermont Posts: 171 Member
    Congrats on the weight lost! From my perspective you are getting more then enough cardio and strength in each week to not only maintain but actually lose with sensible food intake. The key to losing pounds when you get to the end of your goal is to consistently change your workout route as your body can adjust to each workout in less than two weeks.
  • TooTiredToQuit
    TooTiredToQuit Posts: 1
    Oh my goodness! Thats awseome! Just cut back on some of the excercise part and stay on top of your caloric intake.
  • meshashesha2012
    meshashesha2012 Posts: 8,329 Member
    Oh my goodness! Thats awseome! Just cut back on some of the excercise part and stay on top of your caloric intake.

    sorry, but this is an excellent way to regain weight :laugh:
  • nxd10
    nxd10 Posts: 4,570 Member
    WOAH!! first of all, congrats on your weight loss :happy:

    secondly, you sound like you're overthinking this. just stop eating like you're on a "diet" and start eating at maintenance for your new weight based on your TDEE. if you find that you're losing weight on the maintenance then just eat a bit more

    took the words right out of my mouth.

    Me too. And no, it's not silly. I've been thinking ahead to that too - i.e. to the rest of my life.

    CONGRATULATIONS!

    You might also think about what you want your normal exercise to be. If you like where you are, more power to you! Exercise is critical to maintaining weight. But if you decide to cut back a little, maybe you might try easing back to that level and see how things go for a week or so. If you aren't losing, then stay there. If you're still losing slowly, then go to maintenance and watch.

    Don't be 'scared'. Be happy and watchful.

    When my then young sister lost that much weight, she actually had a hard time getting her body to stop.
  • 2hobbit1
    2hobbit1 Posts: 820 Member
    Congrats on making gaol!!!!

    Since you have been calorie restricted for a long time just jumping to "maintenance" calories will more than likely cause a gain.

    Go to fat2fitradio.com and work through their calculators to find you BF%, then use their BMR calculator to see what you BMR is for your current weight. Look at the number of calories you need to maintain that weight at the activity level you choose based on what kind of work outs you will be continuing to do. The increase your intake by 100-200 cals a week until you get there. Your weight may fluctuate for a bit since you have been dieting for so long and it will take a bit for your hormones/metabolism to stabalize.

    This can be just as scary as first starting out - but have fun -you don't have to continue with mad calorie burns - find what you like to do for fitness/health not for weight loss. Time to do some hiking/backpacking? Canoeing/kayaking, skiing/skating - find you passion and do it to keep active and stay fit. Just be sure to adjust your calorie target to match you new level of activity.
  • siren1974
    siren1974 Posts: 66
    Morning all, thanks for all the lovely encouraging replies :D

    I have two main fitness goals at the moment. The first is to get my body fat under 20%. I know the scales aren't accurate so I'm not sure what my exact count is, the scales say 21.6%. Pretty good from the high 40's lol.

    My 2nd goal is to start running properly. I followed couch to 5k at the beginning of this year by running on my treadmill. When I took my running outside though, boy, what a shock that was! I couldn't run for 10 minutes! My little boy starts school full time on Wednesday so the plan is to begin again outside from week one from then. I'm a bit concerned though because I'm so used to burning 3-400 calories on a cardio day that it's not going to be enough exercise.

    I did buy a new hybrid bike last week so also intend to use that alongside it. It's a bit scary going from a big heavy mountain bike to something that can go fast, will also be learning to ride that correctly.

    Food wise, I'm aiming to eat around 1500 calories a day but have never eaten back my exercise calories. Is now the time to start doing that? Just a little extra a day?
  • jamface11
    jamface11 Posts: 87
    Depending on your stats you should be able to eat more than 1500 to maintain your weight if you are quite active, find out the number of calories you will need to maintain (Fat2Fit or equivalent) then try to eat a similar amount every day. As mentioned, add a 100 calories or so a week until you find an amount that your body is happy with. Don't worry about exercise calories, and exercise for enjoyment and health benefits, rather than weight loss :D Congrats on reaching goal!

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