Transition from weight loss to maintenance

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Anamdalta
Anamdalta Posts: 56
in Health and Weight Loss
I'm only just over 1/2way to GW, but I'm starting to worry about maintenance... I have found the transition to less food/better food/more activity challenging, but REALLY empowering... but, I have no experience with working to maintain a specific weight.

I think I've made real lifestyle changes that have become ingrained... but, I could really use pointers to resources for how to stop losing, and simply maintain. I am really happy with my activity level (i.e., I wouldn't want to cut back, because it's not like I'm doing anything extreme)... and I don't know where/how to add in some of the calories I've worked hard to strip out... I'm not wandering around hungry, so...

Advice is appreciated. (Advice wrapped in bacon, also appreciated ;) )

cheers.

Replies

  • delong99
    delong99 Posts: 22 Member
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    To maintain a 123 GW, you wont' make too many changes from loss mode, at least that is my experience, because your BMR will be fairly low. I am still exercising the same, and maybe eating a few hundred calories more a day. It takes just as much effort and attention to maintain as it does to lose, in my opinion.

    I tend to go up and down a few pounds here and there because it is virtually impossible to always weigh the same. I weigh myself often in maintenance and if I see a lb or two gain that lasts more than a few days, I make adjustments to my calories.
  • plafleur76
    plafleur76 Posts: 107 Member
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    bump for when I get to this point
  • bellydancer124
    bellydancer124 Posts: 248
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    Funny you post this today, as I was JUST stressing about it. I'm 2 lbs below my goal weight and finally changed my daily cals to "maintenance mode" and I'm so scared of gaining the weight back lol.

    Anyway, just bumping to read later when I'm not at work. :smile:
  • mustgetmuscles1
    mustgetmuscles1 Posts: 3,346 Member
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    You pretty much have to raise your calories slowly until your weight levels out. Most likely your weight will still go up and down by a couple pounds but you just keep doing what you are doing now with more calories.

    A lot of people think that once the weight is gone they can just stop doing what got them there.
  • gatorginger
    gatorginger Posts: 947 Member
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    I'm maintaining as I have reached my goal weight. I still log my food in every day except on occasions when I have a cheat day or not at my computer and I tend to still lose a pound here and there so when I do I will have a cheat day to gain it back. Some days it will go up a little due to the sodium. It hasn't been hard because for me this was a lifestyle change and not a diet. I always weigh myself every day as I have always done that even before mfp.
  • palmerig88
    palmerig88 Posts: 623 Member
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    Depends on how fast you've been losing but I could help if you lost pretty steady by saying don't be afraid to start supping your cals early if you are happy with your body. I was trying to lose 1/2 pound per week for a bit and kept losing 1 pound per. Then on maintenance I lost 1 pound per week again and when I upped my cals I was losing 1/2 pound per still! So ive upped them again. I think you have to experiment with it.
  • gatorginger
    gatorginger Posts: 947 Member
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    You pretty much have to raise your calories slowly until your weight levels out. Most likely your weight will still go up and down by a couple pounds but you just keep doing what you are doing now with more calories.

    A lot of people think that once the weight is gone they can just stop doing what got them there.

    I did this when I was at my goal weight I slowly added 100 calories more a day till I found the right maitenance level.
  • Goal_Line
    Goal_Line Posts: 474 Member
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    I hear you. It was scary. I think the main thing is to stay active, and slowly add good cals. I added more nuts, grains and little more protean to support weight lifting.

    Don;t freak out if you gain weight in a short period of time, it is not likely to be fat, most likely water. monitor your weight over a long period of time to average out normal variation.

    Relax :)
  • PrincessNikkiBoo
    PrincessNikkiBoo Posts: 330 Member
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    Save for later
  • picantecreative
    picantecreative Posts: 12 Member
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    I went into maintenance mode a couple of months ago and thought it would be SOOOOO easy going from 1,200-1,400 calories a day all the way up to 2,000 or so. Once my body realized it had access to greater quantities of food, I actually started getting hungrier than I'd been while in weight-loss mode. That passed after a couple of weeks. I think one of the potential pitfalls of maintenance mode is letting yourself think you're at the end of the journey — that you've "made it" — rather than thinking of yourself as still at the beginning of a lifelong challenge. It's so easy to let yourself slide when you start thinking your work is done. Personally I decided, as an almost-40-year-old, that I want to be the healthiest, fittest 70-year-old possible, when the time comes a few decades from now. I shifted my short-term weight goals into long-term overall health goals, and that has really helped keep me focused.

    The other thing I'd recommend is sticking with the structure you've set up for yourself to lose the weight in the first place. Keep tracking calories every day, keep working out faithfully and keep weighing yourself regularly (I still do every morning). Structure may not be exciting, but it does help keep you honest and on track. Good luck!
  • gauchogirl
    gauchogirl Posts: 467 Member
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    For me there won't be any "maintenance" phase. If you've actually changed your LIFESTYLE then you just continue to live the way you're living. Same method of eating, same amount of exercise. While I do have a goal weight, it's really just a guess of where I'll end up. My actual goal is the weight my body healthfully attains now that I've corrected what I now know was a not healthy lifestyle. No maintenance required to just live life the way I know now.
  • Anamdalta
    Anamdalta Posts: 56
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    I hear you. It was scary. I think the main thing is to stay active, and slowly add good cals. I added more nuts, grains and little more protean to support weight lifting.

    Don;t freak out if you gain weight in a short period of time, it is not likely to be fat, most likely water. monitor your weight over a long period of time to average out normal variation.

    Relax :)

    Lol. Relaxing was what got me *into* this mess to begin with :) But, I hear what you're saying...

    Alright...so, small increases, and don't flip out about fluctuations... I can do that. (fingers crossed)
  • Anamdalta
    Anamdalta Posts: 56
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    For me there won't be any "maintenance" phase. If you've actually changed your LIFESTYLE then you just continue to live the way you're living. Same method of eating, same amount of exercise. While I do have a goal weight, it's really just a guess of where I'll end up. My actual goal is the weight my body healthfully attains now that I've corrected what I now know was a not healthy lifestyle. No maintenance required to just live life the way I know now.

    I think that sounds like a healthy way to think about it. I guess my biggest concern is that I'm eating 1300 cal/day, which is clearly not enough, because I'm losing weight. I can see value in letting my body find it's own equilibrium - I guess I'm more concerned about figuring out what is that healthy intake for equilibrium... Because, if I keep losing at this rate, I'll be invisible in a year :)

    I intend to continue eating (almost exclusively) clean food, in proper-sized portions, and being active... I suspect that I'll need to add 4-500 calories/day to stop losing weight... but, I guess I'll just have to play with it and see...
  • Anamdalta
    Anamdalta Posts: 56
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    Thanks, Picante :)

    Structure and accountability... sounds like a plan.

    I can't imagine how I'll eat the extra calories every day, because I've eliminated all the crap that was providing those high calorie numbers... it's a good thing I like nuts, I guess :)

    I was wondering about the whole "hungrier on more cals" problem - I've heard a few people say that... hardly seems fair :)
  • JesterMFP
    JesterMFP Posts: 3,596 Member
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    Thanks, Picante :)

    Structure and accountability... sounds like a plan.

    I can't imagine how I'll eat the extra calories every day, because I've eliminated all the crap that was providing those high calorie numbers... it's a good thing I like nuts, I guess :)

    I was wondering about the whole "hungrier on more cals" problem - I've heard a few people say that... hardly seems fair :)
    Thing is, there's a lot of food that is calorie dense that isn't "crap". Obviously if you suddenly start eating tons more low calorie food like vegetables, you will feel over-full, but you can gradually increase your cals by adding in small bits of calorie dense food like nuts, seeds, nut butters, avocados, eggs, cheese, perhaps switching to full fat dairy if you're currently eating low fat. Add healthy oils to cooking or salads. Drinks are a good way of sneaking them in too - milk, nut milks, smoothies, protein shakes etc.

    In my experience, the body can get used to a variety of calorie intakes. I've overeaten for a long period of time, and not felt that I was, and undereaten for a period of time, and not been hungry. My appetite adjusted pretty quickly. I think when you increase by a few hundred calories, your body will soon get used to that.
  • finchase
    finchase Posts: 174
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    I'm not too far from going into maintenance mode myself, and I'm worried about it. I lost weight before--quite a lot at various times--and always gained it back plus some.

    I think this time I've done a better job of changing my lifestyle and eating habits than I did in the past, so I hope that will help me. I suspect that in some ways, I'll always be "on a diet", just not quite as strict as it's been the past year and a half.

    Maybe I'll be able to allow myself a glass of wine once a week rather than once a quarter as it's been recently. :happy:
  • Anamdalta
    Anamdalta Posts: 56
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    Thanks, Picante :)

    Structure and accountability... sounds like a plan.

    I can't imagine how I'll eat the extra calories every day, because I've eliminated all the crap that was providing those high calorie numbers... it's a good thing I like nuts, I guess :)

    I was wondering about the whole "hungrier on more cals" problem - I've heard a few people say that... hardly seems fair :)
    Thing is, there's a lot of food that is calorie dense that isn't "crap". Obviously if you suddenly start eating tons more low calorie food like vegetables, you will feel over-full, but you can gradually increase your cals by adding in small bits of calorie dense food like nuts, seeds, nut butters, avocados, eggs, cheese, perhaps switching to full fat dairy if you're currently eating low fat. Add healthy oils to cooking or salads. Drinks are a good way of sneaking them in too - milk, nut milks, smoothies, protein shakes etc.

    In my experience, the body can get used to a variety of calorie intakes. I've overeaten for a long period of time, and not felt that I was, and undereaten for a period of time, and not been hungry. My appetite adjusted pretty quickly. I think when you increase by a few hundred calories, your body will soon get used to that.

    All excellent advice. What I meant by high calorie crap was high calorie garbage food - not the nutrient dense foods that you're talking about... I've been avoiding a lot of those, because they put me over my goal... I'm kind of looking forward to being able to eat things like cashew butter :)

    Smoothies are a great idea... I never think of them. I don't know why :) Thanks!!
  • Anamdalta
    Anamdalta Posts: 56
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    I'm not too far from going into maintenance mode myself, and I'm worried about it. I lost weight before--quite a lot at various times--and always gained it back plus some.

    I think this time I've done a better job of changing my lifestyle and eating habits than I did in the past, so I hope that will help me. I suspect that in some ways, I'll always be "on a diet", just not quite as strict as it's been the past year and a half.

    Maybe I'll be able to allow myself a glass of wine once a week rather than once a quarter as it's been recently. :happy:

    The idea that lifestyle change is more important than dieting is kind of comforting - dieting is awful - eating well and being active feels great, so keeping it up should be something we're pretty motivated to do.

    I'm with you on the wine, though :) Cheers.

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