question to those who are maintaining

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Anya06
Anya06 Posts: 95
in Health and Weight Loss
Firstly congrats to those who ate successfully maintaining....I have only been maintaining for 2 weeks but find it scary...MFP is telling me I should consume 1970cals but I dont know how much do I actually eat?I have been trying to stick to not go over 1300-1400 whilst also exercising....but i dunno if thats right as I feel frustrated that I have reached my goal weight yet nothing changed...please help with advise and share stories x
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  • Anya06
    Anya06 Posts: 95
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    any advise?
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,401 MFP Moderator
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    If you are trying to maintain 1400 calories won't be enough. Heck, if you are trying to lose, 1400 calories won't be enough. Most active women I help are around 1700-2000 calories to cut, which would put them at 2200-2500 to maintain their weight. So are you trying to maintain or do you want to cut more fat?
  • hippychickuk
    hippychickuk Posts: 93 Member
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    I've been maintaining for 6 months! Oh wait no, it's just a really long plateau. :) I've accomplished this by eating about 1700-1800 cals/day, sprinkled with the occasional 1400-1600 days. Minimal exercise.

    I'm getting back to the gym now and more rigorous with my diary, so hope to see some more downward trending now.
  • SuffolkSally
    SuffolkSally Posts: 964 Member
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    Sorry - I've reached my first goal weight, but not yet where I'd like to be. I'm concerned about maintenance too, so interested to see the replies...
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
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    i am not sure what you're asking?

    you have reached your goal weight but nothings changed?

    if MFP says that is your maintenance calories, then that is what you should be eating. i upped my cals from losing to maintenance by 100 per week, that way you can get a bit more used to eating more.

    i dont know what sort of things you eat now, but you can ditch anything 'low fat' and go for the full fat version- i did this with cottage cheese for example. and nuts are a good high cal snack to increase your cals too.
  • praoenator
    praoenator Posts: 13 Member
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    Hi Anya,

    I am no expert, but what I try to do is leave behind about 300 to 400 calories. In other words, in your case you would eat about 1500 to 1600 calories a day. At the end of the week, you have a calorie deficit of about 2000 to 3000 calories which is slightly more than half a pound. I am sure there are better approaches, but this works for me!!

    Good Luck!!
  • leslie0422
    leslie0422 Posts: 108 Member
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    I have been at my goal weight for about 2 months and my total calories for the day is set at 1540 to maintain. When I exercise I always eat back the calories burned while exercising. Also 1 day per week I eat pretty much whatever I want. So far that has worked for me and I have not gained any back and my body is continuing to look more tone every day with the weight lifting and cardio exercise that I get in 5 - 6 days per week.

    Congrats on reaching your goal weight!
  • cmj444
    cmj444 Posts: 2
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    Ha! Me too! Gotta laugh!
  • JMNealer
    JMNealer Posts: 11 Member
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    I am at or a little below goal weight. I have added calories back in but still losing just a little here and there. I am back to 2,000 calories a day and I hate to add more.

    Thanks
  • kuger4119
    kuger4119 Posts: 213 Member
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    I'm not really "maintaining" since I'm trying to slowly gain back 10 lbs of muscle since August. I went from 177 lbs to 160 lbs and then decided to hit 150 lbs just to prove that I could. Now I'm trying to get back to 160 lbs. I set my intake to gain 0.5 lbs per week. What I found is that it was difficult to eat what I should to gain weight and struggled to gain anything. I've went on a few trips where I ate unhealthy and have gotten in the habit of actually eating the calories that I'm supposed to and I've gained 6.5 lbs in 11 weeks so I'm tracking pretty close to what I should now.

    When I really set to maintain, I'll shoot for about 1900 net calories and eating back my exercise calories. Since I switched gears, I've taken to being more conservative on my calorie estimates from exercise though and estimating low when I'm eating back.
  • runnerchick69
    runnerchick69 Posts: 317 Member
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    Don't be afraid. It is going to be a bit of trial and error when you first start but you will figure out what works best for you. I've been maintaining for a few years now and it was hard at first and I had some of those same fears. I work out 7 days a week and I aim for 1800-2000 calories a day. Like Leslie said below, I have one day where I eat what I want and I take a bit further and don't make myself log that day either. For one day I need a break, a little breathing room and to not worry about every single bite of food going in my mouth :smile:
  • kinzytg
    kinzytg Posts: 42
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    I have been "maintaining" for 2 months, and let me tell you it feels weird after a full year of compulsive logging of everything! I log in everyday to support my pals, I log all exercise (so I don't get lazy) and I weigh myself everyday (but have only recorded it about every 2 weeks). I go back and forth on logging in the food. Some days I do it, other days I do not. I am 5'3" and weight ABOUT 130 (I say that 'cause it fluctuates a bit). I am trying to focus on eating healthy, exercising, and allowing for a range for my maintenance weight. I only get 1590 cals to maintain :( , so I try to be active and get more so I can eat about 1900. It took a while to realize I could eat a bit more than I had for the last year and stay where I am. I am trying new exercises like yoga. I think you have to experiment with what works for you. After taking exactly 1 year to lose weight I did not log in one day and reset my log in, so I will know again when I have spent a year "maintaining" and see how that goes.
  • kristen6022
    kristen6022 Posts: 1,926 Member
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    If you continue eating 1300-1400 calories daily AND working out, you'll keep losing. Eat what MFP tells you to eat and ENJOY it. I've been maintaining with 1850+ since May and have only seen a 2-3+/- pound difference since then.
  • Anya06
    Anya06 Posts: 95
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    saying nothing changed I meant in terms of my life i.e still exercising daily and limiting food...i also find myself panicking when I make plans witj groups of friends to go out etc or when there are any social events coming up,as I know that these will usually include drinking and eating (foods i limit)...its hard to explain how I feel but I want to get some normality in my life and not feel anxious about having a small piece of chocolte or feel guilty for having a glass of wine...I see this whole journey as a lifestyle change and not a quick fix,but seem to be heading a bad path of over thinking it all....hope this makes some sense as to where my confusion is coming from.sorry if i ranted on
  • Anya06
    Anya06 Posts: 95
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    Don't be afraid. It is going to be a bit of trial and error when you first start but you will figure out what works best for you. I've been maintaining for a few years now and it was hard at first and I had some of those same fears. I work out 7 days a week and I aim for 1800-2000 calories a day. Like Leslie said below, I have one day where I eat what I want and I take a bit further and don't make myself log that day either. For one day I need a break, a little breathing room and to not worry about every single bite of food going in my mouth :smile:
    thats something my husband is telling me to do...to allow a treat day i.e when we r out with friends or its a drinking occassion...to relax and not log everything...I should really try it
  • Anya06
    Anya06 Posts: 95
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    i am not sure what you're asking?

    you have reached your goal weight but nothings changed?

    if MFP says that is your maintenance calories, then that is what you should be eating. i upped my cals from losing to maintenance by 100 per week, that way you can get a bit more used to eating more.

    i dont know what sort of things you eat now, but you can ditch anything 'low fat' and go for the full fat version- i did this with cottage cheese for example. and nuts are a good high cal snack to increase your cals too.

    thats a good idea as my fat itake is quite low and while i dont mind most foods being low fat my pet hate is low fat mayo that i always buy....maybe switch for normal
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
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    saying nothing changed I meant in terms of my life i.e still exercising daily and limiting food...i also find myself panicking when I make plans witj groups of friends to go out etc or when there are any social events coming up,as I know that these will usually include drinking and eating (foods i limit)...its hard to explain how I feel but I want to get some normality in my life and not feel anxious about having a small piece of chocolte or feel guilty for having a glass of wine...I see this whole journey as a lifestyle change and not a quick fix,but seem to be heading a bad path of over thinking it all....hope this makes some sense as to where my confusion is coming from.sorry if i ranted on

    i can understand where you're coming from, but at the same time, you dont want to make yourself crazy, or ill, by obsessing over a pudding once a fornight when you're out with frends, or a few glasses of wine on a friday, if overall you are eating well and exercising regularly! its 80/20 - be good 80% of the time, and enjoy the nice things 20%!

    i totally found it weird having to eat more when i first got to my goal weight. but now i love that i can eat 2000 cals a day (with exercise) and not put on weight! mantenance is great!!!!! its the time when you can enjoy all your hard work and know you look good!!
  • sgthaggard
    sgthaggard Posts: 581 Member
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    I guess you could say I'm in maintenance. I hit my goal weight and now I'm going to try adding some muscle through heavy lifting. I've gradually increased my calories from where I was when I was losing to where I need to be to add/maintain. It's not an easy thing to do, psychologically, after months of limiting my intake so I get where you're coming from.
  • YoYo1951
    YoYo1951 Posts: 370
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    Bump
  • HMVOL7409
    HMVOL7409 Posts: 1,588 Member
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    I have been maintaining since June, so 5-6 mths, and its trial and error and honestly harder sometimes than losing. Right here is why I always suggest the TDEE method when you get closer to your goal weight and maintenance. It builds your base up and you eat more bc activity like exercise is included so you are not guessing everyday. I'm sorry but 1300-1400 is very low for maintenance then to not eat more with exercise?? I maintain around 1900-2100 and have 1 day a week where I allow an overage.

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