Too scared for maintenance...looking for some support.
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I've been maintaining since May, and have actually lost another 7 pounds on maintenance, although it seems to have leveled off the last month or two. I still log everything, because I like too, and I enjoy my food, knowing I am not going way over calories, etc. I was doing a pretty low deficit (only -250 a day) before I went onto maintenance, so it really wasn't a big change. Was nice just to have some extra calories to eat everyday. I have continued to up the exercise, because I am a runner and have been training for longer distances, and of course, that allows me to eat even more. I am probably averaging close to 2000 cals per day with exercise cals.
Don't be afraid. For now, just keep doing what you are doing, just with some extra calories. Keep weighing yourself occasionally to keep track and make sure you don't start gaining beyond normal fluctuations. Someday I may stop logging, but I will not stop weighing in. I have picked a weight threshold that if I go over it consistently for a few weeks, I will start cutting calories again.
I agree with this. I am nowhere near maintenance but I have lost weight before only to gain some if not all back. Since I started here I have decided that I will probably have to be diligent for the long hall. Even on maintenance I plan on continuing to log my calories and weigh myself regularly. I think it is the only way I can succeed.0 -
Maintenance does not mean easing the reigns. It means increasing your calories a bit. You can still track obsessively and weigh monthly if you like. I think that would be a great approach for you.
This. I still intend to be obsessive when I reach goal, at least for quite awhile.0 -
Hi, and congrats. I agree with gradually upping your calories. Add 100 cal every week or every other week. Weigh in only after you've been at that calorie count for at least a week. If you'd like, you can add me. I eat at maintenance (actually, above what MFP calculates as maintenance because I lose at their calories still). It is always nice to have friends with open diaries showing that they eat at 1800 calories or more, so you can see that it is possible to do so and not gain weight!0
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Feel free to add me if you want some friends who are also at maintenance. I lost about 10 pounds before MFP and then 12-15 with MFP. Now I consider myself at maintenance and have been cycling in the same 3 pound range for a few months now. I still log (though I'm trying taking weekends off right now) and try to stay at my calorie goal. I started upping my calorie goal a little at a time (about 100 calories each time because that's about 1 snack for me). I reached a point where I wasn't feeling hungry, wasn't feeling overly full, wasn't feeling weak during workouts but also wasn't feeling gross. It took a little big of maneuvering to figure out what that number was (I started with Scooby's workshop and played with the number from there). I understand the obsessiveness...I'm definitely an all or nothing sort of person (which is why my choice not to log on weekends might not work out).
You can totally do this...you've done an amazing job so far and if you keep challenging yourself, you can keep your obsessive nature useful and keep the weight off
I've switched to goals like eating more veggies, eating less processed foods and various fitness goals...so it's not really easing the reigns, it's just switching the direction. 0 -
Like others have said, I would still track your calories and exercise, you just need to find the balance of in and out that maintains your goal weight. When I hit my goal weight, I started by raising my calorie intake 200 calories a day. I went 2 weeks with that, and gauged if I needed to raise it more or not. It took about 2 months to get me to a level point. I still fluctuate up and down in weight, I just stay on top of it and adjust calories or exercise as needed, usually in 2 week increments.
I've actually found it takes a little more mental work to maintain than it did to lose, because you have a smaller window to play with calorie wise. Just remember that you got to your goal by adopting a healthier lifestyle, and you will maintain that goal by sticking with that healthier lifestyle. Don't let those old habits creep back in!
I've been in maintenance for almost a year a now, MFP has been a great tool in helping me succeed!0 -
You gotta talk yourself into being brave! I know how you feel. I reached my goal in March, and I'm still here! MFP is now my safety net. I only logged calories for a short period after I began maintenance--to see what it was like. Of course, I still like keeping in touch with my loser friends. (I say that with much love and appreciation.
) I run, bike, and stay active. I no longer log calories or exercise; however, I have a pact with myself that I will return to logging if I exceed my goal weight by more than 5 pounds. I weigh almost every morning to see if I have to keep my promise to myself. So far, so good.
Continue setting fitness goals for yourself, have fun, think about what you eat, and you'll be fine! If you start to go astray, your fitness pals are here for you! You've learned how to do this. Graduation time! :flowerforyou:0 -
Congrats on getting to goal weight (almost)! I'm about 10 pounds away. I lost my weight staying at 1500 calories (net - I eat my exercise cals back). Maintenance will be between 1700-1750 I think, so when I got to 10 pounds away I upped my net cals to 1600. I haven't lost much since, but that's probably due to me falling off the wagon with logging....
I've thought a lot about maintenance and I've decided that I will keep logging and weighing in daily. The weighing in I think I will do for the rest of my life. That way I can identify weight creep early and keep it in check. Also, I will not buy new clothes if my old ones are getting tight. That's gotten me into trouble before!
Feel free to add me - I'm hoping to be in maintenance soon!0 -
It's an interesting comment on the way we think that we are scared of reaching and setting new goals. You have done a great job. Hoping that the anxiety eases up enough to make you feel good yet not so much that you get off the program. I believe that I'll need MFP for life and that maintenance will be just another stage where I get to have bacon more often.
Congratulations!!0 -
The main reason why people regain weight is most often because they feel that they've been 'on a diet' and then they reach target so they can 'come off the diet' and now they can eat the things they denied themselves when they were losing weight. The tighter they held the reins and the lower the amount of food they ate on the way down, the more likely they are to binge when they stop 'dieting'. On the other hand, people who don't regain the weight are the ones that realise that the way they ate to lose the weight is a long term lifestyle change. You will never become a thin person who can eat what they want without gaining an ounce. You'll always have a tendency to put on weight if you overeat. So you should come to terms with the idea that you'll always watch what you eat - be mindful of what you put in your mouth. Be aware that you should watch your portion size and that you have to balance your intake over the week. This doesn't mean that you'll eat like a sparrow for the rest of your life. But you've learned a lot of skills on the way down - you just continue to use those same skills for the rest of your life.
I have maintained my weight since April. I weigh every week or two at the gym. I have set my intake at 1500 and exercise 300-400 calories worth of exercise a day and this means I can eat about 1900 a day.(I use a FitBit to give me a more accurate daily burn). My weight has fluctuated within a 2-3 lb range. As long as you are logging and your intake doesn't exceed your output then you won't gain. Perhaps a trick to your psyche is always to want to lose a couple of lbs more but be happy where you are. That way you never actually reach your goal and so you won't 'let go'. Good luck on this next leg of your journey.0 -
Maintenance does not mean easing the reigns. It means increasing your calories a bit. You can still track obsessively and weigh monthly if you like. I think that would be a great approach for you.
^^^This! Keep logging, keep eating healthy, keep exercising, keep weighing in, but enjoy the fact that you're gonna to have some more calories to play with!!0 -
This time, I used help from a nutritionist at work to make a more reasonable goal for myself and have been working on getting in shape and eating right for the past eight months. Because I can be obsessive, I have only been weighing myself once a month and that seems to be going really well. Three weeks ago I weighed in only two pounds away from my goal weight. A lot of people have told me that I should start to transition into maintenance and by the time things level out, I should have lost those last two pounds.
Why would you suddenly stop listening to the professional who guided you to this point and start listening to "a lot of people"?
You have made significant progress and a nutritionist would surely have a transition program for you.
Weight does not just creep up and jump on you: its a cumulative effect of what you do every day. Calories in, calories out.
If you want to have some solid numbers behind you, go get a DeXA scan and that will give you your body fat percentage and your BMR and from there, you can determine your BMR. With that number, you will know what it takes to run your engine at various activity levels and pretty closely what 'maintenence' is. If you pull back on the exercise and are still eating 1600 calories a day and the clothes still fit without progressively becoming looser, you are at maintenence. If they become more tight-fitting, you can either up the exercise or back off the calories gradually. It's a process, not a one-week thing. I've been the same size (relatively speaking) for about 2 years now after losing about 90 pounds...I have a LOT more muscle and a LOT less fat and I continually tweak my macros to be stronger and leaner.0 -
hello,
try exactly what you did to loose the weight have a nutrionist check in now and then, so you know that although you don't need to loose weight you also need to keep it from creeping back on. many congrats on getting to the end of the diet and welcome to the rest of your life. The local slimming club has a free class if you tip up once a month and are within 3 ILbs of your goal weight, If you go over you pay and get back to the diet!0 -
I can totally appreciate where you are coming from and I have posted a similiar topic awhile back.
I think my fear is that I have either always been overweight or losing weight, I don't know how to maintain weight
I do realize that I will need to watch what I eat, log my food, and exercise for the rest of my life if I want to remain thin.
It is a scary slope, I have started slowing upping my calories which has been ok, but then I allow myself to bend the rules WAY more than I used to and that is what scares me. I am trying to change my mindset, becuase I know I don't want to go back to the way I once was....I like it here too much.
So like alot of other posters said, which I will take away to help me, is maintenance really is no different you just get to eat a little bit more.
Good luck and great job!!!0 -
I would up your calories not more than 200 per day. I recommend that you stay on the myfitness every day and stay within your new goal. If you gain, reduce the calories. If you lose more than you want, increase by 100 only at a time. I also recommend that you weigh at least every three days. I weigh every day and it is amazing what the scale lets me know. If I have too much salt, it will reflect weight gain, If I have too many calories, I will not lose. The fluctation does not discourage me as I am so happy to see the weight loss from the beginning and I expect it. I do not record any slight gains, only losses and each time I lose, I go to reports and look at the weight loss for 90 days and I am so very encouraged. I recommend you stay on my fitness .com always. It will help you control yourself and keep your health and weight loss a priority.0
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Last time I lost weight I managed to pretty much maintain for 10 years (until I had a baby). I still exercised and kept track of what I ate most of the time. Don't be scared- it is MUCH easier to maintain than it is to lose! :flowerforyou:0
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I think you can be just as easily obsessed with maintenance as you can be with weight loss! If you have an obsessive personality (which I kind of do too, so I understand what you mean), then maybe that's what will work for you for a little while. Being obsessed with maintenance for a year or 6 months might make you feel more secure about loosening the reigns once you get to that point. I personally have been maintaining for the past 6 months but I'm just as obsessed with MFP and with logging my food and I still love having the support to remember to be healthy and workout every week when things get tough. I also like to set new goals for myself, like yes I'm not trying to lose lbs, but now I"m trying to get more muscle definition, lose body fat, gain strength and eat more PROTEIN. I can pretty much figure out how many calories to eat in a day without logging but I definitely always struggle (even after 6 months!) to get the protein I need everyday. So I still utilize MFP for that and for the community
Some things in life deserve to be obsessed about ... I think a hobby, your health, your family and your job are good things to obsess about 0 -
I already added my two cents here but I forgot to recommend that you exercise no less than5 days a week. This is as important as our calorie intake.0
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I have 5 more pounds then I will be on maintenance and it worries me as well. I don't currently eat all my exercise calories so I plan on adding those back and seeing how that goes then added back some more if all goes well. I wish you all the best of luck because this is the real challenge, the life change. Add me if you would like and we can support each other.0
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I totally know what you are talking about!
I too am terrified of putting weight back on.
My goal was 127, I am now trying to stay at
115, it gos up and back down.
Why can it not just stay at 115
I pretty much eat the same calories, I know if I eat breads it goes up, I know if I do not go on my walks it goes up.
BUT it is very hard to stay the line. My weight this morning was 117.8. I was truely bumbed. ( we were out late last night and ate
late but it was a ETI meeting and we are on the board, we have to go to the meeting!)
I did try on my new size 2 dress and it still fits. But I must get those 2 pounds off.!!!!!0 -
First congrats on all your hard work! I can also relate, it does become an obession and when I fall off, I usually fall off hard. There is some great advice in this thread, thanks for posting your concern. I bet there are a few people that got something from here. I sure did. Feel free to add me as a friend if you wish. I am looking forward to reaching maintenance...someday:-)0
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I am 1 lb from goal, so in the same boat as you. An MFP pal suggested that I up my calories and drop my weekly target weight loss target the nearer I got to goal so that maintenance would be easy to adjust too. I followed that advise, and am still losing. I currently eat a net 1640 calories a day (I eat back my exercise calories), so I eat plenty. I intend to just change my MFP profile to maintence once I hit goal, and monitor how that goes.0
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Hey girl! You know I'm always here for you when you need anything! Anywho... I think you've gotten some really great advice from so many wonderful people on this board! I think you should try to focus on a new, realistic goal to help your mind stay focused on something! Maybe you can train for an event? Maybe you can try to walk x number of miles for the next 3 months. Get the idea? I think that'll help you focus on a goal while maintaining. As for your food intake, maybe you can change 1 thing for a week or 2 and gauge what happens. If you have been eating very similar each day, maybe try adding a different breakfast to your day with increased calories in it. For instance, if you eat cereal with almond milk every morning, try having whole oats with peanut butter and a banana. You're increasing your calories with healthy calories, and you are only changing 1 variable so you can gauge the results. Don't think of maintenance any different - log and track, but just track more calories in your day (healthy calories)
You are going to do great, and I'm so proud of you!!0 -
Someone said to me "As we reach our weight loss goals we have to focus instead on increasing our performance as ATHLETES. And it is sort of a scary change, but as a previous poster said, Now it's time for you to start setting fitness goals.0
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Wow! Thank you so much to everyone who responded. When I didn't hear anything for a while I thought my post was a did and didn't check it again until just now. Thank you for the support, kind words, and ideas of what to do. There were a lot of good ideas to consider. I especially liked the ones that suggested I get obsessed with something else like fitness. I felt that those posters really got where I was coming from. I have actually already started to make fitness a new obsession, but it's good to know that others think its a good idea too. When I talked to the nutritionist at my work, she said that two key things to keeping the weight off are to exercise regularly and to weigh myself every day. I'm cool with the exercise, but I worry about weighing so often. Even once a week seems like too much. On one hand I fear that if I get a bad weigh in when I'm doing it all the time it will discourage me, but on the other hand, I don't want to do a whole months worth of damage before I realize I'm on the wrong track. I guess I have to get used to the idea that I don't want the scale to go down any more. That staying the same is not only ok, but what I'm supposed to be doing. I have myself a month long fitness challenge that will be ending next Thursday with a weigh in and measurements. I think after that, I will try upping my calories slowly and starting to work on maintenance more. I also need to set a new fitness goal to keep me motivated. I have been trying to do a Body Rock workout almost every day, so maybe I should check out some of the challenges they have posted in the past and give it a try. Keep the great posts coming. I love reading them and I was especially touched by those people who are in the same boat as me. It really makes me feel good because I am not the only one who feels this way. Thanks everyone. I really appreciate everything you guys posted! Have a great night!0
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