Target weight .. then what ?

I have been maintaining for almost two years. I have no plans to leave because I use the site to log exercise but I no longer log calories. My goal was to get to a point I could sustain a healthy loss without logging food the rest of my life. I continue to monitor my weight and measurement and although I am maintaining weight I have continued to lose inches through strength training .

I agree with the others. Maintenance takes time to figure out. For me it's the balance between not losing more and yet not gaining. I've been surprised how much I can eat now that I consume healthier foods, lots of protein and exercise. For me it's been helpful to continue to log plus I have a great support system of friends on here!

while some may prefer maintenance, I prefer goals.. keeps me dedicated

To assume people don't have goals while in maintenance....is asinine in my opinion.

to assume that was what he was implying....is asinine in my opinion.

I pretty much lost most of my excess weight before finding out about MFP from a friend. I'd already kept a food journal for more than a year, just to see what worked and what was a problem...and to plan my meals. I now can easily plan out meals on MFP and balance carbs/calories/protein, etc. since I'm now taking off the last few pounds and trying to build muscle. I've always known what were healthy foods, etc., but would overeat even those things. This helps establish even more, in my head, the importance of balance and good choices. I don't plan to use it "forever" but as a tool to learn more and become even healthier and solidifying that healthy life style so it becomes second nature.

I find MFP just so so helpful on many levels, especially logging my food diary before eating so I can tweak the amounts. Without it I tend to play guess work and nibble and get back into old habits. I'm very close to reaching my goal and have thought about moving toward a maintenance plan quite a bit. Here's what I posted yesterday on my status:

"Wow, you think you're getting it all figured out and then you enter a new stage and realize it's like starting all over again. I'm playing with the numbers in an attempt to find a good and livable maintenance plan. For now I increased my caloric intake goal to 1300 calories. I hope to lose 0.5 lb (fat only) per week and/or gain lean body mass until I reach 24% body fat. I want to increase my fat intake and keep my protein intake at 100 grams per day (to maintain lean body mass.) So I changed my macro ratio goal to 35% carbs, 30% protein, 35% fat." So far this is identical to my previous goal of 40-30-30, with just a little more fat with each meal, like 10 nuts or a little coconut fat in something.

I'm also making a shift in my workouts toward higher intensity, heavier weight/resistance, but more rest days and less cardio to see if I can gain or at least maintain muscle, which I'm finding really hard to do with lower body weight. Loosing lean body mass would be a great loss indeed.

Keeping track of what I eat by writing it down, keeps me honest with myself. I've found that when I stop journaling, I start to put the weight back on.

Let's say you reached you target weight. What then? Are you going to quit MFP? What things are you going to do that you are not doing currently?


Then I enjoy my new fit/healthy life, and head to the police academy and well do my thing:)
I would never quit mfp I have gained alot of amazing friends that will last a lifetime:)
wear whatever I want, and loose the sweater:)

It is called my FITNESS pal for a reason, not just about weight loss/gain, food and maintenance is it?

Once I hit goal weight one (more to do with bodyfat percentage than actual weight) and I look reasonably okay, then I will do my first ever bulk and cut cycle. I am also training to do a sprint trialthlon this year, a tough mudder and a 9 mile off road run. My fitness goals are never over...I don't think my strength or body composition goals will be complete for a while yet either : )

while some may prefer maintenance, I prefer goals.. keeps me dedicated

To assume people don't have goals while in maintenance....is asinine in my opinion.

I think all he meant was that he has specific fitness plans. There are some people who think about maintenance in general terms: not overeating and continuing to exercise. Whatever works, although I can see the benefit of new goals.

Here's a question to everyone...


Let's say you reached you target weight. What then? Are you going to quit MFP? What things are you going to do that you are not doing currently?


For me, If I reach my target weight (65 Kgs), I would not totally quit MFP. I might just be anxiety-free from the (how-much-calories-in-that) thing, you know? I would eat freely and not worry that much. but would still exercise. I would maintain my healthier lifestyle just so I don't get back to what I was 8 months ago (106 kgs)

how about you?

if you relax you run the risk of putting weight back on. 12 years ago i hit my target weight and relaxed. before I knew it and with the constant undermining from my then girlfriend, , I gained 20 pounds in a matter of a a few months. . I thought I would not gain anymore, and I didn't for a few years. Then Slowly over a span of 12 years i accepted a few more pounds every few years and lo and behold I was about 70 or 80 pounds overweight again. And my GF and I were on the out about 40 pounds before that.

This time around I will not stop logging my food. I am committed to logging my food for a long time that I will measure in years. If I don't log it here I will log it somewhere. I will never go back to eating high calorie foods no matter how strange people think my diet is. I would rather lose a friend or a lover than change my dietary habits. So, whomever is in my life HAD BETTER BE SUPPORTIVE. No options there. this is my religion and my law.

It is called my FITNESS pal for a reason, not just about weight loss/gain, food and maintenance is it?

This!!

Weight loss was only one of my goals, still working on strength, fitness and body composition goals.

I'll continue to bulk and cut forever.

I have been maintaining for 3 months now, and it feels great. I am still consistent with logging in to MFP and tracking my cals/exercise. I don't want to fall off the wagon just because I've hit my target, and be right where I was last year this time. I have gained muscle and loss fat, but my weight has been pretty much the same over the last few months. It's hard work, but I won't allow myself to fall back into old habits.

I will continue to log as I know I need that. I had stopped after the original 60lb loss and gained it back over the years. The site is better than others I had used for logging so I'll still be tracking what I need to today anyway aka watching iron at minimum.