Moving into maintenance

MaryKatU
MaryKatU Posts: 146
edited January 27 in Health and Weight Loss
I am curious how you have moved into maintaining. I've heard many versions on how to do this.
Some people have said to aim a few lbs below goal so things will balance out when upping calories to maintenance.
Some have said to add 100 calories to the daily goal each week until reaching maintenance calories.
Some have said they eat at goal weight maintenance rather than going by MFP recommendations.
I only want to lose another 2-3lbs. Any thoughts?

Replies

  • tomcornhole
    tomcornhole Posts: 1,084 Member
    Any of those may work. I went 2 lbs below target and then started adding 100 cal / week. I leveled out nicely right at my goal weight after adding 400 cal / day over a month. Worked like a champ for me.

    Maintenance for me has been a huge mental transition. I've been at this for 15 months now and never thought it would be such a huge mental adjustment. It's very, very weird getting on the scale every morning and hoping it stays the same vs. going down. Now it's all about weight lifting. I'm happy to have a new focus. WIthout that, I would be in lala land.
  • JoanB5
    JoanB5 Posts: 610 Member
    The first few weeks were scary. I lost 2 more pounds, but quickly gained back four, then got back down to goal and have stayed their for several months. Now, I'm focused on body fat. To start lifting at this stage has been a safety net because extra calories convert to muscle and muscle burns more fat: boosts your metabolism. So, that's been great. I'm alternating cardio and lifting as much as I can. I used HayBaler's excel sheet, which is a huge help in transitioning. I adjusted it every couple week as my activity level changes. It can be found on the In Place of a Road Map post (search it).
  • nxd10
    nxd10 Posts: 4,571 Member
    I'm there too. I am in my 5 pound 'target zone' and have decided I just want to stay here. However, I'm very comfortable with my current calories and am not losing much any more so have just decided to stay at this level, make sure i don't lose, but relax ia little. My weight bounces around a bit so I want to stay in the 150-155 zone, have hit 153, but am currently at 156 because I am holding a lot of fluids right now.

    I bought a fitbit yesterday so I can monitor my exercise more accurately and see whether I can maintain eating what it and mfp combined recommend for me. I usually eat my exercise calories back.

    I think this is tricky. Personally, I am upping my exercise (easy in summer) to gain more muscle, watching the scale to make sure I don't gain, and seeing how many calories I need to remain stable. I have been eating under only because we eat lighter in the summer, but have been feeling hungry and letting myself go a bit over my current setting of a 500 calorie deficit. I'm feeling my way forward. I hear maintaining weight loss is the hardest part.
  • shellfly
    shellfly Posts: 186
    It was an interesting transition. I had been following MFP's calorie limits the whole time, but as I dropped closer to my goal, the calories kept bumping down, and I started getting cranky. At that point, I started eating a bit more even though it went against MFP. The last 5 lbs were stubborn, but once they came off, I happily added more calories. However, I continued to lose a bit more. I didn't truly stabilize until I switched to using the calories calculated via the TDEE method. Now, I'm always right around my final weight, usually no more than 1-2 lbs off. I think you have to be patient for a few weeks after reaching maintenance, and see what works for you. It is a bit tricky and more stressful than I had expected. But once you stabilize (and you will), it's wonderful!
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