Harder to maintain than lose?? WTF
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Here is some reading on the subject if you like.
http://ajpregu.physiology.org/content/301/3/R581.full.pdf+html0 -
There are alot of things that are different between maintenance and weight loss even if you are looking at it as a lifestyle change. If you are a goal oriented person, your goal for losing weight can be a everchanging goal with an end in sight. You may have mini goals set for yourself with rewards or just the satisfaction as a reward. When you are on maintenance it is a lifetime goal with no real end in sight. You have the satisfaction of staying the same, but you are probably not going to be rewarding yourself every few months or even every year for maintaining. Then there is the constant adjustments that need to be made for changes in your everyday routine and aging, etc. Don't get me wrong, I am on maintenance and I am thrilled to be here, but hopefully, I will still be as thrilled to be here 5 years from now.0
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Maintenance is absolutely no easier than losing.
It's not physically harder. There's a little bit more calories to play with. Not a heck of a lot more. If you've gradually gone from losing to maintenance, it's probably only about 200 calories more. But you still need to track your food intake and keep up the same level of exercise you were doing before. It's not something that ends.
It can be emotionally harder. Keeping motivated is harder. Losing weight and seeing changes is rewarding, and that reward makes you want to continue. It makes logging and exercising seem worth while. Applying that same amount of effort to stay the same isn't quite as thrilling.
Plus, people congratulate you on weight loss, and that's nice to hear. No one ever says, "Hey! Great job being the same size you were six months ago!" :laugh:0 -
Maintenance is absolutely no different from losing.
It's not physically harder. There's a little bit more calories to play with. Not a heck of a lot more. If you've gradually gone from losing to maintenance, it's probably only about 200 calories more. But you still need to track your food intake and keep up the same level of exercise you were doing before. It's not something that ends.
Sort of the point I was making. It shouldn't be harder, if you are doing it the realistic way. Many of us didn't/aren't. If you are doing two hour long sessions of exercise a day to lose weight - can you keep that up after goal?It can be emotionally harder. Keeping motivated is harder. Losing weight and seeing changes is rewarding, and that reward makes you want to continue. It makes logging and exercising seem worth while. Applying that same amount of effort to stay the same isn't quite as thrilling.
Plus, people congratulate you on weight loss, and that's nice to hear. No one ever says, "Hey! Great job being the same size you were six months ago!" :laugh:
Lol.0 -
Maintenance comes with its own challenges. At first it was tough because seeing the scale move was motivating, so once it stopped moving it was a little discouraging. So I started making fitness related goals instead and that helps a lot.
I've just gone back to a deficit because I'm planning to bulk this winter and I want to get down to 18% body fat first, and it's proving very difficult to give up the extra calories I had gotten used to eating.0 -
I wouldn't say that it's harder, but it's definitely suckier. I'm still doing the exact same thing as I was to lose weight, but I don't have the excitement of seeing the scale move downward or clothes becoming too big anymore. It's kind of like being on a long-term plateau. :laugh:0
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Maintenance in the beginning was hard for me because I continued to lose weight after I had declared I reached my ugw... It took nearly 2 months for me to become mentally ready for maintenance where I was comfortable eating at TDEE and not feel like I was going to gain back all the weight.
Also, I think the word maintenance is relative... Does it mean maintain a certain weight, activity level, etc? After some self reflection I had to find my definition for maintenance which was a mix of weight range and activity level.
Last, MFP becomes very different when you are not losing weight... No longer are you posting a loss and getting all that cheerleading and encouragement from your pals... So you need to be ready to find your motivation from inside and other means such as success threads, groups, other social media, etc... I have learned that although the weight is off the journey continues because goals don't have to be just around weight loss...0 -
I wonder if that's just a phrase that goes around and people keep saying it....but WHY?
It's been making me think lately. (Note to self: Cut out all this over thinking crapola) Anyway...
I feel like maintenance is going to be just fine....I think exercise is probably super important at this stage but I don't think it will be harder.... I'm a lifetime logger that's for sure. And I really love working out so...
It seems like what I'm doing is sustainable and just for the record I don't eat clean, I eat healthy enough though. I had pizza last night. Yumm.
Any thoughts? Especially from people on maintenance?
I had the same exact attitude as you have as I was losing weight. Fast forward to now, as I've been in maintenance for around 5 months, and I've definitely been smacked upside the head by a reality check.
1. There's no more seeing lower numbers on the scale. No more compliments. No more buying smaller sized clothes. All of these are 'highs' you get while losing weight. Your big motivations to keep at it disappears. I didn't realize how important these were, until they disappeared.
2. Losing weight gives you a goal to work towards. I remember the morning I hit my goal weight and it was incredibly anti-climatic. I was like 'this is it?' The world did not stop to give me applause, I did not suddenly look like a model. My husband just grunted when I told him. I felt let down and a bit blue to be done losing-it had been such a big part of my life for 6 months and bam, done.
3. It's VERY easy to get lazy. You begin by telling yourself you can just 'eyeball' servings sizes. Portions begin to get bigger. Extra calories start to slip in. You start creeping up to the high end of your maintenance range, but figure that you've 'earned' the right to relax a bit. But....
There's a 95% statistical failure rate with long term weight loss success (keeping the weight off, within a small percentage, for more than five years). That number is staggering! And that's regardless of what diet plan you follow.
ONLY 5% OF US HERE will have long term success with the battle over our weight. That's very sobering to think about.
Weight loss is a fairly short period of time (usually less than two years for most of us). Maintenance is 20, 30, 40+ years. That's the hard part-finding the right mindset to get you through the rough spots you're going to run into over the course of many, many years.
A great book to read is Rethinking Thin, by Gina Kolata. It's about the history of the dieting industry and also looks at studies that have been done/are being done about obesity, dieting, weight loss and the reality of maintenance. It was a good wake up call for me, who though maintenance was going to be easy (and now that I'm in it, I totally get it now).0 -
I wonder if that's just a phrase that goes around and people keep saying it....but WHY?
It's been making me think lately. (Note to self: Cut out all this over thinking crapola) Anyway...
I feel like maintenance is going to be just fine....I think exercise is probably super important at this stage but I don't think it will be harder.... I'm a lifetime logger that's for sure. And I really love working out so...
It seems like what I'm doing is sustainable and just for the record I don't eat clean, I eat healthy enough though. I had pizza last night. Yumm.
Any thoughts? Especially from people on maintenance?
I had the same exact attitude as you have as I was losing weight. Fast forward to now, as I've been in maintenance for around 5 months, and I've definitely been smacked upside the head by a reality check.
1. There's no more seeing lower numbers on the scale. No more compliments. No more buying smaller sized clothes. All of these are 'highs' you get while losing weight. Your big motivations to keep at it disappears. I didn't realize how important these were, until they disappeared.
2. Losing weight gives you a goal to work towards. I remember the morning I hit my goal weight and it was incredibly anti-climatic. I was like 'this is it?' The world did not stop to give me applause, I did not suddenly look like a model. My husband just grunted when I told him. I felt let down and a bit blue to be done losing-it had been such a big part of my life for 6 months and bam, done.
3. It's VERY easy to get lazy. You begin by telling yourself you can just 'eyeball' servings sizes. Portions begin to get bigger. Extra calories start to slip in. You start creeping up to the high end of your maintenance range, but figure that you've 'earned' the right to relax a bit. But....
There's a 95% statistical failure rate with long term weight loss success (keeping the weight off, within a small percentage, for more than five years). That number is staggering! And that's regardless of what diet plan you follow.
ONLY 5% OF US HERE will have long term success with the battle over our weight. That's very sobering to think about.
Weight loss is a fairly short period of time (usually less than two years for most of us). Maintenance is 20, 30, 40+ years. That's the hard part-finding the right mindset to get you through the rough spots you're going to run into over the course of many, many years.
A great book to read is Rethinking Thin, by Gina Kolata. It's about the history of the dieting industry and also looks at studies that have been done/are being done about obesity, dieting, weight loss and the reality of maintenance. It was a good wake up call for me, who though maintenance was going to be easy (and now that I'm in it, I totally get it now).
You make a lot of good points, this entire thread gives me more to think about. I am only a third of the way there but it was good to hear about maintenance from those of you who are living it. I guess I will see when I get there.0 -
I'm probably repeating what others have said here, but this is my take on it. I find maintenance quite a bit harder than losing. You're basically doing the same things, but you no longer have the feedback system that comes along with weight loss - seeing the scale change, measurements change, clothes fitting better, looking better in the mirror, other people commenting on your loss... Regardless of your reasons for wanting to lose the weight, all of that stuff keeps you motivated to keep going. You're constantly being rewarded for your efforts.
When you're maintaining, you get on the scales and see the same numbers. You're no longer thinking of how you will look better or planning what you will wear when you lose a bit more, or looking forward to seeing better results when you see the doctor or whatever. People get used to how you look. You're just trying to stay the same. You're still rewarded for your efforts in that you are the weight you want to be, but psychologically, it's just not the same of having that positive feedback you get when losing.
When you're losing, there's a specific end in sight. You don't have that when you're maintaining. For a lot of people, reaching their goal weight is the prize, and one that's worth working hard for. A lot of people don't really think about what happens next, and I think a lot genuinely don't realise that they will still have to work hard to keep it off.
What helps is enjoying the food you're eating, and the exercise you're doing. That goes a long way towards not wanting to stop what you're doing. Setting new goals also helps, so you always have something to aim for.0 -
Down to the last few kg and then approaching maintenance. The part I think will be the hardest is figuring how much to eat to maintain, upping calories without gaining, etc.
I plan to make sure if I gain a kg or two to just lose it again before I gain too much back when I'm at that stage.0 -
i can say for me anyway. Losing wasnt that hard but I only had to lose about 36 total lbs and some before I joined the site I lost. I am at goal now. I never broke a sweat really, I know thats aweful, but I did 20-60 min a day with about a 6-8 incline or something on my treadmill at about a 2.5-3.0 mph pace ..I never even broke a sweat.
But now it seems that its hard a little to maintain because on the weekends I like to rest and eat with my boyfriend. My usual is gain 4lbs on the weekend, lose it back by Friday....thats been going on for months. But I finally am now tired of being a yo-yo and I said Im going to carry the good eating and workouts into the weekend, and I want to start toning and lifting now. But whatever I do I know I have to be able to stick to it...Im not fond of alot of exercise, unless im not thinking about it, like I clean alot and live on some land and have animals to take care of , I never log that stuff and it makes me sweat so who knows....but It isnt hard, but I will be here forever to keep on track and thats ok.0 -
I wonder if that's just a phrase that goes around and people keep saying it....but WHY?
I can see the points about maintaining not being as motivating, BUT
As someone who has been plateaued between the same FOUR POUNDS for 8 frickin' months, I'm maintaining while I'm trying to lose. To me, that means maintaining is easier. lol But I do want to cry when i get on the scale and see the same thing. Its making it difficult to continue logging, difficult to motivate myself. So maybe maintaining would be like that too.. I'll let you know if I ever get there.0 -
Maintaining for me is a pain. I have already gone up 4 pounds and stayed there and I am only eating 1700 calories a days. I still want to lose another 5 pounds down from my lowest weight.
My weight barely moves during the week, it will go up 1 or 2 pounds but it takes 3 times longer to go back than it took to go on.0 -
QFT'Maintenance' is a myth. The very concept defies the natural laws that govern the universe.
It is simply time to set a new or different goal. The rest will take care of itself.
The closer I got to "goal weight" the the number became less significant. The importance of fitness superseded a fixed number on a scale.0 -
I am actually looking forward to maintainace or at least my goal weight. When I hit there I will finally be able to start eating a surplus and gaining some searious amounts of muscle. I know this is going to add a few pound on put a decent bulk/cut diet will keeping me going for the next few years till I get the body shape I want.
So when i reach my weight goal, my journey has only just began!0 -
Maintenance is a transition, and transitions can be difficult. I also find that my body image fluctuates. I feel great when I've just lost weight and accomplished a goal. I can find fault when I live with myself for a while. It's important to have other goals in life, not just goals about how you look.0
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What I don't have the confidence to do is to stop logging. I've been overweight for most of my (long!!) adult life and so if logging is the price to be paid for being healthier then that's OK by me.
This. I feel like I will be attached to MFP fo' life. Dunno if that's a good thing :ohwell:0 -
I've approached maintenance the way I did weight loss, just with a slightly more relaxed attitude. I still log in my food diary so I know how many calories I consume (sometimes not on the weekends, but I'm relatively consistent). I rarely eat meals that aren't prepared at home. Some days I eat under my maintenance calories, other days I'm over. It's about finding the right balance. I try to move as much as possible - even if it's not dedicated "exercise."
I weigh in once a week and stay within a three pound window. When I reach the top end of what is my maintenance weight range, I reign it in for a week or two. This has worked for me for years. Let your "good days" outnumber your bad ones. If it's truly important to you, you'll find a way!0 -
** Meant to quote, see below.**
You're right if you eat to few calories it's going to catch up to you, a week a ago I hit a plateau after weeks of losing 3-5 Lbs. per week which is why I started looking for a site like this and I'm so glad I did because now I can more easily record my exercise calories too. Back to calories though it's so important to at least eat the minimum because I started to eat less than my minimum and I thought that was ok because it would make me lose more weight but I stopped losing and even gained a pound back, then I learned that when I ate to few calories and was exercising a lot as well my body went into starvation mode so anything I ate it held onto for dear life. MFP put my minimum intake at 1400 but I did some research and that is to low for a man my height, weight and level of activity so I manually changed it, eat about the same calories every day ( around 1700 ), don't eat back my calories and the weight is coming right off again, I lost a whole pound yesterday!0
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