How to make the transition to maintenance?

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Jessicalg1981
Jessicalg1981 Posts: 51 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Ok, so after losing 86lbs I'm 1.5lb away from my goal weight (yay me!) and I'm wondering how to go about transitioning to maintenance. How many calories should I be eating? I'm so scared I'll gain!!! This is really hard. Any advice or personal stories dealing with this are welcome. Since getting to the point where I'm genuinely happy about the way I look I have a lot of little moments of panic that I'll gain it all back!! Please help! :D
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Replies

  • freddykid
    freddykid Posts: 265 Member
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    Not sure what other did, but once I reached my goal I set it to 5lbs lower and then upped my calories to meet .5 lbs/ a week. I did this to allow for the rebound of a few lbs when I transitioned... but it never happened. I go over a few days a week and under others. I have been my gw for about 6 months now +/-2 lbs. That is what worked for me
  • Jessicalg1981
    Jessicalg1981 Posts: 51 Member
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    So, you set your goal to 5lbs lower? then said you wanted to lose .5lbs a week? Is that what you mean? Sorry, my brain doesn't handle math too well lol.
  • TheCaren
    TheCaren Posts: 894 Member
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    I've been on maintenance since March. And basically I took my TDEE and try to eat in that range. I weigh in weekly and gave myself a five pound window to work with. As long as I'm within that five pound window, I'm doing okay.

    I'm fairly inactive, so if you are doing lot of exercise you may need more food than I do. And I'm old(er)...

    My stats, for comparison purposes:
    Height: 5'4"
    Weight: 120-125 (depends on the day)
    Age: 44
    Activity level: Sedentary
    Calorie Intake Goal: 1600-1700

    By the way I have a very small bone structure so 120 might sound low but for my body type it really isn't.
  • Patovader
    Patovader Posts: 439 Member
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    Hi,

    First of all congratulations on your incredible achievement :)

    I have been successfully maintaining (+ or - 2 pounds) since April last year, start by increasing your calories by maybe 100 or so a day and try that for a few weeks, keep doing that until you find a level that works. I am 5' 6" and weigh 140 pounds, my job is sedentary so I maintain on 1900 calories then add and eat my exercise calories back.

    Good luck, A :)
  • ze_hombre
    ze_hombre Posts: 377 Member
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    For me I just went into MFP and set it to maintenance. I have been following it for a couple weeks now and while I fluctuate 5 or so pounds during the week (I weigh daily), all in all I am maintaining. I had a foot injury so I haven't been running much lately and even with that I haven't gained, I just cut back on the calories making an educated guess.
  • jlapey
    jlapey Posts: 1,850 Member
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    I think you are supposed to up your calories a little (100 or so) for a couple weeks until you are no longer losing weight...or something like that. Check out this group, I'm certain they can offer you some good advice.

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/groups/home/10118-eat-train-progress
  • bpotts44
    bpotts44 Posts: 1,066 Member
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    I stopped logging and have converted to a high fat diet with intermittent fasting which I call no grains no sugar no breakfast. It has worked for me and I've never felt better.
  • Bekahmardis
    Bekahmardis Posts: 602 Member
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    I actually went 2 pounds below my goal weight before eating at maintenance level. It helped my body to readjust to the new calorie level and I'm up and down within two pounds. My goal weight was 110, and I go between 108.5 and 110.5 now. I'm pretty happy with that.
  • WendyTerry420
    WendyTerry420 Posts: 13,274 Member
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    Maintenance is eating at your TDEE. Get your food diary and a calculator or spreadsheet if you don't know your TDEE.
  • tigersword
    tigersword Posts: 8,059 Member
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    Just switch to maintenance calories. There's no magic involved.
  • magerum
    magerum Posts: 12,589 Member
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    You're going to gain weight, nothing can be done about that. Slowly increase your calories. Add 100-200 a day for a week (probably two) and monitor the results. You'll more than likely spike up a few pounds the first week, simply from glycogen stores being replenished and water retention from increase consumption. Typically it will settle down after a week or two and you're probably even continue to lose. If so adjust up again until you find a level where you stay within a given range, say 5 lbs up and down, over the course of a month.

    That is more than likely your maintenance level, everything else being equal or static (activity etc...)

    I adjusted up, over time, from 1300 all the way up to 4100 @ 5'10" 195lbs with this method. (Currently cutting again at 3000)
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,868 Member
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    Ok, so after losing 86lbs I'm 1.5lb away from my goal weight (yay me!) and I'm wondering how to go about transitioning to maintenance. How many calories should I be eating? I'm so scared I'll gain!!! This is really hard. Any advice or personal stories dealing with this are welcome. Since getting to the point where I'm genuinely happy about the way I look I have a lot of little moments of panic that I'll gain it all back!! Please help! :D

    Put your goal in MFP to maintain...just like you did to lose. It will give you maintenance calories. I'd recommend increasing slowly to those calories if you've been going balls to the wall the whole time. You're supposed to slow up gradually as you approach maintenance...kinda like a car coming to a stop light...so if you haven't, stepping on the gas balls to the wall to maintenance is going to freak your metabolism out.

    When I wen to maintenance, I slowly increased my calories by 100 per day week by week until I got to maintenance. If you've been on a two pound per week goal, maybe do 200 calories per day week to week to let your metabolism adjust.
  • bumblebums
    bumblebums Posts: 2,181 Member
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    Like everyone said, gradually increase your calories to what you estimate as your maintenance level, and monitor your weight and measurements closely. That is probably something you will have to do for some time, if not forever.

    Something that hasn't yet been mentioned is that psychologically, maintenance can be tough for people because there is no obvious goal apart from staying the same. So I would set some other goal--perhaps fitness-related. Now that I am at maintenance, I am focusing on increasing my strength, which requires paying attention to my intake so I am eating enough. I think I would find maintenance fairly boring if I had to only my inactivity to sustain (though YMMV).
  • caribougal
    caribougal Posts: 865 Member
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    Congrats on reaching your goal!!!

    I won't comment on the technical part of maintenance (how many cals, TDEE, etc).

    But I'm surprised by how hard it is mentally to switch to maintenance mode. I've been at maintenance since May. Like an above poster, I also lowered my goal by 5 lbs just for kicks and giggles. I lost 2 of those 5 lbs when I experimented with 5:2 fasting for a month, and I've just sort of maintained that, but I'm not trying to lose more. I fluctuate on any given day 2-3 lbs anyway.

    What's hard is the fear of gaining the weight back. It's not a rational fear at all. I stopped counting calories for a couple of months, and at first I found it liberating, but now I just find that not knowing my daily calories is adding stress. Even though I know what I'm eating, the lack of tracking is stressful in its own way. So I decided to go back to tracking... not to lose more weight, but to just let the data it gives me feel more in control.

    We went on a beach vacation earlier this month, and I told my hubby to take a picture of me, because "I may never be this thin again". He thought I was nuts for saying it. It's like I don't really believe that I've lost the weight, or that I'll be able to keep it off. Even though I've completely changed my eating habits from "the old me" and I'm not going back to old behaviors, I still fear gaining.

    For the past couple of weeks, I've had my house for sale and I've moved the scale out of my bathroom. I think that's created the most stress of all. Without that data point in the morning, I find that I look in the mirror and see more fat and think, "Oh my Gawd, I've gained weight back". Then I pull out the scale, and find that I haven't, and it's a case of distorted perception.

    Anyway... no particular advice here, but just a "beware". I find it's harder mentally than being in loss mode.
  • tigersword
    tigersword Posts: 8,059 Member
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    Congrats on reaching your goal!!!

    I won't comment on the technical part of maintenance (how many cals, TDEE, etc).

    But I'm surprised by how hard it is mentally to switch to maintenance mode. I've been at maintenance since May. Like an above poster, I also lowered my goal by 5 lbs just for kicks and giggles. I lost 2 of those 5 lbs when I experimented with 5:2 fasting for a month, and I've just sort of maintained that, but I'm not trying to lose more. I fluctuate on any given day 2-3 lbs anyway.

    What's hard is the fear of gaining the weight back. It's not a rational fear at all. I stopped counting calories for a couple of months, and at first I found it liberating, but now I just find that not knowing my daily calories is adding stress. Even though I know what I'm eating, the lack of tracking is stressful in its own way. So I decided to go back to tracking... not to lose more weight, but to just let the data it gives me feel more in control.

    We went on a beach vacation earlier this month, and I told my hubby to take a picture of me, because "I may never be this thin again". He thought I was nuts for saying it. It's like I don't really believe that I've lost the weight, or that I'll be able to keep it off. Even though I've completely changed my eating habits from "the old me" and I'm not going back to old behaviors, I still fear gaining.

    For the past couple of weeks, I've had my house for sale and I've moved the scale out of my bathroom. I think that's created the most stress of all. Without that data point in the morning, I find that I look in the mirror and see more fat and think, "Oh my Gawd, I've gained weight back". Then I pull out the scale, and find that I haven't, and it's a case of distorted perception.

    Anyway... no particular advice here, but just a "beware". I find it's harder mentally than being in loss mode.
    Not trying to be mean, but quite honestly, you sound like you need some psychological counseling or therapy.
  • bumblebums
    bumblebums Posts: 2,181 Member
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    Congrats on reaching your goal!!!

    I won't comment on the technical part of maintenance (how many cals, TDEE, etc).

    But I'm surprised by how hard it is mentally to switch to maintenance mode. I've been at maintenance since May. Like an above poster, I also lowered my goal by 5 lbs just for kicks and giggles. I lost 2 of those 5 lbs when I experimented with 5:2 fasting for a month, and I've just sort of maintained that, but I'm not trying to lose more. I fluctuate on any given day 2-3 lbs anyway.

    What's hard is the fear of gaining the weight back. It's not a rational fear at all. I stopped counting calories for a couple of months, and at first I found it liberating, but now I just find that not knowing my daily calories is adding stress. Even though I know what I'm eating, the lack of tracking is stressful in its own way. So I decided to go back to tracking... not to lose more weight, but to just let the data it gives me feel more in control.

    We went on a beach vacation earlier this month, and I told my hubby to take a picture of me, because "I may never be this thin again". He thought I was nuts for saying it. It's like I don't really believe that I've lost the weight, or that I'll be able to keep it off. Even though I've completely changed my eating habits from "the old me" and I'm not going back to old behaviors, I still fear gaining.

    For the past couple of weeks, I've had my house for sale and I've moved the scale out of my bathroom. I think that's created the most stress of all. Without that data point in the morning, I find that I look in the mirror and see more fat and think, "Oh my Gawd, I've gained weight back". Then I pull out the scale, and find that I haven't, and it's a case of distorted perception.

    Anyway... no particular advice here, but just a "beware". I find it's harder mentally than being in loss mode.
    Not trying to be mean, but quite honestly, you sound like you need some psychological counseling or therapy.

    Tigersword, come back when you have been at maintenance for a while and see if you feel the same way.
  • JUDDDing
    JUDDDing Posts: 1,367 Member
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    Not trying to be mean, but quite honestly, you sound like you need some psychological counseling or therapy.

    tigerpalm.jpg

    :)
  • SmartAlec03211988
    SmartAlec03211988 Posts: 1,896 Member
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    I figured out my TDEE and ate it.

    That's it. Weight has remained the same for almost two years.
  • Capt_Apollo
    Capt_Apollo Posts: 9,026 Member
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    in my opinion, 1.5 lbs from goal weight = being at goal weight.
  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,811 Member
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    Absolutely no need to go back to calculators and all that jazz!!

    As most people have said - just slowly add calories (custom set goal) week by week and be as accurate as you can with your food logging until you find the point where you stay in a range of weight you are happy with.

    Very important to mentally allow yourself a range rather than one set number or you will get frustrated by the normal fluctuations you see on the scales.

    Well done by the way. :flowerforyou:

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