Slimming when being on maintenance?

RoBalance
RoBalance Posts: 56 Member
in Goal: Maintaining Weight
Hey everyone, I got fairly close to my goal weight (2kg off) some weeks ago and started finding it very hard to stick to 1200kcal net. I was thinking about moving on to maintenance but really wanted to lose those last 2 kg quickly. Result: I 'fell off the wagon' and gained weight. I am sure it will come off again but what do I do when I reach that level again when I can't seem to keep up the 1200kcal net? If I go to maintenance, can I still become slimmer? Or even still lose weight? I kind of really want to reach those 50kg (I'm 5"3). Silly, I know. But I think I won't be satisfied until I get there. So, can I still lose weight whilst being on maintenance (eg. by strength training) or does this sound outright silly?

Replies

  • wild_wild_life
    wild_wild_life Posts: 1,334 Member
    By definition, if you're at maintenance you are maintaining weight. You can certainly lose very slowly by keeping a small deficit. The only tricky thing about a small deficit is that minor errors in logging can quickly erase it. But you should be able to find middle ground between 1200 net cals and maintaining.

    You can do what is called "lean recomposition" or "body recomposition" to decrease your % body fat and increase muscle mass while you eat at maintenance or slightly over -- but your weight will stay essentially the same. It just depends on whether you are trying to hit a specific number on the scale or a specific "look". Sometimes the number on the scale is not a good goal.

    Google lean recomposition for more explanation -- I thought this blog post was a good overview.

    http://gokaleo.com/2012/09/19/body-composition-that-last-five-pounds-and-how-to-deal-with-problem-areas/
  • vorgas
    vorgas Posts: 741 Member
    As your muscle mass climbs by doing strength training your maintenance calories goes up. Muscle requires more fuel to maintain than fat. So yeah, as the above poster said, start lifting heavy weights. Enjoy your food.
  • RoBalance
    RoBalance Posts: 56 Member
    Thanks for the advice. I did check out the website and it's really good, I think.
  • judilockwood
    judilockwood Posts: 134 Member
    Bump. thx x
  • MissLisa29
    MissLisa29 Posts: 9
    I may have misunderstood what you're saying BUT..... if you've been eating at such a low level (which 1200 calories kind of is) and then you up it to maintenance all of a sudden.... then you are going to put on weight initially.

    If you are not far from your goal weight I would move to maintenance and concentrate on fitness/lifting.... and let your body realign naturally. You may put on weight at first but if you maintain a good diet and exercise it will even itself out in the long term. You have to look at the bigger picture and not just at the 'quick fix'

    Try this site

    http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/

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