Maintenance Survey
beckyhoo
Posts: 34 Member
Hello maintainers! I hit my goal weight a couple weeks ago and am in the process of adjusting my calories each week to transition to maintenance. I thought it might be helpful to put out a general questionnaire to get a feel for how everybody handles this phase of the journey in their own way. Feel free to answer only what you want or add questions I forgot.
1. How long have you been maintaining?
2. Did you adjust your initial goal?
3. Did you begin the transition to maintenance before you actually hit your goal?
4. Did you gradually increase your calories or bump up to maintenance level all at once?
5. How hard or easy has it been to meet your new daily calorie goals?
6. What foods did you add back into your diet to help increase your caloric intake?
7. Have you continued to log all of your food? If so, do you complete your diary each day?
8. How often do you weigh yourself now and how often do you log your weight in MFP?
9. Do you have a "cushion" or "cap" for weight fluctuation that, when met, spurs you to cut or increase calories?
10. How did your workout habits change at maintenance level?
11. What are your future goals for maintenance/fitness/health/etc?
12. Any other tips, experiences, surprises or general comments regarding maintenance you'd like to share?
Thanks for your time! Congrats on your past and continued success!
1. How long have you been maintaining?
2. Did you adjust your initial goal?
3. Did you begin the transition to maintenance before you actually hit your goal?
4. Did you gradually increase your calories or bump up to maintenance level all at once?
5. How hard or easy has it been to meet your new daily calorie goals?
6. What foods did you add back into your diet to help increase your caloric intake?
7. Have you continued to log all of your food? If so, do you complete your diary each day?
8. How often do you weigh yourself now and how often do you log your weight in MFP?
9. Do you have a "cushion" or "cap" for weight fluctuation that, when met, spurs you to cut or increase calories?
10. How did your workout habits change at maintenance level?
11. What are your future goals for maintenance/fitness/health/etc?
12. Any other tips, experiences, surprises or general comments regarding maintenance you'd like to share?
Thanks for your time! Congrats on your past and continued success!
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Replies
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Good post! I'm close to maintenance so I look forward to see what others say on this!0
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1. How long have you been maintaining?
10 weeks this time round (I've reduced my goal downwards a couple of times)
2. Did you adjust your initial goal?
Yes - 175 down to 170 and then down again to current 168. Really happy at 168!!
3. Did you begin the transition to maintenance before you actually hit your goal?
Not really - I lost weight slowly.
4. Did you gradually increase your calories or bump up to maintenance level all at once?
Gradually the first spell of maintenance, last time I was only at a very small deficit so didn't have much of an adjustment.
5. How hard or easy has it been to meet your new daily calorie goals?
Really easy. I seem to have found quite a "natural" level where I can enjoy treats and not feel restricted.
6. What foods did you add back into your diet to help increase your caloric intake?
None - I didn't exclude anything when losing.
7. Have you continued to log all of your food? If so, do you complete your diary each day?
Yes and yes.
8. How often do you weigh yourself now and how often do you log your weight in MFP?
Every day - always have for as long as I can remember, it's just part of my morning routine. I don't record the normal weight fluctuations.
9. Do you have a "cushion" or "cap" for weight fluctuation that, when met, spurs you to cut or increase calories?
+ or - 2lbs
10. How did your workout habits change at maintenance level?
Got more intense with increased energy.
11. What are your future goals for maintenance/fitness/health/etc?
To carry on with a recomp, reducing body fat percentage and increasing muscle mass.
Improve VO2 max score.
Bench press over 200lbs
20 pull-ups
Cycle 20 miles in an hour on my hybrid.
(I'm sure others will come along as I love goals!!)
12. Any other tips, experiences, surprises or general comments regarding maintenance you'd like to share?
Maintenance isn't the end, it's just the start of a new phase!
You are never too old to push your limits or try new things.
Weight should be only one of your targets.0 -
1. How long have you been maintaining?
About a year
2. Did you adjust your initial goal?
Yes, initially was 114. I gradually upped my calories after that, but continued to lose to 105, which is probably my ideal weight (I am 5'0", BTW).
3. Did you begin the transition to maintenance before you actually hit your goal?
See above.
4. Did you gradually increase your calories or bump up to maintenance level all at once?
Gradual
5. How hard or easy has it been to meet your new daily calorie goals?
At first it was hard, but mostly due to underlying health issues that made it hard for me to eat. Now I am used to it and am doing ok.
6. What foods did you add back into your diet to help increase your caloric intake?
Mostly just bigger portions and more snacks
7. Have you continued to log all of your food? If so, do you complete your diary each day?
Yes.
8. How often do you weigh yourself now and how often do you log your weight in MFP?
I weigh almost everyday, just to be able to see trends rather than focus on one number which can be skewed. i do not record it on MFP.
9. Do you have a "cushion" or "cap" for weight fluctuation that, when met, spurs you to cut or increase calories?
I will decrease my calories if I reach 5 lbs over my current weight.
10. How did your workout habits change at maintenance level?
They did not. My workout routine is focused on overall health and fitness and not weight loss.
11. What are your future goals for maintenance/fitness/health/etc?
Keep doing what I am doing and focus on gaining strength.
12. Any other tips, experiences, surprises or general comments regarding maintenance you'd like to share?
I think the key is not obsessing, but paying attention. I always say that your weight may fluctuate by a few pounds here or there, but the key is to not let it get out of control.0 -
1. How long have you been maintaining?
Almost a year.
2. Did you adjust your initial goal?
Yes
3. Did you begin the transition to maintenance before you actually hit your goal?
No
4. Did you gradually increase your calories or bump up to maintenance level all at once?
I did it slowly.
5. How hard or easy has it been to meet your new daily calorie goals?
It is hard because I am in Asia so there is no way I can tell how many calories most of the food here is.
6. What foods did you add back into your diet to help increase your caloric intake?
The same food I had while I am trying to lose weight, I just eat them more than a serving of them. They are usually milk, yoghurt, legumes, banana, apple and if my macro is good, I will have chips, cracker, bakery or ice cream for that.
7. Have you continued to log all of your food? If so, do you complete your diary each day?
Yes and yes.
8. How often do you weigh yourself now and how often do you log your weight in MFP?
Everyday
9. Do you have a "cushion" or "cap" for weight fluctuation that, when met, spurs you to cut or increase calories?
If it's more than 2kg of my goal weight, I'd be worry and watch what I am eat and try to eat right again.
10. How did your workout habits change at maintenance level?
11. What are your future goals for maintenance/fitness/health/etc?
My goal so far is to maintain and try not to let me gain all the weight back.
12. Any other tips, experiences, surprises or general comments regarding maintenance you'd like to share?
Weight fluctuation happens all the time, usually from water weight so as long as you don't slowly gain weight in weeks, don't sweat it.0 -
1. How long have you been maintaining?
Around 6 weeks..
2. Did you adjust your initial goal?
Yes..My BF was at a percentage I was happy with so I worried less about the weight
3. Did you begin the transition to maintenance before you actually hit your goal?
No.
4. Did you gradually increase your calories or bump up to maintenance level all at once?
All at once, they where only about 200 calories more a day so I didn't notice a huge difference
5. How hard or easy has it been to meet your new daily calorie goals?
Very easy, I love food
6. What foods did you add back into your diet to help increase your caloric intake?
Just a little more chocolate when required, and bigger breakfasts. But I'm training for a race and a very active person so I was already eating back some/most of my calories but I don't always eat back everything on a daily basis
7. Have you continued to log all of your food? If so, do you complete your diary each day?
Every day - Apart from last Friday when I felt ill so I left logging everything..
8. How often do you weigh yourself now and how often do you log your weight in MFP?
I'm not a fan of the scales so once a month - If I lose I'll only log once it's stayed consistent for a few weeks.
9. Do you have a "cushion" or "cap" for weight fluctuation that, when met, spurs you to cut or increase calories?
Absolutely - I had one week I felt awful, bloated and uncomfortable - I would allow myself no more than a 2lb gain.
10. How did your workout habits change at maintenance level?
I'm more about quality than quantity.
11. What are your future goals for maintenance/fitness/health/etc?
Run faster/lift heavier, climb harder..I really want to take my fitness to a new level over the next 6 months and I need more calories/energy for that.
12. Any other tips, experiences, surprises or general comments regarding maintenance you'd like to share?
Don't use it as a excuse to go crazy, honestly my eating habits have hardly changed, don't stop exercising and moving the goal posts forwards. Keep a VERY tight hold on your weight..I went from 13st 11lbs in 2008 to 9st 7lbs then for for 3 years I stayed under 10st and then after a stressful move of house, change of job etc I ended up maintaining around 10st 5 (I'm 5'7 by the way) which I hated so I changed it..so you could say I've been in maintenance a long time with a small defect time when I first joined MFP..It is possible to stay slim but it's a lifestyle change on the long term... Aim for healthy, attainable long term changes, enjoy good food and love your body.0 -
1. How long have you been maintaining?
About 2 year
2. Did you adjust your initial goal?
Weight or calorie goal? Weight, no. Calorie, yes. I had to eat a bit more than MFP suggested or I slowly lost. 2200 vs. 2150.
3. Did you begin the transition to maintenance before you actually hit your goal?
Sort of, see 4.
4. Did you gradually increase your calories or bump up to maintenance level all at once?
I went from 1 lb/week loss goal to a 1/2 lb/week goal when I was within 5 lbs of my goal, than straight to maintenance when I reached goal. A 250 cal/day jump each time.
5. How hard or easy has it been to meet your new daily calorie goals?
Super easy.
6. What foods did you add back into your diet to help increase your caloric intake?
Ice cream... well, more of it. Heavier lunches with more enjoyable food. Pretty similar, just more food.
7. Have you continued to log all of your food? If so, do you complete your diary each day?
Yes, every day. Nope, completing it doesn't do anything except post it to my feed, and I don't need to clog my friend's feeds with my 900th diary completion. My diary is fully open if they want to look. I sometimes complete it just for fun when I've an LOL day.
8. How often do you weigh yourself now and how often do you log your weight in MFP?
Once a month, although moved to once every week or two now that I'm in a bulk. I was doing daily to figure out my weight range and normal fluctuations when I first hit maintenance.
9. Do you have a "cushion" or "cap" for weight fluctuation that, when met, spurs you to cut or increase calories?
Nope, because I never gained in the long run and was comfortable with where I fluctuated the whole time.
10. How did your workout habits change at maintenance level?
Not at all at first. Now, I'm more focused on fitness goals than any specific weight goal.
11. What are your future goals for maintenance/fitness/health/etc?
I have some weight lifting/running pace goals. I train to try to meet those and push myself and be as bad *kitten* as I can be.
12. Any other tips, experiences, surprises or general comments regarding maintenance you'd like to share?
Making fitness goals really helped me keep the fire going. Also, have fun. Do stuff you like. I'm having a blast doing mud runs and 5k/10k running events.0 -
bump. 2 lbs away from maitenance0
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1. How long have you been maintaining? Technically since March, but my weight is still moving on a downward trend
2. Did you adjust your initial goal? No, however my body decided to on its own and I've since lost a little more than 15lbs since calling goal
3. Did you begin the transition to maintenance before you actually hit your goal? No
4. Did you gradually increase your calories or bump up to maintenance level all at once? I did a calorie restricted version of IF for weight loss and after I hit goal I cut back on my fasting days and then eventually switched to a different version of IF that does not restrict calories (8/16).
5. How hard or easy has it been to meet your new daily calorie goals? I don't count calories for maintenance
6. What foods did you add back into your diet to help increase your caloric intake? Since transitioning to maintenance I've changed my diet to a mostly whole foods, plant based one for health reasons.
7. Have you continued to log all of your food? If so, do you complete your diary each day? I do not track my food on mfp, but have recently started a food diary on a personal blog.
8. How often do you weigh yourself now and how often do you log your weight in MFP? I weigh myself every day, with Fridays being the weight that I track.
9. Do you have a "cushion" or "cap" for weight fluctuation that, when met, spurs you to cut or increase calories? My current maintenance range is 120-123lbs. Currently I'm at 119.5lbs and if I get down to 118 then I'll adjust some things.
10. How did your workout habits change at maintenance level? I did'nt exercise while activley losing weight. When I transitioned to maintenance I started walking, then added some running in. Now I'm adding some body strength exercises into my walks/runs
11. What are your future goals for maintenance/fitness/health/etc? Continue adding strength training, work towards a 90/10 diet format (90% whole plant foods and 10% for meat, dairy and non-whole foods), and continue working towards being part of the small 5% that maintain successfully
12. Any other tips, experiences, surprises or general comments regarding maintenance you'd like to share? Maintenance is all about trial and error, learning to listen to your body's cues and figuring out what works best for you.0 -
1. How long have you been maintaining? About 3.5 weeks.
2. Did you adjust your initial goal? I never could figure out what I wanted my goal weight to be so I declared weight on my 1 year weight loss anniversary. My healthy weight range @ 5'5" is 111-150 and my mystical goal ended up being 132.4.
3. Did you begin the transition to maintenance before you actually hit your goal? Yes. I'm on WeightWatchers and I started increasing my PointsPlus over the last few months in preparation. I continued losing during that transition.
4. Did you gradually increase your calories or bump up to maintenance level all at once? When I hit maintenance, I went from a gradual increase to a good bump.
5. How hard or easy has it been to meet your new daily calorie goals? I joined MFP after goal and my calorie goal is 1700 to maintain my weight. It's been really comfortable and very much in line with WW.
6. What foods did you add back into your diet to help increase your caloric intake? I basically eat just a little more of what I already did. Examples- I will eat frozen meals, salads, sandwiches that have a little more oomph than before. I'll also have an extra piece of cheese with some fruit as a snack. Sometimes I want to spend those extra calories on a beer or a lower calorie sweet that was harder to incorporate before.
7. Have you continued to log all of your food? If so, do you complete your diary each day? Yes. I'm currently logging all my food and activity on WW and MFP.
8. How often do you weigh yourself now and how often do you log your weight in MFP? Everyday and everyday. WW won't allow me to log more than once a week so MFP gives me a closer look at the day to day.
9. Do you have a "cushion" or "cap" for weight fluctuation that, when met, spurs you to cut or increase calories? Haven't figured this out yet.
10. How did your workout habits change at maintenance level? I got serious about incorporating exercise. I'm doing moderate-high intensity cardio 3+ times a week with a HRM.
11. What are your future goals for maintenance/fitness/health/etc? Short term, my goal is to survive the holidays at maintenance. Long term, I want to stay in my healthy weight range and continue a sensible workout regimen.
12. Any other tips, experiences, surprises or general comments regarding maintenance you'd like to share? I'm still trying to get a handle on maintenance so I don't have much to share other than my own personal experience thus far. You asked some really good questions!0 -
Almost to maintenance, love reading these. Thanks for posting this.0
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1. How long have you been maintaining?
6 months
2. Did you adjust your initial goal?
yes, I went down 10 more pounds
3. Did you begin the transition to maintenance before you actually hit your goal?
no, I waited until I hit it and stayed there for a week or two before I adjusted
4. Did you gradually increase your calories or bump up to maintenance level all at once?
I have done it gradually..... 100 calories a month or so.... I went up 200 then went on vacation and went back down 100.
5. How hard or easy has it been to meet your new daily calorie goals?
fairly easy.... since I have gone up small incraments, it has not been hard
6. What foods did you add back into your diet to help increase your caloric intake?
I haven't really added foods, just a little more of the healthy foods that I love.
7. Have you continued to log all of your food? If so, do you complete your diary each day?
yes except for most weekends. I am not as strict about what I eat on the weekends.
8. How often do you weigh yourself now and how often do you log your weight in MFP?
I weigh myself at least once a week. Sometimes every other day just to catch any up trends. I usually only log the
significant low weights.
9. Do you have a "cushion" or "cap" for weight fluctuation that, when met, spurs you to cut or increase calories?
yes! My goal was 140... and I fluctuate between 137 and 141 usually. If I go above 141.5 or 142, I cute a little for a bit.
10. How did your workout habits change at maintenance level?
they haven't really. I want to be fit so I have made fitness goals for myself now as opposed to weight loss goals. I would
probably say that I workout more often and harder now because of my fitness goals.
11. What are your future goals for maintenance/fitness/health/etc?
obviously to maintain. I am signed up for my first half marathon in February and I just completed my first triathlon.
12. Any other tips, experiences, surprises or general comments regarding maintenance you'd like to share?
expect flucuation, especially at first. I would say to gradually increase calories so your body does not go into
shock (or your mind). Making fitness goals has really helped me stay on track too. I might not have as much
motivation to work out if I had nothing to work out for.0 -
Hello maintainers! I hit my goal weight a couple weeks ago and am in the process of adjusting my calories each week to transition to maintenance. I thought it might be helpful to put out a general questionnaire to get a feel for how everybody handles this phase of the journey in their own way. Feel free to answer only what you want or add questions I forgot.
1. How long have you been maintaining? About 9 months
2. Did you adjust your initial goal? My goal was always 130s
3. Did you begin the transition to maintenance before you actually hit your goal? Yes, I started moving toward maintenance in my 140s
4. Did you gradually increase your calories or bump up to maintenance level all at once? gradual
5. How hard or easy has it been to meet your new daily calorie goals? relatively easy
6. What foods did you add back into your diet to help increase your caloric intake? I eat the same kind of stuff. Just a little more.
7. Have you continued to log all of your food? If so, do you complete your diary each day? Yes
8. How often do you weigh yourself now and how often do you log your weight in MFP? I weigh daily and log daily (but I have mfp settings so it never pops up in my feed)
9. Do you have a "cushion" or "cap" for weight fluctuation that, when met, spurs you to cut or increase calories? Not really, but my lowest was 131, but I'm usually around 133-135. If I got to 140 without intending to gain, I'd have to think about it
10. How did your workout habits change at maintenance level? No change
11. What are your future goals for maintenance/fitness/health/etc? I want to increase strength! I'd love to gain muscle but I am not at a place where I'm interested in gaining fat
12. Any other tips, experiences, surprises or general comments regarding maintenance you'd like to share? It took me a while to get used to not looking for a loss on the scale, to expect the scale to go up half the time and down half the time instead of down, down, down, up, down, up, down, down, down, up, etc like I was used to. I also was too concerned with losing this bit of fat here and that bit of fat there at first. Now I'm a lot more realistic with my body composition goals imo. Fitness goals are great for motivation
Thanks for your time! Congrats on your past and continued success!
ETA now I'm looking forward to reading the other replies :bigsmile:0 -
1. How long have you been maintaining?
~2.5-3 years
2. Did you adjust your initial goal?
not really
3. Did you begin the transition to maintenance before you actually hit your goal?
No
4. Did you gradually increase your calories or bump up to maintenance level all at once?
quick ramp up, 2-3 weeks
5. How hard or easy has it been to meet your new daily calorie goals?
Easy
6. What foods did you add back into your diet to help increase your caloric intake?
None-just ate more of what I was already eating
7. Have you continued to log all of your food? If so, do you complete your diary each day?
No, after a few months @ maintenance I sotpped logging altogether.
8. How often do you weigh yourself now and how often do you log your weight in MFP?
Once a month maybe
9. Do you have a "cushion" or "cap" for weight fluctuation that, when met, spurs you to cut or increase calories?
Nothing concrete, but I keep a general eye on the mirror
10. How did your workout habits change at maintenance level?
They didnt
11. What are your future goals for maintenance/fitness/health/etc?
Just to be lean strong and fit
12. Any other tips, experiences, surprises or general comments regarding maintenance you'd like to share?
Don't over complicate it0 -
1. How long have you been maintaining?
About 7 weeks
2. Did you adjust your initial goal?
My initial goal was to get under 140. When I got there, I decided 135 sounded better.
3. Did you begin the transition to maintenance before you actually hit your goal?
I didn't think so but then I answered #4 and realized I guess I did!
4. Did you gradually increase your calories or bump up to maintenance level all at once?
I bumped up to TDEE -20% then increased to TDEE -15% and then -10%. At that point I was at 135 so I just switched to TDEE. I gained weight last week, so changed to TDEE sedentary because I realized I was eating back my exercise calories.
5. How hard or easy has it been to meet your new daily calorie goals?
Easy
6. What foods did you add back into your diet to help increase your caloric intake?
I really didn't add in any new foods. I just eat bigger portions. For example, I can now eat 4oz of pasta instead of 2oz. Yay!
7. Have you continued to log all of your food? If so, do you complete your diary each day?
Yes, I log every day. I'm not as strict about every single bite anymore now.
8. How often do you weigh yourself now and how often do you log your weight in MFP?
I weigh in every day. I log my weight once a week as I always have. I set it so it doesn't tell people when I lose, though, because I do fluctuate a bit each week.
9. Do you have a "cushion" or "cap" for weight fluctuation that, when met, spurs you to cut or increase calories?
I have a cap. If I hit 135, I make a change. That's why I reduced my calories a bit this week as mentioned above. I'm down 3.5lbs since making that change. :-)
10. How did your workout habits change at maintenance level?
They didn't. I still do the same workouts I was doing over the past few months leading up to maintenance.
11. What are your future goals for maintenance/fitness/health/etc?
My goal is to keep doing what I'm doing because it's working.
12. Any other tips, experiences, surprises or general comments regarding maintenance you'd like to share?
Keep counting and weighing food. Keep eating portions. That's been one of the things that I think helped me all along - eating the right portion sizes. Now, I can sometimes eating more than one portion, but I still pay attention to the right portion sizes.0 -
1. How long have you been maintaining?
I lost 18 pounds and hit my goal weight 2 1/2 years ago, put a few pounds back on and then lost it again (and a few pounds more). I've been maintaining at this weight for 5 months.
2. Did you adjust your initial goal?
Not on purpose - it just happened and I liked it.
3. Did you begin the transition to maintenance before you actually hit your goal?
No
4. Did you gradually increase your calories or bump up to maintenance level all at once?
Over a few weeks
5. How hard or easy has it been to meet your new daily calorie goals?
Easy
6. What foods did you add back into your diet to help increase your caloric intake?
None-just ate more of what I was already eating
7. Have you continued to log all of your food? If so, do you complete your diary each day?
I stopped logging a while back. I generally have a good idea of where I'm at calorie-wise during the day.
8. How often do you weigh yourself now and how often do you log your weight in MFP?
I weigh myself a few times a week
9. Do you have a "cushion" or "cap" for weight fluctuation that, when met, spurs you to cut or increase calories?
Not really
10. How did your workout habits change at maintenance level?
They didn't
11. What are your future goals for maintenance/fitness/health/etc?
Same goals I've always had: Run faster. Be healthy. And like what I see in the mirror.
12. Any other tips, experiences, surprises or general comments regarding maintenance you'd like to share?
Nope0 -
1. How long have you been maintaining?
Almost two years.
2. Did you adjust your initial goal?
Yes - my initial goal was 152 lbs (I'm 5'9") but I ended up at 135. I like it there.
3. Did you begin the transition to maintenance before you actually hit your goal?
Yes - I technically started maintaining when I hit 150, but it took me a while to figure out my TDEE. Over a few months time, I lost 15 more pounds.
4. Did you gradually increase your calories or bump up to maintenance level all at once?
Gradually
5. How hard or easy has it been to meet your new daily calorie goals?
Very easy
6. What foods did you add back into your diet to help increase your caloric intake?
I never cut any foods to start with, so basically I just ate more in general.
7. Have you continued to log all of your food? If so, do you complete your diary each day?
Yes - most of the time. I don't log on vacations and occasionally I skip logging on weekends.
8. How often do you weigh yourself now and how often do you log your weight in MFP?
Once a month - and I only add it to MFP if I've changed up or down by more than a few pounds.
9. Do you have a "cushion" or "cap" for weight fluctuation that, when met, spurs you to cut or increase calories?
+/- 5 lbs
10. How did your workout habits change at maintenance level?
They stayed the same
11. What are your future goals for maintenance/fitness/health/etc?
More of the same. I would like to maintain my current weight & fitness level.
12. Any other tips, experiences, surprises or general comments regarding maintenance you'd like to share?
I'm so glad I didn't go on a diet or start a new, demanding exercise program. I just made lifestyle changes that I knew I could stick with long-term.0 -
Hey!
1. How long have you been maintaining? 7 months
2. Did you adjust your initial goal? Not at first. I kept my calories the same (at .5lb loss per week) and just ate more on the weekends to even it out over the week. It got a little out of control so I just recently adjusted my calories up and try to stick to that daily.
3. Did you begin the transition to maintenance before you actually hit your goal? Yeah, the last few months I upped my calories so that it was a .5lb loss per week.
4. Did you gradually increase your calories or bump up to maintenance level all at once? Like I said above, I kept my cals at .5lb loss per week and ate that during the week, and let myself eat more on the weekends.
5. How hard or easy has it been to meet your new daily calorie goals? Some days are easy, some days are hard! Sometimes I'm too relaxed, but then the scale starts to creep up and I know I need to reel it in a little.
6. What foods did you add back into your diet to help increase your caloric intake? I NEVER cut anything out during my weight loss. I honestly believe that's why I was successful. I just watched portion sizes.
7. Have you continued to log all of your food? If so, do you complete your diary each day? During the week, yes. During the weekend, sometimes.
8. How often do you weigh yourself now and how often do you log your weight in MFP? Still daily. I don't log my weight.
9. Do you have a "cushion" or "cap" for weight fluctuation that, when met, spurs you to cut or increase calories? Yes, -3 to +3.
10. How did your workout habits change at maintenance level? I slacked on working out, especially when I first moved to TX. I worked out maybe twice a week for about a month. I felt myself getting "soft" so I started ChaLEAN Extreme and feel a lot better already. Exercise is something you shouldn't slack on ever.
11. What are your future goals for maintenance/fitness/health/etc? My health is excellent now (according to the doc) so I will continue to do what I'm doing and try some new workouts and stuff. I don't have any desire to run a tri or marathon or anything like that.
12. Any other tips, experiences, surprises or general comments regarding maintenance you'd like to share? Sometimes maintainence is a lot harder than losing, because it's so easy to let yourself relax a little too much. I have changed a lot in the 10 months it took to lose the weight and reach maintenance, but I can see that my old tendencies are still there. I have to work on them every day (meaning, I have to resist the urge to order a donut every morning, etc.). It's a slippery slope when you let yourself slide day after day.0 -
Bump, great questions0
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1. About 8 months.
2. Yes. My initial goal was 135 but I am pretty satisfied at 143-145.
3. No. One I reached 145 I upped my calories. I fluctuate between 141 and 145 now.
4. All at once.
5. Pretty easy for the most part. Still have rough days like when I was trying to lose though.
6. I eat pretty much eat anything I want just as long as I'm smart about it
7. Yes I log and complete every day.
8. I weigh myself every morning (always prepared for fluctuations) and log weight like every month or so.
9. Yes 5 lbs.
10. About the same. Cut down just a bit but not by much.
11. I now want to focus on muscle tone as overall fitness capabilities.
12. When I first switched to maintenance my weight steadily increased till I hit 149. I stuck with it not lowering my calories again and kept working out an making healthy choices though. Soon enough the weight started dropping again and I've been about 143 for a good 8 months or so eating at 500-700 more cals a day than when I was restricting.
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Bump!0
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Hello maintainers! I hit my goal weight a couple weeks ago and am in the process of adjusting my calories each week to transition to maintenance. I thought it might be helpful to put out a general questionnaire to get a feel for how everybody handles this phase of the journey in their own way. Feel free to answer only what you want or add questions I forgot.
1. How long have you been maintaining?
2. Did you adjust your initial goal?
3. Did you begin the transition to maintenance before you actually hit your goal?
4. Did you gradually increase your calories or bump up to maintenance level all at once?
5. How hard or easy has it been to meet your new daily calorie goals?
6. What foods did you add back into your diet to help increase your caloric intake?
7. Have you continued to log all of your food? If so, do you complete your diary each day?
8. How often do you weigh yourself now and how often do you log your weight in MFP?
9. Do you have a "cushion" or "cap" for weight fluctuation that, when met, spurs you to cut or increase calories?
10. How did your workout habits change at maintenance level?
11. What are your future goals for maintenance/fitness/health/etc?
12. Any other tips, experiences, surprises or general comments regarding maintenance you'd like to share?
Thanks for your time! Congrats on your past and continued success!
1. Been maintaining for more or less around 9 years. I was 210+ lbs in spring of 2004. I've been 165 or under ever since fall of 2004.
2. Yes, absolutely. My goals have changed many times.
3. Yes, my goals changed.
4. Gradually increased calories.
5. Incredibly easy to hit goals. Feels like I'm eating everything in sight.
6. Nothing really. Just more of them. More ice cream, more hamburgers.
7. Still log all my food.
8. Every day. More data is better data.
9. No cushion.
10. They didn't.
11. Slow bulk then cut back down to ~10% BF.
12. Yes: eat foods you love.0 -
bump for reading later.0
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1. How long have you been maintaining?
2 1/2 years
2. Did you adjust your initial goal?
Yes, ended up losing an additional five pounds to get the look I wanted
3. Did you begin the transition to maintenance before you actually hit your goal?
No. It took me awhile to actually believe I could eat more and get away with it.
4. Did you gradually increase your calories or bump up to maintenance level all at once?
Very gradually
5. How hard or easy has it been to meet your new daily calorie goals?
I cycle my calories so I can enjoy without guilt on the weekends. My maintenance calorie goal is on the low end, so it's not hard to hit at all.
6. What foods did you add back into your diet to help increase your caloric intake?
I started eating more protien, and incorporating more cheese. And bread! Otherwise I just eat more of the same foods.
7. Have you continued to log all of your food? If so, do you complete your diary each day?
I log everything during the week, weekends are a challenge and I'm about 50/50 there.
8. How often do you weigh yourself now and how often do you log your weight in MFP?
Once a week on average. I don't update my weight on the site because it rarely changes. It's seriously weird.
9. Do you have a "cushion" or "cap" for weight fluctuation that, when met, spurs you to cut or increase calories?
If I were to see my weight swing up two pounds, that's a sign to watch it very carefully for a few weeks.
10. How did your workout habits change at maintenance level?
They haven't, although I enjoy working out more now that I am leaner!
11. What are your future goals for maintenance/fitness/health/etc?
Just to maintain a healthy diet and active lifestyle to set a good example for my daughter. I don't want her to grow up making bad food choices and worrying about her weight.
12. Any other tips, experiences, surprises or general comments regarding maintenance you'd like to share?
This may sound weird, and would apply to dieting, also - but I don't like eating to the point of fullness - just until I am satisfied. Eat foods you love. Not everyone will agree with this but I pretty much avoid restaurants altogether in favor of cooking at home. It's OK to have days where you indulge, just compensate for that the next day. Most important, keep moving and keep tracking!0 -
bump0
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This is interestesting
1. How long have you been maintaining?
5 months
2. Did you adjust your initial goal?
Slowly down 5 pounds and maybe a little more. I am now sitting at the bottom of my original weight range goal and bouncing lower, instead of sitting at the top of it and bouncing higher.
3. Did you begin the transition to maintenance before you actually hit your goal?
No.
4. Did you gradually increase your calories or bump up to maintenance level all at once?
I increased my calories by 250 so I'm still at a deficit. I'm eating closer to my net than I was before though.
5. How hard or easy has it been to meet your new daily calorie goals?
Easy.
6. What foods did you add back into your diet to help increase your caloric intake?
More bread (I had eaten almost none, now I bake once a week again). Whole milk once in a while. A good cheese on a ryvita cracker or a slice of fresh bread is my new 'treat'.
7. Have you continued to log all of your food? If so, do you complete your diary each day?
Every mouthful, every day. I now don't log lettuce on sandwiches, mustard, ketchup, or BBQ sauce.
8. How often do you weigh yourself now and how often do you log your weight in MFP?
Every morning. I only log when I have a new low (haven't had to log a new high).
9. Do you have a "cushion" or "cap" for weight fluctuation that, when met, spurs you to cut or increase calories?
My 'zone' is 3 pounds. If I was over that for more than two or three days I'd push my calories back up to a 500 calorie maintenance and tighten up my weighing.
10. How did your workout habits change at maintenance level?
I bought a fitbit and am more conscientious about exercising every day.
11. What are your future goals for maintenance/fitness/health/etc?
I want to consistently exercise every day - just walking, but every day. More muscle over time - I will eventually start the gym.
12. Any other tips, experiences, surprises or general comments regarding maintenance you'd like to share?
I really love maintenance. I feel confident and every day I wake up happy to be feeling thin.
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1. How long have you been maintaining?
6-7 months....but trying to motivate for another cut
2. Did you adjust your initial goal?
Not until recently...my initial goal was just to get to a healthy BF% for my stats...I have enjoyed maintaining for these last 6 months or so and really focusing on my fitness...but I'd really like to get down to about 15% BF from my current 19%.
3. Did you begin the transition to maintenance before you actually hit your goal?
yes...I bumped my calories up little by little when I was within about 5 lbs of my initial goal.
4. Did you gradually increase your calories or bump up to maintenance level all at once?
Not really...by the time I hit maintenance I was at a roughly 250 calorie per day deficit...I just started eating about 250 calories more per day because #3.
5. How hard or easy has it been to meet your new daily calorie goals?
Easy...and I've found maintaining to be very easy. It's all about getting my nutrition on and my fitness on.
6. What foods did you add back into your diet to help increase your caloric intake?
I never cut out any foods, I just ate less and in maintenance ate a little more. I've never had an issue eating...I love food and I don't believe in no fat/low fat bull ****.
7. Have you continued to log all of your food? If so, do you complete your diary each day?
I logged for about 4-6 weeks when I went to maintenance to get a good feel of what it looked like on paper and what those calories felt like...then I didn't log anymore and have maintained easily. The key is to practice what you've learned dieting and translate it to maintenance..also, you have to continue getting your fitness on. Exercise is far more important in maintenance than it is losing IMHO.
8. How often do you weigh yourself now and how often do you log your weight in MFP?
Daily, just like I did losing. No I don't log it...natural body weight fluctuations are up and down 2-5 Lbs day to day...that isn't fat, just water and waste. I log my weight on a different app that spits out a nice graph for me instantly so that i can monitor that trend of maintenance.
9. Do you have a "cushion" or "cap" for weight fluctuation that, when met, spurs you to cut or increase calories?
I look at it as a trend. I'm usually about 180.5 - 184.5...but very occasionally will be 185 or 186 and as low as 177. I can see this on a graph and see that i am more or less maintaining...just like losing, it's about the trend, not the actual number.
10. How did your workout habits change at maintenance level?
Why would they change...exercise is infinitely more important at maintenance than it is losing. I hit it just as hard if not harder because now I actually have the energy (calories) to crush the frackin' **** out of my workouts. Fitness and nutrition are lifetime endeavors...one of the biggest mistakes people make is they stop working out when they reach goal weight because they so closely associate exercise with weight loss and weight loss goals. you need to set independent fitness goals and exercise for the sake of fitness and overall health and well being. Also, if you workout less you have to eat less...it changes your maintenance formula...workout more and you obviously have to eat more, etc, etc, etc.
11. What are your future goals for maintenance/fitness/health/etc?
Always evolving...this is a lifetime endeavor. My racing season is over until next spring so right now I'm just really focused in the weight room and tracking my calories again to lose about 10 more Lbs really, really slowly...hopefully by next summer.
12. Any other tips, experiences, surprises or general comments regarding maintenance you'd like to share?
Hopefully you've learned something along your journey...most people just go right back to their old ways and old habits...they start eating out again all of the time and in general start eating crap they normally wouldn't have save for on occasion when they were dieting. Nothing should really change at maintenance save for you get to eat a few more calories...you should still be following a well balanced diet that is rich in nutrient dense foods with minimal junk...and get your fitness on.0 -
Thanks all! It's pretty fascinating to read all the different responses. Keep them coming! 0
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Bump for later0
-
Hello maintainers! I hit my goal weight a couple weeks ago and am in the process of adjusting my calories each week to transition to maintenance. I thought it might be helpful to put out a general questionnaire to get a feel for how everybody handles this phase of the journey in their own way. Feel free to answer only what you want or add questions I forgot.
1. How long have you been maintaining?
2. Did you adjust your initial goal?
3. Did you begin the transition to maintenance before you actually hit your goal?
4. Did you gradually increase your calories or bump up to maintenance level all at once?
5. How hard or easy has it been to meet your new daily calorie goals?
6. What foods did you add back into your diet to help increase your caloric intake?
7. Have you continued to log all of your food? If so, do you complete your diary each day?
8. How often do you weigh yourself now and how often do you log your weight in MFP?
9. Do you have a "cushion" or "cap" for weight fluctuation that, when met, spurs you to cut or increase calories?
10. How did your workout habits change at maintenance level?
11. What are your future goals for maintenance/fitness/health/etc?
12. Any other tips, experiences, surprises or general comments regarding maintenance you'd like to share?
Thanks for your time! Congrats on your past and continued success!
1. 4 months
2. yes, to maintenance
3. no
4. gradually over a few weeks
5.easy, I LOVE TO EAT
6. bread
7. not all the time, only when I seems to be slipping or don't know how many calories/nutrients a certain product has
8. daily weigh in, login once a week
9. yes, within 3 lbs or I start monitoring closer
10. yes, I went from 5x 50 min to 6/7 x 30 min.
11. still working on better shape/form/strength and fitness
12. don't panic, just learn to go with the flow.0 -
1. How long have you been maintaining?
5-6 months
2. Did you adjust your initial goal?
Yes--first I thought I'd just get back to size 8 (from a size 10), then decided to get to a size 6 which I was years ago, then decided I wanted flatter abs so I ended up at size 4.
3. Did you begin the transition to maintenance before you actually hit your goal?
No
4. Did you gradually increase your calories or bump up to maintenance level all at once?
Don't remember now--think I increased it gradually. Had to increase daily calories again when I started a new part time job where I'm on my feet 4 hours a day, as I started losing weight that I didn't need to.
5. How hard or easy has it been to meet your new daily calorie goals?
Pretty easy during the week, tougher on weekends when I eat out a lot
6. What foods did you add back into your diet to help increase your caloric intake?
More dessert!
7. Have you continued to log all of your food? If so, do you complete your diary each day?
Yes, except for the occsasional trip to a chinese buffet (kids' favorite).
8. How often do you weigh yourself now and how often do you log your weight in MFP?
Weigh weekly, stopped logging weight after a few weeks into maintenance.
9. Do you have a "cushion" or "cap" for weight fluctuation that, when met, spurs you to cut or increase calories?
I have a range on the scale, and when I get to the upper part of my range I cut back for a week or two, and so far that's been enough to get back to the lower end of my range.
10. How did your workout habits change at maintenance level?
Workout habits are pretty much the same--my focus is heart health (high blood pressure runs in my family), and I love being able to eat back all my exercise calories.
11. What are your future goals for maintenance/fitness/health/etc?
Just maintaining, keeping blood pressure down.
12. Any other tips, experiences, surprises or general comments regarding maintenance you'd like to share?
I think the main reason that I've had an relatively easy time with maintenance is that I've found healthy foods that I love that help fill me up.0
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