What should I expect when I move to maintenence?

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tegalicious
tegalicious Posts: 629
in Goal: Maintaining Weight
Hi everyone! I have been on my weightloss journey for approximately 5 months now and am finally at a place where I really like how my body looks. I have been moving my calories up slowly as I got closer to goal weight and have also lost a little extra to make up for the return of my glycogen stores. But now my question is will my measurements change when I start eating at maintenance? Any other changes I should be aware of beforehand?

Thanks!!

*Also should you look at my profile, don't be alarmed by my current weight being so low... I weigh on the wiifit board on carpet so I am actually ten pounds heavier... I didn't know about the inaccuracy of weighing on carpet until I was already about three months in and haven't bothered to change my settings.

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  • LexiBlack12
    LexiBlack12 Posts: 36 Member
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    Bump
  • nxd10
    nxd10 Posts: 4,570 Member
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    My body keep recomposing itself in better and better ways since I started maintaining. I haven't done anything spectacular in terms of exercise, but I'm definitely getting thinner and more muscles.
  • Brandolin11
    Brandolin11 Posts: 492 Member
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    I didn't notice that any measurements changed for me when I went on maintenance. I like that you're slowly moving your calories up because one issue I had was feeling sick after adding all those calories in at once. I immediately went back down and upped my cals 50 calories each day for a week, then 50 more the next week, etc. until I reached maintenance.

    One thing I experienced (and have read over and over from others) is that for some people it takes a little while for your eyes to adjust to your new size. In other words, you still see yourself as "big". It's not quite body dsymorphic disorder (that's a serious disease that requires therapy and meds) but it's kind of like "phantom limb" where you feel like the fat is still there. I found a good article on some solutions for that, if you're dealing with that and are interested.

    http://www.oprah.com/omagazine/Can-a-Negative-Body-Image-Make-You-Gain-Weight/1
  • wheird
    wheird Posts: 7,963 Member
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    That depends entirely on what your goals are.

    Are you happy as you are now?
  • tegalicious
    tegalicious Posts: 629
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    I am happy with how I look in the mirror. I have come to accept that I may not be able to lose the tiny bit of belly fat I have left without heavy lifting and haven't looked into that enough to say yay or nay yet. I guess my question really is will I gain some inches back with the restoration of glycogen? Will I look five pounds heavier or just be five pounds heavier technically due to the glycogen?
  • wheird
    wheird Posts: 7,963 Member
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    Glycogen is stored in your muscles, so yes, you will look a bit bigger in terms of muscle.
  • tegalicious
    tegalicious Posts: 629
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    So if I am understanding this correctly to maintain the look I have now while in a deficit I either have to lose a tiny bit more and then move to maintenance or move to maintenance and incorporate heavy lifting?
  • SherryTeach
    SherryTeach Posts: 2,836 Member
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    I didn't notice that any measurements changed for me when I went on maintenance. I like that you're slowly moving your calories up because one issue I had was feeling sick after adding all those calories in at once. I immediately went back down and upped my cals 50 calories each day for a week, then 50 more the next week, etc. until I reached maintenance.

    One thing I experienced (and have read over and over from others) is that for some people it takes a little while for your eyes to adjust to your new size. In other words, you still see yourself as "big". It's not quite body dsymorphic disorder (that's a serious disease that requires therapy and meds) but it's kind of like "phantom limb" where you feel like the fat is still there. I found a good article on some solutions for that, if you're dealing with that and are interested.

    http://www.oprah.com/omagazine/Can-a-Negative-Body-Image-Make-You-Gain-Weight/1

    I had the opposite body image problem. Right after I lost all my weight, I felt so small. I was aware of being able to cross my legs, walk without thigh rub and being able to wrap my arms around my body. Now, a year later, my body just feels "normal," whatever that is.

    One thing to remember about maintenance, is that is is basically the same as the weight loss part, just with a few more calories. If you abandon your new found lifestyle, the weight will just come back. I still log everything and weigh regularly.
  • tegalicious
    tegalicious Posts: 629
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    I don't think I will ever be able to not log what I am eating. That was where I went wrong so many times before. I would get to goal weight and think great! Now I can go back to being normal! But not this time! Logging and exercising and being aware of calories and nutrients is the new normal for me now.
  • 47Jacqueline
    47Jacqueline Posts: 6,993 Member
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    I'm on maintenance and I'm doing alright. I raised my calorie intake about 200 calories plus I eat back some of my exercise calories. I was working with a nutritionist while I was losing and got a lot of help from her about the amount of food I should eat on maintenance.

    I'm not sure what I expected, but I didn't get a lot of muscles and I did lose a lot of fat. I still weigh myself about every other week and keep my food diary for honesty's sake.
  • PaulaKro
    PaulaKro Posts: 5,682 Member
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    I found a good article on some solutions for that, if you're dealing with that and are interested.
    http://www.oprah.com/omagazine/Can-a-Negative-Body-Image-Make-You-Gain-Weight/1
    Thank you. That was fascinating!
  • wheird
    wheird Posts: 7,963 Member
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    So if I am understanding this correctly to maintain the look I have now while in a deficit I either have to lose a tiny bit more and then move to maintenance or move to maintenance and incorporate heavy lifting?

    Well, strength training will cause your body to start storing extra glycogen anyway...so...
  • Ideabaker
    Ideabaker Posts: 508 Member
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    Bump. Thanks for the great "words of wisdom", am hoping more will chime in as I approach maintenance!
  • tegalicious
    tegalicious Posts: 629
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    Guess it is pretty obvious that I haven't done any research on heavy lifting lol! I just want to know what it would take to maintain the look I have now. Would that mean losing more weight?

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