Making the transition to maintenance mode

I am struggling as well. I have lost 58lbs and I still see a fat person In the mirror. I do not change my calories from 1200 so in case I go over two or three hundred I am still not over eating, but when I see that big fat number in a negative red I get scared. Its worked for me so far. I have been maintaining

I think this is a normal way to feel at this point. I had a hard time upping my calories and eating that much but you've got to push through that.
Start small(ish), by adding 300 calories per day and eat to that limit. You'll find it hard to do but do it. Weigh yourself in a month. You'll see that you haven't gained weight and may be still losing. Then up the calories another 200 calories/day. If you were set to lose 1 lb./week, this will put you in the range of your maintenance calories. Eat like this for a month. You may gain a pound or two of glycogen. That's normal. After that, you'll even out and you'll be able to see whether you need to adjust your calories up or down (probably up because MFP seems to calculate your maintenance calories a bit low) to find your individual maintenance calorie level.

We're all a bit afraid to up our calories. This is normal and will go away when you see that the pounds do not come back (except for the 1-5 lbs of glycogen, which is normal).

In time, you will see the new you in the mirror. You'll see her when you gain confidence in your maintenance plan. I've been maintaining for about 8 months now. It took me about 6 months of adjusting my daily calorie limit to find my true maintenance level. It takes awhile to find. In many ways, maintenance is harder than losing, at first anyway.
Remember also, that weight does naturally fluctuate by a few pounds, so if you go up a few pounds, don't panic. Wait another month, weigh yourself again and see what the scales say. A few pounds up or down is natural.

Don't be afraid to go into maintenance. Enjoy this time. You deserve it.

as for maintenance, ease into it. I didn't ease, I jumped, and it went fine. i can eat about 2000 calories per day, with a 1 mile jog each day, and maintain with a small loss of just ounces every so often. i like to zig zag my calories, i like to eat super low at around 1200-1350 per day for 4 days a week, then, on fri-sat-sun, eat as i please and have carefree fun without having a limit... i still log, and at the end of the week, i average at 2000 per day!

This is what I do as well, and it has been working for at least 5-6 months. I believe I should eat at 2200 a day with my activity level, current body fat percentage, etc. and I try to eat at 1300-1600 during the week and then do what I please on the weekends. I feel it helps with the transition between 'dieting' and maintenance because you are still being careful during the week and then enjoying the benefits at the end. Good luck with whatever you decide to do!

P.S. give youself some time to adjust to the 'new' you! I have also had days where I don't feel I look any different, but others that I do. Just love yourself and know you worked dang hard to get where you are now, and I beleive the rest will come :flowerforyou:

I didn't see a fat person, I saw the person I had seen 20 years ago.

I think it takes time to learn to see yourself as you are after a change. Because we don't really look at ourselves very often. We look, but don't see. That's why it was easy for me to see a thin person in the mirror when my weight was going up. When I really see myself as I am is when I look at photographs.

I'm a developmental psychologist. Most people form a body image of themselves in their early teens. So people who were thin then always seem themselves as thinner than they are. People heavier then see themselves as heavy even when they're not.

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It's very interesting that you say this. Just yesterday I was thinking about a photo of me and my family when I was about 12. I was about 15lbs overweight, had a horrible short haircut and was wearing a baseball t-shirt and shorts. I looked like a chubby 5yr old boy standing with my feminine and attractive cousins. I just realized yesterday that every time I've looked in the mirror for the last 30 yrs, that child is who I saw. Obviously, I didn't look like a chubby 5yr old boy at many times in my life (especially not the three times I was pregnant), but somehow that image stuck. You are definitely on to something there.

Trust yourself to maintenance. Up by 200 calories and see how it goes. Keep measuring. Keep exercising. Eat the extra calories.

I am about a pound off of goal. I plan to lose an additional two-three pounds before going to maintenance eating due to the glycogen store gain.