Advice on maintaining?

ArdenIvy
ArdenIvy Posts: 6
in Goal: Maintaining Weight
This is long, and sort of shameful.

So, about August of last year, I decided to lose weight. I didn't do much research, and what little I did was largely ignored. I averaged about 800 calories a day. I would plateau, go lower, repeat ad infinitum. About June of this year, I upped to average 1000-1300 and added more workouts. I would often binge one every other week.

Now, I'm 103 pounds. While I'm not satisfied with how I look, I think I need to take a break. But I'm terrified of maintaining. I tried upping my calories during this whole ordeal, but the weight regain (which I now know was water weight/glycolic stores) would quickly make me drop again.

I guess I'm fearful of damage. I decided to change, to be healthy. But now I'm reading about adaptive thermogenesis. The idea of needing 400 calories less than the average person, which means 1,100 without exercise, has me near-sobbing. I've also read that it isn't as bad as that, if it exists at all. And the percentages of people who end up yo-yo dieting scare me too.

I was 130 (heaviest I've ever been), now I'm 103. 5'2, 20 lbs for reference. I work out 4-5 hours a week. Most calculators would put my maintenance at 1800-2000, which seems high for my height and weight, although I'm cautiously hopeful that I could eat that much, especially after reading that people around my height maintain there.

I just want to maintain an average, livable amount and work on addressing being a healthier individual inside and out. I want to start paying more attention to nutrition, start lifting more weights. But I know that if I start gaining, I might spiral again.

I know I messed up. I know I'm a moron. But any advice anyone could give me would mean a lot.

Replies

  • zombinaape
    zombinaape Posts: 24 Member
    I can't offer any real advice because I didn't lose weight in the way you did - but I couldn't read this and not offer my support.

    Keep active and maybe up your calorie goal slowly week by week? I upped mine slowly with peanut butter. :)

    I would also suggest seeing a doctor or therapist. (I mean that in the most supportive way possible because you're worth it!)

    I wish you the best of luck in this venture. Feel free to add me. Xo
  • geekyjock76
    geekyjock76 Posts: 2,720 Member
    Well, you are aware of the possible outcomes. You're just going to have to bite the bullet and accept whatever weight recovery that occurs - even if it results in you returning to your original weight but at a higher body fat and significantly lower energy expenditure.

    Adaptive Thermogenesis affects everyone to a degree when restricting. Thus, considering your diet history, it would be naive to believe you haven't lost a significant amount of lean mass and lowered your metabolic rate and capacity.

    If you want to maximize your recovery of lean mass by the time weight finally stabilizes, therefore yielding a more favorable body composition and physique, then progressive resistance training with adequate protein intake is paramount.

    Regardless of how much weight you recover, it would also be wise to hold at maintenance for a while to let your body heal from the stress it experienced. But depending on how much fat you recover will dictate what your next step will be - either a calorie surplus or deficit. In the end, you're likely going to require - at minimum - one surplus phase to fully recover whatever lean mass you lost followed by a deficit to keep the gains in muscle while reducing fat mass.
  • WhisperAnne
    WhisperAnne Posts: 453 Member
    Do you have a ED? 800 calories a day is not healthy at all. The average woman needs 1200 and the average man needs 1500 on just weight loss calories alone. I understand your worries, I have been maintaining for a few years. Just eat healthy! lots of protein, veggies and whole grains. Eat at least 1200 calories eery day so your body doesn't go into starvation mode. And don't eat fast food or junk food. As long as you stick to the amount of calories your body needs to maintain then you will be fine!

    for example, I'm 5'4 and to maintain my weight I need 1700 calories. Just find out what you need.
  • WhisperAnne
    WhisperAnne Posts: 453 Member
    if you need support message me/friend me. I don't want you hurting yourself xoxo
  • Katla49
    Katla49 Posts: 10,385 Member
    I am in a somewhat similar situation, in that I have reached my weight loss goal. I've decided to focus on fitness. I'm still counting calories and likely always will. My last calorie goal was 1200, and I often exercised to a lower net. Now I'm making sure that my net is at least 1200. I haven't gained weight, and have lost another couple of pounds as my body finds its new balance point. I've also lost a clothing size because muscle is heavier than fat, but takes up less space.

    I agree with the others who have encouraged you to eat at least 1200 net after exercise. You are likely to need to raise your calorie level to more than 1200. Work your way up until you find your balance point. Good luck.
  • BeachIron
    BeachIron Posts: 6,490 Member
    Your problem isn't weight gain and the numbers. Please start working on your relationship with your body and food. Maybe even throw out your scale for a while and focus on performance? Perhaps working to lift weights and see how strong you can become? Enter some mud runs and prove to yourself that you can be a bad *kitten*? Anything to get you focusing on liking yourself and enjoying who you are. You have to be kind to you.

    I will say that if you want to maintain, the best way is to slowly start upping your calories by 100-200 per week until you see that your scale stops moving over a several weeks period.
  • nxd10
    nxd10 Posts: 4,570 Member
    I also just want to offer support for a good decision. What's past is past. You're in a great position to move forward. I won't say again all the good advice you've been given on netting 1200 calories.

    I think the idea of becoming a gym jockey is a great one. Just make sure you eat your exercise calories back.
  • ArdenIvy
    ArdenIvy Posts: 6
    Thank you all for being supportive. I was frightened to post this, but you've all been nice. I didn't expect that.

    I guess my plan is now to eat between 1300-1400 for the month of December, 1400-1500 for January, 1500-1600 for February, ect. while having two days of surplus a month while lifting weights. Is this plan too slow? Should I switch it to increasing every two weeks? Would you all recommend I limit my cardio? And to make sure I don't go under my net calories of 1200 with workout, what's the best way to calculate my workout? Since I can't go to a gym, I workout from home, doing exercise DVDs, going outside and running and free weights.

    I'm trying to get an appointment with a doctor set up so I can have my body fat percentage calculated to see just how much damage I've done.My family is afraid of the medical cost, though, so I might have to put this on the back burner.

    For the last week, I ate 1500-1600 calories for three days, got scared and went down to 500 on Wednesday and didn't count at all Thursday, Friday and today. So far I weigh the same. I'm thinking this is a good sign, although it might just be wishful thinking.
    Do you have a ED? 800 calories a day is not healthy at all. The average woman needs 1200 and the average man needs 1500 on just weight loss calories alone. I understand your worries, I have been maintaining for a few years. Just eat healthy! lots of protein, veggies and whole grains. Eat at least 1200 calories eery day so your body doesn't go into starvation mode. And don't eat fast food or junk food. As long as you stick to the amount of calories your body needs to maintain then you will be fine!

    for example, I'm 5'4 and to maintain my weight I need 1700 calories. Just find out what you need.

    How often do you workout, if you don't mind me asking? I'm trying to imagine a ballpark range, and since we're similar in age/height it might be useful. I guess it's probable that I have some sort of eating disorder, but I've never dealt with anything like this before last year so I can't say for sure.
    Your problem isn't weight gain and the numbers. Please start working on your relationship with your body and food. Maybe even throw out your scale for a while and focus on performance? Perhaps working to lift weights and see how strong you can become? Enter some mud runs and prove to yourself that you can be a bad *kitten*? Anything to get you focusing on liking yourself and enjoying who you are. You have to be kind to you.

    I will say that if you want to maintain, the best way is to slowly start upping your calories by 100-200 per week until you see that your scale stops moving over a several weeks period.

    It's funny that you should say that, since that was a large part of why I decided to lose weight in the first place. I thought I would like myself more if I weighed less.


    Again, thank you all for being so supportive. I was afraid I would be seen as bothersome or stupid, but that hasn't been the case at all. I really appreciate it and your time.

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