Please share your number one strategy for maintaining

Understand that fluctuations happen...therefore don't get down and give in when you gain a couple pounds.

I've been in maintenance since March of this year. I am no expert either, but what works is continuing to weigh myself every day. There is literally no weight that weight can "creep up" on me if I am looking at the number every day! I have a 5lb maintenance range, and if I get close to the top if it, I just back off of the cals a little bit and the weight goes back down.

I used to log every day when I was losing but I'd say I log around 4 days per week now. I know what I need to eat but sometimes logging helps, especially if I need to plan ahead for whatever reason.

I know you said only 1 piece of advice, but I have to add that exercise is definitely part of the equation! I work out 4-5 days per week for 30-45 min doing 2 days of cardio and 3 days of weights (I'm doing Chalean Extreme).

You can do it!!

I treat maintenance (spirit) like I treat death (physical). When someone dies, I do not look at it as death of one's body. I interpret it as my Lord has called the spiritual being home and has instructed the physical being to rest/fall asleep. Instead of mourning the lost of the physical being, I am rejoycing in the journey the spirit is taking.

My number one is calories in vs.calories out. Just watch your portions, eat every 2 to 3 hours and keep burning calories and all will be good.

I treat maintenance (spirit) like I treat death (physical). When someone dies, I do not look at it as death of one's body. I interpret it as my Lord has called the spiritual being home and has instructed the physical being to rest/fall asleep. Instead of mourning the lost of the physical being, I am rejoycing in the journey the spirit is taking.

:huh:

Portion control, above all else.

During the week I eat at a slight deficit and on the weekends I go over. It all evens out and I don't gain weight aside of some temporary water weight (1 - 3 lbs) from excess sodium which goes away in 1 - 3 days depending on what I ate.

Doing this has made maintaining easy for me and it's sustainable.

During the week I eat at a slight deficit and on the weekends I go over. It all evens out and I don't gain weight aside of some temporary water weight (1 - 3 lbs) from excess sodium which goes away in 1 - 3 days depending on what I ate.

Doing this has made maintaining easy for me and it's sustainable.

exactly
no worries on gaining weight!

I'm about to be flamed, I can feel it coming.

How I knew I had hit maintenance was I stopped losing weight at all. When I say stopped I mean at that point I weighed everything out on scales, cut out any and all pleasures in life from my coffee ( which made me just an absolute bear to be around in the morning) to bread of any description and all sorts of other little pleasures in life like peanut butter.

I tried absolutely everything for over 8 months to break that supposed plateau. You name I can guarantee I tried it, up to and including a few things no one here would sanction.

So, for a year now I have been maintaining whether I wanted to be or not.

I regained my beloved coffee in the morning, got bread type stuff and peanut butter back into my life.

I threw out the damn food scale that ruled me everywhere including restaurants and since I measured everything for so long in an endless loop of tears, agony, self hatred, and shame that my body will not go below 155 without totally stopping eating, I can guess very well and have had my hubby measure stuff and my guess is actually on the lower side of what the scale says when he weighed it out.

I weigh myself every single morning, everyday. I have no particular number, but a range of 155-159 that I absolutely must stay in or away go the pleasures of life, like coffee with real sugar and creamer, until it goes back to that range.

Here's the flame me part I warned about:

I do no exercises at all beyond my normal world stuff.
I have tried every exercise out there. I loathe them all. I hate being sore and feeling like I have the flu 365 days a year from the constant muscle aches. It never went away.

I must point out, my job entails me bending, stooping, lifting and carrying large pumps and motors. I also walk about 5 miles minimum a day in the course of my job. On weekends and at night the absolute last thing I intend to do is more of what feels like work without pay.

I'm 38, almost 39. Screw it my body is ruined from an emergency straight up and down C-section and then a side to side C-section scar. Nothing in the gym is gonna fix that. I have had the plastic surgeon consults to find that out, plus what it would take to fix it. I don't have the $ I was quoted for the cheapest surgeon to fix only my stomach, I could buy a brand new Corolla for what it would take to do it.

I'm strong, I'm healthy, I look great in clothes. I'm also pale and burn easily, even before my kids I never wore a swimsuit, so why would I want to start now.

I log everything I eat, I always will. I have treats and coffee. I have my daily weigh in of me. As for the maintaining amount. Well it seems to be anywhere from 1450-1650 in calories daily. Anything over and I will gain.

I could probably eat more if I was willing to feel like I had the flu everyday for the rest of my life by working outside all day and then going to the gym, but it's not a trade off I am willing to make. I still have a life and it does not include that.

But as for the original goal of 145, 155 is not that far from it. I can shop in any store. Fit in any amusement park ride.

I'm content. Because once I accepted the maintenance for what it was I allowed myself to buy clothes. Doing that I realized I am happy and achieved what I wanted and am maintaining very well.

Being consistent with intake and physical activity. I've done it this way for 30 years and barring any competitions, my weight stays within 10lbs (180lb to 190lb) for about 90% of the year. I do indulge during holidays where I might go up 5lbs, but I can easily lose that in less than a month.

A.C.E. Certified Personal/Group FitnessTrainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

I'm a big fan of eating less Mon-Fri and splurging on the weekend. Just focus on your weekly calorie intake

THIS!!

I can't pick just one! I'd say continuing to log, keep up your workouts, AND weigh yourself regularly (I weigh once a week).

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To eat when I feel hungry and stop when I'm full.

It sounds weird but at this point when you've lost the weight you wanted to lose it's time to start trusting your body again.

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