There is no end point

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  • sun_fish
    sun_fish Posts: 864 Member
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    I am so grateful for this post and others like it. When I started using MFP to count calories almost 2 years ago, it was all about losing a set amount of weight. Then, all will be wonderful, right? And I'll keep it off like the other times. Oh wait, I didn't keep it off. So how will this time be different? Learning these kinds of things from people here who understand what it's like to keep it off, that it is still something I need to pay attention to, and learn how to maintain.
  • Jenn842512
    Jenn842512 Posts: 41 Member
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    Amen woman!
    Once you get happy, why would you ever stop anyway?!
  • WendyGr8
    WendyGr8 Posts: 20 Member
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    that is just what I was thinking. I am almost at my goal and I feel lost.

    You just need to set new goals for yourself. Once I hit my goal weight I started focusing on fitness-- deadlifting and squatting my body weight, running 1 mile, then 2, etc. Maybe you want to take up hiking or learn to snorkel-- possibilities are endless.

    My latest goal, during maintenance is to do a perfect handstand...possibilities ARE endless :)
  • QuietBloom
    QuietBloom Posts: 5,413 Member
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    So no need to worry about maintaining.

    Eat what you want within moderation and measure every week or two. If you 'gained' weight, don't think to yourself ' oh, it's just water weight, it'll go down'.

    Immediately start your 'diet' the next day onwards.

    It's a cycle. My mom's been skinny for life without measuring food but she keeps active all day with chores and when she eats(she eats wtv) she controls her portions well.

    Never counted calories once in her life.

    So yea, maintaining is not hard if you have a scale and you diet as soon as you gain weight.

    Well, as you can probably attest to, maintaining a healthy body weight is not 'easy'. In fact, it is the hardest part of weight loss. Why else do you think there is a thriving industry of weight loss supplements, doctors and gurus?
  • QuietBloom
    QuietBloom Posts: 5,413 Member
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    I know for me, I will be weighing, measuring and logging for the rest of my life! I think there are few people (very few) who will be able to maintain without continuing to do what they did while losing. I know this irks some people, but since regaining lost weight happens to 95% of people who lose weight, an attitude adjustment towards continuing to put in the work after losing is in order!
  • themedalist
    themedalist Posts: 3,212 Member
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    I consider eating a healthy diet, exercising, and maintaining a healthy weight as the cornerstone of self care. Yes, there is no end point, but so what? We should never stop taking care of ourselves. We do a whole slew of things (hopefully!) to look after ourselves (regular check-ups, wearing a seat belt, flossing and brushing our teeth) and those things also have no expiration date.

    But I have found maintenance is more interesting if I set regular monthly fitness and health goals. This month I'm targeting reducing my Fitbit reported December sedentary minutes by 5%. I want to sit a lot less!
  • Hbrennen
    Hbrennen Posts: 2 Member
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    So accurate!! :)
  • GemmaRowlands
    GemmaRowlands Posts: 360 Member
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    This is so true, and in my opinion it's why so many people fail. They assume that once the weight is lost they can go back to how they were eating before, which it totally not right at all.

    I am maintaining now, and it's shocking just how different my diet is now in relation to how it was before I started. But I had a ridiculously poor relationship with food before, and I have no urge or desire to go back to that place.
  • mccindy72
    mccindy72 Posts: 7,001 Member
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    I struggle with maintenance....I can do gaining weight and losing weight real easy.....but maintaining, nope.
    Any amazing life changing tips...or just tips? :)

    the real tip to maintenance is to get yourself thinking that your daily goal isn't to continue to lose. You need to meet those daily calorie goals, and think of your eating as part of your lifestyle. I see that there were a couple of comments earlier about people who "just diet again when they gain weight". That's not maintenenance. Maintenance is finding a balance. If you know you are going to splurge on a big meal at some point in the week, you cut down a bit a diffeerent day to keep your weekly calorie count in your maintenance range. As long as you do that, you shouldn't have to worry about regaining weight that you need to lose again. If you decide to skip a workout, cut the calories for that day to fit into the maintenance range without the workout calorie burn.
  • Sabine_Stroehm
    Sabine_Stroehm Posts: 19,263 Member
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    Exactly. I've been in "maintenance" for about 12 years, and I have to keep focus on my goal of continued health an wellbeing. And even still, as I get older and the hormones shift, I have to shift back to weight loss mode from time to time when the scale creeps up a few pounds. Being mindful and careful, and weighing regularly means that it's never more than a few pounds.

    It really is something one has to think about every day. And like weight loss, there are various ways to approach maintenance, but the end goal is the same.
  • Sabine_Stroehm
    Sabine_Stroehm Posts: 19,263 Member
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    I consider eating a healthy diet, exercising, and maintaining a healthy weight as the cornerstone of self care. Yes, there is no end point, but so what? We should never stop taking care of ourselves. We do a whole slew of things (hopefully!) to look after ourselves (regular check-ups, wearing a seat belt, flossing and brushing our teeth) and those things also have no expiration date.

    But I have found maintenance is more interesting if I set regular monthly fitness and health goals. This month I'm targeting reducing my Fitbit reported December sedentary minutes by 5%. I want to sit a lot less!
    This is a great goal. My new one was 10k steps every day, not just 6 out of 7 days.
  • Rak0ribz
    Rak0ribz Posts: 177 Member
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    Well, there _is_ an end point, come to think of it; it'll be nice to only have to buy a regular-sized coffin. Probably be able to get a pretty good deal.
  • raqueldaisy
    raqueldaisy Posts: 47 Member
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    Well, there _is_ an end point, come to think of it; it'll be nice to only have to buy a regular-sized coffin. Probably be able to get a pretty good deal.


    LOL!!!!!
  • macchiatto
    macchiatto Posts: 2,890 Member
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    Very true! My goal last year was do Couch to 5K and run a full 5K without stopping. Then I set a new goal to run one in under 30 mins. Did that twice; now for 2014 I want to run a 5K in under 28 mins and train for/run my first 10K. I also want to re-lose Nov/Dec weight gain right now and maintain from there. Focusing on things like eating at least 5 servings of veggies and fruits a day, keeping a good protein/carb balance for each meal and snack, etc.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,874 Member
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    I struggle with maintenance....I can do gaining weight and losing weight real easy.....but maintaining, nope.
    Any amazing life changing tips...or just tips? :)

    The word "maintenance" implies work. If you've ever had an old 70s VW Beetle then you know what I'm talking about. The problem, as the OP stated is that people see maintenance as the finish line...they're done. They stop being mindful of what goes into their mouths...they stop exercising...they don't weigh themselves...they don't continue on with any of the things that got them to this point.

    That's the kicker...maintenance is actually where the real work begins. You have to remain vigilant. You have to continue to practice portion control and you have to be mindful of what you are putting into your body. You have to keep stepping onto the scale and/or otherwise monitoring your "progress" just as you would while losing. It's even more difficult because now it's a balancing act...you don't want to lose and you don't want to gain...you want your input to be roughly equivalent to your output.

    You have to understand that there will be good days and bad days...you're not going to be 100% all of the time...you're going to miss workouts from time to time and you're going to over indulge from time to time...holidays happen, birthday parties happen...random Saturday nights out getting blitzed and eating all of the pizzas happen. Rather than letting this things derail you and being of the "gotta start over" mindset...you have to change your thinking to just getting back up and keep on keepin' on. It's a lifetime endeavor.

    I would add that in my experience and observation, the worst possible thing that people can do when the get to maintenance is quite exercising. I see it here all of the time and posts asking about how much they should be exercising for maintenance...my exercise didn't change at all when I went to maintenance...I simply ate about 500 calories or so more per day than I was to lose. People really fail to understand that exercise is so much more than just a calorie burn to lose weight. It is absolutely essential to maintaining a healthy weight long term and vital to your overall health and well being. I don't think I've ever seen anyone stop their fitness and be able to maintain their weight (without already being otherwise very active).
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,874 Member
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    Also, I would liken it a bit to going to school....everyone is in a hurry to graduate so they can be done...but what they don't realize is that school was the easy part...now they gotta go bust their *kitten* in the real world. It's eerily similar....
  • qtgonewild
    qtgonewild Posts: 1,930 Member
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    *like*
  • pkw58
    pkw58 Posts: 2,039 Member
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    I think living is the whole point, for me. I would rather eat less, move more, be healthier. Than eat more, move less and feel yucky.

    A little discipline every day is a now easier than a big overhaul like I did in 2012.
  • 1ZenGirl
    1ZenGirl Posts: 432 Member
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    People have a tendency to think that there is a destination or an end point to weight loss and fitness. If you think of it as an ongoing journey, it is possible to find success. There is this impression that when you set a goal of weight loss, you reach that goal and take a picture of your success, and you are done. Once the weight loss goal is reached, maintenance begins. Maintenance can often be more challenging than the weight loss, because you have to change your mind set from one of eating less calories to eating the right balance of calories. This is why so many of us talk about weight loss and maintenance as a lifestyle change rather than a diet. It's not a short term plan, it's a lifetime of work and dligence.

    :drinker: :drinker: :drinker: :drinker:
  • toutmonpossible
    toutmonpossible Posts: 1,580 Member
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    Once the weight loss goal is reached, maintenance begins. Maintenance can often be more challenging than the weight loss, because you have to change your mind set from one of eating less calories to eating the right balance of calories.

    Very true. What's more, the right balance will change as you change because of factors such as pregnancy, injury, or increased activity. As you age, you probably will require fewer calories. The monitoring and adjusting never ends.

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