Is maintaining weight, just as hard as losing weight?

STLBADGIRL
STLBADGIRL Posts: 1,693 Member
edited November 7 in Goal: Maintaining Weight
I ask because I want to know what I am in for once I reach goal? Please share your story.
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Replies

  • 970Mikaela1
    970Mikaela1 Posts: 2,013 Member
    Harder for me. Losing all you need is a deficit. Maintaining you need to have figured out your real tdee numbers.
  • Born_2_Lose
    Born_2_Lose Posts: 59 Member
    If you have adapted a healthy diet that will follow you throughout your life, then maintaining shouldn't be a problem. Those that only focus on exercise more then nutrition probably have a harder time maintaining.
  • brenn24179
    brenn24179 Posts: 2,144 Member
    I am afraid it is! It is easy to get complacent once you are there. If you are not cautious you gain it back. I got my weight down last July and I have had to focus, log, and stay on top of it all the time. It is nice to be able to eat a little bit more but the hard part is not to eat too much. It is a lifestyle change you have to stay with. I think eating out makes it more difficult, vacations, stressful situations that come up. Once you get the weight off you think oh yes I have made it but like I said you have to weigh often and keep on top of it. Logging is a pain but it works!
  • CeeCee_28
    CeeCee_28 Posts: 49 Member
    If you build the proper exercise and eating habits I think it's "easy" . I have lost close to 50 lbs and have maintained for months. If I didn't have a mommy tummy I would stay here..... how ever I can be thinner so I will try to lose at least another 20-25lbs. I workout hard regularly and eat a decent diet. Focus on losing weight the "right" way. That can mean different things to different people. I have done a couple of juice fasst but I lost my weight by eating real, whole foods at around 1400-1600 cals. No shakes, no pills, no 10lbs in 10 days cleanse diets, no 500 calorie diets, no low carb (you get the picture). Before I lost the significant weight I was gaining and losing the same 20lbs because of fad diets and supplements.

    Good luck and add me if you'd like!
  • happysummerrunner
    happysummerrunner Posts: 66 Member
    Last time a lost weight- a few years ago- I found maintaining to be pretty easy. I just kept up the good habits I developed while losing. And I didn't feel hungry like when I was losing. I maintained for over a year until pregnancy and then all my good habits went out the window! Now I'm losing again. Next pregnancy will be different. :wink:
  • auntiebabs
    auntiebabs Posts: 1,754 Member
    I think it's harder....
    you get lots of encouragement as you lose, but not so much as you maintain.

    you have to learn another new way of eating.

    when i was losing I over estimated what I ate and underestimate my exercise.
    when you want to stop losing you have to be a bit more precise.

    And you have to recognize that MFP is a general guideline and not the perfect answer for everyone you have to tweak it to work for you. .

    MFP gives me 1600 to maintain 140lbs
    while in Real life I'm logging 1450 cal. and maintain at 145 lbs.
  • cardsfanlv
    cardsfanlv Posts: 110 Member
    I've always had a harder time maintaining.. but that's my own fault for letting old habits find their way back into my lifestyle.
  • capperboy
    capperboy Posts: 99 Member
    Actually harder, the thrill achieving targets and seeing results on the scales is hard to replace. Maintaining for me is a bit of a grind, still log every day and weigh once per week very ho hum.
  • stealthq
    stealthq Posts: 4,298 Member
    In some ways it's harder... Without a goal to work for and the constant feedback of the scale going down, blowing off a day/week/month can be tempting. A successful day in weight maintenance is a day when you do everything you're supposed to, and... and?... AND!!! ......... and NOTHING CHANGES. :grumble:

    What a lot of us do is find new goals... Lifting more weight... Running faster or longer... Taking up a new sport... Doing push-ups, pull-ups, or whatever we couldn't do before. That helps to keep a focus on fitness.

    Figuring out your maintenance calories is trickier than finding a deficit, but it's not really THAT hard: If you see the scale trending down over time, you eat a bit more; if you see the scale trending up over time (aside from the immediate glycogen bump or the expected TOM bloat), you eat a bit less. My weight has been pretty stable (i.e., always within a couple pounds of goal weight in either direction) through 8-9 months of maintenance with little adjustments when I felt I needed a change.

    The harder part is staying the course, not letting the demands of daily life derail you and the pounds creep back on over time. For that part, I really recommend MOAR GOALZ.

    This make sense to me - this is the way I want to shift to maintenance. I'm kind of getting a head start, changing up my lifting program as I'm increasing what I eat and trying to be more interested in increasing the weights rather than seeing the scale drop. Knowing (for now) I can increase weight on every lift every workout vs waiting a month to see a scale drop helps.
  • pkw58
    pkw58 Posts: 2,038 Member
    I think there should be another category - increasing fitness. I can maintain the number on the scale, but what I am really working on now is being fitter. Walking more, getting the jiggles smaller, being disciplined about my health in general - drinking the water, getting the sleep, eating nutrition dense food. Taking my daily vitamins.

    Maintaining weight - mischief managed fairly well, getting fitter - getting easier.
  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,809 Member
    Maintaining is easier for me - losing or maintaining is just a numbers game and when you are maintaining you have more calories to play with. So once I've hit my macro targets I've got more "fun calories" to enjoy.

    It's important to replace weight loss goals with something else IMO. Fitness, body comp, weights, speed, distance, sporting or event goals - whatever floats your boat.
  • frangrann
    frangrann Posts: 219 Member
    I've always had a harder time maintaining.. but that's my own fault for letting old habits find their way back into my lifestyle.



    I agree. So hard to stay disciplined over the long haul.
  • littleburgy
    littleburgy Posts: 570 Member
    I'm very new at maintaining, and I'm finding it to be a balancing act. You suddenly have more calories and freedom. But you still have to be responsible.

    For me, one minute I'm happy about the extra food I get to eat, the next I feel a bit of panic or guilty if I think I've eaten too much. I'm still logging and it's helping me to balance all of those conflicting feelings out. If the numbers are right, then I should be OK.
  • Spiderkeys
    Spiderkeys Posts: 338 Member
    I didn't find losing weight hard at all, maintaining seems to be hard, just cannot find the correct maintance number, either find myself like I've eaten too much or eaten too little, it's like it's gonna be a lifetime commitment of yo-yo dieting.
  • 302cupcake
    302cupcake Posts: 34
    I've been maintaining for about 4 months and although I have not had a problem staying at my current weight, I still need to work hard to balance my intake and exercise. Because I lost a large amount, I think my body is more likely to regain if I drop my guard. I exercise most days, but have never eaten back those calories (those numbers are over estimated anyway) and I doubt I will ever eat more.

    I look at my body as being extremely fit and extremely at risk for blowing back up, but accepting that makes it easy to stay on track. I'm rarely hungry and no longer struggle with binge urges because I know I can fit most foods into my day. I've sorted out most of my wardrobe and will never tire of seeing a size small or size 4 - that thrill has replaced the thrill of seeing the number on the scale go down.

    I am slowly starting to see myself as a thin person, which is something I've never been able to own before. This has taken a little therapy and a lot of reinforcement from my family, friends and doctors. I've also started to deal (surgically) with some of the excess skin and although that's a bold step, it will help me maintain. I will have a few scars, but it will also have the body I have worked hard for.

    It's very hard to maintain when you have been very heavy, those first few pounds of regain are hard to notice because you are still thinner than you used to be, but I knew that when I started and I know I will continue to keep the pounds off.
  • Blue801
    Blue801 Posts: 442
    Glad you asked this OP. I've been a little bummed about facing a constant struggle with weight for the rest of my life.:frown:
  • SaebraSpirit
    SaebraSpirit Posts: 150 Member
    In some ways easier and some ways harder.

    Diet and exercise are not 'short term' solutions so once you reach your goal you must keep the healthy eating habits and working out regimes!
    Of course who ever says no to cake on their bday ;)


    ~~But you get what I mean, healthy is for life, not a few months!~~
  • Gingernut1949
    Gingernut1949 Posts: 4 Member
    With any other diet in the past I've always got to my goal, stopped dieting and weighing myself - and put it all back on again!
    I've lost three stone (42 pounds, 20 kilos) on the 5:2 way of life and have maintained my weight loss since April last year by just eating up to 500 calories one day a week for the health benefits of fasting. I always weigh myself once a week so I can catch any rogue pounds before they multiply!
  • misskris78
    misskris78 Posts: 136 Member
    Maintaining is easier for me - losing or maintaining is just a numbers game and when you are maintaining you have more calories to play with. So once I've hit my macro targets I've got more "fun calories" to enjoy.

    It's important to replace weight loss goals with something else IMO. Fitness, body comp, weights, speed, distance, sporting or event goals - whatever floats your boat.

    ^^^ Yes! Just because you have lost the weight, it doesn't mean you shouldn't have a goal anymore. Maybe your goal is to do a single unassisted pull up, a 10k, 50 burpees, hike all 46 peaks in the Adirondacks, hike the Appalachian Trail... whatever. Maintenance doesn't meant that you stop having goals - it just means that you have the flexibility to adjust them a little bit.
  • CipherZero
    CipherZero Posts: 1,418 Member
    It took me about a month to get it dialed in, but once I got it figured out I've been steady at 160±1 pounds.
    It'll make the coming bulk/cut cycles a lot easier.

    (Edit: Typing is hard!)
  • Slim_strategy
    Slim_strategy Posts: 199
    I've been maintaining for about 3 months now and you do have to stay focused , I still can't stop logging because I don't trust myself (I've tried but it's compulsive habit) xD you have more calories to play with so you have to be careful that it doesn't make you TOO relaxed that you fall into bad habits.

    I've been eating about 80% healthy and 20% naughty ( so one treat a day eg. small dessert after lunch) throughout my day and this helps me to stay within my calories or I save a few calories for a nice treat on saturday like takeaway hehe :)
    I think it also helps to set yourself new goals, like maybe to be more active more times a week or getting your 5 a day or something like that because it helps you to stay focused .
    Whatever is manageable and keeps you happy because it is indeed a lifestyle change, no reverting back once you're done :)
  • themedalist
    themedalist Posts: 3,218 Member
    I think maintenance is easier than losing weight. 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.
  • editorgrrl
    editorgrrl Posts: 7,060 Member
    I consider eating a healthy diet, exercising, and maintaining a healthy weight as the cornerstone of self care.
    I love this!
  • Go_Mizzou99
    Go_Mizzou99 Posts: 2,628 Member
    It took me about a month to get it dialed in, but once I got it figured out I've been steady at ...
    ditto...

    btw - maintenance rocks!
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