Is maintaining weight, just as hard as losing weight?

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Replies

  • chelstakencharge
    chelstakencharge Posts: 1,021 Member
    Depends, you you view this as a diet it will be hard. If you change your lifestyle then it should be okay. I am maintaining and don't have issues. I have a completely different relationship with food now.
  • cbfliz
    cbfliz Posts: 33 Member
    Yes, because once I started losing weight I couldn't stop. Now I need to put back on about 15 pounds!!

    This was how it was for me too. In the process of adding some pounds now and then when I get back to where I feel I should be I''ll give maintenance another shot.
  • jenilla1
    jenilla1 Posts: 11,118 Member
    Harder for me. Losing all you need is a deficit. Maintaining you need to have figured out your real tdee numbers.

    My TDEE changes all the time, since my activity levels are not the same from day to day. I can go from couch potato one day to half-marathon another, to walking dogs for a week, to hardcore backpacking for 3 days, back to couch potato for a week. I have no set routine. So instead of TDEE, which I would go insane trying to calculate every day, I just use the base maintenance calories MFP gives me as a sedentary person and then add in any exercise calories I earn.

    OP, I've been maintaining here for almost 3 years doing this. I find that it is habit now (like brushing my teeth) and super easy, so I just keep doing it. My weight only changes by a couple of pounds up or down depending on "Time of the Month," but otherwise, it's stayed the same since I figured out my maintenance sweet spot (which can take a little time.) I thought losing was harder than maintenance. :flowerforyou:
  • jenilla1
    jenilla1 Posts: 11,118 Member
    I find maintaining easier -(get to eat normally) but less exciting - (no specific target)

    ^ Yes, this too.
  • BinaryPulsar
    BinaryPulsar Posts: 8,927 Member
    I don't find it hard. There is nothing to feel daunted or discouraged by. You are already at goal and just continue to work at it. I feel good about where I am at and get feedback (compliments or people asking for fitness advice). So, in maintenance you just get to enjoy the body you worked for. Sometimes I am very motivated to keep going and improving and seeing progress with my fitness and goals. Other times I'm not motivated, so I go into a lower maintenance kind of maintenance in which I am just maintaining and not necessarily trying to improve at that time. Then motivation and drive returns and I get back to it, but I am at a great starting place (no weight to lose except maybe a couple pounds). Or I find new things that I enjoy and add. It's easy because I count calories. I just lower or raise depending on my activity level or the slight changes that I see. It's a habit now.
  • Sarauk2sf
    Sarauk2sf Posts: 28,072 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.

    ^^definitely this
  • smantha32
    smantha32 Posts: 6,990 Member
    it's harder to maintain it, for me.
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  • SezxyStef
    SezxyStef Posts: 15,267 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.

    ^^definitely this

    I can see this being the issue...

    I have 6lbs to maintenance...lookiing foward to a summer deficet free. Will re-evaluate my goals after that esp since I will continue my lifting etc.

    My food choices will remain the same just a bit more so I don't see that being an issue.
  • NiikouruDesu
    NiikouruDesu Posts: 100
    Its the same. Just has a different feel about it.
  • WannabeSC
    WannabeSC Posts: 28 Member
    Harder for me to stay focused without the immediate goal of weight loss. Best advice to find new goals, and I'm searching for a few doable ones. It is that....I've made it and I want to enjoy life vs. I don't want to take any chances of gaining weight back.....somedays I go one way, some days the other. I've been on maintenance for about 5 weeks and have just stepped out of the 2 pound leeway I allowed myself, and I feel gross, so I would definitely say I have some more figuring out to do.
  • CipherZero
    CipherZero Posts: 1,418 Member
    I guess the harder part for me is there's no real milestones for maintenance. When I was losing (or gaining once I start bulking) there's "drop five pounds, down 5% starting body weight" and so on. Maintenance is measure in things NOT changing over time.
  • FabulousFifty
    FabulousFifty Posts: 1,575 Member
    Its very hard. #1 reason not to try to lose weight too fast. The way I have explained this in other threads is as follows: instead of focusing on weight loss, imagine tomorrow you were to wake up with your perfect dream body. How would you care for it for the rest of your life? What would be sustainable and reasonable? It's all about habits and consistency.

    Love this - best advice I have ever read!
  • micheleld73
    micheleld73 Posts: 914 Member
    It wasn't too difficult to maintain until I started dating. He's great at encouraging me to continue to work out, but we both love to watch the food network and have been experimenting a little to much with new recipes. We have just recently made a commitment to a better meal plan!!
  • fougamou
    fougamou Posts: 200 Member
    My issue with maintaining has been been mental --- I hate to see myself go over my calorie limit, which to maintain, I should be going over occasionally to balance out the days I am under. I leave about 100 calories on the table most days and am slowly still losing.
  • CipherZero
    CipherZero Posts: 1,418 Member
    My issue with maintaining has been been mental --- I hate to see myself go over my calorie limit, which to maintain, I should be going over occasionally to balance out the days I am under. I leave about 100 calories on the table most days and am slowly still losing.

    I use the iPhone app and the weekly chart - as long as I match the weekly number my weight's stayed stable.

    It makes for some GLORIOUS pig-out saturdays.
  • Aihs808
    Aihs808 Posts: 19 Member
    For me, maintaining is much harder...there is no immediate reward...no excitement. You don't see a lower number on the scale each week. You don't feel smaller in your clothes anymore. There is no immediate reward. It is so much harder to stay motivated.

    I agree. Plus, I'm terribly afraid of gaining weight .. and eating more calories seems like too much now. It's hard to stop.
  • sorryfrench
    sorryfrench Posts: 163 Member
    Although I have not met my goal weight yet, I did maintain my weight for a few months after losing about 30 lbs or so. Just recently in the past few weeks have I started losing again.
    For me, maintaining was not very difficult. I think this is because healthy/low calorie eating had become more of a habit. Even when I wasn't counting calories, I still had more knowledge about what I was putting into my body.
    I knew what to avoid and I knew how much were serving sizes, etc.
    When I was maintaining, I did not work out as much as I do when I am losing. But I did try to stay active in little ways.
  • STLBADGIRL
    STLBADGIRL Posts: 1,693 Member
    Thanks you all... Your feedback is so instrumental.
  • xmarykaterose
    xmarykaterose Posts: 82 Member
    Because everyones been saying its harder to maintain, I've been thinking of lowering by GW by 5 pounds just to have some wiggle room while I figure out my TDEE...
  • JennyKCarty
    JennyKCarty Posts: 457 Member
    I don't find it hard. There is nothing to feel daunted or discouraged by. You are already at goal and just continue to work at it. I feel good about where I am at and get feedback (compliments or people asking for fitness advice). So, in maintenance you just get to enjoy the body you worked for. Sometimes I am very motivated to keep going and improving and seeing progress with my fitness and goals. Other times I'm not motivated, so I go into a lower maintenance kind of maintenance in which I am just maintaining and not necessarily trying to improve at that time. Then motivation and drive returns and I get back to it, but I am at a great starting place (no weight to lose except maybe a couple pounds). Or I find new things that I enjoy and add. It's easy because I count calories. I just lower or raise depending on my activity level or the slight changes that I see. It's a habit now.

    This is great! My motivation comes in droves too. I like this part "So, in maintenance you just get to enjoy the body you worked for" Very good thought to remember!
  • Exotl
    Exotl Posts: 4 Member
    My experience has been that I set my calorie goal at 1400 a day net 18 months ago, It took me about 6 months to lose the weight, and I've had to stay at 1400 net to keep the weight off. I like to eat 2000 so I find ways to burn the other 600. I feel like it's easier now because i get to experience the payoff of being fit and wearing nice clothes and getting lots of compliments. But there was no day when I said "Oh I've hit my target weight,I'm done now" I think it's a lifelong thing.
  • florentinovillaro
    florentinovillaro Posts: 342 Member
    Eat, drink and live as if you're already at your goal weight and it won't be an issue =)
  • AnexRavensong
    AnexRavensong Posts: 262 Member
    Harder apparently.. I just finished watching this documentary >.<

    "Once the body undergoes weight reduction, it begins to respond as if it were being threatened with imminent death. The body will defend the fat and try to drive you BACK to the weight from which you started."

    http://youtu.be/2i_cmltmQ6A
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  • otter090812
    otter090812 Posts: 380 Member
    In for future reference. I'm only halfway there, but I'm more scared about not maintaining than about not achieving the weight loss itself!
  • STLBADGIRL
    STLBADGIRL Posts: 1,693 Member
    In for future reference. I'm only halfway there, but I'm more scared about not maintaining than about not achieving the weight loss itself!
    Me too.
  • JakiDee
    JakiDee Posts: 43 Member
    In the past it hasn't been because I went right back to eating the way I did before, but this go around with my new found knowledge that it is a piece of cake. Literally!!!
  • LassVegas
    LassVegas Posts: 35
    Maintaining is much harder for people who kept their old habits, but just ate less than for those who changed their behavior.

    That's why I cringe when I see posts like I did the other day from someone who said she'll eat three cups of white rice and people replied "What's wrong with that as long as you're under your calorie goal?"

    The answer to what's wrong with that, is that it reinforces bingeing behavior and when it comes time for maintenance, the habit of overindulging rather than moderation remains. At least that is my opinion.

    So if you are able to modify your habits to include portion control and you were able to incorporate a routine of exercise, you'll have a much easier time maintaining than someone who didn't change those habits and just tried to stay in a deficit however they were able to make that happen (which I suppose is better than doing nothing at all and not losing the weight in the first place).
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
    Maintaining is much harder for people who kept their old habits, but just ate less than for those who changed their behavior.

    That's why I cringe when I see posts like I did the other day from someone who said she'll eat three cups of white rice and people replied "What's wrong with that as long as you're under your calorie goal?"

    The answer to what's wrong with that, is that it reinforces bingeing behavior and when it comes time for maintenance, the habit of overindulging rather than moderation remains. At least that is my opinion.

    So if you are able to modify your habits to include portion control and you were able to incorporate a routine of exercise, you'll have a much easier time maintaining than someone who didn't change those habits and just tried to stay in a deficit however they were able to make that happen (which I suppose is better than doing nothing at all and not losing the weight in the first place).

    Yes and no. I still have binging issues, and that's why I log. Obviously though it means I'll always have to log, but I think that as long as I do, I'll be ok. I'm honestly too obsessed with food to change my eating habits. What I can do is make up for it the rest of the day though... and possibly keep a small calorie deficit once I switch to maintenance. But to be fair, increasing my goal just by 100 calories has made a lot of difference, it's much easier... I can only imagine what it will be like when I can eat 200 more.
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