What is your maintenance method?

I should add that the part where it says to put in your goal, you can put anything in there and it will still tell you your TDEE.

During maintenance I don't count/log anymore but will try to stay conscious of portion size etc. and I will log in here regularly, just as a reminder to myself.
I also give myself a margin of weight. I'll allow myself to fluctuate, but when I get to more than 4lbs above my ideal weight (which is now :sad: ), I get back on here and log everything until I'm back to normal.
That's been working for me for a few years now.

What has worked for me is eating a little less during the week and eating more during the weekend. Nothing crazy though, but enjoying my Friday night pizza nights and/or going out for lunch or dinner, eating desserts etc.)

Everyday though I make sure I'm watching my portion sizes and make sure I'm eating enough protein, carbs, healthy fats, fiber, fruits and veggies. I really don't drink my calories unless I make my own protein shakes, smoothies (fruit or veggies & greens) or freshly squeezed juice so I drink a lot of water and non-sweetened herbal tea.

Doing this has really helped me to maintain an 80 lbs loss for over a year and it's something I can see myself doing for the rest of my life. I used to be too restrictive and end up binging a little.

I was never one of those people who could have 2 small pieces of chocolate and stop. So banking some calories during the week and eating more during the weekend allows me to maintain my weight and not deprive myself, plus it give me something to look forward to.

I "loosely" count calories. I write down everything I eat in a notebook (I also pre-plan my meals for the next day the night before). I make all of my food at home during the week so I know what I'm eating and how make calories it contains.

I'm quite active too (power walking 3 - 6 miles everyday, lifting 2 - 3 times per week, Pilates, calisthenics, tennis, ice skating) and I eat back all of my calories.

I maintain a 5 lb range. During the weekend I usually gain about 2 - 3 lbs in water weight. It goes away during the week, the weekend arrives again and repeat so I maintain.

It took a lot of trial and errors to come up with my plan. That Scoobysworkshop link is a great way to get started in determining how much you should be eating to lose, maintain or gain. How you split up your calories is all up to you just as long as you are aware of what you are consuming.

Good luck!

Now that my training cycle is over, I'm in a steady state of exercise, so I use TDEE. I also weigh myself about once a month to make sure I'm staying on track.

Hi!
I believe I'm eating far too little calories to maintain, and I finally want to develop a method of maintaining.
I'm just curious as to what some of your methods to maintain are?
For example how many calories do you eat daily? How often do you let yourself splurge? How do you handle going out to eat?

Also, I was wondering if any one has any recommendations to a calculator I could use to determine how many calories I should be eating a day...
Also I'm slightly confused on how to determine my activity level...

Calories per day would be different for everyone
Splurge as in indulge? All the time just in small amounts
I don’t over think it , enjoy life and just make smart choices when you go out … pretty simple

I use the site
Only you know your activity level, be honest if you have a desk job then you’re not very active.

I maintained all of last spring/ summer, all I did to maintain was reduced cardio to 1 day a week and kept eating the same way.

I found my maintenance calories from my own data and switched from following a 5:2 eating pattern (2 very low days a week, 5 days at maintenance) to 6:1 eating pattern (1 day very low day and 6 days at a small surplus - I use the MFP "eat back exercise calories" method for the six days.

Eating out or splurges or holidays I eat what I want and thoroughly enjoy it.
I weigh myself daily but don't stress over fluctuations - just trends.

Still count calories (but more relaxed about accuracy) and still exercise as hard (probably harder) at maintenance as I did when losing weight.

Average daily calories works out at 2670 but only because I'm averaging over 700 calories a day in exercise - I seem to have a lower than average RMR sadly.

I use MFP and my fitbit and eat up to what 'I'm told' each day. I used just the MFP maintenance to start with but then found I was still losing loads of weight. The Fitbit was a real insight into how much I should be eating.
For non-walking/running exercise I use my HRM.

It's probably safe to say that I love my fitness gadgets!

Exactly what I do.

I eat out for lunch several times a week. After two years I sort of know calories and I always split lunch with my husband or, if I'm eating without him, take half of it home or order soup or an appetizer.

I splurge when there's something really good around to eat and I feel like eating it. I'm going to a rehearsal with friends tonight and I'll have pizza and some cookies or cake and it will be around 300 calories more than my usual dinner if I just have one or two slices and one helping of dessert. I never drink soda and am very conscious of drinking milk and other high calorie beverages in small glasses. Drinking water/tea/coffee all the time really helps buy you more calories for other things.

It's not that hard. In fact, when I hit my step goals I have to make an effort to not be too far into deficit.

bump to follow

I used a TDEE calculator to figure out how many calories I needed to eat roughly to maintain...I logged for about a month and ate those calories being mindful of what everything looked like and felt like...I quit logging and continued to eat food and workout and have maintained for a year now. I splurge whenever I want...you don't get fat overnight. I am mindful of my nutrition and what I'm eating and keep a rough tally in my head any given day.

Being a pretty active male I need around 2800 calories per day to maintain my weight...some days I need to be around 3200 - 3500 depending on my cycling.

If you use MFP to determine a calorie goal, remember that you're supposed to eat back calories from exercise as per the MFP method....this is where most people go wrong in both their weight loss and maintenance endeavors...they never actually learn how to use this tool properly.

ETA: you also have to not be afraid to eat food...this is an issue for many...they are afraid of food so they just continue to lose more and more weight.

I weigh every evening before dinner (I practice Intermittent Fasting so that is best weigh time for me) to track what is happening.
I eat anywhere from 2000-3000 calories a day to maintain. I workout 5-6 days a week, usually intensely.
If I eat out, I try to make good choices, but if there is something I really want, I will have it, say I am having a birthday meal or a visit to my mother. I allow more treats in at the weekend, mostly on Saturday, and strive to keep my diet pretty healthy during the rest of the week.

Simple, changed my goal to "maintain my weight" and eat what mfp tells me to, including all exercise calories. I continue to log! And know I will need to or I will gain it back.

Yes this is what I do - basically the same as I was doing to lose weight but my calorie allowance is now slightly higher than before.