Another dumb reason maintenance is hard
nxd10
Posts: 4,570 Member
(she says after saying for months that it's not)
If you are over 500 calories a day while losing weight, you'll just stall because you've just lost your deficit.
If you are over 500 calories a day on MAINTENANCE you're going to gain. No deficit to buffer you.
It may obvious to everyone else, but it wasn't to me.
If you are over 500 calories a day while losing weight, you'll just stall because you've just lost your deficit.
If you are over 500 calories a day on MAINTENANCE you're going to gain. No deficit to buffer you.
It may obvious to everyone else, but it wasn't to me.
0
Replies
-
I stay in deficit but less of one to maintain as I often may go over a bit to have some pie or something like that.0
-
Live and learn! It sounds like you've got it now at least op!0 -
That's why I still log every day -- because some rare days I'm over and most days I'm right on or slightly under. It's almost like I can tell what the scale is going to say at the end of each week. It's not magic, it's maintenance. You can DO IT -- just keep and eye on things. You can correct a 500 calorie splurge in the same week with some extra healthy eating or some extra exercise.0
-
I stay in deficit but less of one to maintain as I often may go over a bit to have some pie or something like that.
This is why I have not yet notified MFP that I hit my goal. I am playing mind games with myself. It's worked for 6 months, now.0 -
ugh, not really looking forward to that lol. Going to stay in deficit forever lol0
-
Heck I'm still trying to lose but have mostly been maintaining for 2 months as it is. I'll probably stick to my 250 calorie deficit forever, lol.0
-
this is why im planning on perma-cutting
that way i can go ham on the weekends and still be in the clear0 -
Yes, that's what worries me about maintenance - it's so precise! I suppose what you are talking about is how I gained in the first place. It didn't feel like I was eating much, but you just need to be a little bit over on most days.0
-
(she says after saying for months that it's not)
If you are over 500 calories a day while losing weight, you'll just stall because you've just lost your deficit.
If you are over 500 calories a day on MAINTENANCE you're going to gain. No deficit to buffer you.
It may obvious to everyone else, but it wasn't to me.
you'll gain a couple of ounces... thats all.... this is why you should have a maintenance RANGE and not one figure... because you have fluctuations, and one day you migh eat a little bit more, but then the next you can just eat a little bit less...
maintenance isnt bad OR SCARY... more food is GOOD!0 -
Maintenance is nearly impossible, with it you gain or lose, some days your more active than others, but what about the weekends, are you just as active?0
-
This is why I eat at a deficit Mon-Thurs. Bank a few calories for the weekend...0
-
Congrats on hitting your goal!I stay in deficit but less of one to maintain as I often may go over a bit to have some pie or something like that.
This is why I have not yet notified MFP that I hit my goal. I am playing mind games with myself. It's worked for 6 months, now.0 -
Exactly!!(she says after saying for months that it's not)
If you are over 500 calories a day while losing weight, you'll just stall because you've just lost your deficit.
If you are over 500 calories a day on MAINTENANCE you're going to gain. No deficit to buffer you.
It may obvious to everyone else, but it wasn't to me.
you'll gain a couple of ounces... thats all.... this is why you should have a maintenance RANGE and not one figure... because you have fluctuations, and one day you migh eat a little bit more, but then the next you can just eat a little bit less...
maintenance isnt bad OR SCARY... more food is GOOD!
Please everyone stop obsessing about tiny fluctuations - maintenance is for months and years not days and weekends.
It's about eating habits and correct portion sizes for life, not the odd day or weekend here or there.
I'm on holiday next week and will no doubt gain a whole load of weight, some of it will be fat. In the great scheme of things - so what?
When I get back in my routine after my holiday I will lose it again. Might take a couple of weeks, maybe three but does it really matter?
Be conscious of your weight and trends but not obsessed to the degree it stops you living your life.0 -
I still have about 15lbs to hit my goal, but my thinking is the same as husseycd eat at a deficit during the week so I can splurge on the weekends.0
-
Heck I'm still trying to lose but have mostly been maintaining for 2 months as it is. I'll probably stick to my 250 calorie deficit forever, lol.
This is totally me. I figure I will eventually reach my goal though it will probably take me 5 years BUT. I'm OK with that.. I LIKE food, I LIKE eating food. At this point I am just not willing to do what I have to do to keep losing weight at a faster pace - I know this, and so it does not bother me.
I'm going to buy a pair of the tightest jeans I can fit into and IF I go past being able to fit them it will be back to a deficit for me! My boyfriend does this and he has been the exact same size since high school! It's a great idea and it will allow for a range of about 5 lbs when I'm in maintenance.0 -
Heck I'm still trying to lose but have mostly been maintaining for 2 months as it is. I'll probably stick to my 250 calorie deficit forever, lol.
Sorry for the detour out of topic but.. Francl27 you look stunning in that dress. Where did you get it? Simple yet so flattering.
Back to business. Maintenance IS hard.. at least when you are at a deficit you have a larger range to work within, as you can eat anywhere between 1200 and your maintenance calories and still lose some weight. During maintenance your range is pretty tight..0 -
(she says after saying for months that it's not)
If you are over 500 calories a day while losing weight, you'll just stall because you've just lost your deficit.
If you are over 500 calories a day on MAINTENANCE you're going to gain. No deficit to buffer you.
It may obvious to everyone else, but it wasn't to me.
you'll gain a couple of ounces... thats all.... this is why you should have a maintenance RANGE and not one figure... because you have fluctuations, and one day you migh eat a little bit more, but then the next you can just eat a little bit less...
maintenance isnt bad OR SCARY... more food is GOOD!
I have been on maintenance for a year and I've found it easy (hear that guys EASY!). I do log every day. Moving up and down doesn't bother me (I stay in a 3 pound range). I love food and haven't been hungry, despite all the young, active, gym bunny posters here who say it would be impossible to live on what MFP tells me is an accurate representation of my calorie needs. (BTW, the reason I gained weight is that I never had to worry about it until after age 50 when my calorie needs really did plummet and my eating stayed the same.
But I was traveling abroad for work last week and logging like I always do. I realized that I was over several days (unusual for me). And realized that this wasn't in my 'deficit' zone but in my 'gain' zone because I'm in maintenance. Now, I do have a technical deficit of 250 calories because that seems to be what keeps my weight stable. But that is only technical, as I AM stable at that weight.
I'm not worried about the long term gain, I just found the insight interesting. I did show a few more pounds on the scale when I got back, but I always do when I fly. I have been not at all hungry since I've arrived home, followed my (literal) gut and ate way under just because that's what my hunger signals were telling me to do, and I'm sure the water weight I gained on the flight will disappear in a few days. It always does.0 -
It helps me to think of the weekly number and not obsess over the daily. I can eat over goal one day as long as I make up for it the next six. As long as my weekly number is where it needs to be, I maintain.0
-
I'm set at a 200ish deficit. This lets me deal with any weekend splurges or miscalculations that might occur, and I've been pretty spot on weight wise for about 2 months now.0
-
Yup... otherwise known as "*kitten* just got real." Precision is more important for maintenance than it is for weight loss.(she says after saying for months that it's not)
If you are over 500 calories a day while losing weight, you'll just stall because you've just lost your deficit.
If you are over 500 calories a day on MAINTENANCE you're going to gain. No deficit to buffer you.
It may obvious to everyone else, but it wasn't to me.0 -
I'm set at a 200ish deficit. This lets me deal with any weekend splurges or miscalculations that might occur, and I've been pretty spot on weight wise for about 2 months now.
This is true for me also...I let up on the weekend and eat at a slight deficit during the week to make up for it. I make a real effort to log at least six days a week. I've been maintaining for several years now. I have a 3 lb range that I allow myself to fluctuate in.0 -
this is why im planning on perma-cutting
that way i can go ham on the weekends and still be in the clear
Mmmmm ham....0 -
I'm set at a 200ish deficit. This lets me deal with any weekend splurges or miscalculations that might occur, and I've been pretty spot on weight wise for about 2 months now.
This is true for me also...I let up on the weekend and eat at a slight deficit during the week to make up for it. I make a real effort to log at least six days a week. I've been maintaining for several years now. I have a 3 lb range that I allow myself to fluctuate in.
Same here. I have been maintaining for a little less then a year. I keep my cals set at 1600, but in reality I eat closer to 1900/2000 cals per day. I think if I had my cals set to my TDEE, it would be easier for me to think a few extra hundred cals per day on a regular basis do not matter. I have a little bit of wiggle room this way to account for eating out and not weighing my food.0 -
Maintenance is the exact reason why I encourage people to look at their portion sizes and learn how much of certain foods they should be eating, rather than find substitutes. Loading your plate up like a mountain with cauliflower 'pizza' and cauliflower 'rice' teaches nothing about how much pizza and rice is a portion size in the real world (unless your plan is to eat cauliflower pizza and cauliflower 'rice' til the end of days).
All the weighing of food, measuring and recipe tweaking etc should be getting us used to how we should continue to eat at maintenance not just treated as a quick fix to lose weight then yeahhhhaaaaaa FOOOOOD!0 -
I know what you mean. Yep, I sure do.(she says after saying for months that it's not)
If you are over 500 calories a day while losing weight, you'll just stall because you've just lost your deficit.
If you are over 500 calories a day on MAINTENANCE you're going to gain. No deficit to buffer you.
It may obvious to everyone else, but it wasn't to me. 0 -
average your week.. balance it out...
thats is all0 -
I know you can balance it out over the week, but what worries is me is that the "buffer" took care of any underestimates of intake, etc. I know that in maintenance if I underestimate my intake by, say, 50 calories a day (easily done!), I will eventually gain weight, whereas it didn't matter too much when I was losing weight because I'd still have a deficit.
In practice, though ... I've maintained for the last few months without having to be precise at all. Some days I've logged, and some days I haven't. This has surprised me! I'm now trying to lose a little bit more and finding it much harder (I'd thought maintenance woudl be harder).0 -
That's what i usually do also...calories deficit during weekdays so that i can afford some extra calories during weekends0
-
I don't actually think maintenance is hard.
It really isn't.
Are you sure you are actually having a problem with maintenance and not that the weight comes back on in a spurt. One related to an event or set of circumstances? If you could stay steady with your logging and then go back and look at what was happening around the time of gaining could that help you to better manage those types of situations in the future?
This is what I'm working on right now.
Once again I have managed to successfully and easily maintain without even logging or counting cals.
That's why I consider it easy. I can do it for long stretches. I sincerely beleive the body wants to stay at that healthy normalized weight and as long as we do not get in the way of that through all the myriad of interferences we as humans come up with our bodies would reach that stasis and we could enjoy our bodies with little attention besides an overall attitude toward healthy eating and decent amounts of movement.0 -
Heck I'm still trying to lose but have mostly been maintaining for 2 months as it is. I'll probably stick to my 250 calorie deficit forever, lol.
Sorry for the detour out of topic but.. Francl27 you look stunning in that dress. Where did you get it? Simple yet so flattering.
Old Navy!0
Categories
- All Categories
- 1.4M Health, Wellness and Goals
- 393.4K Introduce Yourself
- 43.8K Getting Started
- 260.2K Health and Weight Loss
- 175.9K Food and Nutrition
- 47.4K Recipes
- 232.5K Fitness and Exercise
- 426 Sleep, Mindfulness and Overall Wellness
- 6.5K Goal: Maintaining Weight
- 8.5K Goal: Gaining Weight and Body Building
- 153K Motivation and Support
- 8K Challenges
- 1.3K Debate Club
- 96.3K Chit-Chat
- 2.5K Fun and Games
- 3.7K MyFitnessPal Information
- 24 News and Announcements
- 1.1K Feature Suggestions and Ideas
- 2.6K MyFitnessPal Tech Support Questions