Can't get myself into maintenance mindset.

I'm going through the same thing. I hit my goal, and then tried to stop counting calories. And guess what? I have packed on the pounds. ( Though I needed to gain some weight honestly) but now that I'm at a good weight I am trying to stay here and to eat healthy again. It's so hard! I feel like I mess up all the time

I have trouble with it as well! So I tend to do what RainBoots mentioned I just continue to eat at my deficit and during the weekend I can eat whatever I like, go over maintenance by several hundred calories if I want to (cheesecake tends to do that without even trying....), completely wiping out my deficit and effectively "maintaining" :laugh:

I'm not sure if it would work for you, but it keeps me in a "losing weight" mindset, since I do have to pay plenty of attention to keeping that number the same :ohwell: Best of luck to you! :flowerforyou:

I seem to be having similar issues. When trying to lose weight there is a goal to work towards and it's motivating to see a difference as ur body changes. Maintenance mindset for me is very difficult, I'm scared to gain again but I thought for some reason 'maintenance land' is this magical place where I can eat yum foods and a decent quantity... Ah to visit such a place... In reality according to my tdee because I'm a short-*kitten* maintenance is a pathetic 1331 calories per day, not magical which tends to make me want food so much, I never used to overeat in large quantities but I have been recently. I have to work out to have decent treats. The worse thing is nothing is changing anymore, no more feeling euphoric from losing and having people notice, having jeans that are too big etc.

Are you sure maintenance is that low?

Have you tested to find your true TDEE?

It does seem pretty low, I have been on about 5 sites, worked my tdee out and took the average. If I can eat more I'd be really happy as a life on 1331 seems a bit sad. I have put in sedentary and I eat back exercise cals as I am not consistent enough to say I work out x times a week etc. this is nice though so I can have treats when I have exercised.

If I were you I'd work on slowly increasing calories (by maybe 100 every couple of weeks) just to see if you can eat more.

I had to put in 4'11", 50 years old, 95 lbs to get it that low using my preferred TDEE calculator. If you're younger, taller, or heavier than that then it seems more likely that's your BMR.

For me maintenance has been about three things:

1.) When I was losing weight I never changed anything that I couldn't live with forever. I didn't cut out any foods. I still went out with friends.
2.) I still log. It's been about 18 months since I reached goal weight. I continue to log pretty much every day. There may be a point where that's not necessary but right now I still think it is.
3.) I have new goals. I started lifting and running, and actively trying to build muscle/lower my body fat percentage. The new goals gave me something new to focus on, because it's just not as exciting getting on the scale to see the number stay the same as it was to see the number going down.

You've maintained for 18 months? You're my hero, that's discipline.

I definitely think setting new goals might help. I think I experienced a bit of...depression? once I hit my goal weight. Like, oh, I did it, now what?

I shouldn't have read this. I am reading the end of the book before I have finished reading the middle! AUGH! Please tell me you all are just kidding and this is a joke. Just a bad dream going bad? I don't want to count calories forever. I like this diet because it is working, however, I've been grumbling the entire time. I am not a person of discipline for long extended periods of time. Here's a question. Can you maintain w/o watching your calories and then when you gain five pounds, go back on the calorie count? I'm thinking that would be ok to do. Or am I totally off my rocker?

I've been maintaining for over a year now...I no longer physically count calories and log them...I am MINDFUL of what goes into my pie hole. My diet (noun) is not vastly different from when I was losing...I get 500 or so more calories per day, and that's it...that's an extra desert or a couple beers in the evening. You simply cannot go back to old ways of doing things and maintain your weight loss....

IMHO, the lifestyle change has nothing to do with counting calories and everything to do with changing the way you eat, the way you think about food and energy, and what you do from an activity standpoint. I never went into any of this thinking I'd log for the rest of my life. I took those 6 months and learned proper portion control....I learned to keep a rough tally in my head and it would come out pretty close to what I put on paper...I learned moderation...I learned that to maintain my weight, fitness has to be as much a part of my daily as going to work. Nutrition and fitness have to become a part of who you are.

So...I hit my goal weight about 2 weeks ago and attempted to gradually transition back to maintenance calories. Almost immediately, I found myself reverting back to bad habits in a BIG way - snacking, drinking, not being as diligent with my workouts, etc. Although I haven't stepped on a scale in about a week, I can feel some weight already creeping back on, and it's totally discouraging.

I'm not sure why the maintenance mindset is so difficult! I did so well and was SO disciplined in weight loss mode. I'd be interested to hear about how others get themselves in the right mindset to maintain...

There really is no difference between weight loss mode and maintenance ....remember its a lifestyle change. Maybe that is where the problem lies.
When you want to stop losing weight all you do is just up your calories a bit until you get to the "bite" to use automobile clutch control analogy (Your maintenance calories)
You still workout, you still log what you eat or at least keep a careful eye, you still make sure you stay within your TDEE, you still weigh from time to time, to see what the trend of your weight is.
Only if you see weight loss as something you do for a short time and then stop, or you deprive your self deeply during weight loss, do you have the situation with what you just described.

Being a life long yo-yo dieter, I learnt those truths the hard way. Thanks to MFP I now know better.

I seem to be having similar issues. When trying to lose weight there is a goal to work towards and it's motivating to see a difference as ur body changes. Maintenance mindset for me is very difficult, I'm scared to gain again but I thought for some reason 'maintenance land' is this magical place where I can eat yum foods and a decent quantity... Ah to visit such a place... In reality according to my tdee because I'm a short-*kitten* maintenance is a pathetic 1331 calories per day, not magical which tends to make me want food so much, I never used to overeat in large quantities but I have been recently. I have to work out to have decent treats. The worse thing is nothing is changing anymore, no more feeling euphoric from losing and having people notice, having jeans that are too big etc.

Are you sure maintenance is that low?

Have you tested to find your true TDEE?

It does seem pretty low, I have been on about 5 sites, worked my tdee out and took the average. If I can eat more I'd be really happy as a life on 1331 seems a bit sad. I have put in sedentary and I eat back exercise cals as I am not consistent enough to say I work out x times a week etc. this is nice though so I can have treats when I have exercised.

If I were you I'd work on slowly increasing calories (by maybe 100 every couple of weeks) just to see if you can eat more.

I had to put in 4'11", 50 years old, 95 lbs to get it that low using my preferred TDEE calculator. If you're younger, taller, or heavier than that then it seems more likely that's your BMR.

Thank you for this :flowerforyou: I really want to eat more as I have been having urges to eat tons (I'm not keen on the word 'binge' but defo massively over indulge a few times a week at the moment). I am 32, 4'11 and 98lbs, my bmr comes in around 1150 (ish) I will try to increase, maybe by 50cals a week to be cautious. I appreciate u looking into it for me!

Most people happen to have some issues post-op. Mostly adjusting with the new diet plan. There are pros and cons for weight loss which must be kept in mind. Starting early on your preferred diet plan is pretty important.

SNIPS

Are you sure maintenance is that low?

Have you tested to find your true TDEE?

It does seem pretty low, I have been on about 5 sites, worked my tdee out and took the average. If I can eat more I'd be really happy as a life on 1331 seems a bit sad. I have put in sedentary and I eat back exercise cals as I am not consistent enough to say I work out x times a week etc. this is nice though so I can have treats when I have exercised.

If I were you I'd work on slowly increasing calories (by maybe 100 every couple of weeks) just to see if you can eat more.

I had to put in 4'11", 50 years old, 95 lbs to get it that low using my preferred TDEE calculator. If you're younger, taller, or heavier than that then it seems more likely that's your BMR.

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!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

TDEE v. MFP calories are a big source of confusion when we talk about calories here.

I'm 55, 5"10", 150 pounds, and my maintenance calories calculated by MFP are only 1440. But that's NET. I eat more than that almost every day because I get several hundred calories from exercise.

The TDEE calculator (I have never done one before) has me at 1645 for sedentary and 1885 for light exercise (which is probably what I do).

Both methods work, but they are DIFFERENT. MFP adds in exercise. TDEE doesn't. I do eat my TDEE , but using MFP my net calorie goal is 1440 and if I upped it, I would gain.

We're using the same words but meaning different things, and that makes things even more confusing.

I am a bit weird in that I dint find maintenance hard but I do find losing weight hard. (I think due to insulin resistance).

My keys to maintenance are:

Eat when hungry and stop when satisfied ( and not feel full or over full)

Eat exactly what I desire. Mostly I want healthy food but if I want chocolate, or a glass of wine then I have it. I go and buy EXACTLY what I want. I wouldn't buy a large block of cheap chocolate and wolf it down and then feel crap. I would buy my absolute favourite.

I try to slow down my eating and savour each mouthful. I have discovered that the first three mouthfuls are amazing. The rest less so.

I try to avoid highly processed high GI foods and if I do have them I try to mix them with lower GI to lessen the blood spike and subsequent urge to eat due to falling blood sugars. Even blood sugars are my best friend.

Try to reduce stress and sleep well. Stress hormones create a kind of hunger. Yoga and meditation are great maintenance tools (I really must use them ha!)

Exercise. Very very few people maintain without without around an hour a day. Either step you incidental exercise or build in more formal exercise. It burns more calories, maintains muscles, helps you sleep better, reduces stress, normalises appetite and so much more.

Habits. I have smaller bowls and plates to reduce portion size without thinking about it. I bulk up on low starch vegetables. I have my "go to" meals that I know are well within calories.

I don't count calories because like a previous person mentioned I am just not a calories counter. I begin how I plan to continue.

Best of luck. I