Frustrated I've been slowly gaining...need a new method?

Smiles_And_Pizza
Smiles_And_Pizza Posts: 23
in Goal: Maintaining Weight
Hi!
I've been struggling with maintenance lately. I give myself a 3 pound maintenance range and I've been slowly creeping up to the higher end of my maintenance range and I fear I'm going to have to cut my calories again to get back down to the low end of my maintenance range.

Obviously if I'm slowly gaining weight I'm doing something wrong so I need a new technique of maintenance.
Would zig zagging my calories work? For example..
Two days a week I'd eat 1200
One day I'd eat 1350
Two days I'd eat 1500
Two days id eat 1850 max

This would give me a weekly average of 1500(which sadly is my maintenance I think I've been eating over it and gaining)
Would this be fine to do? Do you think it might work? Has anyone has luck with a plan like this before?

Replies

  • CariS001
    CariS001 Posts: 169 Member
    Zigzagging works for lots of people, but the key is to be honest with your logging. That is why most people creep up in maintenance (bite here, nibble there)
  • lily_swenson
    lily_swenson Posts: 38 Member
    You could intermittent fasting..where you eat all your calories in a time window (example: Only eat from 9am-5pm) sounds like bs but it honestly really worked for me. also perhaps eat more vegetables and less bread?
  • FrankiesSaysRelax
    FrankiesSaysRelax Posts: 403 Member
    If you open your diary that might help. I've been in maintenance for about 3 years now. Whenever I start to creep back up to the high end of my window I just reign it in. I don't eat out, less processed foods, a little less than normal. I don't think you need to cut down to 1200 on any day to maintain. Maybe scale back to like 1500-1600 and make sure you're tracking everything. Usually within a couple weeks I'm back at the low end of my window. Maintenance is definitely a challenge, the key is finding out what works for you. I eat really healthy and lower calorie during the week so I can splurge on weekends. That has worked really well for me the past few years.
  • QuietBloom
    QuietBloom Posts: 5,413 Member
    Maintenance is hard! Are you weighing your food? Using cups and spoons for liquids? If I feel that I have started creeping up, I start logging closely for awhile. That usually does the trick.
  • nxd10
    nxd10 Posts: 4,570 Member
    It's so funny - I was going to write a post almost exactly like this. I've been maintaining for a year in a 3 pound window. I used to be at the 150-152 end of it. Now I'm in the 152-153 end of it. Yes, I thought it was just bouncing around, but since I'm never bouncing down to 151 or lower, I think it's not.

    Oddly enough, I feel like I'm eating less and I know I am exercising more.

    Looking over my diary, I find that even though I am hitting my calorie goals, I am eating a few things that have more calories than I expect that I wouldn't have eaten 6 months ago. I also notice that my calories are more uneven - more highs, even though the week is the same. Those are days I'm usually eating out. I have been doing a lot of traveling lately. am wondering if the food has more calories than I think it does, even though I log accurately. For example, today I splurged for my husband's birthday and we split a strawberry shake. Generic diner strawberry shakes range from 200-680 calories. Where is it?

    Anyway, I decided to redouble my logging accuracy and doing a lot more spot checks on my measurements.

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