how to keep maintaining?

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brenn24179
brenn24179 Posts: 2,144 Member
in Goal: Maintaining Weight
I have been in maintenance about a year and a half. Since then I have played around with 5 lbs. I was 5 lbs heavier this morning. I cant seem to get the motivation to get it off , lose a couple then gain it back.

I keep telling myself a 5 lb leadway is ok but aftraid of adding another 5 lbs or so to it. I have seen so many do this. I guess I am being lazy, enjoying the extra food. Heck I would like to be 5 lbs under not over and I thought summer would be easier but this watching your weight is never easy. Do you go back to the 1200 calories when you get up 5 lbs?

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  • blc1971
    blc1971 Posts: 170 Member
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    Congrats on your loss and maintaining for a year and a half!! That's an awesome accomplishment! I haven't been in maintenance nearly as long as you, only about 3 months, but I do keep a close eye on my weight and how my clothes fit. So far, I've actually lost a few more pounds just trying to find that balance to maintain, but to answer your question, if the scale pops up a couple of pounds, no more than 3, I go back to eating at a deficit. I don't really change my exercise too much but I may try to be more active. This has helped me to stay under my "redline" weight. For the record, I am an every-day weigher; however, I don't act on daily fluctuations. I go back to eating at deficit when the weight has been up for a week. Hope this helps!!
  • ianthy
    ianthy Posts: 404 Member
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    Hi

    It's you call but be mindful of the extra 5lbs that you can quite get round to shifting. That happened a few years back - never really bothered to take off the xmas, holiday and special event weight that seemed to add 3-4 lbs each time. When I did finally get a grip I was 3 stone above my goal weight! That is not going to happen to me again - I will be staying within 3 lbs of my GW and weigh twice a week just to keep a tab on things.

    You have worked so hard to get the weight off and maintain - eating at a slight deficit will likely take off the 5lbs without too much extra exercise.
  • SezxyStef
    SezxyStef Posts: 15,268 Member
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    If I went up 5lbs no I would not go to 1200 that is not necessary.

    I would find my TDEE and take off 10% (personally that would be 1900) and eat that till the 5lbs was gone.
  • RaspberryKeytoneBoondoggle
    RaspberryKeytoneBoondoggle Posts: 1,349 Member
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    If I went up 5lbs no I would not go to 1200 that is not necessary.

    I would find my TDEE and take off 10% (personally that would be 1900) and eat that till the 5lbs was gone.

    ^ this. This is what I do when I go up 8 lbs. I still seem to not have an issue with 5 lbs.
  • einzweidrei
    einzweidrei Posts: 381 Member
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    I actually did 5:2 to lose weight so when I came back from vacation six pounds heavier, I pulled out the 5:2 again and the weight came off. I will do 6:1 to maintain sometimes or at least have one very low calorie day so I can pig out on a day that I have off from work. :-)
  • thatpixichick
    thatpixichick Posts: 77 Member
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    Weigh yourself every week or couple of weeks, in the morning before eating or drinking anything, just to make sure you're keeping around the weight you want to be. If you're over, make a concious effort for the next few days to eat well, don't cut out the things you love, but be mindful and try to have as much whole, fresh, nourishing food as possible. Keep active and you should lose those few extra pounds. I'll often put on a couple of pounds after a celebratory weekend or a naughty couple of weeks, but it's all cool, just get back to it. I did the whole reaching my goal weight and then gaining it all back again thing and it is nasty. Don't put yourself through the frustration!
  • 47Jacqueline
    47Jacqueline Posts: 6,993 Member
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    I just started maintenance and it's a bit different than losing weight. Trying to stay the same is a different mind set.

    What I've really done is to set a new non-weight loss goal to get myself out of focusing so much on my wight. I think we have to move on into our lives once the weight is off. I haven't changed much. Still do my regular exercising, live an active life style and so far I'm still logging. I'm planning on doing that until I fell comfortable to stop.

    My new goal takes up a lot of time so if I put the effort into that that I put into losing weight, I should be in good shape.
  • BigT555
    BigT555 Posts: 2,067 Member
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    my maintenance plan (not quite there yet);

    once i get to 185 (assuming im satisfied, fat chance though) i will have a 5 lb buffer like you from 185-190. im going to try and stop counting calories (in the strict sense, i will still keep mental track) but still weigh myself every day (as well at taking the odd progress pic to compare) so ill know if im in a deficit or not since i tend to have a pretty consistent diet. once i get up to or above 190 lbs for a week straight (to avoid water weight fluctuations causing me to go on a cut) , ill start calorie logging again and keep a slight deficit until im back down to 185. rinse, lather, repeat.

    if this happens often enough, i will just bite the bullet and accept that i will have to keep counting calories for the rest of my young life (im gonna get fat again once im around 60 so i can pursue my dream job as the mall Santa Claus, hopefully i can rock a big bushy white beard by then)

    i would do cut/bulk cycles but i just dont think ill want to put on more muscle mass, its hard enough already to find shirts that arent too tight on the sleeves and pants that arent tight on my thighs. we'll see though
  • editorgrrl
    editorgrrl Posts: 7,060 Member
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    I have been in maintenance about a year and a half. Since then I have played around with 5 lbs. I was 5 lbs heavier this morning. I cant seem to get the motivation to get it off , lose a couple then gain it back.

    I keep telling myself a 5 lb leadway is ok but aftraid of adding another 5 lbs or so to it. I have seen so many do this. I guess I am being lazy, enjoying the extra food. Heck I would like to be 5 lbs under not over and I thought summer would be easier but this watching your weight is never easy. Do you go back to the 1200 calories when you get up 5 lbs?
    Your weight will fluctuate, so having a 5-lb. window is perfectly appropriate. When you go above your window, cut 100 calories per week until your weight stabilizes.

    Going straight to 1,200 calories is counterproductive. Your weight will fluctuate, so it will take trial & error to find the number of calories at which your weight will stabilize.
  • nxd10
    nxd10 Posts: 4,570 Member
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    If you like what you're eating, why don't you consider 1) really weighing and measuring carefully, so you don't over-estimate your food and 2) upping your exercise a little without eating the calories back.

    It's easy to let portion size slip up. If you start weighing and measuring, you can eat everything you already were, but nip back on the corners. I'm not a gym person, but it's easy to walk an hour after dinner for a few hundred calories, or go for a swim (or jog in the pool) during the summer. A few hundred calories a day adds up in the RIGHT direction too.

    Good luck. You're absolutely right about wanting to get to the bottom of that window.
  • parkparksarah
    parkparksarah Posts: 59
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    Can you give tips for maintaining?
  • 47Jacqueline
    47Jacqueline Posts: 6,993 Member
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    Can you give tips for maintaining?

    REad this post.

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