Are you more relaxed at maintannace than losing weight

Options
Chibukalu908
Chibukalu908 Posts: 212
in Goal: Maintaining Weight
how easy is it to gain the weight back if you get too comfortable?

Replies

  • PaytraB
    PaytraB Posts: 2,360 Member
    Options
    Very easy to gain weight back, if by "comfortable" you mean "eat whatever I want".

    However, as you lose weight you also learn tools for keeping good choices in mind. If you remember these tools, then yes, you can relax and be comfortable and still maintain your weight.
    Sometimes I want a chocolate bar but know that dinner will be heavier and I can wait until another day. Or I can eat that chocolate bar, knowing that another day will be lighter in calories. It all balances out over the longer term, if you're aware of what you're eating.
  • Zenzen2000
    Zenzen2000 Posts: 17
    Options
    I find, I must always be mindful about, what I eat.

    I have maintained a loss of 60 lbs. for several years. Sure, I fall off the beaten path but I give myself a 5 lb. threshold where I really buckle down and to get the weight off before things get too out of hand.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,874 Member
    Options
    I don't log and have maintained for 16 months or so without logging. That said, my diet (noun) is 180* different than it was two years ago. My nutrition rocks...the only difference between my losing and maintaining is a mere 500 calories...a couple handfuls of nuts. While I don't log, I am always mindful...and like I said, I rock my nutrition.

    If you think you can just kick back into old ways and old habits and just eat the SAD or whatever and maintain, you will be in for a very rude awakening very quickly. If you don't truly make a dietary and fitness lifestyle change (I'm not talking about logging) you can pretty much guarantee you will put the weight back on.
  • riffraff2112
    riffraff2112 Posts: 1,757 Member
    Options
    I have only been maintaining for a month and I am not sure which is easier.

    There are days where I think I will have no problem with this for life and there are days where I worry about putting the weight back on and slipping into old habits.

    I have lost a significant amount of weight three times in my life, and I hope this time it is for real.

    I'm hoping with the improvements in ease of logging (MFP) that I have learned enough to be careful with what I eat and not get comfortable. Also I weigh myself habitually now, something I never used to do so I have a threshold number that when I hit it.....I go in DEFCON mode and really buckle down.

    Losing weight was pretty easy. I just watched what I ate, and stayed below my allowance. Maintaining is a little trickier cause I am not sure I have found my maintenance level yet. I continued losing for a bit, and then gained back a bit...not I seem to be losing again. So it appears I have some fine tuning to do yet!
  • larrodarro
    larrodarro Posts: 2,512 Member
    Options
    I've been at or around 176 for 3 months now. My problem is eating to goal. If I don't pay close attention I will lose weight. My weight this morning was 174.4, and that was with me hitting my goal almost every day this week.

    That said, I worked too hard to lose the 65 pounds, so I'm not about to go crazy eating bad food now. I still weigh everything, log my food and exercise. One day it would be nice to stop, but I'm not ready for that yet.

    Larro
  • larrodarro
    larrodarro Posts: 2,512 Member
    Options


    Losing weight was pretty easy. I just watched what I ate, and stayed below my allowance. Maintaining is a little trickier cause I am not sure I have found my maintenance level yet. I continued losing for a bit, and then gained back a bit...not I seem to be losing again. So it appears I have some fine tuning to do yet!

    ^^^^^^This. I go up and down from one week to the next. So far the swings haven't been more than 3 or 4 pounds, but it would be nice to just stay level for a while.

    Larro
  • PinkyPan1
    PinkyPan1 Posts: 3,018 Member
    Options
    I am still losing on maintenance. I hit what I thought was my goal weight 7 lbs ago. I am now happy with my weight and I am trying to tweak my calories so I no longer lose. Am I more relaxed as in less anxious? Yes. Am I about to quit counting calories or cut back on my walks...hell no. I made a life style change and I am loving it. There is no going back and lazy no longer works for me.
  • JustSomeEm
    JustSomeEm Posts: 20,197 MFP Moderator
    Options
    Yes, i'm more relaxed, but I'm finding out that even in 'maintenance' I'm losing weight at a rate of about a pound every two or three weeks. Since I have wiggle room, I'm not too worried about it yet. Eventually it'll settle down. I AM more relaxed about food choices, but everything is still logged. :) I'm not ready to go without logging just yet.
  • Tanie98
    Tanie98 Posts: 675 Member
    Options
    I am not at maintenance yet but I cant wait to reach my goal because maintance means more food:flowerforyou:
  • SezxyStef
    SezxyStef Posts: 15,268 Member
    Options
    I am still losing on maintenance. I hit what I thought was my goal weight 7 lbs ago. I am now happy with my weight and I am trying to tweak my calories so I no longer lose. Am I more relaxed as in less anxious? Yes. Am I about to quit counting calories or cut back on my walks...hell no. I made a life style change and I am loving it. There is no going back and lazy no longer works for me.

    Same here...I didn't believe my maitenance was as high as it is apparently so I have been eating about 2k a day give or take...maybe 2050 with some high weekends...and since hitting goal weight I have lost another 4lbs...probably 4.5 tomorrow...

    I am more relaxed sort of...I eat pretty normal during the week just like I did when I was losing but have a tendancy to make up for it on the weekends...I have to get over my calorie snobbery tho...or my thoughts of "oh I can't have that it won't leave me any wiggle room for later" which is making it necessary to make up on the weekends...
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,874 Member
    Options


    Losing weight was pretty easy. I just watched what I ate, and stayed below my allowance. Maintaining is a little trickier cause I am not sure I have found my maintenance level yet. I continued losing for a bit, and then gained back a bit...not I seem to be losing again. So it appears I have some fine tuning to do yet!

    ^^^^^^This. I go up and down from one week to the next. So far the swings haven't been more than 3 or 4 pounds, but it would be nice to just stay level for a while.

    Larro

    Just an FYI, your body weight isn't static. You are going to have natural weight fluctuations right in the general vicinity of what you described.

    I've been maintaining for 16 months...over that time, my average weight is 181.5...but I dip down to around 178 on occasion and can also get up around 184/185. These are natural fluctuations and have nothing to do with fat.

    Perfect example...yesterday I was 183...this morning under the same conditions and same time of morning I weight 181.7...I assure you that I did not lose 1.3 Lbs of fat over night...it's just a natural fluctuation due to maybe having less overall waste in my system or perhaps my body released some water that it was retaining.

    You have to track the overall trend and averages...not the exact weigh in numbers.
  • tigerblue
    tigerblue Posts: 1,525 Member
    Options
    Maintenance is tricky! So tricky in fact that I am back in losing mode for awhile! The tough thing for me is finding what I maintain at. I am expert at logging and staying under my goal. I just need help finding the right goal!

    Actually, when I finish re-losing ( 10 lbs--hopefully by Christmas), I think I will be much better equipped to maintain because I am armed with facts from my food diary and weight log. Before I just sort of guessed at it.

    I will always have to be mindful of my food and exercise, and likely I will always keep a food diary.
  • GertrudeHorse
    GertrudeHorse Posts: 646 Member
    Options
    I personally find maintenance more difficult because I'm a person who naturally gravitates to extremes. I don't struggle with losing or gaining, but I find balancing rather tricky. I hope in time it gets more intuitive.
  • 47Jacqueline
    47Jacqueline Posts: 6,993 Member
    Options
    It took me some time to figure out my maintenance calories. I'm very active and I was undereating. When I raised my activity level to very active and started to eat back my exercise calorise, I leveled off. It's hard to believe, sometimes, that I can eat as much as I do and not gain weight, but it's definitely working.
  • amrichards0711
    amrichards0711 Posts: 23 Member
    Options
    I have been in maintenance for about 2 1/2 months now and, in actuality, I am doing pretty well. I am maintaining within 3-5 pounds of my goal weight, which I know is normal. In some ways, it is easier because I have been doing this for a year now and I know what I can eat to stay within my calorie goals. I've decided that I'm not really happy at this weight, though. I don't want to weigh 3 or 4 pounds more than my goal weight of 137, so I get stressed out, even though I know that this is just my body settling into maintenance. I read on here that you should lose 5 pounds more than what your goal weight is so that when you start maintaining and gain weight from the restoration of glycogen stores, you will probably be at the weight you want. I see a lot of sense in that, so I have decided that I want to get down to 130-132 to give myself some more wiggle room for the weight fluctuations.
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
    Options
    Same mindset as weight loss... just with a few more calories. So yes in a way it's more relaxed as it's easier to fit in things you like, but I still have to be very careful about what I eat.
  • Babygurl721
    Babygurl721 Posts: 10 Member
    Options
    Im trying to lose some weight at the same time trying to maintain it and not fall back into the rut that I was in. So far I have lost 5 pounds within a two week timeframe.
  • logg1e
    logg1e Posts: 1,208 Member
    Options
    Im trying to lose some weight at the same time trying to maintain it and not fall back into the rut that I was in.

    What do you mean?
  • detoxrobot
    detoxrobot Posts: 20
    Options
    my weight always comes right back when I begin to get "comfortable", its a vicious cycle :(
  • Tracey_B_72
    Tracey_B_72 Posts: 1,021 Member
    Options
    Totally not relaxed, I keep going below my lowest weight bracket and being more concerned about eating to stay in it, I'm actually thinking of dropping my weight bracket another 7lbs to 133-137lbs from 140-144lbs to see if I can't maintain that easier, I have the added problem that now it's cooled down weather wise that me and the dog will be back to our 3+ mile dog walks so there's no way I can eat those calories back too.

    Losing was actually more easier in opinion than maintaining, finding out what my levels are is a right pain.

Categories