Transitioning to maintenance

Hello everyone,

I am just about at my goal weight and I'm just wondering what's the best way of transitioning to "maintenance calories"? I am currently eating about 1200-1300 cals a day and MFP says somewhere around 1670 is my daily allowance for maintaining my weight. I am worried if I suddenly start eating at maintenance I will gain.

Thanks!

Replies

  • steff274
    steff274 Posts: 227 Member
    Just do it slowly add a 150 calorie snack for a week, then another 100.. Maintaining is about finding a balance.. I guess you probably have a number on the scale on which you don't want to go higher than if you go higher than that number just rein it back in for a week ;) you can add me if you like I am actually at my lowest I ate terribly yesterday and still lost a pound Wtf!!
  • kezzola
    kezzola Posts: 65 Member
    I'm not there yet but I'm planning on adding an extra 100 cals each fortnight until I reach a stable weight.
  • kezzola
    kezzola Posts: 65 Member
    Oops I meant that to say 100 extra cals per day. Gradually adjusting it up each fortnight till I'm maintaining.
  • ILiftHeavyAcrylics
    ILiftHeavyAcrylics Posts: 27,732 Member
    That's what I'd do too. Keep in mind you may gain a little scale weight (2-3 lbs) at first. It's just glycogen/water so don't be alarmed. Other people continue to lose as they increase calories. That's what happened to me.
  • keefmac
    keefmac Posts: 313 Member
    I lost another kilo while eating more food, just gradually up your daily intake like people have said.

    I have a nightime snack of pistachio nuts, 300kcals worth..
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  • ILiftHeavyAcrylics
    ILiftHeavyAcrylics Posts: 27,732 Member
    Oops I meant that to say 100 extra cals per day. Gradually adjusting it up each fortnight till I'm maintaining.
    I personally would not got 100 per day. You really don't allow your body the time to adjust to the new intake. I go 75 or at most 100 per week.

    I agree, but I thought she was saying 100 calories per day (as in 1200 to 1300) but then only increasing every week. Rather than saying 8400 per week and going to 8500 per week, which is how 100 calories per week could be interpreted.

    But I could be completely off base.
  • 5stringjeff
    5stringjeff Posts: 790 Member
    Oops I meant that to say 100 extra cals per day. Gradually adjusting it up each fortnight till I'm maintaining.
    I personally would not got 100 per day. You really don't allow your body the time to adjust to the new intake. I go 75 or at most 100 per week.

    I agree, but I thought she was saying 100 calories per day (as in 1200 to 1300) but then only increasing every week. Rather than saying 8400 per week and going to 8500 per week, which is how 100 calories per week could be interpreted.

    But I could be completely off base.

    That's how I read it also. And, this is exactly what I've done over the last few weeks: each Monday, I raised my daily calorie goal by 100. This morning, I raised it up to my full maintenance calorie level.
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  • ukaryote
    ukaryote Posts: 851 Member
    And keep on exercising! Maybe increase. It never hurts.
  • icrushit
    icrushit Posts: 773 Member
    I'm not at maintenance yet, and also have a few pounds to lose also, but I am slowly reversing out of my diet. Doing some calculations, I figured adding about 50 calories to my intake, each week, would let me hit maintenance by the time I wish to (mid-December), and also lose the majority of the remaining weight by that time also (I will then re-evaluate my goals after staying at maintenance until the new year, enjoying christmas at the same time).

    Anyway, instead of adding 50 calories to my intake every week, I've instead simply decided to add 7 calories to my calorie target each day, and must say I like it. I'm not overly precious about hitting my calories to the exact calorie every day, but am content knowing the trend will be an upward one until I hit maintenance. The whole process is called reverse dieting in case you hadn't come across it, and by doing it this way, it allows you to find your maintenance calories, while also allowing your metabolism to slowly catch its breath after a protracted deficit, and possibly even crank it up a little higher than it was before, allowing you to eat more in maintenance or make the next round of weight cutting even easier.

    So, 7 calories a day for the next 10/ 12 weeks for me, that's how I'm planning to transition to maintenance, although I will retain to option to bump things a little faster than the 7 a day should I need to do so, although I shall try to resist making changes unless necessary.

    Re: maintenance itself, I plan to transition away from calorie counting, but know I still have some work to do and good habits and rules to establish so I can forego calorie counting. My intermediate plan as such is to continue counting calories in the new year, but while also focussing on building good habits so I can let go of calorie counting and logging at some point next year. I will say my weight goal is simply to remain slim, so no targetted body composition goals, like others may have, as if I had such specific/ targetted body goals, I would probably track while pursuing those goals.

    Hope some of these meandering thoughts may help, and as I say, I'm not at maintenance yet but rather have simply been giving it some thought, so I'm prepared for the next step before I reach it. Forewarned & forearmed and all that :-)
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  • dieselbyte
    dieselbyte Posts: 733 Member
    And keep on exercising! Maybe increase. It never hurts.
    Increasing calories and increasing calories gets you back to where you started. Makes no sense.

    It must be early for you haha! I'm sure you meant increasing calories and increasing training (or calories burned) gets you back to where you started :wink:
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  • I'm right there with you. I hit my goal weight today and when my goals updated, I found I am allowed over 400 calories per day more. I have the same concern, so I will be paying even closer attention to determine how following the plan will work. I hope they're right!!
  • seltzermint555
    seltzermint555 Posts: 10,740 Member
    I'm a little more than 10 lb from my tentative goal, and I feel that I'm transitioning to maintenance very gradually, by slowing my loss from the original 1.5 lb/week to 1 lb/week and being a bit more lax. For example, I went on vacation and ate over my calories every day...a year ago I would not have done that. The scale went up a few pounds which I'll now drop...but I look at it kind of like an experiment to get me used to eating at or above my allotted calories for the day.
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  • mrsmcmo
    mrsmcmo Posts: 109 Member
    Thank you for all the helpful replies! I will look into reverse dieting, I had never heard of that.

    My initial thought was to up my calories by switching from 1lb weight loss per week to .5, but that still allows me 1420 per day which is 120-220 ish calories more than I have been eating for about a month, so I'm thinking that is too fast? I will just have to work on tweaking things a bit - maybe aim to eat about 1350 per day or so and see where that gets me.

    I hadn't heard about gaining a few lbs after making the switch from being at a deficit to more of a maintenance level, but I'm glad I know that it may happen. It does have me a tad worried though , I hope it doesn't happen! Would that just come off with time (ie not having to put effort into losing those lbs)?
  • keefmac
    keefmac Posts: 313 Member
    Maybe set your goal weight a couple of pounds under your idle maintenance weight.

    I've heard this mentioned a few times and it makes sense, if you are maintaining you won't lose the slight extra you put on at the transition.
  • kezzola
    kezzola Posts: 65 Member
    I'm obviously not very good at explaining myself. I did mean going from 1200 calories per day to 1300 per day for about a fortnight. Then I was going to increase to 1400 per day for the next fortnight and keep going until I reached a calorie level that maintained my weight. Sorry if I've confused everyone.
  • JeanCricket
    JeanCricket Posts: 176 Member
    I hit within .5 pounds of my goal weight mid August. As a point of reference, my GW is 130 and goal weight range 128-132...

    At first, I just changed my settings from lose 1 pound/week to lose .5 pounds/week (this added 90 cals/day). I wanted to be sure it wasn't just a weekly weight fluctuation, so waited till next weekly weigh-in to be sure. After I weighed in at goal the following week and confirmed I was indeed at GW, then I started making changes.

    In early Sept, I switched goal settings to maintenance (yay!) which added on 220 cals/day. I decided that for first month I would eat to the new caloric daily goal of 1530, but would not eat back exercise calories. I actually lost an additional 2 pounds over this period of a month.

    This past week, I've started eating back exercise calories, because quite frankly, I'm hungry and am on low end of GW range (actually a little below)... :-). So far I am maintaining at the low end of my GW range :-) Will keep making adjustments as needed as I learn how best to manage and enjoy maintenance. Praying for success!!

    Hugs,

    Jean
  • mojisha
    mojisha Posts: 36 Member
    I definitely second the idea of setting your goal weight about 3 lbs lower and give yourself that range to maintain. After a couple of weeks of maintenance I usually stayed at the lower end of the range, but I haven't gone over the top of the range (I.e. my original goal) since I started maintenance a few months ago. There is a great thread on here that explains why your body gains water weight when you go into maintenance.
  • ianthy
    ianthy Posts: 404 Member
    Hi

    I started transitioning to maintenance by increasing my daily cals by 100, then reviewing at the end of the week and adding a further 100 cals. I also increasing the exercise intensity.Yes the weight loss slowed down abit but not much due to the increased exercise. Also it set up nicely for maintenance with a stronger exercise routine. You might also wish to think carefully about how you use the extra cals - I was already happy with the foods on my weight loss plan so added in a couple of snacks with more protein and the odd tub of ice cream. The 100 cals a week takes patience as I was tempted many times to jump from 1400 cals to 1600 but managed to stick it out with the help of MFP and my trusted kitchen scales.

    Enjoy your journey thru maintenance.
  • arabianhorselover
    arabianhorselover Posts: 1,488 Member
    I'm also looking at maintenance now, with only 1 pound to lose to get to my goal. I can't even believe that! Not sure how I will change my calories, but it won't be by much.
  • rosehips60
    rosehips60 Posts: 1,030 Member
    I guess I'm the exception here. I just jumped right into all my maintenance calories. I lost a little at first then gained it back, I'm talking not even 2 pounds, and have been just a teensy bit under goal ever since.
  • mrsmcmo
    mrsmcmo Posts: 109 Member
    I am going to search for the thread on water weight, thanks! I weighed myself today and I am down another lb to 115, which was my original GW. I have manually adjusted my calories on MFP to about 1350/day, and I try to get to that but for the past few days I have been below. I am so worried about gaining! I am only 5'2 so I can really tell when I have gained even a couple lbs.
  • Trignon
    Trignon Posts: 21 Member
    Trust the tape measure and skinfold calipers more than just the weight scale.
  • SezxyStef
    SezxyStef Posts: 15,267 Member
    when I hit goal weight I started to reverse diet up to maitenance.

    Initially 100 a day for a week then another 100...I gained a bit so slowed it to 50 for the week (each day for those who are tired)

    In about 6 weeks I hit what I thought could be maitenance but had lost an additional 2lbs (which was fine) then stayed at about 2k a day for the summer and continued to lose about 1/4lb a week so I knew I needed to adjust (re-calculated my TDEE) and found out it's about 2250....hence the weight loss but I had to give myself a good 4-6 weeks to see for sure...

    But I never got out of my range....so I was maintaining. I had small increases here and there but mainly down...

    It just showed me I could eat like this and lose so I set my goal lower....:bigsmile: hence the 2lbs to go...
  • SezxyStef
    SezxyStef Posts: 15,267 Member
    Trust the tape measure and skinfold calipers more than just the weight scale.

    I wouldn't trust a skinfold caliper at all...to many chances of errors in those.

    Instead of just trusting one or two measurments take them all into consideration

    Tape measure, weight, clothing, BF% (from a reliable source), Even BMI to a degree but mostly how you feel and what you see in the mirror and if you are good to go that's all that matters.