Maintenance Thread

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  • pamp1emousse
    pamp1emousse Posts: 282 Member
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    Hello! I've been eyeing up this thread for the last few months now and as of today I get to ask to join! Woohoo! (although reading through some of the thread I can see that this part is actually going to be really hard...) I started out on MFP at 135 in September, I think it was, and I reached my goal of 121 (-an extra 0.4) today. I'm a bit unsure of what my maintenance calories are though... regular BMR calculators put me at around 1700/day but then ones which take into account body fat (25%) only give me 1550! Hmmm... I guess I'll just have to experiment :glasses:
  • DeeDeeLHF
    DeeDeeLHF Posts: 2,301 Member
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    Welcome Maxine and dmoses! We seem to go in spurts on this thread. We all seem to be active for a time and then it sits for a couple of days, but when we write it is so positive and supportive.

    People do not realize how difficult this phase is. Just today, I was complaining to my son that I really thought that after I lost the weight I could go back to eating "normal" but really this "normal" is what got me fat!!! So, I can never do that again.

    Next, after losing the weight our bodies might not look like we expected them to look, so we question our ideal weight.

    And last, trying to find the "magic" calorie range that allows us to neither gain nor lose. Frustrating!!!

    Just takes some figuring out.

    Maxine, it might be best to simply add about 50-100 calories and leave it there for a week or two and see what happens. For many, if you increase too quickly you may end up gaining some back.

    My maintenance is really around 1300 before exercise. I am 46 and although I work out almost every day and lift weights 3 times per week, I have a hunch that my body fat is less than stellar.

    Keep chiming in!

    D
  • Oishii
    Oishii Posts: 2,675 Member
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    Yesterday I fit into a dress that I had NEVER fitted into (properly!) before, even when I'd just bought it! I also seem to have gone down a cup size within the space of a week, though I've pretty much maintained my weight. So I really, really don't want to lose any more weight!

    I got so used to living on too few calories that I'm eating the same meals but now filling my new quota with too many snacks. I'm back to eating biscuits, cake etc, which would be fine if it was a bit less often! My sugars are always off the scale... Weight loss was an easy focus, but now it's gone, any ideas on how I can motivate myself to eat more healthily? What goal can I work towards that is a direct outcome of what I eat?
  • SHBoss1673
    SHBoss1673 Posts: 7,161 Member
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    Yesterday I fit into a dress that I had NEVER fitted into (properly!) before, even when I'd just bought it! I also seem to have gone down a cup size within the space of a week, though I've pretty much maintained my weight. So I really, really don't want to lose any more weight!

    I got so used to living on too few calories that I'm eating the same meals but now filling my new quota with too many snacks. I'm back to eating biscuits, cake etc, which would be fine if it was a bit less often! My sugars are always off the scale... Weight loss was an easy focus, but now it's gone, any ideas on how I can motivate myself to eat more healthily? What goal can I work towards that is a direct outcome of what I eat?

    I've found maintenance much harder than weight loss. For some it is. Maybe the food (and calories) itself can be the goal. Setting goals to reach on how many veggies, how many whole grains, how many lean proteins...etc. you eat today is one way. That's kind of how I do it. I actually go a little further by "goaling" (my own made up word, you like?) the TYPES of veggies, as well. I.E. I separate by colors as well (veggie colors have different vitamins and minerals) so I group by servings of yellows and oranges, servings of leafy greens, servings of reds...etc. Course I do it in my head so it's not as crazy to look at as one may think. but I do spend an inordinate amount of time at the salad bar sometimes. :tongue:

    Other goals can be exercise based, or maybe body fat % based, or size based (clothing size) or achievement based (like completing a spin class without stopping or something like that).

    I find it's important to have achievable but hard to reach goals, especially after weight loss stops. Humans thrive on goals.
  • Oishii
    Oishii Posts: 2,675 Member
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    I can think of fitness goals (I've been using RunKeeper to try to speed up my walk to work), but I don't know whether my diet would really affect them. I know losing weight does, but while I'm within my calories, does it make any measurable difference where I get those calories from? What is healthier about eating healthier if weight is no longer the issue?

    I like the veggie goal idea. I wonder if I should be trying to up my proteins. I have been buying healthier snacks, but snack most away from home, so I guess I should start carrying them around with me more. Gojis to go!:laugh:
  • RaeN81
    RaeN81 Posts: 534 Member
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    I find fitness goals to be super helpful for me because I do not track calories anymore. I'm participating in my first race in March and I am excited about it. I understand why people keep telling me I'm going to get hooked on it!
  • kath711
    kath711 Posts: 712 Member
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    Yesterday I fit into a dress that I had NEVER fitted into (properly!) before, even when I'd just bought it! I also seem to have gone down a cup size within the space of a week, though I've pretty much maintained my weight. So I really, really don't want to lose any more weight!

    I got so used to living on too few calories that I'm eating the same meals but now filling my new quota with too many snacks. I'm back to eating biscuits, cake etc, which would be fine if it was a bit less often! My sugars are always off the scale... Weight loss was an easy focus, but now it's gone, any ideas on how I can motivate myself to eat more healthily? What goal can I work towards that is a direct outcome of what I eat?

    That's a great idea and gives me a new challenge. Been kind of losing interest lately so maybe this can help get me motivated again!

    I've found maintenance much harder than weight loss. For some it is. Maybe the food (and calories) itself can be the goal. Setting goals to reach on how many veggies, how many whole grains, how many lean proteins...etc. you eat today is one way. That's kind of how I do it. I actually go a little further by "goaling" (my own made up word, you like?) the TYPES of veggies, as well. I.E. I separate by colors as well (veggie colors have different vitamins and minerals) so I group by servings of yellows and oranges, servings of leafy greens, servings of reds...etc. Course I do it in my head so it's not as crazy to look at as one may think. but I do spend an inordinate amount of time at the salad bar sometimes. :tongue:

    Other goals can be exercise based, or maybe body fat % based, or size based (clothing size) or achievement based (like completing a spin class without stopping or something like that).

    I find it's important to have achievable but hard to reach goals, especially after weight loss stops. Humans thrive on goals.
  • DeeDeeLHF
    DeeDeeLHF Posts: 2,301 Member
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    I really need to set better goals as well. I like the food type goals! I did so well when I was setting minutes of exercise goals. Right now, I have a limited time membership for the YMCA, so I am taking advantage of that as much as possible.

    How accurate are the hand held body fat monitors? They have one at the Y. Wondering if I should use that to set a body fat goal.

    D
  • Oishii
    Oishii Posts: 2,675 Member
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    I was lighter again today! I really haven't got the hang of maintenance! Should I stop calorie counting? Try gaining again? Why is my body still ok with losing?
  • Robin1117
    Robin1117 Posts: 1,768 Member
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    "Goaling" is a great idea...thanks! I have been making slight changes over the last few weeks but I guess they could count as goals:

    --toning--with 30 day shred and other new exercises at home. I had been doing only elliptical for over a year
    --trying not to drink wine during the week, just weekends (it's been about 4 weeks and going well)
    --calorie maintenance level study--figure out what this is--I need to go up a level, probably next week, to see if I can eat at a higher level
    --not looking for weight loss, but a little loosening of clothing

    You all are right now --on maintenance we do lose sight of our goals and just last month I didn't have any. I set these and actually have been following through. I'm surprised. Maybe we all need to confess our goals on this thread--it may help motivate us to keep going!

    Rae--congrats on the race! that should be great for you!

    Mori--did you want to be lighter?? Yes, keep counting calories-- but most of us here are trying to figure out the optimal level--maybe you need to up your calories slightly and track it to see where the loss stops.

    Dee--interesting to hear you are on 1300 maintenance calories before exercise. I have been in the 1400s and people I have talked to tell me this is probably low. I seem to be fine here--not gaining or losing-- except I'd like to eat more :smile: , so I'm hoping to get into the 1500s-1600s. MFP tells me if I'm sedentary (and I would guess I'm really lightly active) on maintenance I should be in this ballpark for calories. MFP tells me my current level would still have me at a loss but that isn't happening.
  • DeeDeeLHF
    DeeDeeLHF Posts: 2,301 Member
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    Robin, Oh, how I wish it were higher!! I keep trying to make it higher but then I end up gaining. I am 46 years old, 5 ft. 1 and 1/2 inches tall and currently weigh 121-122. I am a homeschooling mom which means that really I spend a lot of my day sitting or standing while teaching them. I exercise almost every day.

    I tried increasing to 1400 and gained. So I put it back to 1350 as my upper most.

    I am pear shaped and do have extra fat stores in my saddlebags and legs. I have little to none in my upper body which is why I don't want to lose anymore weight but just tone my lower half. I am hoping for MacMadame's theory of "redistribution" to take place over the course of the next year.

    Another factor is menopause. I am very much in the midst of that. Hot flashes are a serious bummer and I never know when menses might occur. My cycle length varies from 26 to 164 days!

    It is depressing to not be able to eat more, but I am starting to accept that this is probably an anthropological response as well. A non-pregnant, non-lactating, female simply does not have the calorie need of her younger counterpart to continue the species. :laugh:

    D
  • lobster888
    lobster888 Posts: 861 Member
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    DeeDee, I feel like you!!! I too am 46 (actually 47 next week) and have been in the mist of menopause for about three years. I have been fighting the calorie thing for a couple of years too. If I increase my calorie and don't increase my exercise then I gain. I was staying within 1200 - 1400 daily. That's why I get down that I feel I have to eat like this (don't think of it as a diet but I lifestyle change) all the time. I exercise daily too, some days more than other. I get rather depressed too, that I work hard at maintaining. I am begining to except it as an aging thing too. But that is depressing too.! Oh no now I am depressed LOL !!!! So, we have to eat less, exercise more just to maintain what are younger females do...and we still age - get thinning hair, belly fat, saggy skin and wrinkles!!!

    But... we are wiser and happier right ???
  • KarenBorter
    KarenBorter Posts: 1,157 Member
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    bump for later posting :)

    I am in maintain land ;) Just posted a blog
  • Oishii
    Oishii Posts: 2,675 Member
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    So does everyone need fewer calories as they get older?
  • pamp1emousse
    pamp1emousse Posts: 282 Member
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    Thanks for the welcome!

    Deedee - that sounds like a good plan. I've been slowly raising my allowance by 50 a week but I think I'll keep it where it is this week because, in true "yay I got to goal" style I went on a MASSIVE comfort eating session yesterday (unlogged. oops!). First time in absolutely ages! (I thought I'd got this emotional eating thing sorted but apparently not lol).

    You all seem to have quite low maintenance levels... Can I ask what you were losing on? I'm finding that 1450 vs the 1300 already makes a really big difference to what I can eat, so my maintenance ends up being 1550 I guess it's not the end of the world :smile: Going to have to remain active though! I've found that since going below 122lbs my energy levels have plummeted and my workouts just haven't been as good as what they were.... slightly worrying... I think getting to maintenance is definitely what I need. Totally agree with SHBoss - I need a new goal! I've been really lazy with strength training recently so my new one is to do all the mat-based exercises I do at home when I wake up in the morning. Lunges, leg raises, pushups etc.

    Come to think of it, that's not really a goal lol, it's a plan. Hmmm... I think mine will be to gain 2lbs of muscle. That'll take a while as I get myself into the right calorie range though. I estimate... 1 month to get to the right calorie level, 3 weeks per pound. Does that sound reasonable?
  • RaeN81
    RaeN81 Posts: 534 Member
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    My maintenance level is 2000-2500 cals. I suppose this includes exercise and breastfeeding though. I'd like to keep it up at around 2000 though even when breastfeeding is over and I am willing to exercise lots to get it in this range (or near it) if I need to. I like food.
  • Oishii
    Oishii Posts: 2,675 Member
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    I've been experimenting with my net calories. I seem to still lose at around 1600, so I'm trying higher and higher, but terrified it will all come back on if I'm not careful. I haven't been sticking to my calories much recently either, so I may need to do a little 'damage limitation' soon.:wink: I think one difficulty I'm finding is that my activity levels vary day to day and week to week, before I start including any proper exercise, so what is maintenance one week is losing the next and gaining the week after that!

    My son normally only feeds once a day now, so I'm not accounting for that. I am not and will not be exercising all that much for the moment. A family, job, church, social life, etc is enough for me for the moment. I hardly sit down some days!

    Can I friend you guys? Too many of my mfp friends hardly ever, or never, log on, so I could do with more inspiration!
  • MacMadame
    MacMadame Posts: 1,893 Member
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    You all seem to have quite low maintenance levels...
    It depends on whether we're talking net or overall.

    I burn around 1550-1750 on days I don't exercise. But in the summer when I'm working out 8-10 hours a week including some long bike rides, I am eating 2000-3000 a day.

    So my overall average calories consumed is around 2000-2200 but my net calories are around 1550-1750.

    When I was losing, I would raise my calories 100-200 calories (depending on how fast I was still losing) and then wait 2 weeks to see if I would stop. If I didn't, I'd raise them again. I really think it takes 2 weeks to know because of our monthly cycles. 1 week out of 4 I am ovulating and another week out of 4 I am menstruating and both throw everything off.
  • Robin1117
    Robin1117 Posts: 1,768 Member
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    Maxine--yes, you are right--the calories do seem low. I was losing still at 1290. I seem to be maintaining at 1450. I have been slowly raising mine and this week I think will be a bit higher (I'll find out after today how I averaged for the week). I'm hoping to inch up into the 1500-1600 range w/out gaining but am taking it slow. This is net calories--I generally eat all of my exercise calories, averaging around 400 or so a day so I guess total calories would be in the 1800 range.

    Oh, also, I find it a good learning process to log in my diary after eating a humongous dinner or splurging--you really do learn a lot about how these big eating days fit into your routine. I tend to have one or two days a week like this, if I go out to dinner or if having friends over for dinner. These splurges tend to average out over the week so I can usually not stress about it too much.

    Mori--I agree about the activity level--this seems to be the silent daily variable. Please do send a friend request--we all could use the support!
  • Rebeccamoore
    Rebeccamoore Posts: 21 Member
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    Hi! I still have a bit of weight to lose (15lbs) but I have been a yoyo dieter for years and would love to join in your maintenance thread when I have reached goal. I find keeping the weight off harder than losing it! Hope thats ok!

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