just hit goal weight - now what?

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anna_toffee
anna_toffee Posts: 31 Member
in Goal: Maintaining Weight
hi, sorry if this is an unnecessary new topic.

after probably about a year of dieting/exercise/watching intake, i've lost 28lbs. i know it's nothing compared to the people who've lost like, 40, 50lbs, hats off the them, but i'm at the point where i want to start maintaining instead of losing.

are there any general hints, tips, ideas floating around? or anecdotes from people in the same boat?

thanks!

Replies

  • BigGuy47
    BigGuy47 Posts: 1,768 Member
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    Congrats on hitting your goal!

    Figuring out maintenance calories can be a bit of trial and error. A lot of people will add 100 - 200cal to their daily intake and then make adjustments after a couple weeks. Tweaking the intake depending on if they are gaining or still losing.

    It also depends on your fitness goals. If you plan on continuing with your exercise you can add calories. If you don't want exercise anymore then eat the same amount and check your progress after a few weeks. Are you still losing? Gaining?

    One of the biggest reasons people gain after hitting their goal weight is they fail to understand what it takes to maintain the weight. Maintaining takes the same level of mental discipline that it takes to lose the weight. Some people think, "Yay I hit my goal weight, now I can go back to eating normal!". Sure you can eat more, but you don't want to fall back into the same habits that caused the initial weight gain.

  • SherryTeach
    SherryTeach Posts: 2,836 Member
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    My situation is similar to yours. I lost 33 pounds, which may not seem like a lot, but it was 23% of my body weight. I've now successfully kept it off for two years. I did it by continuing to live the same way I did during the losing phase, just with about 200 more calories per day to play with. I continue to log my food and exercise and weigh weekly. I also wear a fitbit. All of my new habits have become routine parts of my life and the mental discipline has positively affected other areas as well.
  • kkimpel
    kkimpel Posts: 303 Member
    edited October 2014
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    I stopped tracking last year.. and ended up 25lbs later saying.. oooo wait. So this time I'm going to keep tracking.. and actually, my goal weight has shifted to a little below what I thought it would be, because of body fat % Like above, I think you may not have that many extra calories to play with.. and you look GREAT
  • 2thesexydress
    2thesexydress Posts: 54 Member
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    This guy's website is amazing, its full of knowledge of weight loss, maintenance, reverse dieting etc etc.

    http://www.coachcalorie.com/how-to-maintain-weight-loss/
  • anna_toffee
    anna_toffee Posts: 31 Member
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    thanks for the replies, folks!

    i think i'm probably going to end up losing a little more after this; not really deliberately, but simply because i've got a busy few weeks ahead and i'm kind of a dummy when it comes to regular meals. D: i'm definitely going to keep tracking though, just as habit.
  • FitOldMomma
    FitOldMomma Posts: 790 Member
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    I think staying honest and mindful with your food intake, and to continue getting plenty of exercise. Congratulations on meeting your goal...no matter how many or few pounds it was, YOU DID IT! :D
  • shonako
    shonako Posts: 98 Member
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    congrats!!!!!!
  • PinkyPan1
    PinkyPan1 Posts: 3,018 Member
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    Congrats on your weight loss! Good for you. Maintenance is tricky. My goal was to lose 13-15 lbs and then expected to maintain that. I have lost an additional 8 lbs on maintenance and I could not be happier. I feel like this is the weight my body is the most comfortable at. It took me trial and error to find the appropriate calorie intake. I went from 1200 calories to 1500.
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  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
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    enjoy eating more food!

    set some fitness goals so you still have something to work for.
  • focusedonfitness2015
    focusedonfitness2015 Posts: 240 Member
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    I hit my goal a few weeks ago. I think the toughest part for me was wrapping my head around the fact that I no longer need to eat at a deficit. I still do my workouts and I increased my daily calories by 150. So far so good. Also remember while in maintenance you need to work on a range, instead of a number. My goal was 125 but in any given week I will range between 125-128...and thats okay. I am no longer losing and that was the ultimate goal....to be able to live a normal life while using the tools I have been taught to be healthy and maintain my weight. Life happens..and its okay. That was a very hard lesson for me. Good luck to you! Feel free to add me if you would like support.
  • ukaryote
    ukaryote Posts: 874 Member
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    anna_toffee wrote: »
    i'm definitely going to keep tracking though, just as habit.
    ^^ this.

    Continued tracking will inform you about the maintenance calories. That level will change throughout your life - age, pregnancy, illness, medications. If you nave not considered exercise before, now is the best time to start creating exercise habits to develop life-long fitness.

    In 20 years you are gonna wish you had an exercise program in place for the previous 20 years. (voice of experience)
  • veloman21
    veloman21 Posts: 418 Member
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    I very much agree with Emarald83112's comments. Definitely think of your weight as a range versus a number as you will vary. I think maintenance is tricky because it's easy to feel you have 'made it' and it's then easy to get a little careless logging. I think the secret is to stay scrupulous with logging of calories, especially if you were already eating at a small deficit to lose weight slowly.

    Look at your net calories for the last week, month, 3 months. Do they jive with your weight loss? i.e. -3500 calories = -1lb. It's very easy to underestimate calories in and overestimate calories burned.

    Congrats in reaching you maintenance number!! :)
  • focusedonfitness2015
    focusedonfitness2015 Posts: 240 Member
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    2thesexydress wrote: »
    This guy's website is amazing, its full of knowledge of weight loss, maintenance, reverse dieting etc etc.

    http://www.coachcalorie.com/how-to-maintain-weight-loss/

    OMG!! Love this! Thank you for sharing!
  • lillyrose2020
    lillyrose2020 Posts: 178 Member
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    Hey don't under estimate your achievement, 28 pounds is a lot of weight to lose, losing any amount of weight is hard work and you should be really proud of yourself.
    You just need to work out your maintenance calories and keep on logging!
  • PinkyPan1
    PinkyPan1 Posts: 3,018 Member
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    2thesexydress wrote: »
    This guy's website is amazing, its full of knowledge of weight loss, maintenance, reverse dieting etc etc.

    http://www.coachcalorie.com/how-to-maintain-weight-loss/

    Thank you for sharing this.
    60817891.png

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