How do you maintain your weight?

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Hue_Hercle
Hue_Hercle Posts: 20 Member
in Goal: Maintaining Weight
though I am still losing weight, I want to be able to know how to maintain the weight once I am at the spot where I am most comfortable. For me, that's only 10 pounds away (yay!). I know that this may seem like a dumb question, but I am not an expert at this and I am very new to this. What are your experiences with maintaining your weight? What have you found to make it easier? Can I slightly change my diet to less strict or would that cause me to gain? Any advice would be very appreciated!
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  • nxd10
    nxd10 Posts: 4,570 Member
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    When you maintain, you continue doing what you're doing but up your calories by probably 500 calories a day. Easy peasy. The only hard part is remembering that your goal was not to LOSE weight, but your goal is to MAINTAIN A HEALTHY weight for the rest of your life.

    I've been maintaining for 3 years. It's not hard. It just requires persistence.
  • brenn24179
    brenn24179 Posts: 2,144 Member
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    you can eat a little more in maintenance, not too much more, you really have to play with it and when you gain, eat less. Sounds simple but you really have to stay on top of it or you will gain the weight back. It is a lifestyle change. Cant go back to eating all the chips and cookies and fast food you want.
  • newteachermom
    newteachermom Posts: 22 Member
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    nxd10 wrote: »
    When you maintain, you continue doing what you're doing but up your calories by probably 500 calories a day.

    After I got to my goal weight, I started doing less in terms of fitness and viola, the weight came on! Not too much, but enough to make me realize how important it is to keep the same schedule. I eventually felt like my regimen wasn't maintainable over the long term so I have to be content with the weight my body being what it is.


  • koymik
    koymik Posts: 6 Member
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    Tricky question coz there are alot of ways to answer, one is, continue what you been doing but eat more or eat the same but less exercise/cardio etc. :D
  • kdiamond
    kdiamond Posts: 3,329 Member
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    I keep track of my calories weekly and stay active working out 4-5x a week.
  • paradi3s
    paradi3s Posts: 343 Member
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    Find out the amount of calories your body needs to maintain weight (check for tdee calculators or what mfp recommends as an estimate). Once you have a number, increase your cal intake by 100-200 a day for a week until you reach the amount of calories you need to eat in order to maintain then stick with it for a few weeks. if you find you're gaining, lessen the calories. if losing, increase the calories. if maintaining, YAY!

    that's what i did and didn't gain. i actually lost a bit along the way
  • 47Jacqueline
    47Jacqueline Posts: 6,993 Member
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    Like this:

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  • mamadon
    mamadon Posts: 1,422 Member
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    I've been maintaing for a year and do pretty much what everyone else is saying. The only thing I can add, is that once I hit my miantance weight, I upped my daily calories by 100 every week until I hit that "sweet" spot of maintaining. I also tend to look at my weekly calories rather than my daily calories now, and weigh myself once a week to make sure I am staying on track.
  • jane837
    jane837 Posts: 68 Member
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    There was a time when I imagined that "maintaining" would feel dramatically different than losing, but it really doesn't feel any different at all. I still maintain all of the lifestyle changes that I adopted while I was losing including calorie tracking, regular exercise, walking everywhere, eating at restaurants less frequently, etc. Yes, I do eat a little more (on average) than I would if I were trying to lose weight, but otherwise it's the same.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,874 Member
    edited March 2015
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    You do the same things you're doing now except you eat a few hundred more calories. For example, if you were losing about 1 Lb per week on average, you would simply bump your calories up by about 500 per day.

    Keep in mind that you will likely put on some scale weight when you go to maintenance given the fact that you will retain more fluids and that you will inherently have more waste in your system. These things have nothing to do with fat though.
  • SezxyStef
    SezxyStef Posts: 15,268 Member
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    I've been in maintenance for 9months doing exactly what I did when I lost...logging, measuring, weighing exercising...just eating a few extra calories now.
  • SherryTeach
    SherryTeach Posts: 2,836 Member
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    I do the same thing in maintenance that I did when I was losing. I just get 200 more calories a day to play with. I still log everything I eat, wear my fitbit, use a heart rate monitor and pay attention.
  • StaciMarie1974
    StaciMarie1974 Posts: 4,138 Member
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    For me, its the same as what I was doing to lose weight: thinking of my calories in/out as a budget. So that means being active to get calorie burned, and paying attention to what I eat to know what I've consumed. There can be a little guesswork in knowing the right balance - and thinking of my goal weight as a range (125-128) instead of a flat number helps with that.
    christinaxhenry wrote: »
    though I am still losing weight, I want to be able to know how to maintain the weight once I am at the spot where I am most comfortable. For me, that's only 10 pounds away (yay!). I know that this may seem like a dumb question, but I am not an expert at this and I am very new to this. What are your experiences with maintaining your weight? What have you found to make it easier? Can I slightly change my diet to less strict or would that cause me to gain? Any advice would be very appreciated!

  • AAmember
    AAmember Posts: 8 Member
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    I do the same as most of the above pointers. I do find I treat myself more. I had a mini Skor blizzard for dessert at lunch today but will eat a small dinner and really watch myself tomorrow. I weigh myself every day just to keep in check. I'm not going to gain it back and that's that. Good luck.
  • Phill2488
    Phill2488 Posts: 97 Member
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    1. Weigh yourself everyday. Weighing yourself daily will help you keep track of where you are. This can help you from falling off the wagon, but also remember that weight can fluctuate so don't panic if the scale goes up 1 pound

    2. Even though I recommend weighing yourself daily, I also recommend logging in your weight just once a week. Weekly log in's are more accurate than daily log in's

    I've done this ever since I lost weight, and I haven't gone above my weight range yet. I also never count calories. Just be smart enough to know when you've eaten enough and you're full
  • kalin73
    kalin73 Posts: 595 Member
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    Burn as close as possible the amount of calories consumed... I just tweak my routines according to how I look and feel
  • rainbow198
    rainbow198 Posts: 2,245 Member
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    These four things works for me:

    _ Looking at my calories on a weekly basis not daily. On a typical week I tend to going little under in calories during the week and going a little over on weekends. It all balances out and I don't gain or lose. It works great for my lifestyle.

    - Staying active everyday. I not only enjoy it, but I earn a few calories to eat more.

    - I used to weigh myself often, but now I monitor my measurements more than scale weight. I lift heavy weights so I find the scale not to be very dependable at times.

    - I don't snack so when I eat, I eat. It keeps me full and happy. When I use to snack all day I'd go over my calories most days because I was still hungry.

    Good luck on losing those last 10 lbs!
  • RaspberryTickleChicken
    RaspberryTickleChicken Posts: 629 Member
    edited March 2015
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    What are your experiences with maintaining your weight?
    I believe the key is the transition. The smoother the transition from weight loss to maintaining the more likely to keeping the weight off. Whatever eating regiment or activity routine during weight loss should seamlessly be carried over to maintaining with tweaks. One of the reasons why extreme 'diets' don't work because it is unsustainable for the long haul ... aka rest of your life.

    What have you found to make it easier?
    For me, I needed goals. Admittedly the first few months of maintenance I felt rather lost because I didn't have a specific set goal to strive for. SO I proactively procured maintenance goals. ie. Beating the statistics of being among the 65% who regains within the year. etc

    Can I slightly change my diet to less strict or would that cause me to gain?
    Absolutely! If you continue to consume proper portioned, well balanced, nutritious rich foods & refrain from the 'yay I reached the goal-weight finish line & chow down on an entire box of donut holes every day' then you should be fine.

    Random Advice:
    The longer I maintain my weight loss the more I come to realize that I've just become a more intelligent eater.

    I know what to look for (sugar, carbs), what my weakness foods are (items I have a difficult time in consuming in moderation ie. pizza, chips), & choosing the biggest bang for my buck so to speak (ie. Think of calories as a checkbook - if I have 500 calories to spend on lunch, do I want to spend that 500 on a piece of cheesecake then be hungry in an hr, or do I want to spend it on a turkey burger and be satisfied until dinner?)

    Maintaining really shouldn't be a massive ordeal. The groundwork has already been done so maintenance is simply having a proactive mentality and the vigilance to continue all the good habits that got you to where you are. :D

    Best of luck to you!
  • rafikiphoto
    rafikiphoto Posts: 35 Member
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    I am in a similar position to the OP. I am just 2kg (4lbs) away from target and I have been thinking a lot about it. In the 4 months it has taken me to lose the 15kg (35lbs) I have thoroughly enjoyed getting back to cycling 30-40km and walking the dogs for an hour every day and want to continue that. If anything I have been increasing my daily exercise because I feel so fit and capable of more. I am retired so have plenty of time each day.

    I will, of course, continue to abstain from alcohol because it was a big factor in my overweight problem - the calories in the drink and the urge to eat with the wine! I find it almost impossible to have 'just the one' so best continue to avoid.

    When I began my weight reduction programme I conscientiously used MFP daily to log calories and exercise but once I got to know how much I could eat I stopped logging. I think my plan will be to begin logging again in order to balance my maintenance intake with my exercise. I have always weighed myself daily and will continue to do so.
  • sjtaurus
    sjtaurus Posts: 1
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    nxd10 wrote: »
    ...continue doing what you're doing but up your calories by probably 500 calories a day.

    Thank you! Everytime I reach my weight goal I forget I should still be counting my calories and I always gain it back. I know it sounds stupid. But it's the truth. I will keep this in mind for the next time I reach my goal.

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