When you hit maintenance, if you stopped tracking cals how long until you gained?

David_2015 · July 2015

Hi all

So I was wondering if, when I hit maintenance, I were to stop tracking and just think "ta-dah! I can do it on my own now, I know exactly how much I should eat" etc, how long it would be until I gained weight. And reckon the answer would be about a day! What does everyone else think?

I feel like when I'm tracking I always know I will be at or below my goal, take great pleasure in losing on average 2 lbs a week (38 lbs lost so far of goal of c. 50 lbs) but not sure whether that's just because I'm using MFP or whether my mindset has actually changed and I know what a portion should be.

I'm still shocked when I measure out e.g. what I think 15g of mayo is on a spoon, and then put it on the scale and it's actually 38g! (why can't a spoon just be a spoon, no matter how high you swirl the mayo in circles above your own head, damnit!?!)

I'm always speechless when I chuck what I think is 100g of chips onto a baking tray, weigh it and then realise it's actually 243g.... (for the record, I believe that if I tell myself it's 100g then it's the scale that's at fault, not me).

190 calories for a pop tart portion, but if I think 2 is one portion, can I still track as 190 calories?

If I pour 5ml of oil onto a spoon hovering over my plate and it starts dripping onto the salmon whilst still drizzing out the bottle, does that count? YES!!!!!!!!!

The absolute worst one for me (in terms of calorie density) is my all time love... ice cream!!!! When I first started I just stuck with pre-portioned products like the 100ml Ben and Jerry tubs, Tesco do a really good Belgian Chocolate and Salted Caramel ice cream on a stick for 227 cals that I really recommend, and things like Twisters, Cornettos, etc. Then with Ben and Jerry's I thought (A) it's really expensive buying small tubs when the pint-sized ones are often half price, (B) they don't do my favourite flavours in the small tubs (Satisfy my Bowl, Blondie Brownies anyone?) and (C) how lazy that I don't just weigh it myself in a bowl. I purchased a few of the large tubs when they were on offer, put a bowl onto the scales, and thought I would measure out what I thought was 83g (100ml) so put a bit of paper over the 0, spooned in a few scoops (we're not talking Homer Simpson here, but what I realistically thought was a serving... well, half the tub, but the old me would have had the whole tub - no bowl, just me, the tub and a spoon! Anyway, I looked down at the scale and it was 224g!!! (613 cals - nearly a third of my daily allowance in a few mouthfuls of ice cream).

Anyway, as the above illustrates, I clearly am not there yet with portion control, so my question is, do you think you will have to track on MFP forever to maintain your weight?

P.S. Please do add any scale horrors you've encountered as they're always interesting/informative to read.

And yes, after reading the above back to myself, I'm also amazed I lose on average 2 lbs a week!!!

Simply827 · July 2015

I'm just starting over again, so nowhere near maintenance. However I did lose 50 pounds before and within a few months was gaining again. I'll likely need to track forever, and I'm ok with that.

DemoraFairy · July 2015

When I graduated from uni I stopped calorie counting because I moved back in with my parents and couldn't calorie count accurately anymore because they cooked dinner each day. I was 5'4, 112lbs, so certainly didn't need to lose more weight. I tried to eat as little as I could during the day and did a lot of walking to try to make up for what I felt must be high-calorie dinners. I didn't have any scales anymore either so I went by how I looked in the mirror and how my clothes fit, as is so often recommended on here.

Within a few months I'd gained 20lbs. Couldn't see a difference in myself - still can't when I compare photos of myself then to how I look now - but I know there is a difference. So I'm trying to lose it again now that I've moved out. Wish I'd have at least bought some scales while I lived at home so I could weigh myself and know that I had to do something earlier on. I think I'm probably going to have to calorie count to some extent for ever as I can't really see myself being able to estimate, but I'm fine with that.

leggup · July 2015

I was eating about 1,400-1,700 calories a day to lose weight for about a year and a half. I've mostly transitioned to maintenance now with 3 vanity 'just to see if I can' lbs to go. After getting in the habit of having certain sized breakfasts, lunches, and dinner, learning how much protein I need to stay full, and so on, I've cut back on regularly counting calories. I think my plan is to count calories on weekdays ~90% of the time and not go hog wild on the weekends. I've been in the same 5 lb range for 4 months now and it's been pretty easy.

I've learned that I can have a crazy ice cream/beer/whatever high calorie day. The difference is that I have to cut down the rest of the week/only have one of those days from time to time instead of 2-3 times a week. Also, my idea of going crazy now is much less crazy than it used to be. Wine/beer hits me harder and overeating feels more uncomfortable.

The biggest thing for me was learning serving sizes. I do the same "is it the right amount" game that you've been playing, cutting a piece (of cheese, for example), guessing it's 1 oz, then weighing to confirm (and removing some cheese if I'm over). A year and a half and I am really accurate at this point.

Transitioning to maintenance also gives you more calories. I've recently updated my weekday calories to 1,700 (still eating more on the weekends but not being precise unless I start gaining). My maintenance is 1,900. After eating 1,550 most days for a year and a half-- that's a lot of food! I would have to eat evenmore to start gaining. It's very reassuring.

North44 · July 2015

It takes me about a year (maybe less) to gain 15 pounds once I stop logging and weighing myself.

I am determined to NOT stop weighing myself this time. I am one pound away from maintenance.

mccindy72 · July 2015

I've been in maintenance for years and I still weigh and log daily. No plans to stop, ever.

golden6911 · July 2015

It took awhile. I lost about 15-20 lbs a few years ago and gradually, I'd say over 3-6 months, gained about 2/3 of it back.

Just_Ceci · July 2015

Took me about 4 weeks to hit the 5lb threshold, then I started logging again.

jessathemessa · July 2015

I'd like to think that I'm learning new eating habits and it wouldn't be that bad. However, in reality, I'm sure I would gain back at least some lost weight. I think when I get to my goal I'll test it out for a couple of weeks and see if I can manage. I'd like to say I won't have to log forever but who knows!

Soopatt · July 2015

It is hard to say. I was pretty obsessive about food (in the other direction) in my twenties but I still had to yo-yo between binging and starving to maintain what was admittedly an unnecessarily low weight as well as hitting the gym twice a day. In my early thirties I somehow stayed the same weight for five years without doing anything and without starving myself and I still don't know how that happened.

I put on all the weight I am carrying in the past 4 years, which seems a pretty scary pace to put on weight and I did not feel as though I was spending my days stuffing myself.

I don't trust myself around food and I don't trust my ability to make the right choices without calorie counting. At this point I am reconciled to count for life.

Bshmerlie · July 2015

I feel really good about my estimating skills. I've checked myself often and if anything I usually cut myself short on the portion because I'm so afraid to be over on calories. But with that said, I don't plan on ever stopping. Maybe I won't be so diligent about weighing every little thing but I will weigh myself everyday.....forever. Once I lose this 125 pounds I'm never gonna risk gaining it back. Going back to my original routine of not paying attention to it is not gonna happen because I know what will happen. It happens to most everyone. Without realizing it they slowly gain it back and then some. This is not my first rodeo but it will be my last one. I'm 45 so I've finally learned not to trust my casual self. Not keeping track of it = FAT. And honestly I'm just tired of being fat. So the scale and I are becoming best buddies for life.

maillemaker · July 2015

I've never made it to maintenance, so I can't say. All I can say is I have lost weight many times and then gained it back. My belief is that the hunger never goes away. So if you eat to satiety, you will gain weight. I suspect I will have to be hungry forever.

Same thing happened to my mother in law. Lost 60 pounds over a year taking phentermine/topirmate appetite suppressant, but as soon as she came off she started gaining because the hunger came back.

Habits don't explain this because over the course of a year new habits should be well imprinted. It's the hunger that nails you. I think the only solution is eternal vigilance and discipline.

maillemaker · July 2015

mccindy is a mchottie.

mccindy72 · July 2015

maillemaker wrote: »

I've never made it to maintenance, so I can't say. All I can say is I have lost weight many times and then gained it back. My belief is that the hunger never goes away. So if you eat to satiety, you will gain weight. I suspect I will have to be hungry forever.

Same thing happened to my mother in law. Lost 60 pounds over a year taking phentermine/topirmate appetite suppressant, but as soon as she came off she started gaining because the hunger came back.

Habits don't explain this because over the course of a year new habits should be well imprinted. It's the hunger that nails you. I think the only solution is eternal vigilance and discipline.

Do you weigh all of your solid foods, and log your foods? So that you can still eat the foods you like, just having them in smaller portions. This keeps you from feeling that you have to give up any foods, and just learn to eat in moderation, so you are enjoying what you are eating, and still eating in a calorie deficit and losing weight. This way, once you hit your goal weight, you are able to increase calories a bit to maintenance level, and have been eating the foods you like the entire time.

nordlead2005 · July 2015

I lost ~30-40lb around 5 years ago, and I stopped (for whatever reason), and I started gaining it back within months. I went up 40lb over those 5 years and now I'm trying to lose it again. This time I'm not going to stop tracking calories as it is too much work to lose it again. I'd rather track and eat 2500 calories than track and eat 1750 calories.

sofaking6 · July 2015

It was probably about a month for me.

maillemaker · July 2015

Do you weigh all of your solid foods, and log your foods? So that you can still eat the foods you like, just having them in smaller portions. This keeps you from feeling that you have to give up any foods, and just learn to eat in moderation, so you are enjoying what you are eating, and still eating in a calorie deficit and losing weight. This way, once you hit your goal weight, you are able to increase calories a bit to maintenance level, and have been eating the foods you like the entire time.

I don't weigh everything, but I log everything. For example I don't weigh apples or pears. And other portions are difficult to weigh from a communal pot. I try to eat the foods I like but in smaller portions. But I only get 1550 calories a day so I'm pretty much hungry all the time. But I'm set for a 1000-calorie-per-day deficit to hit 2 pounds per week and I am only averaging 1 pound per week so my calorie estimation is probably off. But I would not want to reduce it any more than it is.

samthepanda · July 2015

I lost 70 lbs 4 years ago. I have gained 3 lbs back. I did at one point drop to 4lbs below my target, but this wasn't intentional - it took me a while to get out of the routine of losing! I continued to log for several months. I lost a lot of my weight initially following Slimming World and I continued to weigh in a group every few weeks to help keep me accountable.

mccindy72 · July 2015

maillemaker wrote: »

Do you weigh all of your solid foods, and log your foods? So that you can still eat the foods you like, just having them in smaller portions. This keeps you from feeling that you have to give up any foods, and just learn to eat in moderation, so you are enjoying what you are eating, and still eating in a calorie deficit and losing weight. This way, once you hit your goal weight, you are able to increase calories a bit to maintenance level, and have been eating the foods you like the entire time.

I don't weigh everything, but I log everything. For example I don't weigh apples or pears. And other portions are difficult to weigh from a communal pot. I try to eat the foods I like but in smaller portions. But I only get 1550 calories a day so I'm pretty much hungry all the time. But I'm set for a 1000-calorie-per-day deficit to hit 2 pounds per week and I am only averaging 1 pound per week so my calorie estimation is probably off. But I would not want to reduce it any more than it is.

Try changing your macro ratios- more protein and fats, fewer carbs. Both protein and fats are more satieting and will leave you less hungry and for longer.

yusaku02 · July 2015

I've slowly put on about 20 pounds but I did it intentionally since I'm weightlifting now and want to build some muscle. I've been trying to gain mass for about a year and a half now so 20 pounds in that time isn't too bad and I still have visible abs so I know that my body fat % is still relatively low.

When you hit maintenance, if you stopped tracking cals how long until you gained?

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