Anyone finding their 2nd year of maintaining harder than the original?

You're hungry because you're not eating enough protein. If I ate so little protein, I'd be starving, and I'm a 37yo woman.

But I get bored with the same foods too, so I'm constantly looking for recipes, asking myself what I would really like to eat, and trying to find a way to make it lower calories so it fits in my diary. I'm much less likely to eat too many sweets if I have satisfying meals.

But I've only maintained for a year so far (been on MFP 2.5 years) so let me get back to you in a year, lol.

Spiderkeys wrote: »

I'm wondering, I'm well into my second year of maintaining, and the year before I know I did a great job, and even lost some more weight I didn't think I could lose.

I've learnt the second year, things don't get any easier, still get those urges of feeling like eating everything in sight, etc. And almost everyday I find myself going over in the red on an average of 200-500 calories everyday, I learnt to like new foods, but now I think I eat too much of them, but some days I do keep at my limit, but wow it makes me feel hungry it I do.

I had a slight weight gains this year, but then I look at it, your weight should be where your most comfortable of eating your amount.

hmmmm ... I just celebrated my 2 yr maint anniversary with zero gain & found the second year is not really harder per say, but definitely poses a whole new set of different challenges.

Some things did get easier ie. regularly exercising, weighing my food, given the option choosing healthy over junk.

Some things still resurfaces ie. snacking after dinner even though I'm not hungry, or polishing off kids' plates because 'it's such a waste of food'

I think simply being aware of my stumbling blocks helps me to employ strategies to overcome or in some cases bypass them entirely. After dinner I immediately wash my plate and put left overs away and leave the kitchen. I have my kids clear their own plates. It may seem silly but little things adds up.

Nutrition wise, in maint I think macro nutrient plays a much bigger role than in losing phase. If you are constantly hungry I wonder if you are eating enough or eating enough of the right stuff. For example my current fitness goal is muscle definition so I reduced my cardio & increased the strength training. That first 2-3 weeks I was almost always miserably hungry and I couldn't figure out why. I did a bit of research & bumped up proteins & high fiber veggies, reduced fat & kept carbs the same. Then just like that VALAH! I was back to being satisfied again. That was my body telling me 'hey lady you want me to build muscle but you're not giving me the fuel to do it.'

So maybe look at what your fitness goals are, how they are different from yr 1, and adjust your macros with the type of food you're eating & not just more of it which best compliments it.

Best of luck to you!

I have been maintaining a 20+(depending on the day weight loss for almost 4 years. I don't know that it ever gets easy, but I think the more you strive to find ways to be healthier it makes it easier to maintain. I'm always looking for new recipes and trying to develop/maintain good habits like taking my lunch bringing more snacks with me and continuing to drink water and make good choices. Every once in a while I almost have to do a reset where I am almost in weight loss mode again. That usually gets me back on track. Good luck and just keep hanging in there.

a mixture of both. slacking the reins is a slippery slope. tbh, I've found chasing those last 5 pounds keeps my head in the game, motivated and focused. i think i shall always keep another 5 pounds just out of reach. it doesn't make me feel unaccomplished or failing, rather, just another goal and if i hold steady at my current weight, well that'll work too. good luck finding your balance.

Has anything changed in your life? I maintained for years, until I broke my leg. Then I gained 4 pounds in a month. Now I've lost that, and I'm back to maintaining.

I have the most boring diary in the world, because I eat a lot of the same foods every day. I suppose that variety would be healthier, but I find that familiarity helps me stick to my plan.

Could it be that u r getting cravings because ur body is yearning for food to put u back to ur 'happy weight' since u lost more weight after reaching ur maintainance?

AsISmile wrote: »

kommodevaran wrote: »

Your goal is 1900 calories, and so little fat - no wonder you are hungry, and no wonder you often go over. Maybe setting a more realistic goal will help you to follow your plan?

I've looked at your diary for the last year, and I can see why you struggle: Half a pound of chocolate, and cake, popcorn or ice cream every day is not part of a sustainable plan unless you are an athlete of olympic dimensions, and even then it wouldn't be recommended. Dog walking and volunteering are not olympic disciplines, sorry.

You can do this. Start by recalculating your calorie needs. Calculate your macro needs too. Aim to hit protein and fat goals. Eat a varied diet of real food for 80% of your calories. Then you can supply with treats. Not before your needs are met. After.

I just want to disagree with the bold part. Those things are part of my daily diet and I am definitely not an olympic athlete. There is nothing wrong with having those in your diet if you get plent of micronutrients and your macros in your other food.

Sure, in moderation. 400 calories of ice cream every day isn't moderation, especially when you end up in the red every single day. Just look at his diary (and some days he has cake too). Between that and some days at 70g of protein for 2200 calories, well, there's no small wonder he's struggling.

His diary has a lot of generic entries though, so who knows how much he's actually eating.

Patttience wrote: »

Instead of eating 400 or so calories of chocolate, try eating a meal. This will go much further than a block of chocolate.

I looked it up, it's ice cream.

But your point still stands.

allyphoe wrote: »

If you're 200-500 calories over every day, and didn't gain 20-50 pounds over the last year, your goal calories are less than maintenance.

I find it easier to live with a target high enough that I'm mostly not over, even if I'm still eating the same number of calories. Makes me less bingey.

Agreed. His calories are set to 1900, which seems pretty low for a man.

BTW - I have ice cream almost every day - 1/4 cup with a dollup yogurt or nuts as a topping if I'm feeling peckish. Depending on the brand, that's 75-180 calories. Sweet, satisfying, and easily within my calorie budget. Just because some is good doesn't mean more is better.

DON'T second guess someone else's calorie limits. I'm a tall woman and MFP tells me mine is 1750 (net). It is very variable and we often confuse net and gross calories on this forum.

nxd10 wrote: »

DON'T second guess someone else's calorie limits. I'm a tall woman and MFP tells me mine is 1750 (net).

I'm a short, sedentary, middle-aged woman, and reality (two years of consistent logging and daily weighing, plus math) tells me mine is a hair below 2,200. MFP says some much lower number. Who am I going to believe - MFP, or my own lying eyes?

In this case, reality is telling the OP that 1900 is not maintenance for him. Otherwise, he'd have gained 20-50 pounds over the last year, during which he claims to have been 200-500 over every day.

MFP provides a fine starting point. But it's just a starting point, not an absolute truth.

ericGold15 wrote: »

I find this topic interesting. Hunger is such a complex and poorly understood topic.
Anecdotally, I am eating between 500 and 900 Cal a day spread out between 2 - 3 meals and a couple of snacks a day. Net calorie deficit has been 1000 - 2000 Cal a day. I am rarely hungry and it passes quickly or with a small fruit or veggie snack.

'Normal' people simply do not differ physiologically that much one from another, but habits, psychology and behaviours vary widely. So the easy answer to OP is to look at the latter.

My other suggestion is to cut out the junk food. It has three problems you do not need:
1. It is calorie dense and leaves that much less room in your calorie budget for hunger killing bulky foods.
2. You will find it difficult to eat enough protein within your calorie budget, itself a hunger depressant
3. Sweet, fat food appears to act a trigger to eat more of it. You'll notice that people do not binge on carrots

Your other choice is to up the daily exercise. Exercise itself can be a hunger suppressant (or not), but in any case will give you more room in your daily calorie budget.

Second to last suggestion: Increase your water intake. I do it with soups, water, tea and celery, but there are lots of choices.

Last suggestion: Read Joel Fuhrman. He has some ideas how to eliminate excess hunger (in the sense of hunger leading to unwanted weight gain.)

Good Luck!

Wait, you're only eating 500-900 calories a day? That's far, far below the minimum number for males - it's far below the minimum for women, too. I really hope you're being medically supervised with regular checkups and blood tests, because that's just not enough food. Your profile states you only have very little to lose. Why are you eating so little if that is the case? Your profile also states that you want to be healthy and be able to go for long bike rides. That is not going to happen on so few calories.
As for your points... some helpful, but #3 on your 'cut out junk food' point is false. For SOME people, those foods can be a trigger. For most people? Nope. He doesn't have to cut out the treats, he just has to cut down a bit.

ericGold15 wrote: »

I find this topic interesting. Hunger is such a complex and poorly understood topic.
Anecdotally, I am eating between 500 and 900 Cal a day spread out between 2 - 3 meals and a couple of snacks a day. Net calorie deficit has been 1000 - 2000 Cal a day. I am rarely hungry and it passes quickly or with a small fruit or veggie snack.

'Normal' people simply do not differ physiologically that much one from another, but habits, psychology and behaviours vary widely. So the easy answer to OP is to look at the latter.

My other suggestion is to cut out the junk food. It has three problems you do not need:
1. It is calorie dense and leaves that much less room in your calorie budget for hunger killing bulky foods.
2. You will find it difficult to eat enough protein within your calorie budget, itself a hunger depressant
3. Sweet, fat food appears to act a trigger to eat more of it. You'll notice that people do not binge on carrots

Your other choice is to up the daily exercise. Exercise itself can be a hunger suppressant (or not), but in any case will give you more room in your daily calorie budget.

Second to last suggestion: Increase your water intake. I do it with soups, water, tea and celery, but there are lots of choices.

Last suggestion: Read Joel Fuhrman. He has some ideas how to eliminate excess hunger (in the sense of hunger leading to unwanted weight gain.)

Good Luck!

Physician or not, you need help.

Sure sheds a new light on the 'listen to your doctor' advice.