One piece of advice for maintenance

alias1001
alias1001 Posts: 634 Member
in Goal: Maintaining Weight
This thread is inspired by the one from Success Stories.

Today is my first day of maintenance. (26 pounds and 4 inches from my waist; huzzah!)

Some of my friends on maintenance have commented that it's really tough.

What one piece of advice would you give for someone starting maintenance?

Thank you in advance!
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Replies

  • desiresdestiny
    desiresdestiny Posts: 175 Member
    You will fluctuate so def have a weight range rather than an exact number.
  • yesimpson
    yesimpson Posts: 1,372 Member
    Keep active.
  • joshuasheldon
    joshuasheldon Posts: 8 Member
    keep up with using myfitness pal to track your calories and increase 50 calories each week and keep track of the scale one time a week untill you keep staying at the same weight to see how many calories you can take in without gaining if you add a couple hundred calories and start gaining a little maybe just take off 50 calories this is what i'm trying to do at the moment I eat between 1500 and 1700 a day im not very active my weight it 116 to 120 height 5ft 4in I want to maintain this weight I was eating 1350 1500 to loose weight so I am still working on it myself everything works different for everyone. Congrats on the success :).
  • PinkyPan1
    PinkyPan1 Posts: 3,018 Member
    Continue to be honest and log you calories. Keep moving daily and weigh yourself weekly.
  • rhtexasgal
    rhtexasgal Posts: 572 Member
    Keep an acceptable weight range in your mind so you don't freak if you go up a pound or two ... keep active ... keep logging ... eat back most of your exercise calories ... add an extra rest day to your exercise plan. Once I hit my weight loss goal, my next goal is toning and building some muscle. That means, harder weight training. I found that I had to have an extra rest day to recuperate and that is totally ok ... I am still maintaining and have been for 6 months.
  • Jennloella
    Jennloella Posts: 2,287 Member
    don't stop moving. I've been in maintenance for over 5 years and haven't counted calories in four. I stay very active so that I can eat/drink how I like - within reason - that's the tough one for some people, but I was never a binger so I do good just eating when I'm hungry. common sense stuff like after a night of birthday cake and beers I might add in an extra mile, etc. but the only number now I pay attention to is protein
  • MissJay75
    MissJay75 Posts: 768 Member
    Congratulations on making it this far!!

    Treat maintaining like losing. You have a calorie goal. Yes it's bigger - but it exists. You need continue to be diligent in weighing, measuring, logging, working out etc.

    And don't freak out if the first week of maintenance you gain - this happens to a lot of people when they stop eating at a deficit. Usually it's just your body replacing glycogen stores.
  • dindon68
    dindon68 Posts: 26 Member
    keep tracking, keep moving, keep looking in the mirror
  • Barbados1965
    Barbados1965 Posts: 33 Member
    I still track my food to keep myself honest. It also helps me with keeping my macros in the right proportions for my physical activity (strength and cardio training)
  • VeryKatie
    VeryKatie Posts: 5,931 Member
    I'm not there yet, but make sure all your clothes fit you properly now, don't wear your bigger stuff any more, don't keep them. Get rid of them - that way you don't have them to fall back on or to wear on a "fat" day - because I know at least for me, "fat days" are really days where I'm finally feeling all my over eating catch up to me and I've actually stopped tracking and have gained 5-7 lbs. My aunt said that's what made her weight loss finally stick. Committing to the new weight.
  • North44
    North44 Posts: 359 Member
    Don't stop weighing yourself at least weekly.
  • KaiUneeda
    KaiUneeda Posts: 46 Member
    Maintenance is not a job, so do not let it overwhelm you. Also, the cake is a lie.
  • kommodevaran
    kommodevaran Posts: 17,890 Member
    edited September 2015
    You can't go back to the way you used to eat (which made you overweight). You have to find a balance between losing and gaining. Whether you choose to keep counting calories or not, some kind of structure to your eating is important even in maintenance. Find a type and level of control that blends seamlessly and effortlessly with your lifestyle, food that makes you happy and energized, and keep movin' :) Congratulations on your achievement and welcome to the realms of maintenance :D
  • alias1001
    alias1001 Posts: 634 Member
    I'm thinking that always having new fitness goals will be helpful. Really a way to motivate the "keep moving" sentiment. :)
  • Thowe92
    Thowe92 Posts: 109 Member
    Do what you have always been doing up until now and try to be happy as you can be.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,876 Member
    I've maintained for over two years, and have done so without logging. I don't find it tough...I live and enjoy living a very healthful lifestyle...I love nutrition, cycling, lifting...and just pretty much everything about doing the things that healthy and fit people do.

    when you're doing the things that healthy and fit people do, maintaining a healthy weight is a no brainer...literally, I don't even think about it...it's a natural bi-product of living a healthful life.

    people who have difficulty, in my experience, are ones who've never really adopted a sustainable, healthful way of living...they just did a bunch of stuff to lose weight without thinking about what their lifestyle overall should be afterwards...IMO, it's one of the issues with putting so much emphasis on some number on the scale rather than putting the emphasis on overall health and well being...i.e. "I'm eating this way to lose weight" vs "I'm eating this way because it's a healthful way of eating and balanced and full of nutrients"...or "I'm running to lose weight" vs. I'm running to improve my fitness with the understanding that regular exercise is fundamental to health and well being".
  • MissJay75
    MissJay75 Posts: 768 Member
    edited September 2015
    cwolfman13 wrote: »
    people who have difficulty, in my experience, are ones who've never really adopted a sustainable, healthful way of living...they just did a bunch of stuff to lose weight without thinking about what their lifestyle overall should be afterwards...IMO, it's one of the issues with putting so much emphasis on some number on the scale rather than putting the emphasis on overall health and well being...i.e. "I'm eating this way to lose weight" vs "I'm eating this way because it's a healthful way of eating and balanced and full of nutrients"...or "I'm running to lose weight" vs. I'm running to improve my fitness with the understanding that regular exercise is fundamental to health and well being".

    I'm sure this is true for some people, but I know for me - even though I lost the weight in a healthy, sustainable, reasonable way - I will always have to be diligent in logging. My natural tendency is to eat far more than I need. Maybe after years of maintaining that will change - but 10 months in and I still need to have that line in the sand of a calorie goal.


  • hgycta
    hgycta Posts: 3,013 Member
    Just because you're maintaining doesn't mean you can go back to old eating habits. Continue watching your portions, seek out healthy alternatives, and hold yourself accountable. A small slice of cake or little nibbles of food every here and there that you don't bother logging because you "get more calories" anyways will quickly add up and the weight will sneak up on you very easily. Also, listen to your body not your brain; if you're full, stop eating, no matter how much you want a few extra bites or another small serving.
    Also, if you fall off the wagon jump right back on it (even if it's the same day). The earlier you address your mistakes the easier they'll be to fix!
    I wish you all the best, and congratulations by the way!!!
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,876 Member
    MissJay75 wrote: »
    cwolfman13 wrote: »
    people who have difficulty, in my experience, are ones who've never really adopted a sustainable, healthful way of living...they just did a bunch of stuff to lose weight without thinking about what their lifestyle overall should be afterwards...IMO, it's one of the issues with putting so much emphasis on some number on the scale rather than putting the emphasis on overall health and well being...i.e. "I'm eating this way to lose weight" vs "I'm eating this way because it's a healthful way of eating and balanced and full of nutrients"...or "I'm running to lose weight" vs. I'm running to improve my fitness with the understanding that regular exercise is fundamental to health and well being".

    I'm sure this is true for some people, but I know for me - even though I lost the weight in a healthy, sustainable, reasonable way - I will always have to be diligent in logging. My natural tendency is to eat far more than I need. Maybe after years of maintaining that will change - but 10 months in and I still need to have that line in the sand of a calorie goal.


    what i'm referring to is people having issues because they ditch their healthful habits once they hit their goal weight...they're so focused on exercise being all about weight loss...they lost the weight so, meh...no need to exercise any more. same for nutrition...they ditch the healthy eating and go back to old habits.

    that's the overarching point I'm getting at here. but beyond that, most people I know who live a fitness and nutritionally driven lifestyle have very little trouble maintaining weight without logging...that doesn't mean they aren't aware of what they're taking in...i logged for a long time so I have a pretty good idea of what I'm taking in without having to log it...just because I don't log doesn't mean I'm not paying attention.
  • Sabine_Stroehm
    Sabine_Stroehm Posts: 19,263 Member
    I've maintained for about 14 years now by continuing to do what I know works for me: healthful eating, and moving.

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