What has been your biggest struggle at maintenance?
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I recently tried out maintenence as I got close to my goal weight. All my foid isdues lept to the forefront and I gained back 10. Now I'm back on my strict diet plan and am planning on staying on it til 5 pounds below my goal weight. I'm reading all the maintenence threads and trying to come up with some serious strategy for when I try maintenence again. Wow! I was flabberghasted by how out of control I felt when I started letting the reigns loosen a little.0
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I have similar feelings. My goal was 62 kilos but when I upped the calories a little bit I put on a kilo straight away. That scared me so I reverted to a goal of 60 kilos. I am now 60.5 kilos and wondering what to do now. I eat 1500 calories 4 days a week and 700, 3 days. My height is 5 ft 4 and BMW is 22.9. I lost my 18 kilos very slowly over 18 months so maintenance to me is much the same as loosing. Could I be eating more? I am 54 and hate exercise .0
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I bought some cute clothes when I was just about at goal and loved how I looked in them and all the compliments I got. Then the weight creep started, because I just like food and I like to snack because it tastes good. I had to self-talk myself into logging and tracking again. I loved how I felt at my lowest weight, and the knowledge that stuff in my closet would all fit, without me having to try it on to make sure it still did. I was starting to feel angry and frustrated with myself for starting to let the pounds back on and I did not like feeling that way at all.0
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Since I'm small I don't get many calories even at maintenance, 1500 seems way too little sometimes
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amylou93xo wrote: »Since I'm small I don't get many calories even at maintenance, 1500 seems way too little sometimes
Then increase your activity levels?
I'm about 2000 calories which can seem like a lot but sometimes I feel I could do with more. But, because I tend to do at least 10.000 steps a day (and sometimes 20!), I end up being able to have an intake of 3000 cals...which I harldy ever manage to reach.
So be more active and you'll be able to have a higher intake
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I recently tried out maintenence as I got close to my goal weight. All my foid isdues lept to the forefront and I gained back 10. Now I'm back on my strict diet plan and am planning on staying on it til 5 pounds below my goal weight. I'm reading all the maintenence threads and trying to come up with some serious strategy for when I try maintenence again. Wow! I was flabberghasted by how out of control I felt when I started letting the reigns loosen a little.
That's probably do to the restriction - when you allowed yourself a bit leeway then you wanted it all at once, maybe?
I'd suggest not getting crazy about it and allow yourself to enjoy something everyday. Just make it part of your calories. I tend to have smaller meals so I won't freak out for having a biscuit or two during the day.I have similar feelings. My goal was 62 kilos but when I upped the calories a little bit I put on a kilo straight away. That scared me so I reverted to a goal of 60 kilos. I am now 60.5 kilos and wondering what to do now. I eat 1500 calories 4 days a week and 700, 3 days. My height is 5 ft 4 and BMW is 22.9. I lost my 18 kilos very slowly over 18 months so maintenance to me is much the same as loosing. Could I be eating more? I am 54 and hate exercise .
I think your issue is do to water weight - don't freak out when you reach maintenance as weight loss is not a straight journey. If you read about it, the less calories you eat the less your body will require to sustain itself. In other words, your body will adapt to lower calorie levels you're forcing it to live on. So when increasing it again, you'll gain water weight. But it should stabilize after a couple of weeks and when your body notices "there's plenty of food available" - it wasn't one day feast.I bought some cute clothes when I was just about at goal and loved how I looked in them and all the compliments I got. Then the weight creep started, because I just like food and I like to snack because it tastes good. I had to self-talk myself into logging and tracking again. I loved how I felt at my lowest weight, and the knowledge that stuff in my closet would all fit, without me having to try it on to make sure it still did. I was starting to feel angry and frustrated with myself for starting to let the pounds back on and I did not like feeling that way at all.
I have the same issue with snacking. Just make sure you snack on fruit and vegetables mostly. I tend to have normal snacks when out of the house and fit them with my goals, but once in the house - I'll only allow myself the odd fruit and vegetables. You'd have to eat bags and bags of vegetables to be able to gain weight from it. It's not how much you eat, as much as what you eat - make smarter choices 0 -
amylou93xo wrote: »Since I'm small I don't get many calories even at maintenance, 1500 seems way too little sometimes
Same here. I think I am only going to maintain on 1450/day.
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1500 every day? I do 1500 for 4 days and 700 3 days just to maintain. I would love to be able to eat 1500 EVERY day!,amylou93xo wrote: »Since I'm small I don't get many calories even at maintenance, 1500 seems way too littlees
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Andy luv thanks and sorry for posting twice! I agree with you, I think it's water weight. It's good to get a second opinion. The thing is tho how much water weight can I tolerate before I freak! This week I put on half a kilo of water weight. My head tells me it's water but I'm so scared to eat more just in case it might be fat!0
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amylou93xo wrote: »Since I'm small I don't get many calories even at maintenance, 1500 seems way too little sometimes
If you maintain, you're not eating too little. Any amount of food may feel as it's too little for those of us who just, well, like to eat. (Food choices can amend some of that, but never completely.)
How tall are you? If you feel the numbers don't add up, and that you "should" be able to eat more, your logging may be a little off, meaning you really are eating more than 1500 per day on average. (I'm 5'3, older, sedentary, and maintain on around 1700.)0 -
1500 every day? I do 1500 for 4 days and 700 3 days just to maintain. I would love to be able to eat 1500 EVERY day!,amylou93xo wrote: »Since I'm small I don't get many calories even at maintenance, 1500 seems way too littlees
And that's the danger - the last thing you want is to set yourself up for an eating disorder.
You didn't get fat after a week or two, it would take years overeating to revert back to your old self. It takes 3500 calories for you to put on a pound of fat, remember? That's almost 2 days of eating.
Just try to eat healthy, plenty of food and veg low the amount of processed food.
And try to enjoy yourself every once in a while (that's what maintaining is all about - no more losing, but it's okay to fluctuate!).
Truth be told - if you don't enjoy your diet, you'll struggle to stick to it. So focus on consistency rather than just "calories amount".
And again, if you want to eat more...be more active!0 -
1500 every day? I do 1500 for 4 days and 700 3 days just to maintain. I would love to be able to eat 1500 EVERY day!,amylou93xo wrote: »Since I'm small I don't get many calories even at maintenance, 1500 seems way too littlees
And that's the danger - the last thing you want is to set yourself up for an eating disorder.
You didn't get fat after a week or two, it would take years overeating to revert back to your old self. It takes 3500 calories for you to put on a pound of fat, remember? That's almost 2 days of eating.
Just try to eat healthy, plenty of food and veg low the amount of processed food.
And try to enjoy yourself every once in a while (that's what maintaining is all about - no more losing, but it's okay to fluctuate!).
Truth be told - if you don't enjoy your diet, you'll struggle to stick to it. So focus on consistency rather than just "calories amount".
And again, if you want to eat more...be more active!
Good advice here.0 -
vicky1947mfp wrote: »
1500 every day? I do 1500 for 4 days and 700 3 days just to maintain. I would love to be able to eat 1500 EVERY day!,amylou93xo wrote: »Since I'm small I don't get many calories even at maintenance, 1500 seems way too littlees
And that's the danger - the last thing you want is to set yourself up for an eating disorder.
You didn't get fat after a week or two, it would take years overeating to revert back to your old self. It takes 3500 calories for you to put on a pound of fat, remember? That's almost 2 days of eating.
Just try to eat healthy, plenty of food and veg low the amount of processed food.
And try to enjoy yourself every once in a while (that's what maintaining is all about - no more losing, but it's okay to fluctuate!).
Truth be told - if you don't enjoy your diet, you'll struggle to stick to it. So focus on consistency rather than just "calories amount".
And again, if you want to eat more...be more active!
Good advice here.
Ditto. Don't go down the dark path of a eating disorder.
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I have similar feelings. My goal was 62 kilos but when I upped the calories a little bit I put on a kilo straight away. That scared me so I reverted to a goal of 60 kilos. I am now 60.5 kilos and wondering what to do now. I eat 1500 calories 4 days a week and 700, 3 days. My height is 5 ft 4 and BMW is 22.9. I lost my 18 kilos very slowly over 18 months so maintenance to me is much the same as loosing. Could I be eating more? I am 54 and hate exercise .
Your maintenance seems very low. I have an "underweight" BMI, but I maintain on 2100 with elliptical for an hour 2 times a week.0 -
night0
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Not a struggle, but the knowledge that I will always have to monitor myself to stay at maintenance is sometimes daunting. I have been on maintenance for 2 years now, and that is the longest time I have been at a normal weight for all of my adult life. It is well worth the effort and my goal is to be in the small percent that are able to maintain for more than 5 years.0
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snowflake930 wrote: »Not a struggle, but the knowledge that I will always have to monitor myself to stay at maintenance is sometimes daunting. I have been on maintenance for 2 years now, and that is the longest time I have been at a normal weight for all of my adult life. It is well worth the effort and my goal is to be in the small percent that are able to maintain for more than 5 years.
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My biggest struggle? Actually caring what I eat after I've had weeks of a deficient. I am great at losing weight. I'm great at gaining weight. Maintaining is a mystery to me. I decided that if I was in a 5lb range (152-148) I was happy. I get out of that range, it's time to tighten up for a few weeks. 3 weeks in and I'm 4lbs down. So, like I said, losing easy. Gaining easy. Actually staying put...not so easy.
My secret to making this happen? Forcing myself to get on a scale 1x week. Every week, no matter what kinda crazy binge I went on a few days before. It's easy to face up to your mistakes when they happen than let them get away from you.0 -
cons
feeling constantly hungry, and prob half of the times is just psychological
not being able to eat what I want without thinking about the calories
not eating some food because it's not really worth it, even if it'll be delicious
pros
better health
better lifestyle
better body
knowing I'm doing something for myself that pays off
self confidence gain
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Boredom.
The journey (yeah, I said journey, you wanna piece of me?) to reach a goal is exciting - the highs, the lows, the setbacks, the triumphs. Once you reach a goal it's a bit meh.
Find a successful formula. Repeat ad infinitum.0 -
vicky1947mfp wrote: »totaldetermination wrote: »I really enjoy regularly eating large quantities of certain high calorie foods - far more than I could fit into my calorie / macro goals.
I had to accept that if I am going to maintain my weight loss then I can't eat like that any more.
I didn't mind watching what I ate whilst I was losing weight, because it was a temporary change - I thought once I had more calories I would be able to eat more. But its not enough calories for what i want.
It was a big step for me to accept that I cannot eat the foods that I want to eat, in the quantities that I want, as regularly as I want to, ever again.
It is a constant effort to control what I eat because what I would like to eat is way above my maintenance calories (not from hunger or because I miss any particular foods, just because I want to eat a lot).
I didn't expect maintaining to require so much effort. Or at least I found it hard to realistically see myself putting in that much effort for the rest of my life. It took me a while to deeply accept that this is what I will have to do in order to maintain my weight loss.
Controlling myself is still really hard. I am hoping it will get easier.
My determination not to gain the weight back is very strong, though.
You said exactly how it has been for me since I reached maintenance on May 31 of this year. I just do not get to eat what I would really love in the quantities I would like. But I do feel much better, have more energy and don't get a stomach ache anymore. It is worth the trade off to keep in control of my eating.
I have to agree with the above posters -- I'm very close to maintenance, within 3-5 pounds. Cutting calories very slowly so that I'm close to maintenance calories (1700 - 1800 with exercise). I've come to the realization that I'm never going to eat the way I used to and that's probably a good thing.
The trade off is increased energy, longer, quality sleep, and better markers for general overall health. I'm short (medium framed), 5'2.5" and at 66 years of age watching my calories in /calories out is a lifetime prospect.
I'm sad that I can't eat the volume of food that I used to but the benefits trump everything. I'm really sad that I didn't start MFP sooner than I did.0 -
vicky1947mfp wrote: »totaldetermination wrote: »I really enjoy regularly eating large quantities of certain high calorie foods - far more than I could fit into my calorie / macro goals.
I had to accept that if I am going to maintain my weight loss then I can't eat like that any more.
I didn't mind watching what I ate whilst I was losing weight, because it was a temporary change - I thought once I had more calories I would be able to eat more. But its not enough calories for what i want.
It was a big step for me to accept that I cannot eat the foods that I want to eat, in the quantities that I want, as regularly as I want to, ever again.
It is a constant effort to control what I eat because what I would like to eat is way above my maintenance calories (not from hunger or because I miss any particular foods, just because I want to eat a lot).
I didn't expect maintaining to require so much effort. Or at least I found it hard to realistically see myself putting in that much effort for the rest of my life. It took me a while to deeply accept that this is what I will have to do in order to maintain my weight loss.
Controlling myself is still really hard. I am hoping it will get easier.
My determination not to gain the weight back is very strong, though.
You said exactly how it has been for me since I reached maintenance on May 31 of this year. I just do not get to eat what I would really love in the quantities I would like. But I do feel much better, have more energy and don't get a stomach ache anymore. It is worth the trade off to keep in control of my eating.
I have to agree with the above posters -- I'm very close to maintenance, within 3-5 pounds. Cutting calories very slowly so that I'm close to maintenance calories (1700 - 1800 with exercise). I've come to the realization that I'm never going to eat the way I used to and that's probably a good thing.
The trade off is increased energy, longer, quality sleep, and better markers for general overall health. I'm short (medium framed), 5'2.5" and at 66 years of age watching my calories in /calories out is a lifetime prospect.
I'm sad that I can't eat the volume of food that I used to but the benefits trump everything. I'm really sad that I didn't start MFP sooner than I did.
If you're struggling to "control" what you eat, then you're not really allowing yourself leeway at maintenance.
I sometimes struggle because I'd REALLY like to have a day where I sit down and go through a pack of biscuits...with what I eat, I COULD make that fit within my calories (but then I'd have to eat less...)
Because most packets will have about 400 calories - which is almost as much as a muffin.
About quantities - I LOVE to eat a lot. So if I were to eat pizza, rice or even my beloved sweet potato, I'd be forced to eat very little.
So - clever substitutions. Instead of sweet potato, I eat butternut squash or swede. Swede mash!
Instead of pasta, I spirilize courgettes and make a delicious vegetable pasta. OR I have vegetable noodles (the japanese ones with zero calories). I also find that having my meals with lower calories help me have more calories to spend with a little treat here and there (I don't need a pack of chocolates if I could share one with work colleagues).
You CAN eat a lot, you just need to be creative/wise about what you have. Keep some things as treats (although I don't really miss pizza...). It's not how much you eat, but what you eat. Research: Volumetrics Diet.
And also Hungry Girl. Good luck!
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vicky1947mfp wrote: »totaldetermination wrote: »I really enjoy regularly eating large quantities of certain high calorie foods - far more than I could fit into my calorie / macro goals.
I had to accept that if I am going to maintain my weight loss then I can't eat like that any more.
I didn't mind watching what I ate whilst I was losing weight, because it was a temporary change - I thought once I had more calories I would be able to eat more. But its not enough calories for what i want.
It was a big step for me to accept that I cannot eat the foods that I want to eat, in the quantities that I want, as regularly as I want to, ever again.
It is a constant effort to control what I eat because what I would like to eat is way above my maintenance calories (not from hunger or because I miss any particular foods, just because I want to eat a lot).
I didn't expect maintaining to require so much effort. Or at least I found it hard to realistically see myself putting in that much effort for the rest of my life. It took me a while to deeply accept that this is what I will have to do in order to maintain my weight loss.
Controlling myself is still really hard. I am hoping it will get easier.
My determination not to gain the weight back is very strong, though.
You said exactly how it has been for me since I reached maintenance on May 31 of this year. I just do not get to eat what I would really love in the quantities I would like. But I do feel much better, have more energy and don't get a stomach ache anymore. It is worth the trade off to keep in control of my eating.
I have to agree with the above posters -- I'm very close to maintenance, within 3-5 pounds. Cutting calories very slowly so that I'm close to maintenance calories (1700 - 1800 with exercise). I've come to the realization that I'm never going to eat the way I used to and that's probably a good thing.
The trade off is increased energy, longer, quality sleep, and better markers for general overall health. I'm short (medium framed), 5'2.5" and at 66 years of age watching my calories in /calories out is a lifetime prospect.
I'm sad that I can't eat the volume of food that I used to but the benefits trump everything. I'm really sad that I didn't start MFP sooner than I did.
If you're struggling to "control" what you eat, then you're not really allowing yourself leeway at maintenance.
I sometimes struggle because I'd REALLY like to have a day where I sit down and go through a pack of biscuits...with what I eat, I COULD make that fit within my calories (but then I'd have to eat less...)
Because most packets will have about 400 calories - which is almost as much as a muffin.
About quantities - I LOVE to eat a lot. So if I were to eat pizza, rice or even my beloved sweet potato, I'd be forced to eat very little.
So - clever substitutions. Instead of sweet potato, I eat butternut squash or swede. Swede mash!
Instead of pasta, I spirilize courgettes and make a delicious vegetable pasta. OR I have vegetable noodles (the japanese ones with zero calories). I also find that having my meals with lower calories help me have more calories to spend with a little treat here and there (I don't need a pack of chocolates if I could share one with work colleagues).
You CAN eat a lot, you just need to be creative/wise about what you have. Keep some things as treats (although I don't really miss pizza...). It's not how much you eat, but what you eat. Research: Volumetrics Diet.
And also Hungry Girl. Good luck!
Hi, @andyluvv, I am quite content with the volume of food that I'm eating now. I'm not craving anything nor do I binge eat. When I do feel like a specific treat or meal, I have it in the proper portion to fit into my calorie allowance. I don't even do "cheat" meals because I've learned to control my portion sizes -- everything in moderation. I love the food I'm eating. No more diets of any kind for me. It's strictly calories in / calories out.
Cheers!
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My biggest problem is figuring what my maintenance calories actually is. Still working that out, but at least I'm much better at judging how much I'm eating so it's easier to stay where I need to be!0
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rtp_slg52181 wrote: »
So your lowest weight was 131.5 which means till you hit and keep at least 135 you haven't filled your glycogen storage. Instead of dieting after your vacation you should have just ate to maintain and watched. I am willing to bet you can eat the 2200 cals daily and have your period binges for 2 days and it will all even out with the days you happen to eat less the rest of the month.rtp_slg52181 wrote: »rtp_slg52181 wrote: »rtp_slg52181 wrote: »Laughter_Girl wrote: »
I would suggest you haven't found your optimum maintenance cals. There is usually a ~500 cal range that your body can adjust for. If you are at the low end your body will easily get cold your hair and nails won't grow as fast and other non essential fictions your body would normally do are reduced to conserve energy.
Well, I don't know. It took me 2 months to lose the 2 pounds I gained on vacations (assuming it was real weight gain as I ate too much and pee'd every 30 minutes on the way back), so you'd think I would have a deficit, but the scale hasn't gone lower than 133 pounds in 18 months.
I zigzag my calories though so it might have something to do with it, but there are days when I'm actually not that hungry, and some when I'm starving, and I always eat too much during PMS (up to 3500 extra calories sometimes) so I have to make up for that somehow, so I try to keep a 800-2000 calorie deficit the other weeks. But if I was eating too little, I'd still be losing, and I'm definitely not.
It's because you haven't let your body
gain the ~3-5 lbs of glycogen weight it needs to switch out of actively conserving energy
After you let this gain happen you'll be surprised how much you can eat and maintain weight.
But I went on vacations twice since, eating at maintenance or over it for 7-10 days, and I have 3000-4000 calorie days at least every other month. Surely I would have gained that glycogen weight then? I'm not constantly at a deficit and eat at maintenance or over at least twice a week too...
What cal target did you eat to lose weight?
What was your goal or end weight?
What cal target do you average now?
What is your current average weight?
Answer those and I'll be able to guess if you have gained your glycogen weight.
Oh man we're derailing the thread, lol.
My goal is still 130 pounds. Lowest I reached was 131.5 in June 2014. I ate 1650-1750 a day to lose (using TDEE, so no eating back exercise calories). Increased to 1800-2000 a few months after I reached that low weight (basically when I lost 2 of the 3 pounds I gained during the vacation that followed).
Current low weight is 133 pounds (go up to 136-137 before my period). I was 135 pounds when I came back from my vacation in July.
My average calories for the last few weeks (going backwards starting with this one) is 1913, 2098, 2100, 1910, 1831, 2447 (that was PMS week, my period is late this month)... My TDEE is supposedly 2200, but I haven't weighed myself since that 1831 week, as I only weigh myself the week after my period, so I have no idea if I actually lost weight since or not... As I said though, I zig zag calories, in those weeks my calories went from 1650 to 4600 and I had 8 days over maintenance.
It's pretty much the way I've been eating for the last 1.5 year.
You keep teasing your body with enough food to "turn on all the power" and it revs up to be a fuel burning machine, but then you knock it back into energy saving mode when you drop back to ~1800 a week. This is when it kicks and screams that it is soo hungry.
I see this a lot...people get to this arbitrary magical number and go to maintenance and then mistake glycogen replenishment for fat storage because they're up about 5 Lbs...so then they just keep dieting rather than understanding that their weight isn't a static number in the first place and that having your glycogen stores full is a good thing.0 -
DRINKING TOO MUCH BEER/ WINE0
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Honestly, maintenance has been a breeze.0
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patrikc333 wrote: »cons
feeling constantly hungry, and prob half of the times is just psychological
not being able to eat what I want without thinking about the calories
not eating some food because it's not really worth it, even if it'll be delicious
pros
better health
better lifestyle
better body
knowing I'm doing something for myself that pays off
self confidence gain
Yes to this!!0 -
I'm 2 years into maintenance and my biggest struggle has been not falling back into my old ways. It's ridiculously easy to slowly slide back without even realizing it, once the excitement of losing weight has worn off.
The weight loss phase has a beginning and an end; you're motivated and excited. You're buying new clothes, watching the numbers on the scale go down, and everyone tells you how great you look ALL THE TIME. It's easy to feel like you can do this forever because you feel amazing.
Then all that stops. The new you, becomes just the regular you. The excitement of buying clothes in smaller sizes goes away and it's just your regular size.
In past failed attempts, I never looked beyond the weight loss phase when in reality it's SO important to have a plan in place to keep motivated going once you've hit your goal. For me the focus had to shift from weight loss goals to fitness goals. I still love to eat and I'm still prone to binge eating, but when I think about how far I've come with my running and how much I stand to lose, it becomes a little easier to get myself under control faster. Either way though, I'm pretty sure it'll be a lifelong struggle which I'm fine with; I just tackle each day as it comes and don't dwell on the bad ones.0 -
I'm 2 years into maintenance and my biggest struggle has been not falling back into my old ways. It's ridiculously easy to slowly slide back without even realizing it, once the excitement of losing weight has worn off.
The weight loss phase has a beginning and an end; you're motivated and excited. You're buying new clothes, watching the numbers on the scale go down, and everyone tells you how great you look ALL THE TIME. It's easy to feel like you can do this forever because you feel amazing.
Then all that stops. The new you, becomes just the regular you. The excitement of buying clothes in smaller sizes goes away and it's just your regular size.
In past failed attempts, I never looked beyond the weight loss phase when in reality it's SO important to have a plan in place to keep motivated going once you've hit your goal. For me the focus had to shift from weight loss goals to fitness goals. I still love to eat and I'm still prone to binge eating, but when I think about how far I've come with my running and how much I stand to lose, it becomes a little easier to get myself under control faster. Either way though, I'm pretty sure it'll be a lifelong struggle which I'm fine with; I just tackle each day as it comes and don't dwell on the bad ones.
Great post!0
I definitely monitor my macros to try to meet my daily targets. Other than that, I just drink plenty of water and try to eat slower.
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