I can never keep the weight off

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sunnymae
sunnymae Posts: 57 Member
in Goal: Maintaining Weight
It's like I can lose 10-12lbs but always gain it right back. Any tips on what to do to keep it off.

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  • riffraff2112
    riffraff2112 Posts: 1,757 Member
    edited November 2015
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    are you happy with the 10-12 or were you wanting more?

    Maintenance can be very tricky because it requires you to shift focus and people get content and complacent. It is common for people to put a lot of energy into something for a few weeks, and then gradually life gets in the way and they fall into old habits.

    I have lost 45lbs three times in my life. So I have some experience with what you speak of. This time I have been maintaining for 16months now. I think I've got this now, but....I always have to keep an eye on things, and allow myself a 7lb window. Once I reach that cap...I get super serious again. That might help you.

    Getting stuck at a plateau can be just as problematic. Knowing more about your goals would help people answer your question.
  • lemonychild
    lemonychild Posts: 654 Member
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    that means that you are eating above your maintenance... calculate your maintenance calories and try to stick to them without going over all the time
  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,811 Member
    edited November 2015
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    One way is to treat maintenance just like "dieting" - just with a different calorie goal.
    After a while eating at maintenance levels should become habitual.

    Or an alternative approach is to calculate your maintenance calories for your goal weight now and eat at that level so you should (in theory) never have a transition. Your 10 - 12lb loss may be slow but that could a good thing.

    In the end it's long term habits (both eating and activity/exercise) that make maintenance successful.
  • rainbow198
    rainbow198 Posts: 2,245 Member
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    sijomial wrote: »
    One way is to treat maintenance just like "dieting" - just with a different calorie goal.

    That's exactly what I do and it works so well for me. I still do the things I did when I lost weight, I just eat a little more.

    It is tricky and may take time to find that sweet spot for your body, but it would be helpful to know more about your goals, stats, calorie amounts etc.

    Good luck on losing those 10 - 12 lbs and keeping it off.
  • faramelee
    faramelee Posts: 163 Member
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    Can I ask, once you have lost the weight are you going straight back to how you were eating and/or moving prior to losing the weight? If so, then nothing will change and it may be worth looking at your overall diet and tweaking it and moving more if you have the opportunity.
    I agree with the previous posters about properly calculating maintenance calories and also actually logging them so you can accurately see what you're ingesting. I did this for about 6 months into maintenance - I've now been in maintenance for 15 months.
    Also, as riffraff said, set yourself a limit as to how many lbs over your goal you will hit before reigning it back in.
    I wish you the best of luck :smile:
  • Laughter_Girl
    Laughter_Girl Posts: 2,226 Member
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    My tip is to continue doing what you did to lose the weight. I have loss over 80 lbs., and I still log every bite everyday, try to watch my macros most of the time, and I exercise regularly. Those are all the things I did to lose the weight in the first place. For me, that's what I plan to do for the rest of my life. That's the only way I can ensure I keep the weight off.
  • HamsterManV2
    HamsterManV2 Posts: 449 Member
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    I like to cut and bulk. You can cut 20lbs instead, then go between 10lbs bulk and cutting cycles so you always have a goal and can train based off your current cycle (i.e. train more on a bulk, lift more weights, increase volume, etc, and try to maintain strength and lower volume on a cut).
  • babaraemili
    babaraemili Posts: 4 Member
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    I have the same problem too I can never keep the weight off. I might keep it off for a couple of months but that's just about it, I need help!!!
  • Christine_72
    Christine_72 Posts: 16,049 Member
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    Maintaining is no different to dieting, except you get to eat a bit more.
    If you slack off and stop paying attention to your calories and go back to eating how you did before, then you'll inevitably regain the weight.

    Calories in/out is a life time commitment
  • GuidoGordo
    GuidoGordo Posts: 6 Member
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    I'm not one to talk. I lost over 100lbs 6 years ago. Maintained for about 1.5 years. Ended up gaining pretty much all back. Then lost 50, and regained those 50..... I'm on the way back down now (40 down, 40 to go!!) and figure I'll have to keep logging food here for as long as, well, forever. Sigh. I found maintenance much more difficult than losing. Sadly, for those like me, who have lost large amounts of weight, most really struggle with maintaining. Moral of the story - don't become obese to begin with! I'm with the comments above, though. Have to treat maintenance just like dieting....
  • josemillerr
    josemillerr Posts: 10 Member
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    is anyone here considering weight loss surgery?
  • mikevandewetering
    mikevandewetering Posts: 155 Member
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    How about a reverse diet?
  • dubird
    dubird Posts: 1,849 Member
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    Keep logging. I'm still trying to figure out what my maintenance calories actually is, but even when I go over, I still log. Granted, my logging isn't 100% accurate anymore, but just the action of logging what I've eaten makes me much more aware of where I'm at and keeps me on track. So, yeah, I'll probably be logging for a long time, but it's gotten to be a habit now, and since I'm not as worried about perfect accuracy, it's quick and I'm much more confident of my ability to stay where I need to be with that habit.

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