What's your plan for maintenance?
macchiatto
Posts: 2,890 Member
I know people on here are doing LC for various reasons beyond weight lossloss and dome of you are already at maintenance. I'm doing it mostly for weight loss but I'll probably always need to stay somewhat low carb because I have PCOS and probably insulin resistance.
I'm tentatively thinking I might very slowly increase carbs as I get within a few pounds of my goal (currently 10 lbs away) and then maybe gradually work up to about 100 grams of carbs per day, and gradually increase calories to maintenance level. Does that sound good? Is there a recommended way for transitioning out of keto?
I'm tentatively thinking I might very slowly increase carbs as I get within a few pounds of my goal (currently 10 lbs away) and then maybe gradually work up to about 100 grams of carbs per day, and gradually increase calories to maintenance level. Does that sound good? Is there a recommended way for transitioning out of keto?
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I took the approach that I didn't want a short-term diet, so I considered maintenance from day 1. That meant my diet was sustainable from day 1, and I didn't need to change anything once I reached my goals.
For me, that was around 100g carbs, but it was probably more about the type of carbs than the quantity. I still don't eat grains or sugary processed food, but I don't restrict veggies or nuts. I still limit starch and fruit and anything that triggers cravings or that seems to increase appetite.
If you want to stay keto, that works too. Just keep adjusting your fat intake to match your caloric needs, and leave carbs and protein alone.
If you want to exit ketosis, it's probably best to gradually increase carbs to you reach your new carbs level. Ketosis does induce a physiological insulin resistance, so a sudden increase in carbs may lead to hypoglycemia since you're not used to the surges in insulin.
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I'm close to maintenance. I was 2lb to goal but then I had a carb cheat, followed by a cold from hell, and now I have a kidney infection. So I'm at 4lb to goal.
I'm just planning on increasing calories not carbs. I tried going to under 100g instead of <50, but my cycle gets weird, and I start getting skin breakouts. Now, that could just be temporary until I get adjusted to being out of ketosis.
I'd need to try it for a month or more to see. But I have a hard time staying out of ketosis at under 100 sometimes, which has me yo-yoing in and out, and I don't feel really well doing that. It's going to take some planning and making sure I have some low-carb bread on-hand and some other foods that will solidly keep me out.
I'm at under 50g right now. I may go hardcore back down to 20g total for a bit to get to goal. This "close to goal" *kitten* is hard let me tell ya. My body is fighting me tooth and nail.
As far as advice for transitioning out of keto, I'd just gradually increase carbs by 10 or 15 every week until you get to your upper limit, just like you plan to do with your calories.0 -
I plan to stay in ketosis even at very low levels is fine with me. I'm really interested in the brain health aspects of it and I believe that it will be the best plan for my long term health. As someone with ADD and that always struggled with memory abilities that are obviously not the same as most people have, I am really concerned about keeping my brain as healthy as possible as I get older. Even with the ketone effects I feel have been helpful in dealing with ADD symptoms, I am still medicated for it as well, and I plan to try cutting that down and hopefully eliminating it completely if I can feel "normal" without it.
Anyway, I'm rambling... Train of thought, leaving the station!
I pretty much think I will never eat grains, pasta, starches or sugar again no matter what. So I will probably just stop counting calories/carbs and eat based on hunger from the foods that don't include those things.0 -
If you want to exit ketosis, it's probably best to gradually increase carbs to you reach your new carbs level. Ketosis does induce a physiological insulin resistance, so a sudden increase in carbs may lead to hypoglycemia since you're not used to the surges in insulin.
This is true. I was letting my carbs creep up from under 20g to well over 30g, and sometimes as high as 50g. My BG was right back to prediabetic levels.
Then I went lower calorie (with fat fasts) and very low carb to get back on track. My BG dropped like a rock. I was getting in the low 3's (55-65) over a few days. Yuck. It felt pretty poorly until my ketone production kicked it up a notch to compensate.
My maintenance plan is now to add in more fats and maybe a bit more protein (espeially earlier in the day since late protein lumps seem to affect my BG more). I plan to keep my carbs below 20g unless I bump up the intensity and regularity of my exercise by a fair bit. I have IR and my body seems overly sensitive to carb levels.
I imagine my calorie level will be 2000-2300 with 75% fat, 20% protein and <5% carbs. Same foods, just more, except in carbs unless timed around intense exercise.0 -
Just more of the same for life.
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I think this is a hugely important question to consider - I haven't opined much before because I hate typing on my phone and that is the way I usually access MFP. So, apologies in advance to my short attention spanned friends, here are some questions around the question that hopefully will help answer the question!
**You should think about this! Seems to me that just sluffing your way into maintenance will pretty much guarantee a weight rebound or an unpleasant experience.
**Why am I doing keto? There are many motives, some of them not so great, IMNSHO. How you honestly answer that question will lead to a strategy for maintenance. Some of us have so far to go weight wise that we don't even bother going there mentally because we're not sure we can hit our goals. Others just want to loose 20 or 30 lbs to "look good". Others have medical issues as their primary motivator.
**Do you have any self-defeating mind-sets? I had to recognize in myself the horrible way of thinking that part of me wanted to just get to my goal weight so that I could "eat whatever I wanted to", which in another life was simply a bunch of terrible carbage. I had to have a Long term Mind-set first, then second a "I will no longer treat my body as a human garbage can just because the garbage is sweet and tasty" Mind-set. Some mind-sets practically guarantee you will never make it to maintenance, and if you do you will fail to stay there.
**A Mental 'Stall Defeating Strategy'. In another thread I asked the quesion - Would you eat ketogenically even if you knew you would never lose another pound? It's a great question, and if you answer affirmatively I think you will be able to get through a so-called "stall" (most people who say they are stalled are not), and you will have a natural lead in to a maintenance strategy.
**How Much Should I Weigh? This is NOT an easy question to answer! And it is a question that a number won't give you a GOOD answer to - what about body composition? What about "skinny-fat"? What kind of life would I like to live? What health factors must I consider? All of these questions must be asked along the way, and the answers will change as you progress.0 -
I'm so far away from my goal that I would need a high powered scope to see it. With that said, this WOE feels like something I can do forever. I may one day increase my carb level somewhat but being very choosy about the carbs I will eat. I don't see grains or processed sugar as something I want to add back, but I could see some fruit.0
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My Maintenance Strategy So Far:
**Figure out when (weight-wise) to start maintenance (which I haven't).
**I want to remain in Ketosis. So.... at this point I will purchase a blood ketone monitor and start testing myself so that I know that I am at a millimolar place where I am in nutritional ketosis and experiencing the benefits that I want to experience. Right now I don't use either strips or blood monitoring. At 20 grams carbs, plus by other symptoms, I KNOW I am in ketosis. No reason to measure. When I move into maintenance, measuring will be critical!
**S L O W L Y increase carb levels, probably 10 carbs at a time, and stay at that level for at least a week, probably two, so that I can be SURE that what is happening in my body is due to that carb increase. I will be looking for (see above) a. Ketone Levels below what I want, & b. unacceptable weight gain (see below).
**Stay on my Minimum Protein Grams, and intentionally increase fat calories. And monitor above. I am already a careful tracker, but for the first 2 or 3 months of maintenance I will track MUCH more carefully, the goal being to find a healthy, strong place to live.
**Weigh Daily & Average - I currently weigh once a week because I can't emotionally handle the scale. At this point I will need a fairly accurate reading, and between water weight, a skipped bowel movement, or the alignment of the planets my weight can vary a bunch.
So.... the counter-intuitive part of my strategy is that I will actually be weighing and measuring WAY more carefully and often in initial maintenance than I do now in my weight loss phase. But it's only counter-intuitive when I don't think about how important maintenance is for my ultimate goal, which is life and health.
Interested in hearing other folk's thoughts about this!0 -
@baconslave: This "close to goal" ***** is hard let me tell ya. My body is fighting me tooth and nail.
I hear you. I'm less than 2kg from my goal weight. Yesterday I had a calorie deficit of 1,600 yesterday and still put on a tiny bit of weight.
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@Sunny_Bunny: I am really concerned about keeping my brain as healthy as possible as I get older.
As a bit of a geeky guy I am finding the brain science fascinating. I think that I am having a second adolescence as my brain grows new synapses from intermittent fasting.
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I'm a few months into maintenance now, and I continue to hang out here due to FEAR. Fear of the regain stats. And fear of slippery slopes.
In terms of weight goals, why do you have one? Low-carb works mostly by reducing appetite. I set an arbitrary weight loss goal, but I shot below that simply because I wasn't hungry. I let my weight reach equilibrium with my hunger, and I'm pretty happy at this weight.
Now I focus more on body recomposition with exercise. If you thought weight loss was slow, wait till you try recomp.
Why increase your carbs? What are you missing now?
Be careful what you reintroduce. I can eat veggies all day long without any increase in cravings, so I simply don't worry about veggies.
But if I eat ANY baked good, that sends me into a psychological spiral. "Just a little bit" becomes "that wasn't so bad" becomes "let's try a bit of this too" becomes "pizza!" becomes "I need to go back on low-carb."
Whatever you change, keep away from that slippery slope.0 -
I'm trying one meal a day as I approach my maintenance weight.0
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It never occurred to me that this could be a short term thing until I read people using low carb for weight loss and then planning on getting off.
It is hard for me to think that I could continue to control my intake without low carb levels. For me, carbs beget carbs - the 'eat signals' become frequent, non stop and willpower killing. I'm pretty set on this as a way of life - with random, infrequent days of mild self indulgence after hitting goal.0 -
I'm a few months into maintenance now, and I continue to hang out here due to FEAR. Fear of the regain stats. And fear of slippery slopes.
Amen brother! Right there with you!In terms of weight goals, why do you have one? Low-carb works mostly by reducing appetite. I set an arbitrary weight loss goal, but I shot below that simply because I wasn't hungry. I let my weight reach equilibrium with my hunger, and I'm pretty happy at this weight.
Great point. And for now, I actually don't have a weight loss goal. I'm too far away (80lbs?, 60 lbs?) to even guess. What will my body feel like then? Too many unknowns for any firm goal. I like what you did (are doing), and there is much to recommend that approach.Now I focus more on body recomposition with exercise. If you thought weight loss was slow, wait till you try recomp.
Excellent. I really think that this is where I will end up as well. But if I can be "worrying" about body recomp rather than being 150 lbs overweight I think that would be a bit of heaven!Why increase your carbs? What are you missing now?
Be careful what you reintroduce. I can eat veggies all day long without any increase in cravings, so I simply don't worry about veggies.
Excellent advice. I'm not going to eat bread, pasta, potatoes, etc. Period. However, I am pretty restrictive now - not many nuts, and I don't eat low carb berries (which I absolutely love), and those are the carbs I will reintroduce.Whatever you change, keep away from that slippery slope.
True, true! And this is why I think one needs to think with even more clarity about maintenance than about the weight loss.
In one sense, weight loss is "easy" (how many hundreds of pounds have I lost in the last decade?!? Sigh...).
It is STAYING at a healthy weight that I have been absolutely unable to do for more than 3 decades. It's why I need a plan for that more than anything else and will be working on it strongly.
Thanks for the great conversation here!
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Thanks so much for all the input! This is interesting. I had stumbled on this WOE mostly for weight loss and dealing with PCOS but I also have MS so I'm interested to learn more about the effects on brain health.
For me, I had reached goal weight in the past ... several times.
I had yoyo'ed in a 20-lb range for much of my adult life and a few years ago I decided to try to go 10 lbs below that range and after getting there, I ended up deciding 7-8 lbs below that range was best for me.
Then from Aug '14 to Aug '15 I gradually gained 20 lbs. I did fight it along the way; my weight chart has a lot of dips but too many climbs. Med changes led to increasing carbs to deal with stomach upset so my previous low-carb diet was no longer working for me. My goal has been to re-lose those 20 lbs and fit back into the rest of my clothes.
However, "skinny fat" is my natural tendency so I am truly more concerned about body fat % and how clothes fit than the # on the scale. I might try a recomp once I get my BF% lower. My LBM is relatively low; I'm 5'7" and at 142 lbs (goal is 132-133) but my body fat percentage is higher than one might expect with those stats; I'm guessing 32-34% or so, and so much of it is in my midsection. I know most women of my height and weight wear clothes 2-3 sizes smaller than what I wear, mostly because of how things fit through the belly/hips. I do plan to start doing more HIIT and lifting soon.0 -
I've been maintaining for about 20 years. Even in maintenance, it's important to make changes sometimes.0
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As a creative, exploring person with an insatiable curiosity I don't even LIKE the term "maintenance". I prefer to think of it as a process of ongoing refinement or continuous improvement. The Japanese call it "kaizen".
[Kaizen is the practice of continuous improvement. Kaizen was originally introduced to the West by Masaaki Imai in his book Kaizen: The Key to Japan's Competitive Success in 1986. Today Kaizen is recognized worldwide as an important pillar of an organization's long-term competitive strategy. Source: Wikipedia]0 -
As a creative, exploring person with an insatiable curiosity I don't even LIKE the term "maintenance". I prefer to think of it as a process of ongoing refinement or continuous improvement. The Japanese call it "kaizen".
[Kaizen is the practice of continuous improvement. Kaizen was originally introduced to the West by Masaaki Imai in his book Kaizen: The Key to Japan's Competitive Success in 1986. Today Kaizen is recognized worldwide as an important pillar of an organization's long-term competitive strategy. Source: Wikipedia]
That is a really good way of looking at it. 0 -
I went into maintenance in August but was still about 10 lbs. from my goal weight . I got out of the habit of tracking,and noticed I still could stay in a small range just little ups and downs. I started this WOE in April 2015 and my body changed very quickly and pretty happy where I am now. My thought was if I can maintain without tracking this truly is a WOE and not a diet and I can do this forever! I will tackle the last 10# after the holidays0
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As a creative, exploring person with an insatiable curiosity I don't even LIKE the term "maintenance". I prefer to think of it as a process of ongoing refinement or continuous improvement. The Japanese call it "kaizen".
[Kaizen is the practice of continuous improvement. Kaizen was originally introduced to the West by Masaaki Imai in his book Kaizen: The Key to Japan's Competitive Success in 1986. Today Kaizen is recognized worldwide as an important pillar of an organization's long-term competitive strategy. Source: Wikipedia]
Friends of mine actually named their son Kaizen so I'm familiar with this term and meaning! That's an interesting way of looking at it.
To be honest re where I'm at right now, kaizen sounds tiring though. :P I've yoyoed for so long that at some point I just want to be able to coast for a while (within safe guidelines so I don't start yoyoing again).0 -
My Dad and 9 of his siblings have type 2 diabetes. My Dad has been a very sick man for the last 10 years and I am NOT going to end up like that (it started when he was 50 - I'm 40 now). Keto is my only chance of avoiding his fate. So while I do eat this way to lose weight, the losing weight part for me is primarily to avoid weight related heart disease and diabetes. When I get to a healthy BMI (19kg to go) my intention is to do the following:
Stay under 20 to 30g of carbs (remain in keto)
Relax with the constant tracking (my eating is pretty set now, I know what to avoid)
Weigh myself monthly so I know if I'm eating too much.
That's it.0 -
I am still 26 pounds from goal. I do not intend to ever go back to carbage. I would like to increase my carbs a bit using veggies. I can maintain forever how I am eating now but I do miss being able to eat my fresh grown veggies with out having to freak out about it having carbs. I am talking about the lower starch veggies but I do like tomatoes and I even allow them now as long as it is a tiny amount and I stay with my 5 to 8 carbs a day. Well gardening season is over for this year and I am hoping by next summer I will be to goal. If not then I will stick with this until I reach goal.
So I do have a plan and I believe it will be fine as long as I stay away from true carbage.
Reason for losing weight is to feel better and try to re-gain my health. To go back to carbage would just undo all I have worked so hard for.0 -
My plan is more calories, but not from bread/pasta. I'll add veggies or meat or fat. I've been working diligently to find low/no-carb alternatives to my fave foods and I can't go back to the way I ate before.0
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I'm eating at maintenance of my goal weight now.
I don't plan on changing anything.
I'll let exercise finish the job.
I do LC to control my blood sugar & it works
great. Weight loss is a nice bonus.
or 
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I keep on expanding the repertoire of recipes I can use (when I learned about almond flour that was very helpful). That means I can continue to stay in ketosis but eat a bit more so that I do not continue to lose once I am at my goal weight.
You CANNOT 'change' what you do at maintenance, i.e. go back to your old lifestyle, or you will likely fail:
http://www.cbc.ca/news/health/obesity-research-confirms-long-term-weight-loss-almost-impossible-1.2663585?utm_content=bufferc02ff&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer0 -
I haven't developed a real plan for maintenance yet. I don't have a whole lot of weight to lose (around 15-20 more pounds) but I lose so slowly that I'm not sure I'll ever get there. Honestly I'm not too bothered with being a little over my optimal weight as my true motivation for starting keto was to control my RA. That makes planning for maintenance a little tricky. I will probably try to always stay in ketosis but perhaps slowly raise my carb level to see what the limit will be for me in terms of pain management. I will try to keep any increase in carbs to veggies and some fruit mostly and maybe a few special occasion meals that will be carefully planned for carb content.0
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With 2 lbs left till goal, I started maintenance 2 months ago. I must stay away from my main triggers (baked goods & pasta), but let my daily carbs drift up to ~100 grams total. Last two months, I've been able to eat occasional beans, oatmeal, fruit etc. When I get lazy & weight drifts up a few lbs, a few days back at 50 grams fixes things.0
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DrawnToScale wrote: »With 2 lbs left till goal, I started maintenance 2 months ago. I must stay away from my main triggers (baked goods & pasta), but let my daily carbs drift up to ~100 grams total. Last two months, I've been able to eat occasional beans, oatmeal, fruit etc. When I get lazy & weight drifts up a few lbs, a few days back at 50 grams fixes things.
Did you find cravings increase when you raised carbs to 100?0 -
I never found that cravings ever went away completely. Perhaps a bit easier at 50 grams than at 100, but not enough to get excited about. I never tried very low carbs - but that just seemed too tough for me. Greatest weight loss rate was with intermittent fasting and ~2000 calories of exercise per week.0
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Maintenance scares me to death!! I actually hit my goal weight this weekend but have yet to switch to maintenance. I feel like I need to lose another 5 pounds or so. Everyone tells me I have lost enough and any more weight loss will make me look sickly. I'm not sure if I actually need to lose the 5 more pounds or if it's the fear of switching to maintenance holding me back. For 2.5 years I have ate at a deficit. I don't even know how to do maintenance!! I've decided until I am ready, I will continue to eat at a small deficit.
So I guess that was a long winded way to say I have no plan yet for maintenance....lol.0
