Maintaining my goal weight
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carolbloomfield7
Posts: 2 Member
It's been1 year since I started regularly dieting & exercising. Thanks to fitbit and myfitnesspal I have sucessfully lost the weight. Maintaining the weight loss takes commitment and sacrifice. It wasn't easy though. I'd like to know the what you did to help you lose weight and what were you're biggest challenges?
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In all honesty, what I did was tighten up my diet and get my appetite in check. I have always been active, and lifted weights for the last 15 years but until I started eating more sensible portions...I was getting bigger every year.
Challenges were not falling back into old habits, snacking less. Making simple substitutions where possible. Kicked up the cardio a little (but nothing crazy..not a huge cardio fan!).
Maintenance has been interesting. My body is good at gaining or losing, finding that equilibrium has always been a struggle. I'm 16 months into maintenance though, so my motivation is winning the battle!0 -
reminding myself to take care of me. Making myself stop, saying you have to take of yourself, you want to fit in your clothes. So easy to take care of others and not myself. had to quit that!0
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What helped me lose the weight was eating in a way that could be sustained forever. Previously, I'd done things like go low carb or avoid added sugar, but I could not stay with it. I love to bake, and I literally felt depressed thinking that I wouldn't be able to bake much.
Calorie counting, on the other hand, has allowed me to eat everything that I enjoy.
It's been what helped, and it's been my biggest challenge - staying consistently under my calorie goal, logging accurately, being patient, taking the setbacks in stride, pursuing balance and maintaining exercise. It's ongoing...0 -
Thanks for the suggestions. Counting calories and daily exercise made a significant difference to my weight loss. I have learned how to make better decisions on what I eat and to spend at l least 1 hour a day exercising. Again I really thank fitbit, myfitnesspal and my own self determination for my weight loss. I would not have been able to do it alone.0
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I have maintained for six months. What is different is that this timr I knew that these changes were for the rest of my life so I knew the goal was NOT the end.0
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My struggle is more mental than physical.0
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vivmom2014 wrote: »What helped me lose the weight was eating in a way that could be sustained forever. Previously, I'd done things like go low carb or avoid added sugar, but I could not stay with it. I love to bake, and I literally felt depressed thinking that I wouldn't be able to bake much.
Calorie counting, on the other hand, has allowed me to eat everything that I enjoy.
It's been what helped, and it's been my biggest challenge - staying consistently under my calorie goal, logging accurately, being patient, taking the setbacks in stride, pursuing balance and maintaining exercise. It's ongoing...
Totally agree with that above (sounds like I could have written it but instead of baking, cooking is my passion). Now that I am at maintenance again I am cooking more often and I love it! Only thing I will add is that I still have a hard time wanting to go to the gym. I don't mind the weight lifting so much but I always dread the cardio. But oh well, there must be a price to pay for being very happy with how my body is these days. Not to say it cannot be better......there is always room for improvement. I may have met goal weight but I still see spots of fat that I would certainly like to banish from my kingdom! LOL0 -
I didn't become overweight in a short period of time. It was the accumulation of what I call "bracket creep." I have been in maintenance for almost a year and I can see that the "creep" will continue to be an issue. I decided on a "range" for maintenance of about 6 pounds. For the first several months I was always on the 0-3# end of the range and now I am on the 4-6# end. Also, I stopped the lifting. So I am thinking that I need to at least resume the weights - once the bronchitis has moved out of my system - because I am thinking based on how clothes are fitting is that I regained fat and lost muscle. At age 64 I am trying to find a sweet spot of physical activity that I can sustain long term.0
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I'd always had a healthy diet and only gained weight after menopause - that took me to the top of the healthy weight range/very bottom of overweight. Losing weight, I just adjusted portion sizes and paid a lot of attention to things that were more or less calorie dense. That was a learning process for me. I thought sugar had the calories, and way underestimated fat and carbs. Once I learned that, it got easy.
Maintenance has just been plodding along and logging. I've maintained almost four years. I'm still in my zone. Zooped up a pound or two above, dropped calories by 250/day, and dropped back in.
Logging and first fitbit, now apple watch and it's been pretty straightforward.0 -
Fitbit was a big factor for me also. It gave me a way to measure my daily activity. I knew I was NOT active but it showed me how much of a slug I was. Once I knew, it was something I either accepted or changed. And so I changed it. In past weight loss efforts I never had trouble counting calories, eating in a set range. But because I never became more active I'd always stall. My body now, if I were moving at my old pace, would only burn 1400-1500 cals per day. Meaning I'd either eat at a 'normal' level and gain weight, eat at a reduced level forever, or move more and earn the ability to eat 'normal'. The last option is what I chose.
The sedentary, sit around lifestyle is NOT the way we were meant to live. Humans thru history did more, but now we've become spoiled by technology and things that do stuff for us.
I still log my food, though not necessarily everyday. I still am aware of how many calories I need. For maintenance, at my current activity level, its about 1700-1800. I sometimes throw caution to the wind, and eat lower other days to 'make up for it'. In all honesty I'm a few pounds heavier now than I'd prefer (nothing extreme, but lots of caution to the wind days lately!) so I'm eating 1400-1500 to get back where I want to be. My preferred range is 123-128 and I'm around 131 right now.0 -
My Vivofit did the same for me. It motivates me to move. I also joined a newly built gym which is nearby, beautiful, clean, and I like going. My official goal is 145 but I've been staying under 140 so I have a built in cushion. I vow never to go above 140 again. I was almost at 180 when I began (in my mid 50s). I now weigh less than I did in high school.
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BikeTourer wrote: »BikeTourer wrote: »StaciMarie1974 wrote: »Fitbit was a big factor for me also. It gave me a way to measure my daily activity. I knew I was NOT active but it showed me how much of a slug I was. Once I knew, it was something I either accepted or changed. And so I changed it. In past weight loss efforts I never had trouble counting calories, eating in a set range. But because I never became more active I'd always stall. My body now, if I were moving at my old pace, would only burn 1400-1500 cals per day. Meaning I'd either eat at a 'normal' level and gain weight, eat at a reduced level forever, or move more and earn the ability to eat 'normal'. The last option is what I chose.
The sedentary, sit around lifestyle is NOT the way we were meant to live. Humans thru history did more, but now we've become spoiled by technology and things that do stuff for us.
I still log my food, though not necessarily everyday. I still am aware of how many calories I need. For maintenance, at my current activity level, its about 1700-1800. I sometimes throw caution to the wind, and eat lower other days to 'make up for it'. In all honesty I'm a few pounds heavier now than I'd prefer (nothing extreme, but lots of caution to the wind days lately!) so I'm eating 1400-1500 to get back where I want to be. My preferred range is 123-128 and I'm around 131 right now.StaciMarie1974 wrote: »Fitbit was a big factor for me also. It gave me a way to measure my daily activity. I knew I was NOT active but it showed me how much of a slug I was. Once I knew, it was something I either accepted or changed. And so I changed it. In past weight loss efforts I never had trouble counting calories, eating in a set range. But because I never became more active I'd always stall. My body now, if I were moving at my old pace, would only burn 1400-1500 cals per day. Meaning I'd either eat at a 'normal' level and gain weight, eat at a reduced level forever, or move more and earn the ability to eat 'normal'. The last option is what I chose.
The sedentary, sit around lifestyle is NOT the way we were meant to live. Humans thru history did more, but now we've become spoiled by technology and things that do stuff for us.
I still log my food, though not necessarily everyday. I still am aware of how many calories I need. For maintenance, at my current activity level, its about 1700-1800. I sometimes throw caution to the wind, and eat lower other days to 'make up for it'. In all honesty I'm a few pounds heavier now than I'd prefer (nothing extreme, but lots of caution to the wind days lately!) so I'm eating 1400-1500 to get back where I want to be. My preferred range is 123-128 and I'm around 131 right now.
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My mental struggle is the fight between "I want it" and "I don't need it".0
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