New to Maintaining...

Maintaining is almost as hard as losing. The big thing is to find how many calories you need to maintain. Everyone is different and the MFP maitence calories might not work for you (it didn't for me).

Play around with your calories until you find what works for you. Good luck :-D

Don't be scared. ..Enjoy those extra cals ....maintenance rocks

I was scared too because I've always been good at losing weight, but maintaining....not so much. I've been holding steady for 6wks though, and it really is quite simple. Just keep carrying on as usual, only increase your calories gradually. I did 100 extra for a week, then another 100....and from there saw where I was holding steady. Granted, we all fluctuate a bit (I tend to go up and down a pound), but as long as you're staying within range you're good.

Congratulations, and try to relax and enjoy. Getting to eat more is fabulous.

Also, most folks recommend thinking in terms of a "maintenance range" for weight - like 3-5 pounds on either side of your desired goal weight, with the limits set based on the kinds of daily fluctuations you've come to expect as normal and non-important to overall trend. I've also seen some folks say they don't start cutting until they've been at their upper warning weight for a few days to a week.

One aside, about weight grafting/trending apps: As a weight-trend app user (Libra), I've actually found it less useful as I approach maintenance. A wonky week or two sometimes gets it thinking I'm gaining when (based on current logging & extensive experience during weight loss) I know I'm not. Because I've used the app for a while & have a good understanding of how it works, this doesn't freak me out, but if I'd just started using it now, it might. I wouldn't discourage you from using one - I think it will be helpful - but don't let it shake your confidence in the short run if you know you're on track.

If you increase eating gradually, or by only a few hundred calories/day, remember that you won't suddenly pack on pounds - at worst, if you've mis-estimated, they'll slowly creep back on & you can adjust.

elaineamj wrote: »

AnnPT77 wrote: »

Also, most folks recommend thinking in terms of a "maintenance range" for weight - like 3-5 pounds on either side of your desired goal weight, with the limits set based on the kinds of daily fluctuations you've come to expect as normal and non-important to overall trend. I've also seen some folks say they don't start cutting until they've been at their upper warning weight for a few days to a week.

One aside, about weight grafting/trending apps: As a weight-trend app user (Libra), I've actually found it less useful as I approach maintenance. A wonky week or two sometimes gets it thinking I'm gaining when (based on current logging & extensive experience during weight loss) I know I'm not. Because I've used the app for a while & have a good understanding of how it works, this doesn't freak me out, but if I'd just started using it now, it might. I wouldn't discourage you from using one - I think it will be helpful - but don't let it shake your confidence in the short run if you know you're on track.

If you increase eating gradually, or by only a few hundred calories/day, remember that you won't suddenly pack on pounds - at worst, if you've mis-estimated, they'll slowly creep back on & you can adjust.

In regards to your comments on Libra - do you find if you have at least 2-3 weeks, it averages out to more accurate stats? Or do you need to wait until you have at least 2-3 weeks of data AFTER the wonky week? This is very helpful in understanding weight trending apps and their limitations.

I wish I had a good answer for you. I do know that you can tweak the settings in ways that affect how it predicts (I wouldn't suggest that unless you have some academic understanding of statistics).

Frankly, I didn't think about it much, after registering intellectually that it was wrong. After all these months of losing, I have a good grasp of how my consumption/exercise translate into weight gain or loss, so I rely on rough arithmetic to know where I am if I have some over days. I'm pretty good about predicting my gains/losses (including timing), and recognizing water weight symptoms (and knowing how long that'll take to drop).

For example, one period when it went weird was around my birthday, which fell just before Thanksgiving. I'd been banking some calories but went out for like 3 special meals for my birthday, a couple days apart, and Thanksgiving was the next week. I knew I was at less than a pound's worth of calories total over maintenance (on an averaged basis) from the special events, because I'd done some under days & extra workouts to bank calories. But the kinds of food, and the peak volumes, caused repeated days with water weight. Libra saw those as "gains" that affected (if I recall correctly) two or three weeks of trend data, before it started showing a very slow losing trend again. (I wasn't quite at maintenance then, but it's the easiest example to explain simply).

Apologies for not having a better answer.

I was only able to add 160 calories to my deficit calories of 1200, but I'm short, and older. I really appreciate getting to eat more though. It's only been 2 months for me, and the first month was a little rocky till I started to "trust the numbers". I log and weigh as I did before, as I failed at maintenance two years ago and am committed to mastering the combined art forms of "moderation" and "maintenance".

airangel59 wrote: »

It's a different mindset.....before we were all hoping to see the loss on the scale and now we are hoping for it to stay the same (+/- a few pounds you set as your goal range).

It's trial & error as far as upping your calories w/o tipping the scale each week. I have maintained the same weight now for a year. I still weigh, measure, & write what I bite and weigh myself once a week (former yo yo dieter here so I NEED to know where I stand each week so I can nip any gains before they build up).

I still walk daily and each some of my calories back...when I'm hungry, not for the sake of eating (which got me morbidly obese to begin with)

"Write what I bite..." That's awesome! I'm stealing that line.

I still log and weigh daily, this helps me keep my head in the game.