In a Maintenance Funk (and fighting weight creep)
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ReaderGirl3 wrote: »Thanks everyone for the input! This morning I'm much calmer about the whole thing (seeing that higher number on the scale yesterday, after not weighing for a few months, put me in panic mode!), and I had a solid, on track day yesterday
I even had a drop on the scale this morning (gotta love water weight lol).
I also started the 100 push-up challenge yesterday (I did it last year and had a lot of fun with it-crazy how last year I completed the whole thing, and yesterday it about killed me to do the first day/beginner mode
), and then my family went on a brisk 2 mile walk last night
Feel like I'm back in control!
Yay, you! 3 years on maintenance is awesome so overall you're doing great. It's a new day, you have a better outlook and you can keep it under control! Stay calm and carry on.0 -
I'm still 4 pounds over my lowest weight 2 years ago. I can't seem to be able to shake it. I have to admit that I'm jealous of people who have no problem cutting again.. it's a big struggle for me! I do great for a week or two then mess up the 3rd week and I end up maintaining instead of losing... not a huge deal but it means I'm not losing the weight that slowly creeps up.. or it takes months.
So... I hear you.
DITTO every word. I bounce from goal to +5 and I've got easily more to lose but will they shift after a year of maintenance? Nah. Same pattern of good then bad weeks. Sometimes you do wish you could be "like everyone else" and not look at a cake and analyse if you can eat it that day or not, have a mental battle over salad or fries etc however the reality is, "everyone else" isn't healthy so I guess that's the trade off!1 -
1) Don't stop tracking your food. No matter how long you've been in maintenance, it's easy to get lazy and slip up.
2) When you mess up, forgive yourself and get back on the horse asap. Easier to correct course when you're up only 5 lbs then wait until it's 10, or to lose 10 rather than 20.
3) exercise for overall good health, you'll be more motivated to stick to a healthier diet if you feel strong and fit
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This winter I've gained about 8 lbs. I stopped tracking my food and was taking allergy pills which apparently increase your appetite (which was not mentioned by my doctor). I've never stopped exercising, just clearly ate more than I should have. So I started logging again and stopped the pills (which didn't do anything anyway except contributing to the weight gain). Hopefully, I'll get back to my ideal weight soon. It's such a bummer but I think I've noticed in time.0
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julmaxeating wrote: »This winter I've gained about 8 lbs. I stopped tracking my food and was taking allergy pills which apparently increase your appetite (which was not mentioned by my doctor). I've never stopped exercising, just clearly ate more than I should have. So I started logging again and stopped the pills (which didn't do anything anyway except contributing to the weight gain). Hopefully, I'll get back to my ideal weight soon. It's such a bummer but I think I've noticed in time.
Sounds like we're in similar positions, good thing is we both caught the creep before it became a real issue 0 -
Totally understand. I haven't even hit my goal yet and I'm experiencing the creep. I'm eating far below my TDEE ( on most calculators) and I'm up 5+ pounds from my lowest weight which was still 7 pounds short of my goal. I'm on creatine and I lift heavy so I'm hoping it's mostly just water retention but it's been months and I'm still up the 5 pounds. I have fluctuations where I weigh in at 190 and the next day I'm 186 but never really below that. At one point I was 182 (prior to starting the creatine). I don't feel like I can lower my cal intake anymore and maintain my vigorous workouts. I struggle for energy now at times. So I try and increase activity even more by adding walking. But even with working out 6-7 days a week and hitting 10,000 steps on top I'm still stuck and experiencing the creep. Frustrating...0
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Soundwave79 wrote: »Totally understand. I haven't even hit my goal yet and I'm experiencing the creep. I'm eating far below my TDEE ( on most calculators) and I'm up 5+ pounds from my lowest weight which was still 7 pounds short of my goal. I'm on creatine and I lift heavy so I'm hoping it's mostly just water retention but it's been months and I'm still up the 5 pounds. I have fluctuations where I weigh in at 190 and the next day I'm 186 but never really below that. At one point I was 182 (prior to starting the creatine). I don't feel like I can lower my cal intake anymore and maintain my vigorous workouts. I struggle for energy now at times. So I try and increase activity even more by adding walking. But even with working out 6-7 days a week and hitting 10,000 steps on top I'm still stuck and experiencing the creep. Frustrating...
Might not be the place, but do you weigh your food? You're using some entries that are questionable (2 pieces of wheat toast is closer to 220 calories than 150, for example), and I know from experience that a scoop of protein powder is often 1.3 serving or something.0 -
The only way I can maintain is with exercise. I know that to lose it is more the food plan, but the exercise allows me to eat a little more so it is easier. The exercise I enjoy the most is hiking, so I'm out 4 or 5 days a weeks and I can go for hours. The exercise I need to focus on more is strength training. Good luck to you and don't beat yourself up, you've done very well.
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I'm also maintaining my loss for over 3 yrs but am finding it going smoothly in general. When I go on holidays I might gain a few pounds but within a week to 10 days that has gone.
I don't even log my foods any longer, sometimes I do for the heck of it, but I'm always on the button with calories. I do keep a mental tab of how much I've eaten and also try not to snack after 7pm.
I do a bit of what the other posters have already said, I consciously eat less during the week to allow for the weekends excess - it all balances out.
I eat around 1900-2000 calories on week days and around 2400-2500 on the weekends.
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Soundwave79 wrote: »Totally understand. I haven't even hit my goal yet and I'm experiencing the creep. I'm eating far below my TDEE ( on most calculators) and I'm up 5+ pounds from my lowest weight which was still 7 pounds short of my goal. I'm on creatine and I lift heavy so I'm hoping it's mostly just water retention but it's been months and I'm still up the 5 pounds. I have fluctuations where I weigh in at 190 and the next day I'm 186 but never really below that. At one point I was 182 (prior to starting the creatine). I don't feel like I can lower my cal intake anymore and maintain my vigorous workouts. I struggle for energy now at times. So I try and increase activity even more by adding walking. But even with working out 6-7 days a week and hitting 10,000 steps on top I'm still stuck and experiencing the creep. Frustrating...
Might not be the place, but do you weigh your food? You're using some entries that are questionable (2 pieces of wheat toast is closer to 220 calories than 150, for example), and I know from experience that a scoop of protein powder is often 1.3 serving or something.
Indeed, I freely admit I am not a super accurate logger. But my TDEE is 2800-3200 calories (depending on the calculator) and I set my daily goal to 2,000. I highly doubt I'm over eating anywhere near 800-1200 calories. I could be off 300-400 on some days no doubt but that still leaves me in quite a deficit.
At one point I logged in grams for an entire week to see if I was ridiculously over eating and I wasn't off more then a couple 100 calories from a similar day when I used ounces and cups. But I suppose tightening up the ship can't hurt aside from taking more time and would only help, thanks for the reply.
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ReaderGirl3 wrote: »My 3 year maintenance anniversary is in a couple weeks, and instead of celebrating this milestone, I'm feeling very down about the whole weight/maintenance thing. I've lost over 50lbs and had been successfully maintaining within my maintenance range, but this past winter I totally lost focus and my weight-in this morning put me at the highest number I've seen sine 2013. It's still not a huge gain (my bmi is currently 21.5), but the weight creep is happening and if I don't get my head out of my bum now, I know where I'm going to end up (flirting again with T2). Sooo, having a bit of a pity party for myself right now
On a positive note, I've set my MFP account back up and this morning I'm starting a short weight loss phase again, to lose the creep. But, this experience has really hit me hard and I'm beginning to realize how difficult long term maintenance really is!
Any others out there who are/have struggled with long term maintenance? Any words of wisdom for how to keep focused?
Sister from another mister!! LOL I'm in year 5(!!) of maintaining a 30+ lb weight loss and recently got into a funk and gained back 7lbs; putting me at my highest weight since 2012. It's amazing how we allow such a little number to make such a major impact on our mental health. I think once I stopped beating myself up and began to recognize the weight gain as a signal from my body, I started to get my head back in the game. Just as weight loss isn't a success only journey, neither is maintenance. And as an emotional eater, I know my head sometimes tells me things that aren't good for my body.
The key for me is to stick to my basic routine, exercise wise, but find some new things to incorporate and clean up my diet & log religiously. It's not magic or exciting, but it works. For me, weight loss is 80% diet related. I also dropped my running mileage back and started speed walking on a more regular basis (3-4 miles/day vs running 1-3 days week) Sounds counter intuitive, but sometimes mixing things up helps.2 -
MichelleB69 wrote: »ReaderGirl3 wrote: »My 3 year maintenance anniversary is in a couple weeks, and instead of celebrating this milestone, I'm feeling very down about the whole weight/maintenance thing. I've lost over 50lbs and had been successfully maintaining within my maintenance range, but this past winter I totally lost focus and my weight-in this morning put me at the highest number I've seen sine 2013. It's still not a huge gain (my bmi is currently 21.5), but the weight creep is happening and if I don't get my head out of my bum now, I know where I'm going to end up (flirting again with T2). Sooo, having a bit of a pity party for myself right now
On a positive note, I've set my MFP account back up and this morning I'm starting a short weight loss phase again, to lose the creep. But, this experience has really hit me hard and I'm beginning to realize how difficult long term maintenance really is!
Any others out there who are/have struggled with long term maintenance? Any words of wisdom for how to keep focused?
Sister from another mister!! LOL I'm in year 5(!!) of maintaining a 30+ lb weight loss and recently got into a funk and gained back 7lbs; putting me at my highest weight since 2012. It's amazing how we allow such a little number to make such a major impact on our mental health. I think once I stopped beating myself up and began to recognize the weight gain as a signal from my body, I started to get my head back in the game. Just as weight loss isn't a success only journey, neither is maintenance. And as an emotional eater, I know my head sometimes tells me things that aren't good for my body.
The key for me is to stick to my basic routine, exercise wise, but find some new things to incorporate and clean up my diet & log religiously. It's not magic or exciting, but it works. For me, weight loss is 80% diet related. I also dropped my running mileage back and started speed walking on a more regular basis (3-4 miles/day vs running 1-3 days week) Sounds counter intuitive, but sometimes mixing things up helps.
I wish there was more info out about maintenance, it sounds like these bumps are pretty common with maintainers after all (I wish we knew that ahead of time, to save us some stress lol). And 5 years is a huge milestone, congratulations! And it sounds like you've gotten back on track, great job 0 -
If you are predisposed to type 2 diabetes, put a walking program in place! You've done great managing the weight side, but nothing can compensate for the activity side of the equation.0
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My weight, which was consistent for well over a year, started creeping up about 5 pounds because I started a new medication. Logging my food was eye opening and helped me make much better choices of a snack (carrots and hummus vs a cookie or two). It, and logging exercise, really helped me get my weight on a downward trajectory. Don't lose heart, you'll lose those few pounds in no time! Sounds like you're on the right track.0
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ReaderGirl3 wrote: »My 3 year maintenance anniversary is in a couple weeks, and instead of celebrating this milestone, I'm feeling very down about the whole weight/maintenance thing. I've lost over 50lbs and had been successfully maintaining within my maintenance range, but this past winter I totally lost focus and my weight-in this morning put me at the highest number I've seen sine 2013. It's still not a huge gain (my bmi is currently 21.5), but the weight creep is happening and if I don't get my head out of my bum now, I know where I'm going to end up (flirting again with T2). Sooo, having a bit of a pity party for myself right now
On a positive note, I've set my MFP account back up and this morning I'm starting a short weight loss phase again, to lose the creep. But, this experience has really hit me hard and I'm beginning to realize how difficult long term maintenance really is!
Any others out there who are/have struggled with long term maintenance? Any words of wisdom for how to keep focused?
I'm coming up on 3 years maintenance in a couple of weeks. I don't log, and haven't in 3 years...I focus on "good livin" which includes eating well for the most part and regular exercise. Exercise and just being more active in general is pretty key for me...my calorie targets are otherwise such that it would be really easy to over-eat. I have a desk job, so I can't help that part, but outside of that I try to make sure that I'm doing things and that we're doing things as a family...like going on hikes or playing in the park or going to the zoo, etc...not just hanging about the house watching t.v. and whatnot. I also get in some kind of deliberate exercise pretty much everyday as well...usually an hour of cycling 4x per week and a longer ride on the weekend as well as 2-3 days of lifting...my rest day(s) usually consist of at least a nice walk and often some yoga.
In the last three years, I've noticed that I do put on a few Lbs during the winter which is by and large due to being less active...I still get out on my bike, but not as often with the weather...and we have a lot more movie days and whatnot on weekends vs being out hiking and playing because of weather. It usually falls right off once Spring rolls in and I start moving a lot more again.
It also helps me to sign up for various cycling events. Thus far I haven't done anything ultra competitive...mostly charity stuff and fun rides, some of which we can do as a family...but it helps keep me focused and looking forward to something and helps to keep me on a good training program.0 -
So yeah it's been a bad week for me! I had a stomach bug last week so I have absolutely no idea how much I ate in relation to my TDEE (obviously didn't exercise for like 4 days). The sad thing is that my legs didn't even feel rested after that time, I guess my body was too busy trying to get rid of the bug or something...
Then it was my birthday and yesterday was stressful and I wanted to eat all the foods too (and did). The creep threat is very real. Ugh.
What's tough for me is that I wake up in the same mindset as 3 years ago... I want this, just eat at a deficit, and you'll lose those couple 'creep' pounds. But my body isn't on board. I'm just too hungry. I mean, obviously there's some willpower issues too, but I was not that hungry 3 years ago! My TDEE is 2200 and I try to stick to 1800 calories 5 days a week (pretty much have to as I frequently have a 3000+ calorie day, apparently) and those days I always end up going to bed hungry, and my day is pretty much shot if I eat even 300 calories of treats or even bread. It's definitely not what I expected from maintenance. I tried 1900 but it didn't seem to make much of a difference at all, so I'm still trying to stick to 1800 when possible so I'm not tempted to go for an extra treat at night if I've eaten 1800 calories...
I will NOT buy bigger clothes (I don't need to, my clothes are actually looser than they've ever been, even with 4 extra pounds), and I'm not giving up, but man, the self-pity is strong at times.1 -
@Francl27 If your clothes are looser you've lost fat so perhaps it's time to not worry about what the scales say?
I know this hunger feeling is an ongoing issue for you and I don't have anything to offer, sorry hunger sucks! I get it most nights but just ignore it - over a period of months the hunger has lessened, or more than my perception of it being hunger has lessened/eased? I just tell myself I've had enough food and ignore it (I drink alot of water in the evenings to compensate)...I have iron clad willpower, always was one of my strengths. 0 -
Glad this thread popped back up. Today for the first time I'm attempting a 24 hour fast. My reasoning (besides all the articles I've read recently about the advantages of fasting) is that I simply cannot cut down my daily intakes anymore. Especially on my workout days. Any less then 2,000 cals and I just simply cannot keep up my lifting regimen. Typically I use Wednesdays as a rest/light cardio/stretch and recovery day so I'm going to add on a fast as well. This way during the other days of the week if I need a few extra hundred cals to push through my workouts I'll have some banked. Hoping it will shock my system a little and help jumpstart my weight loss as well. Like Francl27 my clothes don't feel any tighter but the scale has been stuck for so long I feel some sort of switch up is needed. I need to hit my goal weight so I can start doing bulk/cut regimens.0
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Came online to discuss a similar situation -- I have been in maintenance 2 1/2 years and am starting to see the creep. Last September I reduced my calories by 250 to try to counteract it, and while I lost some, the holidays brought me back up. Since then I am seeing the creep with the reduced calories (although I go over more frequently, I am still below my old maintenance level over a week period so AT LEAST should be maintaining).
This happened to me once before - lost a bunch of weight, maintained for several years, then a slow creep when I didn't see a difference in food or exercise. Last time the slow creep left me feeling helpless and giving up and major weight gain resulted. I want to stop that.
I believe that my issue is my metabolism, but not sure what to do. I have been trying to be more active, but that is not leading to success.0 -
Came online to discuss a similar situation -- I have been in maintenance 2 1/2 years and am starting to see the creep. Last September I reduced my calories by 250 to try to counteract it, and while I lost some, the holidays brought me back up. Since then I am seeing the creep with the reduced calories (although I go over more frequently, I am still below my old maintenance level over a week period so AT LEAST should be maintaining).
This happened to me once before - lost a bunch of weight, maintained for several years, then a slow creep when I didn't see a difference in food or exercise. Last time the slow creep left me feeling helpless and giving up and major weight gain resulted. I want to stop that.
I believe that my issue is my metabolism, but not sure what to do. I have been trying to be more active, but that is not leading to success.
It's very frustrating. I always log everything, and I weigh my food, I go out maybe 3x a month, but it shouldn't make such a huge difference because I don't go for high calorie dishes... I've had months with a 5000 deficit when I didn't lose anything, and months when I was 4000 over and I didn't gain anything. Actually every time I hit 133 pounds (which is 3 pounds over my goal) I stopped losing altogether. But with the Holidays (and a wedding, and bad PMS) it crept to 136 and I've been there for 4 months.
Your point about being more active is a good one though, because it's when I started being more active that my weight loss stopped. I used to just walk every day for about 3.5 miles, with some weights 2x a week. That's it. Reached my lowest (132), then I went in vacations (we had to eat out all the time, so I started running to make up for it). Gained 2 pounds... then I started doing more intense workouts (running, then HIITs, then walking at an incline), and I haven't lost a pound since. That was July 2014.
Now I'm stuck - I'm too hungry so I have to exercise more, but I'm at the point where my exercise is making my legs really sore on a pretty constant basis, and I actually end up needing rest days after a while (I often still go for a walk though), and I'm starting to wonder if my increased hunger is due to exercise too (in average I exercise 10 hours a week, rowing, biking, walking at an incline - 6 to 10% - and weights). But either way, it means that exercising more is pretty much impossible at this point. It really sucks already to have sore legs pretty much all the time.
So I don't really know how to deal with it. I still want to lose weight (6-10 pounds now), but it seems totally unreachable at this point and I admit that I'm so jealous of people who seem to be able to cut easily. For me it would mean cutting all treats for a few months (and even then, I'm often struggling WITHOUT treats, and I'm putting bread and rice in that basket too), but it just leads me to binging so it's not a long term solution either.
I just wish I wasn't so **** hungry all the time. So depressing when you have to constantly ask yourself if you REALLY want that piece of homemade bread because you know that you will end up hungry later if you have it. I was much less hungry on 300 less calories when I was losing, which is why it's infuriating.2
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