Does maintaining weight get easier after a year?

tmwonline · May 2016

Hi, new here, just joined today

with everything in the news I got pretty depressed. But then I found this article and wanted to get it straight from the horses mouth. Do you guys find that maintaining is easier after a year? Or is it always super hard like they say in the NYT article?

http://www.upi.com/Health_News/2016/04/14/Study-suggests-method-to-maintain-stable-weight-loss/3191460643328/

annareeves12609 · May 2016

Hi there I have found at times I need to step up my exercise to continue to loose weight.

tmwonline · May 2016

thanks! so you maintain but sometimes creep up and then just need to step up the exercise?

Floreadsalot · May 2016

Imo i think it gets harder. I got complacent and begin falling back into post wls bad eating habits and no exercise, busy life, more fast food, etc. Im 3yrs in and just saw a weight gain. Its a combination i think of eating the right foods and working out.

tmwonline · May 2016

Thanks for your reply!

Stanley1903 · May 2016

I'm not there yet, but it's gotten harder to stay committed to losing. I would imagine it gets harder with time. However, having MFP makes it a habit for me. It's easier. I hope this will make maintenance easier. I plan to continue for the foreseeable future.

middlehaitch · May 2016

I did a slow weight loss of a year, then continued counting for a good ~6 months to make sure my maintenance was good.
6+ year on - maintaining is a subtle portion control and the very occasional few weeks logging.

My exercise has always been what I know I can continue long term, and I have always eaten no less than 50% of my exercise calories back.

It is not difficult but it does take a certain amount of self awareness.

Cheers, h.

MissJay75 · May 2016

There are so many different experiences with this. Some people don't adjust well to maintenance because they never really learned how to have a healthy relationship with food. Some people only know how to 'diet'. Some people lose motivation when they don't have the victory on the scale every week. Some people have to weigh and measure for life, or the pounds creep back on, because their natural inclination is always more food than they need.

And some people learn very well what the 'right' amount of food their body needs to maintain, and have no problems eating that amount without logging every bite. Some people make a true lifestyle change and never look back.

Some people choose to eat more on vacation or holidays knowing they can easily lose the weight after.

2 and a half years ago, I weighed 174. (5'7" female). I lost 45 pounds in 1 year, and then maintained that for another year. I gained back 12 pounds in 4 months of eating a lot of excess food. I did it with eyes wide open. And I enjoyed every mouthful. I am now working on losing those 12 pounds - in 2 months I've lost almost half of it.

mimigingerbread · May 2016

Thanks for the article link. Nice to read after the NYT one which seemed depressing! I'm at 7 months so far maintaining my 50 lb loss so hoping after a year it will be better.

Mentiri · May 2016

I lost 100 pounds over 3 years, losing 60 pounds in the last year with MFP. I've been in maintenance for 6 months, and my biggest problem has been not losing more weight! Once I found a sustainable activity level and began accurately tracking my calorie intake weight loss was ridiculously easy. As a vegetarian, I tend to eat less calorie dense foods, so I get to eat a volume of food that ensures I'm never hungry. I'm still logging daily, but I find that is also just a manageable part of my routine. I keep waiting for the hard part to begin, but so far it's smooth sailing!

sijomial · May 2016

It's not easier or harder - it's just life. I do need to remain vigilant though. I have always wanted to eat more than I need whether I've been slim, average or fat. I accept I need to use my mind, good habits plus self-control and not rely on hormone signals to regulate my appetite.

Definitely maintenance is easier for me than losing weight, I like food so eating more at maintenance is a pleasure.

Weight control comes from your calorie balance and exercise is a minor player in that, even for a high exerciser like me (7000+ exercise cals last week!). Luckily I like exercise as much as I like food so it's a pleasure not a chore.

kommodevaran · May 2016

This article is better than the other one, but I don't buy the conclusions. It's the brain/habits/attitudes and not the body/hormones that needs to be trained/changed. Maintenance gets harder AND easier as time goes by - we learn new habits, but we get bored; a new routine can feel uplifting and motivating, but we can keep up stressful regimens only for so long; we get used to our "new" bodies, and we become complacent. We have to be vigilant, but we also need to make our "new lifestyle" fun. It's all about balance.

mamadon · May 2016

I have been maintaining for a little over two years, 118 pounds, so a big loss. I'll be honest, it is hard every single day, but it is worth it. I have not regained, but that's because I am constantly vigilant, which i guess is why it's so hard lol. It's like that saying though, anything worth having is hard work.

snowflake930 · May 2016

I have been maintaining for 30 months now. I lost over 1/2 of my current body weight.
I have to say that, at least for me, it is a lot harder maintaining than losing. While you are losing, it is gratifying to see the losses and smaller size clothing. It is motivating. Now, it is just the commitment to staying at a healthy weight. It can be hard, but worth the effort it takes. I will never let myself go back to where I was.

CorneliusPhoton · May 2016

mamadon wrote: »

I have been maintaining for a little over two years, 118 pounds, so a big loss. I'll be honest, it is hard every single day, but it is worth it. I have not regained, but that's because I am constantly vigilant, which i guess is why it's so hard lol. It's like that saying though, anything worth having is hard work.

What an accomplishment! Congratulations to you.

In the long run, we need to be committed to eating to support our goal weight body size and never going back to eating to support our starting weight body size. Which means eating to meet your TDEE forever.

dopeysmelly · May 2016

For me, it hasn't been harder or easier than losing the weight (1/3rd body weight or 70 lbs in 9 months), just different. It takes a different kind of vigilance but also there is more confidence as time goes on. I put a few pounds back on, but I knew I could lose them and I have (just a couple to go). If I don't log every day or every week, it doesn't bother me, because this is a long term endeavor. Interestingly, being in maintenance has allowed me the space in my mental resources to focus on other things like getting my cholesterol down, starting running etc. which would have been too much for me to attempt while losing.

And I've found that my body is still changing even 18 months after entering maintenance.

20yearsyounger · May 2016

When I started I made the decision to give up nothing that I didn't want to give up but just to eat smarter and do something that I can do for life. Now maintaining over a year, does it get easier? I am definitely more knowledgeable about what to do based on weight fluctuation. It's harder than losing weight for me because the goal is different but not that much harder. The scale doesn't move much. On the flip side, I have excess calories on some days and I no longer have to worry about whether or not I should have that extra 250-250 calories. In many ways, I need to eat it so that I don't drop weight. I have to remind myself that in my younger years this was not something I worried myself about. Why? I was active and didn't have time to be bored. Finding new activities and switching things up so that I don't go back to a sedentary lifestyle is probably my biggest challenge right now.

LivingtheLeanDream · May 2016

I found it much easier after the first year of maintenance where I bounced up and down within my weight range quite a lot, so much so that I ended up constantly being slightly heavier than my range! (more to do with trying to increase my calories too much!), but its now become the norm for me to eat and move the way I do that maintenance is now a breeze. (maintaining for 3 yrs)

brenn24179 · May 2016

hate to tell you but it never gets easy but it is worth it, 4 years and still have to log

Francl27 · May 2016

No it doesn't get easier. Someone posted the same article last week, btw. And I already answered that apparently my hormones didn't get the memo.

ReaderGirl3 · May 2016

tmwonline wrote: »

Hi, new here, just joined today with everything in the news I got pretty depressed. But then I found this article and wanted to get it straight from the horses mouth. Do you guys find that maintaining is easier after a year? Or is it always super hard like they say in the NYT article?

http://www.upi.com/Health_News/2016/04/14/Study-suggests-method-to-maintain-stable-weight-loss/3191460643328/

Nope, it's still a pain in the butt 3 years into it

For me it's mostly a mental struggle/challenge though, and not a physical one.

Marycycles · May 2016

I lost 105lbs in 8 months kept it off for 2yrs then got depressed after my mother died and started binge eating. Now I gained 60 lbs back, which is depressing in it's self! But the losing was super easy when motives! Emotions are key for me. I have battled thru anorexia and bulimia since high school I am now 49 and still dealing with emotional eating. I love MFP I've used it 5years and always, always eat those exercise calories!!! Trust me your body needs them and you will lose weight faster!

JoeCWV · May 2016

I did not find losing 70 pounds particularly difficult. Nor is maintenance. I continue to track on MFP and keep on keeping on. I think the deciding factor is your mental outlook.

Like others have said: losing weight is hard. Being fat is hard. Pick your hard.

I, after years of picking fat, decided to try normal weight for a while. Been maintaining for about 3 years. It's all in the attitude you bring to the effort.

jlahorn · May 2016

I lost a bunch of weight in my early 20s and kept it off for about 6 years, but it was a struggle the whole time.
I lost a bunch of weight again about 3 years ago. I've maintained, but it's much worse in my 40s. I have Hashi's now, I'm older and get more frequent injuries from exercise that never used to bother me, etc.

Being fat is hard, being fit is hard, etc. is very true. Thinking about it the other way, there are fun things about working hard and being fit, and there are fun things about being relaxed and overweight. What's more fun?

Gamliela · May 2016

Yes, choose ur difficulty and stick with it everyday, day in day out. I maintained for 5 years. It got more and more difficult. I chose to eat freely after those 5 years and gained the weight back plus some. I concluded I would rather be at a low weight and the difficulties of maintnance than have the health problems I began to have to face being overweight.

tmwonline · May 2016

really really appreciate everyone's responses. Good to know that many people are doing it successfully and just another thing to get used to. So happy to have found mfp

cwolfman13 · May 2016

I've been maintaining for three years...I find it to be pretty easy. I have adopted a more healthful lifestyle overall than I had before...maintaining weight is pretty easy when you're maintaining a healthful lifestyle. I do, and enjoy doing the things that lean, healthy, and fit people do. I eat well and exercise regularly and monitor my weight.

People have difficulty when they have the mindset of being "done" once they've reached this arbitrary number on the scale...then they go back to old habits and lack the understanding that they're not done and in fact, they've just reached the starting line of the true race...there has to be a new normal and that's where people fail miserably.

besaro · May 2016

depends on your definitions. i lost 100 pounds in about a year. been maintaining-ish for about 3. you have to keep your head in the game, but i get to eat about 200-300 more calories a day and i am about 2-3 million x happier.

GYATagain · May 2016

3+ years now in the process. I call it "process" because it is and always will be a process working through maintenance. As we age - and we all do, hopefully - things shift, change, health changes, hormones go haywire, and it is a constant endeavor to meet those changes and roll with the punches, so to speak. Weight may bounce back up a few pounds (or 10) and I know it is time to figure out what I'm doing different and make the changes. Things that did not bother me before, I have to work harder to meet. Easier? Yes, in a way. Because I can actually move more, breathe easier, bend over and tie my shoes, walk up the stairs without wheezing, and one of the biggest components of all this healthy eating and exercising stuff - I have not been sick with a cold or flu in the last 3 years -- well, there I went and jinxed it! I better get ready for a cold!

UpEarly · May 2016

NO! I've been on maintenance since spring of 2012. It takes ongoing mindfulness and practice.

OrionSlayer · May 2016

Thanks for asking this question! The answers you received are very helpful for when I start maintenance. Seems like I will need to 1) Learn what level of eating/exercising will maintain my weight, 2) Find an effective way to monitor my weight to not allow it to cascade out of my goal weight, 3) Watch for potential eating triggers (ex. vacations, stressful events, injury), 4) Relax and enjoy life

Does maintaining weight get easier after a year?

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